XXII. The Roommate

With the scroll under his arm, he got out of the library.

He walked in the courtyard's direction. Somebody was still there training. It was afternoon and the Masters had moved away from the training area.

Dag moved in a free spot, among other warriors, ready to train his new skill.

Setting his feet as the scroll said, he crossed his right arm on the left one and stomped his foot on the ground. Nothing happened.

He continued until evening, training in the courtyard.

Magni saw him from a window of the dormitory.

"What do you find so special in that guy? I don't understand you" said Dargeon, next to him.

"He has something. I perceive something very powerful coming from his aura, but it scares me" answered Magni.

"Scares you? You are one of the strongest Viking Warriors of the planet, what are you talking about?"

"I don't know, I'm not sure"

In the meanwhile, Dag stopped trying the skill. He was so tired, probably that scroll wasn't a level one, but somebody put it on the wrong shelf.

He moved towards the Dorm.

Walking in corridors, he saw a man sitting at his room's door. He was his roommate.

"Hey" said Dag.

"Hey" he answered, without looking at him.

He was reading a scroll. Dag tried to spy on it, to understand which was his comrade's combat level.

"What do you want, booger?!"

The man doesn't seem to be kind. He re-rolled up his scroll and entered the room, leaving the door open.

Dag followed him, sitting on his bed. It was not so comfortable as his house's. It reminded him of his bed in the dorm on Earth.

Then he laid on it, staring at the ceiling.

"Is it possible to feel the enemy's combat level?" he asked the man.

No one answered back.

"C'mon man, what I've done to you! It's a simple question" repeated Dag.

"Go fuck yourself, booger. Shut up or I'll punch your stupid face"

Dag couldn't refrain from standing up on his feet. He has no fear to face his roommate, even if he was older.

He stood up too.

"What? What you wanna do now? I suggest you to…"

Dag quickly charged him, punching him in the stomach. He didn't lose balance and kicked back Dag, that tried to remain on his feet, but fell on his bed, breaking it.

"Ouch! Are you mad dude?" said the man, touching his jaw.

"You are the idiot, I just asked you a question, if you weren't so prick, it wouldn't have happened" answered Dag, while he got up from the bed, completely crashed.

"Its name is Niva. It's a level 2 skill. Launching it, you can perceive your enemy's level" said the man.

He was a tall one, black short hair and a few beard on his face. He seemed older than Dag, but still a big awkward boy.

"And what about your name? I'm Dag"

Dag threw out his arm, as a sign of friendship. Having friends was a better option than doing everything alone, he thought.

"Aslan. My name's Aslan"

"Will the Masters get mad when they find out this mess? It was your fault, you provoked me!" said Dag.

"Pff…asshole" whispered Aslan.

Dag tried to rearrange his bed. "What level are you? I mean, are you capable to learn high-level skills? I just got here, I'm not used to learning like this…I love to fight!"

"I've been here for ten years, during which I tried to learn a lot of combat skills. I wanted to be a strong Berserkr when I arrived at the temple. But now, I'm a healer" answered Aslan.

"A healer? Do you mean… you can heal people when they get hurt?" asked Dag, curious.

"Yeah, a kind of. I can learn spells in addition to skills. With the last one I practiced, I can shield an ally, surrounding him with a sort of luminous aura…I'm working on it"

"Wow, it seems cool. But it doesn't suit me. I'd like to become like Master Magni. When we were coming here at the temple he defeated 10 Renegades alone! His hammer was hit by a lightning bolt and he struck the ground, smashing all of them! It was crazy!" said Dag, euphorically.

"It was the Evolved Lightning Strike" replied Aslan.

"Evolved? So you can improve your skills until their maximum mastery?" asked Dag.

"Yes, you're perceptive. Lightning Strike is a level 5 ability, but Master Magni performed it for so long until he unlocked its real potential. Every time you power up a skill, its rune modify, getting more complex".

Aslan uncovered his right leg, pulling up his trousers. Four runes were on it.

"These are mine. I've learned 3 level one abilities and a level 2 one"

Suddenly, somebody knocked at the door: "Ooohi! Are you okay in here? We heard some noise…like fight noises".

Dag and Aslan looked to each other, disoriented. Aslan moved to the door, placing his ear on the door's surface, to hear better.

"Yes' we're fine! The bed wasn't used for a while, so… one of his legs cracked. It's okay, go back to sleep"

The people behind the door murmured something, then moved away.

Dag breathed a sigh of relief: "they would warn the Master, am I right? Better this way…"

"I saw Master Magni looking at you. His gaze looked different. Where are you from?" said Aslan, turning towards Dag.

He looked suspicious. Dag didn't notice Magni's particular attention to him, he didn't know how he normally behaved with his warriors.

"I…I don't what you're talking about, Aslan. I come from Jernhest, the capital"

Dag omitted to talk about his earthling's roots: he didn't know the reason, but on Skjold people didn't seem to be friendly with earthlings.

Aslan still looked diffident. Then said: "I know the capital, booger".

Dag felt relieved, he could keep his "secret" only between him and Magni. He didn't know his Master already confided with Master Dargeon.