A Chicken?

He rushed through the fort's gates expecting some sort of ambush in the form of pincer attacks or something similar. After all, why else would the enemy leave the gates open? But nothing happened, albeit the fight outside continued, and the now useless battering ram could still be heard; inside, it was eerily silent. He kept trotting forward on his trusty Bon Steve but noticed that a mount would not be suitable for any corridor ambush, so he dismounted and removed his shield. Nevertheless, he asked Steve to watch his back and follow him. After all, Steve packed a nice kick that had turned more than a few goblins into dust.

The fort appeared very well abandoned; it was small, and the few catapult shots that hit it nearly did the job. No wonder the stick-wielder was so desperate to take them down.

He continued all the way when suddenly, three skeletons blocked his path, all curiously armed with the same weird bone mace. They looked just the same as the one the 'summoner' had used to interrupt his charge. Sure, they were slightly more resilient than the rest, but that was about it. Their technique was preposterous, and their moves too sluggish. They barely served as a makeshift shield. Well, whatever. He took his halberd and made quick work of them. Each one just took two well-aimed strikes, and none managed to even scratch him.

And so, he continued forward through the fort's passage when he saw them again. Exactly the same three. It seemed the stick-wielder was truly a summoner, albeit a very cheap one. With summons like this, no wonder he preferred to fight himself. It was starkly different from the strong summons that the Spine Bishop and his Acolyte's could summon. Those things could even give him trouble.

And so, he kept going, checking every room and being faced by this annoying trio time and time again. But he did not find anything. He had been in this for a while but was not worried. After all, only the throne room was left. He was walking up the stairs when he finally saw him again. It was about time he deemed to appear: the clown summoner.

So it had come to this, a final showdown. He gripped his halberd, ready to knock this jester down. He knew inside it was not going to be an easy fight, after all, the opponent had similar stats and was also at tier 2. But he was confident in his victory. Why? Because he was the Halberd Knight (and his armor and weapon were superior, but that's not important).

The skirmish between the knight and the staff wielder was a display of skill more than brute force. Their exchanges, a fluid mix of feints and direct strikes, turned their duel into a dynamic performance of combat technique. The knight's halberd sliced through the air with precision, while the staff-wielder countered with nimble moves that made his staff seem to dance around the knight's attacks.

Both combatants had honed their skills through relentless practice and countless encounters, achieving a level of mastery few had. They used their bodies to their utmost capabilities, minimizing superfluous movements and turning their foe's momentum to their advantage. The combat was beautiful in its own 'skeletal' way. 

But surprisingly, something was different this time, compared to their last encounter. The summoner started launching suicide attacks all of a sudden, and while that was a valid technique, the main point was: he had high-quality armor, and his opponent was in tattered robes! What the hell was this? In any case, he would comply, even if he took some hits, this clown would fall much before him.

The battle grew more aggressive, with each side trading blows. It was definitely the summoner on the losing end. 'Let's end this.' He raised his halberd for a final swift strike, but then the summoner disappeared. 'Not again!' He did a 360-degree swing just in case, but it was futile; the enemy was no longer there. He then remembered his initial goal and sped up to the throne room but was suddenly attacked from behind. He detected the attack too late; the enemy had been too swift.

'This is bad.' He tried to calm himself, but the situation was not looking good. His HP had begun to be depleted, and he had to solve this now. If this trickery continued, he would fall. So, he sidestepped the staff wielder and made a mad rush for the throne room. Whatever was causing this had to be there. And so, with a final push, he managed to climb the stairs. But then he saw it, sitting relaxed on the throne was a weird creature. One he had never seen before. It was like... like it didn't have bones! 

'What the fuck is this!' But then, amidst his bafflement, it clicked again. Maybe, just maybe, this was the moment of revelation. That creature, the one whispered about in hushed tones and laughed over in boisterous taverns. The mythical being that had tiptoed through legends, notorious for its supposed weakness and cowardice—a figure of jest among hardened warriors, yet paradoxically, a creature shrouded in mystery. It was the butt of countless jokes, the symbol of ridicule in the barracks, yet here it was, sitting before him, defying every expectation with its mere presence. Maybe, just maybe... No, his mind was made up. There was no room for doubt in the face of such an absurd reality. This was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a chicken!

***

The mysterious figure briefly looked at her, made a small nod, and continued doing whatever he was doing. However, not before a screen appeared in front of her. This concept of appearing screens was a bit difficult to get used to, but compared to losing her hearing and gaining sight, it was nothing.

Pottage (A hearty stew of vegetables, beans, and meat, seasoned with herbs): 80 Tutorial Coins

Bread and Cheese (Freshly baked bread with a slice of local cheese, accompanied by seasonal fruit): 90 Tutorial Coins

Roast Capon (Roasted young castrated rooster, served with root vegetables and a herb sauce): 150 Tutorial Coins

Grilled Trout (Fresh trout grilled with lemon and herbs, served with boiled potatoes): 130 Tutorial Coins

Rabbit Stew (Slow-cooked rabbit with onions, wine, and herbs, served with bread): 120 Tutorial Coins

Alice smiled, pleasantly surprised by the straightforwardness of the dishes, already prepared and ready to eat. This had been a concern for her, as she herself did not know how to cook, and conversations with the Amazonian hinted that she was not the best chef, to put it mildly. She welcomed this refreshing touch of practical magic.

Scrolling through the list, she noticed that weapons were also available, including 1-H swords from levels 1 to 7. The only problem was the exorbitant price of the higher-level weaponry:

Sturdy Shortsword (R1 L3, trusty for quick jabs): 1040 Tutorial Coins

Balanced Arming Sword (R1 L5, good for balanced attacks): 4160 Tutorial Coins

Reinforced Longsword (R1 L7, reliable for reach and power): 16640 Tutorial Coins

Alice looked at her inventory, noticing she had slightly more than 1000 Tutorial Coins. It seemed they were rather poor. The silver lining was that Thaleia also had her own separate stash of the same amount, effectively doubling their total haul. However, Alice had not found any way to exchange coins between them, meaning they were limited to items valued at most 1082 TC, with a total of 2164 TC to spend.

Before making a decision, she decided to thoroughly check all the wares. There were also some armors available, but not much else. No mysterious potions or boons were offered.

She noticed the Amazon had also walked in and was standing beside her, albeit slightly tensed. Alice found it a bit annoying that she couldn't tell when someone was approaching her from behind. She really missed the sense of sound; sight couldn't hold a candle to it.

In any case, it was good that she came in.

"This person is a respected and powerful mystic merchant. Offer him 1040 Tutorial Coins for the Sturdy Shortsword."

Thaleia blinked, confused for a moment, but proceeded as she was told. She respectfully engaged with the merchant, offering the trade, but nothing happened. She looked back at Alice, puzzled.

Alice resisted the urge to facepalm and simply offered an amiable and understanding smile. She wrote:

"Look at your Inventory. Your coins should have been reduced to 42 TC, and you should have acquired the weapon. You can equip it with a thought."

She observed the transformation of the Amazon's face from confusion to a smile as the sword materialized in her hand, resembling a little girl delighted with a new toy, content with the simplest of pleasures. This moment transported her back to what some might loosely term her 'childhood,' though to call it such perhaps wasn't quite accurate. She had never truly been a child, but rather the blind nuisance of her family, aware of her unwanted presence in the world with painful clarity from her earliest memories.

Her smile, which Thaleia interpreted as congratulatory, harbored a vastly different origin. It was a smile reflecting a profound indifference; the world might not have wanted her, but the feeling was mutual. She harbored no affection for the world either.

***

Everything had played out perfectly. Dante could not have been prouder of himself, and of Virgil, of course. The catapults were down, the enemy commander was exactly where he wanted him to be, with his HP slowly but surely depleting, and half of the enemy troops already dealt with. It was just a matter of reducing this knight to dust and taking care of the remaining minions.

And so, he sat, relaxed on his throne, looking straight into the enemy's fiery sockets. He could sense the anger, but there was another sentiment as well. Was it surprise? Well, it made sense; after all, he had seen him, and he supposed skeletons were not very used to the living around here.

But it also surprised him that he could detect any emotion at all. This was a skeleton, for God's sake! Yet, the emotion was there; he could feel it. There was intelligence in this being, which was very interesting. But that was a case to study later; for now, he had to end this. And he was excited. How could he not be? After all, he could finally use it again. It had been a while…

"Hi, my name is Dante. A pleasure to meet you," he stood from the old chair that served as a throne. The knight was still bewildered but kept a lookout on Virgil, always ready for the next attack. Dante was about to continue but was suddenly interrupted.

"I see that you speak our tongue, creature," the skeletal knight actually spoke! "I just wanted to ask something before I kill you… are you, perhaps, a chicken?"