Before 15 minutes had passed he had been whisked into a house into a dark room and wrapped in a large blanket sleeping on the floor between Nathan and Kiersty’s beds Honestly it was surprisingly warm and comfortable Razor wasn’t sure where these creatures found the material for their blankets but he fervently made a mental note to figure it out
Then after he was starting to doze in spite of his already sleep filled day the door opened slightly
Nathan Kiersty Both here
Yes Mom They chorused and the door started to close but then Kiersty spoke again
Mom is it okay for Mr Bunny Rabbit to sleep over He’s from another world and has no place to stay
The door paused Mr Bunny Rabbit eh Won’t his mother worry
I think he was sent here on purpose Kiersty said
He’s an ambassador Nathan added
Oh Indeed The woman outside the door now spoke with a very amused tone Well then make sure he gets his sleep too Goodnight Mr Bunny Rabbit
Razor opened his mouth to answer but felt a hand clamp over it He turned to find Kiersty giving him a disapproving frown The door closed all the way and the sound of departing footsteps were audible Only after they had traveled a fair distance away did Kiersty speak
She doesn’t know you are actually here She thinks you are imaginary Why were you going to speak up Don’t you have mommies where you come from
Razor Fleetfoot could only shrug feeling embarrassed under Kiersty’s withering stare
What sort of place was this village
Chapter 112
All night Randidly tirelessly practiced the movements of Footwork of the Spear Phantom working on what Mrs Hamilton recommended First he just let the moves flow moving back and forth across the ground however he wanted to letting the steps spiral endlessly forward
It really was an incredibly profound way of moving that was focused on small delicate steps that seemed incredibly light but contained a large amount of power An opponent who witnessed the moves would be endlessly surprised by the large steps that did nothing and the small steps that could instantly cross several meters
Randidly realized that it wasn’t exactly an efficient way of moving in terms of distance His sprinting speed both real and with just a sideways leap was much higher than what he could manage with Footwork of the Spear Phantom Instead the footwork enabled him to end up in a range of very different if close to each other places with the same motions depending on how he chose to apply the delicate power in the steps
So with a direction in mind Randidly plotted out the 10 steps that made up the footwork first without the power then second with the power slightly awed by the 1 meter difference in where he ended up
1 meter might be a rather small distance compared to mountains Even compared to spears it was slightly lacking But in terms of the distance it takes to kill an opponent it was more than enough
Pausing Randidly considered how to move forward Previously he had always done the motions with the power burning quickly through his stamina pool With his continued denial of using the system screens Randidly wasn’t sure how much stamina he was burning through with his moves but based on the feeling in his chest it was decidedly smaller Only a thin warm thread of stamina was required to do the steps without the energy
Such a small amount that he could practice like this almost endlessly But this wasn’t the goal It was to intermix his steps sometimes using the delicate power other times not confusing an opponent
A spear phantom did not value distance speed it valued near infinite mobility in close combat
That then would be Randidly’s goal
Systematically just like Mrs Hamilton recommended he practiced giving himself a deep familiarity with the 10 moves Although he had practiced them mindlessly before driven on by Shal’s threat of violence he hadn’t really thought about them After he left the dungeon he had practiced them in the order taught to him by Shal never really experimenting But now
Now they were toys they were puzzle pieces they formed a base
They were steps leading him up towards a higher level And in his heart Randidly still wondered what he was doing what he was looking forward to But it was fun This path was his own and he would walk it to the end
More than anything he craved the knowledge of what was waiting at the end of his path And he would work himself into the ground in order to be strong enough to triumph over whatever he found there
Almost against her will as if she was being driven forward by someone else Raina woke up once more at the crack of dawn and walked up the mountain path returning to the outlook over Donnyton It really was a beautiful view and a strategic one
She suspected in the future that they would establish a base of sorts up here or at least a watch tower It gave a great view of the different important areas of the town and also of the different avenues that monsters could attack from The only blind spot was to the north near the quarry due to the curve of the mountain but it was still enough of a view to warn of something large heading their way
Taking advantage of the rising light she pulled out her notebook and took up where she left off yesterday adding detail and contour to the valley It wasn’t big yet but Raina had a hunch that this town would experience explosive growth soon This was still the area from which the only visible pillars of light have emerged and now Franksburg’s pillar lay beyond them acting as a beacon for those too fearful of the changes the system brought to head this way the first time
Now though now that they understood that the system appeared to be here to stay
Raina slapped her cheeks banishing these thoughts Then she began to hum as she drew losing herself in the soft slow lines of the valley she now stayed Perhaps someday it would even be the valley she called home
Tykes stilled a strange noise reaching his ears But as soon as he heard it the wind blew covering up any hint of the noise But Tykes was a patient man He had learned to wait quietly all his life So he waited standing in the forest clearing holding his iron ball high looking like a pitcher standing at a baseball mound
The wind continued to blow Tykes started to sweat But his willpower was firm and he refused to give into weakness He had learned a valuable lesson two days ago standing before the Ghosthound witnessing the almost unfathomable depths of strength that a human a man who had been just as normal as him a month ago could reach It was sobering
And it set Tykes’ world on fire If he could grasp that strength
The wind continued unabated the brush and trees rustling incessantly Tykes’ arm was beginning to tremble from the strain of holding the cast iron ball aloft He really needed to talk to someone about getting a lighter model made
But in his heart Tykes knew he wouldn’t because that same weight that made it necessary for him to constantly train to hold it raising his Herculean Strength skill also meant that it would hit the opponent that much harder
Unable to keep up with the strain Tykes let go of the ball letting it fall to the ground with a crash The forest floor would have one more crater Tykes thought gloomily but then he stilled Because the forest had stilled around him too the pesky wind finally gone And without the incessant noise he could hear it just barely A soft humming
A scrap of a melody Still it was more than enough to fill Tykes with a breathtaking longing It reminded him of an old home the warm smile of his mother the hot oatmeal he ate everyday as a child It reminded him of free and easy laughter
Leaving the metal ball in its new hole in the ground Tykes walked deeper into the forest creeping through the trees treading his way slowly up the slope And as he did so the humming became louder In a way the volume didn’t change but it seemed as if the tune itself pervaded the entire forest every leaf and branch and bush buzzing with the music It pulled him forward almost stumbling up the hill towards the source