Chapter 120: Weapon Practice (1/2)
Rakna was pulled out of the odd vision of his past and he regained awareness inside of the Pavilion right as he sensed something approaching the back of his head. He quickly but serenely tilted to the side to dodge a punch.
He sighed and scowled. He already knew who it was through the smell. ”I expected this from Allan, but not you too,” he uttered with no real rancor and looked over his shoulder at Flavia who had at least the decency to look sheepish at his reprimand.
”W-well, I knew it would work so…” She droned embarrassingly and he looked at Evelyn who was innocently standing to the side whilst giving him a small smile.
”I guess it makes sense… but, Higure, pray tell why you didn't stop her?” He asked and turned to the mini lion casually resting on his lap. ”You could have easily woken me up.”
”Now, now, devourer, where's the fun in that?” The lioness replied with a smirk and he sighed.
”Who is this?” Flavia asked curiously.
”And them too,” Evelyn added as she pointed at Rexam, Fenriu, Tyran, and Pronos chasing each other in some sort of game of tag. ”Also, is that really the T. Rex Allan talked about? It's nothing like he showed us. He's adorable!”
Rakna shrugged. ”I told him so. He was just a tad bigger at the time.”
”That's the understatement of the year,” Higure snorted.
”As for the little ones, they're parts of my soul temporarily given form outside of my body,” Rakna continued. ”Once again, they're byproducts of my Nirvana Skill and Higure is the only one amongst them who can actually speak. The two others are… let's say in their infancy stage.”
The girls nodded dazedly; a bit baffled by what they were seeing. Sometimes, the best way to react to something was simply to let it go. Life would be hard if they allowed themselves to question every little thing they saw.
”So? What are you girls doing here? Is it about the weapon training?” Rakna ultimately asked.
”Ah, yes, it is,” Flavia nodded. ”We figured we could ask you now since you were here.”
”I see. I was going to call you later but this is as good a time as any,” he said and stood up.
Higure jumped down from his lap in consequence and his four other beastly companions stopped playing around to look at him. ”Rexam, Fenriu, Higure, I'll dispel the puppets. If you want to stick around as souls, it's your choice.”
”Well, playtime is over cubs,” Higure said with a smile and two other beasts nodded at her without much opposition. It seemed that they greatly valued her words. The three of them closed their eyes and swirls of soul power emerged around their bodies before reforming their spiritual bodies in their original size.
Evelyn and Flavia held their breath as the imposing figures of a Dusk Lion, a Nine-Tailed Wolf, and a Luquila appeared in the room. Even as nothing more than incorporeal ghosts, they emitted some kind of compelling aura, forcing onlookers to consider them as nothing less than legendary.
Rakna proceeded to snap his fingers to dismantle the three cold energy puppets that had reverted to their blank state. ”Can you turn invisible?” He asked them and Higure nodded.
”{We can. Only you or someone with soul sense would be able to see us,}” she responded through their link since she was unable to make clear sounds in her ghost form.
”Then do it,” he ordered and the trio promptly vanished in the eyes of Evelyn and Flavia. More so the latter than the former since the succubus naturally had the ability to sense souls as a Phantom if she chose to. As for him, they only appeared to be a bit more transparent.
”All right. Let's go to a training room,” he said and started walking with a yawn. Tyran and Pronos quickly followed him along with the girls. ”By the way, where are Allan and Nyx?”
”Nyx is doing a Bounty. It's a type of Quest where you hunt a certain monster,” Flavia said. ”If I'm not wrong, her target is a sort of mutated goblin with a big tribe that is becoming a threat to a few towns on the Fourth Plateau. As for Allan, I'm not sure. He said he was going to meet up with a member of his Guild.”
”A Bounty, huh?” Rakna hummed. ”I will have to try that sometime,” he said as he opened the door to one of the training rooms. He stepped inside and turned around when they were all inside. ”So? What weapons do you two want to learn?”
”Personally, I would like to learn how to use a bow better,” Evelyn answered first. ”Other than that, after using Sonata, I found that I liked using the Guandao… but at the same time, I feel like there's something lacking about it.”
”Ah, I get it. You probably are suited for polearms but the Guandao is a bit special. It's a 'spear' mainly used for slashing. It also lacks a balance that is symmetrical so it's harder to get used to if you're not proficient in handling impetus,” Rakna explained and constructed a glaive with his Star Make.
He skillfully whirled it with one hand then switched to the other. ”The reason I always spin it like this isn't just for show. It's both a way to relocate the blade and increase momentum. In any case, a good spear for you would be…” He mused. ”Trii, can you give me a winged spear?”
|| Right away. || The interface processed his command and a spear with a lozenge head and a pair of prominent wing-like attachments below it materialized in front of him. It was a type of spear used during the earlier Middle Ages.
”Catch,” Rakna grabbed it and tossed it to Evelyn who clumsily caught it. ”You'll use that for now. I'll teach you a stance later. As for your archery skills, the best I could give you is some advice. The rest comes purely down to practice.” The succubus nodded at his words and he turned to Flavia.
”What about you? Fancy anything in particular?”
”I do, in fact. I'd like to use hard-hitting weapons like greatswords.”
Rakna was a bit surprised by that. ”Uh, interesting. I have my idea, but can I ask you why?”
”Essentially, I can effectively render the weight of a weapon irrelevant thanks to gravity magic. In addition to that, while swinging, I can use both my magic and my telekinesis to deal more damage.”