Chapter 184 (1/2)

Shal sat up slowly, carefully conserving as much energy as possible. As if sensing Shal’s movement, Divveltian appeared in the doorway, looking down at Shal with glowing eyes.

“I need a favor.” Shal’s voice was light and breathy, as he attempted to conserve energy anyway he can.

Divveltian snorted. “Don’t you always? From the day your father dropped you off with the Endless Heat Style, to the day you came back to us bearing the spear of the one they called the Devourer, you have always needed my help. And I have helped you as much as I could, because it is what my niece would have wanted.”

Shal’s eyes tightened. If the woman Shal considered his foster mother, Dorotyh, hadn’t gone looking for his father, finally fed up with the fact Aemont went to confront Haelthing and failed to return for Shal, Shal might still be living peacefully with that Style, content to forget about the father who pushed him and ignored him in equal measure. But she had her own feelings, and had gone.

So Shal had pushed himself to the limit to train, and then followed her. The spear of the Devourer might be the most widely known treasure that Shal obtained in the dwelling of Haelthing, but it was by no means the heaviest. That honor went to the wizened and drained body of the woman who raised him.

The silence stretched between them, Shal unwilling to expend his energy to speak more, Divveltian seemingly content to brood in his thoughts. Luckily for Shal, Divveltian eventually looked up, fire in his eyes.

“...I know there are many things about what you found in the lair of Haelthing that you are hiding,” Divveltian began slowly. “And I’m not going to demand answers. But… you must tell me. Why are you pushing yourself so? You seemed content to let yourself waste away in the aftermath; I let you, because I knew it was just how you needed to grieve, but now… what changed?”

“A letter” Shal whispered, forcefully remaining loose and relaxed his body, even as every muscle wanted to clench in fury at the memory. “From Lucrecia.”

“Who is Lucrecia?” Divveltian’s eyes were serious and lined at the edges, but there was something in his voice…

Shal blinked slowly. That sad note in his voice… Shal had always known that Divveltian had adventures beyond the limits of the Spearman School’s land, traveling through the other Schools, learning his peculiar moves abroad. But what that strange note told Shal now was that Divveltian recognized that name.

He knew Lucrecia.

Shal grinned, his hatred overflowing so much that he couldn’t care about the Aether expenditure. “Lucrecia… is a woman I must kill. She… cursed the fate of my family, and made us all into monsters.”

****

Daital stood dutifully next to his father, wondering what they were even doing.

As a 14 year old man, his father allowed him to accompany him when he went to the market day. It was a very important day for his father, because ever since they had earned the ire of Uncle Izzie, his father’s business hadn’t been doing well, and Daital had been forced to spend less time working with a spear and more time helping around the shop.

This was somewhat of a conundrum for Daital, whose friends continued to train diligently with a spear, and began to make snide comments about how Daital was becoming a soft and weak merchant.

He argued that strong men help their parents, but his friends didn’t seem to understand; they were all related to a local Style, and none of their fathers were merchants. Daital’s mother was the source of strength and prosperity for the family, but she was on a rotation at the front lines, which made Daital’s father extremely nervous.

But they were a family, and Daital worked to help out where he could, minding the store, learning his father’s merchandise, taking care of his little sister so his father didn’t need to. Although he didn’t have time to work so hard on his spear skills, Daital had gained several other skills, like Cleaning, Bargaining, and Cooking in the meantime.

And as he was still 14, and hadn’t gone through the ceremony in a village that would grant him the class of Spear-User at 15, Daital could have as many skills as he could manage. Of course, there was a corner of Daital’s heart that hoped he would achieve a variant class, something like ‘Strong Spear User’ or ‘Agile Spear User’, but it was unrealistic.

By and large, everyone in their world received the class Spear User. There were only some exemplary individuals who were destined for greatness that managed more than that.

Of course, where there was exemplary, there was also the untalented. Classes like ‘Lazy Spear User’ manifested themselves from time to time. Which was why Daital was becoming very worried about his lack of training for the past few weeks.

But he still had a year, he assured himself. He could make up this break. Working with his father didn’t make him any less of a man.

The crowd around them shifted, and Daital and his father were able to move forward.