Magic_Smithing
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Ch: 91
🕑 Added 2021-03-25 07:34:25 +0000 UTC“Are you enjoying your new teacher?” Sandra playfully smirks at me.
"I don't know; are you enjoying living with Richard?" I try to sound malicious, but I realize how silly I sound half-way through, and by then, it's already too late to stop myself.
“I am actually,” Sandra raises an eyebrow at me. “Is that really what you were going for?”
“No,” I huff as I work the forge’s bellows. “I just couldn’t think of a good comeback there,” I sulk.
“You’re losing your touch, Aaliyah,” Sandra playfully elbows me.
"I can't have a witty remark ready all the time. Besides, Tabitha hasn't taught me anything yet," I tell Sandra.
“She’s been here for four days now!” Sandra exclaims.
“I’ve been busy with work.” Sandra puts her hands on her hips and gives me a look that says she isn’t falling for my excuse. “What, I have,” I try to defend myself. “I had to finish the work I started when she arrived. Then, it was my back-to-back break days I spend with my parents.”
“And today?” Sandra asks me.
"Today, I'm making helmets for the village," I motion to the steel heating up in the forge.
"Helmets, really?" Damn, Sandra's mom-look is leveling faster every day.
“Helmets are important,” I pout.
"Why are you hesitating? You seemed excited to learn from her a few days ago," Sandra gives me a questioning look.
“Because she’s crazy!” I finally shout in frustration.
Sandra is surprised by my outburst, but she quickly raises a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. "That's rich coming from you. What makes you think she's crazy?"
“You only need to talk to her for five minutes to see she’s crazy,” I retort.
"That's funny; mother hasn't said anything about her acting weird." Sandra doesn't look convinced. "Mom has complained that Lady Tabitha is too quiet and hard to talk to, but nothing extreme.”
I snort, “Tell your mom to ask about her master. Then we’ll see if her opinion of Tabitha changes.”
“No way, I’m not using my mom to prove you’re right. You do remember she’s living with my parents, right?”
“I didn’t see all this concern for your parents when you used Tabitha as an excuse to leave,” I snarkily grin at my friend.
Sandra folds her arms, “That was totally different.”
"Now, who doesn't have a comeback?" I tease.
"Your horrible," Sandra elbows me in the side again, but this time she tries to put her back into it. "Is she really that bad?" Sandra asks me after her elbow fails to break through Mana Skin.
“She gets this crazy look in her eyes every time we pass in the village. You’ve seen her walking around in her armor, right?” I ask my friend.
"Lady Tabitha is kind of hard to miss; she always has her armor on and sticks out amongst the villagers. I overheard she's been patrolling the village with a blank expression on her face like she's bored or something," Sandra tells me. I do not doubt that she's bored; there's no longer any danger to the village, so the battle junky can’t get her fix. “She doesn’t approach anyone, so people just leave her alone and try to avoid her.”
“Yeah, so imagine how creepy it is for me when she approaches me every morning after my run and randomly throughout the day to ask me if I’m ready to train with her. I’d agree to get her to stop asking me, but she always asks with her hand on her sword and a vicious smile on her face.” I shiver just thinking about it.
“You’re scared of her?” Sandra asks, surprised.
“I’m reluctant to spar with her,” I clarify.
"You're scared of her," Sandra repeats herself. "It's okay to be afraid of her; dad told me he thinks she's around level 85. That is pretty intimidating."
“Try 95, and I’m not afraid of her. I just… I Just don’t want to lose again,” I admit to Sandra. “I know I need Tabitha’s help to grow stronger, but I’m reluctant to find out how weak I am.” I stare into the forge’s fire, remembering how easily Pacore beat us. Sparring with Tabitha will probably be the same thing.
I hear a giggle from my side, and when I look over at Sandra, I see she's trying to hold back more laughter. "I'm sorry," she waves her hand, trying to apologize without laughing.
I frown at Sandra. “Is this funny to you? This isn’t easy for me, you know.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry; it’s just funny to hear you call yourself weak,” Sandra feigns wiping away a nonexistent tear. "You know you're getting caught up in your own head again, right? Just let the lady teach you, and soon you'll surpass her at the monstrous speed you've always have." Sandra gives me a confident smile.
I think she’s underestimating Tabitha a bit or not fully understanding the Pandora's box I'll be opening once I finally agree to spar with her. I haven't known Lady Tabitha for long, but I doubt she'll stop pestering me just because I agree to train with her a few days a week. If anything, I expect her to hound me even more once we start.
“Will it make you feel better if I’m with you tomorrow?” Sandra jokingly offers.
Fine, she thinks I'm exaggerating? Let's show her the real Tabitha. "Would you really?" I ask, smiling. "You're probably right; I'm just exaggerating. But it would mean a lot if you join me tomorrow, even if it's only for emotional support.
"Sure," Sandra agrees immediately. "Worse case, I get to watch Lady Tabitha throw you around a bit," Sandra jokes.
“Thanks, I’m glad I can always count on my best friend,” I say sarcastically.
"And don't you forget it," Sandra laughs for a bit, and I find myself smiling along with her. No matter what happens, I still have the support of my family and friends.
Reaching for my tongs, I remove the small steel ingot I've been preparing. The steel glows a beautiful red as I shift it over to my anvil and start hammering away. I need to take special precautions as I start working on the metal. A helmet's shape is very important.
When making a helmet, you need to factor in the area it covers and all the angles you're working with. The purpose of a helmet is to deflect a strike's force and keep the wearer from having their brains scrambled. Whether the helmet is deflecting arrows or a blade, you want anything that hits the steel cap to slide off.
The problem is I’m making these helmets so anyone in the village can wear one. That might seem like a good thing, but if I want my helmets to be universal, I can’t use any of the designs that would cover the entire head. Helmets that cover the back of the neck, face, and eyes offer a superior defense, but they limit your sight, are hard to move in, and uncomfortable unless fitted for a specific user.
When Master Del taught me how to make armor, I assumed all helmets would look like those I saw in moves. The types of helmets with a faceplate that hilariously drops down when the hero leans in to get a kiss, those kinds of helmets. However, I've long since realized movie knowledge shouldn't be trusted.
There are plenty of helmets that cover the entire head and neck region, but in reality, most helmets were simple metal caps that anyone could wear. They have more openings for your opponent to exploit, but cap helmets offer more benefits for the inexperienced fighter, like the people in our village.
With all this in mind, I decided to make the helmets for the village resemble my own. My helmet is modeled after the standard army helmet from my past life. The helmets stand out with their modern design, and best of all, they're proven effective. I might not be able to replicate the advanced materials used in earth's modern-day body armor, but I’m confident my helmets will do their job against arrows and the occasional sword blow.
I pray my helmets never see use, but you never know when you're living this far in the woods. Knowing that Pacore has taken me as his student, my time in the village is limited. If another goblin horde shows up when I'm no longer here, I don't what there to be a repeat of what happened at the beginning of the year. And that involves switching from making only weapons to making universal armor that anyone can wear.
“So, why helmets?” Sandra asks me when I move the metal back into the forge.
“Because helmets protect your head,” I sarcastically reply. “I’d thought you know that, great mage.”
“Funny,” Sandra dryly remarks. “I mean, why are you making helmets first when you could be making breastplates or something?”
Pulling my metal from the forge and moving it back to the anvil, I explain my reasoning to Sandra in between my strikes. “People already have leather vests and other clothes they can wear in a fight. Animals and goblins instinctually go for a person’s face. I’ll get to breastplates and other pieces of armor, eventually. But I’m not sure when I’ll have to leave the village; I want the armory to have at least enough spears and helmets for everyone before then."
"I heard about the goblins from father. Was it as bad as he made it sound?" Sandra's concerned eyes drill into my soul, and I don't miss how she puts a protective hand over her abdomen.
“It wasn’t a fun experience,” is all I tell her.
"My master would take us on short hunting trips outside Drey. He had us practice our magic on small groups of goblins a couple of times. One of the other students once commented on how easy it was to kill all of them with a single spell, to which our master replied that he hopes we never have to deal with stronger goblins."
"He was probably referring to horned goblins; there were two of them in the horde we fought. Big bastards with a lot of fight in them," I grumble.
“Do you think I could take one?” Sandra asks me.
"I don't know," I tell her as I continue with my work. "I only fought one of them, and it was back when my level was a lot lower. Plus, you still haven't shown off many of your spells yet. Were you one of the people who thought killing goblins was easy?"
Sandra shrugs, “Throwing a fireball at a lot of things feels easy.” I find myself struggling not to feel jealous of Sandra. Ever since I reincarnated, I wanted to figure out how to throw a fireball; and standing in front of me is someone who knows the spell but isn't allowed to share it with me.
“Who knows, that might do it,” I remark, focusing on the helmet taking shape in front of me.
Now that Sandra has me thinking about it, I wonder if I'd still have trouble against that horned hob I fought? Much has changed since then, and I'm curious how I would stack up if I encountered another goblin above level 50.
I am sure that Sandra would play a considerable role should another goblin horde try to attack the village. If we had someone throwing fireballs into that mass of goblins, we might not have lost as many people as we did.
I shake my head; I shouldn’t dwell on what might have been. The only thing I should think about is how to improve myself and the village. And that starts with me sucking it up and starting my lessons with Tabitha tomorrow.
I can only imagine what that battle junky has planned.
**********
“That was a good run,” mom smiles at me. “Want some water before you finish up by yourself?”
“I’ll take the water, but I’m not running my second course today,” I tell her.
“What’s the occasion?” Mom asks.
"I'm going to train with Tabitha today."
"Oh! Are you starting today? That's news to me," mom's eyes narrow menacingly. "Maybe I should go with you today?"
I give mom an apologetic smile. “I would love for you to join me, but you promised you and dad would try to avoid Tabitha.”
Mom’s face softens, “But what if something happens?”
"It will be fine," I try to reassure her. "I already talked to master yesterday to let him know what's happening, and Sandra's coming along too."
“Aaliyah!” I hear my name shouted.
“Speak of the devil,” I turn to see Sandra walking over to us.
“Morning,” Sandra smiles at mom and me.
“You’re going with Aaliyah, dear?” Mom questions Sandra.
Sandra looks between us and quickly understands what’s happening. “How could I let her go by herself?” Sandra moves to my side and wraps an arm around my waist, trying to pull me closer to her. I have to physically relax my body before Sandra can move me with her low Strength.
"See, mom, everything will be fine."
“I’m sure it will,” mom cynically remarks. But she doesn’t push the subject further and opens our front door. “Sandra, dear, would you like something to drink? I’m sure Aaliyah will need a few minutes to get ready,” mother asks, holding the door open for us.
“I’ll take whatever you have,” Sandra politely accepts mother’s offer while we follow her into the house.
“I’ll be just a minute,” I tell Sandra after the three of us have our shoes off.
“Take your time,” she tells me as she and mother move into our kitchen while I walk to my room.
Pushing open the door to my room, I grab my armor I have hanging on the wall. I don't see Tabitha's training being easy, so I plan to treat this like I'm going to war. Donning my kaglese armor, I make sure each strap is secured. My knife and scimitar are tightly fastened to my side before I pick up my axe.
I already did my morning stretches before mom, and I went on our run together, but I go through them one more time with my armor on.
"Alright, Aaliyah, let's show Tabitha what you're made of!" I try psyching myself up for the battle to come, but all I do is make myself embarrassed for yelling that out loud.
Confident I have everything I need, I walk back to the front of our house. Mom and Sandra both watch me approach the kitchen table in my armored splendor. I puff out my chest and put on a cocky grin under their scrutinizing gazes to hide the embarrassment I’m still feeling from what I said in my room.
"Yeah, girl! Ready to show Tabitha!" Sandra mimics my voice, and she and mom burst out laughing. I feel my face start to redden, realizing they must have heard me a minute ago.
"It's okay, dear," mom tries to console me in between her fits of laughter. "We all need to be cheered for sometimes."
Mom's words only make me more self-conscience over what I did, and Sandra nearly doubles over laughing. "Thanks, mom,” I manage to mumble. Well, that’s one way to cut the tension. “Let’s go, Sandra,” I move for the front door.
“What, no more words of inspiration?” She jokes.
“Let’s go,” I hiss at my friend.
“Alright,” Sandra stands up from her chair, still giggling like a schoolgirl.
“Hang on a moment,” mom calls out to me. She walks over with a full waterskin in her hands and offers it to me.
I take the offered water despite not holding it correctly because of my axe, instinctively thanking mom.
As soon as I take the waterskin from her, mom wraps her arms around me, being careful of my axe. “Promise me you’ll be safe.”
“I’m probably about to get my ass kicked again,” I point out to her.
“Promise,” mom demands.
“I promise I’ll be safe,” I shift my axe to my shoulder and use my free arm to return mom’s hug.
“Good, now go show that soldier why she shouldn’t underestimate my daughter!”
"Sounds like a plan," I smile down at mom. She releases her grip on me, and I'm able to set my axe down and attach the waterskin to my belt.
Sandra slips her shoes back on while I change into my thickest boots. We wave goodbye to my mom, and soon we're standing in front of my house again. I turn to Sandra, “No more jokes?”
She looks at me with a straight face and says, "That was beautiful." I snort, and the two of us laugh together.
“So, when does Lady Tabitha usually show up?” Sandra questions.
"I don't know. I try to avoid her, but Tabitha seems always to show up the minute I finish my run." And like a bad horror movie, no sooner than I finish talking, does Lady Tabitha round a nearby house. Sandra and I immediately notice the armor-clad knight.
"Okay, so that is a little spooky," Sandra says off to my side.
“Wait for it,” I tell her.
Sandra casts a sidelong glance at me, not understanding what I mean, almost missing what I was talking about. Tabitha and I make eye contact, and as soon as she sees me in my armor, a feral grin immerges on her passive face. Her hand flashes to her sword's handle and grips it like she's afraid it's going to run away from her. Tabitha wastes no time and starts walking quickly in our direction.
I ignore the goosebumps forming on my skin and turn to Sandra. “Told you.”
“Dear gods,” Sandra exclaims. “I thought you were joking.”
“You should see her when she’s talking about Pacore.”
"Is this what it was like when the goblins were charging you?" Sandra asks me, nervously gripping her forearm and shaking under Tabitha's pressure as she nears us.
I scoff, “The village would’ve been destroyed if the goblins had half the presence as Tabitha.” Obviously, I’m embellishing a bit, but I’m sure Sandra gets what I mean.
“I take it you’re finally ready to start your lessons,” Tabitha stops a few feet in front of us and grins at me. She barely spares Sandra a glance, entirely focused on me.
“I am,” I say, trying to sound more confident than I am.
"That's good," Tabitha mumbles in an ominous voice. "I've been getting bored waiting for you," she swings her shield off of her back, and I watch it magically fasten to her arm. "Prepare yourself!"
Wait, does she expect us to fight here!? What am I thinking; of course, she does! I clear my throat, getting her attention. “I think it would be best if we take this somewhere else,” I suggest.
A tiny bit of sanity returns to Tabitha's eyes, and she glances around us at the homes nearby. "You should be prepared to fight anywhere, but I guess we can work up to that. Do you have a spot in mind?"
"I thought we could use the quarry outside the village; it should be nice and private there," I tell Tabitha. "That's where I dueled Pacore," I add that bit of information in, hoping mentioning her master will make her more agreeable.
Tabitha's grin widens, hearing me mentioning her master. "Show me where you tried to best Master Pacore." You can feel the excitement radiating off her.
I glance to my side at Sandra. I should make sure Tabitha's okay with her joining us, but I don't think I'll have a problem convincing her. “Senior sister Tabitha?”
“What is it?” Tabitha asks, sounding annoyed that I haven’t started leading her to our sparring site yet.
“When I had my fight with Pacore, he brought two people to observe us. This time I would like to bring my friend Sandra; she won’t interfere with your lessons.”
Tabitha's features soften at the mention of her master, and for the first time, she really looks at Sandra, who's standing next to me. Tabitha's judging eyes scan every inch of Sandra, scaring my friend enough she takes a step back.
“A mage, huh,” Tabitha dryly remarks. “You must have been the one using magic on the fields.”
“Yes, that was me,” Sandra meekly admits without Tabitha even doing anything to pressure her to answer.
I know how Sandra must be feeling; it's hard to stand up to someone twice your level, especially when they're radiating such bloodlust. Tabitha is only twenty levels higher than me, and even I feel intimidated by her.
"Do you know any healing magic?" Tabitha excitedly asks Sandra.
"I'm sorry, but I don't," Sandra hangs her head, not wanting to meet Tabitha's fevered gaze.
Tabitha lets out a disappointed sigh. “I should’ve expected as much from such a remote village.”
“If you need to be healed, our village does have someone who can use basic healing magic,” Sandra offers.
Tabitha shakes her head. "I've met her. I don't need healing, and certainly not from someone so unskilled. I was merely curious if I could have you heal Aaliyah during our training.”
"Heal Aaliyah?" Sandra asks, not understanding Tabitha.
"Training is much more efficient with a decent healer on hand," Tabitha tells Sandra with a sinister smile on her face. I swallow back a nervous lump in my throat.
Sandra backs away from Tabitha. Either ignorant of Sandra's feelings or just not caring, Tabitha continues talking like nothing is wrong. “Even if you can’t use healing magic, I’m sure you can be useful for something. Now, will you show me to this quarry?” Tabitha turns her attention back to me.
“This way,” I motion for Tabitha to follow, happy to end this conversation.
I start walking towards master's clearing, and Sandra rushes to my side, keeping a wide birth from Tabitha. "I take back everything I said,” Sandra whispers to me.
Glancing over my shoulder, I check to see how much space we have between Tabitha and us. I don't want to say anything if she's listening in on us. Thankfully, Tabitha is trailing behind us by a good ten feet. I don't think she's a Senses build, so as long as we whisper, she shouldn't hear us. That said, the armor-clad woman looks content to give us our space while she watches us like a hawk. "Apology accepted," I whisper back to Sandra.
“You sure you want to do this?” Sandra quietly asks me.
“It’s a little late to back out now,” I snort.
Sandra moves closer to me. “You don’t have to worry. If anything should go wrong, I’ll immediately run back to the village for help.”
"Gee, thanks," I reply sarcastically as we walk down the forest trail to master's house.
The three of us swiftly make our way to master's clearing, and instead of seeing master resting on his bench, as usual, he's waiting for us close to the clearing's entrance, wearing his full armor and brandishing his hammer. Master's eyes quickly fall on Tabitha as she follows us into the clearing with an excited grin on her face. She doesn't look the least bit concerned to see master wearing his full gear.
“Is this the place?” Tabitha asks me, scanning the clearing.
“Almost,” I tell her, pointing further into the forest. “The quarry is up ahead.”
“Let’s go then,” Tabitha eagerly starts walking through master’s clearing in the direction I pointed out.
Now Sandra and I are following her deeper into the woods. I’m sure no student of Pacore would get lost in the forest when there’s such an obvious trail.
“That her?” Master follows along with us.
"That's her," I confirm master's suspicions. "Tabitha Leres, Pacore the Deathless' student."
Master hums thoughtfully. "There's a dangerous air about her; how did Camden agree to let her live with him?"
“She’s usually stony-faced and quiet while she patrols the village. She got like this when she saw Aaliyah in her armor,” Sandra informs Master Del.
“Do you think you’re in any danger?” Master asks me.
I shake my head no. “Tabitha may be crazy, but I don’t think she would do anything to threaten my life. Pacore did order her to watch over me and the village after all, and I don’t see Tabitha disobeying her master’s orders.”
“I’ll be watching just in case,” master reassures me. I wonder how Master Del would stack up against Tabitha? Both of them have close to the same level, but after our fight with Pacore, I’m not sure if master has the skills to fight someone who’s trained for battle.
I see a break in the trees up ahead, and soon we hear Tabitha exclaim, "This will do nicely!"
As soon as we leave the trees and look down into the quarry, Tabitha jumps over the ledge, and superhero lands on the rocky ground below. "The two of you should stay up here," I tell Sandra and master.
Master hums in agreement while Sandra shouts at me, “Good luck; don’t die,” while I walk over to the ramp leading down into the bottom of the quarry.
“Thanks!” I shout back, walking deeper into the quarry. I could’ve jumped over the side like Tabitha or used Air Walk to reach the bottom quicker, but both would’ve given away information on my stats and skills. I’m about to fight a person I have no confidence winning against, and I don’t plan to shoot myself in the foot before the fight even begins.
Tabitha watches me as I slowly make my way over until I stop fifty feet in front of her. “How is this supposed to work?” I ask, nervously tightening my grip on my axe.
Grinning, Tabitha slowly draws her sword and takes a stance with her shield directly in front of her. “I need to see what I’m working with, so let’s start with some light sparring.”
Without asking for my opinion or stating any rules we should follow, Tabitha charges me!
I wasn't expecting her to charge me, and I immediately kick backward to keep my distance from the woman. Pacore barely moved during our fight, and I thought Tabitha would be the same way considering she's using a shield. The fight has just begun, and I've already misjudged my opponent.
Tabitha yells as she uses her shield as a battering ram.
Dodge, or meet her strike?
I only have a split second to decide as she closes the distance between us.
My instincts are telling me to flee, but I can’t let them cloud my judgment. I won’t stand a chance if I only try to avoid her.
Raising my axe, I extend Magic Threads and prepare to meet Tabitha’s charge. Her smile widens when I stop retreating and ready myself for an attack.
My heart threatens to beat out of my chest as Tabitha enters my striking radius. “Ahhhhhhhhh!” I yell, releasing the air from my lungs and swing my axe with all my might.
I'm rooted in place, and I'm confident in my Strength. Tabitha is rushing me, so her stance won’t be solid enough to counter my strike. And just for good measure, I activate Weighted Strike to put more force behind my swing.
Take this! My axe reverberates in my hands as it slams into Tabitha’s shield. A smile forms on my face with the clean hit.
Only Tabitha doesn't go flying as I predicted. My eyes dart to the ground and see she's somehow switched her stance in a split second, and that isn't the worst of it.
Tabitha adjusts her shield, so my axe skims across its surface. Even using Magic Threads, the force behind my swing empowered with Weighted Strike destroys my balance. I panic and try to pull my axe back, but Tabitha doesn't miss my opening. My eyes track her sword as she raises it to slice at me.
However, watching Tabitha raise her sword is another wrong decision. Because I was so focused on her sword and trying to fix my stance, I don't even notice her slamming her shield into my chest, sending me rolling across the quarry's floor. The strike is even more effective because she hit me when I was out of breath.
Gasping, I scramble to my feet.
Tabitha doesn't wait for me to catch my breath and continues her attack. I'm forced to use Flash Step to gain some distance between us, or she would've hit me a second time before I could've recovered.
“I see you’re good at running away!” Tabitha shouts as I dodge away from her swinging her sword.
I use Flash Step again to try and position myself behind Tabitha for a counterattack, but as soon as I swing my axe at her back, her stance immediately shifts in a split second, and she brings her shield up to block me.
Fuck, that's definitely a skill!
Again, Tabitha uses her shield to deflect my strike, but she doesn't use it to counterattack this time. The blood drains from my face as Tabitha's sword lands on my left shoulder and slashes diagonally down my chest.
The screeching sound of metal colliding stabs into my ears as Mana Skin does little to stop Tabitha’s sword. I stumble backward from her strike, and thankfully Tabitha doesn’t pursue me this time. Glancing down, there's a significant line carved into the front of my armor.
Did she just try to cut me?! Like actually cut me!
With a shocked expression, I look up at Tabitha, who has a happy look on her face. "Good, your armor isn't just shiny. I can swing my sword without worrying about cutting you too deep. Let's continue!" Tabitha runs straight at me again like a runaway bulldozer.
Gods damn it! I throw my axe horizontally at the charging woman. Drawing my scimitar, I watch Tabitha gracefully jump over my flying weapon and continue her charge. She’s taking this too far! If I’m not careful, I’m going to get seriously injured!
Let's hope my sword works better against her. Tabitha was easily deflecting my axe with her shield, and the strength behind my swings was doing more harm than good.
I swing my sword at Tabitha, and like my other strikes, she quickly raises her shield to block me. But this time, I don't have all my weight behind my swing, and I don't lose control of my weapon. Taking a step back and adjusting my stance, I'm able to bring my scimitar up and block her sword.
I lock eyes with Tabitha as we push against one another with our weapons. It was an excellent decision to swap weapons; maybe now I'll stand a chance. My lips start to rise into a grin.
“Why did you change weapons?” Tabitha’s question quickly stops my smile from forming. “You switched to a weapon that uses weaker skills, stupid choice.” I don’t have time to comprehend Tabitha’s words before she breaks our deadlock with a flourish of her sword.
Tabitha steps in and delivers three rapid slashes across my chest piece, one deep enough I feel it cut my clothes underneath. I'm knocked backward for the third time, and our fight hasn't even been going on for three minutes yet!
"Is this really all that you have?" Tabitha asks disappointingly.
For just a moment, I wish it was Pacore standing in front of me.
I went into this fight not underestimating Tabitha and prepared to lose, but I never could've predicted our fight to be so one-sided.
I’m in trouble!
**********
5,300 words.
My first chapter scheduled ahead of time for release! I'm sorry for the long wait and thank everyone for their understanding and patience.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, stay safe.
Comments
Ninetails
The humor might be kind of like gallow humor, which seems like a weird thing in several ways but is still something that happens. As for maturity, she used to be a bit more mature than her age, but that was while she was significantly younger than she was (as a male) in her previous life. This means that she is back in large to parts of life she has little experience with, and what she has is not all that applicable. You cannot just add the ages in these kinds of stories to come to what makes you mature, because like many things in life it does not come automatically over time, it comes from the actual experiences and how you dealt with them. For comparison if 2 people played the same game for a lot of hours, if one of them exerts a lot of effort in the right way, then that person could get really good, possibly to some kind of professional level, while if the other person just plays for fun, they would also get somewhat better, but nowhere close to what the other got to, and that person would not be anywhere close to a professional level. A lot of the things that give maturity is outside the reach of her age, and most of them were likely in the new life, so it makes sense that her maturity is now mainly based on her age in her current life.
Jack Stiles
Was going to be released on Thursday from those posts deleted. Was posted Wednesday night. Why you being an ass?
Tuffi
Meh, just because of hormones you do not lose all your reasoning. You might have a temper at times, but Aaliyah just behaves like an immature brat sometimes. Everything seems to be a joke and there is banter everywhere.
Tuffi
I'm not sure if it's me who reads this differently than before, but I feel like all this banter between Sandra and Aaliyah feels a little forced. They don't seem to ever really just talk normally. Every line has a joke, sarcasm or someone giggles. I know Aaliyah likes doing that, but right now she is in a difficult position, had a decision forced onto her to become the disciple of Pacore and is afraid of fighting Lady Tabitha. Why joke about it all the time? Why is she not talking to Tabitha about how the training is supposed to go? Why wear armor (that can be damaged or destroyed in a serious duel)? Why use a real weapon for your first training session? Aaliyah is reincarnated, so she should be more mature than her age indicates, right? I'd appreciate a more mature Aaliyah to be honest. Not thinking about things and just rushing into new situations is getting old. She would be better than this by now, if she made all these experiences before. She would be more confident about herself and talk to Tabitha openly. Aaliyah behaves like a little brat sometimes and that doesn't really fit for me :-(
Graham Loed
Why are you saying it is ahead of schedule when this chapter was meant to posted days ago but was delayed. I don’t appreciate you lying here about early release. You came up with the schedule. If your late fine, it’s expected at this point, but don’t pretend that this was early (especially since you delete all the ‘sorry it’s going to be late’ posts).
tibbish
You're right that personality wise she doesn't seem to be a good fit for Pacore's personality or personal way of doing things. Its always possible though that she was the 'best of the worst' students that he had available at the time and/or she was forced on him as a student for political reasons. We don't really know much about her yet or her history. You also have to consider Pacore has been around so long and is so powerful he is practically a institution in their culture which we know values strength above nearly everything but "honor".
Timo Immig
Yes some old helmets often had mail on the side and behind. This ensures neck protection while having high mobility.
Hawk Silverthorn
I will say that I don't particularly like Tabitha, and I don't think that, given what we know about him, Pacore would actually like her that much either. He certainly wouldn't like her enough to keep her as an apprentice, in my opinion. The man seems to like a challenge. He likes interesting and innovative tactics. I don't see Tabitha having any of that. She is a fanatic when it comes to worshiping Pacore, and when it comes to battle. That sort of thinking doesn't tend to lead to creativity, but rather to violent, mindless destruction. I don't really see Tabitha thinking of a novel solution to an intractable problem. I see her more hitting something again and again and again, no matter how many times the tactic fails. But... perhaps my impression of her is wrong.
conkerer
It kind of feels like all she learned from Camden was like, how to swing the sword without dropping it
conkerer
Hmm, I guess the main dissonance here for readers is that Aaliyah is expected to have some decent grasp of how combat is supposed to work, and some basic strategies, like how to use and work around a shield, otherwise how in the world is she coming up with good designs for swords and armor? I expected her to at least think of something a little more intelligent than "swing the axe really hard at the shield and hope for the best" especially with her high mobility skills. Like sure, she might be locked up mentally and have none of the right instincts or reflexes, but at least she would have some sort of realistic plan in her head, especially after her sparring and swordplay practice.
Nobody
The German helmets from WW2 are actually one of the better helmet designs from history, they far surpassed the protective abilies of the UK helmets of the time and covered more of the neck than US ones. They just weren't widely adopted because, ya know, nazis. Modern combat armor approaches neck protection from the other direction, shoulders up neck guards instead of helmet skirts.
Timo Immig
She still needs the ink and an armor to copy from.
Michael Buchler
Great chapter, thanks!
Hasome
The author has always fallen into using homophones (retally instead of readily, etc...) This chapter seems worse than normal... Begging stooped embracement and several others. Just something to keep an eye on while writing.
Stylemys
I agree. She's been mostly coasting on her stats and high tier combat/magic Skills up till now. Aaliyah has only fought intelligent enemies on maybe 3~4 occasions. On 2 of those few occasions, she had to resort to blowing herself up (which didn't even work the 2nd time). On another occasion, she only won because the enemy literally couldn't move while she looked at it. For all of her Skills, she's lacking in actual skill. Aaliyah is still an amateur fighter.
Knightfire
Ok, I just don't get most of the comment section. Tabitha might be a nut, but it is really common for a teacher/sensei to establish that there is nothing a student can do physically in a fight to underscore how much the student needs to learn and how much the teacher/sensei knows. Her fighting experiences is goblins and bandits, the weakest npcs. She was the biggest frog in the smallest pond. Even with legendary talent there is no surprise her confidence would be shaken facing Pacore and then Tabitha.
Pawzom Lz
I think its easy to forget in novels like this that just because the MC have memories from a past life, it does not change the fact that the human brain is not fully developed until we are 25 years old. And when you take the hormonal changes from being female and add that on top of someone that got accustomed to a life as a male that did not have to deal with any of these issues, I can see the MC acting irrationally at times. Granted it have been a bit too much of that lately..
WalkingPark
I kind of agree, but please, if you want anyone to take your argument seriously, fix your damn grammar or you just look like a raging (and stupid) hater.
Håkan Friberg
Or just drop some hints back on previous interactions, off-screen action as well as those we where attending in day to day interaction? Not to often, just to establish that their connection, Sandra and Aaliyah, runs deeper than just what is shown?
Dikfor
Metamucil!
Patrick Schuldt
That's simply not true. The tier description says "... ahead of public chapters" - not that we should get 2 Chapters a week.
Bookman
Lets get this one by one. Sandra and our MC had a lot of Off screen time together after they returned. At least thats the impression i got. They spend a good ammound of time together crafting the alchemy solution. Aaliyah would defently not be able to kill Pacore or Tabatha. I mean how would she do that? She got no real combat skill. Her Tier 6 skill only works on beings that just died. Most of her Tier 5 skills are for personal use only or only work very little on outsiders with higher levels. That means crafting skills against people with dedicated combat builds, combat experience and higher level. So no... our Mc would never have been able to kill them. Thankfully this isnt some anime where the MC always wins with the power of determination and frindship. I would not even be sure if she could kill the 2 level 50 guards from Kevin. They are dedicated combat characters as well but just fighting bandits would have made them loose some of their edge.
Bookman
I dont think the later stated how old Aaliyah is or how much fighter expirience she had. From what i got from pacore so far it would be in his character to just say "Hey Tabi, i got a new student in spoted creec village, go and train her. ----- Personally the "Is this all you have" was the right thing to say. our dead MC held back. Most likely out of trauma from loosing to pacore. But we dont see any fancy air jumps here. Not sure why people are hating the battle maniac. Becourse thats what Tabitha is. So far i got the impression she is only interested in Combat and Pacore. Now her Legendary teacher that she worships got a new student. From Her perspective the new student got to be special. Got to be good at combat. If not then why would Pacore even take a new student. --- Thats at least the impression i got so far.
Zarik0
Im tired to see the same cringy and silly interaction between the character again and again and again without change and grown of one, that so boring and annoying, in first place this type of interaction apport nothing really but if we get bashed with it all time, im beginning to be nauseated about this And im beginning to be tired to see Aaliyah action and thinking with her mental processus again and again of a naive and "stupid" 14 old years kid when its was supposed she is 30+ years .................that so silly and work for 5 sec before beginning to be annoying as fuck, im not her to read about this non sense with a MC character having action and mental processus of a stupid kid who never think 5 sec and is surprised at everything who happen, at some point i just say, Bruh.......Aaliyah what did you expect? are you stupid? did you think? have you a brain? why are you surprised at basically every action or obvious thing happenning?, that so disappointing at some point.......to have a MC decerebrate at this level
1Crash
Ah I liked the interactions with Sandra. Gotta remember they have been working on developing engraving ink together for awhile now. But perhaps some more getting to know each other before she leaves town with Richard would put people's minds at ease? The vibe I get from tabatha is she is holding back quite a bit even for her battle junky self. Hopefully, that is correct.
Lesley Douglas
Thanks for the chapter. Sandra is pure filler and I have always thought that their best friendship was forced as Sandra and her spend very little time together before she left with Richard, during their time away I don't even remember letters between the two much less visits. So how did they become besties? So these finds and issues between them are the growing pains of really getting to know a person to make them a friend. After reading the fight between Aaliyah and Tab, my 2 cents is that Aaliyah current has 2 setting crafting & killing. There is no in between for her, she has not been formally trained besides her fights with Cameron's son, which are more free for alls than learning the art of fighting. So she is a complete newbi in what this world considered fighting, and she was not into fighting back on earth either. MC. Has not embarrassed killing humans or even monsters a necessity unless they are actively killing her or those under her protection. So, I would state upfront that if Aaliyah intention had been Pascore or Tabatha true death, then at this point even with the level difference they would be dead, that's her speciality finding victory in life or death situation. But in her fights with these two knuckle heads she was not trying to get the village destroyed but going that far, plus human life means something to her. Now, I am sure pascore romanticized & excitiely told Tab about the fight and she expected MC skills to be higher than they are. But once again MC thinks with her mouth and feelings instead of brain, she knew Tab was a battle crazed person, before agreeing to training why not ask what training is and express her limitation. Fighting like most things require trust something Tab and her don't have. So bad idea on MC part and she paid the price .,
LeapoldJKLOL
Well, if Tabitha is representative of Pacore's Students its no wonder he hasn't been able to Train one of them into his replacement. They're all as dumb as a box of Rocks. "Is this really all you Have?" Are you serious right now? Did you actually even read the letter you were sent Tabitha? The one where it specifically states Aaliyah has no experience fighting People? She's a Blacksmith with Blacksmith skills, she really has no fighting "Skills" and No one else in the village does either to teach her. Congrats you can beat a crafter you have 20 some levels on, years of training and warrior skills to boot. Kos sure is making it easy to dislike Tabitha and make me want her gone from the story. Literally Zero redeeming qualities so far.
bob barker
aaliyah needs to start working on removing the contracts from others' souls. That way magic can be shared freely (and she can learn healing magic)
Tom Henman
This chapter did not really strike me as a good one. The interaction with Sandra felt like filler right now and lacks purpose. The fight was fine but felt like I need the next chapter to finish things there. Perhaps it's reading only a chapter at a time but it feels like things need tied together some more.
Timo Immig
Level 95 battle build vs level 73 crafter
Azur Kris
Yeah, I get that feeling as well. It's as if she hasn't completly gotten over her trauma Pacores fight with her has caused. Still I think it's a bit too much. Aaliyah should really start to take this fight more seriously considering Tabithas behavior. She also didn't even try focusing on her meditation to calm her mind and she only tries to survive instead of how to beat her. I really hope she can get a bit of her fighting spirit back instead of whining for help.
Andrew
Thank you!
Håkan Friberg
"Is this really all that you have?" this sentance summerize all that is wrong with the later half of this chapter. It's like Del would have been pissing on Aaliyah for not being able to heat metal the first time she tried. If she could, then why would she need a teacher?
Samuel McCabe
Lots of typos in here, I would recommend revising it again.
Håkan Friberg
So, isn't Tabitha aware Aaliyah is a blacksmith that isn't even 16 years old living in a village far off from any formal training? Wasn't she informed by Pancore, hasn't she been in the village the past couple of days? Is she ignoring every hint or just, I don't know, a bit slow in her head? What did she expect, finding a savant battle freak disguised as a farmer?
Ragnarok of the Rage
This is not good. she is acting like someone who has never been in a fight. I get that she is not a great fight, but she is making dumb mistakes that even a noob would know about.
Håkan Friberg
"I don't what there to be a repeat of what happened at the bigging of the year. "
WalkingPark
Wow, a morning update. Never seen this before. Also, nice chapter.
Limbus
Im not happy with the situation Aaliyah is in. And because of that I really really like this chapter because I'm certain she feels the same.
Justin
Thanks for the chapter! Some comments around people not liking MC being beat up means your doing it right! She's got to start somewhere to learn and I'd be more surprised to hear she held her own against a battle maniac. A self taught blacksmith shouldn't be able to hold up to a LVL 85 battle only build. Thanks
tibbish
Well the author did write that Pacore's society is based on strength and all the powerful people are essentially combatants of some sort. So Tabitha as written does make a lot of sense. Story wise it sets up some interesting possibilities for both how Aliyah will grow + how she will react to Pacore's society too.
Cardean Nasdre
Have to agree with Giperman, I cant exactly put my fingers on it but the last chapter s featuring Tabitha irked me aswell. Although I dont like Tabithas character, Aaliyahs rather delusional expectations for the spar (Ts experience) felt a bit off to me also. But I'm pretty sure Kosnik can figure this out or wrap up the current situation nicely.
Phoenix_dreams
Know that Pacore => Knowing that Pacore bigging => beginning share it with me." => share it with me. me more subconscious => me more conscious while I walk over to (delete enter here) the ramp leading down into the bottom of the quarry. stooped choice => stupid choice
WanderingPB
It was explicitly stated that it wasn't invisible in the previous chapters.
Giperman
Aaliyah was recruited not only because of how good smith she is, and not for how she fights, but for her overall talent in all fields. Being this young and having such high level is indicator of her genius. But really, reading a chapter of Aaliyah getting beaten isn't really pleasing. And personally I don't like Tabitha so far. I don't find the situation unpleasing. It's good that she's learning how to fight. It's just how it's all got put together kind of irking me. She's craftsman with almost no prior experience of fighting humans for real, give her some slack.
SteveC
Just a quick comment / correction for this chapter... The chapter describes Tabitha being visible walking around in her armour... However, in a previous chapter, this armour was described as having the invisibility enchantment. So... is this a mistake?
SFS
Aaliyah is going to need to get on figuring out how to enchant her armor already if she doesn't want Tabitha turning it into metallic confetti
Chip Twothousandone
i haven't understood anything Aaliyah has done or thought in several chapters. it's like she's suddenly decided she's the chosen one and is infallible. she's got main character syndrome turned up to the max and is surprised when people much older and more experienced than her end up much stronger. then this thing with taking training super seriously for some reason? the entire point is showing her how unprepared she is to fight real people. there's no real danger, no reason to get emotionally invested. i just don't understand any of it
Bad Timing
>> My first chapter scheduled ahead of time for release! I'm sorry for the long wait and thank everyone for their understanding and patience. I don't want to be an ass, but according to the schedule for this month, chapter 93 is supposed to be released tomorrow. I would hardly call this releasing 91 today 'ahead of schedule'. Decent chapter otherwise. Not much happening, though I expected as much given the point we were at in the story.
SFS
To add to your point here is a direct quote from Pacore in chapter 64- "You should know our countries customs, the strong stand over the week and lead. Our king is the highest leveled person in our kingdom, but he is old. That may sound funny coming from someone as old as me, but I was around when the previous king passed. Different fractions centered around the highest leveled people in our kingdom are readying themselves for when the king passes, regardless of the problem our kingdom is facing." When she steps foot in Scholl she'll have a target on her back. Her safety is only guaranteed if she can defend herself.
Magnus Gullhav Leikvik
stooped choice -> stupid choice?
Mist of Shadows
Honestly, she's a smith that crafted her armor, the apprentice knew how crazy the arrow was so figured, hey, we can test to see if it cuts before working on shoring up some of her obvious weaknesses because she's going to get assassins after her. She's near Pacore and valuable, so yes, she really does need to learn to fight.
SFS
Pacore has mentioned how much Scholl prides itself on martial might. Its probably expected that every high level person can fight to some degree. So her being unable to fight would probably be a danger to her especialy when they get back have to deal with other political factions.
Docnox
Right, she’s already more then strong enough to take care of herself on the road, she’ll be working in a city. I dunno I’m honestly just not feeling all these odd narrative directions. I guess the title of the story is about the career she wants but just can’t have? Cause reasons?
Timo Immig
For all those who think fighting is not important for her please remember: Intrigues among nobels exist, for true freedom only fighting strength counts (dwarfen smiths get escorts), materials from monsters, monster attacks and much more. Learning how to fight = learning how to survive.
LootGoblin21
Not only that but the MC was being recruited on account of her smithing ability not here combat ability so it really makes no sense at all.
GraveLurker
Im just wondering why Pacore wants to train a craftswoman in battle. It clearly isnt her strong suit and pitting her to train against a maniac who will most certainly seriously injure her and impede on her worksmanship.
Max Scherer
Dunno Mc getting beten up again isnt really good to read. Espacially with such a bad character. Tabitha is just straight up shit and I really dont like her.
Kapelteta
I've come to the conclusion that I just don't get aliyah and her decision making process. Also she's surprised at the battle maniac wanting to make "training" as "real" as possible. *facepalm*
St Chef
Because Scholl is my guess.
DayWalker
Thanks for the chapter 👍😁
Stephen Pearson
Thanks for the chapter:-)
Patrick Schuldt
Now I'm confused. I thought Pacore wanted Aly as an apprentice because she was a high leveled smith not as a fighter? Or did I misunderstood the role of her apprenticeship? Why does she has to fight at all?
Kosnik4
Technically it's Thursday, enjoy.
Kosnik4
Corrections
Patrick Schuldt
Thanks!
