Chapter Forty Five - 045As the evening turned to true night and the Humans sparred within their bubble, Vvim watched.
Watched and waited.
The Old Ways were not forgotten, not by the Geist. The Tower was Vvim, and Vvim was the Tower. They stretched, their thoughts moving through the old structure like blood within a limb, focusing on the connection as they hadn't in Ages. Eyes of stone and metal, ears of wind and flame, Vvim could feel the Humans like ants upon their skin.
And the boy. The Nym Who Was Not.
Something about the boy irked his senses. What Vvim first recognized as the song of sorcery was but an echo in the child's movement. A...shadow that trailed behind. Vvim felt the rush of excitement fade away, resolving into the dim beat of realism.
He was no Sorcerer, he was barely Nym at all.
But how did he navigate the Tower? None should be in the Lower Annals. The Towers were attuned to the Geist. Lesser creatures were kept to the lower levels, like the Irontooth Apes or the Ofrenok. Yet somehow this strange child had moved through the Tower at will, acting on thoughts that he could not possess.
He knows so little, yet stares at things with such...hunger in his eyes. The hunger of the unlearned, perhaps, eager to be altered by the hum of knowledge. Vvim could feel him Analyzing everything he saw, sometimes repeatedly. What he found so interesting in stone walls and burning sticks, the Geist was unsure, but it intrigued them.
Indeed, Vvim could feel the flicker of discordance earlier as the boy listened to the Large One speak of betrayals and lies, an echo of the terrible promise the Geist felt before. To their delight, the boy responded with compassion when offered a choice between safety and sacrifice. As was only proper for even his diluted blood.
Perhaps he was more Nym than Vvim thought.
The Humans spoke on and Vvim grew concerned over the artifact they chased, for the Geist knew what it was. To meddle with such things was beyond arrogance; Vvim should know.
The Geist had lost so many already.
The ancient creature sank deeper within the Tower, their self poured into this task, their first in far too long. And so the night stretched onward.
And Vvim watched.
"UOUFFF!"
Felix smashed into the wall with a muffled thump, already used to the way the jellied air seemed to cushion both his body and the sound of impact. Groaning and sore, Felix rolled to his feet, pushing tiredly off a knee before dropping into what he referred to as his "battle stance."
"PFF," Harn laughed. "Stop doing that. It's not...just stop."
Felix dropped his fists and stood from his crouch, feeling a little embarrassed. They had been fighting for an hour, and it felt like an eternity. Harn had him use his fists, a sword, a dagger, even going so far as getting a heavy wooden stick from the fire pile to swing like a staff or club. What's more, the man wouldn't let Felix use any spells. His body was battered and bruised from the day, and the grizzled warrior wasn't gentle.
He's a monster.
Harn walked over to a set of waterskins that had been filled to bursting nearby. One of the side chambers had a functioning water basin, which was extremely strange to Felix but everyone else just took it as a lucky break. A lever on the back let out ice cold water, just like a sink back home. Felix couldn't figure out what made it work, and any inquiries came back with a raised eyebrow and a single word. "Magic."
Of course. What else? His only comfort was that he was half-certain none of them actually knew the right answer.
"What," Felix panted after a long drink. "What next? More fighting?"
Harn took a measured sip of his water and eyed Felix, noting his bare and bruised torso. "Ya up for more?" Felix straightened himself, hiding the grimace that tried to steal across his face, and nodded. Harn smiled.
"Good. A glutton fer punishment. That'll serve ya well, kid." Harn slapped him on the back, hard enough to send him stumbling forward several steps.
Armored Skin is level 18!
Harn followed right behind him, drawing one of his axes again. "Alright. So ya got a good foundation, and some solid stats seems like, especially fer yer level." Harn swung his axe in a set of looping slashes. "That's yer problem. Yer strong, but ya don't know what ta do with it."
"That seems right," Felix readily agreed. "I've been mostly flailing around during fights. It's worked out so far, but..."
"But ya can't rely on luck and stats forever. You got a balance Skill?" Harn asked.
"You saw that I've got Acrobatics. Does that count?"
Harn waggled his free hand. "It'll help. Focus on yer center, don't overextend. An also," he pulled a second axe, this one a dull gun-metal color and tossed it to Felix. "Use this."
Felix, in a panic that was a left-over from his previous life, immediately felt like was going to fumble the catch. When his hands smoothly caught the haft of the axe, he was almost surprised. Then he registered what Harn was saying.
"Use the axe? I don't have Axe Mastery. I thought I was supposed to be learning about the Skills I already have?" Felix protested. Harn just raised his silvery axe up while dropping his own body lower.
Felix hurriedly raised his axe. He knew what was coming next.
In an instant, the warrior was on top of him, swinging down with his wicked blade. Felix jerked his own axe wide, trying to knock the silver strike away, but only succeeded in opening himself up. Panicking, he flexed his legs and hopped back a solid three feet. The axe still came down only inches from his chest, whistling in the air as Harn maneuvered it effortlessly.
A second swing came. Felix hopped back again, this time the attack missing him by a foot, before he charged in with an overhand chop of his own. The first few times they fought, Felix had been worried he would hurt the man, but by this point Felix was more concerned his axe would break on the man's armor.
Which was stupid, since he missed by approximately a mile.
Felix tucked into a roll, intending to tumble past the warrior, a favored tactic against many beasts he'd fought. He managed the roll, but felt a blade burn a line down his back. As he came back to his feet, Felix gritted his teeth as the sharp pain faded to a dull burn thanks to his Pain Resistance. Harn stood casually, his axe held loosely in his grip and dripping a line of red.
Felix charged back in.
Blow after blow, chop, slice, swing, Felix tried everything he could to penetrate Harn's impossible defense. But the man was impervious to his attacks, moving his axe in a dizzying net of blocks and parries using the blade and haft. As a last ditch effort, Felix threw his weapon straight at the man's smirking face. Harn simply raised a hand and deflected the axe with his vambrace. It clattered to the ground the same time Felix did.
"Holy..shit..." Felix panted, his breath in big gulps. "An axe...is a...bullshit weapon."
Harn laughed. "Ya just don't know how ta use it. Yet."
"Whaddya...mean...'yet'?" Felix asked, but renewed blinking of his minimized notifications drew his attention. He toggled it an scrolled to the most recent addition.
New Skill Learned!
Axe Mastery (Common), Level 1!
You've taken a step down the path of axes! Like a lumberjack! Damage and speed increases with Skill Level.
Axe Mastery is level 2!
"All that...for a new Skill?" Felix laid back, letting his Stamina regenerate for a moment. Eyes closed, he asked, "Why?"
"Like I said, ya got the stats, ya just don't got the finesse." There was a tap of metal against stone as Harn walked closer. "I aim ta change that."
"By giving me MORE Skills?" Felix leveraged himself up into a sitting position and stared up at him. "Don't get me wrong, thanks and all, but were you just telling me not to get more Skills?"
"I said what ya got is weird, not wrong. Skills are our lifeblood, and a high level Skill will win over higher levels any day a'the week." Harn smirked. "Yer problem is a lack a focus. Spells an stealth an fist fightin' an Yyero-touched meditation? Ain't that just thinkin' hard fer too long?" This time he laughed, though not unkindly. "Yer all over the place. You practice these combat Skills with me, and I'll get you fightin fit."