NOVEL WEB Chapter 5: Odd Time
———Wiina———
<11: 09 pm>
“See you later, and don’t be a stranger.” I said before walking off…
*Leap*
…Alright, deep breath… Breath in and out…
I then checked my rapier which had been stained with the blood of that man. I just cut that guy’s hand off…
It was meant to be something akin to a warning shot, but in an attempt to make it credible, I had to at least hit something. I might’ve moved a few inches too close during that interaction.
There was nothing I could do about it now, and that man was clearly rotten to the core… Still, a mistake is a mistake. All the more reason to hone my skill and actually get proficient with using a weapon.
Now then, let’s go to the closest uninhabited area for me to start trying stuff out… I wonder if I’ll mess anything up. Hopefully not, since Coach Wana isn’t here to help this time… Who knows when she’ll contact me again…
<<< 8 Days ago <<<
———Wiina———
<12: 02 am>
“Good to see you being punctual.” She said with a small smile on her face, which combined with her light purple eyes make her look rather sinister. I can see why she wore sunglasses almost all the time. “Also, it seems that you have chosen to look that way, it seems.”
“...Why would I not?” I said, remaining in the form I have changed into once this phenomenon occurred.
“Ignore it, I was just confirming something.” She said, shaking her head. “Well then… I don’t think I should call you Jass. What’s your name?”
“...Wiina. Wiina Mallory.” I said my name out loud in front of someone.
“Wiina… Guess we also share similar names as well, alongside other things.” She vaguely remarked. “Now then. I called you here in order to test out your abilities, as well as teaching you how to fight. The world will be in a state of turmoil and chaos, so being able to fight at any moment is important.”
“...Can I really not avoid this?” Asking because why not…
“It’s best that you don’t. This isn’t just about you, it’s also about people close to you. Do you really want to be lacking when a crisis comes knocking at your door?” …I guess anything can happen, especially with so much going on in merely a day. “It would also be a shame to let your natural strength go to waste. Many would kill to have what you have right now.”
She kept saying that, but I don’t quite feel that way about my current self just yet. Just how much is ‘being able to do almost anything’?
“Right… I guess we’re-
*Throw* *PIERCE*
“Argh!” What was that!? Did she throw something sharp right at my chest!? “It… hurts… Ugh!”
I instinctively pulled out whatever was lodged in… It’s insanely long, and the more I pull on it the more it stings.
“ARGH!!!” I shouted out as I finally got it out… A… rapier? This thing is insanely long, probably comparable to an odachi. It’s completely covered in blood… “Wait…”
When I inspected my chest again the pain was already gone and all I have is a bloodstained shirt with parts of it ripped up.
“Your body overall felt a lot less pain than other living creatures. If you were still human then you might’ve died from shock first before the blade actually killed you. The near-instant regeneration means that attacks that would’ve been fatal are mostly just an inconvenience.” She calmly explained. “Anyway, you can keep that blade for yourself, alongside its sheathe.”
She then walked over and gave me the sheathe for the weapon, ignoring my bloodstained appearance. Where did she even pull those out from, or rather can we talk about that!?
“Don’t you think you shouldn’t throw a long sharp object at someone’s chest!?” That gave me one hell of a scare!
“The best way to explain is to demonstrate. Don’t worry, aside from that, the rest of the lessons should be painless.” She said, dismissing my outburst. Also, do you really need to add the word ‘should’?
“By the way… What’s up with pulling things out of nowhere?” Let’s address that elephant in the room, since it seems like a pretty important detail.
“It’s a spell anyone could learn… theoretically. Some called it [Storage], some called it [Item Box], the name doesn’t really matter. It’s a spell that allows you to store things in your own pocket dimension, as long as there’s space for it, and not something that has a soul inside.” She explained. So it’s an inventory system in video games, basically.
“That’s convenient… How do I get it then?” She said it could be learned, so tell me how to do it.
“First is knowing how to cast a spell. I’ll teach you a few other spells first before getting to it, you need some proficiency in mana control first before using a spell of Providence category.” So I need to prove to be able to use other types of magic first… “But first, let’s see how well you do with that weapon.”
She pulled out a rather plain-looking sword, nowhere near as fancy as the one she just gave me. “Three… Two…”
Hold on, we're doing this now!?
“One… Go!”
*Dash* *Clang* *Clash* *Parry* *Block* *Clang*
She’s moving so damn fast! How am I supposed to keep up for long!?
*Clash* *Evade* *Leap* *Block*
It feels like I’m in a storm with how quickly we’re moving! She’s not playing around in the slightest!
*Slash*
“Oof!” She hit me right in the torso with a diagonal slash… And the wound is already gone.
“You held up for quite a while. It seems to me like you were on autopilot during that brief skirmish. That might cause you to unintentionally use too much of your strength when you don’t need to.” She gave her assessment. I don’t even know how I kept up with her in the first place, so that assumption is probably correct… “Keep up with your training, and don’t worry about the weapon, it’s been blessed to auto-repair.”
“Seriously? Should you really give me something this valuable?” I asked, it doesn’t take having a brain to know that any weapon… no, anything that needs zero maintenance and lasts forever, is extremely valuable.
“It’s just an old scrap from a bygone time. Besides, I have other weapons with the same kind of blessing. It’s redundant to have so many anyway.” She answered with a straight face… Bygone time? “Now then, let’s talk about magic…”
>>> Present Time <<<
———Wiina———
<11: 42 pm>
*Crackle*
I held onto and tried to keep the violent burst of lightning contained. Trying to forcibly keep it in check is scorching my hand, but I don’t feel that much pain and it’s not worth letting go and ending up possibly lighting the entire area on fire.
*Fizzle*
…Okay. I think it stopped. I might’ve put way too much mana into the spell. That could’ve turned out bad.
‘Last thing I want to see is someone with such a vast mana pool that has zero control on it. You’d be nothing more than a ticking time bomb by that point… Or a nuke, to be more accurate.’ I already know she wasn’t kidding when she said that, but now I’m even more convinced.
It’s definitely pragmatic to train me just so I wouldn’t run rampant destroying everything without even knowing why… I guess she could have just killed me when I was unconscious back when the Mythical Eclipse happened, but since she doesn't want to do that, she chose to help explain some things to me instead.
I think I am getting close with the mana control, at least. Soon enough the power to store all the things will be in my hand!
…Well then. Let’s keep grinding.
———Karra———
<10: 34 am>
“Man…” I muttered to myself, dwelling in the sorrow of having to wait an entire week! How is that fair!? It’s not like I was intentionally falling down nearly to my death!
Taking the wind out of my sail… I should probably post something to let people know I will come back better than ever, but other streamers, especially popular ones, are gonna steal all the limelight! I sure hope they also get suspended sooner or later!
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
I can’t help but tapping on the table, feeling impatient. Argh! What the hell am I supposed to do in the meantime!? I’m so pissed!
Just what am I gonna do…
…Wait. Wiina! That beautiful woman who saved my life! I almost forgot about her! I got her phone number, I should ask her something… but what? Training advice? Magic? Details on dungeons?
…Then again, maybe I should reserve those questions for when I can stream again. Maybe having her as a collab partner? That sounds quite nice, and I’ll keep myself safe with someone so strong by my side.
She’ll entertain that idea… right? Maybe? I have no idea what to say for her to agree… Will she even respond?
Ahhh!!! I have no idea! Would she think I’m annoying if I do that? I don’t want her to have a bad impression of me! I’d rather die than let that happen!
…
…Okay, calm down. Calm down. Deep breath…
…Maybe I should check what is happening in the class group chat. I don’t think I have checked on it since the school stopped. Let’s just scroll through just to see the general idea and vibes…
———Lynda———
<1: 56 pm>
“That’s what the woman with white hair said.” I said to reaffirm her that she should be fine. If anything she can become pretty strong if she tried fighting, though I guess she’s not one for violence in the first place, not like me who isn’t afraid to throw hands sometimes.
“I see…” I’m not sure how convinced she is, even the snakes in her hair are squinting their eyes at me. “Wasn’t someone like that trending yesterday?”
“How should I know? I wasn’t looking through Chirping or other sites. I was sleeping in the morning so how would I know?” I replied, making my ignorance pretty obvious. At least she’s distracted with something else that isn’t the snakes, so that’s good progress, I think?
“She was seen protecting a streamer from our school who accidentally fell into the deeper part of the dungeon. The original VOD is gone, but several reposts exist.” Glery explained. She seems a bit excited to talk about it. Kinda makes me feel like I don’t even have to do what I did yesterday, but at least I got some knowledge. “Want to watch it together?”
“Sure, why not?” I accepted the offer, not seeing a reason to refuse.
<3: 14 pm>
“Yeah… This is definitely the same person.” I muttered out loud, looking at the paused frame. So this is what she meant by ‘said to someone else earlier’.
“Wow… You’re lucky to be able to meet her.” She said with a small smile on her face, looking at me with some admiration. I wouldn’t call being rescued to be admirable, but I’m not gonna say that out loud. “I wonder if she said anything important that she didn’t say here…”
“...Wouldn’t you know? I already told you everything she said to me.” I pointed out. She has seen this stream, and I already told her my encounter. It should be easy to compare details.
“Ah! Right! What was it again…” She tried to remember as she unpaused the video.
…Gonna give her a while to think things through.
“So she told you that there are also rare monster drops, and how someone like me is called a demi-human. I think that’s the two things she didn’t mention here.” She concluded. “Demi-human… Is that like the broad term of people who were changed?”
“Maybe? At least it seems like she doesn’t find your case to be too out there.” I said to make sure she feels less ashamed about it. “And you’re definitely nothing like that gross lizard I saw.”
“Thanks for thinking that…” She rather dismissively said. I hope there will be more opportunities to boost her confidence in the future…
———Karra———
<4: 21 pm>
*Click*
“<Hello?>” The voice on the other side of the call is very clear. There’s no mistaking it.
“H-Hello… Wiina.” My voice is shaking badly already. Keep it cool… “S-Sorry for calling you… Can you give me some advice on… magic?”
“<...Sure. What do you want to know?>” She answered with a rather calm and casual tone.
“Maybe…” I shouldn’t ask too much of her at the very beginning, so maybe… “How do I increase my MP?”
“<Your maximum mana capacity? It’s not that difficult. There are a few ways to do it, but for you I recommend either try firing off spells constantly and exhausting your mana pool, like putting your muscle through a lot of stress for muscles, or meditate and try to learn how to better control your mana, concentrating and refining your mind and soul… Does any of that make sense to you?>” She goes out of her way to say that much…
“I-I’ll manage.” I’m grateful she even answered the question. “Thank you for answering the qye- eck!”
“<...Did you just bite your tongue?>” …
…
“...OkayIllseeyoulaterbye!”
*Beep*
…
…AHHHHHHHH!!!!!