NOVEL WEB Chapter 69 - Introductions
Novaris. Sax (June). 905. AGC.
Nodel. First Quarter 🌓. Day 10.
Alyx hadn’t actually told them what time or where exactly they were going to meet up. So early in the morning, Tesilim and Lili went over to the Temple of Knowledge to pick him up. It was the first time Tesilim had seen the Temple of Knowledge and Magic, and he commented on how much it reminded him of a library. The place made him feel like it was some old-school house of magic, which technically it was.
Once they picked up Alyx, they headed to the Temple of Sol, where Tesilim was once again impressed by the construction. Even if the temple wasn’t one of the biggest, the golden aura that it gave and its welcoming feeling was something anyone could enjoy.
At the Temple of Sol, they picked up their warrior. She was a beautiful redheaded lady who was a bit taller than all of them, especially Alyx. Naturally, as a warrior of Sol she wore golden armor and, much to the expectation of Tesilim, had a sword and shield as her weapons of choice. Tesilim and Lili noticed the way that the redhead's blue eyes scanned them as if inspecting whether they were truly decent in a fight. However, the redhead remained respectable, and she simply nodded at them before introducing herself as Rose. Naturally, not wanting to be disrespectful either, Tesilim and Lili introduced themselves as well.
That entire situation had been a bit awkward as they were truly just some random individuals who were being brought together by the gnome. They all walked in silence, making their way to pick up the last member of their possible party.
The last member of the party was a male half-elf with black and silver hair. He stood at the same height as Rose, which made him a bit taller than the rest of them. Matching his looks, he wore black and white leather armor, though it had some traces of browns on the belts and his boots. Additionally, the half-elf had two daggers on his side, which earned a slight nod from Lili as she couldn't help but approve of the choice of weapons.
For his part, Arelion inspected the two new individuals. He was a bit wary of the woman in the white dress, and he doubted her combat capabilities since she was wearing a dress. The other elf with the purple and yellow hair made him feel more confident as he was actually wearing armor. Still, Arelion did not see any weapons on the elf, which really made him question what was going on. He did notice that they both had a pouch of holding, so at least he hoped that they had some weapons stashed in there. Funnily enough, Rose had come to the same conclusions, though she placed more confidence in the fact that they were at least Alyx’s party members. So, at the very least, the gnome wouldn't have some useless individuals near him.
With the addition of the last party member, things grew even more awkward. There was clear tension in the air, tension that Alyx tried to disperse as he spoke.
“Alright, guys, so the plan for today is just to get everyone familiar with what everyone else is capable of. I want to start this by having everyone introduce themselves again and explain a bit about their fighting style and what they can do overall. And, to be fair, I will start.”
“I am a primary caster and probably the most skilled at it than everyone here except for maybe Lili.” A sentence that focused the attention on Lili as Rose and Arelion re-evaluated the elf.
They knew who Alyx was now and just how well-versed he had to be with magic. And if he said someone could possibly match him in that field, it couldn’t just be anyone. Still, they didn’t say anything as he just continued on.
“Honestly, that's about it for me. I can defend myself in close combat if needed, but I would prefer to just cast. I focus on damaging magics, though I am still well versed in all other aspects and can provide support if need be. If you have any magical questions, I am your gnome. However, with me out of the way, let's continue with Rose.”
Rose, not expecting to be next, took a second to get herself together before speaking in her sweet and surprisingly soft voice.
“Hello everyone, nice to meet you. I am Rose, current Warrior of Sol, though I hope to become a paladin one day. I prefer to be in the thick of it and keep others safe with my sword and shield. Though I can provide support, I am best placed up front, keeping the enemy's attention on me.”
“Thank you, Rose. As she said, she will be our front liner, and I doubt we could have anyone else better for the job. Now, next up, let's go with Arelion.”
“My name is Arelion, and I prefer to use daggers. I can use shadow magic to incapacitate my enemies in various ways. Additionally, thanks to my magic, I am very adept at stealth. If everything goes well, you will learn more of what we are capable of.”
Arelion’s' introduction was straightforward and unflinching but still said in a way that kept everyone at arm's length. Tesilim and Lili were especially confused by the use of “we” but didn’t think much of it as Alyx spoke up again.
“Arelion will be one of our skirmishers as he is best suited for that role. Speaking of skirmishers, Lili, you’re up next.”
“Hello, my name is Lili, and I have to say I had my doubts about you two for a bit but I can say you seem like promising individuals. I am sure you think less of me due to my dress, but I can assure you, as a Low C Ranker, I am more than enough to deal with anything in the nearby woods. Now, regarding my combat capabilities, I also use daggers, and I am rather adept at stealth. However, I can also use magic just fine. All in all, I will be one of our skirmishers.”
“Thank you, Lili. Now, finally, we have Tesilim.”
“I am Tesilim. It's nice to meet you all. Though I will be playing the skirmisher role, I am also a proper caster and will often switch roles depending on my weapon. Also, I am from another world, so apologies in advance if I don’t know stuff.”
Now, Tesilim’s introduction got Arelion’s and Rose’s attention.
“What do you mean, depending on what weapon you have? You aren’t wielding anything at the moment! I also doubt that pouch of yours holds much.” Arelion spat a bit coldly and was followed by Roses's confusion, “From another world? Did you come from Salem?”
“No, I didn’t come from Salem. I just showed up one day through a portal. Oh, I should probably explain that. Basically, my world was destroyed by an Eldritch God, and then portals appeared, and I jumped through one. Then, one fall later, I appeared outside the city.”
At that point, the party had already made it outside of the city, though the whole time, they had been under Alyx’s silence bubble. Either way, the disgust and anger on Arelion’s and Rose’s faces at the mention of an Eldritch God was evident.
“Oh, you poor soul. Your whole planet is gone. Are you okay?” Rose spoke up, her face having switched from anger to legitimate worry. Meanwhile, Arelion’s face had quickly cooled, and he went back to his original question, “I would like for you to answer my original question. I am not sure if I want some no-weapon idiot possibly protecting my back.”
“I am fine now, though it was rough for a bit there. The war lasted for a while, so I already had some time to grieve. Thank you for asking.” Tesilim genuinely answered as he made eye contact with Rose before turning to look at Arelion and reaching into his small pouch.
“This is what I mean by, depending on what weapon I have,” Tesilim said as he thew his weapon die forward.
Everyone watched as the die landed on an invisible platform in front of them and came to a stop on the number four. Then it turned into purple and yellow energy, which rushed to Tesilim’s feet as he gained a new pair of boots.
Somewhat unimpressed, Arelion just looked back at the elf as if that was supposed to have meant something. Of course, seeing the half-elf’s reaction, Tesilim just smiled smugly before he threw a flame-empowered kick.
Tesilim stopped a bit later when Lili called out to him. However, Arelion was still a bit confused and questioned the entire thing. “So, what? You have a dice that turns into boots?”
“No, I have a dice that turns into a different weapon depending on what it lands on. I then have proficiency with said weapons, which probably makes me one of the most varied fighters in this group.” Tesilim explained, a bit annoyed that the half-elf didn’t understand the sheer amazingness of his dice.
“Got it, so what exactly can this die turn into?”
A question Tesilim was more than happy to explain as he got into the intricacies of his chaotic die.
“Hmm, it seems pretty dumb. You are basically stuck with one weapon for an unknown amount of time that may or may not be useful for the situation at hand.” Was Arelion’s reply after thinking about it.
An answer that did not please Tesilim at all, even if he knew it was a correct statement. His dice weaponry was awesome, and this dude was just jealous. The thing was beyond overpowered, with its own separate mana pool and everything. However, Tesilim hadn’t bothered to explain that before lunging at the half-elf.
Sadly, Lili stopped him again before he could make it far.
Tesilim wasn’t mad at being stopped, as they had arrived at their testing area, and everyone clearly knew who were the first two that were going to fight it out.