Post by Saber on Feb 5, 2017 17:12:22 GMT
“You want me to use this…?” The blade looked unfinished, as the edge didn’t seem completely sharpened. However, it was a blade that was a bit of a new sight. Unlike the western blade, it had two edged, boring guard, and a hilt that was just way too uncomfortable. The pommel even had a gem in it, for what? So, someone could show off that they were wealthy as they got their heart ripped out by a monster?
“No, I need you to use it.” The foxtail barred her teeth and slammed her hand down onto the counter, her blonde tail whisking behind her as she glared at the man across from her. He winced at the aggression and turned to the side. With a flick, he slashed through the air twice. He felt its weight, gave the sword a breath of air, and let his arm do the inspection. He wasn’t pleased.
“It’s heavy and off balance.” After just three swings, he offered the sword back to the weaponsmith. She glared at him. He swallowed a lump in his throat.
“In. Combat. Hunter.” He choked on his response as her eyes glowered at him. Instead, he just nodded and grabbed the heavy, thick, obnoxious scabbard, and strapped it to his back. He gave the weapon an odd twirl before slipping it away, locking it into its housing with a click. Saber’s eyes flicked over his shoulder at the noise; a new mechanism?
“And let me know how that works, too. It’s a new idea of mine. It’s supposed to keep the blade from popping out during heavy movement.” This was only the first time Saber had seen Reyla but after just twenty minutes in her shop, he felt like she was the type of woman who would eat him. She was kind and fun, but her aggression was real. Those nails weren’t a joke either. Was she really the one swinging the hammer? Enjoying his life, Saber decided not to ask.
“Yes ma’am. I’ll be back shortly.”
“Oh-ho, take your sweet time, young man. But not too long, or I think I’ll have to discipline you.” Her tail whisked across the air with a heavy motion, catching the air as her nails raked on the counter. Saber’s eye twitched; he didn’t like that thought he had. Leaving.
The request was a simple one. Saber had actually been searching for a new weapon to replace his current one, as his katana was getting a bit worn from constant use but in his search, he had walked into a shop with a foxtail at the counter. She was staring at about eight different swords and didn’t seem like she liked a single one of them. When Saber appeared, her eyes sparkled with life and roped him into being her lackey. Now, he was here, standing in the middle of the Londinium meadows with a bulky one-handed sword that looked like something out of some medieval fantasy book. It was a clunky European-style blade and honestly, Saber wanted to throw it right back into the forge and reuse the metal for something actually useful.
“How people like these things, I have no idea.” He rumbled, reaching over his shoulder and grasping the handle. Across from him, a fairly large Pittered Boar was lumbering towards him, tusks down. Its hooves kicked up a small cloud of dirt and debris each time they touched down, but it wasn’t anything spectacular. Battle dust, Saber called it.
Assuming a more Eastern stance, Saber used his right foot instead of his normal left to support his body. His left foot would be his director. Tensing his right arm, he held onto the handle of the sword firmly, ready to draw it once the pig came into range. But, that was his mistake. Unlike the katana, eastern swords were meant for stabbing, not cutting. Something he realized too late. And that was the least of his problems. His first problem was when he put the damned thing into the scabbard!
“W-WHAT?!” Saber pulled on the hilt to draw it, but when he yanked the whole damn thing pulled. Saber listed right, off balance, and the pig plowed into his right leg. His left leg had lifted off the ground so the hit sent him flopping over straight onto his face. The impact left him dazed, his right arm felt odd, blood was coming from his nose, and he could bet one of those tusks had punctured his right shin. It felt hot and tingly. His whole body felt like it hurt in general, but those spots were a nice set of signs telling Saber that Reyla might have been a sadist.
With a hard hand, the sword finally came free and Saber let it fly out of the scabbard. It rattled on the ground, tumbling away from the Summoner as he lay on his face for a few extra seconds. A heavy groan, paired with an annoyed glare, made the Boar hesitate to attack the fallen adventurer. Saber hated this crap. He should have expected the damned thing would come back to bite him, so why did he trust a new invention? Bullshit, that’s what this was. Pure bullshit.
After wallowing in his own self-pity and agony, the Summoner recovered. He picked up the thrown sword and then pointed it towards the Boar. The blade barely shimmered in the light and its weight was just too far forward. Did Reyla even try to make this thing? She had said she was an expert Weaponsmith, but was she really? This was terribly bad.
Saber sucked his teeth and charged, letting the boar rush him and meet him in the middle. With a flick, Saber used the broad side to deflect the boar’s tusks. When it recoiled, he pulled back and then skewered its neck. The blade pierced deep, burrowing into the meaty flesh with ease. Compared to his katana, the motion was a lot easier. But when he pulled it out and tried his normal combo, a pair of two slashes, the blade didn’t cut nearly as deep. Fatty flesh and blood still splattered out, but he couldn’t see bone and as he cut at the pig’s rear leg left, the blade didn’t cut through. Saber scowled, ignoring the pig’s agony as he kicked it over onto its side.
With the intent to test the blade’s full potential, Saber raised it over his head as high as he could, tilting hit back and bending his elbows slightly. He let his limbs go loose and then slashed down, tensing up at the last moment as he put his full power into a cut. The back of the pig’s neck split open and it stopped struggling, spine cut. Saber repeated the motion, cutting two, three, four times before the weapon went all the way through the thick neck. The head of the pig flopped over and Saber was rewarded for the kill. He was disappointed in the outcome.
“Four…?” He muttered to himself, lifting the blade to inspect it. The blade’s cutting ability wasn’t fantastic, and neither was its durability. He could already see some pieces missing from the very edge of it. Maybe the material was a bit cheaper, or maybe she had sharpened the edge incorrectly? Saber didn’t really know all that much. Even though his Crafting Subclass was Blacksmith, the only thing he knew about blacksmithing was the basic process. That was it. Quality of a blade? He only knew that through combat. The quality of this blade in particular was pitiful.
But, he would continue with the request. After one kill he had received much of the information he had come out to get but he figured another wouldn’t hurt. The target was another boar and it was eyeing him weirdly from about thirty paces away. It had a mouthful of grass, likely from grazing, or for whatever reason boars wanted to eat grass. Saber wiggled his nose and eyed the boar down.
“Fine….” He huffed after a good amount of time. Saber wanted the boar to come to him, but it was just standing there. So, Saber went to it. Well, he tried to at least.
When Saber approached, doing so in a light jog, the boar turned and ran. The Summoner hollered after it somehow expecting that to do something but it did nothing but waste oxygen. The boar was gone and well out of range. The Summoner stopped his chase rather quickly and lifted the hunk of mental across his shoulder. He rumbled at the sight and checked around for another boar to fight. Sadly, they all seemed well aware of his presence and after his kill and the other one running, he doubted the others would challenge him so readily. Saber had learned that rather quickly. Monsters were monsters and this was indeed a game, but they weren’t stupid.
“Tch…” He spat and sheathed the sword. Looks like one was all he would get. That was fine, at least he got the information he needed. Saber turned away from the fields and headed back into town, taking the long way as he thought about the foxtail’s nailed digging into his throat. He could see and hear it now… “You only…”
“…KILLED ONE?!” She shouted from across the counter, her nails digging into the smooth, wood top. He flinched and rested the blade and scabbard in front of her.
“It was all I needed.” More like it was all he was bothered to do. Saber was a very thorough person, at least that’s what he thought he was, but there were times when he went over the top and did more than was necessary.
“The blade is well made but it’s honestly not worth buying. The edge is dulled, chips easily, and hardly does anything in terms of cutting. It’s a piercing blade but when used for hacking and slashing, it’s subpar. My katana is more useful and it’s seen a lot more use.” Saber gave a good portion of his report and paused, letting Reyla ingest the information. She hummed after he stopped talking, and drew the blade. She did it so easily that Saber thought there was some kind of trick to it. First off; there shouldn’t be a trick to drawing a sword from its scabbard.
“Your katana has been well taken care of as well, I assume?” At her question, Saber nodded. He drew his katana and handed it to her. She inspected it for only a moment before passing it back. It went right back into the sheathe.
“My blade is my life. If my blade is useless, then I am dead.” The ideal was a bit rough and straightforward but the truth to it was unmatched. For a hunter, or anyone who specialized in killing, their weapon was everything. Without their weapon in tip top shape, there was a chance of failure. In battle; failure meant death.
“I see. How about the blade lock?” Reyla set the blade off to the side and then inspected the inside of the scabbard. Saber huffed, let out a heavy sigh, and then take a deep breath.
“Miss Reyla. It is creations like that which kill people. Please destroy the blueprints.”
“H-Hey! I worked hard on that!”
“It almost killed me!”
“Well maybe you’re just bad at drawing blades.”
“W-what?! You wanna fight?!” Saber grasped the top of his blade’s sheathe and narrowed his eyes. Reyla grinned at him and let out a light giggle.
“No good then?” She said in a softer tone, sighing as she set the scabbard down.
“Unfortunately, the concept is smart but the way it is designed is impractical. Too much pressure and it sticks, too little and it won’t come free. It is unreliable.” Saber relaxed after taking a breath. Reyla nodded and slid the blade back into the scabbard, letting it lock in. Then she produced a small sack and tossed it to Saber.
“Thank you for your report, Hunter. Here’s your pay.” Saber caught the sack and then tied it to his waist. Reyla furrowed her eyebrows but he waved her off. He never checked how much he was paid. Saber trusted these merchants. Trust was everything that made their businesses run.
“Thanks. I appreciate the work.” Bowing his head, Saber dismissed himself and headed to the door, leaving the grinning foxtail behind. Please don’t…
“I look forward to seeing you again when that Katana snaps in half.”
Saber slammed the door of the shop closed and rumbled as he strode away.
“No, I need you to use it.” The foxtail barred her teeth and slammed her hand down onto the counter, her blonde tail whisking behind her as she glared at the man across from her. He winced at the aggression and turned to the side. With a flick, he slashed through the air twice. He felt its weight, gave the sword a breath of air, and let his arm do the inspection. He wasn’t pleased.
“It’s heavy and off balance.” After just three swings, he offered the sword back to the weaponsmith. She glared at him. He swallowed a lump in his throat.
“In. Combat. Hunter.” He choked on his response as her eyes glowered at him. Instead, he just nodded and grabbed the heavy, thick, obnoxious scabbard, and strapped it to his back. He gave the weapon an odd twirl before slipping it away, locking it into its housing with a click. Saber’s eyes flicked over his shoulder at the noise; a new mechanism?
“And let me know how that works, too. It’s a new idea of mine. It’s supposed to keep the blade from popping out during heavy movement.” This was only the first time Saber had seen Reyla but after just twenty minutes in her shop, he felt like she was the type of woman who would eat him. She was kind and fun, but her aggression was real. Those nails weren’t a joke either. Was she really the one swinging the hammer? Enjoying his life, Saber decided not to ask.
“Yes ma’am. I’ll be back shortly.”
“Oh-ho, take your sweet time, young man. But not too long, or I think I’ll have to discipline you.” Her tail whisked across the air with a heavy motion, catching the air as her nails raked on the counter. Saber’s eye twitched; he didn’t like that thought he had. Leaving.
The request was a simple one. Saber had actually been searching for a new weapon to replace his current one, as his katana was getting a bit worn from constant use but in his search, he had walked into a shop with a foxtail at the counter. She was staring at about eight different swords and didn’t seem like she liked a single one of them. When Saber appeared, her eyes sparkled with life and roped him into being her lackey. Now, he was here, standing in the middle of the Londinium meadows with a bulky one-handed sword that looked like something out of some medieval fantasy book. It was a clunky European-style blade and honestly, Saber wanted to throw it right back into the forge and reuse the metal for something actually useful.
“How people like these things, I have no idea.” He rumbled, reaching over his shoulder and grasping the handle. Across from him, a fairly large Pittered Boar was lumbering towards him, tusks down. Its hooves kicked up a small cloud of dirt and debris each time they touched down, but it wasn’t anything spectacular. Battle dust, Saber called it.
Assuming a more Eastern stance, Saber used his right foot instead of his normal left to support his body. His left foot would be his director. Tensing his right arm, he held onto the handle of the sword firmly, ready to draw it once the pig came into range. But, that was his mistake. Unlike the katana, eastern swords were meant for stabbing, not cutting. Something he realized too late. And that was the least of his problems. His first problem was when he put the damned thing into the scabbard!
“W-WHAT?!” Saber pulled on the hilt to draw it, but when he yanked the whole damn thing pulled. Saber listed right, off balance, and the pig plowed into his right leg. His left leg had lifted off the ground so the hit sent him flopping over straight onto his face. The impact left him dazed, his right arm felt odd, blood was coming from his nose, and he could bet one of those tusks had punctured his right shin. It felt hot and tingly. His whole body felt like it hurt in general, but those spots were a nice set of signs telling Saber that Reyla might have been a sadist.
With a hard hand, the sword finally came free and Saber let it fly out of the scabbard. It rattled on the ground, tumbling away from the Summoner as he lay on his face for a few extra seconds. A heavy groan, paired with an annoyed glare, made the Boar hesitate to attack the fallen adventurer. Saber hated this crap. He should have expected the damned thing would come back to bite him, so why did he trust a new invention? Bullshit, that’s what this was. Pure bullshit.
After wallowing in his own self-pity and agony, the Summoner recovered. He picked up the thrown sword and then pointed it towards the Boar. The blade barely shimmered in the light and its weight was just too far forward. Did Reyla even try to make this thing? She had said she was an expert Weaponsmith, but was she really? This was terribly bad.
Saber sucked his teeth and charged, letting the boar rush him and meet him in the middle. With a flick, Saber used the broad side to deflect the boar’s tusks. When it recoiled, he pulled back and then skewered its neck. The blade pierced deep, burrowing into the meaty flesh with ease. Compared to his katana, the motion was a lot easier. But when he pulled it out and tried his normal combo, a pair of two slashes, the blade didn’t cut nearly as deep. Fatty flesh and blood still splattered out, but he couldn’t see bone and as he cut at the pig’s rear leg left, the blade didn’t cut through. Saber scowled, ignoring the pig’s agony as he kicked it over onto its side.
With the intent to test the blade’s full potential, Saber raised it over his head as high as he could, tilting hit back and bending his elbows slightly. He let his limbs go loose and then slashed down, tensing up at the last moment as he put his full power into a cut. The back of the pig’s neck split open and it stopped struggling, spine cut. Saber repeated the motion, cutting two, three, four times before the weapon went all the way through the thick neck. The head of the pig flopped over and Saber was rewarded for the kill. He was disappointed in the outcome.
“Four…?” He muttered to himself, lifting the blade to inspect it. The blade’s cutting ability wasn’t fantastic, and neither was its durability. He could already see some pieces missing from the very edge of it. Maybe the material was a bit cheaper, or maybe she had sharpened the edge incorrectly? Saber didn’t really know all that much. Even though his Crafting Subclass was Blacksmith, the only thing he knew about blacksmithing was the basic process. That was it. Quality of a blade? He only knew that through combat. The quality of this blade in particular was pitiful.
But, he would continue with the request. After one kill he had received much of the information he had come out to get but he figured another wouldn’t hurt. The target was another boar and it was eyeing him weirdly from about thirty paces away. It had a mouthful of grass, likely from grazing, or for whatever reason boars wanted to eat grass. Saber wiggled his nose and eyed the boar down.
“Fine….” He huffed after a good amount of time. Saber wanted the boar to come to him, but it was just standing there. So, Saber went to it. Well, he tried to at least.
When Saber approached, doing so in a light jog, the boar turned and ran. The Summoner hollered after it somehow expecting that to do something but it did nothing but waste oxygen. The boar was gone and well out of range. The Summoner stopped his chase rather quickly and lifted the hunk of mental across his shoulder. He rumbled at the sight and checked around for another boar to fight. Sadly, they all seemed well aware of his presence and after his kill and the other one running, he doubted the others would challenge him so readily. Saber had learned that rather quickly. Monsters were monsters and this was indeed a game, but they weren’t stupid.
“Tch…” He spat and sheathed the sword. Looks like one was all he would get. That was fine, at least he got the information he needed. Saber turned away from the fields and headed back into town, taking the long way as he thought about the foxtail’s nailed digging into his throat. He could see and hear it now… “You only…”
“…KILLED ONE?!” She shouted from across the counter, her nails digging into the smooth, wood top. He flinched and rested the blade and scabbard in front of her.
“It was all I needed.” More like it was all he was bothered to do. Saber was a very thorough person, at least that’s what he thought he was, but there were times when he went over the top and did more than was necessary.
“The blade is well made but it’s honestly not worth buying. The edge is dulled, chips easily, and hardly does anything in terms of cutting. It’s a piercing blade but when used for hacking and slashing, it’s subpar. My katana is more useful and it’s seen a lot more use.” Saber gave a good portion of his report and paused, letting Reyla ingest the information. She hummed after he stopped talking, and drew the blade. She did it so easily that Saber thought there was some kind of trick to it. First off; there shouldn’t be a trick to drawing a sword from its scabbard.
“Your katana has been well taken care of as well, I assume?” At her question, Saber nodded. He drew his katana and handed it to her. She inspected it for only a moment before passing it back. It went right back into the sheathe.
“My blade is my life. If my blade is useless, then I am dead.” The ideal was a bit rough and straightforward but the truth to it was unmatched. For a hunter, or anyone who specialized in killing, their weapon was everything. Without their weapon in tip top shape, there was a chance of failure. In battle; failure meant death.
“I see. How about the blade lock?” Reyla set the blade off to the side and then inspected the inside of the scabbard. Saber huffed, let out a heavy sigh, and then take a deep breath.
“Miss Reyla. It is creations like that which kill people. Please destroy the blueprints.”
“H-Hey! I worked hard on that!”
“It almost killed me!”
“Well maybe you’re just bad at drawing blades.”
“W-what?! You wanna fight?!” Saber grasped the top of his blade’s sheathe and narrowed his eyes. Reyla grinned at him and let out a light giggle.
“No good then?” She said in a softer tone, sighing as she set the scabbard down.
“Unfortunately, the concept is smart but the way it is designed is impractical. Too much pressure and it sticks, too little and it won’t come free. It is unreliable.” Saber relaxed after taking a breath. Reyla nodded and slid the blade back into the scabbard, letting it lock in. Then she produced a small sack and tossed it to Saber.
“Thank you for your report, Hunter. Here’s your pay.” Saber caught the sack and then tied it to his waist. Reyla furrowed her eyebrows but he waved her off. He never checked how much he was paid. Saber trusted these merchants. Trust was everything that made their businesses run.
“Thanks. I appreciate the work.” Bowing his head, Saber dismissed himself and headed to the door, leaving the grinning foxtail behind. Please don’t…
“I look forward to seeing you again when that Katana snaps in half.”
Saber slammed the door of the shop closed and rumbled as he strode away.
