Knowledge Thief

The Birth of Bracer

When Lee saw the scene transpire in front of him, he could hazard an educated guess about the identity of the lady.

'She should be Sheila' thought Lee as his eyes sized up the lady.

Sheila immediately understood Lee's intentions, she started to walk towards him. By this time, Lee had bent his knee and assumed a salutation position. He used whatever little mental power he had to think of a way out of this situation.

As Sheila neared him, Lee could feel a chilling aura creep up on him. It was almost as if every fiber of his body was alerting him of an immense danger. With his concentration split, he felt an unbearable pressure on his mind.

When Sheila stopped in front of him, Lee couldn't keep up his posture. If not for his knee's support, he would have fell down.

'It seems you might actually not be the champion' commented Sheila.

Lee felt a little relieved after hearing the same, but the next sentence pushed him into the depths of hell.

'But I wouldn't want to take a chance. So I prefer you die here.'

As Sheila said this, Lee felt overwhelming pressure from Sheila. As he was pushed down by force, his mind started to shut down.

'Please hold on... Have to suppress... Have to suppress' thought Lee as he desperately held on to his waning consciousness.

His efforts were in vain as he slowly lost his senses. As his mind drifted into a peaceful rest, he heard a crisp 'OK'

Sheila watched Lee collapse down and lose consciousness. She stood there for a moment admiring Lee. Having been involved in battles and assassinations for a long time, she felt a little amused while watching a weak human like Lee.

She then asked Gin to finish him off and started to walk away. Gin promptly drew her sword and swung it at Lee's head.

'Klung' Gin was surprised that the sword that she swung was deflected by something. She looked down to see a kunai lying a few feet away.

'Gin, don't stoop so low' came a commanding voice. As soon as she heard the voice, she could identify that it was Elda.

She turned to look that Elda, Elvie and Mana were standing near the entrance of the barracks. Before she could reply anything, Elda said 'Sheila, I am taking this fellow here'

Sheila, who was walking away from the scene, turned and flashed a manic smile towards Elda.

'Oh my dear friend, I didn't know that you cared about insects.'

Mana was immediately angered by Sheila's comment but restrained herself because she knew that this was not the right time to be emotional.

Elda didn't reply. She walked towards Lee and started to pick him up from the ground. Gin, who was standing next to Lee brought her sword to Elda's neck.

Elda let out a chuckle and asked, 'Do you really think you would survive?'

Although the voice was calm and devoid of any emotion, Gin felt a sense of danger. She immediately withdrew her sword and stepped back.

As Elda grabbed Lee's hand and boosted him up to the ground, Sheila sarcastically asked 'Do you think you can survive?'

Elda once again didn't reply and just proceeded to place Lee atop her shoulderleft shoulder. By now, Sheila had walked up to Elda and was standing squarely in front of her.

'What say we have a duel. You can take him if you win.' proposed Sheila.

Mana who was watching Sheila's actions couldn't refrain herself from asking, 'Why do you do this?'

As soon as she asked it, Sheila disappeared from her sight. Before she could track her, Mana felt a stinging pain in her shoulder. She looked down to see a dagger plunged into her arm.

'Aah' cried Mana and fell down gripping her arm. Just as she fell down, she felt the cold steel of the dagger on her neck.

As soon as Mana felt Sheila behind her, fear flooded her mind. As she whimpered in pain, she heard Sheila whisper 'Haven't I said that I will kill you the next time I see you'

'Sheila, this is enough. Just let us go!' said Elda in a calm tone.

Sheila slowly stood up and playfully wiped the b****y dagger on Mana's cheek. Elvie who was standing beside mana saw that she was whimpering in fear and sat down to support her.

Elda, who knew Sheila the longest, understood that Sheila doesn't really care about Lee. But Mana is a different story. Almost everyone in town knew that Sheila hates Mana. That is why both Elda and Elvie asked her to stay at the inn. If she had done so, they could have averted this situation.

Elda let out a sigh. She swallowed her pride and asked once again, 'Sheila, can you please let them go for me.'

If it was anyone else, she wouldn't have done that. If it had just been Lee, she wouldn't have swallowed her pride. But Mana is very close to Elvie, and she could be considered as family. So, she chose to swallow her pride and plead.

Sheila gave a surprising look after hearing Elda. She then broke into a mad laugh that lasted for a few moments.

'Did you just plead? Did the Prideful Lion of Alaba just plead for two nobodies?' asked Sheila sarcastically, she then continued 'Hey Gin, did you hear your commander?'

Gin just let out a nervous smile as she was still shook up from her earlier confrontation.

As Sheila started to verbally degrade her, Elda just stood there silently. After seeing that she didn't receive any reaction, Sheila stopped her sarcastic rant.

She finally said, 'OK, take them' in a calm tone. She then continued, 'But only this once. If I see them next time, I will kill them.'

Hearing this, both Elda and Elvie took Lee and Mana out of the barracks.

As the four figures disappeared out of sight, Sheila asked Gin to keep an eye on them.

'Why ma'am? Do you think he is the champion?'

'I didn't know my captain can ask questions' stated Sheila in a cold tone.

Gin immediately knelt down and apologized 'I am sorry. ma'am.'

Sheila sighed and commented, 'He is not the champion. He is something much worse, he is a vermin. And vermins should be crushed.'

...................

It took two whole days for Lee to regain his consciousness. When he came to his senses, he saw that he was lying down on a comfortable bed.

Lee thought that he would be incredibly fatigued but he was totally rejuvenated. His mind was clear and it seemed sharper than before. He was more surprised when he explored his body. Not only was he healed but he felt that his control and reflexes have improved as well.

What surprised him even more is the fact that the bracelet was still invisible. He commanded the bracelet to show but it was not showing. He was perplexed when even the 'Stat' screen was not showing up.

'What's this? Did it just leave me? Can the champion title be rescinded?'

As he was racking his brain for a solution, he suddenly remembered the 'Ok' that he heard.

'Who was that OK from?' thought Lee. Hazardunf a guess, he silently asked 'Is anyone there?'

'Finally!' came that familiar voice.

'So, there is someone that helped me' thought Lee.

'Honored sir! May I please know your name' asked Lee.

'My name is Bracer' answered the voice.

'Thank you very much for helping me sir. If possible can you reveal yourself, so that I can thank you face-to-face' asked Lee.

'Sure' answered Bracer.

Lee waited for the person to materialize for some time but no one materialized in front of him. Feeling defeated, he thought 'Is he playing games with me? Why isn't he materializing?'

'Hey! I materialized. Look at your hand' answered Bracer.

Lee was dumbstruck by this revelation. 'Don't tell me, I have been talking to my bracelet the whole time!'