Reverse Chronicles

Subtle Weaknesses

The first step in the republic of Caldia is filled with mystery. The boundary is marked by the Lorbe forest, where plants and trees, which I have not seen before grew. Now that I am finally in Caldia, I must find this person aliased Jennifer Lawrence in the city of Lyane. We plan on proceeding there via Arbre, where Keith plans to participate in the mage arena. The city of Arbre is located in the middle of the Lorbe forest.

We encountered several monsters, but they were not any trouble because of our great teamwork. I have noticed that Whisperer’s strikes are more effective than before. Whenever I strike a monster, there is a short period of time where it curls in pain. Perhaps it is from the accessory that Franz attached.

“I wonder what the mage arena is like!” Keith fluttered around in excitement, pre-emptively striking a monster which he noticed. He practices his spellcasting everyday while teaching me magic. It is thanks to him that I now know the spells, Fireball, Douse, Air Blade, and Rock Javelin. He says that those are the four basic spells and are the bases for the advanced tier spells.

“The mage arena is similar to the arena in Jyria, but it is filled with mages who observe the battle in scrutiny.” Franz unsheathed his sword and struck the hobgoblin that Keith attacked. “Basically, it is an arena with minimal cheering and specializing in magic than physical combat.”

“Don’t make it sound bad!” Keith was bummed finishing the hobgoblin with Lightning Strike. “I’m sure there are a lot of strong mages there. Perhaps I could even fulfill the requirements. Ooh, I’m so excited.”

We continued on our way in the monster-filled forest. Every meter we traversed, a monster would pop up and attack. Sometimes we would be able to attack pre-emptively, sometimes we would be ambushed and suffer a lot of damage. There are these large tortoise-like with fearsome teeth and spikes monsters called bagua, which has a hard, spiked shell that cannot be penetrated by blade nor magic. We faced three baguas simultaneously one time, which prompted us to run. It would retract its legs and its head and spin rapidly towards us. There was no way that we could win.

“I know that they have a weak spot at the surface of their hard shell. That spot is soft enough for my magic and your swords to penetrate,” Keith rummaged through his tome. “According to this monstrology codex, the location of the baguas’ weak spot varies in each individual monster. The most common locations are at the center and sides, but it can also be at the lower side of their shell.”

“That sounds like a lot of work,” I massaged my right shoulder. “Let’s try to avoid them for now. If we encounter one, we should just run away.”

A pond showed up as we continued. We took a break by the crystal-clear body of water. I noticed that there are fish-like monsters in the pond, which led me to unsheathe Whisperer.

“Don’t provoke them!” Keith stopped me. “Aquatic monsters in freshwater are generally peaceful, except for some species. They only attack if provoked.”

“Those are anaskas,” Franz identified them. “They are symbols of luck and prosperity in Caldia.”

“Oh, sorry.” I turned to Franz instead and challenged him to spar. “Would you spar with me instead?”

“Be prepared,” Franz took out his sword and attacked.

“I should be saying that.” I was careful not to hit Franz at a vital point. I was well aware that Whisperer has a poison effect and I don’t want to harm him in any way. I thwarted all of his attacks. His defense was as tough as ever. There was no opening that I could exploit.

What can I do to find something?

I remembered the skill that Daniel taught me, Intense insert skill.

Why not use that?

Activating that skill, I can see Franz’s least guarded spot at his left leg. It was where his thickest armor plate was located. Now I see why he puts that piece of armor there. He is well aware of the shortcomings of his technique. There is no way I can land a blow.

“You win,” I retracted Whisperer. “There is now way I can land a single blow on you.”

“In the Jyrian sword skill, the left leg portion is the weakest protected spot,” he hinted.

“I know, I saw that, but it is also where you put your thickest armor.”

“Yes, the creator of the technique noticed the weakness and from then on the knights wore the thickest armor on the left leg.”

I wonder if I can use Intense insert skill to locate a bagua’s weak spot?

The sun was starting to descend when we resumed our journey. Numerous monsters began attacking us, which we were barely able to win. Franz would put himself in danger shielding us whenever the monsters attacked. We are able to heal him, but I saw the fatigue in his face.

“Can we take a rest for the time being?” I suggested, worried about Franz. “I will protect us if monster attack.”

“No need for your divine protection,” Keith grabbed a purple rock from his receptacle.

“You brought a ward?” Franz identified the item.

“You should be thankful that I did. Now we will be safe from monsters for an hour.”

“It repels monsters?” I wondered.

“It repels monsters for a certain amount of time. It can be recharged but it takes an entire day to recharge this thing.”

“An hour is plenty.”

We took another break. I healed Franz telling him to relax and recuperate. We have to find Arbre quickly. It is almost nightfall. I bade Keith cast Levitate on me, which he did. I scouted the area to look for a building or structure of some kind. Further to the east, I saw smoke. That is the city!

As I was getting back, I was suddenly attacked by an end raven. Although it was weaker than me, it threw me off course. I ended the battle quickly, but now I was disoriented. I tried to reorient my sense of direction from the air but Levitate wore off.

Seriously, why now of all times?

I have to find my way back to Franz and Keith. Using the direction of the sun, I moved westward. Monsters were in my way, I ran when they were more than can handle and fought when I can defeat them. I came to an area where goblins and hobgoblins were making their nest. I bolted out as quickly as I could. My HP is now half, while my MP is utterly depleted. There was no way I can heal my injuries.

“Franz? Keith?” I shouted as hard as I could, but there was no answer. The sky’s hue eventually became orange. And the sounds, cries, and noises of monsters became louder.

“Can we help you?” a voice suddenly called out to me. It was a party of adventurers. They were in the forest and it seems they knew their way around. “We are heading back to Arbre because it is almost sundown. You shouldn’t stay in this forest at night.”

“Please help me. I got separated from the rest of my party.” I pleaded. “Please help me find them.”

“Forgive us,” the same adventurer replied. “But we have to get back as early as we can. Take this map of the forest instead. It will be of use to you. We are currently in this position.” He indicated where we were at the map. Using that position, I moved towards the pond which was also present in the map.

“Thank you so much,” I fled, running as fast as I could. My brain was set on finding the two. Suddenly, I can hear Franz’s voice calling my name. They are near. I’m almost there. “Franz, Keith, I’m here!” I responded to the call. I suddenly saw Keith floating. He guided Franz towards me. Our happy reunion was interrupted when three baguas appeared.

I cast Intense Accuracy. I can see it now! The weakness of the first bagua is directly over its head, the second has its weakness on the center-left portion of its shell. Directing Franz and Keith to attack the spots, we easily defeated the two. The third one has…I can’t find its weak spot. It should be under it, but how can I flip it?

“We don’t have time for this!” out of anger, Keith suddenly cast Tremble and shook the ground, flipping the bagua supine. It was helpless. Its weak spot was completely exposed. “Begone!” Keith finished the monster using Lightning Strike.

“Now that it’s over, how did you know where their weak spots were?” Keith turned to me.

“I used a skill called Intense insert skill. I learned it from Daniel. It was supposed to be an Apprentice’s or and Archer’s skill, but I am able to learn it surprisingly.”

“Wow,” Franz was amazed.

“That is so cool,” Keith’s eyes lit up. “Why didn’t you use it before?”

We rode on Mikah and using the map that I got, we were able to arrive in Arbre before the sun completely hid under the horizon. Arbre was a bustling city despite its location in the middle of the forest. It was a walled city, with guards protecting the city on the ramparts of the wall. The night life in the city was filled with music. I saw a person who looked really different. It seems ethnicities also exists in Reversia.

“Oh, it’s you,” the adventurers who helped me approached us. “I’m glad to see that you made it safe.”

“Mateo?” Keith recognized the adventurer. “It really is you!”

“Keith? Oh, it has been a long time since I saw you.”

Keith and Mateo were childhood friends. Mateo, who was Caldian, studied in the Jyrian Institute of Magic. Keith spent the night catching up with his long-lost friend, while Franz and I looked for an inn where we spent the night.