29
“Jassie’s joining Cerena’s team,” Jin reported, dropping down beside Fergus under the shade of a large tree.
“Damn it,” Fergus growled.
The small open park was a place Jin secretly liked to visit.
The smell of grass mingling with the smell of nearby carnations always made him feel happy in a way he couldn’t put to words. And he didn’t want to admit to anyone that he liked the smell of the carnations.
That sort of thing could make him appear to be less of a man.
Not that he was afraid of them trying to bully him, of course.
It’s just that one thing Fergus had taught him was that words could be sharper than knives.
He only had to see what Fergus had done to Milo to understand that.
Because Fergus wasn’t the only one clearly jealous of the other guy’s success. No, there were plenty of others eager to hang on to the hooks of Fergus and his theories that Milo was somehow cheating with the help of the teachers.
“Vizzingballs is in on it,” he would say, and they’d all titter a bit. Fergus loved giving out nicknames like that. “She’s clearly helping him with the Primal Core.”
“What’s that?” one of the guys had asked.
“It’s a secret weapon,” Fergus told them all in a dramatic whisper.
“It’s kept in the Vault and it can boost your mana to almost limitless amounts!
Think about it. It’s the only way he can go through dungeons that fast while the rest of us have to keep stopping so we can replenish.
The reason he can go through like he does is because he doesn’t need to! ”
Jin wasn’t sure about this theory.
Such a weapon sounded a bit monstrous to him.
His own wand boosted his mana by quite a bit, but it wasn’t exactly going to let him blast armies to pieces. If the core Fergus was referring to could actually do such a thing, it would have to be as big as a house or something.
Shouldn’t it?
This was why he didn’t ask questions.
He knew Fergus would know the answer, and he didn’t want to sound more stupid than he already felt.
He lay down on his side, kicking out one leg and plucking a strand of grass and tossed it into the wind. He watched it float for a while before it dropped.
The sun was quite nice.
“What about Robbard?” Fergus asked.
“Hooked up with Bistrom.”
‘With Bistrom? What for?”
“Family reasons,” Jin said. “Apparently his brother’s marrying into theirs next year so they’ve both been asked to take the opportunity to make another bridge.”
“Oh.” That was something Fergus understood, even if he didn’t like it. “Well, we don’t need him anyway. He’s always been pretty bad at long distance spells. And that’s what we need. Someone who knows something about range.”
“Right,” Jin said.
He wasn’t sure what to say. Fergus was right, of course.
Jin’s magic was fairly short range. He could shoot out bolts of lightning, sure. But they didn’t have a great range. He preferred being close. The role of Tank suited him.
And Fergus was a bit more defensive.
He was amazing with ice walls. Jin had never seen anyone as capable as Fergus with them. And he could drop down an icy storm here and there.
Otherwise, he mostly stuck to icy shards.
Each shard was like a dagger.
They’d been doing alright in dungeons but what they lacked was something with crazy offensive power. That’s why they’d both tried Mistress Vizzingbelle’s classes. But it quickly became clear that neither of them had any real aptitude with the mana rifle.
“Hmm.” Fergus dropped his head, staring down at the grass. “At this rate, we’ll need to look at Level 3’s.”
“I’ll put word out if you want.”
Fergus looked a little frustrated by that. Some people he’d expected would join his team had been quicker to join others. Then they tried to play it off like it was just that someone else had asked them first.
Or it was a family reason.
Sometimes they could use that excuse. But some who did looked to be using the excuse as a convenient way to explain why they didn’t want to be on his team.
One of them was Gus Farrowborn.
As a Farrowborn, he should have been delighted to join Fergus’ team.
The Farrowborns were a minor family next to the Paddstone estates. They had been trying for years to create a decent bridge between their families and Fergus was sure Gus had been advised to at least be friendly.
But then Gus had joined Sylvia’s team with a weak excuse that he was indebted to her for helping him with a cheap gambling debt.
It was almost as if some of the other students were trying to avoid him.
He’d begun to wonder how many of them were starting to get more friendly with the normie.
And he’d been telling Jin so at some length.
Every night.
Enough that Jin was slowly tuning his friend’s voice out most evenings.
While wishing the campus didn’t have a ban on alcohol.
A few beers would have made the rants a bit more tolerable, Jin thought guiltily.
It was a few days later when Jin was sitting in the Mess that a small woman crept up close to him and stood by his elbow. He looked at her expectantly. “Yeah?”
“I heard you were open to a Level 3 joining your team?”
“Maybe,” he said, more interested in the slab of meat on his plate. It looked a bit overcooked. “Why? You saying you’re interested.”
“I might be, Jack.”
“Jin.”
“I know your name. Jack’s, like, a… You know what? Nevermind. Can I join?”
“Well, I don’t know who you are,” he said.
“I’m new. I started here yesterday.” She looked around the Mess. “I don’t know anyone. I got told to join a team. I spoke to some guy, and he told me you still had room.”
“Which guy?
“Bistrom?”
“Oh.” Jin nodded. “Well, I don’t make the decisions. That’d be Fergus you need to speak to. But he’ll wanna know what you do.”
“I’m a geomancer,” she said.
“Good one?”
“Sorta.” She gave him a small shrug. “But I think I’m better with a rifle.”
“A rifle?” He squinted at her. “Really?”
“Yeah. And daggers. I took a test with Master Haddrow today and he said he liked me enough.”
“Enough for what?”
“To join his advanced class?”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Huh.” That didn’t sound too bad, he thought. Advanced stealth was something that could be handy. Especially combined with a mana rifle.
She’d be able to do some sniping. Maybe get behind an ice wall.
Well.
Tactics were more the kind of thing Fergus thought about.
Anyway. A good rifle could put out a punch.
And if Haddrow liked her stealth and dagger skills, she had to be pretty good.
“My family lives out west,” she said. “Near the Gloam Forest. You know it?”
“Heard of it,” Jin said. “Supposed to be a bit dangerous.”
“It’s a lot dangerous,” she shot back. “You gotta be smart out there, you know?”
He nodded along.
Smart would be good, too.
“How good’s your rifle?”
“Mistress Vizzingbelle said I’m in the top five.”
“Top five?” Jin was liking her more and more.
The only problem was Fergus sort of had a thing against rifles at the moment. Thanks to Milo showing some skill with them, it had made him throw his own away. The bad taste in his friend’s mouth might be what would turn him off this girl.
But even Fergus had to admit they were getting close to scraping the dregs of the other students.
For a while, Jin thought he’d managed to get Daved Spikewrist onto the team.
Then Daved got hit by a thug while he was walking the streets outside the Academy. They stole his valuables and knocked him out. Got his head hit so hard he wasn’t yet speaking in proper sentences. They were also feeding him with a straw.
He wasn’t going to be ready for the next dungeon.
Fergus figured they could recruit him as their fourth member later. If Daved got his brain back.
Jin looked the girl up and down again.
Had to admit she was pretty. Maybe even cute. There was a kind of vulnerability to her that made you want to look after her. Maybe that was because she was so small. And her eyes were wide.
Like she was afraid you were going to say something mean to her.
Having said that, she had a lithe body which looked like she understood the value of agility. That was points to her. Jin bet she knew more than a few martial techniques.
He’d have to test her afterwards, of course.
If Fergus said yes.
“Geomancer,” Jin said, finally shoving a piece of steak into his mouth. He’d been right. It was overcooked. “That means you’re good with dirt?”
“Not so much,” she admitted. “But I’m working on it. For now, I’m using the rifle. I can use geomancy to strengthen my fist, though.”
“Huh?” He stopped chewing. “Do what?”
“It’s a trick my dad taught me. It’s like, bones are like stone if you think about it. So, we kind of use geomancy to make our fist harder and stronger. Like, I cover it in mana? And then I can stab harder, too.”
“For real?” Jin almost smiled. That sounded amazing to him.
“Yeah,” she said, a little proudly. “Master Haddrow thought it would make me real useful.”
“Yeah.” Jin nodded, thinking of much damage she might do if she could do half of what she said. “Look. Take a seat. Fergus will be here soon. We’ll need to check you out, of course.”
“Of course.”
“But I like the sound, so far,” he said, showing a grin. “I wish I could make my fist strong like that. Amazing.”
The girl blushed. “Ah, it’s just a trick. I’m still only a three.”
“Don’t say it like that,” he said, leaning close. “I think everything’s a trick, really. I mean, how much do we use our magic? Some of us just use our tools, you know?”
She nodded. “My brother only uses a rifle. He’s even better than I am.”
“See? Doesn’t matter.” He bit his lip. “Just don’t tell Fergus I said that.”
“Alright,” she said with a smile that made him smile again.
“What’s your name, new girl?”
“Fulka,” she said, taking the seat. “Fulka Fenricksurge.”
“Well, Fulka. I have only one piece of advice for you as a new girl.” Jin prodded the steak in front of him. “Don’t eat the steak.”