The Witch's Relay

Chapter 33: Not Test Results

I lay on the cold and damp ground staring up at the cloud-covered sky. I struggle to stand up, having to use my arms in order to not fall back down, my muscles are hurting just as much, if not more than my bruises at this point.

Somewhere along the way, Burke and Bree had switched places, and what felt like getting bullied took to a whole new level, since unlike Bree, when my weapon had already been knocked away, Burke would not stand back and wait for me to recover. Instead another strike would blow me right off my feet.

"Well boy, that should be all for today." He nods at the massive halberd which I dropped before I fell. "We've tried all the stuff we meant to, and now we just need to forge yur weapon."

He offers me his hand and I take it, and once he pulls me up I stagger forward from his sheer strength.

I am incredibly happy that this is only a mock battle and he isn't after my life for real.

"So.." I look at him curiously. "How will it be?"

He grins and slaps my back so hard that I once again stagger forward. "Now that's a surprise!"

"When can we pick it up?" Heather asks as she walks up next to me.

"Come back in a week's time. I'll place yur order on priority, so it should be ready by then, and I'll also give ye yur invoice at that time."

Looks like I'll have a single day to get used to my new weapon before my scheduled rank-ascension quest.

...

On the way back Heather and Burke take the lead while I walk a few paces. Not long after we start walking, Bree falls back next to me.

"Despite yur bumbling ye did pretty well today."

"Thanks.. I guess.." Today has been nothing but me getting bullied honestly. Out of all the fights the only one I came close to winning was the very first, when I was told to use my own weapon against Bree, but after that I only lost more or less evenly. Not to mention once Bree and Burke switched out, then it wasn't even nearly close a single time. But I'll accept her compliment in an attempt to regain even the tiniest fraction of the dignity I lost today.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. It makes sense that ye wouldn't know what to do with all those weapons ye've never used before. With the exception of the first round, it was a bad matchup for ye, from start to finish. In fact, that is the main part of the test." She states almost as if she'd read my mind.

"The main part of the test?" Oh right, now that it's over, maybe she can tell me what it was all about, like in detail?

"That's right. We need to see what ye will do in a tight situation. Fur the most part, ye will be good enough with just any weapon as long as it is sharp and ye have a strategy, especially against monsters. As long as you can predict the movements of yur prey, you can figure it out even with a kitchen knife. But what happens when ye face an opponent that ye can't defeat despite being able to predict their movements?"

"I.. I have to get creative?" My eyes widen as I realize why they both attacked me in the exact same way every single time. In a way, they tried to make it a controlled environment with as few external factors as possible, aside from my own skill and creativity. Wow I'm bad.

"That's right. And some objects will make more sense to ye and ye will have better luck with them in general. For example, yur sword was clearly the best since ye have used it's the only one ye've used before. Next came the scimitar unsurprisingly, but other than that, ye were a little all over the place. The bo staff was one of yer stronger ones, as was the claymore, which was surprising, since ye used it completely differently from how it is technically supposed to be used like, ye used it as a shield, but ye didn't get in any attack, yet that round you lasted longer than all the others. The idea is to look at all the aspects of the ones that ye did the best with, and incorporate those parts that made you do better, into yer final unique weapon."

I think about everything Bree just disclosed to me and let it sink in before coming up with a concern."Will this unique design really suit me forever though? Like if I happened to increase my understanding for one of those other weapons, would that not change the test results rather drastically? Does this mean I have to purchase a new weapon every couple years, regardless of the shape my current one is in?"

She smiles. "Yes technically you are right. For the current you, we will forge the most perfect weapon that ye could've ever wished fur, but in the future ye may outgrow it. Although alternatively, if yur lucky, ye might develop yur own style in which that weapon is crucial, and then ye might just need a slightly modified version of it."

"So I am correct to assume that you mean the weapons I use, should evolve at the pace I myself grow?" This is an interesting idea, despite the apparent money vacuum.

"That is correct."

"What do you typically use then? During our sparring you used just a plain sword, not bad, but also just standard. After hearing you speak, it would seem a bit hypocritical for that to be your main "tool of choice" if I may."

Bree smiles and laughs. "That is also correct. Currently I use a combination of a hammer, a pickaxe, and an axe, while also having some aspects from a spear, and with a wrapped handle. It may sound a bit weird, but I gotta show ye sometime for ye to truly understand I think."

"Oh.. That.. Okay.." I furrow my brow thinking about it.

After hearing that, I may be slightly worried to see the final results in a week.