Reaping of the Scythe Hero

Chapter 3: The Calm before the Storm of Blood

After a few hours of hunting, I saw Ren was swatting the Orange Balloon monsters we've been fighting. He naturally has a bit of an upper hand in offensive powers. But he's moving a bit slower than he could. "One minute, guys. I wanna talk to Ren for a minute." I excused myself and walked over to Ren and his party. "Hey, Ren." I got his attention and I noticed his group didn't seem too happy to see me.

Ren looked at me the same as before though. "Riku. What's up?" I looked at his group glaring at me and decided to let it go for now. "I noticed your movement was a bit slower than it could be. Mind if I show you how?" I offered him some quick stance and movement pointers. His party got offended by my offer, though. "How dare you insult the Sword Hero's tactics." One of them stepped forward but Ren held his arm out in front of him. "He wasn't insulting me. Besides, if I can move better to deal more damage, then I don't mind if he doesn't." Ren vouching for me actually was kind of nice.

I smiled and looked at some other balloons bouncing towards us. "Perfect, I'll use these as demonstrations." I readied my scythe and lunged at the first balloon and slashed upwards, killing it with my scythe. And with the momentum of my speed and the swing, slightly turning it as I moved and did a side swipe through another balloon. Ren and his party were surprised how I picked up these movements so fast. One balloon got behind me and tried jumping me but with the staff part of my scythe, I swung back and sent it flying into a tree, where it ended up popping.

I put my scythe away on my back and walked back to Ren, who seemed to be pretty impressed. "I see what you mean, Riku. I was constantly swinging back and forth, not even thinking of using the momentum for continued attacks. Thanks. But how did you pick up that movement style so fast? It hasn't even been a day since we started our journeys?" This was a question his whole party seemed to be wondering.

I shrugged and smiled. "Honestly, I just used the movements of my character from the game I played before coming here. I always was laser focused on movement in my game and kind of memorized all the movement animations. It translated fairly well to real combat." My answer seemed to surprise Ren. "To turn combat from a game into real life moves sounds like something out of an anime." He chuckled, and honestly he's right.

I always was more observative with my games. It was one of the few things that paid off from my condition. I can zone in and out on certain details for unknown periods of time. "I just followed the dopamine, but hey, it works. I hope that helped."

Ren cracked a smile and nodded. "It did. Thanks, Riku." I can tell that Ren's party still has some kind of bad image of me, but that's not important. Ren is alright though. A bit quiet and edgy but he's smart enough to learn how to improve himself.

I hope I can get a better idea of Motoyasu and Itsuki later, but I have to keep Naofumi nearby at all times. Leaving him alone will only cause trouble for him and the demihumans supporting us.

I went back to Naofumi and Myne who could see my technique on the balloons. "Dude, with you at our side we'll have the strength of a full party." Naofumi seems excited. About time he had some fun. With the hand he was dealt, he deserves at least some fun. "Yeah, but don't forget damage isn't everything, ok? Your shield and defenses are what get us through to our mark." I smiled and got Naofumi in a friendly headlock.

"Ok ok, I hear ya." Naofumi chuckled and I let him go from the headlock. "We should probably head back to the capital soon. It's starting to get dark." Myne seems ready to head back after only a few hours of farming. Then again, I suppose we have time for rest. I shrugged and went with it. "I could actually go for some food." I rubbed my stomach as it rumbled, winning a laugh out of Naofumi.

We headed back to a nearby inn for dinner. Myne seems to be enjoying her wine with it. The food was divine, though. Naofumi and I chatted a bit with Myne, but I'd rather warn Naofumi about our predicament in private later if I can.