The Hyrule Paradox: Worlds Collide | BOTW Isekai (Book 1)

Chapter 24: Stables

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The traveler disappeared in a puff of smoke before the arrow could strike him, revealing himself as a Yiga. Out of sight, the man laughed menacingly before appearing behind Jordan with his sickle raised. Jordan reacted quickly and spun around as he drew his broadsword to parry the attack. He followed up the parry with a counterattack and his sword slashed into his opponent's right arm, leaving a huge bloody gash. The Yiga yelled in pain and teleported away again. When he appeared again, he attempted a dashing attack, swinging his curved scythe horizontally with incredible speed. However, it took Jordan barely any effort to dodge the attack completely before countering and striking his attacker's thigh as he tried to stop his momentum.

Jordan was starting to get mad as he fought, though he didn't know why. The next time the Yiga attacked he appeared several feet in the air Jordan out of nowhere with his sickle slicing downward through the air at his head. Jordan sidestepped, and swung his fist straight at the Yiga's masked face. All of his anger from that morning and the night before all came out in one furious punch that landed right on target. There was a nasty crack from the impact and the Yiga's mask popped off as the wearer fell to the ground. Jordan stood over him as he squirmed in pain and clutched his now bloody (and possibly broken) nose. Jordan unsheathed his sword again, held the tip under his enemy's chin, and ushered one sentence as cold as could.

"That's what I thought."

He looked deep into the pupils of the man whose eyes were streaming with fear, before he clasped his hands together and teleported away. Jordan sheathed his sword behind his back just as Emily and Mayla rode up next to him and stopped. There was a loud silence before anyone spoke again. They had obviously seen what had happened.

"...Um, Jordan? Are...are you feeling alright?" Emily asked timidly. He looked up at her, the new expression on his face masking his sudden anger, but he tried for a smile.

"Yeah I'm fine, my emotions just got a little worked up. C'mon let's keep going."

They promptly continued on the path without another word. Once they made it to the stable, Jordan played his role. After exploring for so long, he had become friends with the Stablemaster, a man named Tass. The two of them often traded stories about their lives whenever he came to visit the stable. Jordan hadn't told Tass his real story about being from a different realm, but they were still good friends nevertheless. Jordan's job now was to introduce Mayla and Emily to Tass, and set them up with their proposal.

Mayla had spent some time yesterday preparing for this, because she liked to be ready for things. As Jordan handed them off to Tass, she proposed her idea of a new Stable near Hateno Village. Tass heard her out, and his body language told Jordan he was considering this idea. He was right. Once Mayla finished her sales pitch, he spoke. His voice was gruff, but accepting in tone.

"I like this idea. I have always wondered about one of our Stables being near that serene village. I never thought it would possibly come to life. But now you two have come and proposed it. I would say yes, but there are two things that prevent that. First, you must prove to me that you can handle this job. Second, if you can prove you can do it, I would have to confer with my fellow Stablemasters to allow this to proceed. Do you think you can show you can do this?

"Absolutely! What must we do first?"

Tass spent the rest of the day testing Mayla and Emily on their capabilities. Mayla worked each one confidently, though Emily was a bit more timid with her actions. Since Mayla was trying for a harder position she had to do more. Tass brought her behind the desk and showed her around and gave her some scenarios to see how she would react. Emily mostly just had to prove that she could clean with a broom. By midday it seemed like Tass had seen enough, because he stopped them with a smile on his face.