Kanjori

Chapter 4 : Enter Gideon!

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion ever since the mage fired her attack. Damian's warm and firm grip on me felt reassuring, but despite being in the eye of the storm, all it takes is one wrong step to fall into it.

I thought back to when we first entered the game. The way Damian's face looked after being impaled. How does it feel to die? The pain in this game felt almost too real, so would this game also be able to recreate the feeling of death?

Those were the only things I could think about as I closed my eyes. I felt oddly calm in that situation. Sitting in the arms of my best friend waiting to be impaled by tons of rocks shouldn't bring me peace, but it did. However, this peace was interrupted by the sound of shattering shards.

I opened my eyes and saw a green force field around both Damian and myself.

"You must be Sophia the Spawn Killer" a voice said.

I looked behind me and saw a boy who seemed to be around my age holding his hands up. He was a little chubby, around 6 feet tall with blonde hair and green eyes.

The force field fell and without hesitation, Damian blasted towards Sophia and cut deep into her stomach. Her eyes widened as she felt the blood rushing from her stomach. She doubled over in pain and dropped the diamond.

Something seemed off about Damian. There was a faint purple aura around him as he slowly approached Sophia with his hand gripping his sword tightly.

"P-please don't kill me!" Sophia screamed while trembling in fear. Damian raised up his sword and stared down into her eyes with no signs of remorse. He then sheathed his sword and picked up the diamond.

"Hey Rin, mission complete, let's go back to Gregorio's." Damian said while walking off.

"What a weirdo, anyway, hey pretty lady, my name's Gideon, you should probably give me a kiss for saving your life just now" he said while leaning close to me.

Without any hesitation, I slapped the boy in the face and followed after Damian.

"Well that's no way to treat your knight in shining armor! Stupid girls, they're always so attracted to the weird edgy guys."

Though he's a little weird and overbearing, if it wasn't for the force field he put up, Damian and I wouldn't have survived that encounter with the mage, so I had no other choice but to thank him.

"Well, thanks for your help Gideon, we wouldn't have made it without you."

"Ahh I know I know, but you know, you two are a pretty weird pair. Two offensive players alone won't make it anywhere. You need some defense on your team, and that's where I come in!" Gideon exclaimed giddily.

"That does sound pretty smart. You're a tank right?" I asked while looking at Damian for any signs of agreement.

"Well yes I am, and ya know-", Gideon's words were cut short by Damian, who had wrapped his hand around his throat.

"You're a little slow, Gideon. Are you sure you could hold your own in a fight if Rin and I were to end up occupied with our own issues?" he asked with his hand still around his neck.

Gideon squirmed around a bit and Damian let go. "I may not be that fast, but I can definitely get faster as I progress through the game. You shouldn't be talking though, just by the way you were fighting against that mage, I can tell you're inexperienced and have no idea how to use magic at all." he replied.

Damian chuckled and shook his head. "Just had to make sure you are confident in your abilities."

The rest of the walk was rather peaceful. The boys bickered over trivial things until we got to Gregorio's, and even though it was annoying, it felt right. After so many years of longing to belong somewhere, it seems I might have found a real home.

"Hey kids! You guys look a little beat up, but hey at least you don't have a boar tusk in your leg again!" Mr. Gregorio chuckled.

"Hey old man, I finally took your advice and found people to complete missions and quests with!" Gideon exclaimed.

"That's good, but if you joined in with them during this quest, then why are they so beat up?"

"It's because of the spawn killer." Gideon replied nervously.

Mr. Gregorio clasped his hands and looked down. It seemed as if he was distressed about Sophia the Spawn Killer, and what she has been doing.

"Also, it seems like that guy over there unlocked his aura during the fight." Gideon said while pointing at Damian. "The aura wasn't strong enough for me to visibly see, but I could definitely feel the fact that his aura was spilling."

Thinking back at it now, I could see the faint aura around Damian while he attacked Sophia. Maybe Gideon wasn't looking hard enough, because I'm certain I'm a lower level than he is.

"That's wonderful!" Mr. Gregorio said as he chuckled. "Your aura is what gives you the ability to use magic. There is always aura with you, but you must unlock it in order to use it. There are 2 types of aura, natural aura, and emotional aura. Your natural aura is a reflection of your personality, and with increased strength, it will become a more prominent feature. Emotional aura has everything to do with your emotions. Learning to control that aura is vital for fights, because a skilled player will be able to read your aura in a fight and use it to their advantage. Anyway, I'll go more in depth about aura tomorrow, go get some rest because it'll be a long day of training!"

As we all walked inside, all I could think about were the cool tricks I would be able to do once I master aura. Tomorrow may be painful, but I sure am excited!