To Be a Hero {SBI Fantasy AU}

4. Fearsome Figures

While the newcomer was only barely taller than Tommy, he had an aura of danger that followed him like a cloak. His deep voice only accentuated this feeling of intimidation, and he was dressed in a markedly unique way. If it weren't for his overall appearance, he might've laughed at the man's choice of clothing. It could only be described as a weird mix between a flashy bandit or funky pirate. Tall, black boots made each step within the tower echo, and loose brown pants and a white frilled shirt only worked to make him seem larger.

But the most intimidating part about the man was his visage. The man had long pink hair that was drawn into a loose braid over his shoulder. Pieces of bubblegum pink hair would've usually made the man less intimidating, but somehow in combination with his mask it only made the mysterious man more frightening. Over his face, he wore the upper half of a boar's skull. It was bleached as white as death, and the eye sockets kept the man's eyes in shadow, adding to his mystique. Not only that, the long, curving tusks of the beast had gold bands on them, which matched those that lay on the man's pointed ears.

All in all, the strangest (and coolest) berserker Tommy had ever seen.

Of course, he'd only ever seen one berserker, and they were really old anyways. The old berserker lived on the edge of town, and had the coolest battle stories ever. From what he'd remember from his talks with them, berserkers were just like any other fighter. The only difference was that they had a bloodlust that would grow as they fought in battle. In some of the scarier stories they told, they'd fight for so long that they'd become blinded by their need for blood and killed all in sight. He could still vividly recall the shaking in their voice when they talked about coming to after the heat of the battle only to find that they'd spilt the blood of their companions. Having a berserker on your side was like trying to harness a fire. If you weren't careful, you could get burned. And looking at this berserker, if he lost himself to his bloodlust Tommy was sure that he'd probably end up dying instantly to the dark axe he had strapped to his back.

His train of thought was derailed when Alex gave a nervous laugh, "H-hello! I'm Alex, Alex Quackity and uh you can sit down right here," Tommy could see the mage's hands shaking as he moved to clear the class baubles off the stool.

Before he could do so, a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. At that point, he was practically shaking like a leaf. "Don't bother with that. I can just stand." the man said.

Giving a shaky nod, Quackity turned to address the rest of them. "So I know I was stingy on details for the job description, but it was necessary." stepping over to a large covered object, Alex rested his hand atop it. "We'll be transporting this beauty today!" he exclaimed with a flourish, pulling away the white sheet and revealing what was underneath.

It seemed to be some kind of large vase with various horizontal stripes running across its body. It wasn't garish, but it wasn't the magical object that either boy had envisioned.

Tubbo was the first to speak up. "Are those... doves?" he asked, pointing at a particularly wide stripe with some sort of abstract figures along the center.

Giving the green-robed boy an odd look, the older mage answered, "Isn't it obvious? They're ducks." looking around, he realized that almost all of them were giving him strange looks. "Because I'm Alex Quackity. " he said, like it was obvious, "Ducks are like my thing."

"Looks kind of weird, not gonna lie." Tommy said, crossing his arms.

"e-EXCusE mE?" Quackity sputtered, "Did you just insult me and my work? I'll have you know that this is functionally the most AMAZING magical vase ever made—"

Placing a hand on Tommy's shoulder Philza cut in, "He didn't mean to offend you," and gave the boy a pointed look, "So what does it do?"

Puffing up proudly, Quackity grinned, "Well, this is an infinite supply of the most powerful food available to man!" Picking up the vase, he gently tipped it over and shiny golden carrots fell out onto the chair, startling the two boys. "Woah wait wasn't that empty before?" Tommy asked, picking up one of the shiny vegetables. "As a matter of fact it was! And it will keep making more as long as its tipped over!" he said, righting the vase.