The Dive: Birth of a Hero Read online

  “Sorry about that, it was a little distracting.” I glanced towards Cynthia. “So, where do you have to go to take the test?”

  “Ah, I can take it at the Fighter’s Hall… But are you really sure I should take it so soon?”

  “Well, you could wait until you get your armor, if you want. But I’m hoping to leave town after my duel.”

  “I understand… well, if you think I’m ready… will you watch the match?” She looked nervous, likely remembering the torture she had been put through previously while training in the Fighter’s Hall.

  “Yeah, I’ll watch you show everyone that you aren’t a punching bag anymore.” I smirked to her, and she smiled. Denise laughed quietly while we made our way to the hall. “You’ve trained for years, so I know you have the ability to win this. The only thing you were lacking before was a push.”

  When we arrived at the hall, there was the usual commotion of both foreigners and natives training their skills. Denise and I followed behind Cynthia as she approached the head instructor, who had earlier told me to get lost when I sought training and then was relieved to see Cynthia quit.

  “Oh? Come crawling back already? Whatever happened to ‘I’m never going to let myself be your student again.’ huh? Daddy talk some sense into you?” The man grinned down to her, completely ignoring my and Denise’s existence.

  “I’m not here to be your student. I’m here for the test!” Cynthia almost growled out those last words, responding to the teacher’s provocation.

  Of course, he had no idea how much she had grown, so he just gripped his sides while laughing. “You? It would take you another ten years to pass that test, and that’s being generous!”

  “I said it before, I’m here for the test..” Her fists clenched, Cynthia glared up to the laughing instructor.

  “Fine, fine, I’ll humor you.” The man wiped a tear from his eye as he stood up, shouting out to an armored man leaning against the wall. “Hey Cedric, get over here! Got a little runt that hasn’t learned her place yet!”

  Hearing his name called, the armored man pushed himself away from the wall, walking towards us. “Yeah?” His gaze went from me, to Denise, and then to Cynthia. Unlike the instructor, he didn’t make any jokes, and took her entirely seriously. “Alright. Do you need to borrow equipment?”

  “I’ve already got some.” Cynthia unsheathed her sword, and brought her shield up in her other arm. Cedric must have noticed the Mana Stones in the two items, because he grinned slightly.

  “Alright. I won’t hold back. You know how the test works, right?”

  “Live combat. The match doesn’t end until you call it, and you determine if the challenger is fit to pass, regardless of the outcome.” Cynthia sharply nodded her head, being fully aware of this test. Likely she had been dreading the day she took it for years, but now the instructor’s words had steeled her resolve.

  “That’s right. You can also forfeit the match at any time, but if you do you fail regardless of my decision.” Cedric turned and walked back to the spot where he had been leaning, and grabbed a two handed sword from one of the weapons racks.

  The two of them walked over to a raised square platform, fifteen meters across. For an actual battle that was a small space, but for melee combat it was fine. On one side, Cedric stood with his sword held in an offensive stance, and on the other Cynthia readied herself for the defense.

  The two of them stood still for several moments, before Cedric charged to her, quickly closing the gap and raising his sword up for his opening strike. When his sword lifted, I saw the light reflect off of a blue jewel embedded in the hilt of his weapon. Did he choose that sword in case Cynthia activates her ability? Smart move, but she hasn’t practiced that at all.

  I had debated having Cynthia practice fighting while using her sword’s fire, but ultimately determined that it was more important to first raise her skill with the weapon itself. And since she had sparred against Denise repeatedly, tracking Cedric’s movements were a simple matter. She raised her shield up and allowed it to clash with his sword, while bringing her own sword upwards in a slashing motion.

  Cedric had no doubt seen Cynthia training before, so having her successfully block and counter attack when he struck must have seemed impossible. Nevertheless, he managed to pull himself back enough that he didn’t receive damage, her sword glancing off his armor.

  “Very good. You’ve improved quickly. Now, why don’t you show me your skills?” Cedric stood in a defensive stance, holding his greatsword at an angle to deflect incoming attacks.

  Cynthia nodded to his request, and ran forward. If there was one area she was seriously lacking in, it was her speed, but her extreme defense and skill easily made up for that. I never really expected her to just ram into him with her shield, though… It was effective, knocking him back a few steps while she twisted her body to bring her sword around in a wide strike.

  Having his stance disrupted momentarily made Cedric unable to fully avoid her attack, and he received a cut along his side, the weapon having pierced his armor. Still, he didn’t look panicked, or even worried. Instead, he just grinned to her. “Good… Let’s see how you handle this.”

  Cedric brought his sword up, the blade pointing to the sky. “Tidal Fury.” Once he spoke, the gem in the pommel of his sword glowed, and his sword was surrounded by spiraling water. Bringing his sword down in another slash, the water extended out like a great wave, threatening to cover the entire arena.

  “Enflame!” Cynthia activated her own sword’s ability, sending a flaming slash to meet the water. Of course, the fire was easily overwhelmed, but a good bit of the force was removed from the attack. Not only that, but the steam from the two elements joining created a mist that lowered visibility.

  Unfortunately, Cynthia didn’t have any experience fighting an opponent in these conditions, and all she could do was move to the edge of the arena and take a defensive stance. Since Cedric was an experienced fighter, he undoubtedly had no problem finding her through the steam. And sure enough, moments later he appeared in front of her, his sword already past her shield before she could react.

  I clenched my fists, prepared to cast a spell to heal her, when I noticed her health hadn’t decreased any. Though his sword was past her shield, he stopped it before it pierced her throat. “You need some work on fighting in less than ideal circumstances. But, that’s to be expected. This is a test to recruit common soldiers, not knights. And for that, you pass.”

  Cynthia had frozen the moment he appeared inside her defense, but at his words she let out a long sigh, followed by a quiet laugh. “I… I did it… I really did it…”

  Cedric nodded to her, pulling his sword back and putting the tip against the ground. “Yeah, you did. That’s some skill you acquired in just two days. I’m impressed, but also proud to say that you are worthy to serve in this kingdom’s army.”

  From where I was standing, I wasn’t sure but I thought that Cynthia was blushing a bit. “I’m sorry, sir. My father insisted I had to take this test, whether I wanted to join the army or not. I have no intention of becoming a soldier.”

  The armored man paused, and then let out a short laugh. “He did, did he? No wonder you were always so determined. Well, the invitation is open if you ever decide to take it. And if you wish, I will accompany you to inform your father that you passed. I’ve got some words for that man, myself.”

  “Ah… uh, thank you, sir. That is much appreciated.” Cynthia bowed low to Cedric, still proud from her win but more embarrassed than anything else now.

  Smiling, I walked over to the edge of the stage. “I told you that you’d be able to pass, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah… you did… thank you, Jin. I really couldn’t have done this without you.”

  When he heard Cynthia’s words, Cedric looked curiously to me. “Aren’t you the man who wanted to become a student here a few days back? I remember you were rejected, and then later came and talked to a pair of students. Does that mean
you’re the one that allowed her to grow so much?”

  “I guess you could put it that way. But she’s the one who put in the work, all I did was remove an annoying obstacle from her way.” I shrugged casually. It wasn’t that big of a deal, was it? Well, she did gain eighty levels in two days with the Mentor system, but it was still her own work.

  “I see. Well, if you would like to be a trainer here some time, then you are welcomed as well.”

  “Thanks. Tell me, though, where did you get the stone for that sword? Mana Stones should be rare, and I haven’t heard of a mine around here.” I nodded towards the Water Stone he had just used in the fight.

  “This? It was brought in on a trade ship a few years back. Usually the stones only grow certain types in certain areas. If you dig deep enough, you can probably find Earth Stones anywhere in Kirrin. However, in the dwarf mountains every kind of stone can be found.”

  “Oh, really?” I grinned inwardly. Another reason to visit them. “One more question. Each stone holds only one spell, correct? I’ve never seen a stone holding more than one.”

  “It’s possible for two spells to occur in the stone close enough to be excavated as one… But such things rarely happen. It is easier to simply use multiple stones, especially since the spell you get in one is a lottery.” He chuckled a bit at that.

  “I understand, thank you. I’ll let the two of you go speak to Cynthia’s father. I have another matter to take care of.” I nodded a quick farewell to Cynthia, and Denise jumped up to the arena to give her a hug and congratulate her. After that, the two of us left to return to our inn room.

  “So, how do you plan to get in touch with the brigade leader?” Denise smiled to me as we walked down the street.

  “Well, first I need to find him. That shouldn’t be too hard, once I make the right spell. After that, I just call him like I do anybody.”

  “You’re just going to make a new spell all of a sudden to track down a single guy?”

  “Yup. My current divination magic won’t work with what little information I have.” Really, the only divination spell I had at the moment was Scry. With that spell, unless the target was standing within twenty feet of you, you needed their name. I didn’t have his name, so I needed to create a spell to gather information for me.

  “You are such a cheat. Don’t you still have a ton of spells you need to master yet?”

  “I do, but none of them would help me here.” While walking, I began focusing on what I needed for this spell. I didn’t want to make this just a spell to find one man, that would be ridiculous. I wanted a spell that would gather information to answer a question. So, first I needed to define what a question was for the spell.

  That was easy, a question was a search for knowledge. So the outer ring of the spell would interpret the question I ask, and keep it for the rest of the spell to act on. The next ring of the spell should carry that question along the wind, looking for relevant information. Then, the information had to be assembled into an answer, and returned to me.

  “Jin? Hello?” Denise was glaring at me, knocking me out of my thoughts. “You didn’t hear a single thing I said, did you?”

  “If I tell you I did, will you believe me?”

  “Not really. But you need to focus on mastering the magic you have already. Don’t you have that Archmage thing you’re working towards?” She sighed heavily, and we turned the corner to approach our inn.

  “I do, and there are quite a few spells I have almost mastered. Not nearly enough, but a good few. The problem is I need situations where I have a purpose to use them. Just casting the same spell over and over for an entire day isn’t as effective as finding a few good situations where I have to use the spell to overcome a problem.”

  “That would make it difficult to train, yeah. But remember, we aren’t on this journey for battle this time. We’re looking to learn. So simply casting your spells may have to be enough for a while.” Denise nodded, and we entered the inn, walking up the stairs to our room. It was pretty good for the genre of this world, with a nice soft bed, a wide open space to work, and a small area for a kitchen.

  “I know, I know. Hopefully by the time we get to the dwarves, I’ll have mastered a few more spells.” I moved over to the bed and sat down, closing my eyes to focus on the spell I had been creating on the way over here. Since I had the idea for it down, I could easily use my knowledge of runes and patterns to fill in the diagram.

  Ask the Winds has been added to your Spell List

  Once the spell was made, I pulled my grimoire out of my bracelet and opened it to the newest page. “Alright, got it. Here goes…” I took a deep breath before reading from the page. “Spirits of wisdom and knowledge, I ask thee for guidance. Carry my words upon the wind and reveal to me the truth. Who is the leader of the Eternal Brigade?”

  Ask the Winds has been activated. Once the spell has gathered the information requested, it will be given to you.

  “So, who is it?” Denise sat down next to me and asked as soon as I cast the spell.

  “No clue. I have to wait for the spell to find out. It’s probably got to look for either written or spoken information.” My mana wasn’t being visibly depleted, but that could just mean the cost for this spell wasn’t obscene.

  “Wow… a spell you came up with that does not immediately impress?” Denise teased me, leaning back on the bed to wait for the results.

  The two of us sat there for nearly a half hour before anything happened. Without warning, blue light rose up in front of me, and a voice could be heard within. “Darion.” After giving that single name, the light faded.

  Ask the Winds has successfully retrieved the answer to your question.

  Divination has increased to 4

  “Okay, I take it back. I’m impressed.” Denise spoke as soon as the spell resolved, and then started laughing. “So, now you need to scry on this Darion before you can call him, right? Like you did with the other mage?”

  “Right. God, this is such a waste of a powerful spell.” I moved over to a desk along the far wall and sat down, placing my hands about six inches above the surface. I had cast this spell enough that I could recite it from memory. “I who understands the origin, have taken and written it anew. Become my light, become my shield, and become the blade that divides the world.”

  What I created this time was simply a wide bowl filled with clear water. I was somewhat depressed after using an advanced rare spell to simply make a scrying bowl, but I moved on. The next spell was the actual Scry spell, which I had to look up because I only used it a couple times before. “Eyes that transcend space, search for the one I seek. Show me he who leads the Eternal Brigade, the one known as Darion.”

  Ripples began forming in the water, before an image appeared. The person within the image was sitting on a wooden chair, having a simple meal in a small hut. Judging by his build and equipment, he was a warrior. A level two hundred warrior… his stats should be roughly double Cynthia’s.

  “Okay… found you. Message, Darion.” I saw him jerk slightly within the bowl as the spell connected, the strange tone catching him off guard. “Sorry for calling you like this. I am Jin, the one Kirasami was following.”

  Darion set his food down for the time being, grinning. “Ah, he said you really were a magic user. And if you’re using spells to communicate, it’s probably true about you being stuck here, too?”

  It was a safe assumption, since most foreigners could use the Link Capsule’s built in phone system rather than needing a spell. “Afraid so. I wanted to call you about the duel you wanted scheduled.”

  “What, did you want to call it off?”

  “Ah, no. Actually, I was hoping we could have it sooner. My business in the area ended more quickly than I expected, so I would like to be on my way within three days.”

  “I’ll be at work tomorrow, but I can make the day after that. He said you wanted to restrict Hidden Powers?”

  “That’s right. I don’t believe those techniq
ues should be used in anything short of a deathmatch, and I was told you wanted a simple spar.”

  Darion nodded slightly. “Agreed. Does that mean you won’t be using those guns of yours?”

  I chuckled under my breath. “Sorry, those aren’t my Hidden Power. I can refrain from using them, though. I take it you already hit two hundred?”

  “Oh? He told you my level, too? Yeah, I just got there today. You?”

  “Same. I’ll be sure to show you a good fight in two days. Sorry about killing your people, though.”

  The bandit leader laughed when I apologized, shaking his head side to side. “Nah, we attacked first. Besides, if you’re at my level, those guys wouldn’t stand a chance. Should I be thanking you for Kirasami’s message earlier?”