Chapter 94 - Vol. 2 - 59

"Uh, okay," Kaori said, "how do I meat shield?" 

"First, take all 16 of those points and DROP 'EM INTO CON!" 

Ren said this, with a thumbs-up and a grin. Kaori raised a brow. 

"Uh... All of them?" 

"Mhm." 

"Like... All 16?" 

"Exactly." 

"I... Are you sure?" Kaori asked. 

16 points into one stat felt like quite the investment. She wondered if it was really worth it. Ren laughed and nodded. 

"Ah. Maybe a demonstration then?" He moved to stand in front of her. "How about this. You have your Savior's Weapon?" He looked and saw Kaori's cube at her waist. "Good. Turn it into a sword." 

"What?" 

"Go ahead." 

Confused, Kaori did so and transformed her  Love into a basic sword. Holding it in her hand, she waited for the next instruction. 

"Now, stab me." 

...

"What?" 

"Stab me." He reiterated. "Go ahead." 

"I... Are you trying to get me arrested?" 

"Trust me!" He cackled as Kaori breathed in. 

Uh... Okay. Just, do it, Kaori.  She told herself and then pulled the sword back and pushed it into his abdomen. 

"AGH!" Ren cried out. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?" 

Kaori let go of the sword and it remained embedded in Ren's body. 

"YOU TOLD ME TO!" Kaori put her hand up to her head and watched as Ren bent over in pain, getting on his knees. 

"I'm..." Ren struggled. "I'm... I'm fine!" 

And then, he stood up, grinning.

The sword stuck out, still stabbing into him. 

"What?" Kaori shook her head. "H-How!?" 

"Ah, but that's the thing, Kaori. Here, check my stats." 

He allowed Kaori to see them fully. 

Level 45

MP: 100/100

STR: 25

DEX: 10

CON: 45

INT: 5

WIS: 10

L: 5

Con at 45?  Kaori noted. 

"Constitution affects your physical resistances," Ren said, pulling the sword out of his body. Upon examination, Kaori saw that only an inch or two had actually passed into his body. "Do you understand what Constitution 45 means?" 

"I think I do..." Kaori's eyes widened with awe. "You're so thick!" 

"Exactly!" 

Ren flexed in front of her. 

"It means that only the strongest of attacks will ever get past me!" He cackled again. "This, Kaori, is the very essence of being a protector! The shield you represent must be unbreakable! Now, PUT THOSE POINTS IN, LADY!" 

"R-Right," Kaori went to her status and, as she'd seen what Constitution could do, proceeded to drop all 16 points into the stat. 

She couldn't deny though that it did hurt a little in her heart to do so. 

But, when she was done, her stats looked like this. 

Level 25

MP: 60/60

STR: 18

DEX: 18

CON: 27

INT: 6

WIS: 6

L: 100

EXP: 20/270

"Now, I'm going to punch you in the face, are you ready?" 

"W-What!? No, wait!" 

"Kidding, I'm kidding!" Ren laughed as Kaori breathed a sigh of relief. He patted her on the shoulder and gave another thumbs-up. "Now, we need to discuss your weapon of choice. Which one are you good with?" 

"Uh, mostly just this one..." She transformed her  Love into a swordstaff. As he saw it, Ren raised a brow, and his smile slightly disappeared. 

"Oh... How'd you end up with that kind of weapon?" He asked, curious. 

Kaori scratched her chin for a second, wondering how much she could say.  Well, there's no way he doesn't know about what happened with Varcon... Maybe he's willing to give me a chance? But, I still don't want to bring him up though... 

"My, uh, trainer recommended it to me." 

"And who was that?" 

In actuality, she didn't remember much about the man. Varcon had said he was some sort of mercenary, so that's what Kaori told Ren. 

"A mercenary." 

"And... how exactly do you know this mercenary?" 

Hearing that, Kaori raised a brow. 

"What's up? Why are you asking me that?" 

Ren sighed. 

"The swordstaff is a weapon that a particular group of mercenaries likes to use, the Red Ravens," he explained. "I've had... a few altercations with them, in the past. So, anything I should know about?" 

"N-No," Kaori quickly said. "I didn't know the guy, someone else recommended him." 

"Is that so?" Ren asked. Kaori nodded. He looked into Kaori's eyes for a moment before his smile finally returned. "Alright then. Well, listen." He started, "a swordstaff could work for you if you mainly use it to defend yourself and not to actually kill anything, but you might want to consider switching to something more, eh, multi-purpose, if you will." 

"Is there anywhere I can find more options?" Kaori asked. 

"I'd say this place probably doesn't have anything too creative. Nah, if you really want out-of-the-box stuff, you'd be better off going to Onyx, after this is all done." He replied. 

"I can't turn my cube into a shield?" She asked. 

"It only turns into weapons. That's why I carry this thing on my back," he said, reaching over and smacking the giant shield on him. "Maybe they have something that fits the bill, but Sapphire sure as shit doesn't. This place is pretty standard when it comes to equipment." 

Hm.  Kaori looked away briefly.  Onyx... That's along where Keiko headed. Gosh, I hope she's doing okay. 

"Well, next question. Not that I make much use of this, but I suppose I should ask, what kind of magic do you use? If any." 

"Uh, I have a Fire affinity." 

"Fire, eh..." He looked over at Satsuhiro, who was still with Ash at the workout machines. "Well, I can't say I know more about that field than your teacher does, so I don't know that there are any spells that could help you tank as a Fire mage, but... Well, maybe you could find a way. Can't help you there though." 

Kaori nodded.

"So, how do I train my Constitution?" 

"It's simple. You get hit." 

"What?" 

"A lot." 

Kaori blinked. 

I... I guess I should have seen that coming. 

"We can get started right this moment if you want." 

"Wait, wait," Kaori said, "if we're going to train me right now, why would I dump all my points in  before  we train?" 

"Because," Ren said, "you need to get used to getting hit. And if we trained before dumping the points, well, the progress would just be too easy, wouldn't it!? Ha ha ha!"

... Is this man okay?

---

Keiko

Halfway through the journey back home, it was nighttime and Haruna decided that, after everything they went through, they'd be taking the night off. That meant, of course, that they wouldn't get back home until the next day at least. 

Currently, it was almost midnight. Haruna had told Keiko that they'd take turns keeping watch. Keiko would handle the first five hours, and then, once the moon was directly above them, she would wake Haruna up and it would be her teacher's turn to keep watch until the sun came out. 

So, to pass the time, Keiko decided it would be as good a moment as any to start learning these new techniques. 

She began with the Art of the Blade Dancer book. 

A bar appeared over her head as her eyes scanned over the first page.

An image of a woman in a rose-colored robe, holding a katana, was drawn on top. She had on a white mask with a flower painted on it. 

The following are a collection of ancient techniques, usable with various different kinds of weapons, passed down from one Zayama to another. It is said these abilities were created by the Utsurashi, and eventually adapted into the training regimen of most ancient Zayama soldiers, though they were lost over time as new abilities replaced them. 

The Utsurashi were women of the night in the early times of the Jewel Empire, though it is rumored that they do still exist, but operate in secret. 

Renowned for their beauty, they were often called upon by powerful men and women from all corners of the known world. Although this gave them great wealth, it also meant that they were often in danger, as they moved far from home. 

As a result, one woman, whose name has been lost over the ages, had the idea of creating martial arts techniques they could use in the case that things ever got violent. 

The "Blade Dancer" name comes from the statements of spectators, people who would watch and would commonly come to the conclusion that their moves often resembled a refined dance. 

These are those techniques. Note that, although they cost mana and are technically magical, they are gated by your Dexterity attribute and require only one word as an incantation.

As she checked through the pages, Keiko found that there were multiple categories dedicated to using these techniques with different weapons. Katanas, spears, naginatas, daggers, even a blade-and-whip. 

Keiko stood up as she got to the first technique and drew her father's golden sword. In theory, it was just a sword, but drawing the weapon felt alien to Keiko's hands. 

Blade Dancer Arts

1. Rose Blossom (Sword) -

Keep one leg firmly on the ground, spin, and slash with your katana. Roses will emerge from your blade that will widen the arc of your attack, slicing multiple enemies around you. 

Dex Required: 20

Mana Cost: 10

Incantation: Zansae

Nodding to herself, Keiko had to wait until the bar filled, several minutes later. Then, finally, she felt knowledge pour into her. 

She understood what she had to do. So, she put the book down and stood a distance away from Haruna, to make sure she didn't get hurt and planted her foot on the ground. Breathing in, she spun. 

"Zansae!" 

Slashing at the air as she moved, suddenly, she was surrounded by flowers. Then, a flash of roses covered a circle around her, and a tree three meters away suffered a deep cut. 

That's... Incredible!