Chapter 402: 403. Proof of Worth

Jiroh wasn’t at Halburn, when the hunter party got there. Once they reached the Five Eyes Tavern, her sister—with little fanfare—let the group know that Jiroh had set off after a merchant with no idea when she would be coming back. The thunder fury had, of course, paid for the beds, and left a message for everyone to wait for her at Nerosal. This didn’t bode well for some members of the group. No one was particularly vocal about it, but Dallion could see that their patience was running thin. Good thing that the mission was over. Duke Montagne’s surprise request also helped. There was no way anyone could claim that the trip wasn’t profitable. Anyone except Dallion, that was.

He had been almost certain that he’d gain his apprentice status on this trip. Instead, he remained hopeful.

“I’m thinking of going about during the night,” Dallion said while most of the rest were unpacking or resting in their beds. “Maybe I’ll come across something interesting.”

“There’s nothing out there,” Euryale replied as she held one of her gauntlets. Dallion watched the cracks and chipped elements get mended before his very eyes. A few seconds later, the gorgon tossed the piece of armor on her bed and took hold of the next one. “Nothing interesting,” she added.

“Let the kid go.” Largo sighed. “It won’t do him any harm.”

“He doesn’t have what it takes.”

“He has what it takes to become an apprentice,” the tank raised his voice slightly. “Seriously, what’s it with you and Jiroh? She doesn’t give a damn, and you’re smothering everyone.”

Dallion would have been worried if one of the party crossbows hadn’t shared that this was common, especially after the end of a trip. After weeks of exhaustion, tempers were running high, and arguments—sometimes accompanied by lots of shouting—were not only common, they were expected. The only thing that wasn’t allowed was fighting. Being a hunter gave a person a new perspective on life. In the wilderness, a fight ended with the death or capture of one side. To start a fight, one had to be willing to kill or die.

What followed was entirely unexpected. Instead of continuing the argument, the gorgon finished mending her other gauntlet, then put it on.

“Let’s go for a walk,” she turned to Dallion.

Not waiting for his response, the gorgon put on the rest of her gear and left the room. Dallion hesitated. He glanced at the rest of the hunters present, waiting for some explanation. Everyone silently gestured to him to follow her—this was an opportunity that wasn't likely to get again anytime soon.

Grabbing his gear, Dallion rushed out.

Do you think she’ll change her opinion? he asked.

That’s highly unlikely, Nil replied. Rather, she’ll give you a chance to have another trial. Personally, I’d say that she’ll have a long talk with you to explain her reasoning. Potentially, she might even give you a degree of freedom when it comes to hunter matters.

That would be nice.

And you could also show some support, the armadil shield joined in. She’s going through a difficult time as well.

Eury can handle the group, Dallion said, even if he was concerned.

You’re really dumb sometimes. Eury’s perception is far better than yours. When Fevre gave you the warning, she most certainly heard it as well.

That’s no surprise. I don’t see—

She’s also an otherworlder that helped the Star pull Nerosal into the wilderness. She was the one who gave the rings to the overseer, which triggered it all. If you thought you felt bad, how do you think she feels?

Dallion felt mad at himself. Of course, he knew that Eury came from another world. While the gorgon didn’t like talking about her own world, she’d spend nights asking Dallion about his. They’d spend almost every night doing that when they were in Nerosal. Among all that, Dallion had never once considered that she might have anything to do with the happenings at the arena.

Being a bit more self-centered would be good for you, but not when you’re oblivious to the obvious, the shield added. Just my thoughts. Do what you were going to do.

The gorgon was already outside the tavern by the time Dallion caught up. She didn’t seem burdened in any way, but with her blocker ring on, Dallion could never be sure.

“Ready?” Eury asked.

Dallion nodded. They went through the town and out of the hunters’ gate.

“You think it isn’t fair,” the gorgon said once they were a safe distance from the town walls.

“I think I earned the emblem,” Dallion said. Being so close to her, he didn’t have to worry about sugarcoating things. Gorgons, in general, preferred to be direct. “I don’t know what you want.”

“You have to work on your perception, then. Or your mind.”

Dallion chose not to comment.

“I want to be sure that you survive. Getting a hunter’s emblem, even an apprentice one, means that you can go out on your own. Most people won’t hire you, but those low on gold might, not to mention you can roam the wilderness on your own. I won’t be there to keep an eye on your all the time. If you get in serious trouble, that would be it.”

“I know. Defeat in the real world is the same as death.”

“No.” She shook her head. “You think you understand. You haven’t lost anyone yet. You’ve been in a hunt, but that was an army hunt. Losing someone with skills with whom you’ve spent years hits hard. I don’t want to go through the same again.”

“You lost someone?” Dallion asked.

“My mentor. I didn’t choose to become a hunter, I was found, as was Jiroh. My mentor was an old hunter who roamed the region doing any job the provincial nobility would give him. He found quite a lot of artifacts for the archduke, a fair number for the countess, as well. The Five Eyes was his originally.”

The tavern was his? Dallion asked.

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This posed a lot of questions. Dallion suspected that he had been the one to find Jiroh’s sister. It made sense that he would leave the tavern to the child. It also meant that he had died barely a few years ago.

“How?” Dallion asked.

“I don’t know. Some say a dragon, others claim it was an aetherling, or even the Star itself. The point is he died.”

“And you’re worried the same will happen to me?”

“What will happen when you can’t rely on your familiars?” the gorgon asked. “There are creatures that cause metal to decay. There are some that heat it up to boiling point. Indestructible gear doesn’t amount to much if it kills the person who wears it.” There was a brief pause. “I know you’re different.” Eury turned her head towards Dallion. This was rare. Normally she didn’t have to, relying on her three-sixty snake sight. “I know about the sixth stat. I’ve known for a while.”

At this, Dallion stopped in his tracks.

“Since when?”

“The Overseer told me the day you relinquished control of the city domain.”

That felt slightly awkward. All this time Dallion had been dropping hints and thinking up absurd explanations to explain the fact that he could talk to guardians. Strictly speaking, no one was supposed to have learned. The Green Moon wasn’t in favor of Dallion sharing the secret with anyone, and outside of the Order, there was no reason to think anyone would ask. The overseer, on the other hand, had turned out to be an unexpected loophole. The moment Dallion had defeated her, he had become her new owner, which had allowed her to see all his skills and statistics. Apparently, the knowledge remained after he had transferred her to Countess Priscord. That had allowed her to share the information with others, including Euryale.

“You’re supposed to fight in ways I can’t imagine,” Eury went on. “And that’s why I have trouble letting go.”

“But you’ve changed your mind.” Dallion hazarded a guess.

“Sort of.” She put on her gauntlets. “I tried thinking about it and there’s no way I can convince myself to let you go hunting on your own. You’ll have to convince me, instead.”

A smile-smile appeared on Dallion’s face.

“It’s been a while since our last spar.” Back then, he was a hopeless case. Then again, he had a lot fewer skills and familiars at the time.

“Three clean hits,” the gorgon said. “That’s all you’ll need. One can be luck, but not three.”

The fight was clearly unfair, but that was the point. Most creatures in the wilderness were far beyond Dallion’s level and he was going to have to resort to smarts and gear to gain the upper hand.

“You can use all the weapons you have. I’ll be using only my gauntlets. Go ahead.”

The gorgon had barely finished talking when Dallion split into fifteen instances, all but one charging at her. The goal was to overwhelm her with instances and hopefully get lucky. Unfortunately, when it came to Eury, there was no such thing as luck. All of Dallion’s attacks were easily deflected, in some cases the gorgon even did a counterattack, slamming him to the ground.

Dallion winced. That was another drawback of splitting: the pain felt, even if momentary, felt very real. The gorgon knew that all too well, which was why she resorted to inflicting as much pain as possible.

You won’t dissuade me, Dallion thought, and split again. This time, all of his instances drew his whip blade.

“Go,” Dallion said. Reacting to his words, the weapon extended forward.

However, just as Eury had evaded Dallion’s previous attack, she had no trouble evading this as well. Even the shardfly guardian’s speed proved not to be enough.

Keep the pressure, Dallion ordered as he drew his Nox dagger. Following one of the hundreds of attack sequences he knew, he then charged forward. The hope was that the whip blade would be able to create a good enough distraction to allow for a surprise attack in the meantime.

The first few attempts were unsuccessful. The third, though, was spectacularly disastrous. Eury had managed to disarm him with ease, then proceeded to slam Dallion—the real Dallion—to the ground.

Damn it! Dallion thought through the pain. Some things never changed. Even after everything he had learned and acquired, facing her was just as difficult as it had been half a year ago. Eury’s ring prevented him from using his music skills, and all the items she was wearing refused to help Dallion out.

Jumping back to his feet, thanks to his acrobatic skills, Dallion quickly split into a dozen instances, pulling back. The action proved successful enough to allow him a momentary reprieve from getting pommeled.

That’s why you don’t want me to rely on weapons and gear alone, he thought, breathing heavily.

His girlfriend wasn’t toying with him, but for all practical purposes, she might as well have been. Otherwise deadly attacks had been rendered useless, turning Dallion into a defanged kitten. No matter what approach he tried to take, Eury was always there to stop him. Dallion had tried high attacks, low attacks, acrobatic attacks from above… none of them worked.

“You’ll never make it out in the wilderness with those skills alone,” the gorgon said. “Without an emblem’s protection you won’t stand a chance.”

That made a cluster of anger form within Dallion. He knew her words to be true, and that infuriated him even further. There had to be a weakness of hers he could exploit. For a moment he considered whether Gleam’s illusions wouldn’t help, but given the gorgon’s perception level, it was unlikely.

Think of it as a puzzle, dear boy, Nil suggested.

This isn’t a realm, Nil. In real life there aren’t always solutions.

You’re missing the point. You were never going to win against her head on. The gorgon is twenty levels above you, and has stats at levels that would make you cry. In order to win you’ll have to use your brain.

What do you think I’ve been doing?

Limiting yourself just as much as she is, the echo grumbled. Your greatest strength isn't your familiars or the new skills you’ve learned; it’s the knowledge you have from the other world. If you want to defeat her, better use your imagination and think outside of the box. Everything else will fit in place.

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