After a while of walking, we reach a building, going inside I see many people covered in armor and many having swords around their hips
Heathcliff also had armor, he had no helmet but it was clear that under his red coloured robes, he had some form of plated armor.
"So Cato, what brings you around Crydwell around this time of year, you know….. With the war and all?" Heathcliff asks me as I exasperatedly sigh
"Look Heathcliff, I just…. I don't know how to explain but I got here by accident and I really don't have a place to go." I explain myself quickly as Heathcliff stops me for a second
"Please, call me Cliff, my friend. And if you don't have anywhere else to go, perhaps I could be of help?" he says as I raise my eyebrow
"And how may that be?" I ask with narrowed eyes as he smiled
"Simple, join the army. Dew users aren't as common as would want them to be. Only around 1 in every 100 or so citizens is a dew user and most of them choose not to fight on the frontlines." Cliff explains as I nod
"Makes sense, who would want to risk their life when they have other options" I say seriously as he nods
"Ofcourse, but for you. It could be great. You can fight, you defeated that girl who used yew against you pretty handedly, how long have you been training anyways?" Cliff asks me as I shook my head
"I've never trained, hell I found out about the fact that I could use Dew today" I said as Cliff's eyes widened
"What…..?" he asks me, his face paling
"Cliff? What's wrong?" I ask him as he brushes me off with with his hand
"N-nothing, I am incredibly sorry. If what you say is true, I could have actually killed you with that fireball…. But you truly learnt dew for the first time today?" he asked me as I nodded
"I was raised pretty sheltered, I had never heard of dew before today" I answered as he looked at me bewildered
"Wow….. no training and defeated a person who was able to unlock their Yew…."He looked down at his lap seriously
I wonder, why does he have no doubts whether im being sincere or not, he is taking my words at face value. Could he have a truth detecting ability?
I was broken out of my thoughts as Cliff began once more
"So, Cato Adrenna. Would you like to join me? The Southern front could use a dew user and we would be able to train you. Teach you more magic and even physical enhancements" Cliff explained to me as I rubbed my chin in deep thought
I don't have many options here, staying with them might be the best option I have
"Alright… I'll join. What's my contract going to look like?" I ask him as he grins
"I like your proactiveness! It's just a simple contract! 3 months of training and after that you are either reserve, support or on the front lines! You are required to serve for at least a year after that or if you get discharged" Cliff explains to me, handing me a paper on which it was written.
The currency seemed to be divided into coin types, bronze, silver and gold.
They were named ura, iru and ari respectively.
As a trainee, my salary would be 6 iru and 4 ura per month while as a soldier, i would get 12 iru and 8 ura per month
The conversion rates will be something I will have to ask later…
And the language….
The language was english
It made me extremely curious. Could the world have evolved in a way that english also became the universal or atleast the national language?
Or was there another person from my world who came here ages ago?
"Alright, any way you can sweeten the deal?" I ask with a smile, trying to barter
"Ahaha, what can I do to sweeten it?" he asks me with a smile, knowing that there was always room for bartering
"Equipment, will i be given armor and weapons?" I ask him as he nods
"Yes, armor is a requirement for us to provide, dew users not always use a weapon so it isn't provided, i could add that if that sweetens the deal?" I nod, wanting to have some weaponry atleast
"Just provide me with a sword and a dagger incase I have to fight close quarters" I explain and he nods
"It can be done! Is that all?" he says with a smile as I think again
I am not completely sure if my salary is fair or not, but it won't do good to barter more than i need to against someone who will most likely be my boss
"That's all, thanks a lot once again" I say as he smiles widely, his excited tone showing in his voice once more
I sign the contract and shake his hand as Cliff then suggests something surprising
"If you aren't too tired, I would like you to fight me Cato" he says as I tilt my head in confusion
"Really? I can barely use magic compared to you" I say as he shook his head
"You have some natural skill, you were able to defeat that woman. So come, I promise it's just a spar and It's just to assess your skill level" he explains as I slowly nod
We headed outside as we were now facing each other in a small arena, bricks under us as I prepared to face him.
His red eyes stared at me before he gave me the signal
"Begin!" he said as I immediately brought my hand forward as fast as I could and said one of the four words I knew
"QUAVA" I said as a beam of fire headed towards him, he dodged sideways with ease as his smirk grew
"You cannot get me that easily my friend! QUAVA REVA!" he said as my eyes widened
Reva…? What does reva mean?
As i wondered about the meaning of it, a tornado of fire headed toward me
I had to respond fast and within seconds.
"LUVA!" I yelled as a conical water dome swallowed the fire storm but….
The firestorm evaporated the whole thing within seconds, I jumped away as the mini tornado followed me, it was around 12 foot tall and was headed toward me.
"A Luva alone cannot quell that storm!" Cliff said with a laugh as I felt panic settle in, what can I do….?
"LUVA REVA!" I yelled out in a hurry as a tornado made of water came forward, the same size as the firestorm as it cancelled it out
Reva… Reva means tornado!
"Wonderful! You were able to control a Reva on your first try!" he said with a smile
"Thanks for the new spell!" I said with a smirk as he raised his eyebrow
"Oh really? Try this for a change, QUAVELL" he said as a large fireball, like the one he sent my way headed my way once more
"LUVA, KURA!" I said, using them in quick succession as the fireball was first nullified and then I sent a counter attack his way
"Chain casting? Are you sure you are new to this?" He asks me with a raised eyebrow as he lets his body take the kura but he isn't fazed in the slightest
"What….?" I said, surprised at how unfazed he was at my attack.
"My body is enhanced with Dew my friend, the level of fortitude isn't at the level of someone who uses yew at a decent level but I am far more resilient than that girl you defeated!" he says with a snort as I felt my eyes narrow
"QUAVELL!" I said as a fireball headed his way, my fireball being a substantial amount smaller than his
"QUAVELL!" he said back as both of our fireballs clashed, mine being overpowered easily as I brought my hand forward once more to nullify it
"LUVA!" I said as the Luva swallowed the fireball but….
Cliff had chosen to run towards me at a speed I couldn't physically follow as I see a punch coming my way that I couldn't dodge.
My eyes closed as I braced for my face to be broken but a punch never came, instead he gently knocked against my forehead
"Goodjob! For a first day user of dew…. You are extremely good at using it on the fly…. Being able to learn my words on the fly and chain casting as well! Most dew users can't chain caste until much deeper into their studies!" he explains as I rub my head
"I don't get what's hard about it…" I say as he shook his head
"To fully use God's power, one has to not only say the words but understand and visualise them. God's creation is special in that way, they cannot have proper effect unless you visualise them to have it." Cliff explains to me with a smile
"Most beginners can't chain cast because they still have to get into the rhythm of imagining the effect of one word before they move to the next. Chaining it means you definitely have a vivid imagination and purposeful intent!" I dumboundedly nod at his explanation
Doesn't that just mean I know how to imagine how fire and water would look?
"It might be because you aren't used to using god's gift outside of your body but you rely a lot on your hands for casting as well" He told me as I nodded
I guess I don't HAVE to use my hands when casting….
"You don't have to use your hands, you can also imagine the dew popping from around your body or as far as you can stretch your field!" Cliff explains as I ask again in confusion
"What the hell is field!?" I ask, exasperated at his explanations, at which he just laughs
"You'll learn it in training, till then take care of yourself alright?" he says with a smile before heading off his own way as I am left bewildered
I thought magic was supposed to be fun, what the hell are all these terms!?