Inventory magic, in general works quite similar to summoning magic. In fact, some people who specialise in it use it synonymously. The only difference between the two, is the fact that for inventory magic the item is 'stored' or in professional terms 'memorised' before being summoned.
Mikel, although a C-grade who wasn't quite in touch with his mana, could use it just fine, and in this spar with Victoria he was stuck in a dilemma.
Big and lethal weapons have too much downtime, weapons that have less downtime aren't lethal.
Besides, all he had in his inventory was a steel knuckle, dagger, few scraps of metal and a longsword.
But small things add up. Those were the words Mikel lived by. He was a hard worker, and always looked to achieve small landmarks for a bigger goal.
"A chain, huh?" Victoria smiled. "Not a bad idea."
'Chain is simply an accumulation of metal loops.' Mikel thought to himself. 'So I'm not summoning a chain, but a series of small metal loops that connect to each other. That mindset will save downtime.'
Mikel managed to summon the chain almost immediately with his new way of thinking - utilising the scraps of metal - and immediately he wrapped those chains around Victoria to bind her. The chains were jagged and clearly forged with low-quality steel, and after the bind he used his mana once more, pulsing blue neon veins through the chain and then-
"cough!"
a series of spikes appeared on the surfaces of the loops, piercing into Victoria's skin. Rudimentary alchemy.
But she took it all with a smile, even as it was clear that there was pain. It was almost creepy to Mikel how much she seemed to be enjoying the whole thing, and sure enough, to Victoria, genuine pain was something she hadn't felt in a long time; a long-lost sensation.
"I can't move." She whispered excitedly. "You're quite hard on the bind, aren't you darling?"
"S-surrender." Mikel threatened, ignoring her. But it wasn't menacing, and as a matter of fact, Mikel's hands were shaking. Even if it was all a simulation, the idea of inflicting pain on a person, nonetheless a woman -although he knew full well she was stronger in normal circumstances - didn't feel at all pleasant.
"And what if I refused?"
Mikel's eyes glowed in red and the binding of the chain became stronger, the spikes digging further deep into the soft, pale skin of Victoria.
"Ah!" She gleefully yelled.
Her smile didn't go away.
She was looking up at the ceiling, her eyes glowing with life. Pain was like an old friend. She was excited to meet her in what felt like ages, and the humiliation of it being affected to her by some lowly Ceebee excited her so much that perhaps she mistook it for pleasure.
"You're so good, you're so damn good." She repeated, and Mikel immediately knew something was wrong.
"You said you have debuff on yourself…you're trapped now. Just surrender, or I'll end this pathetic game of yours."
"End it? But why? Isn't it so much fun? When have you ever got to have this much power in your life? You have successfully captured the most beautiful, powerful person in the world, do you not feel excited about that?"
"Inflicting pain on people does not excite me."
Dead silence. The smile was no more.
"Boring." Victoria remarked, and suddenly, she broke the bind.
The chains shattered, turned to dust as the summoning spell was gone.
Mikel first wondered how it could have happened.
Dispel was an advanced spell which Victoria couldn't use due to her debuff. Naturally, Mikel arrived at a conclusion much scarier.
"You broke the bind…with brute force…?"
Mikel then immediately felt a choking hold pressuring his neck. Victoria, covered in wounds, had her hand on his neck, gripping it tight where he can no longer breathe freely. It was a checkmate.
"Listen darling, I'll give you one piece of advice." Victoria was stern, as squeezed her hands slowly, putting more pressure into the hands that gripped Mikel's neck.
"Empathy is not a very good trait of a good hunter."
She snapped Mikel's neck.
***
When Mikel and Victoria snapped to reality Mikel's King piece was broken in half and it was clear that Victoria had won.
The pain that was not evident during the simulation - which he suffered from his first hunt and the brawl (albeit one-sided) at the bar - creeped up on him again and he squinted his eyes a little.
"It wasn't too bad, I suppose I expected less from a C-gradie."
Victoria, apathetic to the apparent pain that Mikel was feeling, simply commented with her chin resting on her hand.
"The chain that you summoned was a little fragile though, and it may still lack lethality. You have to consider that."
"Why are you doing this?"
"...doing what?"
"You picked me up at the bar, inflicted pain, took me to your house and made me go through that strange training. What's the reason? Why me?"
Mikel was genuinely wondering why it was the case that he was the one.
"Well," Victoria responded in a non-chalant way.
"Everyone needs a hobby, don't they?"
Victoria was quite serious about that.
It was apparent that she had everything, the strength, the mental fortitude and wealth.
There was not a single person in Tera that could challenge her, let alone stand next to her.
She was hostile and cold, and nobody could warm her up or dare to try.
Through that, Mikel saw a window of sorrow that she seemed to have.
He didn't say anything of course. It was clear that he was a rather prideful woman, and pointing out her embedded loneliness that Mikel thought she had wouldn't do him any good.
"What if I refuse? Do I have a choice?"
"Well," she leaned in with a wryly smile that would put any witch to shame. "When a dog runs away from its master, it is common knowledge to put him on a leash, don't you think?"
Nonchalant, smug, powerful.
A lot of words crossed the mind of Mikel.
"Fine." Mikel said, as if he made up his mind. "Train me harder."
If she sees me as a dog, then let her teach me a few tricks. Mikel was not meek and that was indeed his idea.
Life of a hunter was tough either way, and if nothing else Mikel wanted to at least be strong enough to hold himself in wildzones.
Victoria smiled a little - a smile that didn't have quite as much smug - but it was so subtle that Mikel couldn't catch onto it.
"Rest up a bit and get better soon, don't waste my time."
***
When Mikel got better and was able to move, Victoria took him straight away to the empty "room" underground, which was the size of a whole parking lot in a supermarket.
It was a training facility that Victoria had, where she'd test her spells and abilities. It also had a simulation grid installed if she needed to test any scenarios, and it was a perfect place to train the C-grade she decided to adopt.
"You had enough rest?"
"If I said I didn't, would you let me?"
"Of course not."
Mikel shut his mouth and didn't say a word to that. Victoria saw that Mikel wasn't going to object, so she decided to move on to start her teaching, by summoning a chain - like Mikel did during the simulation - almost instantly.
"Summoning the chain was an okay one. Changing its form for it to have a bunch of thorns to increase damage was also…acceptable."
She started off with a compliment of sorts.
Victoria flicked her arm in a flash and the chain extended so far, grazing Mikel's left cheek as it made an explosive sound on the wall. Mikel froze up, trying to process what had happened. Victoria threw a flail, the spiked ball leaving a crate on the wall.
"What do you think?" Victoria asked.
"How did you…"
"Speed is everything. Right now, I barely see your mana flowing. Mana shouldn't be something you keep stored away until it's time to use it. It should also be there next to you, for when time comes to utilise in an instant."
"T-that's easier said than done."
Victoria's idea was right, but when it comes to reality, Mikel's rebuttal made sense. After all, getting mana to always flow to everywhere in the body itself needed some effort, and it was harder for a C-grade hunter like Mikel who obviously already had struggles with mana control.
"Your 'gift' - if we can call it that - is weapon mastery, is it not?"
"...and what of it?"
"In a real battle what if your weapon breaks? What if there is no weapon to use? Are you going to carry around a big bag of weapons like an idiot?"
Mikel frowned in response, and Victoria continued.
"You need to utilise your weapon summoning for it to synergise with your so-called gift of weapon mastery, and therefore, you have to treat yourself not just as a close-range fighter, but also as a summoner. Step one is manaflow."
"Manaflow?"
Mikel listened curiously, and Victoria smiled, yet her eyes were still dead cold. In an instant he felt the wind, and in an instant she was next to him, her lips close to his ears.
"Breathe, Mikel." She whispered. "Let's start with that, shall we?"