bigabreads Chapter 280: Celebration and Spars
Chapter 280: Celebration and Spars
After Violet’s impromptu lecture on beasts and their nature the various villagers decided that it would be a good idea to have a propper celebration.
So that was how Violet and Luna found themselves being provided with food and drink in abundance as the two guests of honour.
The 10 assembled adventures were also being plied with copious food and drink as thanks for their part in the defence of the town.
And that was how both girls made a discovery, it turns out they they were unable to actually get drunk.
Sure neither of them had truly tried to get drunk, or even had many opportunities to have alchol for that matter. Yet even after drinking multiple flasks of ale and other more, questionable homebrew beverages. They discovered that due to their heightened constitution alchol such as what the villagers had in hand was unable to truly take hold.
Not to say that it was entirely unsuccessful in inebriating them, but it was more of a gentle buzz, that only happened because they were actively trying to suppress their consitution thus allowing the weak ’poison’ from effecting them at all.
Still it was a pleasant experience for the two of them as they spoke to the villages and adventures alike.
Everyone did seem initially hesitant to speak to the two powerful women at first, yet when they saw them so earnestly dig into both the food and drink attitudes shifted and they began to approach out of more than just a sense of gratitude.
They ended up regalingtales of their journey so far. Obfuscating some details so as to not make it obvious that they originated from the Endless Forest as that would undoubtably cause some questions that they were not eager to discuss.
But they talked about their friends, Susan, Rhyana and Olivia. Detailed some of their adventures such as their early journey through the elemental valleys and some of the creatures that they had fought.
Everyone, especially the adventures found these encounters to be truly fascinating. They asked countless questions about the beings they had fought, from what abilities they used to how they looked.
In turn the adventures told tales of their own, from how they all met one another to some of the misadventures that they had experienced.
"And so, we were trying to sneak up to a monster nest south of Solantis city. It was located within a small canyon and we needed to get to the bottom of it in order to properly wipe the monsters out. So I go down first to ensure that our landing is clear, then signal the rest to come on down." The person speaking was the scout of the paladin Williams group Kyle, a small thin man with black hair and black eyes.
At his words William let out a groan and asked in an exasperated tone. "Do we have to tell this tale again?"
His question only resulted in his party members laughing before Kyle continued speaking. "So there I was, standing in the conyon, hardly a dozen meters away from the nest of a bunch of monsters as I waited for my team to stealthily climb down to meet me. Then I hear it, the sound of a rock breaking."
He paused for dramatically effect whilst William hurried his head in his hands. "I look up to see what caused the noise only to see our illustrious leader, Sir William plummeting down the side of the canyon!" He had to stop as he tried to reign in his laughter, but soon continued.
"The fool managed to choose the single worst foothold and ended up breaking it! So he fell a good 10 meters down and slammed into the ground with enough force form a small crater! Needless to say the stealth approach was thoroughly shot by that, so it all descended into chaos!" He paused to take a giant swig of his drink before slamming it down on the table with a grin.
"And that is why William here is never allowed on stealth missions again!" He and the other adventures burst into laughter at that proclamation, Violet and Luna joining in with quiet chuckles as they imagined the scene as described.
From their more stories were told, most being tinged with humor as befit the current mood of the night. Eventually however, a question was asked that brought an anticipatory silence over the group of adventures and village folk nearby.
"Lady Luna, would you be willing to give me the honour of having a spar with you? I managed to watch some of your battle against the large wolf and have found myself positively infatuated with the thought of Experian ing your skill myself."
It was William who had asked, he still wore his full plate armour and was staring at Luna with a feverish intensity as his eyes sparkled.
Luna took a moment to consider that request. Yet it did not take too long for her to come to a decision, either filled by the current mood or just out of her own excitement she readily agreed to a simple spar. It would be one of no Skill usage only pure skill.
Or it would have been if Luna hadn’t pointed out that she didn’t actually have any real weapons anymore and only used constructs forged with her mana. As such it was determined that she would be allowed to use that one skill.
Violet offered herself to be the judge, given that she was the only one capable of stopping the fight if anything truly dangerous were about to happen.
And so in no time at all over half of the village ended up standing once more outside of the gates as they watched the two figures stand opposite one another with weapons drawn.
"I thank you for this opportunity my Lady, I shall be in your care!" Said William, only to immediately charge forward with surprising speed given his build.
He wielded a tall shield in one hand and a short sword in the other. His opening move consisted of a forward facing shield bash quickly followed by a rapid stab forward with his blade.
Luna in turn seemed to float around the initial bash and parried the thrusting sword with one of her twin swords. The second whipped out to score along his side, yet he managed to angle his body as such that the sword simply slipped off the plate armour.
Luna was naturally holding back her true speed and power, after all the purpose of a spar was to refine one’s skill, not simply to overwhelmed one’s opponent with raw stats.
Still Luna was an experienced fighter by now, so she simply transitioned into a quick snap kick that William only just managed to bring his shield up to block in time. He was still sent staggering back even with Luna’s strength being restrained.
Regardless, William was a trained warrior and paladin, he would not give up in a fight so easily.
After stedying himself he took a step forward to once more bring the fight to Luna, only to be force to instantly go on the defensive as a flurry of attacks were sent his way. His shield moved with commendable speed, moving into the right spot to best deflect and redirect the rapid and powerful strikes coming his way.
William tried to push back against the onslaught, he tried to counter or knock his attacker away to give him some breathing room. Yet Luna’s assult was relentless.
She moved in unpredictable patterns, her figure never seeming to be where one would expect it to be. Half of his counters ended with him receiving a light tap on the arm or side as he ended up overextending.
Eventually Luna brought the fight to a close. She moved up with increased speed, now understanding exactly what level of durability the man possessed. She knocked his shield aside with a low sweep of one blade only to push forward and rest her other blade against his throat.
Silence once more descended the area, only interrupted by the heaving breaths of William as he fought to regain his composure after the frenetic and fast paced spar. Still after a hesitant moment he lowered his own sword and shield and spoke up in a resigned yet somewhat delighted tone.
"I surrender." Then as Luna withdrew her sword and took a step away William continued with a bow. "Thank you for the opportunity."
It was only then that the assembled crowd broke into applause as they celebrated the physical display of skill that had just been put on for them.
For the villagers it had been a near unseeable display of infathomable power, most not even been able to even see half of what the two did past brief glimpses when they slowed down.
For the adventures present it was a display that truly showcased the overwhelming power disparity between them and Luna, and by extension Violet.
For whilst Williams was heaving for breath, clearly having put his everything into that spar, Luna looked relaxed, nary a hair on her head was out of place.
They looked upon the woman with a newfound sense of respect. One that was only slightly broken when an exciteable Violet rushed over and glompped onto Luna in a giant hug that sent the cold woman staggering back.