“The Martial skill you just learned is an adapted version of longsword martial arts from my home world,” it said as Arthur marveled at his sword and new abilities. “There were more styles for different weapon types, of course, but this one was wide spread. Before the System changed how everything worked, it was the foremost optimized style of longsword combat.” The suit of armor picked up a practice blade and joined Arthur on the field.
“After the System arrived, the fighting styles of my world were put through a gauntlet. The introduction of stats and skills changed everything, and the methods of engagement were twisted beyond recognition. Some martial styles fell out of use completely, others evolved to successfully incorporate the use of stats and skills in their methods. This one… was made for people like you and me.” The armor faced Arthur, lifting its sword and assuming the stance it’d shown him. “It focuses on momentum to supplement striking power and speed, while keeping a solid defense. It’s meant for individuals with high defense and attack, but low speed. The methods I added give it greater synergy with the True Heart of Devotion, and will facilitate stat jumps while working mostly the same.”
Arthur gulped before lifting his practice sword as well. He inched towards the unmoving suit of armor, looking eerily like the kind you would see adorning a castle hall. Soon, their blades were crossed, and for a moment, neither of them moved. Suddenly, the armor blasted into motion, twisting the sword and changing its guard to stab at Arthur. With the new knowledge he gained, he knew how to counter this strike, and moved to push the armors blade down. The two clashed viciously for a few seconds… until the armor knocked Arthur to the ground with a kick.
“The basis of the martial technique you’re using is a mixture of several different combat styles,” the armor said, taking up its neutral stance again. “It does not restrict your weapon to your blade. It employs kicks, punches, grappling, and more. You will use all of them, or you will lose to someone who does. Fix your stance.”
The two went at it again. Though he got better and better, no matter what Arthur did, he always ended up on the ground with the armor hardly budging. Their rapid exchanges belied dexterity as being one of their lowest stats, the wood of the practice blades holding up despite the furious and repeated clashes.
Hours went on. Arthur once again lost himself in sparring with the empty suit of armor. Both he and that armor hammered on the mistakes he’d make, gradually improving his skill.
Miscellaneous Skill
[Martial: Smite]
Has leveled up!
[Martial: Smite]: Level – 3 ? 4
The knowledge that he gained from this Miscellaneous Skill was different from his shield based one in several ways. The latter had directly poured information and muscle memory both into Arthur upon him gaining it. This one, however, only gave a comparative trickle of information of forms and techniques as Arthur leveled it up, with no muscle memory being downloaded into his body at all. This left Arthur to memorize all the techniques he could on his own, which left him grateful that the skill didn’t dump all the knowledge on him at once.
After an unknown amount of time, Arthur and the suit of armor finally brought an end to the unscheduled training session. Arthur felt beaten and bruised, needing multiple breaks to catch his breath. He hadn’t managed to push the armor back even a single time.
It put the two practice swords away as Arthur sat on a bench, looking forward into the middle distance. He breathed heavily, though he’d felt more powerful than when he’d come in. He thought to himself about the lawless town and the people trapped there, unable to take his mind off of the altercation he’d had with the rest of the party the day earlier.
The armor joined him on the bench. “So, how do you feel?”
Arthur chuckled. “Sore.”
The armor returned his snickering. “Yes, but at least you’re less atrocious with your weapon now. Not quite what I’d consider good yet, or even decent… but you’re on the right path.”
“Oh, gee thanks.”
A moment of silence passed.
“So… what are you going to do about that town?”
Arthur started. “How do you know about that?”
“I can see the outside world, you know. You’re essentially carrying my house around with you.”
Arthur’s eyebrows rose as he nodded slowly. “…Ah. I… see. Then that’s how you knew about… everything else.”
The armor didn’t answer, waiting for Arthur’s reply to his question.
“I guess… I’m going to leave tomorrow night. Leave all the supplies I’m holding for them somewhere safe, leave some kind of note telling them where it is and where I’ve gone. Maybe a few extra things to make sure they stay safe. I don’t know.”
“Don’t tell me you’re going alone.”
He didn’t reply, causing the suit of armor with no lungs to sigh with exasperation. “Arthur…”
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“I’ll be fine. Unless I find another Raider, I don’t think anything could-”
“You need to harden up.”
Arthur’s head shot up to look at the armor in disbelief.
“You act like you can solve all the world’s problems; like now that you have power, you can stop all the suffering. Well, I have news for you kid: there will always be suffering. Your goal to quell it as best you can is admirable, but you cannot save everyone. There is only one of you, and no matter how much power you gain in the System, it will never be enough to change that.” The armor lifted its leg to the other side of the bench and turned, its entire body now facing Arthur’s stunned face.
“Do you think suffering only exists when you’re nearby? How many people do you think have died already on this planet alone? And what about your parents? Have you forgotten about them already, or are you simply willing to let their safety sway in the wind while you pursue a goal in the other direction?”
Arthur grit his teeth. Being so focused on the people stuck in the lawless town, he hadn’t stopped to consider how it’d affect his current goal. The armor’s posture relaxed.
“The Heart of Devotion isn’t as simple as it seems. It has its secrets, yes… but there are elements of it that aren’t considered by many. Halfway through your fight with the Tuskborne… your title’s stat buffs exploded in power, right? Do you know why that happened?”
Arthur shook his head without looking up.
“It’s part of why you need to stop being so soft. The Heart of Devotion is a title that many people gain, especially on a Macrocosmic scale. The only ones who unlock its full potency, however, are the types of people who dislike conflict; people who will avoid slaying their enemies. Do you understand what I’m saying?” The armor folded its hands together in front of it.
“The Heart of Devotion gains power with levels of synchronization. The better you embody its ideals, the more stats and effects you gain. The more stats and effects you gain, the more powerful you become. But those ideals are best aligned with pacifists; people who disdain strength and instinctively slow their blade at their opponents necks. The Heart of Devotion is powerful, but those who can access that power lack the mindset, the conviction to do so. That mindset matters more than you think, Arthur.” The armor leaned forward, its arms now resting on its knees.
“You are not just limiting yourself; you are cutting off your tongue and slicing your tendons. Your personality is so antithetical to violence that the vast majority of your title’s power has gone completely untouched. Locked away behind that overly pacifistic mindset. You managed to peel back a layer of that softness during that battle, which was why it bloated your stats out of nowhere. But until you understand that killing is necessary in this world, it will stay behind that pacifistic nature, even… as… you… die.” Arthur’s eyes were wide, looking down at nothing with his shocked expression returning. The armor got up and paced back and forth in agitation.
“There are monsters in this world, Arthur. Not made from the System, but made from men and women. You cannot fathom the heights of depravity that exist. There are those who would slice the skin from your bones and feed it to your children for no more reason than because they found it funny. Do you believe yourself better because you would not slay them? Do you believe the Macrocosm to be better for their inclusion? Do you plan on sitting down with them and explaining the error of their ways!?” The armor sat down, despite still being worked up.
“You are not a better person for staying your blade against those within your power; you are a coward for it. As the night ends and evil lives for another day, what will you look forward to? Another knife in the dark? A new atrocity waiting to happen? The lives that will be lost next will be on your hands. Tell me, Arthur… are you willing to accept that? Do you have the mental fortitude to rest your head at night… knowing those people would have lived?” The armor sighed, finally winding down after its rant.
“There are people who can be redeemed, but there’s only one answer for those who can’t. You need to understand, Arthur… some people… just need to be smote.”
The silence in the face of the armor’s rant was all-encompassing. It felt like nearly a half-hour had passed until eventually Arthur spoke again.
“S-… Smoat?”
The armor looked at him. “Yes… smote. The… past tense for smite.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“No…?”
“That’s the dumbest past tense word I’ve ever heard,” Arthur snickered, reducing the tension slightly.
“Get out of my house,” the armor replied. “Oh, and one more thing. The Blade makes a lot of noise when you hit things with it, right? You can turn that off by focusing your will on it while you’re here.”
“Oh, er… I should probably do that, yeah. And uh… Armor Man? Whatever your name is?” Arthur smiled genuinely, despite the rough conversation just previously. “Thanks. Really.”
If he had a face, Arthur had a feeling the armor would be smiling back. “No problem, nerd. Now go; I’m interested to see what you’ll do next.”
Mira and Sofiya walked about the city streets, perusing the wares the various merchants sold. As the city grew in size, the types of people it included grew too; there were now merchants who could access the Credit Store, buying goods to resell for a profit. As merchant classes were the only ones who could access that Credit Store, their wares were often overpriced.
Other life-type classes were also available to purchase goods from, like alchemists, smiths, and so on. The population of the city was now well into the thousands, despite the short time they’d been expanded. With so many people present, they would soon need to push the monsters back again with another expansion; something that would cause an Event. The System would press the boss monsters and their minions to attack the city, and if the city’s denizens won, they would gain more ground for their Territory. If they lost, then not only would everyone die, but the monsters would be allowed to ransack the city’s non-combatants. It was rare for the city to be attacked otherwise.
“Thank goodness that weird kid got reassigned,” Sofiya trilled off, poking through a grumpy-looking merchant’s accessory pieces. “You know he’s got it bad for you, right? Like, I think he’s obsessed with you!”
“Wouldn’t be the first one I’ve met,” Mira replied flatly. She watched her friend to make sure she didn’t steal anything. “Although most of them before were from the internet…”
“Don’t worry, you’ll meet the one for you one day! Speaking of which… you never did finish telling me about this ‘Arthur’…” she said leadingly, wiggling her eyebrows as her friend shook her head. They left the stall without buying anything shortly afterward.
“Do you talk about anything other than weird relationship things?”
“Ooooh of course I do! I just needed to distract you a little bit while I lifted this cute necklace!” She snickered, producing a freshly pilfered neck accessory. Mira gave her a flat look as she grinned, placing it in her Vault inconspicuously.
Just then, alarms sounded from the front watchtower. Chaos slowly seeped into the streets as people began to chatter and move about quickly, everyone trying to get to their homes. Mira and Sofiya looked at each other before making their way through the crowded streets toward the front wall of the Territory. When they made it there, they peered through the gaps in the wall to just barely see a small army of monsters making their way toward them.
The city was under a real attack for the first time, and at the army’s head… was a Raid Commander.