Sleep is for the Weak

It was getting late into the first day when the party came across their very first good catch of the trip, a family of Charger Boars. Five monster boars each the size of a bull, with thick black hides and dark red eyes.

Given their size, they must have been level 15. Or so Mehal commented from the sidelines.

Charles and Leon engaged head on, the young Lord using his Bond Skill, [Wild Roar], in order to frighten the boars a bit with a burst of chaotic mana.

As he did so, Maria started to spin her webs, forming a net around the startled boars around which Charles’ retainers encircled the creatures, using the webbing as a barrier behind which they could attack the monsters with spears and spells. Meanwhile, Scarlet took shots at each of their legs with her bow and arrow in order to cripple the beasts one by one. Dark smoke coming out of the areas where the arrows impacted, drawing agonized screams from the monsters.

Scarlet had used ‘Weapon Merge’ in order to infuse Branwen into her bow and impart the necrotic mana from [Necrotic Claw] into her arrows. The necrotic damage ate away at the very living boars’ flesh.

But one of the boars, the largest, wasn’t about to give up without a fight and charged Charles with all its might, ignoring the injury to its leg and barreling through the webbing. It was slowed, but not stopped, and the boy Lord did his best to strike out at it, swinging a sword that was as large as he was.

The blade hit and dug into the beast’s body, but it also plowed Charles over in the process, knocking him backwards with the momentum of its massive body slamming into him.

It reared up, ready to slam its hooves down on top of him, only for his back legs to become wrapped in a whip-like blade and pulled violently backwards, its leg being torn off in the process. 

Seizing his chance, Charles returned to his feet and attacked the monster, swinging his sword down on its head, killing it.

“Charles, are you alright?” Sidney asked as the battle ended, all five of the pig monsters lying dead on the ground.

“Yes. I’m alright.” Charles replied. “No need to worry. The resistance training clothes provide a lot of protection from blunt damage.”

“Wait, you’re still wearing those!?” Raphaela shouted in disbelief as she lowered her spear.

“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” Charles said. To not wear them at all times would be wasteful. Especially in battle. Live battle was when combat-type skills grew the fastest, and the handicap provided by the resistance training clothes made the growth that much faster. “Thank you for the save.” Charles said, bowing his head to Maria.

“No problem. Glad to help.” The woman said cheerfully, her whip returning to the form of a sword.

“I’ve never heard of a weapon like that one before.” Andy said, having retrieved his throwing knives from within the boar’s bodies. 

It was true, it was a very unusual weapon, but it seemed that the hybrid weapon was useful in training both [One-Hand Sword] and [Whip User] skills, and had its own [Sword Whip] skill as well. It was difficult to use, but the woman’s Class and Bond made her very well suited for handling it.

He hadn’t realized that people with laborer-type Classes could be so skilled with weapons. Bladesmiths tend to know their way around a sword, but a dressmaker?

As Charles observed the woman, his body suddenly felt much lighter and the shock left in his body from the boar’s charge vanished. Scarlet had cast a healing spell on him, as well as a spell to restore stamina.

“Thank you, but don’t exhaust yourself too much.” He said to her.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve still got plenty of mana remaining.” Scarlet replied.

...How did she have plenty remaining?

Not only was her scouting extremely expensive, but she was also using [Holy Magic] Blessings, [Body Enchantment Magic] buffs and her Bond Skill to strengthen the party, strong [Wind Magic] to debilitate enemies, and attacking with [Abjuration Magic] and Weapon Merge skills, all on top of providing healing. The amount of mana she had used that day was an insane amount, but she just kept using more.

Even with his special Magic Item restoring his mana at triple the normal speed that most enchanted equipment could safely allow, Charles couldn’t use his mana so liberally.

“Congratulations on your latest kill.” Mehal said with his usual smile. “Though accepting a monster’s charge is just reckless. I’d highly suggest not doing it without the proper equipment and skills. Even if your strength is higher than theirs, your body mass is still lower. If you are knocked prone on the ground like that, you can take heavy damage.”

“Yes, Teacher.” Charles said with a bow of his head.

“Still, your team did well. This group could be called proper monsters.” He said with a hum.

That was true. Unlike the blight wolves from before, which had barely been larger than normal wolves, these boars were pretty strong. From the five of them, Charles had earned a total of 325 EXP, nearly equaling what he had earned from the rest of the day.

At the rate they were going, Charles would be able to reach his goal of getting to level 30 by the end of the season. Something he was very pleased with.

Though Scarlet wasn’t as pleased. Good as the EXP was when compared to gaining it from leveling Skills, she was only on track for reaching level 35 or 36 by the end of the Season. A lot less than she wanted. She needed triple that amount of EXP if she wanted to reach level 40 in time.

They would need to head to a more difficult training ground, or find a more effective target.

“The magic stones inside of these beasts should be large enough to have some value to them. Should we harvest them?” Andy asked as he put a hand on one of the bull sized boars.

“Yes. And the meat should be valuable too. Best not to let it go to waste.” Mehal said, looking up at the sky. “We’re pretty far into this zone, so I suggest setting up a camp we can use for the rest of our time out here.”

They were set to stay out there for three weeks before going back to town for a check up. Having to set up camp every night would be a pain, so they would use a more long term one.

Roles were divided and for some reason, Scarlet was part of the dismantling crew. Not that she minded. It was a skill she’d never tested before.

Scarlet took out her carbon fiber carving knife, used [Magic Appraisal] to get an understanding of the monster’s body composition. She’d read a few dozen books on the subject of dismantling and retrieving magic stones from dead monsters, so she thought herself more than prepared, and happily drove the knife into one of the open wounds… Then a horrible chill filled her and a shiver ran up her spine.

The smell of it. The feel as the man’s blood dripped down over her hands. The horrible gurgling sound as it filled his lungs. His hands, which were already gripping her, grew stiffer as the life left him. The fear on his face was just visible in the darkness.

She hadn’t wanted to. He left her with no choice. They all did. If they had just believed her.

His blood was making her hands slick, but she still gripped the knife with all of his strength, even as her arms trembled, opening the stab wound further and further. She couldn’t get away from it. He was on top of her. She couldn’t get away. The smell. The smell of it was too much… She couldn’t breathe.

“Scarlet? You okay?” The voice was distant, as if heard from underneath water, but the feel of the hand on her shoulder was like a lightning bolt up the girl’s spine.

She screamed as she spun around, swinging the knife outwards.

The knife hit nothing as the hand was pulled back, but through her blurred vision, Scarlet could see the figure of the man before her.

She’d missed. She’d missed him with her sneak attack. Now he was going to retaliate against her. Without the element of surprise, there was no way she would be able to defend herself with her young body and frail body, made weak by years of malnutrition. He was going to beat her again. He was going to use her again.

In a panic, Scarlet screamed and lashed out at the man with all her strength and she felt it and the knife impacted with the man’s body.

The smell of it. The smell of the blood was filling her lungs.

(Scarlet, stop!) Branwen’s scream in her mind momentarily pierced through Scarlet’s panic and she found herself staring at Mehal, rather than the man from the school dormitory. 

Mehal had stopped Scarlet’s knife, catching the blade with a hand which glowed with mana and was holding it completely still. Behind the teacher, Charles was on his back in a confused daze, having been violently pulled out of the way of the knife before it had passed through his stomach.

“Are you starting to regain your senses?” Mehal asked softly.

“I… I…” Scarlet was trembling uncontrollably. Her head hurt. Her stomach was doing cartwheels. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t…

“It’s alright. There is nothing to be sorry for. Lots of people react badly to dismantling. Just let go of the knife.” Mehal said calmly, as if trying to talk someone away from the edge of a tall building.

“I… I…” Scarlet could hardly even hear him, and her mind was too jumbled to process what he had said. She couldn’t let go of the knife. She needed it. She needed it if the man returned. She needed it to defend herself. 

She was holding onto it for dear life. Her grip was so tight that her entire hand turned white as death.

(Scarlet, you’re safe. Just let go of the knife.) Branwen pleaded with the girl.

But Scarlet’s grip wouldn’t loosen. Not until she felt arms wrapping around her. Not the arms of the man, but the warm, loving embrace of her mother. 

“It’s alright dear. Just calm down. Mother’s got you. You’re safe.” Maria whispered gently to her daughter, causing Scarlet’s body to start to go limp and her grip on the knife to finally loosen.

She was still confused and still hyperventilating. She was in a self destructive loop, as the more panicked her body became, the more panicked her mind became, and the more panicked her mind became, the more panicked her body became.

She needed to break the cycle. She needed to regain control.

She tried to take deep breaths, to slow her body down and to regulate her mind, but the smell of the blood was filling her lungs and she still could feel the man’s blood on her hands and clothes, the cold weather rapidly chilling it on her skin, giving her goosebumps on top of everything else.

She was getting dizzy. The world was spinning around her. She couldn’t take it. Her body was fighting against her too much.

She rolled about in her mother’s arms, and threw up all over the ground.

---

“I’m sorry. We should have warned you.” Maria said as she held her daughter close to her while everyone sat close to the fire at camp. Scarlet had calmed down quite a bit, but won’t let go of her mother, as if afraid she would disappear. “The truth is, Scarlet has never been good when it comes to people touching her. If she doesn’t prepare herself, she can’t even shake someone’s hand, even if it is someone she knows. ...This is the first time it has happened while she has had a weapon in hand.”

“I’m sorry.” Scarlet said sadly.

“This is nothing for you to apologize for. Everyone reacts badly when they are exposed to that much blood without knowing what they are getting into. I was prepared for something like this happening.” Mehal said as poked at the fire. “Unless Ms. Maria can deny it, there isn’t a single person here who didn’t at least come close to losing their lunch their first time.”

“Yeah. I threw up, and I wasn’t even the one doing the dismantling.” Garci said.

“Same here.” Raphaela admitted.

“I was the one doing the dismantling that time. I was so nauseated that I didn’t even notice that Raphaela threw up on me until later.” Charles said.

“You don’t have to tell them that part!” Raphaela cried out, turning bright red.

“Point is, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Reacting badly is a natural part of being human. You’ll learn from this and be better prepared next time.” Mehal said like the teacher he was. “You two get some rest. We’ve got magic items to handle to watch, but we still need to set them up properly.”

“Alright. Thank you.” Maria said, before carrying her daughter to the girl’s tent.

Mehal watched them go before sighing.

“You know, it is actually kind of comforting, seeing Scarlet panic like that.” Andy said, knees pulled in. “She’s so unusual that it is nice to see her reacting normally to something for once.”

“Her reaction wasn’t normal.” Mehal said, bursting the boy’s bubble. “Most people when confronted with blood seize up or get sick. She reacted by trying to defend herself, seeing everyone and everything around her as an enemy. That isn’t normal, but considering her background, it is to be expected.”

Charles winced at the mention of Scarlet’s background and nodded. After finding out that Jonathan was involved in [Demon Magic] rituals, Scarlet's zombie like face when they had met took on new meaning. The sick bastard had used Blood Rituals on his own daughter. “It can’t be helped. We will all just have to be more careful in the future and treat her as best we can.”

“She might be talented for her age, but there is a reason for that.” Mehal said, nodding in agreement with the young Lord. “One must not envy the strong, because there is usually a tale behind how they got that way. And it usually isn’t worth it.”

Mehal had noticed the [Arcane Mana Resistance] skill the girl had, and won't envy anyone who had willingly endured what was required to get that skill. It was not something that someone who was sane could do, not unless they were deeply afraid for their lives.

That statement hung over the children for a few moments before he told them to get to work setting up the magic item and then sent them all to bed.

---

 

Charles was having a hard time sleeping. He couldn’t get the image of Scarlet’s terrified face out of his head, the tears in her eyes as she lashed out at the demons inside her own head.

After three hours of lying there, he gave up on sleep, got up and grabbed his sword and went outside the tent.

If he can’t sleep, he might as well get some practice in.

But as he left his tent, he saw her sitting there under the moonlight, a trio of fire orbs floating about her head, their light casting shadows on her amber hair. There was a large patch of ground around her, over twenty feet wide, where the snow had vanished and the dead grass of Winter was once again as lively and green as the grass of spring.

Charles hesitated for a few moments before walking towards her, and the moment his foot crossed the boundary at the edge of the circle, he passed through a Ward and it was like stepping into another world. The air became warm and full of the sounds of music like none Charles had ever heard before, sounds created by the shaping of mana with [Illusion Magic].

Scarlet herself had her back turned towards him and was chanting spell words quietly as she worked with a piece of cloth in her hands, sowing an enchantment into it. In her lap was the sleeping form of Branwen, keeping her master company.

But as he entered her little world, her hands stopped and she turned her head to him in surprise. “You are… still awake?” Scarlet asked awkwardly.

“Yes. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to get in a little practice.” Charles said, showing his large two-hand sword. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“Not at all. The nighttime hours are often lonely.” Scarlet said before looking back down at her hands and continuing her work at a noticeably slower pace.

Charles went into his stance and started to swing his sword in the standard practice, but his mind wasn’t able to focus on it like he usually could, his eyes constantly going to Scarlet.

“Where is that music coming from?” Charles asked as a way of making conversation. 

“Ah, sorry, does it bother you?” Scarlet said, reaching to the side where an open piece of cloth was laid out on the ground. She folded it closed and the music stopped. “A lot of people get annoyed at the music loops like that, but I find them soothing.”

“I wasn’t bothered at all. Just curious. I’ve never heard music like that before.” Charles quickly said. “You have cloth enchanted to reproduce sound in a loop? That is rare.”

“I made it myself a while back. It helps to fill the void when no one is around with me.” Scarlet admitted. “I suppose you must find it funny. I can’t stand being touched by other people, but I also don’t like to be alone.”

“...There is absolutely nothing funny about that. Nor is it something to feel ashamed of.” Charles said softly. “Could you open the cloth back up? I was actually enjoying the music.”

“Alright.” Scarlet said, reopening the enchanted cloth and using the magic required to activate it. The song returned. The sounds of bells, a piano and instruments that Charles could not name playing in a thirty second loop filled the space around them. And as Charles focused on the sound, Scarlet spoke again. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.” Charles said calmly.

“No it isn’t. I freaked out and attacked you. I could have seriously hurt you.” Scarlet said, starting to tremble a little.

“There is nothing for you to be sorry about.” Charles said. “If anyone should be apologizing it is me.”

“Huh?” Scarlet said, confused.

“You and your mother, and hundreds of others, suffered at the hands of Jonathan Wright, in the middle of my family’s territory.” Charles said, hanging his head. “As Nobles, it is our duty to protect the people and uphold justice, and yet that man was allowed to do as he pleased, and you suffered for it. As a Noble, I can only feel shame in my family’s failures.”

“...Charles, how many people live within the boundaries of the Dukedom?” Scarlet asked.

“During the last census, there were roughly 11,000,000 freemen and 950,000 slaves.” Charles said, knowing the full numbers by heart, but only giving the rounded numbers.

The Dukedom of Dalhurst was large, containing around 15% of the Kingdom’s total pollution. 

“12 million people. Even with all of your family’s retainers and your retainers’ retainers, you still can’t expect to see and hear everything. And it wasn’t that no one knew about his actions. That man was blackmailing the noble families who were supposed to be policing his activities. And… nothing he did to me and my mother could have been proven to be illegal.” Scarlet said. “Blaming yourself is stupid.”

“...Even so…” Charles said his head down, looking at his sword. “Even if it is an impossible task, it is still our duty. When we fail in it…” Charles didn’t know what else to say.

“...If you feel bad. Then look towards the reason why it happened in the first place.” Scarlet said. “The reason why Jonathan was able to do what he did, tricking people into debt and then blackmailing them, was because of the institution of slavery for debtors and the lack of regulation on loans.” Scarlet said, looking back towards the boy. “If you really want to help stop people like him, then when you become the Duke of Dalhurst, use your power to bring an end to the slaving of debtors within your territory and create laws against unpayable interest rates.”

“That's…” Charles thought about it, and Scarlet was right. The reason Jonathan had been able to do what he did was because he could threaten people with slavery. The lack of regulation on loans also played a part, as merchants were allowed to have a free market for them. So long as the contract was signed, the courts would often enforce it, no matter how crocked the deal. But… “Harder to get loans and a decrease in slaves will mean the economy will take a hit. People will fight that. ...But… It is the right thing to do. Very well. I swear on my pride as a Noble that I will make these changes, if my father does not make them before my time.”

“...Alright.” Scarlet said, smiling softly. “And if you ever need any help, I will be glad to assist.”

“I will be grateful for any help that can be given.” Charles replied with a smile of his own.

It would be a struggle, but Charles was used to struggling. And for his friend, he would succeed.