"This thing is freaking badass!" Bruno giggled like a giddy schoolgirl and pressed forward on the controller, causing the drone to lift off the ground and float into the air. "I can't believe Ash just gave this to you! That boy must have hit his head or is secretly in love with you or something!"
"Maybe," Olivia said flatly. She honestly wasn't listening to what Bruno was saying, too focused on her own thoughts.
Now that Davi was gone and things had settled down with the death of the salamander, life in Fri Village was going to return to normal, so she and Bruno were now out in the woods, since Bruno had begged her to let him play with the drone.
Her body felt a lot better now that it had gotten time to rest. One of the few perks of blood magic was that she healed slightly faster than normal. That was why she was now leaning against a tree, watching her friend have the time of his life with his new toy.
The drone was one of the expensive kinds, and was shaped like an airplane. It could go far and had a camera built into it. Bruno had connected his phone to it wirelessly and was watching the feed as it lifted off the ground. It was a little banged up from dropping out of the sky the last time Ash used it, but it still worked.
Bruno flew the drone out of the forest, and he kept his eyes glued to his phone, flying it around and making it head in no particular direction. He kept giggling and shaking, having the time of his life.
"You can make constructs out of ice, and you are one of the strongest mages I know, but this is what makes you have fun?" Olivia questioned flatly.
"It's the little things in life." Bruno shrugged.
Olivia gave a weak nod and sighed. She glanced up at the sky, watching the drone get out of view. "What did you think of the Arcane Knight?" She asked after a few moments of silence. "You got to talk to him for a lot longer than I did."
"He was so cool!" Bruno finally looked up from his phone and gave a large grin. "I never really expected I'd get to meet an Arcane Knight in my life. Seeing them at the parade or on TV is one thing, but actually speaking to one and standing next to him was the best thing ever! What a bro he was! Maybe he and I will be on the same team when I become an Arcane Knight! I wanna be his bro!"
Olivia looked away from the sky and stared at Bruno's smiling face. He was confident and strong, and so, so talented. If anyone could become an Arcane Knight, it'd be him. He knew what he wanted to do with his life.
"Do you actually think you can become a Knight?" She asked after a moment. Everyone had magic, but even still, becoming an actual Knight was next to impossible. It was like becoming an officer, only much harder. Some people could spend years trying to get physically fit and ready for the police officer exam, only to fail right at the end, and becoming a Knight required a lot more dedication and heart.
"Huh? Where is that coming from?" The boy awkwardly scratched at his chin. "I mean, I guess I'll do my best to become an Arcane Knight like we're always talking about."
"And if you fail?"
Bruno shrugged. "Never thought about failing. If I do, I'll just try again. Why are you asking these weird questions, bro?"
"What do you think I should do with my life?" Olivia asked hollowly. "I mean, I'm an adult now. Shouldn't I do something?"
"I thought you were going to become an Arcane Knight?" Bruno teased. His grin faltered when she didn't respond. "Olivia?"
"Is there even a point to me doing that?" She balled her hand into a fist. "I wasn't able to be an adventurer back when I was traveling with my father because I couldn't be of any use to him. When faced with that salamander, I wasn't able to do anything again. If our world has a bunch of other monsters like that in it, what hope do I have? Ash has a ton of spells, and he was just as useless as I was."
"Are you saying you're giving up on that goal?" Bruno asked quietly.
"Maybe." She responded after thinking about it.
She hadn't bothered when taking any other lessons at the academy. There were some that were required, like math, history, languages, and gym, but all the optional classes she got to pick were related in some way to combat, so she wasn't qualified for anything else, since all jobs wanted someone whose magic would make it easier, and her blood magic was just too useless. With how badly she scored, it was impossible to become a police officer, and since she was eighteen, she'd need to pay to take any new lessons or repeat them, which was impossible at the moment.
The military was still a possibility since they did look at academy exams but also had their own test that, if passed, could let someone who didn't go to an academy join up. The Knights were the same. They would look at a person's academic scores, and having good grades would improve the odds of becoming a Knight, but at the end of the day, they also had their own exam that a mage would have to pass in order to join them.
The issue was that it was hundreds of times harder than anything the academy would throw at its students, and typically only mages that came from noble families or went to wealthy, paid schools were able to have the training and mana needed to pass.
"Shouldn't you be happy? You and Rosco and every other person in this village always stopped me from running away." Olivia snorted softly and bowed her head even further after the silence stretched on for too long. "I really am useless, huh?"
Bruno snorted. "I don't know about the others, but I only stopped you because you weren't ready. You were a kid back then. It's my job to babysit you. You're basically my little sister, you know. I can't let my little sister go and get hurt if she's not ready. What sort of bro would I be?"
"So you're saying if I were ready, you'd just let me leave?"
"Sure," Bruno said, after a few moments of thinking about it. "Because if you can handle yourself, then I wouldn't have to worry."
"I'll never be ready, though." Olivia looked down at her hands. "I don't have good magic."
Bruno looked at her and then let out a sigh. "Do you know what the difference between us and an Arcane Knight is?"
"That they're strong and we're weak?"
"It's the mind." Bruno poked her in the center of her forehead. "We have magic, and let's say that magic is a sword. For some, those swords are rusty, useless blades; for others, they're born with massive, towering hunks of metal that can split mountains in half. At the end of the day, though, the rusty sword is still a sword. It can still kill. I think that's the difference between us and someone like Davi. Normal people are worried when they go into combat. They're scared that their spells won't be strong enough or they won't have enough mana to finish the fight, whereas someone like Davi just throws himself into the danger without a second thought, not even bothering to wonder if he's wielding a rusty sword or a greatsword. They just follow their goal. He's a bro for sure."
Olivia nodded her head, but she still wasn't entirely convinced. It was more complicated than it sounded to use your magic to slay a magical beast, and at the end of the day, she was still just her.
Bruno just chuckled when he saw the look she was giving him. He turned back to his phone and sighed. "I think you should do what you want to do."
"You make it sound easy."
"Because it is."
Silence hung in the air as Bruno finished speaking. It was broken, though, by a beep that came from his phone. Bruno frowned and raised an eyebrow.
"What is it?" She asked, eager to change the subject.
"The drone disconnected?"
"What?"
"The drone." Bruno showed her his phone, and it now kept flashing with no signal instead of showing the footage the drone had been broadcasting. "It just died? I guess I got it too far out of my range."
"Maybe? Where did it die?" Olivia questioned.
"Near the mountain."
Olivia nodded, but then suddenly froze as something dawned on her. She felt a chill go up her spine. Without warning, she sprinted past her friend, running as fast as she could. She made it to the village gate and ran inside, nearly collapsing from how hard she had sprinted. She seriously needed to work out more.
The other villagers were still going about their day, a few attempting to carve into the dead salamander's hide while others were using the construction equipment and were still working on the new wall. They were all oblivious to what was about to happen.
She took a deep breath and yelled out. "We need to get out of here right now!" She screamed out, causing everyone to stop and stare at her. She pointed toward the two dead salamanders. "Neither of them is the alpha!"
As if on cue, the back wall of their village exploded as a third salamander came crashing in. The beast was even larger than the black one that Davi had killed, and all along its body were dozens of jagged crystals that grew out of its flesh. The very same kind that had been in its cave.
Olivia cursed when she saw it. She had been such an idiot. The black salamander had been large, so she and Davi just assumed it must have been the alpha, but now that she thought about it, that didn't make any sense. A dungeon was created by an alpha monster and was made to perfectly suit its environment. Neither the white nor the black salamander benefited much from being surrounded by crystals, but this beast did.
The gems along its body were jutting out and glowed, filling with a dangerous amount of fiery mana. It let out a hellish screech and unleashed its fire. The flames didn't just pour out of its mouth but also blasted out of the many crystals that ran along its body, scorching and blowing through dozens of houses and the field, setting everything ablaze in an instant!
Davi had given them the supplies to rebuild so they could make a more substantial wall and prevent an attack like this from happening again, yet that no longer mattered since the monster was able to come crashing through the unfinished wall. Maybe if it had been fully built, it would have worked, but as it was now, the wall wasn't anywhere near ready to deal with an actual threat yet.
Screams filled the village, and everyone ran in a panic as the beast openly rampaged. The alpha was enraged by the fact they killed two of its kind, and it wasn't going to stop until it avenged its brethren. The fire kept pouring out, relentless torrents of fire pouring from it as it tore its way forward. Worse yet, Rosco had taken Davi personally to Lotus, so their best defender, the only mage that could possibly kill the beast, was absent.
A few villagers fired off spells or used Jermy's arsenal of hunting rifles on the beast, but that only pissed it off more.
Farmer Jermy stood next to the corpses of the two dead monsters, and he became the main target of the rage-filled animal. He screamed and tripped backward, and the creature was about to take a swipe at him, but something smashed into its eye. Olivia threw another rock at the monster, getting its attention on her. It spat another fireball in her direction, but she had been expecting it this time and dropped to the ground. The fire soared over her, and she had to resist crying out.
Her efforts saved the farmer, but now the salamander was focused entirely on her. It seemed to be able to smell the stench of its dead kind on her because it gave her a truly evil look.
"Olivia!" Ash swung his wand out, smashing a blade of wind down on the salamander, but its hide was still magic-resistant, and the attack had no effect. "Run!"
"You don't have to tell me twice! Put the fires out the same way you did last time, Ash!" Olivia yelled, and she took off running. Bruno ran alongside her, and the salamander gave chase, charging toward them both. "Bruno, go away!"
"Hell no!"
"Why not! It's after me! Just go hide or something!"
Bruno shook his head. "If I do that, you're going to do something stupid that could get yourself killed! If I'm here with you, then your plan has to have a way for us to get out alive!"
"You assume I have a plan?"
"You read a lot, don't you!" Bruno smirked and clapped her on the back, both of them separating just in time as another fireball was launched their way. The salamander was quickly catching up to them. "I trust you." He smiled slightly. "Olivia, you're not useless."
Olivia balled her hands into a tighter fist, and she ignored the pain in her lungs, running faster. They were making their way up the mountain, the magical beast right on their heels. She could feel the heat coming off it, which thankfully motivated her to run even quicker. The narrow path sloped, slowing the salamander down just enough to allow them to stay in the lead. Up ahead, she saw what she was looking for—the portal to the dungeon where Davi had slain the other one.
"Bruno."
"Yeah?"
"Thanks." As they ran, Olivia turned and suddenly pushed him as hard as she could. Bruno lost his footing and slipped, tumbling away from both her and the salamander as he dropped off the narrow path. It'd be a painful fall, but he'd survive since he could use his magic to catch himself. She ignored his yell and kept running, the salamander now just chasing her. Now, at least if she failed, Bruno would have a chance to save himself. "Come and get me!" She called out, throwing another rock into the creature's eye. She still hadn't cast a spell yet, so she had three chances.
The salamander roared louder and jumped toward her. It hit the ground hard enough to shake it, and she was knocked off her feet, rolling into the cave and going through the portal. Her back screamed at her as the crystals dug in, and she scrambled up to her feet.
It was too risky to fight it in the village or forest, where things could be set ablaze. Here, the only flammable thing was her, so at least if she failed, collateral damage would be lowered. Not only that, but in order to properly close a dungeon, the alpha monster needed to be slain in its home turf, which was why Arcane Knights were always entering them instead of trying to lure the monster out.
She turned just in time to see the salamander's head poke through the portal. Its mouth opened, and a spark of orange began to appear. She wouldn't be able to reach it in time and attack, so instead, she crouched down. "Row Blood Shield!" That was one spell down, her blood flowing out of her fingernails and forming into a large red shield, which she gripped on her arm. The salamander's flame spewed toward her, and Olivia gritted her teeth and stood her ground, using her shield to block the fire, the same way Davi had done.
She didn't create a barrier or something that would fade away; instead, she had made a strong shield that would defend her until it was shattered. The shield bubbled and boiled as the flames poured onto it, but she fought through it and stepped forward. She knew how to kill this thing. Davi had shown her the exact way.
With a yell, Olivia lifted her wand and focused on it. The shape was perfect for what she needed to do. Usually, she would fire out a spell that would launch and burst, vanishing once it was gone, but like the shield she had created, she willed something into existence that would stay until she was either done with it or it was destroyed. "Row Blood Knife!" That was her second spell, and it formed into a long, pointed dagger that came out of her wand, which served as the handle. She gripped it tightly, her shield about to break, but it held out just long enough for the salamander's fire to run out; the creature was forced to take a deep breath, which left its mouth wide open. The rest of its body was still outside the dungeon, which meant the crystals couldn't hit her with their fire either.
Olivia let out a battle cry, her shield dropping as she stabbed out as hard as she could with her new weapon, impaling it into the roof of the beast's mouth. Davi's blow had been powerful and went all the way through, hitting the brain from inside the salamander's mouth. She wasn't Davi, though, and her attack hadn't gone deep enough, the salamander thrashing around in pain, its furious eyes glaring at her.
The salamander attempted to bite her, but she was ready for it and jumped back, snapping her wand off from her blood knife. The blade remained behind, lodged in the salamander's mouth, and already a spark of fire was about to gush out as it got ready to burn her. Her shield was gone, and her blade was no longer attached; it was do or die.
The beast jutted forward and forced the rest of its body through the portal and rammed into her. Some of the crystals cut into her flesh, and Olivia cried out as the force of the attack sent her crashing back. More of the jagged crystals that formed the dungeon's walls impaled her legs and side as she slumped down, and the creature opened its mouth, seconds away from unleashing its final attack.
Olivia stabbed her wand out. "Row Blood Scythe!" The fire was about to spew as her blood launched, unleashing into a blade-like shape that blasted from the tip of her wand. It swirled through the air and smashed into the bottom part of her knife, which still poked out of the creature's mouth. It molded and ran along the blade and reached the tip, jutting out into a crescent-shaped blade and cutting right through the salamander's jaw.
The salamander stood there for several moments, not moving, its eyes wide. It looked stunned. The fire stopped rising and began to flicker and fade out before the beast's eyes finally rolled back, and it collapsed onto the ground, no longer moving. The scythe had pierced its brain and split its head directly in two.
Olivia breathed heavily and tried to steady her beating heart. The world around her was spinning due to all the blood loss, and the scythe melted, leaking out of the salamander's mouth.
"I killed it! I killed one!" Olivia cheered and remained seated due to exhaustion. "Too bad it doesn't matter, though," she responded bitterly.
When an alpha was killed, the dungeon wouldn't instantly close. That was why Davi and she hadn't realized the gate hadn't shut until it was too late. If not for Bruno flying the drone around, she'd have never figured it out in time.
A growl pierced through the cave's darkness, and Olivia looked up and saw several smaller salamanders stepping out into the crystals' light. There was a decent-sized swarm of them. About six in total, each as big as the white one had been.
"I still managed to kill one." Olivia let out a weak laugh and somehow got her back to be pressed against the wall as the babies began to stalk toward her. "Take that, Dad." Despite her words, she could feel tears spilling down her face again. "Man, I really don't want to die." She chuckled. "I—I would have liked to see some other things. How many other magical beasts are out there? What are other dungeons like? How do taxes work? Damn. I didn't even get to kiss a boy or say thanks to the person who motivated me to become an Arcane Knight. This sucks!"
The creatures lunged at her, and Olivia closed her eyes. A second later, though, they opened as she heard a crunching sound. A large black blade slashed through the air, hitting a salamander so hard it launched it and the others back.
"We've gotta stop meeting like this." Olivia looked up weakly and saw a pair of blue eyes blazing out from behind a black helmet. "I don't even know your name, and I've already saved you three times now." The voice was flat, cold even, lacking all emotion, yet she knew it was an attempt at a joke.
"Davi?"
"Yeah." The Knight turned back, and his eyes fixed on the salamanders. "Sorry, I'm late. I didn't even consider that I killed the wrong alpha. Good work taking that big one down." He gently patted her head and then stepped toward the remaining creatures, his other hand clenched around his claymore. "Row Shadow Vault." His shadow spread out, using the darkness of the cave to expand and form a circle around the monsters.
Out of his shadow, several large objects rose up. They were forged from metal and had a box shape, with a long barrel coming out of the top of them. There were eight in total, and each one was an anti-tank turret, made for cutting through even the thickest of armors.
"Where the hell did you get those!" Olivia yelled in shock.
"Leave the small fries to me. You've earned your break." Davi responded in his usual blank tone, not answering her question. The salamanders all hissed, but it was too late. Mana seeped out of Davi, looking like an intense blue fire, and it flowed over the many turrets, which took aim and then unleashed a hellish barrage of fire.
Olivia let out a loud yell and covered her ears as the heavy gunfire poured out and bounced off the cave walls so hard that everything shook. The salamanders were normally resistant to mana and most ammunition, but these rounds were so big, and being enforced by Davi's own mana, they easily tore through the flesh of the monsters, ripping them to bits.
Olivia watched the brutal display once again, shocked. She felt like she was doing that a lot anytime she was with Davi, but she couldn't help it. This was everything that the Arcane Knights were. Magical warriors who blended sorcery and blades with the advanced technology of today.
In no time at all, Davi managed to kill them. When he was done, he crouched back down in front of her and casually dropped his sword into his shadow, where it sank, along with his turrets. "Are you still with me?" He asked.
"Yeah." She said weakly. She closed her eyes. "Olivia. My name is Olivia." She would have said more, but she was tired and hurt after all the fighting. She just wanted to rest—Olivia felt something push past her lips, and her eyes shot wide open. Davi held a small glass vial of reddish liquid and forced her to drink it. She sputtered and gasped, then shook her head away, jumping to her feet. "What the hell was that—wait? Am I standing?"
She didn't feel tired anymore. Not only that, but her burns were gone, and the wound on her head she had gotten earlier had vanished as well. She felt brand new. Better than that. She was bursting with energy once again.
"Normally, it takes longer for a healing potion to kick in," Davi said, a little surprised, before simply dropping the bottle into his shadow, which pulled it in. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah?" Olivia took a nervous step, half-expecting her body to explode or something, but it didn't. "First, you give my village the salamander, and now you give me a potion? Why?"
Davi shrugged. "You asked me to save you." It was a simple answer because there didn't need to be any more reason for him. Davi glanced back at the dead creature. "The way you took it down was fast and clean. Your blood magic is pretty useful."
Olivia felt her breath hitch at his statement. When was the last time anyone had said anything like that? Never. The answer was never. No one had ever complimented her magic. "You think so?"
"Yeah." Davi's flat tone lightened slightly. "I told you, I have no offensive spells. I couldn't have done what you did. Every magic is useless in some situations. Just because you don't have the right skills for the right sort of job doesn't mean you yourself are useless and have to give up." Davi reached out and poked her in the forehead. "Everyone has a use and a purpose. For some, that's slaying dragons, and for others, it's becoming future Arcane Knights. So don't feel bad about the hand fate dealt you, okay? Make Fate shove her hands up her ass and prove to everyone just how powerful you are. Or don't; I can't actually tell you what to do."
"Olivia!" A voice came from the cave's entrance, and a second later, the cavalry arrived, causing Olivia to tear herself away from Davi. Rosco, Ash, Nev, Trent, and Bruno all came running in, stepping through the portal. They stopped when they saw Davi and the many dead salamanders. Rosco looked relieved. "Mr. Hawker? You saved Olivia and killed the alpha salamander?"
Davi shook his head, and his unmoving look had returned. "No. She killed it."
Everyone snapped their heads to Olivia and stared at her in shock. She let out a sheepish giggle. "I realized their hide was strong, but the inside of their bodies was weak. Davi showed me that if I attacked it through the roof of its mouth, I could pierce its brain and take it out. He also wiped out the rest of the dead salamanders you see lying around. This time, Fri Village should actually be safe."
"That's good." Rosco nodded and then smirked as he looked at the many corpses. "Fri is rich! This calls for a celebration!" The man announced with a goofy grin on his face. "We're throwing a party as soon as we get back!" Rosco then addressed Davi, almost as an afterthought. "Seriously, are you sure you don't want any money?"
Davi took his helmet off and held it at his side. "To tell you the truth, I didn't come here for the salamanders, so I wouldn't feel right taking the money for their deaths." He said in his usual flat tone.
"What do you mean you didn't come for the salamanders?" Rosco raised an eyebrow. "I sent a request out asking for an Arcane Knight, and you showed up and killed them. It was for the quest, right?"
"No." Davi shook his head again, shocking everyone. "It was a total coincidence that I was here. I came to this place because I sensed the dungeon. I happen to be looking for a specific dungeon that has a monster I'm looking for in it. I never came because of the mission you sent out."
Rosco hummed. "Still, you're an Arcane Knight, and you did show up and save the day. I think you've earned it."
Davi shook his head. "I don't adventure for money; I do it because there's something I have to do." He stepped out of the cave, looking down at Fri. "It was nice seeing your village." For the first time in a long time, the smallest hint of a smile graced his lips. "That's payment enough for me."
"Really?"
Davi nodded. "I'll stay and help you guys carry it back, and we can finish the wall around your village. Once it's up, you shouldn't have to worry about any more attacks. Your people are now safe."
Arcane Knights were heroes. They were powerful warriors who used both might and mana to go to places no man dared to walk and battle creatures that threatened the world. Truly they were the closest thing to real-life superheroes, and many people idolized them, Olivia included.
She found herself once again looking into Davi's eyes as he turned to glance at her. She was pretty sure she had a new favorite Knight. A Knight who barely showed emotions and was dressed in dark and admittedly edgy armor. That was the hero who had saved Fri.