NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 15: A Tiresome Manifestation
SCHWING! SCHWING! SCHWING!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
“HUP!”
““Go Big Sis Go!””
{!}
BOOM! CRACK! CRACK!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
SWISH! SWING! THRUST!
“HAAAA!”
SCHWING! BOOM!
“GAHH!”
“Haah..Haaa….Haaah”
“Enough” Amelia called out to her best friend as she saw her go down on one knee
The two of them were on a field right outside Shander, but they were not alone this time around. Yulen and Yulan were sitting right next to Amelia as they cheered their beloved older sister, smiles on their faces as she showed off her skills against her foes. Said foes were on the other side of the field, a total of eight adventurers of different races and using different weapons were either collapsed on their knees or laying down on the grass. All of them were from the guild and were the ones who answered Amelia’s request for several A-Ranks for sparring partners for her friend, who was currently catching her breath after two hours of non-stop fighting. But unlike the usual sparring the adventurers knew, they were told to go all out by Amelia, even encouraging them to try and draw blood, reassuring them that the barrier she put up would prevent their deaths, but warned them it would still hurt like hell.
“You need to be faster Sharon. You’re an S-Rank now, use that increased speed to your advantage” Amelia coached her from the side
“You keep running headlong into their traps, they may be lower rank than you but if they have a plan to take you out and you don’t have a counter. You might as well be a deadman”
“Isn’t the entire thing of me training you, making sure that when I’m gone, your strong enough to face anything come your way?”
“I…I haven’t…forgotten why” Sharon replied in between her breaths
“Then step up! Your performance so far has been lacking that it’s laughable!” Amelia replied
“Hey! Don’t bully our sister!” Yulen cried as he looked up at her
“Yeah! Don’t bully her!” Yulan added as she too looked up at her
“Do you want your sister to be hurt in the future?” Amelia asked as she looked at both of them
“Umu…no, we don’t want big sis to be hurt” Yulen answered her, his and Yulan’s fierce look exchanged with concern
“Then this needs to happen” Amelia finished as she patted both of the twins on the head and then turned back to Sharon who was now standing upright
“The goal of your training is to make sure you survive everything Sharon. And I mean anything or anyone that dares come your way to harm you and those you love. Don’t you want that? The ability to protect everyone you love?” she asked with a serious expression
“Yes. I want that” Sharon replied, nodding her head in understanding. She did want that, and she was ready to do whatever it was needed to achieve that power
“Then steel yourself! Do you feel all that pain? Fight it! Rise above it! You are an S-Rank adventurer! The cream of the crop! Only those with the will and drive to get to where you are now can make it! So show me! Show me that you deserve to be an S-Rank! Ready!”
“AAAAAAIIEE!” Sharon screamed as she entered a ready stance, her twin halberds wielded and ready to rock and roll
“A-Ranks! Ready!” Amelia shouted at the group opposing her friend, noticing that they were all riled up from her words to Sharon.
“RAAAAAA!” The group shouted as they too readied themselves
“Begin!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Haaaaah
‘Breathe Sharon Breathe’ she thought to herself as she analyzed the group charging her,
‘Two mages, backline. Two paladin tanks. four fast attackers, and two on the flanks. The same song and dance of boxing me in’ she continued as she analyzed her enemy's positionings.
There were two adventurers moving on either side of her, far outside her range, meanwhile, up the center the tanks and the remaining attackers were charging up at her, and behind them, the mages had readied their spells.
“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon….there” Sharon muttered under her breath as she waited for her opening and when she did she smiled.
The four people in the center had broken away, giving a clear shot for the mages to fire their spells directly at her, meanwhile, the two flankers in unison, closed in the gap with their <Dash> skills, intent on capitalizing on the moment, but unlike the last attempt during these past two hours, Sharon was not going to be blindsided by this again.
‘<Lightning Step>’
BOOM!
{!}
“Got you now!”
‘<Skull Buster>’
‘<Halberd Heaver>’
SWING! SWING!
BANG! BANG!
“GUGHH!”
“GAAGH!”
THUD! THUD!
POOF! POOF!
{!}
Sharon immediately used her <Lightning Step> skill to get past the front liners and stand in between the two mages, smiling as she saw their facial expressions turn to surprise as she appeared between them, before swinging her halberds and striking them with the flat sides of the blade on the sides of their heads, using both <Halberd Heaver> and <Skull Buster> to make sure they stay down from the impact before their bodies disappeared in a burst of smoke and appeared right behind Amelia.
“Who’s next!” Sharon shouted as she stood over the two downed mages, the remaining adventurers had regrouped and uncertainty was plastered across their faces.
‘Hmm. good move. But can you capitalize on it?’ Amelia thought as she watched everything go down
The two tanks began charging forward, their shields raised in a tight formation shoulder to shoulder, while the four fast attackers came in pairs from the flanks, weapons raised and magic at the ready. Sharon on the other hand, wasted no time.
‘<Lightning Step>’
BOOM!
{!}
Slipping through a small gap between the shield, Sharon appeared behind the two tanks, their heads turning and their expressions turning to shock as their backs were exposed, meanwhile, Sharon had a smile on her face as she attacked her surprised opponents,
THRUST! THRUST!
“GUGGH!’
“KAAAGH!”
“HNGGGRRRR!”
{!!}
Thrusting both of her halberds forward, Sharon impaled the two tanks, piercing through the plate armor and then lifting each person into the air, blood dripping down the lengths of the halberds, and giving everyone a horrifying sight. well, horrifying to the remaining four fast attackers, as Amelia had covered the eyes and used a spell to cover the ears of the twins to make sure they were not traumatized by what their sister was doing.
“RAAAAGH!”
THUD! THUD!
POOF! POOF!
Sharon then swung her halberds again, shaking off the two tanks and letting their bodies crash against the ground and a tree trunk before they too disappeared in a burst of smoke and appeared beside their mage partners that had concern all over their faces. Relieved that their friends and their the most likely fatal wounds they saw were now gone.
“Come on then! Come and get me!” Sharon shouted as she boldly taunted the remaining four adventurers. Goading them into attacking her at the same time.
DASH! DASH! DASH! DASH!
{!}
CLING! CLANG! BANG! PING!
“GAH! FAGH! DGHHAA!”
SWING! SWING! CLING! CLING!
BWING! DRANGGG!
“GUHH!”
But despite her confidence, the four remaining adventurers came at her from four different sides, with Sharon struggling to keep up with them, as they use their faster mobility to strike her before she can turn, their blades, maces, daggers, and clubs crashing or glancing off her armor, with each impact reverberating the body inside. One of the adventurers even got a good hit in as they dashed in close when Sharon tried retaliating with a swing from her halberd, missing the adventurer and getting a club to the face that sent her staggering back and onto one knee.
“Haaah….Haaaah….fuck” She muttered under her breath as she looked up at the four adventurers surrounding her, her swollen cheek returning to normal thanks to the barrier Amelia had placed.
“Is that all you got?!” Amelia shouted at her, her tone angry and disappointed
“If you can’t even beat a group of A-Ranks you don’t deserve to be a S-Rank! It’s disappointing! It’s disgraceful!” She continued as she stood up and walked over to her,
“Hey you can’t do that to her!” Yulan shouted as she chased after Amelia
“Yeah leave her alone you bully!” Yulen added as he followed behind
“Both of you…it’s alright…she’s right…she’s right…” Sharon told them both as she looked up at them, tears welling in her eyes
“I…I can’t do it…I…can’t” Sharon mumbled as she collapsed onto the ground, anger and sorrowing mixing in her tone
“You four take a breather. I need a word, and bring the twins with you” Amelia told the four adventurers
“We understand. Take as much time as you need” The lizardman adventurer replied with a nod as he motioned for the rest of follow his lead. Leading the two twins back to where the other four were resting.
Kneeling next to her best friend, Amelia gently grabbed the collar of the armor and pulled her up to meet her face. Seeing that Sharon’s eyes were red and her nose was runny, her cheeks puffed and her breathing erratic. The sight struck a cord in her heart as she sighed and wiped the tears away.
“I’m sorry for being hard on you. But I’m doing this because the people you care about need you to be stronger. Your mother and your father are currently awaiting for you to come and bring down a bastard that has burnt your home down. They are relying on you because they know you are strong enough to do it. Even Yulen and Yulan need you since they are merely five-year-olds and cannot defend for themselves. They need their big sister to come and protect them when no one else can” Amelia spoke as she took Sharon’s hand into her own.
“Do you want to let them down?”
“No…no…” Sharon whimpered as she closed her eyes again, more tears running down her cheeks as she saw her parents and siblings smiling at her
“Then, what do you do with all that pain you feel inside?” Amelia asked her
“Fight it. Rise above it.” Sharon mumbled
“Again? What do you do?”
“Fight it. Rise above it.”
“Say it louder”
“Fight it! Rise above it!” Sharon stated, now with more confidence as she locked eyes with Amelia and rose to her feet.
“Do you want to fail your family?!”
“No!”
“Do you want to see them being taken from you?!”
“No!”
“Do you wish to be powerless when trouble comes knocking at your door?!”
“No!”
“Then rise Sharon! Rise above the dangers that will come your way! Rise and show them what it means to be an S-Rank!” Amelia encouraged her as she also rose to her feet.
With a nod, Sharon picked up her two halberds again, flourishing them around as the serious glint in her eye grew stronger.
“Four of you back to where you were!” Amelia called out the four adventurers from before, who quickly followed her orders.
“Give it your all everyone!” Amelia finished as she moved back to where the twins were seated on the grass.
“Come on Miss Sharon. Show us what you're made of” the lizardman adventurer told her as he brandished his kukri knife
“Let’s go then” Sharon replied, activating a new addition to her armor, a neck and face guard that sprang up from the collar.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
SCHWING!
CLANG!
BAM!
“GUUH!”
As the fight started, the lizardman charged her, kukri in hand as he swung down at her, Sharon leaned to her left, her shoulder pauldron deflecting the blow. She then shoulder bashed him with her already facing shoulder, sending him staggering back a few steps away.
SWING! SWING! SWING!
CLANG! CLANG! BRAAANG!
“GAH!”
Another adventurer then charged her, sword in his hand as he closed in on Sharon, whose eyes narrowed as she used the extended reach offered by her halberds, swinging at him before he could get close. Blocking two of the swings but was caught off guard by the third swing that came faster than he expected, the flat side of his head, sending him too staggering off to the side, gripping the side that was struck.
{!}
CRRIING! SWUNG!
DODGE!
SCHWING! SCHWING! SCHWING!
CLANG! CLANG! CLING!
CRICKCRICKCRICK!
{!}
THRUST!
PRRAAAAK!
“GAH!”
SWING! BANG!
“GUH!”
THUD!
Her senses then alerted her as the remaining two adventurers attacked her from behind, barely dodging the club and mace that were aimed at her legs, leaping back to gain some distance, quickly glancing at the other two and seeing that they were still reeling. But as she looked back, both of them were on her quickly, with Sharon swinging her halberds in an effort to ward them off, seeing that they were blocked and countered. Barely pushing back one of them as she leaped back to dodge the club that was coming down on her,
In one swift motion, as she quickly turned around, she reconnected both ends of her weapons, reforming them into the main double-headed halberd. Just in time for her to thrust one end into the abdomen of the adventurer holding the mace as she charged her, before quickly pulling it out and swinging the other head and letting the flat side knock the adventurer out. The adventurer then disappears in a puff of smoke and reappears behind Amelia and two very happy five-year-olds.
“Haa..haa..one down. Three to go” She muttered under her breath as the remaining three regrouped
“Nicely done Miss Sharon. Nicely done” The lizardman adventurer remarked as he messaged his chest, the pain from the shoulder bash still there
“Let’s finish this” Sharon told him as she flourished her double-headed halberd
“Right” the lizardman adventurer agreed, bringing out a second kukri, then a third that he held by his tail
The other two also brought out extra weapons, the adventurer holding the sword brought out the buckler shield hoisted on his back, while the adventurer with the club brought out a dagger.
DASH!
SCHWING! SCHWING SCHWING!
DODGE! DODGE! CLANG!
In unison, the three adventurers charged her, with Sharon narrowing her eyes and readying herself as they came down on her. The lizardman was first as he came quickly, swinging all three kukris in rapid succession, Sharon dodged the first two by leaning back, watching the first fly by, then quickly twisting her body to the right as she saw the second kukri swing down, then raising her halberd and deflecting the third kukri that came swinging from her far right.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
CLANG! CLANG! DODGE!
Still not done, the adventurer with the sword then came at her from her left, his first two swings met with her blocking them with the armored shaft of the halberd, before quickly dodging the shield bash from the buckler shield by leaping back, but her senses fired off as she felt the third adventurer come from behind
SWUNG! SWUNG! THRUST!
PING! PING! CLANG!
Failing to react in time, Sharon's armor buckled as she felt two heavy swings strike her in the back, forcing her to stagger forward, pain emanating from her backside and spine. Quickly turning around, she used her free hand to push the dagger that was thrust at her away from her abdomen, the thing glancing off her pauldron. Before leaping back away, getting some distance from the three of them.
“C’mon Sharon! Keep it up!” Amelia encouraged her from the side
““You can do it big sis!”” Yulen and Yulan added as they rose to their feet and began hopping up and down.
“Right. I can do this” Sharon muttered as she nodded at the three of them, but the sight of her younger siblings so happy and supportive of her made her feel something inside awaken. A grin on her face hidden by the neck guard came as she uncoupled the double-headed halberd, both hands holding one and her body bending slightly forward.
‘<Lightning Step>’
DASH!
{!}
SWING! SWING! SWING! SWING!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! SHHIIIK!
“GAH!”
SWING! BAAAANG!
“GUH!”
THUD!
Suddenly, Sharon dashed ahead, appearing right behind the trio thanks to the gaps in their formation. Swinging her halberd in parallel motion, they were blocked and parried by the trio, but unlike before, they were having a much harder time as they noticed that the swings were faster than before and stronger too.
‘Almost there Sharon. I can tell your getting close’ Amelia thought as she continued to watch, her eyes glued on her best friend.
“Miss Leviathan Princess, er I mean Miss Amelia. I notice that your friend is speeding up, much more so than before. Is something happening to her?” One of the tank adventurers asked her as they too were watching the fighting unfold
“Good eye and Amelia is just fine. But yes, there is something going on. My friend is <Manifesting a Skill>” Amelia answered the curious adventurer
“Manifesting a skill?” He asked
“Yes. unlike normal skills that you are able to obtain either by repetitive action or by honing them, manifesting a skill is entirely different” Amelia continued as she watched Sharon duck under a kukri before swinging her halberd
“How so?”
“Well, to start, you need to be at least S-Rank to manifest a skill. And unlike other skills, the skill that you manifest is unique to you. I don’t really understand it fully, but from what I have learned, in order to manifest a skill, you need to experience something, whether it be traumatic, not traumatic or even normal everyday things. The skill is fine-tuned to you giving you something that best suits you. For example, I have the skill <Blood Surge> a skill that allows me to detonate my foes in a ten-mile radius into red paste and then absorb that red paste into fuel that makes me stronger”
{!}
The adventurers all turned to her and had confused and shocked expressions on their faces. Some of them even took a few steps back,
“How did you manifest that?” One of the adventurers asked
“During my fight with the Leviathan. Though I bet you know how that went down no?” Amelia finished as she continued to watch Sharon
The adventurers could only nod silently at her answer, the stories of the fight between the Leviathan Princess and the monster of her namesake filling their minds. A story that told how a lone adventurer was sent to tackle a simple quest on the eastern side of the empire, near a coastal town. But instead of facing a simple monster, she had to face the residents and adventurers that hailed from it as they were all part of a cult that worshiped a large monster that had the ability to control minds and had been luring adventurers and imperial officials to them to increase their numbers and feed their false god.
The official story reported by the adventurer herself and the members of the Adventurers Guild that had not turned was that they were able to slay the Leviathan, with the girl adventurer driving her daggers into both of its eyes thanks to her partners before one of the mages unleashed a spell that turned the massive hulking beast into ashes. At least, that was the official story, other adventurers dispatched to the area reported that it was just the girl adventurer who had been fighting the beast, covering the group as they tried to escape, with the spell coming from her after she drove her daggers into the eyes. Nevertheless, the female adventurer never confirmed what was said, instead everyone just accepting it as truth that she handled it alone unlike everyone else who was present that day, only she has the tag, Leviathan Princess.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
“Haah….Haah” Sharon's eyes narrowed as her breathing got more and more ragged, the three adventures across from her also sharing the same expression
“You put up a good fight Miss Sharon” The lizardman adventure commended as he tried to steady himself
“Thanks, the three of you as well. It’s hard to knock out one of you fast enough before the others come” She remarked with a smile
“Let’s finish this ‘<Lightning Step>’” She finished as she charged forward,
SWING! SWING! SWING!
As she swung down her halberds, the two adventurers at the side of the lizardman leaped back to gain some space, wishing to stay out of reach of her weapons, and forcing the lizardman to confront her one on one.
SCHWING! SCHWING! SCHWING!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
BAM!
“GAH!”
As the fighting raged on, the lizardman adventurer came down on Sharon again, loud banging was heard as the Kukris clashed against the armored shaft of her halberds. Finding an opening after the last deflection, allowed her to shoulder bash him again, but this attack was much faster and stronger than before, as the lizardman adventurer felt searing hot pain in his abdomen and chest,
“HUP!”
‘<Skull Buster>’
SWING! SWING! SWING!
SCHWICK! SCHWICK! CRAAAAAACK!
“KKAAAGGGH!”
POOMF
Not waiting for her opponent to reorient himself, she unleashed three more halberd swings, the first two cuts across the lizardman's chest, the cuts deep and large, before the last one landed on his head, accompanied by a large CRACK! As <Skull Buster> took effect, making him disappear into a puff of smoke on the spot.
‘<Spike Flurry>’
SHIIK! SHIIK! SHIIIK! SHIIK!
SWIP! SWIP! SWIP! SWIP!
She then raised one of her hands holding a halberd at the adventurer with a buckler shield, firing off several spikes thanks to <Spike Flurry> but none hitting the target as the adventurer simply caught all of the spikes with the shield.
{!}
“GAAGH!”
Suddenly, Sharon felt a tight pain in her chest that quickly spread all across her body. Forcing her down to one knee, making her scream in pain, the remaining two adventurers on opposite sides of her glanced at each other and nodded before charging forward, seeing this as their chance to end the fight.
““Big Sis No!”” The twins shouted as they saw their sister about to be defeated yet again.
{!}
Sharon’s eyes widened as she heard their cries, and then time stopped. The pain inside her disappeared and transformed into a surge of power she had never felt before, memories began filling her mind, memories of her father, mother, and everyone else she loved. The laughter, the joy, the sadness, and the anger all throughout her life filled her mind, before the image of her parents beaten, bruised, and slightly burnt forms filled her mind. Anger began to swell up inside her as she recalled it in more detail, then another thought filled her mind, a what if, a what if that involved the same thing happening to her two younger siblings. Siblings she cherished and loved with all her heart. Would the same thing happen to them? No, she gritted her teeth as she steeled herself, the thought of her family suffering or worse dying while she tried to defend them spilled over, then Amelia’s words from before fluttered in
“Fight It. Rise Above it”
‘Your right. I need to rise above it. I need to rise to the point where I am strong enough to protect all of them, I will not let them get hurt. Not now, not in the future, not when I am still alive and kicking’ she thought to herself as her eyes narrowed and looked at the two adventurers charging at her,
As she looked at them, she felt something in her throat. She felt it’s power building up inside, and without hesitation, she let it out
“GRAAAAAAGH!” She roared, its loud volume forcing everyone to cover their ears, even Amelia had summoned two pairs of hands made of Holy Magic and used them to cover up the ears of the twins.
But being loud was not the only thing her shout did, it sent shockwaves that sent the two remaining adventurers flying back, with the shockwave being fast and hard enough to knock them out as they landed, with the shockwave being stopped only by the barrier that Amelia had put up.
“There it is” Amelia remarked as she looked on at Sharon who now rose to her feet
“She manifested a skill” she added
As Sharon looked at the two downed adventurers, she looked at the list of her skills and saw a new one
Roar of Defiance [The user lets out a roar that can dampen the hearing of targets within a 20ft area. Let’s out a shockwave that sends opponents flying]
Defiance <Activation> [Upon activation of <Roar of Defiance>, Defiance is activated. Allowing the user to have increased speed, and allows the user to deal more damage. Increases the user's defense and durability. Stacks with <Paladin Perseverance> ]
As she finished reading the new skills she obtained, she looked up and saw Amelia with the twins next to her, a smile on each of their faces. The adventurers standing behind them.
“So?” Amelia asked
“I think I’m ready” Sharon replied with a smile.
“Then let’s go dragon hunting”
A/N: Hello! welp, here we go again. finished most of my requirements and now have some free time to fill up chapters. in the next chapter, it will be Sharon and that dastardly dragonkin Kier. hope you enjoy and will see you in the next one. stay safe and thanks for reading.