The Deceiver's Path - Chapter 113 - A New Sparring Partner (Patreon)

The lone crowing of a rooster drifted across the villa, signalling that the sun had crested the nearby mountains. Piper scowled at the sound and tried to burrow deeper under her comfy blankets. No one in their right mind should get up at the crack of dawn. Though she suspected her roommate would never allow her to go back to sleep.

As [Ambush Detection] blared a warning in her mind, she let out a deep sigh and waited for the inevitable attack. A moment later, a stick poked her in the side. She briefly considered trying to ignore Ophelia, but she knew her friend would just keep prodding her until she emerged from her blanket cocoon.

With another deep sigh, she kicked down her covers and glared at Ophelia. During the year and a half that they’d spent here, her friend had sprouted up considerably and stood more than two heads taller than Piper.

For some unknown reason, Piper hadn’t grown at all during that time. She remained the shortest of the Silver Hippogriffs training at the villa. Which made no sense if she was the heir to some sort of demonic empire. A ruler should be tall and imposing—not some short young girl. Though now that she was fifteen and nearing sixteen, she couldn’t exactly think of either of them as young girls anymore.

“I can see your mind racing,” Ophelia said, lowering her stick slightly. “What are you overthinking this time?”

Piper smiled warmly at her friend. “I’m thinking about how I’m going to get you back for poking me.”

“A spellcaster getting a warrior?” Ophelia grinned. “It’s never going to happen. Anyway, you’re always the worst student in the weapons training class.”

“That’s because I’m an archer and spellcaster,” she protested. “I can’t use any of my illusions during training.”

“Oh, does poor Piper have to fight fair for once? That must be so hard for you.”

“You know I could beat all of them if I could use my skills and spells.” Piper paused and groaned. “Oh crap. Today is training, isn’t it?”

Ophelia nodded happily. “We need to hurry up, or we’re going to miss the start of class. You know what happens if we do.”

“We have to run up and down the mountain holding rocks,” she replied, flopping onto her back. Her bed felt so warm and comfortable. She really didn’t want to leave it. “But you’re right; I need to get moving.”

Piper rose to her feet and languidly stretched. At first, she’d felt like a caged animal when she’d arrived here at the villa. Before then, it had seemed like she’d been locked in an endless struggle for survival.

But after a few weeks, she started to settle into a routine where every new sunrise didn’t bring some apocalyptic danger. And the ring that Niko had gifted her to conceal her infernal magic seemed to be working. At least no more insane sisters from the Dawnward Host had shown up to hunt her down.

She’d even begun to enjoy her stay at the villa. Here, everything was taken care of for her. She had servants to wash her clothes, bring her food, and fetch anything she needed. Not once since she’d arrived had she needed to worry about anything.

That didn’t mean they let her sit around all day and do nothing. After all, they expected her to become an adventurer with the guild someday. A short time after arriving, they’d placed her in classes on living off the land, identifying aspect beasts, melee combat, and reading and writing in the evenings.

The villa also had a little farm, and she spent a few hours every day helping out the farmhands. Something about taking care of the animals and working the fields made her feel like she was back on the farm with Alfred and Ethel.

The other recruits thought she was crazy, especially with all the training they did throughout the day. Still, it made her happy to work the land, and she had no plans to stop anytime soon.

“Get out of your own head,” Ophelia groaned as she strapped a sword belt around her waist. She’d already pulled a long grey tunic over her head that they wore for training. In the winter months, they also wore pants, but the autumn days hadn’t grown overly cold yet. “All you do is think, think, think.”

“Maybe you should try it sometime,” Piper shot back good-naturedly. “It might help us all out.”

Ophelia pointed at her temple, her finger brushing against her golden locks. During their time here, she’d allowed her hair to grow down to her shoulders. “I don’t need to think,” she replied with a smile. “I’m a warrior. All you need to do is point me at what needs clobbering.”

“We both know that you’re not just a warrior.” Piper pulled her own tunic over her head and then fastened her belt around her waist. She then walked over to the corner and retrieved her beat-up mace. Sliding it through her belt, she turned back to her friend. “And I’m serious. I think you would do much better if you used a bit of strategy in your fights.”

Ophelia shrugged. “I’m one of the best in the class. My way is working.”

Rolling her eyes, Piper walked over to the washbasin on the table and splashed some water on her face. Then she looked up at the mirror—a luxury she couldn’t have dreamed of back in Kalmyros—to inspect her reflection. A demon with alabaster white skin, swept-back black horns, and long silver hair parted in the middle stared back.

After combing  her hair, she cast [False Face] and [Truth Shroud] to change her appearance and class.

Anyone who used [Identify] on her would see:

Piper

Human, Level 52

Hunter (Poor), Level 52

Glamorist (Uncommon), Level 2

On the long trip to the mining town Helidros, she’d modified [Truth Shroud] to give herself an illusionist class. One of her biggest mistakes she’d made back in Kalmyros was choosing a poor-quality class for her disguise. Now, she was using one that was powerful enough to attract a group, but not so powerful as to draw undue attention.

When she eventually returned to Kalmyros, Niko, guild master of the Silver Hippogriffs, might instruct her to change her class again. However, she had a feeling that was a long way off.

She’d even thought of a great cover story about how she’d gained the class by watching the infernal caster who had imprisoned her. But in her nearly year-and-a-half stay at the villa, no one had asked her about her glamorist class. Which, honestly, annoyed her to no end.

What was the point of making up a great cover story if she never had the chance to use it?

Piper took a moment to touch her belt, her mace, and the magic ring that masked her infernal magic, to reassure herself that she hadn’t forgotten anything. She then walked over to the door and swung it open for Ophelia.

“Thank you, my lady,” her friend said with a lopsided grin as she walked through the doorway.

“You’re welcome,” Piper said, returning the smile.

They proceeded down the hallway, passing other wayfarer aspirants who were emerging sleepily from their rooms. Many adventurers and wayfarers from the Silver Hippogriffs were also staying at the villa, but they resided in the main building and not in the simpler outbuilding like the aspirants. Still, at least they weren’t sleeping in the barn like Eleni claimed aspirants did back in the city.

They reached a pair of barred of doors leading outside, and together they wrestled off the wooden bar. With their combined Strength stat, it wasn’t overly heavy, just awkward.

Propping the bar up against the wall, they each swung open one side of the doors, revealing the courtyard beyond. Little grew between the villa buildings, and the ground had become hard-packed over the years through the constant treading of aspirant boots.

A total of ten stone buildings, some standing three stories tall, ringed the open space. The majority were used to house the servants and guards, while the largest structure was where adventurers recovering from tragedies resided. Beyond it was the farm which provided much of the food for the villa.

Already, Asterion was standing in the middle of the field, holding a padded sword and shield. He watched them with sharp eyes as they hurried to take up a position in front of him.

“I’m pleased to see you’re first again, Ophelia,” Asterion boomed. “The heart of a true warrior beats in your chest.”

Ophelia beamed at the praise. “I just love training with you.”

Turning to Piper, his expression fell. “Now, if only I could say the same about you.”

She fought down the urge to scowl at his words. Granted, she wasn’t the best fighter here, but almost everyone else had a melee class. That meant they had all sorts of great skills for hand-to-hand combat, while she couldn’t use any of her own abilities.

I bet a single [Quick Claw] would take out most of them in a real battle.

Plus, as a supposed spellcaster, she didn’t want to show off her true strength. If she threw an aspirant across the yard, it might result in a lot of awkward questions. How could she explain her insane strength stat, which was likely higher than everyone else here, without telling them about her epic and legendary classes?

Piper took up a position a few paces from Ophelia and waited while the other aspirants straggled out of the building. Some of them yawned and stretched, which earned them glares from Asterion.

Finally, when all fifteen of them were assembled, Asterion moved between them, checking their weapons. His lip curled up into a snarl when he saw Piper’s mace. “Have you not been cleaning your weapon as directed?”

“I… forgot?” she said lamely. Truthfully, she had, since she’d spent most of her nights trying to learn new spells. So far, she hadn’t figured out how to expand her spells for Shadowflame Temptress. She was starting to suspect she could only do so in combat or in dire situations.

Darn Holy System always making things difficult for me.

“Do not let it happen again,” Asterion snapped. With a shake of his head, he moved down the line and found someone else to berate. Several minutes later, he returned to the front of the group.

“For some of you, this will be the last class you take with me.” He held up his hand for silence while murmurs rippled through the crowd. “Tomorrow, those deemed ready will head into Helidros to attempt their first quest. Should you not have signed up as an aspirant yet, you will register at the guild there. Those of you who already have, you may start to wear your badges again tomorrow.”

Piper felt a jolt of adrenaline shoot through her body at the mention of being an aspirant once more. Upon arriving here, she’d placed her wood and gold badge in a box under her bed. Since then, she hadn’t even looked at them once.

While some part of her craved to start leveling again, another part dreaded the thought of losing someone else close to her. Last time, she’d failed to protect those she cared about and lost two friends. She wasn’t going to let that happen again.

“This is amazing,” Ophelia whispered under her breath. “I’m finally going to start leveling up!”

“Ophelia,” Asterion shouted. “Did I say you could speak?”

“I was just excited about using my class,” Ophelia called back. Her beaming expression didn’t fade as Asterion glowered at her before he finally threw up his hands in frustration.

“Today I want you to spar with a new partner,” Asterion said, stalking back and forth in front of the group. “And we won’t be using any padding on our weapons. A healer is standing by, but you only win today by incapacitating your opponent. However, any strike that maims or kills your sparring partner will result in immediate dismissal from the guild and potential legal consequences. So don’t be stupid.”

Piper frowned at hearing that. She preferred to fight with Ophelia, as she was trying to share some of her tricks with her friend. Her gaze swept over the other guild members, wondering who she would be paired with.

“Ophelia,” Asterion said, pointing at a nearby boy holding two claw weapons. “You’re fighting Nikandros.”

The instructor continued along until he reached Piper. Then he pointed at a young man holding a war hammer in his hands on the far side of the square. The man regarded her with a blank expression. “As the worst one here, you get to fight the very best. I want you to take on Zenos and try to actually win for once. Got it?”

Piper nodded. Zenos was a relatively new arrival, and she hadn’t had a chance to interact with him much yet. Though he’d arrived with a gold badge on his chest with numerous tallies engraved on the surface. He’d be a wayfarer in no time once he started questing again.

Zenos grinned and looked her up and down. “I’ll try to go easy on you, because I need to talk to you afterwards. Sorry in advance if I hurt you.”

Piper raised her hand to get the instructor’s attention. When he was looking at her, she asked, “Are we allowed to use spells?”

Asterion slung his sword over his shoulder. “Anything non-lethal is permitted.”

At his reply, Piper felt a smile spreading across her face. For once, she might not be the worst fighter in the group. Now all she had to do was figure out which spells to use without outing herself as a demoness..