Dokeshi March: Chapter 4 (Patreon)

Chapter 4

“What should we do?”  Grant was pacing up and down the hallway of the abandoned house they had found.  The lack of a roof over most of the building due to some long-ago fire was probably the main reason why not even the extremely destitute of the small city had moved in.  “If they ask around, I’m sure House Tuesday can figure it out.  They will be tracking us down in no time!”

“We already took the potions to hide our names.  Now isn’t the time to worry about things we can’t change.”  The name above Suki had changed from Pugilist Friday to Suki Saturday.  Grant had changed his from Grant Monday to Grant Friday.  Grant wasn’t very good at coming up with new names.  “What we need to worry about now is what to do with this guy.”

The man they had saved was looking pretty rough.  He was bleeding from his nose, and the shift to his back had made him spit up more blood from his mouth.

“What else did House Saturday give you, before we left?”  Grant was shuffling through his own pack, gifted to him by the people of District February.  He hadn’t had time to look at everything inside it yet.  “I think I saw some medical bandages in here.”

“I can do better than a bandage.”  Suki pulled a small wooden box from her much smaller pack.  Grant, being the winner of their last battle, had been forced to carry the heavier of the two.  “We have ten healing potions, five for each of us.”  She pulled a light pink vial free, and held it up for his inspection.  “I think we should give him one of the weaker ones.”

Grant nodded his agreement, and she poured it down the prone man’s throat.  He coughed a bit, but he was too weak to do anything but drink the thick fluid.

<It’s going to take a few minutes for that to work.  No sense in sitting idly by while some stranger you have never met absorbs an extremely valuable item you certainly could have used for yourself later.>  An orange-tinted bird dropped from the sky, talons aimed for Grant’s eyes.  <Time to train!>

The reflexes drilled into Grant’s muscle memory meant it was almost effortless to dispatch the imaginary bird with the lightning-quick use of Iaijutsu, the quick-draw sword technique Grant had recently gained a level in.  As the next bird darted for his back, Grant rolled backwards into the room across the hall to give himself some space to maneuver.

“Sarge, don’t you think it would be a better idea for me to go outside before you start attacking me?”  A blob of orange slime dropped onto his face, burning his eyes.  “Bwharagha!”

<You need to practice fighting in tight quarters.  It’s only a matter of time until you get trapped in a confined space, and need to fight.>  Sarge continued talking over Grant’s grunting struggles.  <This environment is a great training environment!>

Grant knew that the acidic slime trying to crawl down his throat wasn’t real, but that didn’t make the burning on his face feel any less real.  While it was still attacking him, a glowing orange man came around the corner and jabbed at him with a spear.  Grant managed to interpose his sword between the spear and his body, but it only allowed the slime to go straight up his nose.  He collapsed to his knees, his sinuses in agony.  The shaft of the spear smashing into his head ended his pain.

Grant blinked his eyes open, and got back up on all fours.  “What in all the Regents was that?!”  He shook his head to try and clear it from the jarring effects of his pretend death.  “How am I supposed to fight a slime with a sword?”

<I guess that brand new lightning spell you got is just going to sit around and do nothing?  Or using the side of your blade to knock an enemy away is too much to ask?>  Grant paused, realizing he had completely forgotten about the new spell he gained after becoming the new Lord February.  <You need to remember to use all the tools at your disposal.  A true samurai never forgets such a simple thing.  And never forget a sword is but a tool, and can be used for more than just cutting.>

“But Sarge, I’m not a samurai!”  Grant rubbed at his face, still feeling the phantom sting of the acidic slime.  “I never even agreed to becoming a samurai.  I’m just a Wielder, and -”

<You’re not a samurai yet, and if you want to live to see your next birthday, you had better do your level best to become one.>

Grant had heard Sarge be angry with him before, but his tone right now was something different.  He was truly upset with him.  Grant pulled up his spell description.

Elemental Spell: Thundering Step

Prerequisites: 65 Mind. Two feet. Metal weapon.

Active Mode: Create a static field in a five foot radius around you that damages others when they move through the area. Does not move from the point it was set. Lasts five seconds.

Mana cost: 10 per use.

Damage(Self): 0% Mental cultivation.

Damage(Other): 100% Mental cultivation per second.

Training Mode: Increase movement speed by 50% while out of combat. Combat is defined as not dealing or talking damage from an opponent for five seconds.

Mana cost: 10% per second. Mana regen halted while active.

“So, if I had activated that spell, it would have done seventy three damage per second?  Isn’t that a little overpowered?”  Grant reviewed his stats to make sure.  “I could kill all kinds of enemies with this spell!”

<Ha!  You wish.  It takes ten mana just to activate it, and you only have nineteen.  You can only activate this spell once, before having to wait and activate it again.  Plus, you are completely forgetting that you aren’t the only person with spell damage reduction.  This is the Late Spring District.  Even ‘regular’ clothing provides a slight amount of armor.>

“So, I shouldn’t use the spell at all?”  Grant hung his head in dejection.  “At least it provides a speed boost when we are training.”

Instead of getting an immediate answer, another orange-tinted slime dropped on Grant.  This time, it was large enough to encase his entire body.

<Did I say that, you dunderhead?  No!  All I’m saying is don’t expect to go around killing all your enemies with a spell, like some pansy wizard from the stories.  You are samurai!  Use your tools, as a warrior of honor!>

Grant couldn’t say anything in reply, otherwise the acidic slime would crawl into his mouth.  Instead, he concentrated through the pain and activated Thundering Step.  The effects were immediate, causing the slime to spasm with the electric shock.

Unfortunately for Grant, the zero damage done to the spell caster didn’t negate the lightning traveling through the slime.  He was squeezed, burned, and shocked, all at the same time.  After the five second spell timer wore off, the slime collapsed into a puddle, freeing Grant from its embrace.

“Sarge, I have a question for you.”  Grant was gasping, trying to catch his breath.  “What day is it today?”

<Hmm, I believe it’s past midnight, so that would make today a Monday.>

“Well then, it’s official.”  He got back to his feet, shaking out his limbs to try and relieve some of the pain from the shocks.  “I really hate Mondays.”