Chapter 303 - Training Days (Patreon)

Reivyn circled around the opponent in the little fighting square. He watched the other, older man closely with his Divine Sense while pretending to stare him in the eyes. The other mercenaries had learned that he somehow had a grasp of the entire arena, but they would still trip up and think they could get one over on him in the heat of the moment. He kept his eyes locked on target.

They were both wearing training gear that was basically just thickened leather. They didn’t wear their actual armor because it was too bulky or hard to move in, it was actually surprisingly easy to move around even with heavy armor. They just didn’t want to scuff their armor or need to repair it. Their weapons were blunted training weapons.

Well, most of the weapons were “blunted.” Reivyn was actually facing off against a man who dual-wielded hammers, and Reivyn copied him. There was no need to blunt weapons that were already bludgeoning. They were shorter than arming swords, but not by much. It was like wielding a short sword with a different balance.

The hammers had a looped cord sticking out of the end, and they each had them wrapped around their wrists. The other man had used the loops to exclusively secure the hammers so they wouldn’t fly out of his grip when he struck incredibly hard, but Reivyn was slowly showing him a different usage for them.

The man stepped forward and thrust with his off-hand while cocking his main-hand for an overhead swing. The thrusting move was just to get a reaction out of Reivyn that the other man could capitalize on, but Reivyn showed him a different kind of reaction.

Instead of adjusting his positioning trying to evade the strike or allowing it to hit him and possibly knock him off balance, Reivyn slipped his grip on the off-hand hammer to bring the loop into his hand. He swung the hammer around at incredible speeds, a whirring sound like an angry beehive sounding out.

The speed the hammer moved was so fast it looked like Reivyn had conjured a shield out of nowhere. The thrusting hammer made contact with the “shield,” and the mercenary preparing for a strike was the one knocked off-balance as his arm was unexpectedly wrenched upward. Reivyn stepped into the flaw and struck the man in the opening, landing a solid blow on his ribs.

The mercenary grunted and recovered his stance. Reivyn could see the man furrow his brows through his helmet, processing what had just happened. Reivyn jerked the hammer back up into his hand like nothing had happened.

While the man was pondering the move Reivyn had displayed, Reivyn lunged forward, swinging wide with his main hand. He kept his off-hand tucked in tight in case he needed to use it while maintaining his balance. The other mercenary side-stepped while attempting to parry the strike.

While his arm was windmilling around, Reivyn once more let his grip slip to the loop. Instead of having his hammer strike get blocked by the other man, it whipped around and struck him in the back of the head. The man stumbled forward, creating yet another opening. Reivyn thrust his off-hand forward and jabbed him in the sternum while recovering his grip on the other hammer.

Before the man knew what had happened, Reivyn had completely recovered his stand and struck the man multiple times with his two hammers before the other man could recover and create some separation between them.

Reivyn’s prowess with the two-hammers elicited astonishment from the other man. Only a select few of the mercenaries actually knew about Reivyn’s proficiency with a wide variety of weapons, and he had already displayed his mastery of many different weapons. Each time he showed another competency, the mercenaries grew more awed of his skills.

Another thing that created respect in the men was that Reivyn fought with a handicap. Even though his Physical Stats were suffering a 25% decline, they were still higher than 99% of the mercenaries. He went even further, though, and limited himself - learning the trick from his father - to Stats below those of the men he faced off against. He wanted to instill in them a drive to work on their techniques, and it was working.

Reivyn didn’t just thrash his opponents. Just like with his training with the spears, he took his time to pause the spars to point out flaws and highlight what it was he was doing.

“You’re too rigid,” Reivyn explained to the other mercenary. “Not just in your stance, which is actually quite solid, but in your thinking. You can’t limit yourself to using your tools at face value. These loops are an obvious extension of the weapon, not just something to secure them to your control.

“You should work with varying lengths of cord to see what changes you can affect in a combat situation. A spinning shield and a windmilling strike from the side are just two basic moves. You’re already quite good with the main methods of using the hammers. Now’s the time to experiment and get creative.”

“Yes, sir,” the other mercenary bowed his head. “Thank you for the instruction.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Reivyn smiled at the man.

Reivyn stepped out of the square, removing his helmet. He wiped the sweat from his brow as two other mercenaries replaced them in the sparring ring. Reivyn had already spent several hours instructing men on using the spear and various other personal weapon specialties.

He had kept up the routine for the past week. Reivyn could already see improvements across the board with the mercenaries. They were all veteran Adventurers, and some of them were veterans of his previous campaigns. Reivyn didn’t know if it was his teaching Skills or the mercenaries’ drive that saw such quick improvements, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. It was working, so they would keep it up. Until they had to either reinforce or replace the company that was already deployed or another kingdom sought assistance, they had nothing else to do other than train and improve.

I see why dad loves training others so much, Reivyn thought, glancing over where Refix was busy overseeing other mercenaries go through calisthenics. It’s one thing to improve yourself, but it’s a completely different feeling knowing that you’re directly helping others reach their potential.

I’m not advancing in my own Skills as quickly as I did against the masters in Tier 5 Region, but I feel my Skills growing in a different direction. It’s not growing wider or taller, but I can feel there’s a certain depth to it. It’s almost like the density of my Skill is improving. I don’t know how else to describe it.

And all of that is just a bonus on top of knowing I’m improving their survivability in combat.

A man tossed Reivyn a towel as he placed the hammers back on the rack. He snatched it out of the air without looking and used it to wipe the sweat from his head and neck. He nodded to the man in acknowledgement and slung the towel over his shoulder.

He marched off toward the headquarters building, passing by his officers standing in a group watching the training. In garrison they were more hands-off, letting the NCO’s run the show - as it should be, Reivyn thought. He gave a small wave to the officers as he passed by.

“Excellent work with the scheduling,” Reivyn complimented them. “Just know that you’re all welcome to step into the ring with me anytime for your own weapons instruction.”

Several of the officers’ expressions brightened at the statement.

“That’s good to know, sir,” one of the captains remarked. “We had all assumed it was mainly for the men.”

“It is,” Reivyn agreed. “But don’t forget. You’re also my men.”

“Yes, sir!”

Reivyn smiled as he passed them by. He headed to a waiting room in the headquarters where gear was stored for the officers. He removed his armor, used his Magic to soak it all and scrub it clean before drying it with more Magic. He didn’t make anyone else handle the cleaning of his own sweaty gear.

After the task was complete, he headed to a private bath area for a good soak of his own. He relaxed in the hot water he kept at the perfect, slightly steamy temperature with his Mana for a little while before getting cleaned up.

Freshly cleaned and dressed once more, Reivyn stopped by his office to make sure there was no additional issues that required his attention before locking his office and taking off for the day. The sun was still high in the sky, but it would start setting soon, turning the sky dark orange with the onset of evening.

He made it to his house on the grounds of the Imperial Palace just as the sky started shifting colors. Ameliyn looked up from her spot in the kitchen where she was preparing dinner as he entered the home. Kailey and Riley were busy with their own tinkering in the living room, but they spared him a quick glance and wave, too, before focusing on their project again.

“Dinner will be ready in a few minutes,” Ameliyn said with a smile.

“Thanks, mom,” Reivyn said, walking to the living room to take a seat out of the way of his sisters.

Refix soon came through the doorway, just a couple minutes behind Reivyn. Reivyn could have waited for him, but he enjoyed his little stroll alone in the evenings, and he knew his father did the same. They already spent a lot of time together, so it was good to get a bit of true alone time every now and then, for both of them.

Refix immediately walked over to give his wife a kiss on the lips, murmuring their greetings, before joining the rest of the family in the living room. The two men didn’t have much to say to each other about their day as they had been together and already knew what the other was up to, so they contented themselves with just watching the two girls fuss over whatever new project had taken their interest.

“Reivyn, honey, could you set the table, please?” Ameliyn called out, ready with dinner before they knew it.

“Sure thing, mom.”

Reivyn sprang up and fetched the tableware, setting the table off to the side of the kitchen, slightly between the kitchen and living room without actually being in the middle of them. The twins seemed to have unnatural timing, springing up to assist their mother at just the right time, bringing the food to the table as Reivyn and Refix sat down in their seats.

Ameliyn noticed the additional plate Reivyn set aside and served it despite the empty chair. Reivyn nodded his thanks to his mother and received a smile in reply. The front door opened once again and Kefira stepped inside.

“I hope I’m not late,” she called out as she entered.

“Nope! Perfect timing, actually,” Reivyn replied, springing up to pull her seat out for her.

Kefira frowned as she surveyed the table filled with food and the others all taking their seats.

“You call this perfect timing?! I’m obviously late!” She said, a hint of concern in her voice.

“Not at all, sweety,” Ameliyn swatted Kefira’s forearm. “You’re our guest, so it’s only appropriate you don’t have to help with anything, and you’re only a couple of minutes after Reivyn and Refix, anyway.”

“They’re right,” Kailey bobbed her head in agreement. “You have perfect timing, and don’t worry-”

“We’ll be sure to show up with perfect timing, too, when it’s you and Reivyn hosting us,” Riley finished.

Kefira blushed slightly as she obviously imagined living in a home alone with Reivyn. Reivyn just grinned at her. Kefira caught him grinning and rolled her eyes, breaking out of her blush just as quickly as it had come.

Reivyn and Kefira, and their two families, had settled into a comfortable routine. They alternated eating with their families alone, eating with each other alone, eating with the other’s family, and having all of the family members together on a rotating basis. There was no real set schedule, but they intuitively made it work. Everyone seemed to be happy with the arrangement.

Or at least nobody’s complained, and Kefira and I are plenty happy, Reivyn thought.

“So what were you girls working on?” Reivyn asked the twins as everyone began eating.

“We’re working on a design for a sort of foundational totem,” Kailey responded.

“A what now?” Reivyn quirked an eyebrow.

“A foundational totem,” Kailey simply repeated.

“It’s the design for the enchantments we’re going to imbue in the gear we’re going to make for your mercenary company,” Riley said.

“Corps,” Reivyn automatically muttered.

“What was that?” Riley shot Reivyn a glance.

“We’re referring to the organization as a whole, now, as a Corps. The Mercenary Corps.”

“Ok~ay. Anyway, using the same design over and over again for enchantments works just fine, but it’s not the most efficient method,” Riley continued.

“If we create a totem that the enchantments represent and link to, the effects will be improved,” Kailey continued.

“And it works better if the totem has sentimental value and/or magical effects of its own,” Riley bobbed her head once.

“Okay, so you’re making a statue, or whatever, that will have meaning to the Mercenary Corps while having its own enchantments, and the sigils you use on the gear will represent this totem, linking to it and strengthening the enchantments? Is that right?”

“That’s it exactly,” Kailey confirmed.

“It’s why you can find statues of important people in large cities,” Riley said. “Well, not the only reason, of course, but it has sentimental value to any enchantments that link to it. Sort of like a tangible benefit for pride in one’s country-”

“Or city, or whatever,” Kaily finished.

“Huh, I’d never known that was a thing,” Reivyn commented.

“Yeah, neither did we until recently,” Kailey said. “We’ve learned a lot of fascinating information with the help of the tutors Lady Silfa has given us.”

“Yeah, it turns out learning things like history isn’t all nonsense, after all,” Riley said, peeking at Ameliyn as she said so.

Ameliyn just snorted.

“I never talk ‘nonsense,’” she said, mock-glaring at the girls. “There’s always a point to the things I teach you.”

“You didn’t know about the totem, either,” Kailey accused, wisely keeping her eyes down on her plate.

“And who said something has to be for it to be important?” Ameliyn shot back.

“Well, personally, I only find things related to what I’m interested in ‘important,’” Riley said.

Reivyn tried to hold in a snicker, but he failed. Ameliyn’s attention snapped to him.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever given you a proper history lesson on your birthright, before, have I?” Ameliyn asked, narrowing her eyes at her son. “I think we’ll have to rectify that, say, tomorrow?”

“Mo~m,” Kailey whined, “Reivyn promised to spend the day with us tomorrow!”

“It’s the first time he’s had a day off he could spend with us since we got back!” Riley exclaimed.

“Oh? There’s an easy solution to that,” Ameliyn said, wiping her mouth with a napkin to hide a small smile. It didn’t expect Reivyn’s perception, and he silently groaned as the girls walked right into the trap.

“Really? Thank you!” Kailey said, smiling at her mother, assuming she meant something else.

“You’re the best, mom,” Riley added.

“I know,” Ameliyn said as she leveled her gaze at her daughters. “You can join your brother in his lessons tomorrow.”

The two girls froze with their forks half-way to their open mouths. They sat like that, staring blankly at their mother for several long seconds. Kefira and Refix both joined Reivyn in his chuckles.

Reivyn didn’t mind having their plans slightly derailed. The entire point was just to spend time with his sisters, and getting a history lesson on where they came from together from their mother wasn’t much of a setback. They would still be doing it together, and Reivyn would be sure to take them out, just the three of them, after.

“Noooo…” Kailey slumped in her seat, bumping her forehead on the table.

“You see what you did?” Riley accusingly pointed at Reivyn.

Reivyn sat back and put his hands up.

“What did I do?” He asked innocently.

“You snickered,” Riley said, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

Reivyn shrugged, his hands still up.

“Well, at least I can’t think of anyone I would rather receive the lessons with,” he said, his mouth tugging up on one corner in a half-smile.

Kailey suddenly sat up, errantly flipping her hair out of her face with a casual wave of her hand.

“Yes, well, I’m sure we can forgive you,” she said, resuming her meal like nothing had happened.

Riley continued to stare at Reivyn with narrowed eyes, finger pointing at him, for another couple of seconds.

“Watch yourself, buster!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Reivyn nodded, finally lowering his hands to also resume eating.

Kefira nudged him with her elbow. He looked up to see her smiling at him.

“You and your sisters are so cute together,” she said happily.

“They’re cute,” Reivyn pointed out. “I’m ruggedly handsome.” He tossed his head, brushing imaginary hair out of his face. Kefira stifled a laugh.

“Sure, sure. Keep telling yourself that… stinky.”

“Hey!”