Headed by a Snake

Shield Maiden Gianna thought Justus was extra-cute with his pitiful expression. She wanted to unstrap her shield and give him a big hug... though that would honestly be to fix her own spirits, rather than to make him feel better.

She glanced back to Zehr. Admittedly, she was still a little disappointed that he had rejected her... but it wasn't out of her expectations. They hadn't known each other for very long, after all. In fact, she probably would have been even more disappointed had he accepted her confession.

"Allow me to take over, if you would, Miss Gianna," Zehr smiled radiantly.

Gianna felt her heart beat just a tiny bit faster... Cute...

Remembering that Zehr thought well of princesses, she took a step back and gave a polite curtsy, "Most gracious of you, my lord."

Zehr nodded in thanks, "It will be my pleasure, young lady."

It was just on a whim that she told Zehr her feelings, that's all. She might have been a little jealous of Rena's forwardness, but she really did like the cool, calm, and collected Duplicarius.

Gianna turned to the young Decanus and tried to reassure him, "Ohhhh Justus! Don't be sad. You learned something from Zehr, didn't you?"

"Y-yeah. I did," Justus looked up, smiling weakly.

She had seen a little of Zehr taking over the fight-- lamenting that she couldn't watch it in its entirety.

Gianna liked the way he moved. She liked it a lot.

But even if Zehr decided to remain distant, at least she still had Justus. He was the sweetest boy she'd ever met.

...

Tycondrius lifted his sword in front of his face, focusing his mana.

"I'm only going to do this once, Justus." He warned, "Pay attention."

One of the greatest benefits of Tycon's System was the repository of information he had access to, notably on class skills. They varied from those belonging to his own class of Warlord to Rogue movement techniques, Fighter execution skills, and even a few Martialist forms.

He could replicate any of the Bronze-Rank skills, to different effects.

Most of the skills from his own class, (minus one particular ⌈Iron Dragon Rend⌋), he had developed to a High Completion Rating. A good number of physical techniques like ⌈Shadowfang Strike⌋ were at a Middle Rating.

Because of his bloodline, he could even utilize arcane skills... at a Low Rating. It was better than no rating, at all. However, the mana expenditure for a Low Rating skill was so high and its effect was so mediocre, that such usage would largely be a waste of effort.

The Holy Swordsman class was reasonably a branch of the Divine Champion or Crusader classes, similar to how Rena's Holy Bolter class was related to Divine Enchanter. With that in mind, he recalled an offensive technique he did have at Middle Completion.

Still, it was a Divine skill, not a Martial one, and the mana expenditure would tax his energies uncomfortably.

Channeling mana into his Tyrion sword, it began to glow a stark, concentrated white, cutting clear through the darkness.

Justus' awed voice whispered hoarsely, "Z-zehr... you have a holy sword skill too?"

"That's a very stupid question, young man" Tycon rolled his eyes, "I am obviously channeling radiant energy through my sword. So, yes. It is a holy skill. With a sword. That makes it a holy sword skill."

"But... but how?"

Steadily, Zehr retracted his mana back. He had to do so gently-- an abrupt halt of the flow could damage either himself or the weapon.

The skeleton had gotten to its feet, so Zehr kicked it in the chest, sending it tumbling back. He noticed that Gianna was about to shove it back, had he not done so first. She was quite reliable.

He turned back to Justus, "What do you mean 'how'? Does it *matter*? Do you think you're the only person capable of channeling radiant energy? Obviously, Rena can do it too. So can Gianna. Why does it matter, how? Shut. Up."

Ugh. Tycon felt a hint of disgust at himself from having to rebuke the young man. He had lost his calm in front of Rena and Gianna. He took a deep breath to return to his stone-faced expression.

Justus lowered his head, pulling his arms in, appearing smaller. If he had a tail like an Iredar, he'd have tucked it between his legs.

...Tycon wondered if he was being too harsh?

He shut his eyes and nodded solemnly, "Now is the time for learning, young Decanus. Save your questions for afterward. Now... would you still like this demonstration?"

Justus rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Y-yes... I'm sorry, but... please show me, Duplicarius Zehr."

"Good," Tycon turned back to the skeleton-- again approaching, but with more wariness than before. "I don't know how many times I can use this skill."

At Moderate Completion and with the particular level of the skill, Tycon was certain he could cast it at least three times before suffering effects of mana fatigue. He implied its limited number of usages so the fool boy would pay attention.

He returned his sword to the front of his face and channeled the same white glow through it.

Lunging forward, Tycon dipped his head low, dodging a skeletal claw, "⌈Legionbreaker.⌋" He pierced his radiant blade entirely through the skeleton's armored chest.

⟬ ⌈Legionbreaker⌋ Weapon ability: A sharpened point of radiant mana gathers at the tip of the weapon, for use in penetrating heavy armor. ⟭

It was a skill developed by a Champion-- a class that utilized both physical strength and divine favor. Tycon made a mental note to raise its Completion Rating to High-- it was an effective trump card.

White light spilled from the undead creature's mouth as the skeleton dissipated into black bone powder. Tattered and rusted parts of armor collapsed into a heap, off of Tycon's sword.

He blew a puff of air onto his blade, cleaning it of the bone dust, "Now, do you have any questions, Justus?"

Justus frowned deeply, looking lost, "Didn't you say you were a Bronze-Rank Warrior?"

Tycon shrugged, "I'm very talented for a Bronze-Rank Warrior."

Hm. He had given himself away, displaying skills clearly not of the Warrior class... If an intelligent onlooker assumed Tycon was a Warrior... being able to utilize a cross-class skill marked him as at least Iron-Rank.

Thankfully, he had judged Justus as an idiot in everything that wasn't combat. And even then, he was somewhat lacking in certain combat areas.