Published at 16th of February 2024 2:21 pm

Chapter 44. Vanguard Needed

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It was Fifthday. Three days had passed since the assault, and Nox finally felt well enough to attend Intermediate Dungeon Combat. His left shoulder still throbbed if he held it up for too long, but Nox refused to spend any more time resting. Also, his absence would likely please Edward regardless of his involvement in the attack. It came as no surprise when the lordling and his entourage maintained a healthy distance from Nox and his friends. It wasn't out of the ordinary for them to do so.

“Hey, I heard about what happened.” Caitlin finally broke her weeks-long silence and spoke to Nox. “My grandmother didn’t want to say anything to you in class on Thirday, and you rushed out as soon as class ended. So, she wanted me to convey her apology.”

“It’s not her fault,” Nox said. “Dean Woodson has no reason to apologize. The attackers were clearly tracking my routine for a while and planned the assault out well.”

“How are your injuries?” Alexander asked. “They didn’t mana burn you, did they?”

“I’m mostly fine. My shoulder is still sore where I was stabbed, but it's nothing I can’t handle.” Nox leaned close to the Woodson siblings and divulged a secret. He liked the pair and hoped to recruit them—or at least Alexander—for his party someday. “My Sigil of Immunity gives me resistance to mana burn. The bastards would’ve crippled me if not for it.”

“I didn’t know sigils could do that,” Caitlin whispered, staring at the ground thoughtfully. As a vanguard delver, she was more in danger of mana burn than anyone else in her party. Attackers would, of course, need to get through her armor first. “It’s worth investigating.” She met Nox’s gaze and smiled. “I’m glad you’re okay, though. We all are. It would be a shame someone with such a unique skillset ended up crippled.”

“Careful, Caitlin.” Nox grinned at the woman. “You might accidentally give me the impression you care about terrible ol’ me.”

“I never called you terrible.” Caitlin’s eyes narrowed. “We—” Alexander cleared his throat. “I was just dubious about the company you keep. Annabelle trusts you, though, and continues to remain your party member. So you can’t be all bad.”

“I can assign a squirrel patrol to you if you’d like,” Alexander said. “They won’t be much help, but they can fetch help if anyone attempts to attack you.”

“I’m fine, thank you.” Nox laughed. He adored the image of a spyglass-equipped squirrel running along rooftops as it tailed him. “The offer is greatly appreciated, but I’d rather not put you out. I’m fine as I am.”

People outside Mou, her family, and his late father's friend expressing concern felt odd. Nox struggled to hide the awkwardness bubbling inside as they expressed rage toward the unknown assailants. Nox liked the Woodson siblings, and being back in their favor pleased him. He suspected Caitlin was the vanguard Kris had picked for the party. The tree mage said nothing about the matter, and Nox didn't broach the topic either. Caitlin had declared she refused to delve without her brother unless she found a party she could trust. Nox hoped to earn a spot in the woman's list of trustworthy individuals.

Because of his injury, Nox found himself struggling by the third lap. The change frustrated him since he could now complete all five without tiring himself out. Yet he pushed on, clenching his teeth through the pain and resisting the flask at his waist. By the time he finished, everyone else had completed the routine exercise, and sweat had Nox's clothes sticking to his skin.

Loud chuckles rose from the group that surrounded Edward. Many sets of cruel eyes glanced at Nox's disheveled forms. Meanwhile, Louis and his party paid no attention to Nox. They appeared engaged in a heated conversation. The group stood on the opposite end of the terrace, huddled close together.

Lillin stiffened next to Nox. Her expression betrayed her thoughts. She was sure Edward had orchestrated the attack, and Nox had spent the past handful of days convincing her not to act on her suspicions. If he tried once, Edward would come for him again to rectify his previous failure. Nox planned on reacting with lethal force. It was unlikely they'd catch him alone, too.

Nox and Pudge rarely spent time alone outside of the cafeteria or workshop, but he spent almost all of his time outside of class hours with Annabelle or Lillin. One would see hostile threats coming far in advance, while Lillin's magic excelled at destruction and capture. She also had her mimic senses for detecting nearby mana sources. The range was considerably lower, but she’d detect most mages preparing spells within her mana zone. Either woman would buy Nox enough time to set up adequate defenses, prepare Ratra's Bow, and weaponize any essence glass at hand.

Since they were approaching the end of the semester’s second month, Intermediate Dungeon Combat classes had changed once again. Professor Wolfhammer grew more involved in their direction and customized challenges based on party composition, expertise, and weaknesses.

Even though Nox’s party had no vanguard, they excelled at taking on lone targets. Danger Sense made Annabelle proficient at close range. Her time with the Oakheart tutors was showing results. Her martial skills appeared to improve with every combat class. She successfully kept the wolf centaurs’ attention using probing thrusts and shallow slashes. The summoned beast failed to ever strike her speedy, lithe form.

Meanwhile, Lillin continued to display her excellence as a control mage and mid-ranged attacker. She fired marble-sized gravity orbs at her opponents in clusters of three or four. The summoned monsters dodged the projectiles easily, but the damage was devastating when they struck. Lillin successfully removed limbs and, in a couple of instances, the attacking wolf centaurs’ heads. Because of her spells’ wide area of attacks, she used them with extreme care, ensuring Annabelle was always out of the way.

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Because of the party’s frail temporary vanguard, Lillin used her larger gravity orbs sparingly. Their attractive force was far too powerful and could potentially unbalance Annabelle, leaving her vulnerable to the wolf-centaur’s attacks. So, they only came into play when Annabelle retreated to catch her breath or fire essence glass projectiles from her enchanted slingshot.

Thanks to his party members, Nox rarely had to do much besides firing arrows or throwing essence bombs. He occasionally dodged mad charges or repositioned for better angles. The swiftest road to victory was through attacking vitals. So he did just that, targeting eyes, noses, armpits, and whatever vulnerable points he could see.

“Wouldn’t you rather take the day off, lad?” Professor Wolfhammer asked. “I know you spend most of your time in the rear, but I’d rather you be in prime condition before fighting one of my beasties.”

“Will Dungeon Lords, their bosses, or elites give me the same consideration, Professor? I’d rather keep my skills as sharp as possible.”

“You were attacked, Nox.” Professor Wolfhammer had dropped all pretense with his party weeks ago. He spoke to them casually without using honorifics, and his instruction felt more friendly than serious. “Mana burn doesn’t always show immediately. You could’ve suffered damage which only shows when your mana circuits are stressed.”

“I’m fine, Professor,” Nox said. He spoke loud enough for his peers to hear. “It took six grown men to take me down. Their tactics were pathetic, and their spellwork even worse. Competent fighters might have put me out of commission for more than a couple of days, but fortunately, they weren’t. So, I’m ready for whatever you can throw at me.”

“Those are warring words, lad. I’ll ask you again. Are you sure you don’t want another day off?”

“I’m sure.”

The wolf centaur standing one terrace away exploded into a puff of white smoke. The cloud billowed briefly, fighting the wind, expanding and quaking. Then it coalesced into a more humanoid opponent. The summoned creature resembled the wolf-skin-wearing men that oversaw the duels. Except he was smaller, standing under six feet tall and the hammer he carried was considerably simpler. A trio of wolves appeared in front of him, too.

“Think you can manage that?” Professor Wolfhammer grinned and crossed his arms, clearly expecting the party to back down.

Dealing with multiple enemies would prove challenging without a dedicated vanguard. Annabelle appeared especially hesitant since the burden of distracting the beasts would be mostly on her. Lillin’s mastery of Manipulation spells wasn’t yet high enough to strike small, speedy targets. Before any of them could say anything, an unexpected member of the class stepped forward.

“We’d like to fight with Nox’s party, Professor,” said Ernest. The giant of a man stood closer to seven feet than six. Nox had never seen Ernest’s face before. He doubted anyone had. A knight’s helmet covered everything but his lips and chin. A long scar diagonally ran across both. It looked like a sword had once slit his face open.

“We? Delving teams larger than six—”

“Not them. Just me.”

“What about your current team?” Professor Wolfhammer craned his neck, looking past the giant man at his party. The trio looked away sheepishly. Their expression betrayed their relief.

“It’s safe to say they’ll be pleased with our—my absence.” Ernest’s voice was deep and hoarse. It sounded like he had damaged his throat over decades of pipe smoking. Since no one knew his age, confirming the hypothesis without asking rude questions was impossible.

After almost two months in the class, Nox had a rough idea of nearly everyone’s capabilities. Ernest fell into the category of people he knew little about. The man fought with a giant club almost as tall as he was and as thick as Nox’s thighs. He didn’t use any flashy magic. His strength and durability suggested he primarily utilized body enhancement magic. It wouldn’t surprise Nox if there were also self-healing spells in the mix. Ernest had shrugged off hits that would’ve killed most men.

However, the man’s martial skills weren’t noteworthy enough for Nox to consider him for a prospective party member. At times, Ernest appeared unstable, losing his mind during a fight. He occasionally fumbled and stumbled around like a drunk man, too. Then there was the oddity of him speaking in the plural when referencing himself. Nox had heard some of their peers whispering about the man. They thought him weird and creepy.

“I’ll leave the decision to you,” Professor Wolfheart told Nox and his party.

“I’m not sure,” Nox replied. He looked up at Ernest as the man approached. The height difference between them was greater than a foot. Nox felt like a child before the giant fighter. “I don’t mean any offense by this, Ernest, but I’m unsure if you’d be a good fit for us. We intend to delve frequently and take on challenges greater than us. You’re an excellent fighter, but I’m not sure you’re the dedicated frontline we’re looking for.”

Ernest moved closer until there were less than six inches between them. Despite his metal breastplate and the thick leather armor under his extra-large university coat, Nox smelt no sweat. In fact, Ernest had no smell at all. Even though he stood inside Nox’s mana zone, his alchemy-refined senses detected nothing from the man. He felt like an ordinary person who hadn’t developed a mana cloud, let alone a star.

“Professor Kris suggested we work together,” Ernest said softly. “I’ve been watching your party for quite a while. I’m not sure we’re a good fit either, but I feel the same about everyone else. So, I’d like to defer to her judgment and give this a shot.”

“Are you her apprentice?” Nox asked.

“You could say so. She took a special interest in me shortly after the semester started.” When Ernest leaned in, Nox finally smelled something off the man. It was his breath. Nox wondered if Ernest had ever cleaned between his teeth or had himself checked for gum disease.

Nox look past Ernest at the professor. “Will you let us fight today without a vanguard?”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Professor Wolfhammer answered.

“Fine.” Nox sighed. “We might as well give this a shot.”

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