Chapter 43- Day 7- Not So Well

Chapter 43: Chapter 43- Day 7- Not So Well

Alaric leaned over his sink, splashing cold water over his face. He shook his head, his hair whipping water across the room. With a gentle breath, he stood up straight and grabbed his shirt, walking towards his bed. He quickly got dressed and grabbed his bag. He slung it over his shoulder and stretched.

His only day had been exhausted, so he wasn’t going to be staying here any longer. Sure, he had a small amount of money his mother gave him, since she knew he’d have to stop at some nearby town to rest... but he’d rather not do that here, not now. After all, he still had months to go, spending his money a week-in didn’t sound ideal. He whistled and Sky was instantly at his side as he opened the door and stepped out.

He moved downstairs and walked through the mostly empty inn, with the exception of a feeling of early drinkers... Once he left, he climbed onto Sky and the two soared through the area.

What was first on his to-do list? He folded his arms and closed his eyes. Last night, he wanted to visit the library to learn more about this city... Alongside that was to check out those Martial arts schools, after all there were plenty of them around.

He opened his eyes and looked off to the side of Sky and towards the town below, hoping to spot a library. There were plenty of buildings here, yet none resembled a library... at least the exterior of them. He patted Sky, and the cloud slowly lowered down so Alaric could see clearly.

Once further down, he examined the buildings closer. He spotted groceries stores, restaurants, banks and schools. He narrowed his eyes and flew nearby the school, and searched the buildings around.

While none of the buildings looks like a library, from the small windows he could see through, there were hundreds of books lined on shelves, alongside people looking among them.

Sky flew down towards the ground and Alaric stepped down off it and walked towards the entrance. He took a glance towards a nearby sign that was set up beside the door.

He frowned, "...No system items or equipment allowed inside?" He whispered softly, leaning back slightly.

What kind of rule was that? He took a quick look towards Sky, who tilted curiously at him. He sighed and shoved a hand into his pocket, "Sorry bud, you’re not allowed inside..." He looked off as Sky turned gray, aiming downward. He bit his lips gently as he rubbed his hair, "I know... but listen, I won’t be long. Just wait out here, alright?" Sky nodded softly as Alaric quickly pushed open the double doors.

He sighed and glanced towards the clear doors, looking directly at Sky, who was raining against the ground.

He really had to make this quick.

He walked through the library and tapped his chin... there had to be some kind of book in relation to the history about this town. Of course, he could ask around... but he’d rather not do that. He made his way to the history section of the library and ran his finger along the spines of the books lined on the shelves.

He remembered the name, Yamachi Town, which should be located near the end of the shelf. He walked along the shelves and ended up at the last section and sure enough, he found something related to what he was looking for. He pulled out a book and read the title, "Yamachi Town: Martial Artists Abode".

He flipped the book and read the back, and expectantly, it detailed and expanded what was on the front. It explained that this town was known for its martial arts schools and teachings... if you wanted to grow your hand to hand fighting or sword fighting, you’d come here. He nodded softly as he lifted his head, which obviously explains all of the various schools here. They must teach a ton of different types of martial arts depending on the school. Interesting. He placed the book under his arm and continued looking through the shelves, he wondered if there was more history. But he jumped and remembered he was supposed to get back to Sky! He quickly flipped through the books before finding one with the town’s name in the title, pulling it away from the shelf. He shoved it under his arm and rushed towards the front of the building to rent the buildings.

Once at the front, he rested the books down on the counter and waited for the librarian to ring up his books. "...I want to rent this!" He quickly said as the man sat up and grabbed the books, ringing them up. He reached over and grabbed a small bag, neatly putting the books inside and pulling out a receipt. He slid the books over to Alaric, "Thanks so much! Have a great day!" He exclaimed, refusing to sit still as he rushed towards the door, waving before throwing the door open and looking around.

He paused. Sky was nowhere to be seen... He looked down, and the puddle of rain water was a clear indicator that he was there. But, there was also a faint trail going to the left. He quickly followed the trail down the road, passing by a building and looking down at the trail, which was not much fainter, moving to the right. He looked ahead and his eyes were bolted wide.

People were surrounding Skydancer...

And the cloud was glowing a bright golden as the group of people pet the cloud, cooing at its cuteness.

Alaric stared, mouth hanging open. His face glowed red as Sky continued to bring attention to itself.

"Ugh... why are you doing this to me Sky..." he whispered as he quickly looked away, covering his face.

Sky seemingly felt its owner return and turned, finding him standing embarrassed nearby. It bounced and quickly flew over, crashing into his chest, making him fall over, spilling his books onto the ground.

His eyes swirled as he laid there, dazed. Sky nuzzled against him.

Alaric’s eyes snapped open and looked ahead as people stared at him. "Ahha..." he scrambled to stand, picking up his books and putting an arm around Sky, pulling the cloud along without a word.

He continued walking, keeping his head down as his face was flushed red, "Don’t ever embarrass me like that again..." he hissed as Sky tilted, a question mark popped up next to it.

He just walked, wanting to distance himself from that group as much as possible... he wasn’t even sure where he was at right!

He quickly looked down at his bag and checked to make sure they were ruined, he could not afford to pay for any damages... And luckily for him, they weren’t destroyed at all... no stains or anything... He sighed softly and lifted his head as his eyes snapped towards a nearby training ground. People were sparring together, showcasing their progress as martial artists. He walked up and stood nearby, watching the two battles.

But overall, the performance wasn’t really anything special, pretty standard stuff. He folded his arms and his shoulder dropped slightly. Nothing they did caught his attention. The battle was pretty close, which was a little interesting, but overall was a pretty standard battle.

He frowned and looked off, was that arrogant of him to say?

The echo of their battle had halted and they turned towards him, "...Hey!"

He jumped and looked ahead.

"Who are you?" One of them asked as Alaric cursed silently. "Uh, Alaric..."

The two looked between each other and waved him over, "Are you new around here?" Alaric sighed and walked closer, "Yeah I am... I hope you didn’t mind me watching your spar." He said as he walked into range of them.

"It’s no problem at all!" One of them exclaimed before looking Alaric over real quick, "You seem pretty strong too. Do you fight?"

Alaric blinked and nodded, "Um, yes I do."

"What do you say to a quick spar? I want to see what you can do!" The one further away said as he quickly took a stance. "H-Huh? Oh, um, I don’t know..."

"Don’t worry, it’ll be quick. And don’t take it so seriously... just a quick match with our hands!"

Alaric looked away and sighed. He didn’t see why not. "...Okay fine." He quickly pulled his bag off and laid it along with his bag of books on top of Sky. He waved at the cloud as it flew away to remain out of the fight. Alaric sucked in his breath and got in a stance.

"...Ready?" The student asked as Alaric nodded.

They rushed forward and swung their fist towards Alaric, who weaved past it and delivered a strike to the students face. They stepped back and Alaric followed up with two quick strikes to his face, his head being thrown back. Alaric then pulled his legs back and threw his body forward, a jab crashing against the boy’s jaw. The punch transitioned into an elbow strike that cracked against the students face. Alaric then struck upward with an uppercut, knocking the student onto his back.

Alaric remained in the same spot as the student pulled himself up. Alaric launched forward and threw out a kick, which the student was able to dodge past. But Alaric twisted his body and continued into two more consecutive kicks, which made it difficult for the student to avoid. He spun once more and struck the students chest, a shockwave blowing through the trees surrounding them. The student staggered back, clutching his chest.

Alaric narrowed his eyes and figured the student was forfeit, but he clearly was down just yet. He rushed up, and Alaric threw out a strike, in which the student reacted faster, holding up his arm and blocking the attack. He grabbed his arm and pulled him forward to deliver a strike to his face, before crashing his foot against Alaric’s chest, shoving him back. Alaric staggered and blinked away his spotted vision.

He rushed forward and his body began to glow red, an indicator of [Power Strike] being used. The students eyes widened as Alaric tightened his fist, shooting out towards the center of the boy’s face.

"Enough!!" Someone shouted, and Alaric’s fist was inches away from the student’s face. The red outline faded and Alaric looked towards the side.

Nearby was an older man with slicked back black hair, his arms behind his back. The white haired boy frowned and lowered his fist, as the student finally released his breath. But he hardly cared about Alaric anymore, as he quickly bowed and remained in that position, just as the other student that was watching nearby.

The man stepped forward and narrowed his eyes, "...Who are you?"

Alaric stood up straight and looked ahead, "Alaric Vandale." Alaric lowered his eyes and looked the man up and down. He wasn’t sure what it was... but something about him rubbed him the wrong way. "And who are you?" He asked as the man turned to look ahead, in the direction of the martial arts school ahead.

"My name is ZerkanI. And I... am deemed the greatest martial artist in the town."