* School Grounds Grind

*

I met up with the triop outside the Grand Central Library later that morning, and, no longer in the alluring exercise attire, the group appeared generally more comfortable. They had approached me as a unit, outfitted in adventuring clothes and looking ready for a fight. It was a good sign in my opinion, and I hoped it meant they would also be more agreeable, primarily Rionriv.

Looking to hedge my bets on this, I had also purchased everyone a Cinnamon Crème Latte sprinkled with fire-bark shavings from a local café. I hoped that with a nice treat, I could smooth over my earlier mistakes and assumptions. What I didn’t anticipate was just how much the artisan coffees would cost me, which used up the remaining copper pieces in my pocket. It unfortunately seemed that coffeehouse culture in Esseria was just as much of a ripoff as World Eighty-Two.

I really need to begin making money, like, stat. I thought as I stepped through the library doors with the tray of drinks. I suppose I could start working in Phyllis’ shoppe while they’re in class? I mean, I have worked retail before, and it wasn’t so traumatic that I needed the memories purged.

“And I have a coffee for Aes, Ri, and Zin?” I gave my best barista flair as I approached the girls with the drinks in hand. 

The confidence behind the announcement came as second nature, as that had also been one of my odd jobs for all of three months. Though slinging coffees had been less enjoyable than styling people, at least it was a job and had tips too.

I suppose that could be an option as well—

“Oh my gods, nicknames? I love them.” Aesandoral squealed as she grabbed her coffee from me.

“It wasn’t really a nickname. I just shortened your ridiculously long names.”

“My name is not long.” Rionriv protested as she pulled her coffee.

“Yeah, but one syllable is shorter than three. Especially in combat.”

“Okay, Izzzz.”

“Hey, that’s fine with me," I stuck my tongue out at her and watched the electricity arc across her body. "I kind of like it. Thanks for the nickname, Ri.”

“Why is my nickname the second half?” Sharzin asked as I bent over to place the coffee in her hand. “Why not, like, Shar?”

“N-no reason? You’re just a sneaky little personal space invader, Zin. But if you want, I could be the sunny to your Shar?” Rubbing at the back of my neck, I smiled awkwardly before taking my drink in hand. “Honestly, I just didn’t know how to spell anyone’s name on the cups, so I abbreviated. We don’t need to use nicknames—”

“No-no-no.” They all protested in their own way, sipping their coffees.

“Okay, so are we going to stand around all day orrr—? We do have classes this afternoon.” Rionriv kicked off the training, as she was seemingly good at doing.

"Yeah, sounds good. Let's walk and talk."

Beginning our sip-and-stroll, I explained my plan. It wasn’t overly complicated, using the school's own training systems to power-level our party through the adventure ranking system.

Not wanting to explain what they already knew, I glossed over the fact that the school employed vermin traps to attack students at fixed and randomized locations. I broke down the low-level baddies we could encounter, where I had noticed them hanging out and what we could expect as we challenged our abilities.

But that was when I was thrown a curveball.

"There are also the students and teachers," Rionriv added, slurping at the bottom of her drink. "They don't have fixed locations."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Oh, you didn't know? Oracle?"

"I mean, I—I was testing you." I stammered into the lid of my drink, watching Rionriv's suspicious gaze narrow. "Why don't you explain this to me?"

"Why don't—"

"Oooh, ooh!" Aesandoral cut off her sister's potentially sharp response. "I know this one! The teachers, along with the Student Actors Guild and others approved for extra credit, put on magical wristbands that transform them into monsters that roam the streets. They play the roles of tougher beasts, targeting students with complicated encounters."

She then looked towards me in search of approval. Aesandoral's smile was as big as her eyes as she patiently waited.

"Very good!" I praised her, reaching over and rubbing my hand against her shoulder. "Great explanation, thank you, Aes."

"Heee—" Aesandoral squealed softly, blushing before she lifted the coffee to hide her pleased smile.

Oh shit, we've got to be worried mid-to-high-level LARPers? Was that what was going on with that basilisk? I do remember seeing a red wristband on it. I wonder what that means? Maybe it was meant to be hard? I'll figure it out later.

Continuing our stroll, I spoke more about my ranking scheme and how I planned to stress the importance of teamwork and practicing new four-person formations. I hoped that by leaning into each party member's strengths, we could develop a strategy that worked for various dangerous situations and would make dungeon diving a breeze. 

I closed out my talk with a general estimation that I loosely adjusted to account for creatures of a rank near that of a basilisk. By fitting in monster-slaying in the mornings and between classes, I informed them that our party ran a decent chance of being D Rank by Winter Solstice. The triop, of course, had some things to say about my calculation. I didn't dispute their skepticism, since Second Years typically achieved that rank only after completing their second-semester finals.

"That's dragon dung." Rionriv protested.

"Nope, it is totally possible," I replied with a smile. "We just need to make sure to optimize every combat scenario, and we do it with that magical word, say it with me...teamwork!"

Unfortunately, I was the only one who said it.

"No way that’s acceptable. It must be against some school bylaw. You must be crazy to think the faculty would allow it!"

"Hey, these are the systems they put in place. I didn't write the rules..."

Heh-heh-heh. Yes, I did.

"And from what I know of them, nothing says you can't grind down every vermin trap and student baddie into a delicious learning experience. So let's take full advantage of it and build strategies for numerous scenarios!"

Rionriv grumbled irritably as she sipped even more aggressively.

"I don't like it." She protested yet again. "Seems shady and underhanded."

"Just the way I like it," Sharzin added, shooting Rionriv a look. "Right where I like to operate."

"And I like the idea of adding more physical training!" Aesandoral spoke up, as she bumped her hip against her sister's. "Please, Riii."

"Not you too, Aesandoral."

"Riiiii!" She whined cutely. "Pleeease."

"Fine!" She finally huffed, downing the last of her drink.

"Excellent!" I then exclaimed, excitedly rushing to the front of the group and facing them. "Now, let's give it a shot today, okay?"

And by the time we finished our coffees, a loose plan had been hatched. We established roles for our training regime that worked for everyone, all thanks to Sharzin’s idea of strength training.

As the de facto tank, I would distract the enemies and learn to take the brunt of the blows. I wasn't excited about this, but it was something I could manage. Sharzin and Aesandoral’s roles would be to keep hidden until I engaged the targets, then, and only then, they would emerge to get the drop on the enemy. Finally, Rionriv was the ace in our hand and would keep her magical talents for the killing blow when it was needed.

“I have to sit back and watch everyone fight for me?!” Rionriv protested. “Hells with that!”

“Ri,” I tried to calm her down while simultaneously feeding into her ego. “You’re not sitting back. Your magic is powerful, but you only get so much usage of it in a day. Aes and Zin’s arrows can be recovered. Keep your—”

“It’s dumb. I want to fight.”

“You’ll be able to!” I insisted with a huff. “Any creature that isn’t killed outright is fair game. But please try not to use thunder."

She immediately shot me a baffled look, as though I had just asked her not to breathe. Crossing her arms, she prepared her counter-protest, to which I cut her off before she could deliver the potentially loud rebuttal.

"If we’re too loud, it’ll do one of two things," I said quickly, holding up two fingers to make my point. "First, it'll potentially scare away all the delicious low-level X-P monsters. Or, second, lure in the heavy-hitting student body larpers. And if we're not ready for number two, it could be trouble for all of us.”

“I don’t know what you’re saying, but it’s starting to piss me off.”

“Okay, okay,” I continued, raising my hands pleadingly. “Hey, let’s try just a basic fight, okay? Do a few skirmishes in this school ground grind we’re planning and see how it works before we shoot it down. Then, if it ends poorly, we can try something different.”

The arcing bolts of lightning began to subside as Rionriv looked to her friends. The triop exchanged glances before the sorceress turned back and glared at me with a grimace.

“Okay, fineee. Show us what you’ve got.”

With that, we set off to find a vermin trap. Luckily, the three directed me to a guaranteed First Year trap nearby at the heart of the central campus. Stopping near the edge of a dead-end alley, I peered at the dimly lit space where I could make out a lonely, gilded tome sixty feet away. Rionriv had explained to me on the way that the book was, in fact, a hostile mimic. But that wasn’t all that was down this narrow passage, as the real trap was the corgsquitoes and rats that emerged from the sewer grate midway through the alley.

After a moment of careful observation, I laid out a plan for how I imagined the combat would work. Directing Aesandoral and Sharzin to either side of the alley entrance, our current strategy focused on them hiding and emerging once I gave the signal.

Then came the challenging part. 

Turning my focus to Rionriv, we quickly discussed what other magics she knew beyond air elements. She explained, albeit antagonistically, that she could harness a variety of spells. According to her, many were rudimentary at best by her high standards, which could have meant anything for a low-magic gooner like me. After spitballing a few ideas she could use to aid combat aside from a lightning bolt, I felt confident we were ready.

Finally, the moment of truth had arrived. Would this turn out better than the last few traps I’d stumbled into? Could Aesandoral's attention span hold long enough? Was it possible for Rionriv to listen? Where had Sharzin already vanished to?

Only one way to find out.

With a deep breath, I began to run down the alley. Quickly passing the sewer grate my feet took me half the distance to the mimic as planned before I slid to a stop. Glancing behind, the manhole cover popped open as expected, and numerous vermin swarmed the space.

Perfect. I thought, huffing a series of rapid breaths to hype myself up before rushing back towards the emerging threat. Now for Operation, Hold ‘Yer Ground.

I jumped into the fray as half a dozen corgsquitos buzzed annoyingly, filling the space. Below them, a pair of frothing ratdogs fought each other to be the first to emerge from the hole. With fifteen feet to pick up speed, I did my best to punt one of the rats into the sun. With an impressive follow-through, I listened to the sound of bone cracking as my foot connected with the beast’s pinned head.

Hngg—gross. I thought as I leapt through the swarm of corgsquitoes.

Tumbling forward and entering a defensive position between the beasts and the alley entrance, I glanced back. I watched as the rodent I had struck limply disappeared into the sewer, before the second creature began to pull itself free. It would be my biggest threat in this swarm, but first, I would need to survive the round of piercing turkey basters coming for my ass. Glancing up, I eyed the corgsuitoes and inhaled deeply.

“Aes—Zin, now!” I shouted.

Two arrows whooshed overhead and found their targets. A cloud of bloody mist burst into existence as a pair of corgsquitoes disappeared, and the arrows clattered in the distance.

“Godsdamned—nice! Cover. Ri, go!”

The archers retreated behind the alley threshold, using the thick stone to give them protection as Rionriv stepped center. She extended her hands, overlapping her palms as she muttered an incantation. I watched from the corner of my eye as a neon-green energy swirled down her arms, pooling at the end of twitching fingertips before a beam of liquid magic burst forward.

The corgsquitos dodged out of the way as the corrosive element splashed against the nearby wall, leaving a deep, steaming scar in its wake.

“Jezzuz—” I yelled out, looking fully at Rionriv. “That’s terrifying. Good A-O-E though. Try hitting a few of them at a time with it.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” She screamed back.

The buzzing grew louder as I pulled my attention back to the vermin, where the remaining four corgsquitos were beginning their charge past me. Shifting my vision once more, I could see that Aesandoral had fully exposed herself to watch the fight. And, as she did, it drew the attention of the hungry pests.

"Aes! Stay behind cover!" I yelled at her.

"Sorry, I got curious." She replied, disappearing, but it was too late.

A pair buzzed past quickly, but, unfortunately for them, I was ready. With a slow exhale, I lunged forward and smacked the first out of the air with my bare hands. Then the next. One after the other bounced to the ground, stopping short of reaching their intended target.

As two of them hit the cobblestone, a pair of arrows stuck them into place. Their bodies instantly bursting, painting the ground with tiny blood slicks.

Adjusting to deliver praise, all I saw was Rionriv standing behind me, mid-incantation, with her palms glowing a sickly green.

Crap! I dropped prone to the ground as a blob of acid flew over my head.

A loud shriek from behind drew my attention, as an acid-scarred rat twitched wildly before succumbing to the horrid wound. I stared in terror at its missing head and a slowly melting body before snapping back to reality thanks to the sorceress.

“Watch out behind you.” She lectured.

Just then, a pair of corgsquitos raced towards the distracted and dangerously close Rionriv.

“Watch out!”

Leaping from the ground, I hugged Ri’s waist and pulled her onto me. As we hit the stone, I rolled over her, instinctively covering as much of her body as possible from the incoming strike.

Bzzzz—pwft-pwft.

Two daggers plunged into my rear.

“Why always the ass!” I yelped as I felt the monsters each taking a cheek.

A pair of arrows whizzed overhead a moment later, painting my body in a spray of fresh blood from the corgsquitos currently biting down on my cheeks. And, from my count, it was done. We had won with minimal damage taken.

“That’s all of them!” I listened as Aesandoral cheered, hearing her steps as she raced forward. “That was amazing. It was only a few seconds, and I didn’t get hit once!”

Looking down, I caught a glance at Rionriv as she stared up at me. The hardened look in her face was missing, and instead, a pair of soft eyes gazed up at me. I felt my heart begin to race as I stared down at her, noticing the gentle blush in her cheeks.

The dam threatened to burst, as did the not-so-magical feeling that swelled. I began to open my lips to speak, to say something soft and sweet to her as I checked in with how she was doing. That was, before I watched her gaze quickly harden. In an instant, I felt a fist connecting with my gut from below, and a blast of wind that flung me off the sorceress followed. 

“Gah!” I cried out, flung from Rionriv as she stood and dusted herself off. 

Even in my frazzled state, I could still see that her face was scrunched up with a hint of colour on her cheeks. Anxiously, she fixed her clothing, hardening her look even more and staring lightning bolts at me.

“What was that about?!” She declared, crossing her arms and turning away from me. “I was fine, thank you.”

“I was trying to protect you!" I coughed in reply. "That was my job, remember? Captain Meatshield? Just like you were supposed to be Captain Stay-The-Fug-Away?”

“I said I was fine!”

Rionriv whipped around, pointing over my head as, with a whisper of quick words, she launched a lightning bolt past me. The thunder echoed out from the alley, reverberating through the campus streets. Covering my ears, I looked behind me and stared at the smouldering pages of the mimic tome.

“Ahg, too loud!” I grumbled and hit my head in a failed attempt to stop the tinnitus. “Ri, I know you can handle yourself. That’s not in question. But my job is to be the shield, and your job is to keep your distance. Would you have reacted the same if Aes jumped in front of you?”

“Yes,” Aesandoral whined. “She’s really confusing.”

“I am not! Take that back!”

As they proceeded to bicker, I sat to the ground and sighed, watching while sipping one of the peppermint healing potions. Enjoying the flavour, I glanced over the area we had covered like a Jackson Wallock painting. As I did, I caught sight of Sharzin as she picked through the vermin. 

"Anything good?" I asked her.

Looking up from the ratdog corpse, she shook her head in disappointment and held out a single, acid-marked silver piece and three copper coins.

"Crap..." I sighed before I heard an unfamiliar voice clearing its throat

“Well, well, well—” The gravelly voice interrupted the moment. “Thought I heard vermin.”