"U-Um...hi."
"Yeah, uh...h-hello."
"Should have figured," Sighed Aria with a wry smile.
"Yup," I nodded in response.
"I-I’m, um...I’m Iqra Barakat."
"Nice to et you...I’m Cleo Nova."
Guess this is what happens when socially awkward ets low self-esteem.
We were all but done with the tour of the Guild, Iqra was the last person present in the building that we had yet to introduce Cleo to.
And, well, this encounter is awkward as all hell. On top of her natural stutter, Iqra’s pretty much nervous and on edge by default, and Cleo’s that way with strangers.
Iqra had been using one of the training rooms, and she’d just wrapped up her training session, so we figured we’d introduce the two of them to each other.
"Alright, well...we’ll let you go get changed now, Iqra, looks like you were training pretty hard in there," Spoke up Aria, breaking the awkward silence.
"Y-Yeah, okay. B-Bye, then...and um, it was n-nice eting you, w-welco to the Guild," She responded, giving Cleo a nod.
"Uh, yeah, s-sa here. A-And thanks," Replied Cleo, as Iqra walked away with an awkward wave.
"Well, that was kinda painful," I remarked in bemusent.
"Actually, it wasn’t so bad...seeing soone who seems more nervous than I am actually eased my nerves a bit," Admitted Cleo, before adding, "So, we’ve been through the entire building now, right? What’s next?"
"Good question. I say we test you out in battle. Let’s head over to the outdoor training space and have a few sparring bouts," I suggested, before asking her, "You brought your gear, right?"
"Oh, I always keep my stuff in my Item Box, so yes."
"Cool. Then, head to the locker room and get changed, I’ll be by the entrance. Aria, mind showing her the way?"
"Mhm, sure. Co on, let’s go," Responded Aria, prompting Cleo to follow her.
Aria and I were already decked out in our gear, since we’d been planning on testing Cleo today to begin with.
I then headed through the building, making my way to the entrance, before taking a seat on a couch in the lobby.
It didn’t take too long before Aria and Cleo showed up, the latter having equipped her gear, the sa stuff she’d been wearing when I t her at the Academy.
The three of us left the building and made our way towards the outdoor training area, opening the gate and stepping inside, before shutting it behind us.
For the sake of privacy, we had tall walls put up around the training field, since we would often get passersby stopping to stare at us when we train.
I an, fair enough, I’d probably do the sa if I was in their position. But it’s a bit of a distraction, and also dangerous. A stray Spell could easily end up hitting them.
The main training area that we use for sparring was in the middle of the field, but there was plenty of space around it.
There was a spot for target practice, an obstacle course for agility training, a row of punching bags, and a bunch of other options.
The walls surrounding the field were heavily reinforced, but not enough to keep them intact from a direct hit from an X-Ace.
Between the wide spaces around the central training area in the field, and the safety barrier we always use for sparring matches, the walls haven’t taken any damage, and I’d definitely like to keep it that way.
If they end up collapsing or sothing, that could get real ugly. The streets around this spot aren’t super busy, but there is so foot traffic around, so we can’t be too careful.
Anyway...
"So, which of you guys will I be fighting? I’ve seen videos of you guys in action, but that footage is pretty old, and I know you’ve gotten stronger since then...so, I’m curious to see what both of you are currently capable of," Cleo remarked eagerly.
"That definitely goes both ways, we’re pretty damn curious about what you can do too. It’s one thing seeing it all laid out in Appraisal, but it just isn’t the sa as seeing it for real," Replied Aria, before cracking her knuckles.
"You seem like you’re raring to go, why don’t you go first, Aria?" I suggested, before adding as I glanced at Cleo, "There’s no reason why only one of us can fight you, so we can just take turns. Hm, maybe we should’ve asked Damien to join us, maybe Brid or one of our other Healers too."
"No, that’s fine. I’m not going to complain about having to fight you while I’m less than a hundred percent. Plus, I can regenerate, rember? So, besides stamina depletion, I’ll be just fine.
I an, I’m not always going to be at my best against every Monster I go up against, so it’d be good to get used to fighting while tired," Surmised Cleo prudently.
Huh, my passive lie detection is being set off slightly...
"Ohh, I get it, you don’t want to have too many people watching you," I realized, her reaction confirming it.
"I-I, uh...yeah. And also because I don’t want them seeing what I’m really capable of, not yet."
"On that note, when do you plan on revealing it? I an, you’ve maxed out your power, so...," Trailed off Aria curiously.
"I don’t mind revealing it, but I just don’t want it to be in a boring way, you know?" She replied sheepishly.
"Heh, can’t judge you for that when that’s literally what I did," I recalled with a chuckle.
"Wow, that really takes back. I rember everyone booing you and then going completely silent afterwards," Laughed Aria in response.
"Yeah, that felt real good. The next edition of the HCC is still a while away, though. Well, let’s keep an eye out for an opportunity to make a dramatic, morable reveal.
For right now, let’s get started with this. Should we set a ti limit, or just keep going until one of you gets teleported out?"
"I vote for the latter. Cleo, I’m guessing you won’t be using that Monstrification Skill, right?" Aria asked her.
"Yeah, not yet. I want to work at it a bit more first."
"I get that. Actually, I’ve got a trick of my own that I’ve been working on in secret, so yeah," Grinned Aria in response.
Hm? I wasn’t aware of that. I wonder what it is?
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