Chapter 11: A Sparring Match
Basil whistled the entire way back to the house, walking with a bounce in his step and a faint smile on his face. The townspeople noticed him again—but this time, their looks were different.
"Wow… that guy's handsome. Is he a local lord or something?"
"Dad, how do I get that strong? Is he a Guardian?"
"Probably, son. But I bet he eats his greens." a dad said while messing up his sons hair.
"Sister, close your mouth. It's wide open." A woman said to her sister standing next to her.
Basil paid them no mind. His focus was entirely on fixing Gyra's roof. He wanted to repay her kindness.
"Things sure have gotten expensive. I used to be able to get room and board for six gold. Now it costs thirty just for wood and nails. That emperor must be one greedy person."
He muttered to himself as he walked up the familiar stone path.
Inside, the house was quiet.
"She must be at the tavern," he guessed.
Basil grabbed the roofing materials and climbed up to the top of the house. The repair wasn't elegant, but his father had taught him the basics when he used to help the townspeople back home.
He hammered away under the sun.
⸻
"Well, Dad… it's not as good as your work, but she'll do."
Basil stood up and wiped the sweat from his brow, admiring his handiwork. It was rough around the edges and probably wouldn't last forever—but it would hold.
"Guess I'll wash up and go see what Gyra's up to."
He cleaned his work area and headed to the bathhouse.
"Now… how did she do this again?"
He squinted at the faucet, deep in thought.
"Pour mana into here and water comes out… I think that's what she said."
He placed his hand over the faucet and trickled in a small amount of mana. A few drops of water dribbled out.
"Huh… guess it needs more."
Basil started pushing in more mana. Within seconds, water gushed out like a geyser, blowing the faucet clean off and soaking the room.
"Oh shit."
He scrambled, slipping and sliding, trying to get the faucet back on. After a messy struggle, he forced it back into place with brute strength.
"She's gonna be pissed when she sees this…"
Dripping wet, he finished his bath, dried off as best he could, and made his way to the tavern.
⸻
Inside Gyra's Tavern, the woman herself was behind the bar, cleaning a glass and chatting with an older dwarf perched on a stool.
"And then after all that, the brat tried to haggle me. Me! Just who does that youngster think he is?" the dwarf huffed, clearly flustered from drinking.
Gyra rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he sounds like someone else I know."
"Well, how's that young man you picked up the other day? Bet he's mighty grateful. I'm honestly surprised you don't have him in here working as free labor, considering he's staying at your place rent-free."
Gyra paused. She blushed slightly.
The dwarf raised a brow. "Oho… looky here. I guess that silver-haired brat's got some competition."
"It's not like that, Sabet. He's just… a nice person. You don't see many like that nowadays. Besides, I'm pretty sure he sees me as a little girl… and what'd you bring up Lace for?"
Her voice trailed off, a glum look crossing her face.
Sabet smirked. "I told you that brat has feelings for you. Always hangin' around like a dog in heat, that Lace"
"He's just… worried about me. Like a brother!"
The tavern door creaked open. Basil walked in, strolling toward the bar with a bright smile.
"Good evening, Gyra!"
"H-Hi, Basil," Gyra said, suddenly nervous and smiling wide.
"Hey, I know that annoying voice," Sabet grumbled.
The two men looked at each other and simultaneously shouted, "Ah! It's you!"
"Wait a minute… Gyra. Him?! You can't be serious this is the guy you lik—"
Gyra clamped a hand over Sabet's mouth, laughing awkwardly. "Haha! Anything I can get you, Basil?"
Sabet shoved her hand away and cleared his throat.
"Get him one of these. Put it on my tab," he said, gesturing to his drink.
"Oh, you don't have to do that. I still owe you one for working on my gear after all that haggling…"
Basil rubbed the back of his neck.
"Ha! Who said I was paying?"
Sabet slid a small sack of coins across the bar.
"There. I figured you're not from around here, payin' with gold and all, so I did you a favor. Got it exchanged at the guild. One gold's worth five GC. After I took my fair share, there's about 3,000 GC left."
He winked. Rubbing his fingers together.
Basil's eye twitched. Realizing he still paid 1,000 GC anyways "So gold is no good here then?"
"Nope! Gold isn't the common currency anymore. After that ruthless Empress took over, she changed all twelve kingdoms to Guardian Coins as a show of her new authority. Gold's still good—but only through exchange."
"Huh. Good to know. Thanks, old man."
Basil took a sip of the ale.
"Anyway, your gear's almost ready. Come by tomorrow and pick it up, ya brat!"
Gyra chuckled.
"You guys act like the same person—it's so funny."
They looked at her, blinked, and in perfect sync said, "Me, act like him? As if!"
Then burst into laughter again, Gyra joining in.
⸻
The night carried on with stories and laughter, Basil and Sabet exchanging tales like two old retired Guardians. Gyra eventually closed the tavern, and Basil carried the drunken dwarf home on his back.
Hic. "This guy said he couldn't get drunk…"
"You're the one who kept buyin' drinks, ya brat…"
Gyra giggled. "His house is right here."
They laid Sabet in bed and returned to Gyra's place.
"Tonight was fun," she said. "I don't think I've ever seen Sabet that drunk before."
"Yeah… been a long time since I got that drunk too."
They reached the front door.
"Oh—by the way. I fixed the roof. It's not perfect, but it should hold."
"I'll make breakfast tomorrow as a thank you!"
She beamed.
Basil paused for a second. "Right. Anyway… I'm gonna head to bed."
"Um… Basileus?"
He turned.
Gyra twiddled her thumbs, took a breath, then grabbed his shirt and quickly kissed him on the cheek.
"Thanks for carrying Sabet home!" she blurted, then spun around and rushed to her room, slamming the door.
Inside, her face was beet red.
"…Um. Okay?"
Basil stood there for a moment, shrugged, and went to bed.
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The Next Morning
Sunlight poured through the windows. Birds chirped.
BANG BANG BANG!
Knocking rang through the house.
"Ahhh… who the hell's knocking this early…"
Basil groaned as he shuffled to the door and swung it open.
A tall, well-groomed man with slicked-back silver hair stood outside, a deep frown on his face formed when he saw that it was a man who opened the door.
"Is Gyra home?" the man asked sharply.
Basil narrowed his eyes. "What do you want with her?" Thinking he was one of Garthens men.
"Lace? Is that you?"
Gyra's sweet voice floated from behind.
She peeked out from behind Basil and smiled. "Hey, Lace! Come in—I was just about to start breakfast. Want to join us?"
Lace's frown melted away. "Sure."
He brushed past Basil with a smug look.
The two men sat at the table while Gyra hummed in the kitchen. A tense silence filled the air.
"You look oddly familiar…" Basil said. "Have we met?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Lace replied.
"Hmm…" Basil pondered. "Nope. Guess not."
Gyra returned with two plates of food.
"I hope it's to your liking!"
Lace smiled warmly. "Your food is always delicious, Gyra."
"So, what brings you here today?" she asked as she sat with them.
"I heard Garthen was giving you trouble again. Came to check on you."
"Oh, Basileus here took care of that," she said cheerfully, pointing to Basil.
Lace looked over, frowning again as he watched Basil devour his food.
"So… why's he staying with you? You two aren't… dating, are you?"
Gyra flushed. "N-no! It's not like that. Sir Basileus just didn't have anywhere to go, that's all!"
Lace let out a breath of relief.
"I see. Well, please be careful. Strange things are happening lately, and I don't want to see you get hurt."
"Oh, Lace—you worry too much. You of all people know it takes a lot to hurt me. Besides, I've got Basileus here. He's surprisingly strong."
Basil licked his plate clean.
Lace scowled. "Basileus, was it?"
He leaned forward. "Care for a sparring match?"
SLAM!.
"Lace!" Gyra snapped. "You've gone too far! Besides, he doesn't even have a sword—"
"I'll be fine," Basil said, cutting her off with a calm smile.
The two stepped outside.
Basil picked up a wooden stick roughly the length of a short sword and faced Lace in the backyard.
"A stick? This isn't the time to joke," Lace said, hand resting on his sword.
"I'm not joking."
"Fine. Here I come."
SWOOSH!
Lace moved like lightning, unleashing a flurry of precise strikes. Basil, reinforcing the stick with mana, parried them all with fluid grace—then countered with a single powerful blow that sent Lace sliding back.
Lace froze. Then slowly sheathed his sword.
"I concede," he said. "I'm glad to know Gyra has someone this strong watching over her."
He turned to leave. "If you're not busy later… I have a favor to ask. You'll find me at the Church of Death. I'll let them know your coming"
He walked away without another word.
"…Lace," Gyra whispered as he passed.
Gyra watched as Lace left. Then went up to Basil and punched him in the arm "you never told me you were that strong."
Basil chuckled and stretched. "You never asked. Besides, it was cute the way you stood up for me."
He patted her head.
"Let's go inside. I could use some more breakfast."
"Mmhmm…" Gyra muttered, blushing.
⸻
Over breakfast, Basil asked, "So how'd you two meet?"
Gyra smiled.
"We grew up together. His mom and mine were close, so we spent a lot of time together. With no dad around, Lace was picked on a lot—so I'd always step in. When I got older, my parents sent me away for real-world experience. Lace thought it was unfair, so he ran away too. We traveled for a while, then found this town. I fell in love with the people, demi-humans and other races all co-existed. Lace and I became a Guardian, he got powerful quickly leaving me behind and with no one to raid gates with anymore I opened this tavern. He still stops by to check on me."
Basil nodded. "Sounds like he has good intentions. He's just terrible at expressing them. I once knew someone like that. She was a headache."
Gyra laughed. "Yeah… I think so too."
"Well, I've got errands to run. Don't wait up."
Basil stepped out, shutting the door behind him.
"Okay… see ya later," Gyra said, awkwardly waving. She sighed to herself.
'I've never seen Lace get beaten like that… except when he sparred with my father.'
She looked toward the road and whispered, "Hopefully he doesn't do anything stupid…"
End of chapter notes:**
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Stats Window:
- Name: Basileus Narciss
- Age: 22 (639)
- Level: 75
- Job: Eldritch knight
- Title: Goddess's Guardian
- HP: 200/200
- Mana: 32,000/32,000
- STR: 205
- VIT: 80
- INT: 170
- AGI: 112
- PER: 60
- XP to Next Level: 12,000/30,000
- stat points available: 62
- Skill Points Available: 10
Skills Window:
Basic:
- Innocence (F)
- The King (A)
- Swordsmanship (S)
- Mana Control (SSS)
- Charisma (F)
- Crafting (B)
- Longsword Mastery (S)
- Mana Manipulation (F)
- Rune Knowledge (B)
- Healing (C)
- Scholar (A)
- Mana Vision I Guess (C)
- phantom step (F)
- mana slash (D)
- Earth spike (B)
- body reinforcement (D)
- Kneel (F)
- nova bomb (A)
- Mana regeneration (S+)
- poison resistance (F)
- GO AWAY CAN'T YOU TELL I'M BUSY' (A)
Unique:
- Immortality (EX)
- Oversight View (EX)
- Haggle (SS)
- Misfortune (D)
Inventory
- HP Potions x1997
- MP Potions x2000
- Winter Clothes (C) (being worked on)
- Summer Clothes (C) (being worked on)
- bread x100
- jerky x100
- piece of Tess
- piece of Rob
- piece of Lark
- abomination horn x10 (S+)
- jagged dagger (?)
- mana sword (?)
Gold: 60,504
GC: 2,800
1 gold can be converted to 5 Guardian coins
He spent 200 GC buying drinks at the tavern.
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