Mina's Training (2)

"Your mind and body should have naturally come to an understanding with your Artifacts. It's almost like a natural sense. Try to bring out your Artifacts and see."

Mina focused hard, trying to come to an understanding with her Artifacts. Finally feeling it, her eyes light up. "I can feel it! The Artifacts!" As she focused again, she prioritized summoning them out, which they did. 

One of them was a dagger in dark purple. Meanwhile, the other dagger was in a crimson red. "W-Whoa! They really did come out, Harold! Did you see that?!" Mina was ecstatic, seeing her first Artifacts bloom into the palm of her hands. Her happiness was adorable and made Harold warm up, seeing her cuteness shine. "You won't tempt me, Mina!" Harold roared, shaking her aggressively. His sudden strength behind each shake startled her, making her scream. "EAAHHHHHHH!!!!" 

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"Now, we just have to see if they're good or not. Try using your abilities."

Mina looked at her two Artifacts that had taken the form of a dagger. "Ummm, I have no clue on how to use Artifact powers..." Mina said, waving around her daggers. Harold hummed, thinking. "I'd say it's an oompf feeling. That's how I used my abilities." He sounded like a total idiot in Mina's eyes. "He can't be serious..."

"Here, let me help you!" Coming from behind, Harold suddenly smacked Mina's bottom, making her jolt in the air with a squeal. In her high-pitched squeal, her Artifacts let out two different emissions that shocked them. The purple dagger had released a purple goo that drooped on the floor, melting through the dirt. The crimson dagger had released intense flames that had caused Harold to break a sweat in an instant. "Damn, that's hot!" Harold lept back, keeping his distance. As Mina soothed herself, the emissions had stopped, leaving both Harold and Mina speechless. Harold observed Mina, having his finger on his chin. 

"Your Artifacts don't suit you at all."

"Y-You don't say?!"

Harold approached her, still watching her Artifacts carefully. "Who knew an innocent girl would have such menacing Artifacts..."

Konge fluttered to Mina's shoulder, aiming his wing at Mina's crimson dagger. "Oi, kid, can you make those flames again?" 

"Oh, sure." 

As she focused, her dagger released more intense flames from earlier, scaring even Mina. Konge studied it, amused at the deep crimson flames. "Incredible, your Artifact is producing Hellfire!" Konge exclaimed. Mina stared at her dagger emitting the flames.

"Hellfire? What's that?"

"It's a specific type of fire that demons can produce. You can notice these flames by their deep crimson color and the intensity of these flames. It's said that they are three times hotter than your standard fire."

Konge angrily gave a mean glare at Harold. "Not to mention, her other dagger produces very corrosive acid! Where the hell did you find these Artifacts?!"

Harold scratched his head. "Well, I usually disrupt black market trades, so I find Artifact stones sometimes. Though, by their designs, I thought these Artifacts were going to suck! I would've used one of them if I had known they were going to be this good."

"Going back on topic, we should be training her, right?" Konge asked, looking at Mina. Harold nodded. "Yeah, I'll begin by teaching her how to use a dagger. It'll be rough, but I'm sure she'll pull through!"

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"She didn't pull through..." Harold's tone was disappointed as he stared at Mina lying on the ground. Mina was exhausted, staring up at the night sky. "It's been 6 hours and now it's dark... how come you've barely improved?" Harold asked, squatting down and poking her cheek. "I don't know. Also, please stop poking my cheek." Mina says, her voice exhausted by the constant drills of swinging her daggers. Harold shook his head. "Not until you get good at using a dagger." he said as he poked her cheeks.

Harold lifted Mina and carried her into a tent he made. "E-Eh, are you going to violate me now?! Somebody, please save me!" Mina screamed. Upon her screaming, Harold harshly dumped her on the dirt floor inside the tent. "You dumbass! It's getting late and you need rest." Sitting in the corner of the tent, he lay on his back. "I'm also tired, so I'll be sleeping soon." He closed his eyes and turned to his side, facing away from Mina. "Good night."

Mina, however, couldn't fall asleep. Her eyes had stayed open, staring endlessly at the tent's cloth. Wind gushed in from the entrance. It was a cool breeze under the humid air, feeling refreshing to Mina. "Harold, are you still awake?" She wasn't expecting much, but the slightest hope inside of her begged for him to be awake. "Yeah, what's up?" he replied. 

"I..." she couldn't let out the words. Letting out a somber sigh, she didn't finish her sentence. She was anxious. Her feelings were different hours before, training diligently with hard efforts, but in the back of her mind, anxiety consumed her. Maybe she couldn't learn effectively due to her anxiety, or it was because her worries were true—her worries about being talentless.

"If I'm talentless, then... I really am worthless."

Maybe I should ask him. She thought, turning her head to Harold's back. "Harold, why would you help someone like me?" she asked. 

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I have nothing and no talent. I'm just some homeless slave who is useless..."

"And why should that matter?"

"Well, that's because-"

An opportunity like this was a blessing, a gift from God. Being freed from a miserable life as a slave, and then getting food, clothing, shelter, and education as well. "What did I do to deserve this? Is this a lie?" she thought. Before her life collapsed, everything was going smoothly. She behaved properly and did everything as told, and yet, it was all taken away. She could lose all of this in the blink of an eye, and soon after, she's just a nobody. 

"In the end, if I continue to be useless to Harold and Shannon, will I be left behind? Will I have nowhere to be at, again?"

Harold's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Now listen, I'm helping you because I feel like it, alright?!" Mina's eyes lit up.

Even though it sounded absurd, he seemed to be genuine about his words. "T-That can't be the only thing, though; surely there's something else as well." 

"It's nothing." he coldly told her. His attitude quickly shut her up, leaving only the eerie silence of the humid night. "I-I'm sorry, I had gotten out of line." She shifted to her side, focusing on slumbering once again. For minutes, they had kept this awkward silence, not breaking it. Until Harold had spoken to her. "It's because you remind me of when I was younger." he answered. His sudden answer took aback her. She turned to Harold, hearing more of his words. "I had lost my mother when I was a kid. She was a monster hunter and had disappeared on one of her expeditions. Ever since then, I've been a vigilante, fighting crime."

"But why are you a vigilante? It's such a dangerous thing to do." 

"I mean, it's not that dangerous! I usually beat up a ton of people and call it a good day's work." 

"But didn't you nearly die trying to save me?"

"O-Okay, well, that was because I went up against a police captain with a powerful Artifact! Usually, I'm able to deal with normal Artifact users, not some trained high-ranking police officer." 

Mina giggled, hearing his flustered tone. But the question still stands; she wondered why he took such a dangerous hobby. 

"And the reason why I do vigilante work is that I was frustrated. I had thought something bad had taken my mom away. That's why I went around stopping bad people and helping others in need. Because I didn't want any more bad things happening around me. My motivations sound stupid and pretty childish, but in the end, that's where I put my resolve."

Mina's eyes widened, hearing him. She hadn't realized it this whole time. Harold didn't care about what she was worth at all. He just wanted a kindhearted person. 

Mina sat up, leaning towards Harold. "No! I don't think it's stupid or childish!" Harold had looked back at Mina, surprised at her response. "If you hadn't become a vigilante and beat up all those bad people, you would've never come to save me!" Mina crawled over to Harold and hugged him. "I don't want my savior to think his efforts were in vain!" 

Harold's face lit up red. "Okay, I get it, get off of me, you brat!" He tried to push her off, but she clung on tight. "N-No, I don't want my savior to think he did something wrong!" Harold was surprised. Some small brat like her can have such strength against him. "Come on, we can't sleep if you're doing this!"

"No, I'm not letting go!"

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Artifact Name: Sorrow

User: Mina Sylvet

Form: Dagger

Rank: Common

Ability: Can create a purple acid that has powerful corrosive properties.

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Artifact Name: Ruin

User: Mina Sylvet

Form: Dagger

Rank: Elite

Ability: Can produce "Hellfire" which is commonly produced by demons. These flames are a deep crimson and are three times hotter than your average fire.

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