Chapter 3 - Ex Everyday Life

Returning from a hunt always involves a visit to the local guild exchange. Every monster's core is useful for gathering material for rontogems and the technology powered by it. It's also the way us hunters get paid for our perilous work.

Even though it's called a 'hidden village', my home village of Vitra isn't just some farming commune with wooden shacks and hovels for homes. It is surrounded on all sides by stone and wood buildings, some of them a bit more decorated than others. Before now I hadn't really thought about it, however, the guild building in front of me puts the rest of the village to shame with its gaudy look. Well, I guess gaudy would mean it's a shameful, overly ornate thing in this modest setting. 

It may be the largest building in the village even when comparing it to the elder's mansion. From what I can remember the guild exchange building used to be a home owned by an eccentric family, but they decided to move back to the city after finding Vitra to be too tame for their tastes. Then it was sold to a pragmatic businessman. He tore down some of the walls to make it more fitting for an exchange. A stable on the side for travel outside of the village, and attic rooms above for rare visitors. The whole interior that used to be an absurd amount of bedrooms, and expansive ballroom, became a home office with a large storage space and armory. 

The inside isn't what makes it stick out though, it's the front of it. Two marble pillars, each adorned with statues of the four Great Lords, mark the entrance to the guild exchange. The previous owners were staunch Dianists, so it's not that surprising under that context.

"You good?"

Japhy asks while staring at me.

"Yea, why?"

"You kept looking around like you've never been here before."

I shrug at him. There wasn't really any good excuse I could come up with, and I also don't feel the need to tell him about my current 'condition'. He stops prodding me after my response thankfully.

I step ahead of Japhet to open the door to the guild exchange. He walks in as I follow behind. There to greet us is another familiar face, though not as close to me as the other five. Cordelia, she used to babysit me when I was a kid and all the adults were busy. Sometimes she'd take me to the village square during a merchant fair.

There were also a couple of other patrons sitting at the various tables inside the main hall. I didn't really take a look at them. I mostly focused my gaze at the reception desk and Cordelia who was standing there awaiting to inspect our haul for today.

Nudging me, Japhy begins to whisper.

"~Hey you know you're staring at her way too much right?~"

"Huh?"

It's true, I didn't even consider that even the way I look at people changed as soon as I got hit with those memories. Normally, I avoid looking at anybody directly unless I'm speaking with them, and even then I usually start to look away while responding, and more so if I think hard on what I'm saying in the conversation. That is to say, it's something I dropped entirely as a habit in my old life. Before I died, I went out of my way to not fear looking someone in the eye. I might be lame for it though.

"Neuros making you a bit bolder eh?"

He smirks as we get to the reception desk. Cordelia must've noticed too given that she looked away for brief moment, while I hadn't changed my gaze since I walked in. If I recall she isn't married either, in spite of the fact she's older than me by about eight years. I think her sister on the other hand is married. Why am I thinking about that?

"You two already done for the day?"

Cordelia says with her usual smile wiping away the shyness she displayed a second ago.

"Yep and this heavy bag proves it."

Japhy gently drops the bag onto the desk deceptively. Cordelia brings out a ronto-powered scale and tray to weigh the cores, at first she tries to lift the bag but it doesn't budge an inch. 

"Huh? Just how many are in here?"

She stops struggling with the bag and just opens it to place the solid intact cores on the tray one at a time. I watch as Cordelia places them onto the tray and then presses the buttons on the scale to get it to calculate the weight. Honestly, it doesn't look that different from a kitchen digital scale. That is if I ignore the glowing gemstone attached by metal brackets to the edge of the plate.

After enough cores were taken out of the bag, Cordelia lifts the now lighter bag and pours out the rest on the tray. She only waits a couple of seconds, immediately afterwards she pulls out the ledger and quickly scribbles the number onto the empty page. Her next routine gesture is to tap the pen to her forehead to calculate the exchange in her head to the common currency all while closing her eyes.

"It's a lot this time isn't it?"

Japhy smugly states.

"Heh, yeah, it's-"

Cordelia almost replies, but then she gets stuck up on the fact I'm still looking at her the whole time. Not sexually, but I can't tell if she knows that from her blank return stare. I clear my throat and look away for a brief moment after feeling like the silence lasted too long. This seems to get her back to focusing on our payment again.

"Uh, sorry I was still trying to calculate the amount. It's going to be sixty gold coins total. Are you wanting them in hand or added to your accounts?"

Ironically, some of this whole process doesn't feel that different to Earth. I usually just take the bounty and stuff it in my savings chest, although that's all the way back in Linktown, I'll probably have to carry it in my coin bag for now.

"We'd like it in hand today. Thanks."

I say with a simple smile on my face. Cordelia takes a moment to breath before finishing writing in the ledger, putting it away and unlocking another drawer in the desk.

Japhy gives me a smug look lifting his eyebrows, I chuckle silently. He reminds me of my school days where kids would often joke around crushes and silly shit like that. Though, school wasn't the best time of my life it was the only time where the loneliness wasn't as obvious. I lament. 

I stop dwelling on those thoughts right as Cordelia lifts up a small wooden case and opens it up. Inside are rows of aligned gold coins. She picks out ten at a time and lays them in towers on the desk. She counts them out before placing them in a small leather bag.

"Here you are, sixty gold coins."

Cordelia slides the bag over to us. Japhy immediately opens it up and splits it in half before placing it in his own coin purse and tossing me the remainder in the leather bag, our usual arrangement.

"You planning on coming to Relwing's birthday party?"

Japhy springs the question on Cordelia. She's immediately a bit flustered at the unexpected question. 

"I hadn't realized it was already your birthday today Relwing, uh happy birthday. Though I still have work to finish here, I'm not certain, but I'll try to make it over to the party if I have time."

Cordelia slides her hair back while looking away before looking back with a somber look through her reply. Did she expect me to ask instead? Is that what she wanted? I think while she starts to look at the other files on her desk.

"Cordelia? I understand if you can't make it. Hope you have time though, we'd be able to catch up a little, considering it's been a while since I came back home."

I try to give a warm smile to go along with my words. Cordelia perks up and looks at me to return a similar genuine smile. A grin so wide she has to close her eyes, and the dark blond strands of her long hair fall in sync to cover her eyes for a moment. She's actually quite good looking.

"Yeah, I'll try to get done early then."

I nod my head before making my way out with Japhy. I'm still wearing the same slight grin on my face.

"Heh, you really put on the moves there, huh?"

Japhy nudges me, he has a habit of doing that a lot. 

"I wouldn't really call it that, I just feel different today."

I am different, and in a good way too. Although, I will say that my 'power' doesn't feel all that useful just yet. Maybe it's just my gamer sense making me paranoid, but surely there's something that's coming up that may require me to rely on it.

"Hm. ~Oohkay. Well I'm gonna go hang out with Wendall for a while I'll be at the party too, just a bit late though."

I nod in agreement and part ways with Japhet for the time being. Alrighty, I sigh and psyche myself out for the training I still have with my father. It's the only condition to staying at his place while I'm in Vitra. Sure he taught me everything I needed to survive, but he's always been a little zealous about finding out if I've surpassed him yet or not. 

It's one of the few traditions my family has. From my father's side at least, in order to inherit the family name and fortune you have to beat the current head in a sparring match with the family style. I never gave a shit about learning Syzygy for that, but that's the main reason my father trained me so hard over the years. To be something greater than him. That's what I'm guessing at least. 

I have only ever done as much as I needed to live, or I guess more accurately enough to survive, I haven't wanted for much my whole life. For certain, that aspect of me is different. So I'll be sure to kick your ass this time Dad. My fist clenches from excitement as I think about that kind of future. 

***

Waiting for me at the front of my father's house is most obviously, my father. He sits on the second step of the staircase. On his shoulder lie two wooden practice swords. A common sight whenever I'd visit before now and throughout my childhood.

"Oy, Relwing, catch!" 

Father shouts as he tosses the wooden sword towards me. The trick here, is that he always rushes towards me once I catch the sword. 

Save.

[Save 2 Completed.]

I didn't need it prior with Japhy but there's just one more thing I'm wanting to test here. 

I catch the sword Father tossed before I have time to finish thinking. Right as he's about to close the distance I continue where I left off in my mind.

Load Save 0.

[Save 0 Loaded.]

As before, I'm sitting up in my bed with the fresh feeling of clearing my throat after choking on my own saliva. So I've established I can go back in time but how does going forward work, is it even different? And is this really the exact same as a game or is there something like deja vu, fragments of the events that already happened in people's memory?

First I have to get ready to meet Japhy at the hut again. So rather than take my time as I did before, I speed through the process of getting dressed.

Arriving much earlier than before, Japhet hasn't even entered the hut yet.

"Damn, you're pretty early for once."

I don't react to that accusation, instead I silently head over and open the door for use to enter. Grabbing one of the spare wooden blocks I chip off a small piece about the size I need to jam into Japhy's spear. Pause on that. 

Japhet begins to work at stripping the hold of the spear again. As he's about to reach that point of monotony I tap him on the shoulder.

"Here let me see."

"Uh, sure."

Reluctantly, Japhy hands me the screwdriver like before. I take out the bolt and use the wooden chip to help the bolt tighten back in. There isn't anything like a reaction from Japhy that makes me think he remembers us going through this over again. 

"Thanks. I forget you're pretty handy for stuff like this."

"Tsk, you could be too if you try different things instead of the same shit that doesn't work."

I say with an annoyed smirk.

"Heh. Yeah I guess so, what's got you in the talking mood?"

"Might be cuz' I have neuros now."

Displaying the sleeve of light around my left arm, there is only a pure face of shock from Japhy. Still no sign he's already experienced this before. 

"Why not skip on today then, I'll handle it myself. You can head back to Linktown?"

"And miss out on my own birthday party? I'd rather finish up here and leave that for tomorrow or another day. What's the rush?"

Japhy gives me the same worried stare as he did the first time we had this discussion. He quickly relaxes and then starts making his way outside.

"You're right about that. Just thought you'd want to avoid the risk today but you're a better man than me."

Holding his spear in one hand he opens and closes the hut door behind himself to test the durability of his repaired spear. I grab all of my necessities before heading out after him.

Ugh, I wish the power had some kind of fast forward to it. I watch Japhy go through his whole routine to test the spear, only after that do we make our way to the growing nest of Lizardthings.

"Just so you know, even though they said it'd be about a dozen Lizardthings, they most likely had way more gathering materials around the forest before they were spotted."

"You almost make it sound dangerous like that, but alright I'll take your word for it Mr. Expert. A little more caution than normal, what makes you guess that though?"

"Something I read before, and a hunch."

Japhy nods. The more I err on the side of relying on past facts about myself the less suspicious of me he seems than the first go round. That's not what I came back to here for though.

This moment of walking towards the coming battle, it's happening a lot sooner than the save point I created. Ironic that it's right as he's training does his stamina recover to that moment too? Alright let's go to it and see if Japhy recalls anything from this timeline.

Load Save 1.

[Save 1 Loaded.]

As I expect the moment is right after I've geared up for the hunt. I walk out with Japhy and he proceeds to do the physical testing and practice with his magic spear. 

Observing closely, there's no sign he even feels tired. Obviously I don't feel tired, but it's harder for me to say if it had been because of my power or if it's just my greater endurance than the average person. Seeing Japhet swing away without any kind of difference from the other two times, pretty much confirms my power does reset everything to be in line with the save point.

"Japhy is there anything different about me, something you notice that's off? Just blurt it out."

He looks at me confused but then responds.

"You're a lot more talkative for one, but also I guess a bit more animated? I think that's the word."

No mention of my neuros or that I'm repeating myself, so that's checked off too. Okay let's get back to the 'present'. Load Save 2.

***

[Save 2 Loaded.]

Without warning, I throw out my hand and catch the wooden sword. Father is immediately a pace or two of distance from me as I get into a stance. I'm almost a bit frightened at how fast the old man moves, but I parry his initial strikes without issue. 

The test is a race to enter the fast world through dual minds first. Reversal, that's the first technique to utilize against a human opponent. It involves taking advantage of latency between the opponent adjusting to the faster moving world and your own adaptation to it already. That's about when a match will usually end too.

Father continues his flurry of strikes some heavier, some lighter, and some just close enough to strike if I don't dodge. They're easy enough for me to defend against. However, Father doesn't take this lightly, he extends the coverage and penetration of the strikes to keep me on my toes.

Being able to enter dual minds and the faster world sooner is a display of mastery for the Syzygy style. That's why usually in the heat of our matches I always seem to be just half a second too slow. It's also about that point that I try to adjust, but get smacked by the wooden sword before I can.

I already said I would kick your ass old man, so here goes. Dual minds on its own requires intense focus on rapid thoughts and the concentration to maintain that ever accelerating pace of thinking. Again, normally that would be incredibly difficult in the middle of a fight. Not anymore. I enter the dual minds without another second to catch my breath.

For once, I have the upper hand on the old man who swipes at nothing as I quickly pull the Reversal technique. He barely comes to as I go for a flashy finish. Dad tries to block, but I aim for the gap between his hilt and his hand. 

Tugging at the hilt it nearly slips from his fingers, but as it turns out he's not ready to throw in the towel. Father switches the grip and grabs onto the edge of the sword. He attempts to beat away my sword in quick succession to get some distance. It doesn't deter me in the slightest. I continue an advance at him, my pace starts getting that much faster. 

Again if this were an average fight between us father, would have already won, but it ain't. An enhanced part of the dual minds is when they finally work in tandem, that's when the world moves fast and my body is pushed to move dramatically faster than that. One mind without needing to properly think acts efficiently, the other mind without needing to react plans meticulously and obsessively. It used to come to me inconsistently, but in this moment, I feel it approaching as natural as breathing. 

Dodge, strike, strike, parry, riposte, intimidate, approach with a strike. I'm reading the rhythm of my father's attacks, nothing escapes my perception at this point. Before my father even prepares the next attack I already strike to counter and press him further.

We've finally gotten to the end. I already won, all that's left is to clean up the details and execute. Using the last attempt to end the fight as a blueprint, I'll aim to mirror the start of my original maneuver and break through the recovery dad tried last time when he switched grips. There's also the fact that I have to account for how he's currently standing so I have to do it between his steps, that's what'll seal the final move. 

As father moves to thrust the sword through my defense, I take advantage of his minor imbalance and aim again for the space between the hilt and his hand. My own feet are firmly planted to commit to a second swing, and it all lines up perfect. Father goes to switch his grip and grab the edge of the wooden sword to keep it from slipping, as well as to defend against my up close sword. 

However, I manage to unleash a quick rotund swing and cause Father to abandon trying to grab the edge but now my point kept him from tilting forward to fix his balance. With my smooth foot work I'm able to press my hilt behind his sword's hilt disarming him in the process while shoving him back, and then end it with a twirl of the point heading into a thrust towards his chest. He still reaches out to stop the sword with his hand. I guess he thinks I can't stop my momentum alone. I win.

"Come on, you should at least trust I know how to stop."

Father smiles as he lets go of the end of the sword staring down at him. I smile back at him and relax my stance.

"Well done."

That's all my old man manages to say before letting out a sigh to catch his breath. It's not a matter I usually think about, but I'm barely eighteen and my father already looks like he's in his late sixties to early seventies, yet from what I recall he's only forty-eight. Gray head of hair, overly veiny arms and face, not to mention his tired hazel eyes.

"Ready for another round?"

I boastfully ask my father. It's not uncommon for us to end up finishing the day with at least fifteen sparring matches. Well, more like fifteen losses for me.

"There's no need."

Father sits on the ground. He looks like he's reminiscing. I have no clue what that's about. 

"Why's that? I thought you said it was better to practice as often as possible."

I prod the old man to share his thoughts. If I had to give a guess, I would say the old man is about to give me the talk about inheritance. That's the goal of all this after all, have I eclipsed him? Father said as much in the past.

"Practice is necessary, but I can't help you anymore. You are beyond me, Relwing."

"How? I only beat you a single time, it was a fluke at best."

I am downplaying my victory, but it's obvious even to me that if I beat him just once he'll go beyond that same move set and win the next fight. I don't understand what makes him think one fight is enough.

"Do you honestly believe that? That I made a mistake, or worse that I went easy on you?"

Father is deathly serious with his statement. There is no indication of him even half joking. Even so, I don't accept his early concession.

There's a mental sigh, as I think about the aspects of forcing the situation a little. Wait a second, there's no need to think about the consequences like that, it's not a hassle to explain myself and try to fix things 'after' doing something questionable. They never happened, after all.

Although, using up a save slot for every miniscule choice, I don't even know if they're unlimited. Not to mention wracking my head around the several slots without exactly remembering the time, place, or even my mindset when I set it will only get more confusing. It's simple then, a dedicated save that can be overwritten.

Quicksave. 

[Quicksave Completed.]

"Yeah I don't think you're at your best old man. You've always gone round after round without losing your edge once. I think you're age is showing so I want you to try again."

I smile confidently as the words come out without any hesitation.

"Now you're just being nasty with your own father, boy."

Father picks up his wooden sword from where it landed when he was disarmed. Then he begins his assault like before, I could tell instantly it is way more agitated. And yet there is no taxing effort on my part to counter everything that comes at me.

Again as before I enter that faster world and my father lags too far behind to notice. No, this time it's even faster than before, I don't even dash behind him, I just press my blade in time to destabilize my father's strike with his momentum.

Disarming father this second time, feels absurdly easy. To be fair to father, his strikes were faster than before, but I guess I made him angry enough that he stopped thinking about where to make those strikes more effective. Thus, he unintentionally performed worse than earlier.

I start to think of what to say, but then switch to thinking on what to say when I go back in time.

Let's do this again. Load Quicksave. 

[Quicksave Loaded.]

I stare at my father blankly before lowering my eyes and sighing.

"I want to believe that it was a fair match, but I just can't accept it with a single victory. Please, Father, one more go?"

I get into a stance to display my earnestness further. This way, dad'll actually take some care to try and cut through my technique with his experience. That much I can tell for certain, it won't be like the wild attacks he showed me in the other round.

Almost like father was reading my thoughts, he lunges with a precise thrust after picking up the wooden sword from the ground. My stance isn't very rigid, so I easily avoid it with a side step. The doubts I had over my father's statements are being dispelled with every swift and agile move he makes. 

Despite how perfect the technique and his skill with a sword seems to be, Father's overwhelming swordsmanship just isn't as impressive as it had been earlier. There's something else dad said about Syzygy in the past. He called it an evolving-style, the inherent belief that every time it's passed down it evolves to something stronger than before. And more importantly that it's a philosophy to follow rather than a concrete set of moves.

It gives me burning feeling of excitement, simply thinking of all the blessings I'm getting this go round of life. 

Tuning back into the fight, I realize father's not very wary of my reach in regards to the rest of my body. There were times in the past where father beat me with a grapple or knocking me off balance with a well timed kick.

Heh, I guess that stayed as a bad habit depending on how you look at it. I lost a couple times that way, throwing a punch, a kick, or trying to tackle him too. Father never said they weren't allowed he just chastised me for taking the risk without properly calculating it.

Of course, now I'm calculating it "properly", however if I do it, I have to expect his retaliation. Essentially, once hand to hand like that is introduced, even father will commit to that new element. So, I can't go in half-assed.

With the momentum of knocking my father's sword back, I unleash a quick side kick further pushing father's sword hand away, nearly making him drop the sword. He immediately counters with a kick aimed at my grounded leg. I shoot up with my other foot avoiding the kick, and push directly against his chest. This nearly causes him to fall but he catches his balance. But not before I plant both my feet on the ground. I grapple his sword arm with one hand and press my wooden sword against his neck with my other hand.

"You see what I mean now?"

Father chides with a smile. 

"Yeah, I get it now."

As much as this second round shows me dominating his style, he certainly won't agree to this next "second" round.

Load Quicksave.

[Quicksave Loaded.]