Restart Again: Volume 1 by Adam Scott (pocket ebook reader TXT) 📕

stretched up onto her toes and waved to them shouting, “Goodbye! I love you!” They waved back, but if they said anything in return it was lost to the morning breeze. Wiping her eyes, Lia righted herself and turned back to the split in the road. “We’re really going, aren’t we?”

I nodded. “We’re really going.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s go.” With that, we turned left down the well traveled road into a thicket of trees, and home faded from view behind us.

***

16. ON COMBAT AND MAGIC

Our first day of traveling passed quickly. The road we would be following for most of our journey to Lybesa was wide and well maintained, for which I was extremely grateful. For the first few hours of our journey I felt on edge, constantly expecting a guard to pass us by and recognize me, but as we made it further and further from Yoria my nerves gradually began to relax. Traffic was heavy on the road but died down quickly as we left the comfortable traveling distance from the capital. By the time the sun was low in the sky we had been walking alone for close to an hour.

Lia and I were casually chatting about the best way to prepare wildfowl when I spotted an enclosed clearing through the trees to our right. The surrounding countryside was covered in random patches of trees; no one grouping was thick enough to be truly considered a forest, but it was dense enough to block line of sight to any point from the road. Pushing aside some shrubs I led Lia off the main road and into the thicket. We only walked for half a minute, but once we reached the small clearing it was difficult to see back where we had come from.

“This spot should serve as a nice campsite for the night. I don’t think we’ll have anybody wandering through; I was pretty lucky to spot the clearing from the road.” I sat down in the grass to give my feet a well-deserved rest after a long day of walking. Scanning the area, I estimated the glade to be about thirty feet across at its widest point, an ideal size to suit our needs. I unclasped my belt and carefully laid it out in front of me, sliding each item off in turn: our lantern, the spare shortsword I had purchased, and my own blade.

Lia flopped down beside me, spreading out with a high-pitched squeal. “I haven’t walked that far in ages...maybe never!” Rolling over to the pack she had dropped on the ground, she fished through the main pouch and produced two apples. She tossed one to me before biting heartily into her own. “I’ll sleep well tonight, I’m sure!” Lia said through a mouth full of apple, losing a few chunks in the process.

“I hope you weren’t planning on going straight to bed, Lia. We’ve still got training to do.” I bit into my own apple, watching for her reaction from the corner of my eye. She turned to me with a harsh glare, taking another large bite of the fruit and chewing in silence. I shrugged. “What? I warned you before, you’re not off the hook just because we’re walking all day. Just think of that as your warmup.”

She let out a bitter laugh between bites. “It’s going to take me forever to go through all my stances and practice swings. It’ll be pitch black before I’m finished!”

Reaching out to pick up my shortsword, I stood and paced casually to the opposite side of the clearing. “Who said anything about practice swings?”

The expression on Lia’s face changed instantly, the pouting replaced by excitement. “We’re actually going to fight?” The core of her apple fell to the ground as she jumped to her feet, scrambling to where she had dropped her own sword. Pulling it from its sheath she held it in a ready position, but quickly dropped her arm with a confused look. “Won’t we hurt each other?”

“Bruises, sure.” I held the small sword out in front of me and pulled on my mana reserves. “Blunted blade,” I incanted, sending a dull orange glow up along the sharp edges. I weighed the unfamiliar weapon in my hand with a few flourishes. Center of balance is off. Shoddy work, indeed. “I promise I won’t injure you.”

“Can you do that for mine as well? I don’t know if I can use magic like that yet.” Lia tilted her head to one side, still seeming a bit nervous.

I laughed. “If you can hit me hard enough to do real damage in our first practice, you’ve earned it.” The look on her face told me she wasn’t convinced. “Plus, if you do somehow manage to hurt me, it just gives me another chance to practice my healing magic. It’s really a win-win situation.”

She rolled her eyes. “Alright, alright.” Raising her weapon again she tensed up awkwardly, clearly unsure of what to do next. “So, how do we start? Do we bow?” Lia gave a quick bow.

Covering my mouth, I tried my best to hide my amusement. “No, no bowing necessary. As long as I have this sword drawn and blunted, we’re ready to go. We’ll start by practicing your opening attack.” I beckoned to her with my hand. “See if you can hit me. Anywhere on my body is a success.”

Lia took a deep breath, using the moment to steady herself. After studying the situation she charged forward with her sword drawn back in both hands, shouting a wordless battlecry. It only took a few steps for her to close the distance between us, and she brought the weapon down in a crosswise cut aimed for my chest. Taking a small step to the side I knocked the slash aside with the flat of my blade, sending her stumbling past me.

“Not bad for your first go. Try to control your momentum and use it for extra power in your attack. If you’re moving