Skill Hunter -Kill Monsters, Acquire Skills, Ascend to the Highest Rank!

"So… how do you guys work?" Ike asked.

Fflyn blinked. "What?"

"You're part of this trial, right? Like that young man I had a conversation with in the dinner trial. What are you? How do you work? Are you a spirit, like, I don't know, a mountain spirit of some sort? Some kind of land-bound spirit?"

Shawn peeked over his shoulder. "He isn't a mountain spirit."

Fflyn smiled mysteriously. He lifted his fingers in front of his mouth and crossed them in an X. "I can't say."

Ike eyed him suspiciously. He'd been putting things together this whole time, and now they were starting to all point in one direction. "You aren't ghosts, are you? The ghosts of the people who belonged to the city we entered when we started the trial? The fallen city, I might add?"

Fflyn kept his mysterious smile. That X remained in front of his mouth.

"Riiiiight. Well, it doesn't really matter. Let's go find some iron." Ike walked deeper into the castle, gesturing for Fflyn to follow.

Fflyn ambled behind him, his hands behind his back. He was muscular, for a mage, beefy and strong, but a bit short. "How'd you end up in this contest, anyways? If you don't want to be king."

"I don't want to be king, but I do like powerful skills," Ike said, grinning.

"That's the part that surprises me. Most people don't know this trial is supposed to give a skill orb at all—or, well. Half of one."

"Let's just say I have my reasons for believing in it," Ike said simply. He wasn't stupid. He didn't know these peoples' game yet. They might turn against him yet. Telling them he had the skill might be exactly what that mastermind had in mind… whoever the mastermind was. As far as he'd seen so far, probably someone on Rufus' team, but he couldn't discount Scar or Vi yet.

Fflyn snorted. "Well, if you really didn't know any better, then color me surprised. Not wanting to be king is one of the things that really gets our boss going. That, and having your eye on the prize. Not all of us agree with that, but we all respect her. We'll follow her, as long as she follows you."

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Ike raised his brows. There was a hint of warning in Fflyn's voice, one he hadn't missed. "And you? What about your opinion?"

"Doesn't much matter, but let's just say the jury's still out. Don't put too much weight on li'l old me, though. Like I said. I'll follow boss."

Ike laughed. He shrugged. "That's fine. I'm only having you forge better weapons for your own team, so there's no reason not to give it your all."

Fflyn's brows rose. "Huh?"

"I've already got a sword, and the beasts are happier with bare claws. In any case, even if you made the best sword in the world, I'd still have you focus on your own team's broken weapons first. I can fight as I am. Your team can't."

Fflyn fell silent, but it was a thoughtful silence. After a few beats, he chuckled. "Well, I'll be damned. You do have a way of cutting right to the quick of it, kid. I appreciate that. Yeah, I'll forge my team weapons. I'll forge the best damn weapons you've ever seen."

Ike grinned. "I'm counting on it."

Fflyn and Ike scoured the basement for some time, walking past dusty halls and centipede holes bound with spider's thread, until at last they came upon an old forge. A furnace loomed in a corner. Next to it, a pile of fuel sat, and beside that, ingots of all sorts lined up on the floor. The chamber next door was full of more fuel and ingots, enough to build swords for Relin's whole crew, Fflyn included, and provide armor for most of them, on top of that.

"You're really sure? You want weapons and armor for us, not you?"

"Yeah. I'm happy with what I've got."

"You don't have any armor. Don't be ridiculous! If you die, it's all over for all of us, you know?" Fflyn protested.

Ike looked him in the eye. For a single beat, he activated Storm Clad.

Fflyn's mouth opened in an 'O.' "What was that? That was awesome! Teach me!"

Ike laughed. "Make good weapons, and maybe we'll have time for some lessons."

"That's a deal." Rolling up his sleeves, Fflyn got to work heating up the furnace.

Leaving him to do what he did best, Ike headed back up to the battlements. Wisp and Daisy wandered the top of the wall, occasionally stopping and pointing out things in the forest, or pointing out features of the wall. The mason, Argo, surveyed the walls themselves, occasionally scowling. Past him, the two remaining members of Relin's troupe chatted together, seemingly taking a break.

Leaving Daisy and Wisp to figure out the enchantments, Ike approached Argo. "How's it look?"

"Not as bad as it could. I'm used to it being a little more worm-eaten, in all honesty. You're the first group to pass the underground portion of the trial, and I think you might have sent a speed record for it."

Ike patted Shawn on his shoulder. "We brought a mountain spirit, so we had a bit of an advantage."

Shawn batted at him, still half-asleep. "Shu'up, lemme sleep."

"You brought a—" Argo stared at Shawn. Ike felt the man's mana wash over him, and then Argo recoiled. "A mountain spirit! A real-life mountain spirit. Do you know how rare this is?"

"Uh... I see him every day, so I'm going to go with no…?"

"Wow. A real mountain spirit. Does he want to do the defenses? I'm sure he could fix up these walls way better than I could," Argo said, awestruck.

Ike glanced at Shawn, then shrugged. "He prefers to sleep. And honestly, he isn't planted, so he can't use much mana. You can think of him as a Rank 1 mage, and a weak one, at that."

"He's not..." Argo paled. He looked as if he were about to pass out. "Plant him! How dangerous. He might die at any moment! He's so delicate!"

"He's been like this for millennia. I think he's fine," Ike said. Delicate? Maybe compared to an actual mountain, sure, but Shawn's a tough kid. He can take a lot more of a beating than a real Rank 1 could. He eyed Argo, suddenly getting the vibe that the man might be a little too much of a mountain spirit fan.

"A mountain spirit…" Argo stared at Shawn for another few moments, then nodded. "I'll make the strongest walls you've ever seen. No one and nothing will get through these walls when I'm done with them! I'll make walls worthy of a mountain spirit!"

"That's the spirit!" Ike said, smiling. Whatever worked to motivate him. He didn't have to understand it for it to be effective.

Argo hurried off, running toward his supplies. Ike turned, gazing at the remaining members of the troupe. Wisp had Daisy handled, but he still didn't know what the last two members' deal was.

No time like the present. Putting on a friendly smile, Ike approached the final two members of the troupe.