Sarah's Story Chapter 040 - Conditions

Sam interjected, “Like I said, I didn’t recommend Sarah because she’s a Scout. I recommended her because she’s a Brawler. That she wants Scout training is, frankly, her own business.” He folded his arms and gave Gregory his own stern glare.

Gregory dropped out of the staring contest first, and raised two fingers. “Two conditions. First, Sarah,” he turned to look at her directly, “tell us why you haven’t yet chosen your second Class, and leave nothing out.”

Sarah nodded, but Sam asked, “And the second condition?”

“I’ll share that after I hear Sarah’s story.”

And so Sarah explained about her brother’s kidnapping, her years of training to become a Brawler, her Class selection options, her time in the capital, her months of Scout training, everything. Everything, that is, except about the Avenger class.

The Golden Swan listened attentively, with mostly impassive expressions, save Delphi who allowed herself to be swept up in the story. At one point, there was a distinct lack of sound coming from where Clara stood, although her presence remained where it was, and after a few minutes the sound returned.

“...And so, my goal is to find or create a Class that can find my brother, then I’m going to rescue him and bring him home,” Sarah concluded.

Lawrence gave a low whistle. “A Smith-Enchanter, huh? That’d be…”

Arthur interrupted with a scoff. “Foolish, utterly foolish.”

Sarah glared at him fiercely, but he simply met her gaze. “It is,” he asserted. “The world is a dangerous place, and your brother was warned. It is tragic what happened to him, but he made his choices, same as all of us.” He paused, looking Sarah up and down once more. “Well, almost all of us.”

“The second condition,” Gregory said, “is thirty seconds.”

Lawrence paled, and Clara whipped her head around to look at the party leader. “Thirty seconds?! That’s–”

“If she’s not at least that good, then I doubt she can actually teach Delphi anything useful.”

“There’s a limit to healing magic, you know!”

“And we have Sam here to oversee the spar. If he calls a stop, that’s it.”

Sarah felt the blood drain from her face. Thirty seconds in a brawl with an A Rank Party? Her heart pounded.

“Brawler Sarah.” Arthur dragged out the words. “What level is your Class?”

“...Seven,” she replied. She had gained a few levels between her day of money deliveries and her sparring at the Immortal School.

“Never mind.” Gregory turned to Sam. “Sam, in light of our long friendship–”

“I’ll do it,” Sarah interrupted. “Thirty seconds, right?”

She lowered her hips and raised her hands in front of her shoulders in a ready stance.

Sam looked at her for a second, and then the blood drained from his face. “Sarah, no! Stop! Stop!” he shouted.

Sarah froze, then stood upright and turned to face him. “What?” she asked, irritated. If they were going to brawl, they should just do it.

“That’s not what Gregory meant!”

Gregory paused, then put a hand on his chin. “...what do you think I meant?” he asked.

Sarah hesitated, then answered, “I have to beat you all in thirty seconds, right?”

Lawrence burst out laughing in the back. “Bwahahahahaha! Oh gods, the big book was right! I can’t believe it, hahahahaha!”

Clara’s expression froze, and then her presence started moving back away from where she appeared to be standing, apparently trying to muffle her footsteps but not quite managing. Arthur’s hand darted to the hilt of his sword and stopped there, and Delphi just continued to vacantly smile, listening to the conversation as though she wasn’t really involved.

Gregory was stunned. “What? No, I meant you have to last thirty seconds in a spar with me, one on one. Beating us? That’s absurd.”

Gregory was confused, but Sarah was relieved.

“Oh. Oh! Okay, phew. If that’s all–”

“Now hold on just a minute, everybody.” Sam clapped his hands, gathering everyone’s attention to himself, although Clara didn’t move an inch. Her presence was all the way at the edge of yard at this point, though as far as Sarah could tell, only Delphi had noticed. Once Clara’s presence stopped moving, the Clara standing with her party turned to look at Sam with a solemn expression.

“First of all, we all need to get on the same page here. Safety first.” Sam nodded his head sagely. “And Gregory, you asked and Sarah answered her level, you owe her the same courtesy.”

“Twenty-nine,” he answered. Sarah’s lips tightened.

“And your second Class?”

“It’s non-combat.”

“Relevant boosts?”

“From Spearman: Dexterity, Speed, and Vitality. From the second Class: Charisma, Intelligence, and Endurance.”

Sam gave a sigh of relief. “Oh, good, you’ve got Vitality and Endurance. That’s a load off my mind.”

Gregory’s eyes narrowed, but before he could say anything, Sarah interrupted.

“Wait, that’s too many boosts, isn’t it?”

Everyone looked at Sarah incredulously. It was Lawrence who answered. “What, you didn’t know? If your classes have synergy, you can get an extra boost or two.”

“Seriously?!” she gaped. “I’ve only got Dexterity and Speed!”

Lawrence nodded. “Well, you only have one Class. When you decide on your second, you should be able to tell if you’ll have any synergy and get more boosts or not.”

“Ugh…” Sarah groaned, then slapped her cheeks with her hands. “Okay, come on Sam, let’s finish setting the rules and get started.”

Gregory raised a hand. “What? No. This is preposterous. I’ve got twenty-two levels on you, and as Clara said before, there is a limit to healing magic. We’re not doing this.”

“Oi.”

Everyone’s [Danger Sense] Skill flared, and even Delphi started paying attention.

“You set your conditions. Don’t try to back out now.”

Sarah got back down into her ready position.

“I told you my story. You owe me thirty seconds of sparring.”

Arthur’s grip audibly tightened on the hilt of his sword. Clara’s illusion froze again.

Sam nodded. “Gregory,” he prompted.

Gregory sighed. “Fine, get me a short spear and your largest shield from the practice weapons.” Sam moved to fetch the weapons and Gregory looked down at the annoyed girl in front of him, unmoving. “And what weapons do Brawlers fight with?”

“Anything’s a weapon if you’re holding it right,” she retorted.

Lance nudged Arthur with his elbow. “She said it!” he whispered, “she said the thing!”

Sam returned and tossed a wooden short spear with a blunted tip and a large wooden shield to Gregory, who caught them easily. “Alright, clear the yard, give them space. Thirty seconds to spar, try not to injure each other, either party can yield at any time, stop when it’s called, you both know how it goes. Any questions?”

““No,”” they both replied simultaneously.

Clara’s illusion was frozen in the yard until Lawrence yelled, “Clara!” and then it disappeared entirely.

Gregory and Sarah took up position in the center of the yard, fifteen yards apart. He readied his shield and spear, which looked like toys compared to his massive frame. Sarah, for the third time, got in her ready position.

“Ready? Start!”

The spar between the leader of the A Rank Golden Swan and the C Rank Brawler began.