It had been eleven days since we started the training. It was the seventh day in that the items I ordered were ready. She was overjoyed when they arrived at the house. They were very well made and the armor fit her perfectly. It protected her vitals while giving her plenty of flexibility. And the war scythe was optimally balanced, so she would get best damage with her swings. The four days after were spent getting her used to wearing her new armor and the scythe.

        I also had her try and do something in the book called 'Bonding'. It said it would allow the user to, 'mark', a chosen weapon which she could then do a multitude of things with. The most promising aspect of it was what could be done with the bladed part. The book stated that you could push mana into it, coating it with razor-sharp mana, sharpening it. Alternatively, it could be pushed out into an arc, which increases in range the more mana pushed out. 

        By the eleventh day she had gotten a proper grasp on the first part - the coating. The second half she was close to doing. She could read on our mission.

        "Alright Clarys, we haven't had too much time to train you, I know. But I think you're ready for a mission. We're gonna do an escorting job." I told her. She knew we'd have this conversation because I told her yesterday that it'd be the last day of training before her first job with me. She looked disappointed at the kind of mission so I explained further, "The reason behind the choice is that I need to have you ready for anything. You usually know what you're running into on specific kill missions so you can prepare accordingly. Escort missions give no such luxury. We could encounter anything at all." She seemed content with that answer. 

        We packed out things up we may need, water and foods mostly, as well as a spare blanket each. She grabbed some personal items too, her books and the charm I had given her.

~~~~

       This is it. Okay, Clarys. You got this, Dorian trusts you so don't fuck it up. We were on the road by now on this job he picked out. We had to protect a group of merchants who were heading from Morden to the north, to some other city in Kesh called Randen, I think that's what Dorian called it. It was a very boring ride on the carriages they had, but at least it wasn't too bumpy. I spent my breaks trying to read from the magic books he gave me. Some parts were harder to read but I could still get the meaning out of them, so it wasn't a total waste.

       We spent a good few hours in the caravan of merchants when I heard shouting. I hopped out of the carriage I was in with my scythe ready and saw Dorian calmly ordering the merchants to get somewhere safe. I hope I can get to be as good as him... no, don't think like that. You will. I shook my head to get rid of the negativity in my thoughts. I ran up to Dorian and asked him what was going on. "Gnolls. Feral one judging on the fur. About eight of them. They're quick little turds that often wear cloth or leather armor. They're clever but rather stupid. Be on the lookout for traps." 

       I'd never even heard of gnolls until now. I guess I need to get a monster manual or something. I soon saw these 'gnoll' monsters. They were like a mix of wild dogs and humans, but they didn't look like beast folk. Their heads were covered in fur and had a snout. Their exposed bodies were also dotted with fur but they looked like they had mange or rabies as the fur was in blotches.

      Overall, they were very gross, not as much as those trolls, but still very gross. I was gonna rush forward to deal with them when Dorian stopped me. "Alright, I'll draw as many as I can and you strike them from behind. Time to put that magic into practice eh? Show me what you got." I was antsy with excitement but my head was clear-ish. He charged forward with light steps to the group of them and said something in what was maybe their language because they became enraged when he was finished and they focused on him.

       Alright, feel the mana in me and move it to the blade and {Sharpen}. I could immediately see swirls of my mana around my blade then I headed to the battle. I kept what he said in mind with the traps and took care where I stepped, avoiding some tacks that were placed on the road. Those would need to be moved for the caravan's horses.

       He did as promised, the gnolls were focused solely on him, but he wasn't fighting them. I wondered why but then realized, this job is about how far I've gotten. Not for him to show off. I sprinted to the closest one with its back to me, and sliced horizontally, decapitating it. I didn't even hit that hard! Magic is so cool! Two other gnolls noticed what I did and changed their targets from him to me.

       The one on my left tried to hit me with its club. I sidestepped it as it overextended, hard. I hit it with the butt of my scythe to make it lose balance and swung down, severing its arm and cutting deep into its chest. It let out a cry and dropped dead. The other one let out a sharp bark and took and tried to lunge at me. Bad idea because I swung/thrusted at it blade down, slicing into it before it could strike. Dorian saw that and gave an approving glance. I felt warm inside. I was proving I was worthy of his sponsorship.

       He decided to get a little serious and struck down two of them, leaving three left. The bigger one of the three gave a couple of barks to his allies while trying to hit Dorian, who just dodged or parried. The other two focused on me. They were wearing leather armor like the big one and one had a pike while the other had a mace. I should keep my distance from the pike and target it. We both have big sticks but mine has a bigger blade. Actually, maybe I should try that {Mana Wave} from the book. It said to focus the {Sharpen} to the outmost edges of the blade and think of an arc being let out as I swung.

       I retreated fifteen feet and did as guided. I could see and feel the mana wanting to be let out and obliged as I swung. The charging gnolls were cut in two and it went a little further, nicking the leader. My eyes went wide when the gnolls fell. I didn't even use that much of my 'pool'. The book said that the more mana put in the better the effect would be, with both power and range depending on the amount spent. The nick on the leader distracted it enough for Dorian to land a killing blow. 

      I sat down, avoiding any blood or tacks near me. Killing is so easy. But it also is so hard. If I found him before, then what would've happened? Dorian approached me as I was lost in thought. "Hey Clar, you good? Or just taking in what happened?" He asked me. I replied, "Just thinking about things, Dori." "Please don't call me that, that's Silt's thing. It's weird when others do it." "Then don't shorten my name and I won't shorten yours. Deal?" "Deal, now get your butt up. We gotta give the all-clear to the others and move on. Also, great work. You were amazing. You'll get to C- no, B-class in no time with that skill if you practice," He said, making me blush. I don't think I was that great. There were things I could've done better.

      I told him that we should maybe move the tacks so the horses don't get hurt. He agreed with me so we moved the tacks and the bodies to clear the way. A couple of minutes later we were off. Some of the merchants were showering us with praise, well mainly Dorian because he is an A-class and I'm just a D. I didn't really mind it because fewer distractions mean more time to read.