The way I see it, people never really grow out of toys, the toys just change over time. Most people, in their youth, play with toys, the conventional idea of toys. Y'know, stuffed animals, dolls, action figures, small cars, stuff like that. Eventually, however, they move on from this idea of toys. They develop their first hobbies. Some people get really into clothes, video games, cars, sports, music, art, or maybe they dive further and further into their previous toys. Then, they get even older, and maybe give up old hobbies, and develop new ones, or they dive deeper and deeper, and the cycle repeats until they're 6 feet under. For some, these hobbies become crucial to their livelihood. For others, it's a way to distance themselves from stuff, and simply enjoy things for the sake of it. Ultimately, all of this, from beginning to end, is just a means to pass time with something one enjoys, and, in the end, it's all the same. The use of the toys never changes, just the toys themselves. 

In my case, my new toys are incomprehensible forces of magic, and potentially lethal weapons. And, just like a kid in a toy store, I almost couldn't be more excited. 

"Y'know," S began as we walked out of the blacksmiths shop. "That box seems convenient and all, but if we ever get ambushed or something, it's gonna be difficult for you to grab your weapons before we get attacked." 

"Fuhuhu... Foolish boy. Come, I shall show you the way." I said in a faux 'mysterious old man' voice. 

..."Right." S responded. 

We went to a nearby alley, and, surprise surprise, I warped us back to our training spot near the woods. I pulled out my toolbox as we walked through and studied the inside of it thoroughly, making sure to remember every last detail.

"I can't imagine your plan is to just walk around with it open all the time, right?" S asked when we arrived.

"Fool." I respond, not letting up on the joke. "You will soon understand the way."

S looked unamused. I put the toolbox back in my pocket, and began my work.

First, looked down, closed my eyes, and put my hands together. I then smoothly split them apart, with my index fingers and thumbs forming a square, and created the holes, both about twice the size of my hand. The hole moves to the right of me, and in the same fluid motion as before, I stick my hand through, and at the same time, subtly cast my dark vines. I grab hold of my weapon, and pull it out, the spiked vines already grasping it with my hand. I then strike a combat ready pose. This whole process takes a little over a second. 

Admittedly, the pose at the end could use some work. I'm not really sure how to use these things in combat yet, and I don't know how to pose coolly with sickles yet. I don't really have a reference, but I'm sure I'll think of something eventually. Maybe I'll try to find that thug from yesterday, and ask him for assistance. Actually, how would I even look for him, anyways? What happened to him after S cuffed him and we left? Eh, whatever. He's certainly ran off by now, I doubt I'll see him any time soon.

Regardless, S seems impressed, and even lightly claps after my trick. I can't blame him, as it does, for the most part, look pretty cool. Probably.

"Ooh, nice. That solves that problem." He said.

"Yeah, this should work." Plus, summoning weapons out of thin air just feels like something an all powerful dark mage would do. Wait, S can also do that, can't he? And, on top of that, he doesn't even need to carry anything around, whereas I have to keep this toolbox on hand. If only I had somewhere to put it where I could be sure nobody would mess with it. 

"What're you mumblin' about?" S asked, sounding a little confused.

"I need real estate. Or a safe deposit." I said, accidentally letting my thoughts leak out.

S seemed a surprised. "Where did that come from?!"  

"Oh, uh, nothing." I respond. Wait, did saying 'nothing' make sense, in this case? 

S looked a little confused for a moment. "Well, it'd actually be pretty nice to have somewhere to store stuff safely. Normally I have to sell anything cool I find, which is sometimes a shame. That being said, land's expensive, and it can be a little hard to build up savings in this line of work." 

"Yeah, that's probably true. Man, it'd be convenient if we just, like, got some real estate for some incredibly convenient reason."

"Right. But, that'd probably take some insane luck, though. Like, we'd have to accidentally save some comedically rich yet terribly generous noble that just happens to have an unused chunk of land just lying around for some reason, that they're willing to give up as a gift. Or some other impossible miracle like that." 

"Man, wouldn't that be nice..."

"But it would never happen. That'd take, like, divine intervention or something."

"Oh yeah, for sure."

"Definitely, yeah." 

"It would be absurd to believe otherwise."

"Right, 100% nonsense."

We stood there and daydreamed about that sort of clearly impossible nonsensical fairy tale scenario for a little while longer. 

After that, I decided to test my magic stuff some more. Specifically, I wanted to test if my vines would work the same on my sickles the way they did with my fist. See, earlier, when I grabbed a sickle through a hole, the vine I cast was easily able to neatly coil around and grasp it, like it did with my fist previously. I'm gonna test to see if it works the same way with my weapons as it did then.

That said, I am a little concerned about using an odd weapon like sickles. Well, no matter. So long as it looks cool. I think back to action movies once more. I recall stuff like 'My blade is an extension of my arm...' and such, for motivation. 

I grab a sickle and cast forth my vines of darkness. I notice that not only do they easily and naturally coil and grasp the weapon, some of the vines coil a bit around my hand, and prick me with their spikes. Just like before, my hands feel a little different. Strangely, I notice that I get some sort of sensation from my weapon, as well. 

I take a few practice swings. I make one swing across, and another where I reach up and slam downward. As I swing, the dark after image appears again, still following the path the sickle takes. 

That much I expected. But there was one more effect that I didn't expect. As I swung the sickle, I could feel the air against it, like, as if the sickle was a part of my body. Not gonna lie, it felt a little strange. Perhaps I'm feeling from the vines? I'll need to test further. Regardless, this whole thing looks cool.

Though, admittedly, it'd probably look cooler if I knew what I was doing. I wouldn't say I'm flailing randomly, but I really have no idea what sickle combat is supposed to look like, so I'm kind of winging it, and swinging whichever way feels right. Regardless, this'll have to suffice for now. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually, anyway.

"Looks good. I look forward to seeing that in practice!" S says supportively.

"Thanks. It's a bit unwieldy, admittedly, but I think it'll be worth the effort." I say.

"Yeah, I haven't seen sickles used much, other than that thug from yesterday. Now, I'm not too familiar, but... I think they might be good for disarming an opponent, if used correctly, and downward strikes seem like a good idea." 

I simply nod in response. He figured that much out already? Dang. He's good.

Alright, I'm nearly done, but there's one more thing I want to test. 

I reach out both of my arms, and attempt to summon my dark noodles. Man, I really need a better name for these. Anyways, they seem to come out just fine. Alright, so I can cast both spells at once. I wiggle them around a bit, just for fun. Alright, now comes the tricky part.

I make a downward swing with my sickle, and then I quickly pivot backwards and have my noodles form in front of me as a shield. My pivot back is a little sloppy this first time, but the general idea seems sound. 

"Ooh, that's a good move. That said, while a pivot back is safe after quick strikes, there are times when you need to commit to an attack, so be prepared to stand your ground when the situation calls for it." S said after that trial. Then he paused for a moment.  "Oh, and also, don't forget what happened last time you used that magic."

"Crap, that's true... thanks." Yeah, last time I used this magic I ended up getting flown backwards at scary speeds... still, that makes it a good escape tool. Perhaps I should eliminate the pivot back all together, and use that as my retreat. So long as I'm careful, it should be pretty effective. 

I need to keep at this. I need to get stronger.

S and I spent the next few hours in that spot, resuming our training. This time, S was mostly coaching me, giving me ideas, helping me with basic strikes, and giving me much needed support. Before I knew it, hours had passed, and I was ready to collapse. S decided that we should probably call it a day. It was still pretty early, but I was pooped, and S could tell. I've never been athletic to begin with, so continuous training like that plus the added strain of maintaining magic really wore me down. Still, it was worth it. Even in the few hours of training I had today, I can feel that I've improved greatly. 

What DYN2 said this morning really unnerved me. For all I know, tomorrow could spell great danger. Even beyond that, I'm gonna be travelling with S soon, and I'd hate to be a burden for him. I need to get stronger, I need to be able to defend myself. 

One day, I'd like to repay him for all he's done for me. And to do that, I need to get stronger. 

We went back to the inn and decided to have dinner before I went to bed.

That was what was supposed to happen, but the moment I sat down...

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