Chapter 232: Training with Raksa
Dreadfort Castle, Training Grounds
POV of Domeric Bolton
-Clank
The sound of steel meeting Valyrian steel resounded in the isolated clearing as Domeric barely blocked Raksa's enormous sword, which she was swinging like it was a toothpick, with the first Valyrian Steel Shield in the history of Westeros.
After the body enhancement ritual, Raksa had become monstrously strong. Maybe even stronger than the White Walkers.
Varko had told him that she would make an excellent sparring partner to prepare him for the upcoming fights against the White Walkers.
Varko told him that, unless absolutely necessary, Domeric should not participate in a melee battle because if he lost his life, then they would likely lose the battle and the war along with it.
Domeric wasn't sure he could follow Varko's advice. But once the Elemental Moon Core rituals were complete and Domeric could wield higher-level magic, then he shouldn't be at a disadvantage against the White Walkers.
But he wouldn't be as arrogant as he had been the last time, and he would be prepared for any bad situation. After all, the White Walkers had absorbed the excess Death energy released by Lady Death's intervention in this world, becoming even more powerful.
Therefore, Domeric didn't know if the White Walkers had any other tricks up their sleeves, and consequently, he had to be prepared for every contingency.
For that matter, Varko had asked him to make a shield for himself that he could use for defense against a White Walker in order to last longer and wait for help to arrive.
The shield was made of 90% frost steel that he had lightened with runic magic and a 10% thick coating of Valyrian Steel so that it would hold against a White Walker's attack and not shatter upon impact.
The shield was half as large as he was, and it was very easy for him to defend with it.
But changing between defense and offense was still awkward for him, and he also fell for feints every now and then, which would mean the end of his life when fighting melee against a White Walker.
Raksa picked the gigantic sword, which was almost as tall as Domeric, and with enough steel in it to make five two-handed swords, with one hand, and swiped the sword against him.
He blocked it once again, but the force of the blow made him skid a few meters before he came to a stop and massaged his left hand, which had gone sore from all the punishment it was taking.
"Come on, Dom Dom. Let Raksa crush you to death." She said in a melodramatic fashion and charged at him once again.
So far, all four who received body enhancements after him have experienced improvements in some areas more than others.
Varko had gained a significant amount of stamina as well as a decent improvement in speed and strength.
Ygritte's eyesight improved significantly, and she was similar to him in that the enhancement increased her strength and speed by a considerable amount.
Walton, like Varko, had gained a significant amount of stamina as well as a decent improvement in speed and strength.
As for Raksa, the enhancement mainly increased her strength and increased her other aspects by a moderate degree. What he did not expect was that the body enhancement would also enhance her mind slightly.
If she was once a small child, she was now a disgruntled and melodramatic teenager.
Frankly, it was a little frightening.
Raksa came at him from the left, and he blocked with his shield once again, but his footing gave way, and his leg buckled underneath him. The force behind the blow threw him to the ground and made him roll around a few times before he finally came to a stop and didn't get up.
His left hand was numb from all the blows it had sustained, his body was filled with sweat, and his breathing was heavy.
Truthfully, Raksa was definitely much stronger than the White Walkers at this point. And her 75-kilogram sword was not a joke.
Raksa walked up to him and sat beside him. Then she poked his cheeks and said in a sing-song manner, "Varko told me not to let you rest. No matter what."
Dread pooled in his heart at those words.
"Hahaha. Come on, Raksa. You know how uptight Varko can be. There's no need to listen to him." He said, but it sounded more like pleading.
"Hmm…" she put her hand on her chin, mimicking a thinking pose.
Then she shook his head. "Perhaps. But he's also right. The more beatings you take, the stronger your muscles will be."
His heart fell at that.
What she was saying was not wrong. However, he was really too tired at this point, and he no longer wanted to fight with her.
But he knew that despite her melodramatic teenage attitude, Raksa was much smarter now and wouldn't fall for his tricks anymore.
"Very well then." He said, and Raksa took his collar and picked him up as if he were a twig.
A few seconds later, he was once again taking the brunt of her blows and wondering if having such good and responsible sworn shields wouldn't be the death of him before he could even fight the White Walkers.
Maybe he should have ignored Varko's advice and focused on another project instead of training in his spare time.
After working for a while on the Magical Ink recipes he obtained from the Alchemy Fountain, he finally managed to produce a magical ink that could be used by normal people with the ice crystals and other materials.
After copying the magical ink it had produced, the Alchemy Fountain was now producing this magical ink in all four of its slots.
Frankly, the magic required for the Alchemy Fountain to produce this magical ink from water was immense. Especially when using all four of its slots for this purpose.
And Domeric couldn't sustain this magical need for long with his own reserves. However, Domeric's Underground Base was already functioning with the magical circle he had built by planting Heart Trees on and within it.
All Domeric had to do was channel a portion of this magic into the Alchemy Fountain. The Alchemy Fountain could now operate continuously without Domeric's help.
And the Alchemy Fountain was currently producing approximately 10 liters of magical ink per hour from each of its tabs. This would give Domeric approximately 1,000 liters per day.
But he needed more than that to put his plans into action, and while he waited for the necessary amount to accumulate, Domeric was left idle.
That's when Varko came up with his "brilliant idea", telling him he needed to train and arranging this training session with Raksa.
Sometimes, he thought the only reason Varko came to him with such ideas was because he wanted to take revenge for Domeric beating him in front of everyone after the body enhancement ritual.
Maybe it would be better if Domeric didn't chase such small wins in the future.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.233: A Dilemma
Ch.234: Do You Have Anything to Do with This?
Ch.232: Persuasion Charm