Upon reaching the outskirts of the capital, the trio noticed that it wasn't as bad as expected. The state army was working hard, putting down the disembarked advance parties on the shores, as well as those that had risen up inside the city itself.
Even from a long distance away, Alexander could see where the fleet took the Shogunate by surprise however.
The wall and beach defenses were utterly wrecked; the damage pointed toward cannon barrages. The state navy was also sinking, which meant that no ship could endanger the fleet providing artillery support and destroying the government buildings.
Although in truth, the two forces were now locked in a stalemate, with the rebellion having a much weaker position. They couldn't gain any ground and take control of the important parts of the city and while the Shogunate couldn't destroy their ships, the Raiden Shogun definitely could.
She just had to quickly return.
After feeling relieved that the situation looked alright, he instead began feeling pressed for time because he could feel the pirate fleet turning tail any minute now, Alexander made a beeline for the shores.
In order to complete the quest, he needed to thwart the revolt and to do so, the lead ship would probably have to be sunk.
It didn't take much guessing which one that would be, considering the huge cannons it sported, firing cannonballs imbued with some kind of energy that caused massive impacts upon contact.
BOOM
The young man could feel the very ground shaking as he steadied his bow and took aim.
Sure, he couldn't snipe the captain, nor could he kill the crew firing the cannons from this distance.
But he could set everything ablaze, or at least try.
"If you bolt from my side again one more time, I'll put you six feet under here and now!"
Saiguu finally caught up with him, who was now ready and in position, her displeasure evident. Yae however was making her way into the city, her job was to provide support to the fallen and ward off the cannon strikes.
"Go do something productive."
Alexander chided and before the fox could process his audacity,
SWOOSH
The whole bow was set ablaze.
Nocking an arrow and using all the strength he could muster, he pulled back the string.
"Poooh."
He released it with an audible exhale and effort.
A streak of blazing fire zoomed through the evening sky - a truly beautiful scene for any who chanced to see it.
And as the arrow reached the zenith, it quickly plummeted down.
Bloop
Until it dropped into the water, some distance away from the target.
…
…
"Just a minor setback."
Calmly spoke Alexander, already pulling another try.
"Pooh."
Once again, the arrow was loosed, accompanied by the sound of his body tension releasing.
.
.
.
"Captain, how long are we going to stay here? Nothing will come of this.
"Shut yer trap, even if we can't take the city, we will cause maximum possible damage."
All ten ships fired nonstop, the deafening gunpowder explosions were already testing the crew's limits.
"But we can't continue, Cap'n, the men can't hear nothin' no more."
Voices of dissent kept rising.
And as Ako Domeki, Captain of "Seiraimaru", was finally ready to relent and pull his forces back for another day.
Thwoomp
A distinct sound of an arrow getting stuck in wood spread throughout the ship, just as the cannons stopped firing.
Ignite
"DID YOU HEAR SOMETHING?"
"WHAT? SPEAK LOUDER!"
But the tone deaf crew members could barely pick up on anything.
"PUT OUT THAT FIRE FOOLS!"
Bellowed out the Captain as soon as he saw a part of his sails ignite in a raging inferno.
.
.
.
"Yes! A hit!"
Alexander was feeling extremely happy, that was a very long shot he made, on the second try to boot.
"Nothing much's going to change though."
Although silently impressed by the archery skill, as well as intrigued by the ability to imbue fire into his attacks, Saiguu decided to be a realist and cool her eager adopted son down a bit.
"That was just the start though."
As soon as he said it, the bow in Alexander's hand instantly changed from being surrounded by a hot inferno, into windy spirals.
If fire, contrary to expectation, was ineffective, he could try a few other elements.
The Guuji was staring wide eyed at the change in the nature of the attack, when he did the next big thing.
Crackle
The newly knocked arrow erupted in an electrifying crackle.
"Pooh."
Another ghost arrow was released, except such arrows could easily be traced by the naked eye due to their special elemental nature.
.
.
.
"ANOTHER ONE IS COMING!"
"GET READY TO PUT OUT ANOTHER FIRE!"
"GET THE NEW SAILS READY!"
A cacophony of loud shouts, yet an orderly manner of work, could be heard on the "Seiraimaru", its Captain was working along with the crew, repairing the damage, cursing the fact that his plan had gone awry.
'That doesn't look like fire?'
A crew member with good eyes finally noticed something wrong, but before he could get a word out,
BOOM
An explosion devastated the ship into two separate halves.
Screams and shouts instantly filled the area, but in the same instant
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM
Another chain of explosions from the gunpowder made sure there were no remains of the crew or the ship to be around.
…
And so, just as the abrupt explosions came, they ceased. A deathly silence blanketed the area, the revolting pirates turning pale at the sight of the bloody mess that now occupied the spot where the jewel of their fleet had been moments before.
.
.
.
"Pooh."
Another one.
"Pooh."
And another.
"Fwooh."
He was getting tired.
Deep sigh
Release
Deep exhale
And finally, when he couldn't physically continue, Alexander dropped on his bottom, covered in sweat.
His eyes were shutting from uncontrollable fatigue, but he forced them open.
[Quest completed, +3 perk points]
Distant explosions echoed, yet the screams of the damned never reached the duo gazing at the burning remains of the fleet.
Finally, feeling content with being awarded the promised points, the young man lost consciousness, while Saiguu caught his limp body.
With a chuckle, she shook her head in exasperation.
"What a troublesome child."
She couldn't help but speak aloud, her worldview was quite frankly shattered.
But that was great in and out of itself, these new things presented a chance to have fun learning new things after all.
Oh how she will grill the boy about all these treasure troves of knowledge, she could already feel the excitement coursing through her body.
'Pyro, Anemo and Electro, three different elemental types.'
She counted in her head and checked his clothes.
'And not a single Vision.'
What a mystery.
.
.
.
"Ugh"
Alexander opened his eyes with a grunt, but his eyes couldn't see a thing, pure darkness all around. Feeling around, he pulled the blanket off of him, letting the dim night light bless his sight, easing his worries about loss of vision.
Massaging his temples, trying to soothe the greatest headache he has ever had, the young man tried to search for a glass of water nearby.
He was positively parched to say the least.
'I am dying…'
He thought, to say the most…
And along with this new horrible state of body, memories of whatever transpired had started flooding into him.
'This is officially the worst day ever.'
He twisted and turned due to the pain, which brought even more discomfort because his body was so sore.
Finally, with some sanity returning, he decided to use basic healing magic upon himself, greatly lessening the burden his body felt.
But just as he was getting ready to comfortably lie down and heal himself for a while, a splitting headache returned.
"Ow, ow, ow"
The pain was so much, he actually made it audibly known.
So he stopped and just continued lying down and after a bit of time the unbearable pain passed, replaced by something that was manageable.
'Oh, I have no 'mana', I wasted it all when shooting at the ships…'
A thought surfaced, instantly answering all his questions, and he slapped his forehead.
So, finally settling down, Alexander now lay staring out the window, looking at the distant stars and praying for the pain to pass quickly.
Combat Branches
Light Armour: Level 18
Medium Armour: Level 0
Heavy Armour: Level 0
Sword: Level 0
Mace: Level 0
Axe: Level 0
Hammer: Level 5
Dagger: Level 47
Spear: Level 0
Shield: Level 0
Bow: Level 54
Crossbow: Level 0
Javelin: Level 0
Sneak Combat: Level 35
Mounted Combat: Level 0
Skill Branches
Cooking: Level 59
Comfort: Level 14
Speech: Level 68
Blacksmith: Level 0
Engineer: Level 0
Scientist: Level 10
Artist: Level 4
Alchemist: Level 3
Businessman: Level 17
Ruler: Level 29
Farmer: Level 0
Peasant: Level 61
Cleric: Level 34
Warrior: Level 50
Wonder Branches
Protagonist: Level 36
Magecraft - Destruction: Level 28
Magecraft - Conjuration: Level 0
Magecraft - Restoration: Level 26
Magecraft - Alteration: Level 0
Magecraft - Illusion: Level 0
Travel: Level 10
Soul: Level 0
Body: Level 37
Sensory: Level 32
[Available perk points: 6]
'Damn.'
No wonder they say practice makes perfect, but true growth shows on the battlefield. He straight up almost became an 'Adept' user of the bow, according to the system at least.
Finally all this pain had gained meaning, actually he didn't even mind it anymore and a certain desire for more grew within.
And soon as desire came, so did his decision.
[Are you sure you want to purchase this perk?] x3
'Yes, yes, yes and yes.'
[
Adept: Eagle Eye (2 Points): When you draw the bowstring, your focus becomes absolute. Time seems to slow, allowing you to account for wind, distance, and movement. You can thread the needle through a helmet's visor at a hundred paces or sever a hanging rope from a staggering distance.
Adept: Blooded (2 Points) - You have seen combat and it has hardened you. The shock and chaos of battle no longer impair your judgement. You gain a resistance to fear effects and can keep a clearer head when allies are falling around you. You can also treat basic battlefield wounds to stop bleeding and prevent infection.
Adept: Adaptive Regeneration (2 Points) - Your body learns from damage. Surviving an attack (fire, poison, etc.) grants you a degree of permanent resistance to it and drastically improves your healing rate from that damage type.
]
Time to leave cooking behind, he was ready to become an adventurer.
.
.
.
"You aren't leaving Inazuma."
Said Saiguu, her words final, while Alexander's dead gaze pierced her soul.
"Give me a proper reason."
He finally said, he wasn't unreasonable, besides the gratitude he felt towards this old fox was immeasurable.
"Too young, you can travel and adventure within our borders for half a life and not get bored, what do you need to go outside for?"
She countered.
"I can agree that there's much to see here, I don't mind staying for a while, but not for the rest of my life, even half of it, I wanna see the world, different cultures and nations."
Alexander spoke calmly.
"I can respect that, but you have to understand, just because you can shoot a few arrows and wield a couple of elements with basic understanding, doesn't mean you can become a successful adventurer."
Saiguu continued the conversation, matching his calm, but making her point clear.
"I am pretty sure I can look after myself now, besides I don't care how successful I become, adventuring is just a tool to earn money and to see the world."
It was hard to argue against that, but the Guuji still felt hesitant…
No, not hesitant, reluctant. She was reluctant to part.
"Either way, you are still too young and far too inexperienced."
"Fine, I'll stay here for a year, doing commissions on the different islands."
"Two. Two years and that's non-negotiable."
"...fine."
Saiguu patted his shoulder with a smile.
"Now then, how did you like the Shogun's gift for defending our homeland?"
She gestured to the new, masterfully crafted Hankyu, a half bow, standing at around 180 cm, slightly shorter than he was.
"It's nice, suitable for hunting and combat as well, not just a decoration for a noble family."
The blunt reply earned a chuckle from Saiguu.
She always wondered how it was that the young man before her, never showed reverence towards the Shogun, blunt with them as much as he was with her.
Not indifferent though, he still paid due respects and followed etiquette like she taught him. Truly a wonder of a child.
"How about we go bring the good news to Yae together?"
Saiguu gained a teasing smile.
"What good news?"
Alex was genuinely confused.
"That you will be leaving to adventure the lands of course!"
The fox spread her hands out in a grand gesture.
"Why though?"
He was still rather confused.
Within the half a year he had been staying in this world, he had gotten closer to both Saiguu and Yae, that's for sure, but the pink fox kept a considerable distance, besides spending time causing mischief with him.
With the Guuji however, he was much closer, but for some reason she just kept trying to close the distance between the both of her 'students', while staying hidden and observing their relationship.
In the end, it just made things awkward because neither Alexander nor Yae were fools and could clearly understand what the old hag was having fun with trying to do.
"Good question! A woman as old as her should have seen the lands by now as well, unfortunately she is quite lazy, so you will be my excuse to make her shake some bones and touch some grass!"
Saiguu finished her tirade, striking a victory pose, eager to be praised as a genius.
"What's this have to do with me though?"
Once again, Alex simply could not understand why she just had to rope him into her abstract schemes.
"Well, even if she isn't experienced in travelling, she is very familiar with geography, history and general knowledge of our great country. All these aspects you lack, yet now find yourself in need of."
The young man wanted to comment, but she cut him off by continuing.
"Besides, perhaps your growth can motivate her to better herself, please, this will be good for the both of you."
In the end Saiguu was very serious about the topic, making it impossible for him to refuse, even knowing that she was still managing to have fun by watching them interact over longer periods of time.
"Whatever, I plan to leave tomorrow morning, so go tell her yourself. If she wants to come, then she will be there. If she doesn't? I ain't waiting."
"Deal!"
Alex rolled his eyes.