Chương 122: Lance Practice

The next morning, I woke early. I didn't have any way of setting an alarm, but with how my Perception had increased, especially for my eyesight, I devised a new strategy. Since my bunk was right next to our room's window, I left the curtain open a crack, designed so that the rising sun would shine a slit right onto my face. It may not have been enough to wake me up back on Earth, but with the help of my Perception, I knew my eyes would pick up on it.

And with the sun rising earlier and earlier as the seasons went on, it gave me even more time to practice. As for my sleep schedule? Well… for the time being, I could sacrifice a little bit in order to work on my jousting. I was supposed to meet Lord Ceonwin at the stables. As I gathered Burr, Ceonwin asked, "Did you have time to practice with a lance in the Labyrinth?"

"Yes, sir, but I didn't get a new Skill yet."

"But you've gotten a better feel for it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then ride against me. See how it feels to strike a man with a real lance."

"Yes, sir. Are…you sure?"

"I'm certain." The squires and I led the horses to Ceonwin's private training course. Sure, we could've used the training grounds at the camp, but we'd have to wait our turns, and they weren't as useful as this was, anyway.

"First, you will strike me," Lord Ceonwin said.

"I want to see what you can do."

"Sir, is this the best use of our time?" Foal asked.

"Perhaps not," Ceonwin replied.

"Not immediately. But Levi can be a valuable asset if we get him trained properly. He can ride many practice jousts against me, and there is nothing more valuable than that." Lord Ceonwin gave me a nod, as if to say he had more in mind than just training and using me as target practice.

"I'll help however I can, sir."

"Back up to the end of the practice lane," Ceonwin instructed, "then charge me on Burr. Aim for my shield first." Willaf passed me a training lance, and I climbed up into Burr's saddle, then rode along the forest training course, watching out for roots and uneven ground that could possibly hurt Burr. When I had backed up far enough, I lowered my lance, pointed it, then charged. It was heavy and unwieldy, and keeping it steady was more difficult than I thought it would be.

Sure, I'd practiced a bit in the Labyrinth, but there was something about holding a massive lance that you just couldn't simulate. My lance gave his shield a grazing tap, and nothing else. Willaf and Foal both buried their faces in their hands and sighed, which made me grimace, but at the same time, I tightened my fists. I'd have to do better than that. Backing up along the training course, I prepared the lance again.

"We have hundreds of training lances in the castle," Lord Ceonwin said.

"Do not hesitate about breaking them." I nodded, then charged again. This time, I landed a more direct blow, but the lance didn't break. Lord Ceonwin swayed in his saddle, though.

"I see," he said.

"Very well. You saw me run the training course in the woods, yes?"

"Yes, sir."

"It is your turn. Strike the targets, get your lance through the hoops, and when you circle back around, you will practice taking a hit of your own—the same hits you took last week." I rubbed my shoulder, conscious of the bruises I'd earned, but like Lord Ceonwin said, it helped build up my Vitality. I had to keep pushing it.

"Yes, sir," I said.

"I'll keep practicing." By now, he'd probably guessed at least part of my plan. The problem was, I didn't have everything thought out perfectly myself. But the longer I waited, the harder it would be. Eventually, I'd have to take a leap myself and go for it. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ~ ~ ~ That evening, I retreated to the library and sorted through all the ancient rules and regulations regarding trial jousts—specifically, regarding late entries.

I stayed up later than I should have, relying on my Focus to hold the exhaustion at bay and read through the books, but it was worth it. The next morning, at breakfast, I brought my plan to my squadmates, just to check if it would work. Anchor nodded, then said, "It might. Someone could, in theory, up until the end of the second bracket, challenge a participating thegn to a duel and take his place in the tournament. It would have to be a one-on-one duel, and combat would be on foot, using basic weapons.

Great Warbrands and the like."

"You're missing an important component," Sage said.

"You're not a thegn yourself. You can't participate. You cannot joust."

"Cannot is a stretch," I said.

"I'll…I'll be practicing all week."

"Your skill as a jouster is not what I meant," Sage grumbled.

"Do you think you could joust with only two weeks' practice, brother?" Brawl asked.

"I would say Sage is correct on both accounts."

"Worse, you would need papers to prove your thegnage," Sage said.

"Which you don't have."

"I know you're good at picking up Skills," Anchor said.

"And you've pulled off miracles before, yes. But this seems, perhaps, a little too much."

"Need I remind you, too, that you are recognizable as a Dupe?" Sage asked.

"Even if you pretended to be some other thegn, you would eventually be required to remove your helmet. Then all would crumble." I hung my head. Maybe they were right. Maybe I was pushing it too far. I could wait a little bit longer, couldn't I? Maybe after a few more months, I could get someone to grant me thegnage and the land that came with it. But the orc attacks weren't stopping. Sapper trainee squads still left to support the front. Almost one squad departed every week.

Lord Ceonwin didn't send me and my squad away—we were probably too important here, especially now that I was a part-time squire—but I knew people were still going on missions. There was still plenty of fighting.

"I'll keep thinking about it," I said.

"If I come up with more ideas, I'll run them past you guys." Anchor shook his head.

"Don't get yourself in trouble, Levi. You need to patch some of the holes in your plan."

"Maybe," I said glumly, "this is a plan that I need to abandon." After all, I had promised everyone that I wouldn't rush head-first into a flawed plan or take unnecessary risks. Was this risk necessary? Or what could I do to fix it? ~ ~ ~ The next week leading up to the Labyrinth run passed impossibly quickly. I spent the mornings training with Lord Ceonwin. I still tried my hardest, but the glumness permeated my bones.

I hated the feeling of giving up on a plan, but if it was just unworkable, I'd promised my squad I'd listen to them. When the day of our next Labyrinth run rolled around, we went about it in the same way. We ventured down into the depths, faced the quarter guardian, and used it as best we could to gain Skills while practicing the rest of our squad formations—as usual, preparing to face off against the central floor guardian.

After the Labyrinth run, I raced up to my room and pulled out my reading slate, then assessed where I was at. My overall attributes read: Vitality: 30 Agility: 25(+4) Strength: 27 Perception: 13(+1) Focus: 42 Presence: 41 Still, I was lacking a reliable way to increase my Perception, and my Presence was lagging behind where it should have been. The total of my other attributes, discounting the enchanted armour boons, was well over a hundred points now, which meant my Presence should have been around fifty points.

But at the same time, once I did figure out my Presence situation, I'd be able to pull off the jump from Titanium to Silver relatively quickly.

As for my Skills, my new list was: Skills: Spearmanship (Apprentice), Quick-Witted Crossbow Use (Journeyman), Art: Directional Gravity Manipulation (Journeyman), The Weight of Things (Journeyman), General System Knowledge (Apprentice), Focus Manipulation (Apprentice), Memory Modification (Novice), Team Movement (Apprentice), External Squad Synergy (Apprentice), Balance (Apprentice), Enemy Redirection (Apprentice), Force Amplification (Apprentice), Jousting (Novice), Lancework (Novice), Impact Resistance (Novice).

A bunch of Skills had increased to Apprentice tier, and I'd gotten three more related to jousting—finally. But right now, I didn't have time to do any merging. I needed to get to the lists and help Lord Ceonwin, lunch be damned. As I stowed my reading slate, I put away my personal gear, fixed my clothes, then sprinted down to the lists. My body wanted to drag its feet.

Was there really any point in squiring for Lord Ceonwin if I was going to give up on the plan that required me learning more about jousting and gaining Skills related to it? But as I sprinted across the castle grounds, then raced out the castle gate and across the tournament camp outside, shouts rang out. Something was happening at the lists. Horses whinnied, people shouted, and someone blew a horn in warning. Black smoke rose from the far side of the lists, where the waiting thegns kept their horses.

I picked up my pace. There was a fire, and— The ground shook. A deep boom rolled across the tournament ground, tents shuddered, and I nearly lost my footing. I stumbled to a halt. Something had just exploded. And it came from the same direction as the fires. From the tournament stables, where Lord Ceonwin could've been preparing his horse. Eyes wide, I broke into a sprint, racing toward the stables.