406 Parade of Dragons (1/2)
Chiba handed Beta a training dagger while she swiped a long blade in the air. ”What is your spell defense at now?”
”Level four, 3/50”
Chiba swore under her breath. ”Your ability to improve is uncanny. You should have ended the week at Level three by my estimation.”
Nix shrugged slightly. ”What can I say? You are a great instructor.”
Chiba's face reddened slightly, her lips curved in a wide smile. ”I didn't take that into consideration.”
Nix chuckled and moved into position. ”Ready.”
This time Nix only faced two Mages, but both Chiba and Beta stood within striking distance. As Chiba explained it, he would have to defend a melee attack from one of them and then defend the casting.
Talot has cast [Uncilliary].
Beta leaped in and attempted a basic slash at Nix's torso, he fended it off with one of the training blades just before the spell struck him in the face.
Nix cursed and quickly reset.
Vasi has cast [Uncilliary].
Chiba's blade thrust straight at Nix.
Nix has activated [Ghost Step].
Nix successfully avoided Chiba's attack, his own blade flicked the spell aside.
Talot has cast [Uncilliary].
Again Beta leaped, this time stabbing upward at his throat.
Nix blocked the attack with his right blade, instead of switching, the same blade stabbed into the gap and flicked the spell away. Unexpectedly it deflected toward Chiba, who was then forced to defend.
Vasi has cast [Uncilliary].
With Chiba out of position, Nix flicked the spell at Beta.
Talot has cast [Uncilliary].
Beta leaped straight backward, out of the path of the spell. Nix laughed at her expression and flicked Talot's spell toward Chiba.
[Spell Deflection: Unlocked] Level One 1/15]
New Spellsword Skill learned, Spell Deflection.
”STOP!” Chiba knocked the spell down, her eyes wide with shock. ”Apprentice?”
Nix did his best to appear innocent. ”Yes, Master?”
”Either you have impossible luck, or you are deflecting spells at us.”
Nix gave her a guilty look. ”Sorry Master, I won't do it again.”
Unexpectedly Chiba's beautiful face lit up with a smile. ”NIX! Spell Deflection is not a thing!”
”Huh?” Nix brought up his stats and showed her the new ability. ”It just popped up.”
”Show me. Everything you did, what your thought process was. Leave nothing out.”
The remainder of the day was spent trying to show Chiba the process he used in deflection. It took a few hours, but the Swordmaster was able to learn it. Afterward, the four of them walked back to the second-floor suite together. Chiba was humming happily to herself.
Nix was tempted to say something like, 'I am the Master now!', but instead he just nodded. ”Maybe she'll send us something nice.”
Chiba glanced sideways at him. ”Speaking of something nice, where did you get that booze from the other day?”
”You mean the one that put you facedown on the floor? An alchemist from the Titan Clan makes it.”
”Where were you? I wanted to have a toast with my apprentice.”
”I was with Deidra, she wanted to talk more about my elements.”
Chiba clapped her hands loudly. ”I knew it! She whisked you away. Where did you go last night?”
”Last night I took a group from Inferno to Khalam'Zur.” Nix kept his expression neutral.
The group sat in the suite's common area and talked for an hour. Finally Chiba decided it was time to get ready and excused herself to her room. Wind and Beta tried their best to convince Nix to attend the parade with them.
”Come on, Boss. The process passes the Greater Houses. We're actually walking into Talumbir to see the procession.”
Nix tried his best to look like he wasn't planning something nefarious. ”Talumbir? Isn't that Jargon Kane's City?”
Beta nodded. ”He's hard to deal with. Deidra doesn't get along with him at all.”
”Neither does Tai'Qui,” Nix stated while planning his own evening. ”You guys have fun! I'm really tired, going to eat and then get some rest.”
Wind gave him an apologetic look. ”Sorry boss, you must be exhausted. We didn't get home until late and you trained all day.”
Nix waved him off. ”No worries. Think I”ll grab a shower before dinner. Cya later.”
”Cya, boss.”
”Cya Nix.” Beta waited until Nix closed the door before frowning. ”Damn it. Know anyone else we can invite?”
****************
Nix took a shower and then made a quick meal from the trays that were placed in the common area. He spent a few minutes playing with Soup. ”Ya know soup... It's okay to f*ckaround on occasion.”
He put Soup on his shoulder and quickly found the stairs leading up to the roof. Rabi had told him that there was a small observatory platform where he could see the entire city. Nix found the place relatively easy and sat in one of the comfortable chairs. ”Want to know something interesting about dragons?”