Bog Standard Isekai

Book 4. Chapter 40

"Brin, no. Just wait," Cid said in dismay. He held his hand up, as if preventing Brin from charging at Caradawg. "I can get you out of this another way. Stand down, please."

"And why should I agree to abide by the results of a Crucible? We're of different Orders," Caradawg said.

Cid snapped and pointed at Caradawg. "Yes! That's exactly correct, sir Caradawg. You have no standing to detain a member of my Lance. Should you have some complaint against the Order of the Long Sleep, you can take it to our commander, sir Galan. Properly, instead of this... this infamy!"

Caradawg narrowed his eyes. "What exactly are you accusing me of?"

Cid took in a sharp breath, perhaps remembering that publicly berating a man who could slaughter them all without breaking a sweat. "Ingratitude and impropriety. Haven't you already admitted to the same? Whoever heard of a [Grand Master] of an Order ambushing a junior Lance in an Order and seizing their youngest member?"

"And how does one so young weasel his way into a Lance of such a prestigious Order, save by deception and manipulation?" asked Caradawg.

"By courage and merit," said Brin. "But let's add those insults to the matters that can be settled by the Crucible."

Caradawg began to twist his bulbous mustache, a very Perris-like gesture from an extremely un-Perris-like person.

"We don't need a Crucible! As Caradawg has already said, it wouldn't solve anything. None of us have any reason to fight you; we could all just surrender and then we'd be in the exact same place," said Cid.

"Your words are as dung, and I will enjoy watching you eat them," said Brin.

Several of the watching townsfolk gasped in shock. Brin had sort of forgotten that they had such a big audience, but that could only work to his advantage since Caradawg was the one being a jerk.

Caradawg twisted his face in disgust. "I've decided. My purpose in detaining you was to decide what manner of creature you are, and such things can be revealed under the light of the Crucible much more plainly than under the questions of my [Interrogators]. I will abide by the results of the Rite."

"Brin, we don't have to fight. When Galan hears of this--"

"I demand the Rite of the Crucible. I'm sorry," said Brin. If it was just him being arrested, then Brin probably would've gone along with it. But this was more than just him. Lumina had hinted that keeping Lothar's secret until the right moment was key to winning this war, and he wasn't going to give it away now after he'd sacrificed so much to keep it.

Cid grimaced and shut his eyes in frustration. Brin didn't know if Cid was the type to go bald or start going gray first, but either way Brin knew he was expediting the process in his Prime.

Cid opened his eyes and raised his head. "Very well. Where's my Dectant?"

"Here, sir," said Govannon.

"Tell me you've been listening to the conversation so far. If you surrender--"

"I'll fight, sir."

"You mustn't command them to surrender! That's essential!" said Caradawg.

"I know that!" snapped Cid.

"And one more thing. Since the point of this exercise is to prove that this unseemly child isn't an [Illusionist], you won't mind if I use this." Caradawg held up a small sack, enchanted for holding, and drew out a silver potion. Its unmistakable glow was still visible in the daylight. An Eveladis.

Caradawg's face was triumphant, like he'd successfully lured Brin into a trap.

Brin shrugged. "Fine with me."

Caradawg scowled at Brin's lack of response and threw the potion to the ground, where its lid broke off the top. The penetrating light spilled out, growing out from a bubble and quickly filling the area. Everyone's eyes turned to Brin first to see if he would look any different, but of course he didn't have any illusions on him now.

The light covered everything in a silvery blue. It seemed to soften the surroundings while also making everything look more clear.

Brin tried using his illusions, and while he could still feel the Skills and push Mana through them, there was no trace of the light and sound he tried to create, not even the slightest whisper. He hadn't expected any different, but it was a weird feeling to be cut off from his illusions. ꭆＡΝ𝘖𝐁Ɛȿ

Cid looked between Govannon and Brin, looking like he wanted to keep arguing, but his face fell. He spoke the ceremonial words. "Take heart and fight bravely! Remember always that the eyes of Anshar are upon you. Let the light cast away darkness. Let truth prevail and let justice be done."

Alert! You have joined the Rite of the Crucible.

Prove your innocence by defeating all other members of your Lance.

Opponents remaining: 9/9

The Achievement: Knightly will grow or decline based on your conduct.

Brin held his spear in the fighting stance, watching Govannon approach. Brin was still hoping that the switch from [Page] to [Squire] would fix the worst parts of Govannon's personality, but it hadn't even been a full day yet and a Class's personality manipulation was usually subtler than that.

No, he hadn't let himself hope that Govannon would surrender the fight. His face was cold and determined; he might actually kill Brin if he won this. And why not? He'd done a lot to repair this Lance's problems when he'd removed their Pinho problem. Why wouldn't he believe he could fix their Brin problem the same way? He honestly didn't know if Govannon would go for the kill. He didn't mean to find out.

If things went as he expected, he’d have to fight Govannon and Hedrek. Hopefully the rest would surrender. Brin put his full attention on the fight.

Govannon kept his arming sword sheathed and approached with his war axe. Even though he complained about it, it was the better weapon against someone in armor.

Brin didn't wait for Govannon to approach. He stepped forward and stabbed. Govannon avoided it easily, moving with a liquid grace. [Page] hadn’t given any obvious combat Skills, but it had training Skills, and Govannon had used them to their full advantage.

He moved like a snake gliding through water, easily dodging and parrying Brin's blows. Brin stepped back and used the longer reach of the weapon to keep the distance between them. Govannon didn't rush in stupidly and seemed content to defend and wait for an opening. For a minute, there was a stalemate between them.

Brin pumped his spear and armor full of magic, to make them move more easily and strike with more power. Then he stepped further in, shortening his grip for quicker, stronger blows at a shorter distance, and this time their back and forth was quick and brutal.

Brin's Bog Standard spear had trouble against enchanted armor, but Govannon’s armor was ordinary steel and Brin’s spear parted it like it was made of styrofoam. Even so, he only made shallow cuts. Govannon flowed gracefully and quick as lightning, moving around the cuts fast enough to keep them from doing real damage.

He wrapped around Brin's spear and slammed the spike of his war axe straight into Brin's shoulder, popping though his armor and puncturing his muscle beneath. Then he pulled back, tearing the entire pauldron off Brin's shoulder.

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Brin jumped back to give himself space. Govannon was grinning, no doubt thinking he'd come out ahead just then. He pulled the pauldron off his axe and tossed it to the ground.

Brin fetched it with his magic and returned it to its place. Govannon scowled, and now Brin was grinning.

The stab from the spike on his shoulder was hardly an inch deep; it hurt but it wasn't going to ruin his movement. On the other hand, Govannon had taken two thin scratches.

From appearances, it looked like Govannon had come out ahead. He would be winning, except for one thing.

Battle Fury: 15%

Brin was already 15% stronger. If he could get that to a hundred percent, he'd have a much better chance of beating Hedrek.

He repeated the same strategy, getting in close. This time, he was a little more ready for Govannon's slippery movement and cut through his breastplate in three places, drawing wounds each time. He started to pull back again when Govannon surprised him with a wide swing from the war axe that hit Brin right in the thigh. He pushed it out with his free hand before Govannon could pull his armor off again, and then they both backed up. When he was out of range, Brin winced and jumped on the other foot. Sure, he needed the wounds, but that hurt!

Battle Fury: 35%

They clashed again, and this time Brin only got off one hit before Govannon used a tricky spin to avoid Brin's follow-up strike and swing his war axe straight at his head. Brin ducked to the side, but Govannon followed his movements and crashed the war axe into his helm, knocking it off.

The blow didn’t rattle Brin's brain too much, though [Battle Fury] registered two thin scrapes from broken glass as wounds.

Battle Fury: 50%

Brin expected to separate again, but Govannon dropped his war axe and pulled his sword. He drove it up towards Brin's exposed chin.

Enough of this. Brin backhanded the sword out of Govannon's hand and then kicked his legs. Govannon fell onto his stomach. He wasted no time rolling away, but Brin picked the right direction and jumped down to kneel on his chest. He lifted his hand and summoned a crude knife in an instant, really just a glass poker, and brought it down.

Govannon tried to squirm out of the way, but Brin held his shoulder down with his free hand. He brought his knife down quick, then stopped an inch away from Govannon's neck at the gap between his helm and the armor.

Govannon flinched and tried to twist his neck away, bucking against Brin's weight. It took him a minute to realize Brin wasn't stabbing him.

Finally, he stopped.

"Yield," said Brin.

"I surrender," said Govannon.

"Brin is victorious!" Cid shouted, sounding relieved. "Who is my ninth?"

You have defeated: Govannon

Opponents remaining: 8/9

Brin stood and offered a hand to Govannon, who, looking extremely shocked, took it and stood.

Govannon suddenly grabbed his helm like it was on fire and yanked it off. Then he doubled over, hands on his knees, and heaved a couple times, but managed to prevent himself from puking. Everyone waited in silence for him to recover, and he seemed not to notice any of it. He breathed heavily, then straightened and rubbed his throat.

"You could've killed me."

Brin balled his fist to punch the idiot, but thought better of it and changed it to a slap on the shoulder at the last second. "Don't you get it, Gov? I don't want you dead. I want you here. I want you on this team."

Govannon gulped and then hurried to put his helmet back on. He walked back to the Lance who were waiting in a line and turned his head to the side, hiding his expression. Hopefully Brin had gotten through to him. It was hard to tell with that guy.

Next up was calm, placid Cowl. Surely if anyone would read the room and surrender it would be him.

"I'll fight," said Cowl.

Brin felt the hair on the back of his neck raise up. At first, Brin had seen Cowl as somewhat meek, maybe even a little bashful, because he didn't get angry or complain like the other men did. But now he realized that it wasn't just anger he never saw on Cowl's face. He also never saw worry or fear. Not even now.

"No!" shouted a woman, and Brin looked to see the newly beautiful Eneuaw Pairs separating herself from the onlooking villagers. "No, you've won, haven't you?"

Right, the people of the town probably didn't know the ins and outs of the Crucible. Why would they?

"Not yet," he said.

When she reached him she slowed down, reaching out but hesitating to touch one of the bleeding holes that Govannon had left in his armor. "You... you can't mean that you have to fight them all!"

Sancta Solia, the poor thing was even pretty when she cried. Brin had to force himself to remember not to think of her that way; she hadn't chosen that face.

"Of course," he said.

"They'll kill you," she said.

Brin kept his eyes forward. "I'm a knight. I can hardly let that sway my decision. But just between you and me," Brin risked a look down and winked, "I don't think they can."

"Girl! Get back here. Now!" said Omhar the [Cunning Man].

Eneuaw reached up one last time as if to touch his face, but let her hand drop. She turned and marched back to the villagers, back trembling.

"Do not interrupt their ritual again," said Omhar.

Eneuaw nodded wordlessly.

Brin turned his attention back to Cowl. "I didn't expect this, to be honest."

"I didn't ask for a Crucible. You did. But as long as you're doing it, I do have one thing to hold against you." Cowl removed his oversized backpack and dug around inside for a moment before pulling out a big glass ball. It was the kettlebell that Brin had made for him. On reflex, Brin used his glass magic to give it the artificial weight that he'd made Cowl train with.

"This will be my weapon."

Brin nodded.

Cid spoke the ceremonial words. The fight began.

Cowl made the first move, rearing back to throw the kettlebell. Through the glass magic in the kettlebell, Brin felt the weight of a Skill, and shot off [Inspect].

Return Object

Cowl can quickly return an object that belongs to someone else. He can imbue Mana to return the object with greater force and speed.

It was the perfect Skill for a [Porter] who's only job was to carry things for other people, and clearly Cowl had already thought through how to abuse it and turn it into a weapon.

Brin argued through the Wyrd, That's not mine. I gave it to Cowl.

The response was so swift and solid that it felt like he'd been struck in the head. You made me. I'm full of your magic. I'm yours.

He also felt Cowl's emotions in the Wyrd, taking the place of arguments. When Cowl had taken the [Porter] Class, he'd given up all hope of an interesting trade or a prestigious combat Class in favor of a Class that only let him carry things. He didn’t regret it; it was a way to bring himself and his family out of poverty. But all he could do as a [Porter] was carry things. And then Brin had given him something that was really hard to carry. It was an affront to his Class and his very being. His argument in the Wyrd was clear and strong. This is for you. TAKE IT!

Cowl threw so hard that the handle of the kettlebell shattered and the glass ball shot towards Brin like a cannonball. Brin didn't have time to dodge, so he adjusted his argument just as the ball hit him. You're mine, so don't hurt me.

For once, it worked. The ball shattered when it hit his armor, but he'd been expecting a cannonball so he rolled with the blow anyway. He fell backwards, somersaulting backwards fifteen feet across the earth before finally coming to a stop. Maybe he was hamming it up a bit, but Cowl deserved one good hit.

He groaned and took a minute before slowly rising to his feet. When he saw the satisfaction in Cowl's eyes, he knew he'd made the right decision.

"That was all I wanted to say," said Cowl. "I surrender."

Battle Fury: 55%

You have defeated: Cowl Candle

Opponents remaining: 7/9

Meredydd was up next. "There's nothing to be gained from a fight like this. I surrender."

Brin saluted in gratitude.

Opponents remaining: 6/9

Brych stepped forward. The short, stocky [Watchful Squire] was throwing sideways glances at Eneuaw while trying to pretend like he wasn't. She'd fallen to the ground at some point; possibly her knees had given out when Brin had taken a glass boulder to the chest. She was now lying at half-repose in a way that left her blouse hanging low on chest while also putting her profile to its best advantage. Seriously, was she doing that on purpose or not? She didn’t even notice Brych watching, her eyes were only on Brin.

"You can be really annoying sometimes, you know that, Brin?" asked Brych.

Brin tried a friendly smile but it was more of an awkward wince. "Listen, Brych, you’re being too hard on yourself. You're a great guy with a lot to offer!"

"Shut up!" said Brych. "I'll say this: I've never wanted you dead, but burn me if I haven't been hoping for a chance like this."

He drew his sword, the cool single-edged weapon. Brin would need to be careful here. That thing would cut through his armor as easily as his spear had cut through Govannon's.

Cid called the start of the fight, and the instant he was done Brych used [Dash]. He closed the distance in a blink, sword swinging, but Brin was ready.

He hadn't practiced against Zilly for all those months to be surprised by a [Rogue] Skill. He blocked, and Brych's eyes widened in surprise when he saw the wooden haft of Brin's spear hold firm against his enchanted sword. They didn't call it Bog Standard for no reason.

Brych [Dashed] back again to give himself room, then swung back in again. Brin stepped through the motions, predicting Brych where he'd be before he ever got there. He gave Brych a few small cuts for his trouble, and Brych never came close to touching him in return.

It wasn't that Brych was much weaker than Govannon. The problem was that he had the same moveset as Zilly, and he was weaker than her. He didn't even have [Overload], and without it there was no chance of making up the gap in their respective Strengths.

The closest he got was when he landed a lucky [Kick] on Brin's shin. A surprising amount of glass shattered off the coating of Brin's armor as the Skill interrupted his magic, but he assigned a few directed threads to it, and they caught most of it before it even hit the ground and worked on putting it back.

After taking a few scrapes and making a dozen failed attempts, Brych saw the writing on the wall. There was no chance he was going to impress that girl; so he surrendered before he could embarrass himself further.

"You did well! Most people won't expect someone in heavy armor to be able to move like that. But you need a plan for when surprise doesn't work," said Brin.

"Oh, shut up," said Brych.

You have defeated: Brych

Opponents remaining: 5/9

Aeron stepped up, already holding his mace. "I'll fight."

Brin looked from Aeron to the others who were still to go. Aeron, Anwir, Rhun, and then Hedrek. He was beginning to lose hope that anyone else was going to surrender. Well, that was fine by him. He had plenty of gas in the tank. After all, what was the point of all those early mornings with Davi if not to fight through an entire Lance of knights, one at a time? He’d fight, and he’d win. It was time to show this Lance of uptight Prinnashians what a boy from the Bog could really do.