Our journey began from the Broken Hilt as we made our way towards Greensheaves. Our party consisted of myself, Rodney, and Sir Wade now dressed in peasant clothes to blend in with the civilians. Our party was small so that we could move faster and more inconspicuously in case the Empire still had spies in the Duchy. Our goal was to make it to Martha's Rest, a small hamlet before nightfall after resting there, we would make our way to Auldhyl procure some chocobos and hopefully make it back to Rosalith on the third day.
As our party began our journey, I was faced with a dilemma. Specifically about whether or not to tell them about my newfound powers. I had absolute trust in both Rodney and Sir Wade but doing so might make them worry even more. Bearers and Dominants were the only humans who could cast magic without a crystal and since I was neither it would raise questions. Questions to which I had no definite answers.
As for my powers. It was the same exact powers the protagonists had in Final Fantasy 8 but jailbroken to be compatible with this world. I had a guardian force junction when I woke up. The guardian force of the Quezacotl to be exact. I can draw magic from creatures, draw points where magic coalesces, and as it turns out crystals mined from the Mothercrystals. I can then cast or stock them within me.
I mentally called upon the status screen and took a look at my current status.
Name: Alistair Rosfield
GF: Quezacotl
Hp: 102/102
Str: 5 ............
Vit: 4..............
Mag: 3(+1.12) Aero
Spr: 3 .............
Spd: 7..............
Luck: 10 ............
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The stats looked similar to that from the game but there were several jarring differences. Such as the absence of the Level, Exp, Hit rate, and Evasion rate stats. Makes sense I guess as this was the real world and not a videogame. Whether or not I can accurately hit or dodge an attack depends solely on my skills. And I guess a little bit of luck I guess.
The current stats I had are most likely just a generalization of the corresponding Attributes. For example, having 102 HP did not mean that I would necessarily die from being hit 102 times with an attack that caused 1 HP damage. Other factors come into play as well, such as where I am hit, how hard I am hit, and many others.
I would have liked to test it in earnest but it was difficult as I was rarely left alone since I had woken up. I would have asked Rodney or Sir Wade to spar with me but they had their hands full trying to amass our forces.
I had taken the time to Junction Aero to my Mag Slot as doing so raised it my 1.12. I could have Junctioned Fire and kept Aero to be used for attacks but for one thing, I got more Fire magic than Aero and even then, the bonus it gave to my Mag stat would be lower than what I'd get Aero. Not to mention the fact that fire worked better against the monsters near Eastpool than wind-type magic did.
I dismissed the screen and looked at Sir Wade and Lord Commander Murdoch once more pondering whether or not I should tell them about my newfound powers. I needed to fight to get myself and my GF stronger. Doubly so as I only had one whereas Squall the protagonist of ff8 had 2 at the beginning. Quezacotl is considered one of the weaker GFs in FF8 and I had no idea if I could obtain another guardian force anytime soon. If ever. There was still so much I didn't know about my powers and it seemed so much different from how it worked in the game. And if I was going to be fighting any monsters I'd rather not have to do it by myself. Drawing takes a few seconds and unlike the game, the monsters are not going to wait until their turn to attack me.
Seeing no other choice, I opened my mouth to tell them about my powers when suddenly, I heard Murdoch yell. "We have company" as he unsheathed his blade. Sir Wade mimicked him as he raised his axe. Both of them were guarding my flanks as they waited for our attackers to show themselves.
A small pack of goblins suddenly emerged from the bushes wielding crude weapons. Around a dozen of them. They charged at us only to be pushed back by Sir Wade before both he and Murdoch began their counterattack. Sir Wade was focused on crowd control, using strong, wide swings to keep the goblins from advancing while Murdoch attacked anyone trying to flank Sir Wade. Half of them were dead within minutes while the other half began keeping their distance. They were slowly retreating towards the foliage with Wade and Murdoch at their heels.
Suddenly two more goblins emerged wielding staves. The crystals on it glowed blue as the goblins harnessed the aether and readied their spells. Both Sir Wade and Murdoch thankfully noticed them and quickly retreated dodging their spells. The rest of the goblins renewed their assault with Wade and Murdoch now slightly on the back foot as they had no way to counter the spell casters.
One of the goblins suddenly managed to bypass both of them and began charging at me. Both Sir Wade and Rodney yelled at me in alarm as the goblin got closer and closer. Despite panicking at the sight of the creature charging towards me, I saw this as an opportunity. An opportunity to reveal my powers without some big speech or talk.
I raised my right arm and opened my hand at the advancing creature before tapping into the Fire Spells I had stocked. Flames appeared in my open palm before I released it straight at the goblin. The spell hit it straight in the Torso setting it ablaze and the force of the spell knocked it on its back. The goblin began howling in pain as it began rolling all over the ground.
I looked up at Wade and Murdoch who had shocked expressions on their faces. "Focus on the rest. I got this one" I yelled before firing another Fire spell at the downed goblin. I then unsheathed my blade before clutching it in reverse grip with both hands as I approached the goblin thrashing in pain. I raised the blade over my head taking in a huge breath before bringing it down on the goblin several times before I finally managed to stab it in the heart. The goblin gasped in pain as its hands outstretched towards my sword before falling limp as life left its body. I looked at the goblin and at my hands now stained with its blood and felt bile rising. This was the first time I had personally taken the life of anything. Even if it wasn't human I still felt sick to my stomach as I covered my mouth and gagged at the sight. I then looked at my companions just in time to see Wade and Murdoch cutting down the rest of the goblins before swiftly running to my side. They stared at the bleeding half-charred body of the goblin and then at me. We stood in silence for a while before Murdoch spoke.
"We'll talk about.... this when we get to Martha's Rest. We should leave before more goblins arrive," he said and Sir Wade nodded in agreement before digging into his pockets and handing me a napkin. I thanked him with a soft voice as I accepted the napkin and began cleaning the blood off me. Something tells me this was going to be a long journey.
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