- 2 days later -
The sun shone high, marking the path of Grimm and Erin in the distance. The climate change between the Hyalgan territories and the vast plains of the kingdom of Iiion was so exaggerated that the giantess had had to change into her summer attire... and yet the heat was almost unbearable.
According to Grimm's explanation, each territory of Paradiso followed a different climatology, marked by the Great God who gave its name to the territory. According to the book that Grimm had lent her, the Storytellers mention Hyalgan as a dark and cold god, far from the affairs of his servants, hence the cold and humid climate of the region.
Iiion, on the other hand, was always represented as a passionate and war-loving god, a god who always fought with his people and who gave them great harvests and vast territories to form empires... Erin assumed that the damn constant summer climate should come of Iiion's passionate personality.
"Come on, Erin! Today will be a very hot day! "Grimm shouted with joy when he noticed that the giantess had been left behind for several minutes.
"Teacher... please! Why not wait for the sun to go down a bit? Even if it's after noon, it'll be less hot!" Erin pleaded from her shelter under the highest tree in the vicinity, high enough that the giantess could rest without fear of hitting a branch.
"Our reward isnt our destiny, but the way! Do you want to get to the next village before the end of the week? Come on, apprentice! You're young, put that extra energy to work!"
Grimm shouted as he turned around again, starting to walk again. "Oh shit ..." Erin whispered as low as possible, straightening up and starting to run to catch up with Grimm.
3 days of travel had shared both, and Erin still didnt understand Grimm's goal. (It's not that the refusal to talk about the teacher helped)
In all the time together Grimm had only made Erin repeat the same spell again and again with the excuse that the door was still not where it should be... Each repetition only exhausted more and more the patience of the giantess. And as much as Erin wanted to fulfill her contract and act as an apprentice, everything had a limit.
The end of the forest could be seen in the distance, plains of golden grass covered with rivers stretched as far as the eye could see. "On the other side of the hill that you see in the background is our first stop, Erin" Grimm stopped by the trees, sitting under one of them. "Time to go with the next lesson, do you think?"
"Can we have breakfast before?" Erin asked as she looked at the apples that hung from one of the nearby trees. They were small for her, but there were more than enough to fill her stomach and carry some more in her backpack.
"Have breakfast, huh? But Erin, that's the reward of this lesson!" Grimm laughed as he took off his helmet. "Tell me, my dear: What conclusions do you draw from your first lesson?"
"You like igloos very much and you dont like my rounded doors" Erin knelt next to Grimm, trying to concentrate and not jump towards the apple tree. "Both are true... although my problem with your doors is not the shape you give them, but the order in which you create them"
"What's wrong with my order?!"
"Well... first you create the igloo and then you cut the door, instead of creating the igloo with the door already made"
"The same is true, the result is still that we can go inside!" Erin defended herself, using the logic that had been taught her throughout her life as a weapon.
"If you think that the order of the factors does not alter the result of the spell... Then this second lesson should be very easy for you! I want you to fill our two canteens in the river in this forest" Erin frowned, something Grimm found simply delicious. "Do you have any complaints?"
"That's not a lesson, it's a chore! Arent you supposed to pass on your knowledge? Then give me another written spell to learn it!"
Erin's complaint was simple and understandable."But, my apprentice ... dont you want me to pass on my knowledge? Well that I try to do! There is a very valuable lesson that you should draw from this lesson: A spell must be efficient and always aspire to its maximum power, not remain in a comfortable result.
If you want to have breakfast, fill your canteens! I will prepare a fire to purify the water and roast some apples while you return!"
Commanding her to walk with a hand gesture, Grimm leaned back at the base of the trunk, closing her eyes.
"...okay, 'teacher'... I'll do what you say," Erin muttered as she got up, storing both canteens in the inside pockets of her raincoat before starting to walk.
After 10 minutes walking without hearing the faintest sound of water, the giantess began to get impatient.
"What does Grimm think I am... some kind of maid!?" Grasping her hair, Erin stifled a scream with all her might. "I could leave right now... I carry my money on my back and there's only clothes in my backpack... it's not like anything is going to happen either..."
Quickly the idea vanished, Erin remembering that the contract signed between her and Takun, and later between Takun and Grimm, included an annex to avoid the breach of it. "If I get out..." Erin said to herself, stopping completely. "Grimm could go and get back the money he gave Takun... And I cant allow something like that! What would mom and dad say if they saw me breaking a job...
But I dont want to end up being some kind of servant... If only I knew who Grimm really is, I could ask Nana to investigate about him... but of course! To know something about him, I must first ask if I should ask!
What kind of relationship between teacher and apprentice includes such idiocy?! I've given him my last name! I expected the same treatment on your part, stupid Grimm!"
Leaving all her frustration to flow, Erin leaned against a tree. "Papa... mama... Grandpa... Grandma... please tell me- You know what?! Forget this! I'm here because of you, grandpa! I'll get out of this without help!... I'm talking to myself, right?" Erin looked around, sighing exhausted. If she had reached the point of speaking alone, it was that she was on the verge of madness.
Another 10 minutes walking after, Erin began to hear the sound of the water. Running at full speed, the giantess finally reached a clearing in the forest, where a river flowed towards the golden plains. "Finally! Gods, thanks!"
Erin shouted with joy, running-Until a vision stopped her. The vision of a boar as big as her, covered with black crystals and almost tribal paintings, drinking water in the river. "... I cant believe it" Taking a slow step back, Erin prepared to make her triumphant exit ... until a huge noise filled the clearing. One from inside the guts of Erin. The giantess looked up, crossing directly with that of the boar.
"This is definitely not my week..." she whispered.
The boar began to walk slowly towards the giantess, while Erin tried to do the same in the direction of the forest. "Another one of yours who tries to take over my forests? Is it that you never learn, humans?" A deep voice like a drum sounded directly inside the head of the giantess, causing Erin to look in all directions desperately.
"Who you are?! Show yourself! "Erin screamed as the boar stopped, growling.
"Show? I'm in front of you, stupid giantess!" The voice sounded even louder, forcing Erin to cover her ears as a reflex.
After a few seconds to understand the situation, Erin looked up, pointing to the boar with a finger. The beast nodded twice, more than enough. "How is this possible? How can you no longer talk... if not speak directly to my mind?"
"Is this the first time you see an animal powerful enough to talk?" The boar asked, starting to circle around Erin, the giantess completely stunned.
"No... no, of course. Nana can talk and all that... but not a boar! I thought it was needed..." The giantess shrugged, not knowing how to finish the sentence.
"Be a more elegant animal? Smartest? Do you break into my house and dare to insinuate that I'm not smart enough?!" The boar screamed both mentally and with his own voice, shaking the trees.
"NO NO! OF COURSE NOT! "Erin cried, tears falling as hard as the river behind them. "SORRY MY DARE, LORD..."
"Those from the nearby villages call me Snaky, the forest master. They think I'm some kind of reincarnation of an old warrior, that's why they adorn me while I sleep with these crystals and these paintings. They dont bother me too much, so I've decided to adopt that name to make them happy" The boar approached Erin, watching as the giantess cried inconsolably. "But come on, woman... dont cry like that..." Snaky began to feel bad, a feeling that lasted only until an odor rose in his nostrils.
"You ... what's your name, giantess?"
"E... Erin..." said the giantess standing up as she watched as the boar moved away, stopping completely to see how the boar turned to turn towards her again.
"You smell like honor, Erin... and something else, one that brings back many memories" Snaky laughed excitedly, losing himself in his memories. "So... what relationship do you have with Grimm?"
The giantess blinked dazedly, raising her arms discreetly and sniffing. Although it is true that she was 3 days late to her bathroom schedule, the smell was not too offensive... "I smell like Grimm... wait, you know Grimm?"
"Grimm and I... we have a story." Growling, Snaky started to move toward Erin, more and more menacing at every step. "And you, you're going to pay for it"
Like a thread too stretched, Erin straightened completely, beating Snaky by a head. "I'm going to pay? I havent done anything to you!"
"Are you going to fight back?" With a snarl, Snaky launched himself charging Erin, the impact so strong that the giantess ended up in the water. "AHEAD! FIGHT WITH ALL YOUR FORCES, YOU WILL FINISH LIKE THOSE-"
A dark arrow-shaped gust flew through the air, passing along the side of the boar. After a few seconds, Snaky bowed in pain, seeing how all his hair was burned where the arrow had passed.
"Dont come to me with nonsense, Snaky. If you want to fight" The giantess under the zipper of her trenchcoat, leaving it open completely. "Start praying to the god that pleases you the most, you will need it on your side, stupid boar with pretensions"Crashing her fists, the giantess closed her eyes, letting the boar ram furiously towards her.
"Charme des ténèbres: Flèche croyante!" Dozens of dark portals appeared around the giantess, beginning to shoot salvo after salvo of arrows.The boar began to retreat, growling as the gusts continued to hit him.
Hitting the ground with its legs, a stone wall was erected in front of the animal, protecting him from the arrows... but at the same time subtracting vision from Erin.
"DO YOU THINK YOU COULD FLEE?!" With an unusual agility for her size, Erin jumped on the stone wall, using it as a step to stand on top of the boar.
"Charme des flammes: Flamme amoureuse" A huge pink flame engulfed the boar, which screamed in pain as the giantess bounced on, falling to the ground behind him.
"BASTARD! AS YOU DARE!" Snaky roared with all his strength, so powerful that Erin fell to the ground on her knees, holding her head in sheer pain. Everything was blurry for her, not noticing how the boar charged until it was too late.
The giantess went flying, landing rolling on the ground. The boar issued an almost primary roar, one more of a beast than an intelligent animal. Stones began to form over it, accumulating in a rock that grew bigger and bigger.
Erin tried to get up, with the world still spinning from the previous scream. Pointing her hands, Erin tried to formulate another spell. "NEVER MORE!" Snaky shouted again with all his might, causing the giantess to lose concentration again. "ROLL UP AND DIE!" Snaky stood up on his hind legs, dropping to the ground as he threw the rock. Erin closed her eyes, covering her face with her hands in an attempt to minimize the damage.
"Time for the third lesson! Ask your teacher to help you improve your spells!" Appearing in front of the rock, Grimm pointed two fingers forward.
"Charme de la flamme: Fuoco sognatore!" A huge stream of yellow fire erupted from Grimm's fingers, hitting the rock and smashing it into a thousand pieces.
"Vontalba's style is certainly curious, using spells in other languages r03;r03;to keep yours as an empowering word... I'm surprised to see that you refuse that last part, Erin!"
"GRIMM!" Snaky continued to scream at full power, so angry that Erin swore to see smoke coming from his nose. "Dont get too blinded, Old Snaky ... I dont come to fight" And while he was saying it, Grimm walked to the trees, sitting under the shade of one. "Your fight is with my apprentice, right?"
"You... I DONT CARE ABOUT YOUR STUPID APPRENTICE, YOU ARE WHO STEALS MY-"
"EH, PIG!" Erin shouted, running towards the boar with her hands pointing at her in a triangle shape.
"CHARME DE LA FLAMME: FUOCO SOGNATORE!" The golden flame hit the boar directly, throwing him backward. "Do not get distracted, Snaky!"
The giantess kept running, digging her feet into the grass to brake right in front of the boar. "Because I'm not finished yet!" Pulling back her right fist, Erin closed her eyes smiling.
"Charme de flamme: promesse au ciel!" A punch covered in blue flames hit Snaky's stomach directly, which after a few milliseconds exploded in flames of the same color. Roaring and without being able to speak, the wild boar turned wildly to fall into the river, running down the river without stopping screaming.
"And there he goes again!" Grimm smiled as Erin returned to his side. "I dont know whether to aim this victory or give it to you, apprentice-"
"How do you know I'm from Vontalba?" Erin said completely serious, much more than Grimm expected the giantess to wear.
"Quite easy, really! Your style of formulating spells is identical to that of the battle wizards of Vontalba's army, first formulating the material in Arcrian and then the spell in your language, Astoni... although I have been slow to discover it, because for some reason you insist on maintaining the body of the spell also in Acin!"
"..." The giantess remained silent, Grimm could see how her mind was going at 1000 kilometers of thought per hour.
"Does it bother you that I know where you're coming from?"
"It's a secret, which I tried to keep at all costs. I have entrusted my last name so that you as a teacher know my full name... but the rest of personal information is personal for a good reason"
"The reason is that you are using magic weaker than your body is capable of giving. Listen to me, Erin, I dont know what motive made you leave home, but I can know by how you act two things:
A) You are not an orphan or abandoned, you have family waiting for you even if you do not want to return for any reason" Erin's eyes widened, while the giantess tightened her fists.
"And B) You are someone important because of how you want to store this information... and how you are using a false name"
"Technically it is not a false name!" Erin defended herself, denying with her eyes almost in tears.
"As I saw on your sign-up sheet for Iher's games, you erased your name twice before writing Erin-"
"Did you notice the erasure marks left by the rubber?!" The giantess said with a lump in her throat.
Grimm nodded, making his notepad appear. "In addition, your handwriting is elegant and compact, learned to write a lot and quickly without losing readability at any time. It isnt the type of letter that is taught in the school... rather it is the type of letter that a private tutor teaches, one that has studied in Phromecia.
I'll take that out of how you copied the leanings of the letters and the shapes of the capitals typical of the universities of Phromecia... all that while you added your own features to the rounded letters, relieving a kind and open girl, one who worry about the person who should read the text and try to make it as clear and beautiful as possible"
"Did you get... all that just by reading the profile I wrote to sign up for the games?" Erin was too perplexed even to be angry. "Who are you, teacher?"
"The person who is going to guide you and who you have to trust, silly" Making his notebook disappear, Grimm got up slowly. "You can keep your secrets if you wish... but if you want me to listen to you, to know you... that's my job. I intend to guide you and show you my way, Erin, to teach you my magic and my mistakes, so that you become a better person than me"
The giantess looked down, not understanding how Grimm could sound so sincere and innocent as he said something like that. All the air around him was mysterious and dark, not just because of his choice of wardrobe, but even there was something inside him that Erin could cling to.
"You're reading me like an open book, arent you?" The giantess was discouraged, her mind debating about her teacher.
"That's what you think? Erin... I prefer to see you as a blank canvas. "The giantess quickly looked up, confused. "I thought that with being honest about what I want to be like your teacher would be worth it, but I see that they taught you well not to trust the first change.
What I see before me is a young canvas, on which life has only given its first brushstrokes... Now is yours the opportunity to take the brush and start painting your life: You must be someone confident? Someone resentful? Someone open and sincere or someone reserved and a liar? I only see the brushstrokes that are already on you, but I cant know what kind of painting you plan to paint" Grimm's stomach roared hungrily, bringing a smile to both of them.
"The roasted apples should be almost ready, so let's go back" Grimm had already begun to move away when the giantess decided to trust her instincts, getting up and running towards her teacher.
"Tonight..." Grimm looked up, arching an eyebrow. "Tonight ... tonight you can know everything you want about me... in return I want you to answer 3 questions!"
"3 questions, huh? Okay, I think it's a good deal!" Grimm smiled as Erin's stomach also growled hungrily. "Let's go to lunch and let's get out before old Snaky comes back, that boar never knew when to give up!"
"Is that true... that you two know each other?"
"Snaky is the god Iiion's companion mascot, although he doesnt remember his master... it's been too long since Iiion left him here" Grimm stopped when he noticed that Erin had stopped moving, turning to see the giantess with the dislocated jaw. "Something wrong?"
"That boar is a divine animal?!" The giantess began to sweat, looking towards the river in the distance.
"Yes, something happens with it?" Quickly, Grimm contained a mocking laugh, sighing. "Erin, you will not be one of those who believe that gods are untouchable, right?" The giantess nodded nervously, still looking toward the river. "Oh, come on! A Paradiso and Inferno are known as the land of the thousand gods! Do you really believe that if a god were unbeatable we would have survived? There are few lesser weaker gods than a simple adventurer, and there are many older gods who have lost against heroes! Being a god doesnt make you powerful, being powerful makes you powerful! Remembering this will be our fourth lesson!"
After a few seconds, Erin nodded, walking back to Grimm. "And by the way, Erin... I chose to cross this forest to force you to face Snarky... and it will not be the last divine beast or God with whom you will face" The giantess stopped again, frozen with pure panic.
"To be my apprentice you must first optimize your spells, and in the process discover my mysteries... Dont stress for now, because both processes will come as a result of dominating my flagship spell! WorldDiver!"