Clank
In the background, two figures were fighting, a tall person in blue armor and a short boy with a red bandana. After the mission was complete, Ace decided to help Yuto with his training, and Ace had never had an opponent for training that he didn't need to kill. "Don't hold the sword hilt so tightly! You're not strangling a chicken!" Ace used his shovel to hit the side of Yuto's sword, causing it to be thrown to the side along with Yuto himself.
"Although you need to keep a firm grip so as not to be disarmed, if you use too much force, your opponent can easily use it against you." He expected the boy to get up. "Let's go again!" The fight was starting again. Ace used this opportunity to test new ways of attacking and defending himself against an opponent smaller than him, which could be useful in future fights.
Throwing his body forward with his hands in the same path, Ace used the handle of his shovel to hit Yuto's chest, throwing him back, advancing with a dash, approaching the boy quickly, pulling one of his legs, and throwing Yuto against a tree. "Aagh!" A scream of pain escaped Yuto along with the air in his lungs that abandoned him.
Falling to the ground, he began to recover, but in his eyes there was only one emotion. determination. After his near death in the goblins' nest because of his own arrogance, he refused to be an easy target again. "I'm not done yet!" Yuto used all the strength in his legs to run against Ace, attacking fiercely with his sword. Heavy attacks were given in the midst of the light ones, causing Ace to go on the defensive.
CLANK!
Ace would defend himself from the attacks using his shovel against Yuto's sword, deflecting it in other directions while using its handle for defense. Since the handle was made of a thick metal bar, it would not be easily broken or bent. "Prepare yourself!" Giving a warning to Yuto, he prepared to defend himself. Ace pressed his feet against the ground, slamming the flat side of the shovel against Yuto's body.
Yuto used his sword to avoid being hit, but even so, he was dragged backwards, leaving marks on the ground. Although this time, he did not fall. "Haha! You're getting better, see? This time your sword didn't go flying! Despite my warning, you're still improving." Placing his shovel on the ground, he began to laugh at the end of the fight, seeming genuine in his happiness from the kid's progress.
"Yay..." His low, weak words gave away all the fatigue he had accumulated from this training. They had been doing this for a few hours without stopping. The rest of the group was watching from afar, sitting near the campfire. Goblin Slayer had already left a while ago. "Hey Ace, after this, what do you think about making a permanent party? All together. Sounds good, doesn't it?" Karina, placing her hand on her chest, said with conviction. Ace seemed to be thinking about the idea.
Doing missions alone would allow him to keep the money for himself, but making a party would easily allow him to do missions that he couldn't do before. Plus, he started to like the group. "Sure, I don't see why not." He would go to Yuto and help him get up. Upon hearing Ace's words, he kept a happy smile. After all, they now had another member for the party. They would go back to the campfire and rest from that fight. "By the way, do you know a good place where I can get materials? Metal, copper, iron or if possible, even a magical material." The group thought for a moment before answering Ace. Rose was the first to remember some useful information.
"In the afternoon, the village has some stores that might interest you. At the end of the street market , there is a store that sells raw materials and even some magical ones, although the magical ones are expensive." Ace sighed in relief. Even if it was expensive, he could still get a lot of things in order and even speed up his plans.
"Great, thank you, Rose; you helped me a lot." Smiling at Rose, Ace gave a gentle look of gratitude, making Rose feel a little embarrassed, and a slight blush appeared on her face. "No need to thank me..." Kalina, seeing the scene, only opened a wicked smile on her face. She was going to use this as tease material against Rose. "Shall we go back to the village? I'm tired..." Onma, the shyest of the group, spoke, making everyone turn their attention to her and agree.
So they went back to the village and especially to the inn. Ace paid for a room and went there. Finally, alone, he detransformed. He was now wearing his casual clothes, a red vest with a white collar, a bodysuit underneath that covered his entire body except for his head, and long white pants. He put the Model SH (Shovel Knight) in his clothes and went down to meet the group. When they saw Ace's appearance, they choked on air. Of all the appearances they imagined for Ace, this one wasn't among them.
"Wow! Your hair is golden like Onma's!" Yuto broke the ice, saying enthusiastically, making Onma feel a little embarrassed for having been used as a comparison. "Heh, were you expecting a muscular giant? I can't deny it, the armor is quite deceiving." Amused by the group's light attitude, he joined them. "But it suits you, you look good in those clothes." Rose kept a stoic expression despite the blush on her face, saying what she felt.
"Thank you, Rose. I must say that you look as beautiful as your name, a true rose." He returned the compliment, making Rose become even more hidden by her hat, making Kalina smile and giggle. "I'll be going to the market. Are any of you interested in accompanying me?" Yuto went to say something, but Onma stopped him with a small tap of her staff. Rose got up from her chair. "Sure. Let's go so I can show you the stores you're looking for!" And so Ace and Rose left together, saying goodbye to the rest of the group for today.
Walking through the shopping streets, Ace would look at what interested him, mainly some magical objects and artifacts. But Rose warned him that many were fake so that Ace would not fall into a trap and buy something useless. "I'll take this here, as well as this magic water stone." The magic stone was often used as material for magical staffs, especially for wizards who used elemental water and ice spells as a focus.
The second object he bought was a simple crystal necklace. "I know the water stone is magical... but why the necklace?" Rose's question was answered by a simple gesture frAce,Ace who placed it around her neck. "It's a gift from me to you, a thank you for accompanying me and helping me with the shopping." The necklace was quite cheap, so it wouldn't be a problem besides, he was genuinely grateful for her help that made him avoid spending unnecessarily. Rose just smiled, looking at the necklace around her neck. "Thank you, I'll keep it with care." And so they left
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(A/Thishis chapter may be considered slow and without much purpose by some, but I wanted to try to delve deeper into the personalities of the secondary and main characters, and don't worry, the characters won't be forgotten just because they are from the Goblin Slayer universe.)