Chapter 44: Opportunity
The thing about quarterstaffs was they were two-handed weapons. Suffice to say, dual wielding one with a sickle was more than a little awkward. Detrimental even – as it got in Percy’s way more often than not, preventing him from landing sure blows with his deadlier tool.
Of course, he couldn’t help it either. He had considered simply not using it, but the Parting Gift couldn’t block incoming attacks, so the flimsy rod was essentially his only defence against the venomous stingers of the Starry Workers. Although he was currently working on changing that.
‘I’m not going to bother with a different weapon.’
The reason he’d even created it to begin with, was Micky’s influence still fresh on his mind after Huehue, coupled with his first core being unavailable for a long time. The staff had been his only means of attack back then, and it had served him well against the wood goblins.
However, his fighting style was still rough around the edges, pieced together out of whatever scraps he could recall from his friend’s demonstration. His lacking pair of limbs didn’t help much either. Not to mention his grade being much lower than Micky’s too, so the poor excuse of a weapon just wouldn’t cut it against the wasps. He reasoned it might be worth revisiting the Quarterstaff in the future, after his second core advanced to Orange, but for now he’d rather retire it.
‘This time, let’s go with something purely defensive.’
Strictly speaking, his requirements for the replacement were rather modest. He only needed something to block a blow or two, to give him a chance to counterattack. Something that wouldn’t get in the way as much. The thought of forming some kind of armour with his pure mana was appealing, though he understood he lacked the capacity to cover his whole body. Instead, he settled for something smaller.
‘Will this even hold?’ he frowned, looking at his right fist coated in a film of cyan.
The construct was poorly made. It was more akin to a cast than a glove right now as he couldn’t twitch a single finger in it, but he’d rather confirm it worked as protection before trying to improve its design. He lifted his eyes, gazing at the bug locked in an aerial confrontation with his familiar, before shrugging.