Chapter 98: Bloodlines in Black Ink
The Captain’s father, the late General Brutus Rixator, was a bull of few words, but he was adept at studying opponents, and especially so learning more about the techniques of the few opponents that had ever bested him.
As such, he had passed down quite a hefty bit of information from the library of the fallen human kingdom about that shield to his son. The captain had since been polishing Aster’s skills with that information without him ever knowing it.
He knew a second shield could form from the start. He knew the boy’s emotions made it stronger all along. He knew of the many uses and attacks it had and even had some speculated uses that hadn’t been tested yet that he wanted to... But he also knew what he was teaching the boy now could be used to bring entire armies to their knees... Quite literally.
It would make the human a true threat to Alora if he ever turned on them. The bull had been carefully watching the human to decide how much to coax from him in time, but time was no longer a luxury, nor was caution.
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"It’s understandable to be nervous. It is your first real battle against fiends on this scale, after all."
Sir Corper was growing tired of watching the tiger pace back and forth, and felt he needed to say something. The cub needed to be conserving energy before battle, but that sentiment was often wasted on the young. Oust replied confidently.
"I am not nervous about that. They are living things that can be killed. I’m anxious to see how I actually stand up to such opponents. I didn’t have much chance to back at the Selection Grounds..."
Oust paused for a bit and glanced towards the ground before him as his brow furrowed. The bear gave him a moment to say it but gave a little coaxing when the cub faltered.
"... But?" Oust sighed, figuring he may as well tell the bear... He was making the effort to be a bit more open towards other beasts lately.
"Do you... Do you ever feel like no matter what, you won’t be strong enough when it matters the most? We can train endlessly, but when it’s time to call on that strength, it seems to never be enough... That likely isn’t a problem you have, though."
The tiger got a bit quieter towards the end. The bear surprised him by actually letting out a laugh.