Level Up!

by RisuUmbra

Chapter 41: Lucky's First Steps

Chapter 41: Lucky's First Steps

The following days had been kind to Lucky Harvest, after joining up with one of the more competent teams from Arcane Hope’s tribe. Southtown had grown rapidly with massive increase to the economy and had just as quickly integrated the new guild. The amount of quests available started small at first with a few packs of timberwolves here and there, the occasional search and rescue, a few map updating quests. While they all did give quite a few bits, none gave her the challenge that she was searching for. The largest threats so far had been the timber wolves and they were quickly defeated by the spear Arcane Hope had gifted her, though it still irks her to no end on how much she relies on the gift. Her skill with the spear was slow to grow but she can feel herself getting stronger, times where she didn’t need his gift to survive.

She hadn’t made a mistake in going along with the odd group that had invited her to a quest, the only reason she made this much progress this quickly was because they were there to watch her back. Personally, Lucky Harvest thought it was rude to have a favorite ally but she can’t help the fondness she has for River Creek, that mare is quite possibly the only reason Lucky hadn’t roasted that blathering fool Dark Root. The only thing going for him would be that he’s a half decent swordspony… at least when he’s not talking. His brother Hollow Root is… quiet obviously but in an upbeat way that makes one more comfortable to be loud for him (if that makes any sense). It was actually Hollow Root that helped her make up her mind about what her next step would be. Typically there would be five of us but Slipstream had taken to helping out the local farms with water every once in a while.

“You’re Leaving!?” River Creek’s almost heartbroken voice echoed out across the plains that all of us were resting in, though my expression didn’t change I still felt slightly guilty for springing this on River like this. She knew that if she didn’t wait until the last second then River would find a reason for her to stay… She’s clever like that. We had just finished mapping out the mountain foothills nearby and were taking a break before we made the final trek back to Southtown. I had a bad habit of cleaning Arcane’s gift whenever I was nervous so I was hyper aware of my hoof gripping my spear.

“Yes… I am certain that I am ready to prove myself to Arcane Hope’s party, I was not strong enough before and relied far too much on his gift. But that’s different now, thanks to all of your support now I can stand on my own four hooves. I hope that, even if I do not see you four again for quite some time, that I may still call you friends… “ A small hopeful smile grew on my face as I waited for their response, a sudden sorrowful sniffle pulled my attention. Dark Root had turned away from us all and was trying to play off his emotions as a scoff, I may not completely understand what he’s talking about most of the time but I am able to pick up that he’s just as bad at showing his emotions as I am.

“O-of course! It was o-obvious that a powerful D-dragoon such as yourself would want to further your skills, but you are a thousand years too early to think you have a chance of being more powerful than me!” After a halting start Dark Root finished off his version of an encouraging farewell with a dramatic mane flip. A deep part of me was still confused as to why I would miss his odd antics, but I disregarded that confusion and accepted his words with a nod. Hollow Root was looking at me with the same sad yet understanding smile, he’s a good stallion but it hurt to be around him for too long… he reminded me too much of my father… it's the eyes, so kind. River looked like she had a lot more to say, her eyes darting left and right searching for what to say until her eyes lit up with realization.

“Okay Lucky; We understand you want to go find Arcane Hope and we support you all the way, but at least let us throw you a farewell party!” River’s suddenly excited visage caught me off guard, I was ready for sadness not the direct opposite. I didn't see any issues with a party, the time we spent together should be celebrated after all.

“Very well, I see no harm in a party. Though I would like to say that I’m not the largest fan of cakes” My acceptance seemed to lift a weight off of their shoulders, so we decided to get back on the road after another hour of talking. We spoke about what routes I plan to take to reach Arcane Hope’s party, I know that he was heading to the Ruined Mountain and thankfully I was able to find out that his team took a detour to a trade town that's on the way, that means I should be able to catch up if I take a direct route to the mountain. If she’s lucky (and she is) then she should be able to catch them before they leave Mt. Canter.

There weren’t many threats on the way back to Southtown, there was a tense moment when we wandered too close to a few mound lurkers but thankfully no fight broke out. I don’t wish for senseless violence, the creatures that live in the wild usually have no reason to hurt travelers. The familiar weight of my spear strapped to my side brought me comfort in my decision, of course I was sad to say goodbye to my friends but I was also excited to progress on the goal I had set for myself! I was proud of my growth, however minuscule, my spear had changed quite a bit from the homemade version Arcane Originally made for me. Thankfully his gift wasn’t restricted to the whole spear and was housed in the coupling that connected the spearhead to the pole. I was thankfully able to buy a proper spear then have the coupling installed onto the end to transfer the gift. I quite liked my new spear, it was a proper polearm with a longer sweeping curved blade. At first it had a standard pike end to it like most spears, but it didn’t mesh well with my growing fighting style.

I will never admit that I actually used an idea from that nonsensical stallion Dark Root, but I cannot deny its effectiveness. It was during one of his longer soliloquies after a fight with a pack of timber wolves that I actually interrupted him and asked what exactly a ‘Dragoon’ was. There was of course quite a bit that I didn’t understand but the general idea was still conveyed, a spear user that focused on their jumping ability to impale their enemies and had control over a variety of other elements. There was no end to my annoyance about how much his idea helped her fighting style, I still need to work on my jumping.

Rocky hills and rolling fields quickly gave way to dirt roads and tent cities, Southtown was currently going through another population boom and ponies were scrambling to accommodate them all. Apparently the trade town that Arcane Hope had traveled to was under the control of some kind of massive monster and they were liberated by his team. More and More ponies are beginning to realize the greatness of Arcane Hope and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of second hoof pride, soon I will be there next to him helping ponies in need. I felt my cheeks begin to warm at the thought of fighting by his side and shook myself and refocused.

There were nights where River Creek tried to convince me that Arcane Hope might not want me to join him but I quickly refuted her claims. Back during that bloody night Hope had given me a chance to fight instead of making her flee with the other. He took the time to create a magical weapon just for her, he had seen something in her. A fire that was still there even as she was reeling from the death of her father. He gave me a reason to keep going, we were connected now by blood and fire and magic. I feel it deep in my heart that my destiny was by his side, any argument River Creek had fell apart after were that.

I pulled myself out of my memories as we reached the temporary guildhall that was operating out of a tavern to turn in the updated map of the foothills. The old mare in charge of the information desk gave us a proud smile and happily gave us our pay, 50 bits. Split equally between all of us would be ten bits to each of us with the extra ten bits going towards the planned going away party. It was at this point that River grabbed both Dark and Hollow Root and said that they would meet back up with me in a few hours before running out, leaving me with a highly amused old mare.

I didn’t have much to do in the way of packing as I had been ready to leave at any time so I didn’t have an excuse to delay. I decided to go window shopping, with how quickly Southtown had been growing the kinds of wares stores were selling changed on the daily. I debated on whether or not to train with my spear to pass the time but decided against it, I didn’t want to begin my journey tired. I slipped back out the main entrance of Southtown and trotted over to the makeshift marketplace made of tents and carts. Traveling merchants always have the most interesting stock, it was here that I found my new spear. The day was already winding down so most of the more interesting merchants had already packed up and only the more casual ones were still open.

The sun quickly started its descent to the horizon and I took that as a sign to start heading back to the usual inn I stayed in with the others. I didn’t buy anything but it was nice to gaze at all the odd baubles that could have come from anywhere across the world, a small smile grew on my face as I realized that I could go visit those places. Our usual inn was much more upscale than the one we all met in, there wasn’t a tavern on the first floor but a true diner that was run by a very nice couple of pegasi. The couple claimed they had moved here from roaming mountain Suntop but I was doubtful. I didn’t even reach our shared rooms before a pop went off and a puff of confetti and glitter rained down into my mane… that’s going to be annoying to get out later.

“Surprise!” A cacophony of voices rang throughout the dining area where I saw all of my friends standing around a white frosted cake with the words ‘see you soon!’ written on it in blue frosting. Even Slipstream was here, they must have caught him up on my plans, the warm glow in my chest that was fondness began to grow. I tried to make my expression show how much I appreciated this but all I could muster was a slight grin. I approached the table where they were standing and was about to thank them for the party until I noticed something that rendered me speechless. All of their bags were packed and ready to go, River seemed to pick up on me noticing and let her smile grow a bit more sly.

“Did you really think we would just let you leave just like that, no no no no no. It’s not gonna be that easy to get rid of us.” River punctuated her declaration by trotting around the table and parking herself next to me. Slipstream mirrored her on my other side and threw a hoof over my shoulder. “We may not be strong enough to join Arcane with you but we can definitely make sure you get there safely and who knows… maybe we’ll be ready by the time we get there” I-I didn’t know what to say, their support was something incredible. Everypony was caught off guard by my small sniffles, I knew my face didn’t match the few tears running down my muzzle. Stone faced but with red eyes, but I didn’t care, I was happy I had more ponies who cared about me.

“T-thank you all, Arcane Hope will have no choice but to accept us!”

Author's Note:

A few more variables to help tip the scales in our favor

Comments

[Great Humanity]

Seeing this on the Featured tab made me think of the Level Up! movie and TV show of the same name, and now I feel old... wow, nostalgia.

[Alyarin9000]

Awww, that's sweet! It took me a bit to remember the exact characters (this fic has so many o.o but it's not a massive problem, my old favorite has that exact problem xD), but once I did... What a trip down memory lane

Just think of how far Arcane has come in 41 chapters / 110,000 words - from a newbie just BARELY surviving in the forest, to a celebrated hero. We've come a long way

[RisuUmbra]

11443698
Wow! You just sent me back years!

[RisuUmbra]

11443771
I actually have a list of all the mentioned characters just so I don’t forget any

[Alyarin9000]

11443775
So extensive that even the author has trouble!
Suggestion: Put that list in the [status screen]. After scrubbing spoilers at least

[RisuUmbra]

11443858
That’s a good idea, thanks

[Alyarin9000]

11443956
Thank YOU!