D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Kat let out a long breath she didn’t know she was holding and nodded. ”Uncle you got Sekron?” said Kat, and without waiting for a response she headed over to Krekron and gently draped him over her shoulder making sure it was his bad arm on the outside.

”You know my legs were fine right?” asked Krekron with a grimace.

”Yeah, but did you want me to use a princess carry to stop your arm moving so much?” was Kat’s response, and Krekron was mysteriously quite in response. Sadly, he didn’t fully get his wish. Kat needed to carry him that way to make it up to the top of the platform where Uncle was already back and waiting after picking up Sekron. Still, it was agreed they’d not talk about it.

When she made it to the top, Meron and Percy where healed, and free of their beardy confines. Meron had a rather sheepish look on his face, and Percy seemed rather annoyed. *Must be that pride thing.* ”How are you Meron? I would have gotten you healed earlier if I realised” said Kat

”Oh, don’t worry about it Kat. I heard I actually got the best hit on you anyway” said Meron with a chuckle and a wry smile shockingly similar to Uncle’s considering they weren’t related.

”Yeah, Meron was actually really impressive” said Kamiko ”I wonder if it’s because your danger senses are too finely tuned. My guess is that because Meron was knocked out you didn’t notice that he was coming for you because there was no intent behind the attacks”

”Is that a real thing?” asked Kat

Uncle shrugged ”Somewhat. Everything has an aura. Demons have more direct access to it than many other species because it comes along with their flame. When you sense danger without actually seeing anything, most times that’s you sensing their aura readying for an attack, or if it’s a bit later, their aura bearing down on you trying to stop you from counter attacking.

”Now, personally, I don’t think that’s quite what happened in that fight, but it was well managed. Sekron especially, I give some large props to. You managed a great block that forced Kat to be more careful with her attacks and you also managed to get in a great strike against her exposed back. Sure it didn’t exactly do much but you didn’t have many other options.

”In the future, when something like that happens, in the real world, I suggest going for either a stab into the eye or ear. Now, I admit that might be a bit brutal for a spar even when your opponent has regeneration like Kat does, but it IS something I want you to keep in mind. Many species have strong bones, or just protections on their back.

”So, I wouldn’t recommend that being your first place to go for. Wizards actually, also come under this category. If they don’t block it with a spell, they can still cast magic without their legs and can be very deadly. Sure, it isn’t the worst place to attack, but against opponents, especially ones you know are stronger, go for more vulnerable areas”

*Huh… I never really thought of that. Then again I haven’t really fought many things that are stronger than me. Really just that worm and that bird from Thyme’s challenge and you weren’t really meant to fight them just avoid them. Wait… why is that?*

”Something just occurred to me Uncle” said Kat, ”why is it that I don’t really encounter many things that would be classified as ’stronger’ than me?”

”I imagine it’s because that sort of thing doesn’t interest you. D.E.M.O.N.S takes things like that into account as well. Say there was somebody who desperately needed some powerful but mindless enemy defeated… like a drake for example.

”If the person doing the summoning doesn’t have anything worthwhile to trade, a Wrath demon might still get summoned anyway, because the FIGHT itself is part of the payment. You might wonder why that is, but the simplest way to explain it, is that if you enjoy fighting enough it becomes its own reward, and D.E.M.O.N.S takes that into account.”

*That’s a little weird… I wonder what sort of thing the system counts as a reward? Maybe nothing? Maybe the whole experience? It’s honestly pretty neat, and I enjoy it… mostly.* Kat shivered thinking of Xiang. *If I never see that idiot again I’ll be more than happy.* 

Seeing Kat accept the information, Uncle went back to talking about the fight, explaining some of the little details about everything that happened, then asked. ”What was the biggest mistake made in that round? I want an answer from everyone then I’ll comment on them” said Uncle.

”They were wimps!” said Rock. Looking over… she was still laying down, but now the stone nearby was being merged into her and she was looking a little better. Still kinda out of it though, and probably wasn’t thinking about what she was saying.

Still, everyone took that as the cue to answer. ”I neglected my sword a lot in the first half of the fight” said Sekron.

”I should have been watching my back properly while Meron was bouncing around” said Kat

”I should have stuck closer with Meron and Sekron. We were close, but we were trying to stay out of each other’s way and Kat was able to pick us off” said Krekron.

”Um, getting knocked out right at the start?” suggested Meron.

”Sorry Kat, but it was probably that strike from Meron to the back that you took. It was pretty deadly and was nearly a turning point in the whole fight. It was probably more reasonable than the others, but it was a key moment and a huge, if understandable, mistake” said Seralina.

Percy clicked his tongue and said, ”Not following up. Basically everyone”

Kamiko smiled and said, ”I actually think Sekron and Krekron messed up riiight at the start when they let Kat get to Meron. He’s not really a front-line fighter, and by the sounds of things, if he wasn’t technically taken out right at that moment, then he was in a more practical sense. This took you down to a two on one.

”Even though Meron’s unconscious body did get a lucky hit in, that’s really all it was, luck. It was just as likely to have hit Sekron, or Krekron and so I think that was the biggest mistake, letting him get stuck in the ball, or taken out, or however you want to call it was the biggest mistake.”

Uncle took a long breath and looked over everyone. ”You all have some good ideas. Percy, you probably want to explain better in the future, but I suppose it’s true that everyone failed to follow up properly at least once. I wouldn’t call it the biggest mistake though.

”Sekron, really nice note about your sword but I’m actually going to say you did fine with that, and you’re being a bit harsh on yourself. Rock… well, as poorly worded as it was, she’s kind of right. Kat was the main instigator of all the confrontations. Even though she’s faster than you all, that’s no reason not to try and take the initiative, especially with three of you.

”Still, Rock doesn’t have it either. Seralina and Kat… neither do you, but it was a very good point. Certainly, it was the second largest mistake, even if it was very understandable as Serlina said. For you Kat, it probably was your largest mistake, and because you were the only one on your team, that team’s largest mistake… but not the big mistake of the match.

”That honour goes to everyone else, who, are in some way all saying the right thing. Meron, getting taken out was a big mistake, but Kamiko was right in that the blame also lies with Krekron and Sekron, and Krekron, you too are correct in that you all needed to stay closer, but you didn’t highlight the big mistake, but more of a general one you made the whole time

”Still, that was very good for so many of you to see it. The main reason this is the biggest mistake is that you needed to abuse having three people as much as possible. It was the only way you were going to have a chance to take down Kat, and that was with teamwork.

”Once it was down to two people, it was much easier for Kat to go after one and not the other, just by standing to one side out of reach of the other person. Now, you could have mitigated this advantage by using the tent walls somewhat as an extra layer of defence, like how Kat used it to brace herself for the second attack on Meron, but that’s a really a whole ’nother topic. That we aren’t really studying today. That’s more learning how to use your environment” said Uncle.

*Hmm, still not sure that really was the biggest mistake. I mean, sure it sounds good to tell them to stay together and all, but I was going to try and peal them apart somehow. This just let me do it a bit faster.. Really, I think the only way to avoid it would have been to brace themselves against the wall and fight me that way.*