My Battle Assistant is an Oni Volume 1
Chapter 1
*ring*
The sound of the bell hanging above a small shop's entrance announced the exit of the day's final customer.
"Please come again!" A man shouted as the customer walked on down the road.
This man would be known to his friends and family as Oz. Oz was the town's baker. He worked dutifully to ensure everyone's stomachs were full. Today was the last day of the week and as the sun was lowering in the horizon, Oz was busy cleaning up his little shop. He was the sole employee of the bake shop and enjoyed it that way. He felt it was a nice life to live. Nothing to worry about, none of the larger world's deadly monsters to cause him harm. Here he was protected. Here he was safe. As safe as any Lye could be that is.
As Oz swept up the shop, there was a familiar rhythmic knock at the door. As Oz pulled back the door's blinds, he saw the familiar face of his old pal Jaqson. Oz knew Jaqson since the two were in the town's compulsory fighting classes. While Oz was always the weaker fighter, he would always team up with Jaqson who would defend his friend from any combatant. Jaqson was a strong fighter and, in all honesty, could have become an adventurer. In fact, an adventurer is exactly what the job commission wanted him to become. It was still a curiosity to Oz why then Jaqson would chose to become a traveling merchant.
Oz opened the door for his friend and immediately yelled out "Ah, I haven't seen you in months!"
"Sorry it's been so long. I had a rush of good fortune up in eddenel and decided to stay for a while and enjoy the local amenities."
"You're usually not one to stay in one place."
"No, but when the people there started buying everything I had to sell, it was almost impossible for me to get away."
"It was that good?"
"Yes, indeed it was."
"What's it like up in Eddenel anyways?"
"Oh, it's more beautiful than any place I've been to so far. You know it's a town built around a giant hot spring, right? Well just imagine a town full of bath houses. It's simply delightful to soak it up in the hot water every day. And the people are some of the most laid back you've ever met. Everyone was kind and money didn't seem to be of any issue for them either. I tell you, that town has gotten more and more prosperous every time I visit it."
"That sounds lovely. I'm glad you found such good luck in your sales there."
"So was I."
Jaqson then eyed a box of various breads and pastries that had not been sold that day.
"Is that your trash for today?"
"Yes it is."
"You mind if I indulge myself a bit?"
"Usually I feed it to the dogs, but if you want it, you're free to have as much as you want."
"Delightful."
Jaqson made his way to the box and began to eat upon the various delights inside.
"So, tell me, Jaqson, outside of Eddenel, how is this part of the country?"
"Oh, well most towns are doing about as good as the last time I gave you updates, Kyden has been seeing an irregularly high amount of snow recently, but I'm told by the forecasters that it should settle down by next month. Olivon has hit a bit of a financial stump, but I'm sure it'll bounce back if you give it time. But, there has been one thing I've got to tell you. I do warn you though that it may be a bit scary."
"Go on, I doubt your little stories will scare me."
"Well, you know that we merchants don't just exchange goods, we exchange stories as well. Recently, I've been hearing stories of beast attacks in the southern parts of the country."
"Beast attacks? What are they attacking travelers? I mean it's not unheard of for a beast to wander upon a traveling path and cause a ruckus for travelers."
"No, they're attacking cities."
"Cities? I've never heard of such a thing."
"I know. Usually, the beasts just stick to their respective forests. You do hear from time to time about a beast getting lost and finding its way to a town, but usually the local adventures deal with it. But this is different. These are coordinated attacks."
"I thought that beasts weren't smart enough for coordination."
"That's what I thought too, but apparently we're wrong. Not only that, I've heard the attacks are spreading north. I had one traveler tell me of an attack in Ol' Maybrook."
"Shit. That's just a few miles from here."
"I know. That's why I've come to tell you. More than that, I've come to warn you."
"Warn me if what?"
"If the monster attacks come any farther north, they're gonna hit this city next. When that happens, what do you think will be next?"
"Drafts."
"Exactly. Now, I know that among all the magic users in the town, you're the weakest."
"I'm not the weakest. I mean, I can resist fire attacks."
"Yeah, like the weakest of the fire attacks."
"I still think there's someone weaker than me."
"If that's what you want to believe. Anyways, if they draft you into a fight against the monsters, you stand no chance."
"That's not necessarily-"
"It is true. It's one-hundred percent true."
Oz thought for a second, then came to the obvious conclusion that he was right.
"Alright, it's true. But, doesn't that decrease the likelihood of me being drafted in the first place?"
"You could argue that, yes, but still the risk is there. I've come here to plead, no, to beg you to come with me and escape from this town before that risk comes to pass."
"We could live a safer life somewhere up north."
"Wouldn't the monster attacks come up north, at least based on your stories?"
"Yes, but we can at least have some time before that becomes a reality."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not leaving."
"Didn't you hear what I said? Aren't you afraid?"
"I'm not. Number one, I don't necessarily believe in these stories told by travelers. Number two, I can't just leave town, I've built my life here, my way of making a living is here."
"I believe the stories, and genuinely I'm worried. I'm leaving this town for good."
"Well, that saddens me, but I hope one day you return."
Holding as many left overs as he could, Jaqson headed for the door before looking back to give one last comment.
"Hey, Oz, I hope you're right. I hope I'll be able to see you if things do calm down."
*ring*
Oz hates to even think about it, but Jaqson could be right. As hard as it would be to move to a new town it wouldn't compare to the hardships he'd be risking if he was right. But then again, it's always a risk for him. For those who have the blood of a Lye, every day and every place is a risk.
Today is Saturday. As he's done every Saturday since he first moved to this town as a young boy, Oz is on his way to the local apothecary; as is tradition. Tradition is everything for Oz. Above all things, Lye are known for their strict following of traditions. It is a Lye tradition that on every Saturday, the eldest in the family is to donate a fair amount of their blood to the local apothecary. This tradition can be traced back hundreds of years, to a single Lye family who had just immigrated to a new town. According to the tradition, the apothecary of this town was of poor talent and regularly produced weak potions and medicine. The eldest of the Lye family felt a certain admiration for the apothecary and not wanting to see them go out of business, donated some of their blood so that the apothecary could infuse it into their products and enhance their effects. Like most Lye traditions, it lives on to this very day.
Nowadays, these donations are made in secret. In most cases, the apothecary will never even know who is donating the blood. Secrecy is another thing Lye are known for. They know that this secrecy is what has kept them alive for so many centuries. While there is much misinformation about Lye, one truth that is universally known about us is their power. Their power that keeps them on the razor's edge of extinction.
Once Oz reached the apothecary's, he made sure no one would see him as he slipped behind the back of the building. Oz tore off the black satin cloth covering the bucket of blood he was holding and placed it carefully at the back door. As quickly as he did this, he was gone. He did not want to risk the apothecary seeing his face. So far, he's done a good job of hiding his existence as a Lye.
Lye like him must stay in the shadows of society, that is if they don't want to risk their powers being used and abused by the very people they call friends and neighbors.
As Oz made his way back to the bakery, he heard a soft whimper from the alley way he was walking past. As he looked down the alley, at first what he saw was a small lump of fur. As he got closer he realized it was a small dog. Upon closer examination, he realized the dog was injured.
"Oh, don't move, little guy."
Oz thought for a second what he could do, then instinctively ran back to the apothecary's. As he burst through the door, everyone in the shop turned to stare at him. Oz pause for a moment, then ran up to old man behind the desk
"I need a health potion, immediately!"
"Oh, I see." Said the old man as he turned around to face the shelf of elixirs behind him.
"Let's see. Health potion, health potion."
"I'm sorry, but can you hurry up?"
"One moment, young man."
Finally, the man's hand stopped on a bottle of blue liquid.
"Ah, here it is. Last one I have in stock." He said.
The old man placed the vial on the counter and stated the cost at "3 pieces."
"Here you go." Said Oz as he dropped three copper looking coins from his travel money on the counter and swiped the vial. As Oz ran out the old man said "Come back again… But less yelling next time."
With that, he ran back out and headed to the alley. As he ran up to the dog, he whipped out the vial and ripped off the cap. Oz then put the vial up to the dog's mouth and made it drink the liquid inside. Immediately, the dog started to look healthier.
K
"Ah, it's not enough!"
At first, Oz didn't know what to do. That was the only apothecary in the town, there wasn't anywhere he could get more without running to the next town over.
"Damnit, don't die on me."
Despite his command, the dog was still withering away. Finally, it clicked in his head. The potion wouldn't be enough, but if he could somehow make the potion stronger, it could save this poor animal's life.
'I can't do it.' He thought to himself. 'It someone as much as sees me use my power, I'm as good as dead. But, if I don't, this little guy will die.'
He stared at the dog, knowing full well it had no chance. That was when he made up his mind.
'Just this once.'
Oz reached out his open hand toward the half empty vial and a bright white light began to emit from it. This was it, the Lye's true power. The contents of the vial glowed the same bright white color and within seconds, the dog was breathing normally again. As Oz realized he had saved the animal, he sighed in relief before turning around to see a town guard staring at him. As Oz looked at the guard he realized the man knew exactly what he had just seen, he had seen a Lye use their power. He had been trained to recognize it, in fact most people would recognize the bright white light as belonging to one of his kind. He was cornered, he was alone, even the dog, now fully healed, had run off.
Recognizing that there was nothing he could do, Oz allowed the guard to arrest him then and there.
Looking back on all this now, I realize that was how it all started, that was how Oz became the Infinite Lye.