Tag Archives: Metcalf Luo

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #16

Metcalf accepted the challenge but first she needed to take a break.  The push drill was short, only thirty seconds, and it didn’t require her to move.  The extreme effort was there none the less.  She was sweating quite a bit.  Her armor wasn’t very good at letting heat out so she’ll be sweating for quite a bit longer.  She made a mental note to modify it later.

On her way to the water tank, students took notice of the push drill area.  It rarely used this time of year.  As such, the sudden air stagnation was new for most of the students there.  Even those used to the push drill would be surprised this time.  The air stopped enough that it was getting hard to breath.

On her way back from the water tank, there were students gathering around the pit to watch the next challenge.  Word spread pretty fast as always.  It was also hard to watch this drill from the bleachers.

The river stones were quite heavy.  Replacing one was a chore for motion skill classes.  It would usually take a team of students to remove an old one and bring out a new one.  This stone had seen a lot less abuse than most.  There was however that new crack down the center.

In years past, it was her trick to break a weakened stone into several pieces then push the pieces in different directions towards her opponent’s zone.  Dividing ones attention among separate targets was difficult especially for male students.

There was now a considerable audience at the motion drill pit.  She disliked showing off but Lance was much stronger than she expected.  She needed a better plan than last time.

Metcalf reached her platform.  To her surprise, all of Lance’s criteria were set already.  As always, if the stone reached the wall the match was over.  But this time, a greater proportion of points were given if the stone reached the wall earlier in the match.  She accepted the terms and their second round began.

At the bell, she pushed as hard as she could expect the same effort from Lance.  There was none, instead the stone moved quickly into Lance’s zone.  The screech was quite loud.  It seemed like Lance wasn’t doing anything this time.  She knew better than to check the other platform though.  She needed to be focused to win as many points as possible.  She may even hit his wall.

At three seconds into the match, the crowd was acting strangely.  They were all focused at Lance’s platform.  Then there was a thud.  Right after the thud the stone stopped cold.  In an unexpected turn, Lance had jumped down into the pit.  He endangered himself to push the stone by hand.  There was no rule against that but it never happened, ever.

To her surprise, the stone started moving quickly towards her zone.  She was using motion skills to push just even harder than before.  The stone refused to respond in the slightest way to her commands.  It kept pace with Lance’s walk as though the stone was on wheels.  With Lance pushing, the stone reached her wall in just under eight seconds.  Still, there was no stress on his face.

A defeat like this could only be devastating.  She calmly checked the platform pad for the amount of points she lost.  She was upset but strangely calm when she realized the truth.  She had lost all but a quarter of her points.  She was almost finished at Spear Mint Academy.

Right there and then, she decided to make the best of what time she had left.

#1 – Lost and Found #15 – Lost and Found #17

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #15

After what seems like a few minutes, Metcalf started getting slightly impatient.  From her screen she sees that Lance is steadily filling out the contest criteria on his platform.  It’s just taking a lot of time.  Watching them from across the thirty foot squared pit she sees that each selection is met with a great deal of discussion mostly among Lance’s companions.

Most of the time, Lance was staring at the computer as though it would fill itself out.  He would turn to ask a question from time to time.  His friends would respond.  Perhaps telling what they knew about the point trade system.  Lance only submitted information when his face showed some hint of confidence.  He was a guy that wanted to know exactly what he was getting into.

Every now and then Lance would point down into the pit at the river stone.  They were too far away for Metcalf to know what they were talking about.  However, his pointing into the pit never got a positive response from his friends.

For all she knew it was Lance’s first drill, ever.  It made sense that it would take him more time to understand what to enter into the system.  Though it was trying, Metcalf tried her best to be patient.

After about a decade, filling out the drill criteria was second nature for her she finished in a few seconds.  She remembered back when she first started gambling Academy Points.  Naoh and Koh filled out the criteria for her to “make things faster.”  The criteria they set didn’t always benefit her.  So, she understood Lance’s desire to know everything about everything.  This was taking a bit of a long time though.

After another few minutes, Lance was finally ready.  His face didn’t beam confidence she was used to seeing but his light was green.  That was good enough for Metcalf.  She had waited long enough, quite long enough to strategize.

After checking the competitors one last time, the drill guard sounds the bell.  It was time to put her strategy into play.  Gripping the railing tightly she stares at the stone from her platform.  The air in the Training Center slowly stills, replaced by the grinding screech of the river stone sliding on the pit’s cement floor.

Metcalf traded the motion in the air flow to move the stone.  Not to push it back or forth but to twist it so that more of the large imperfectly shaped stone would be in Lance’s territory.  Then it was time to counter Lance’s attempt to twist the stone back.

After just seven seconds, Metcalf started sweating and got a minor head ache.  Lance had to be struggling too; she knew better than check.  She had to keep her focus on the stone if she wanted to win.  The stone was steadily moving the way she wanted it to.  As in any contest, it was a struggle.

This push drill felt very different than the others.  She seemed to have more ambient motion to work with.  She was using all that she could.  The air was borderline stagnant.  Even with the extra resources, the stone was barely moving.

Her plan was worked; to a point.  The twist was too much for him to counter and now more of the stone was in his area.  She didn’t have to get the whole stone into his zone.  Just end the time with more of the stone on his side.  Granted, she gets more points if the stone is further in his territory.  She had no time to think of that now though.  She only needed to push harder.

With twenty of the thirty seconds gone, her head was beginning to pound.  Her focus was weakening.  Her temperature was rising; she’ll be sweating a while after this contest.  All the effort she was putting in and almost nothing was happening.  She started to wonder if she was doing anything at all; then the stone started to crack a little from the pressure.

At twenty-five seconds, the time for strategy was ending.  Fancy tactics at this point only caused trouble.  This was where champions thrive.  It was time to refocus her strength and push as hard as she could.  Again, the stone moved oh so slightly but it stayed Lance’s area.  Good enough for Metcalf.

At the final bell she had won.  The large stone almost moved three centimeters into Lance’s area.  Her prize was about three hundred of his Academy Points; plenty of points to end the day.  After the hardest thirty seconds of her life she needed a rest.

Resting by the platform she sees Lance talking to his friends from across the pit.  He wasn’t very upset; then again they were definitely disagreeing.  It doesn’t seem like they come to an agreement but Lance sends a message to Metcalf’s platform.

Metcalf answers the page and hears, “Could we go again?”

#1 – Lost and Found #14 – Lost and Found #16

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #14

As they walked out of the bleachers and through the training center, Metcalf couldn’t help but stare at Lance’s sword.  It was huge!  It was wide enough for her to hide behind!  And with the ease he was able to handle it; he could probably cut through a squirrel in a single swing!

She was so startled by its size she could only blurt out the obvious.  “That’s a huge sword,” she shouted, “How do you lift it!”

Immediately the student with knife and chain started giggling.  “Not now Will,” Lance’s other companion said.  Will tried to stop as best he could.  The joke escaped Metcalf.  It seemed to be an inside gag between the two of them.

Because of Lance’s armor, Metcalf couldn’t see any muscles but he looked fit enough.  His dark brown face was average at best, serious and observant.  There was no hint of strain.  Carrying the massive sword was easy for him though it could possibly be heavier than he was.

Lance was a large Crisho, almost six centimeters tall.  He dwarfed his companions easily.  At six and a half centimeters long, his sword dwarfed him.  He attracted a lot of attention by just walking with it.  Metcalf couldn’t help but think how much attention he got when he entered the training center.

He had not been here long enough to be experienced with the school.  He could possibly be experienced with combat.  There were rumors that he rescued a team of Protectors on one of their missions.  She didn’t know all of the details, but to save those trained intensely to save countries from warlords and militants took some skill.

He was obviously well practiced at manipulating motion.  How else could he lift such a large object so easily?  Metcalf was glad she didn’t challenge him to a three strike drill.  Even a simple slap with that thing would knock her out.

As he walked through the other students, he adjusted sword’s angle so that it was almost vertical.  He took care not to hit anyone accidentally.  As a result, the tip of his sword poked about a decimeter into the air becoming a beacon to anyone looking for him.  Obviously Metcalf wasn’t the only one amazed at his sword.  Conversations stopped as students turned to stare  as they walked.

“Its name is Aido, ” Lance said.  The starting conversation took Metcalf’s eyes away from his sword.  Only then did she realize that she was being spoken to.  Lance continued, “Some of my friends in Dust Wind made it for me.  They kept adding layers to it as I got stronger.”

“Isn’t it a little uncomfortable to walk around with,” Metcalf asked, “You could hurt someone with that thing.”  Metcalf had seen large weapons before but this one was extreme.  Heavy, sharp and impossible to sheath, he probably had to prepare for every doorway he walked through.

As soon as she finished talking, Will started giggling again, louder this time.  Again, it was followed with the other student saying, “Not now Will,” this time with more emphasis.

“A friend taught me a technique for moving things,” Lance said smiling, “There are a lot less people in Dust Wind too.  I’ll have to get used to crowds.”

Metcalf was having the worst luck with  targets today.  First she’s picked by a student from the top twenty percent, and now she picks a student that could possibly have crazy skills.  Thankfully, Lance was a new student and unfamiliar with the school drills.  She could pull out a surprise tactic that he would never think of and beat him that way.  Then she would be done for the day.

They reached the push drill area.  It was relatively empty but that was no surprise.  Academy points moved too fast for most students to be comfortable gambling here.  The drill guard was happy to see them.  This would be a well-used drill during the other times of the year, just not now.  With midterm coming up, he was just plain bored.

Just as Will described earlier, there was a smooth rock from the river placed perfectly in the center.  There were also two platforms on either side.  Metcalf walked to hers while Lance and his friends took the other stand.  Metcalf was ready to enter in all the information but it seemed that Lance was discussing things with his friends.

#1 – Lost and Found #13 – Lost and Found #15