Colt spent the night wandering around Eraldsfen while Ania slept. It was a quaint village that looked like it housed just over one hundred people. The houses, which looked more like huts to Colt, mainly were made from wood with thatch roofs. There were only three houses that had stone walls, one of which being the Eraldsen household.
If Colt had not heard Sarri and Ania talking about Ania's father being away on a raid, Colt would have believed that it was a quiet and peaceful place. Besides the houses, there was a blacksmith that also seemed to deal with tanning animal skins to make leather and what looked to be a general store.
Colt spent the rest of the night listening to the sounds of wild animals, it was oddly soothing, and he discovered that he probably would not mind living in a place like Eraldsfen. However, the sun soon rose, and the villagers began to light their hearths while preparing for the new day.
Ania panicked when she woke up and failed to see Colt's glowing figure in the bedroom. She even found herself wondering if it had all been some kind of dream. Those thoughts only lasted until she got dressed and moved into the living area where Colt was seated on a handcrafted wooden chair by the fire.
"Ania, you need to prepare yourself for this afternoon, so forget about your chores," Sarri said in a warm yet soft voice as Ania reached out to grab a bucket.
"What can I even do?" Ania sighed. It was not like she had any training in combat or even a weapon to use!
"It's not much, but you'll have to make do with the axe for chopping firewood and your father's weighted shield he uses for training." Sarri shook her head solemnly.
'Can I even lift that?' Ania had her doubts about the shield. It would be suicide to turn up to the Trial without one. However, was it not just as stupid to turn up with one you could not even use?
Colt raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he watched Ania move towards a thickly wooded round shield that rested against the wall by the door. He could see the doubt on her face as she looked at it. However, Colt was reasonably confident it should not be too much of a problem for her.
After all, he had blessed her when they first met, and the system had notified him that her stats had been increased as a result. Although he was curious about just how much of an improvement it actually provided. Ania carefully slid her hand and forearm into the leather steps used as a grip. She took a deep breath, then attempted to lift it!
The shield easily lifted off the floor, throwing Ania off balance. Her expression changed into a mask of confusion as she examined the shield on her arm. Its weight did not feel uncomfortable or excessively heavy at all! 'Was father just pretending he was tired every time he used this?'
Sarri dropped the cup she was holding in surprise as she watched Ania waving the shield around with ease! She knew just how heavy that thing was since her husband would usually just dump it wherever for her to put it away.
Ania noticed the complicated expression on her mother's face. She was about to say something when Colt interrupted her.
"Don't worry. You've received my blessing, so your physical prowess is not as low as it used to be." Colt chuckled while watching her. "You should use this time to get used to it before the duel."
Sarri's eyes darted from her daughter to the chair she had suddenly decided to look at for no reason. Ania's expression had changed from being confused to one of someone who had just been enlightened. As Ania explained that she was going to practice and left the house, Sarri's eyes turned to the chair.
"Is somebody there?" Sarri waited, but no answer came. 'I swear, if Ania makes it through this, I'll pray to that little shrine of hers!'
Colt watched Ania as she practised for hours with the axe she retrieved and the shield without breaking a sweat. Occasionally he would give her pointers based on his own experience with wielding similar items in other games. Those hours did not make her an expert, but it did increase her chances of surviving somewhat.
Eventually, the time arrived for her to face Erik. Ania felt somewhat nervous as she walked to a clearing at the edge of the village. There was already a crowd gathering, so it was not difficult to discover where the Trial would occur. A few of the villagers wished her luck with sympathetic expressions. It made her feel like they were thinking of it as a funeral rather than a fair fight.
"Come, girl! Let's make this quick!" Erik roared as the crowd closed in around them to form a circular area. "By the old laws, I call on Kjund to watch over me!"
"By the old laws, I call on Exile to watch over me!" Ania hesitantly shouted in response. Causing the villagers to frown at her declaration due to the name of an unfamiliar God.
Colt felt something strange within him. It was a kind of force that was trying to pull him towards the fight. 'Oh? This is interesting…' Colt was wandering how supposed mortals could compel a God to take notice of them with their declaration. He glanced around, half expecting this Kjund fellow to appear.
However, the sound of Erik's sword slamming on Ania's shield drew his eyes back to the fight. The villagers gasped in surprise when Ania managed to hold her ground against Erik's towering figure! Their weapons clashed on each other's shields while they aimed for a quick victory. Erik's experience proved to be vast as Ania failed to even nick him with her axe.
On the other hand, Erik began to inflict some damage on Ania as he began aiming to break her guard long enough to cut her whenever she became exposed. The crowd did not dare to say anything. The fight had turned out to be far more intense than they had expected!
Colt cursed when he saw that Ania was slowly losing. It was only a matter of time before she fell beneath Erik's blade. Colt grit his teeth and made the decision to activate Minor Miracle!
[Filtering potential Miracles to match the surroundings… Filtering complete… Please choose from the following options…]
[Judgement: You are currently witnessing a Trial by Combat. Choosing this option uses all available DP to claim victory for your Champion. Warning: If the opposing God casts Judgement at a higher cost than yourself, then your Champion will lose. Cost 2 DP]
'It doesn't seem like there's any other God here, so this should be fine!' Colt confirmed his choice to use Judgement just as Ania was swept off her feet!
"Say, goodbye girl!" Erik roared as he stepped forward and swung his sword downwards!
A gasp escaped from the crowd as Erik lost his footing due to the snow beneath his feet! Erik's eyes went wide as his arm struck the ground in a way that turned his sword towards his face! There was a loud squelching noise as the crowd witnessed Erik's own blade being driven through his eyeball and into his brain! Killing him on the spot!
The crowd turned in disbelief to stare at Ania, who did not seem to believe that she was still alive just as much as them!