Melisia looked confused as Kal stood up, “Kal, what happened is something wrong?” Yep, she was confused which confused Kal and then he realized he was crying for a moment there. Ah, gods.
Kal wiped his eyes, “No, no… good news actually well I think so.” Kal explained what had happened leaving nothing out, of course throughout it all Melisia scribbled hastily into her journal. Occasionally asking clarifying questions, but with each word Kal said her smile grew. Kal thought she looked like she had just won a kingdom from the almost manic look on her face.
“Incredible and you’re sure you didn’t see your core?”
Kal shrugged, still smiling, “I don’t think so, all I saw was the weird cloud stuff that I could manipulate.”
“Your progress was astounding even though you didn't see your core, and this Soul Forge skill, I did not believe it was possible to gain skills before ascension. Absolutely remarkable!” Melisia exclaimed. “Now tell me more of this construct you created. No, first we should discuss your notifications. I am concerned about this core damage”
“Yeah, I think that it’s the most likely reason that I haven’t been able to ascend.”
“I of course agree, though how a core could be damaged to the extent the system says yours is beggars the mind, very intriguing. May I see the description of your skill?” Kal nodded, waving his hand to show her his status.
Soul Forge [Corrupt]
You have gained a modicum of control with your soul space, your vision dark and core fractured. You walk fractured into the cosmos, to forge your own path. Corrupted this skill has little effect over your ability to manipulate your soul but grants +5 to Perception, Will, and Wisdom increasing by 1 each level. Tread the dark waters of your soul and forge your own path forward. Your potential Unknown.
Melisia frowned in thought, “Corrupt, I have never seen that as a rarity before. I will need to do some research into its meaning, but judging by those attribute increases it must be at least equivalent to a rare skill. ”
Kal nodded, “Yeah I saw the original rarity before it was rejected, It was rare but I didn’t see the description of that one.”
Melisia scribbled down the description and continued, “The description is quite interesting, it seems to heavily imply that you will be able to repair whatever damage that has been done to your core. Yet another mystery brought by you Kal.” she smiled and dismissed her journal in the usual fashion. “From now on we will continue your meditation practice. You are clearly a natural, and gain more benefits from it than could have been expected. Tomorrow night I will adjust my equipment and hopefully be able to assist you in using this new Soul Forge skill. Despite your incredible speed with meditation it still may be difficult to locate your core especially if it is as damaged as the notification leads us to believe.” Melisia stood up and made her way to the exit of the tent, poking her head out. “Leo, can you please show Kal to his tent.”
Kal exited the tent a little surprised at the sudden dismissal. But he assumed it was just another of Melisia's unique quarks. He was exhausted anyway, he wanted to continue practicing but remembered that had training with Leo in the morning so he followed the man a short distance away to another set of small tents. They were much less grand than Melisia’s but that was to be expected. Honestly, he was surprised he got one to himself. He didn’t need to wonder where Dalen was, he could hear the sounds of his friend's snores clearly through the fabric of the tent. Kal chuckled before thanking Leo and opening his tent. But before he climbed inside, he turned to the guard. “Sir, is it really necessary that you guard me at all times? We are in a camp surrounded by hundreds of guards.”
Leo smiled, “Though it is unlikely that my presence will be needed Kalum, there are many in the camp that would see your presence here as a bad omen. Specifically the followers of Dhinir. They do not look fondly on the weaker classes, and due to your condition you are likely worse off in the eyes of many of Conquest’s followers.”
“Aren’t you a follower of Dhinir?”
Leo chuckled, “Of course not, I pay my respects to Quotz and for my efforts I am fortunate enough to have received a blessing in turn.”
Realization struck Kal, “So that's how you two know each other. I thought you worked for the commander.”
“In many ways, I do, for now. But I stand in a similar position to Melisia though she has much more standing in the seventh tower than I. I am to follow the orders of the commander while Lady Tanaruhn follows him, but my priority is to ensure the safety of Lady Tanaruhn and assist her with her goals.”
Kal was a little stumped with the response. “Is she really that important? I knew she was strong but I’ve never heard of this seventh tower.”
Leo smirked while shaking his head, “I see, Dalen appears to be correct that in your focus on your own misery tend to neglect the history of people around you. I suggest speaking to Lady Tanaruhn about such things, she will of course enjoy speaking to you about her studies and position. It is something she is quite proud of.” Kal began to speak again but Leo raised a hand. “Enough questions.” he chuckled. “Rest up while you have the chance, your training begins one hour before dawn.” Kal finally conceded. Not because he wanted to sleep right away but because something told him that he would need every scrap of energy he could get in the morning. After all, how strong was the man who was the bodyguard of a level sixty-seven mage.
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Melisa staggered away from the tent door, and her anxiety finally allowed her to run loose. Was she doing the right thing? He has a birthright, Quotz. She returned to the book she had been reading when he awoke. A book of myth and legends, and the coming of he who kills.
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Kal slept well enough, he awoke a few times to the random snort from Dalen. Though it was still certainly better than the anxiety-filled sleep of the night before. He rifled through a bag of clothes that he found added to the small pile of his things and found a roughspun tunic and pants.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Tunic [Inferior]
A common tunic crafted by a seamstress of little skill.
Pants [Inferior]
A pair of common pants crafted by a seamstress of little skill.
Despite the terrible descriptions and rarities, they were at least as good as Kal’s old clothes. Judging by the rest of the clothes in the bag these were added purely so he could wear them in his training with Leo. Kal shrugged and threw them on and stepped out of the tent just in time to see Leo approaching with an arm full of training weapons.
“Ah excellent, I was hoping you would have the initiative to awaken on your own. Now come with me. I wish to see where we stand before deciding on a training method.” Straight to business, I guess. Kal followed the man to a clearing near the center of the camp. Leo arranged the practice weapons on the ground before turning to Kal. “Today will be simple, first we will have a short spar where I will watch your behavior then we may discuss it after the sparring is concluded. Secondly, we will go through some of the basic sword forms.” Leo bent and retrieved a practice sword, handing it to Kal. Kal took it and felt the weight of it in his hand. It was about twice the length of the shortsword he had used when fighting the rogue but it was about the same weight. He used Identify
Training Blade of Weight Manipulation [Uncommon]
A tool useful to all novice swordsmen, this training blade’s form and weight can be adjusted with an infusement of mana. Speed of transformation and maximum weight is limited by the pool of the one manipulating it.
“These weapons are quite useful in testing a warrior's preferred form and weight of their weapon. I suggest leaving it be for now as it is currently set to the most common configuration.”
Leo then selected another similar blade, his was perhaps three inches shorter but had a significantly wider blade. Kal saw that it resembled the sword on the man’s hip. Kal prepared himself, obviously, he knew he couldn’t even get close to harming Leo but he didn’t want to make a fool of himself either. The two of them squared off, their swords drawn. Leo still wearing his plate mail and Kal wearing his sack-like clothes, Leo’s eyes flashed green activating some kind of skill.
Kal charged swinging downwards towards Leo, who simply raised his sword and blocked it. Kal almost dropped his sword. It was like hitting steel, but Kal continued swinging at the imperial guard. Each strike was easily deflected or blocked by Leo, nothing really ever getting close. Occasionally Leo would throw in a counter that Kal normally failed to see coming let alone block but each hit barely hurt. Leaving welts but nothing to worry about. If Kal was honest, training like this was incredibly boring and he felt himself fall into aimlessly swinging his sword. After about twenty minutes Leo raised his hand to signal a break.
“Your form is… well, understandable. Your general strategy is also quite lackluster, but that is easy enough to fix.”
Kal was a little embarrassed but it was to be expected he hadn’t had any training before today.
Leo frowned, “But my sight notified me that you were not using your attributes to the fullest. Does this training bore you?”
Kal spluttered, “No, of course not. It’s just not…” Leo eyed him harshly. Well, he had done it now, pissed off another one of the stupidly high-level people in his life.
Leo’s frown deepened. “Well?”
“It’s just not the same. I can tell you aren’t going to injure me, so it just feels kind of hollow,” Kal cringed as he said it. Good one Kal, Apparently training with an Imperial Guard isn’t good enough for you. Kal looked back to Leo’s face expecting the frown again but instead found the man grinning.
Leo’s grin transformed into a smirk, “I see, hollow you say.”
A sudden pressure hit Kal making him stagger back.
“Let us try again then, prepare yourself. I will limit my power to close to my strength at level eleven but I will not restrict myself any further than that.” That pressure exhilarated Kal. With renewed interest, he raised his sword and smiled.
“Now, show me how you fought a level eleven rogue.”
Kal was expecting to be the one to engage first but he was mistaken, as before he could take his first step Leo was upon him, bringing his sword crashing down towards Kal’s head. Exhilaration and panic sped Kal’s reaction as he raised his sword to block but he was too slow to fully block the blow. The blades met but Kal’s was almost instantly thrown aside as his wrists numbed from the impact. Knowing his block wouldn’t be enough with the sheer momentum Leo had already displayed, Kal let himself fall backward, turning his head. The blade still grazed his head but he took most of the blow on the shoulder. Kal tumbled backward, his shoulder and back screaming from the strike. Kal trusted that Leo’s strength was lowered, but gods did it still hurt. Kal didn’t have time to stand as he felt Leo move again. He rolled the side narrowly avoiding another downward strike. Kal’s heart sped up as he got to his feet, dodging back a step and narrowly avoiding a horizontal swing from Leo. Leo was too fast for Kal to keep his distance so once again the man was swinging another downward strike toward. His instincts screaming Kal tried to sidestep the blow this time knowing he couldn’t block the blade head-on. Surprisingly he avoided the strike, he would have been happy but then Leo pivoted slamming his shoulder into Kal’s chest. Kal’s breath left him as again he flew backward several feet. Stupid Kal keep your sword up. Kal was forced again to immediately roll to the side to avoid a downward strike. This time as Kal rolled to his feet he swung vertically towards Leo’s face, of course, he blocked it but it still gave Kal a moment to catch his breath. His whole torso screamed, he knew he would be black and blue after this. But the sheer exhilaration of the fight pushed him on. His stamina and health were dropping fast but each time he was thrown aside he recovered and attempted to strike back.
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Leo smiled as Kalum climbed to his feet. Leo’s Mentor’s Sight skill displayed the stamina and health of the unascended.
Kalum Lesta | Null | Human
Health: 23/160
Stamina: 10/150
Leo had seen the man's stamina bottom out twice during their little bout, but yet he kept coming. Incredibly driven. Kal’s performance had improved dramatically now that the stakes were higher. Leo was pretty sure he had fractured the man’s shoulder and likely a couple of ribs at the beginning. It appeared to Leo that the smith’s report was correct, Kalum was a fighter through and through. The only thing holding him back was his training and failed ascension. Leo couldn’t help him with the latter, but the former? Definitely. He charged Kal again and met the man’s eyes as he swung down for what he assumed would be the last time for today. Kal smiled even as he failed to block the blow and was again smashed into the ground, another dark welt appearing across his chest. Unconscious. Leo chuckled. Yes, Kal would be a warrior. Leo was sure of it.
Kalum Lesta | Null | Human
Health: 3/160
Stamina: 0/150