POV Main

Well, how to say it, Mario by freezing himself got freezing magic. Oh, and he took alias of Luigi. We had lot of fun. We teased him, that he was now ready to fight with dragon Bowser Koopa. He didn’t change his alias back. His friends, when he was in middle school, called him Luigi, so he was used to it. We also thought, that he was teased a lot, because of his steady performance during our teasing sessions.

So, Mario’s bio-stone was put into freezer to slow down its growth. Sometimes we put it into cold room, sometimes into deep freezer. Mario, sorry, Luigi, accompanied his bio-stone, if he could. He was able to sit for hours in cold room. I, myself, liked winter swimming, but it was different. Twenty to twenty five minutes in cold water, when your body system is under huge pressure, because of heat sucking properties of water, is different than long stay in cold air. You can’t fight cold water, or at least I couldn’t.

Luigi didn’t have much to do during those cold sessions. His stone was on second level, so he couldn’t even talk with it, without touching it. He kind of meditated. Nah, he did nothing. He usually got cold and then he tried suck all warmness inside himself. And it worked. At some point he got ability, to become living heat pump.

It worked through his skin. He showed us, by putting his hand into water. Water started to change into ice. We had to melt ice from his hand later. It worked on human body too. Long cold touch created injuries similar to those after burn. Best offensive use was, in my opinion, to choke somebody on the neck. But adding freezing factor of magic, victim would have no chances. Perhaps it would faint immediately. We couldn’t check it right away, because pigs have thick necks. We were on farm during presentation. All Unlimited Devas came except Lily.

It was important to meet, because we had later, in few days, on schedule meeting with Vivaldi.

Back to Luigi. He wanted other magic ability in exchange for teaching all Unlimited Devas his new magic. He would trade with Associated Devas individually. We asked him to avoid trading magic with Bear. Sith wasn’t interested in developing another magic, but he would stay to learn, how to do it. I thought, that he didn’t like perspective of spending few hours in cold room. He was able to spend quarter, to watch as, as we were getting colder. Huntress had sensory radar as magic, but that way she couldn’t boast before our supporters in future. She was glad, she could learn freezing.

Learning was quite easy, but time consuming. We were sitting in cold room and tried to get that feeling, where heat was stolen from cold and directed inside us. We were in t-shirts, to make it more efficient. I thought, that normal people couldn’t mimic us easily. We had world top body stats. Our perception was razor sharp. And we were convinced, that we could do it. And we did. After six long hours we felt it. It worked. When we checked our stats pages, we were surprised.

Name

Nameless

Daevo

Equilibrium indicator

Efficiency status

Compared worth

Muscle

120%

120%

21 (23)

Body integrity

110%

110%

20 (22)

Nervous system

100%

100%

17 (21)

Metabolism / Stamina

88%

97%

17 (20)

Will resonance

--- offence

25%

30%

18 (18)

Irresistible suggestion

20%

20%

14 (14)

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--- defense

22%

30%

18 (18)

Flow bending

26%

32%

Major

--- lightning

24%

30%

18 (18)

Minor

--- freezing

05%

07%

09 (11)

I seemed, that freezing was in another category of magic. It didn’t take any slot from major magic. Others confirmed that.

We were very tired, but also happy, that we could sit in warm room now. If we wanted develop fast this magic, we would need cold room, but we could also use it every day and improve it slowly.

We were on the farm warming ourself, as cold chill still linger upon us. Hot tea or coffee was helping a lot. Mirror and Asmo joined us. Sith, after knowing, that it didn’t take any of major slots was unhappy. It seemed, that he would try to learn it. Maybe with someone from Associated Devas, as doing it alone seemed to be very boring. Even if we didn’t talk a lot in cold room, it was easier knowing that others was doing the same.

That was at that moment, that Lynx told us, that after he got to thirty four percent in [Flow bending] in plasma ball, this major magic became part of him. He couldn’t unlearn it or change for unknown opposite magic. As every irreversible point, it took huge impression on me. Points of no return are important.

I believed all my life, that conscious decisions are better than random choices. It didn’t mean, that someone couldn’t be lucky and choose better at random. It was about preparing plans. If you had plan, what to do with your decision, you would most likely benefit, even if you chose suboptimal. If you had no plan, what to do with your luck, you would most likely be robed of it sooner or later. I stuck to lightning magic, because I was tank like character in fight. Mixture, which was solely mine according to my knowledge, for health strengthening, let me increase [Body integrity]. It wasn’t mixture with that purpose, but it was its side effect. Or maybe it was its main effect and I got it wrong, because I wanted something for healing injuries. The point was, that I could reasonably invest only in those magics, that was supportive to my role in battle. We didn’t have all information on possible magic effects, we could get, so I was very careful with my choices in this topic.

Lynx said more interesting things. First, it seemed for him, that use of freezing somehow helped following use of plasma ball. As if frost purified air for plasma. It didn’t work in other way obviously. Plasma in close proximity blocked freezing. We experimented with lightning and freezing then. Lightning also blocked freezing to some extent. Usage of freezing magic seemed to attract lightning also. Coal told me later in private, as his radar ability was secret for Associated Devas, that people using freezing were easier to spot.

Second bomb dropped by Lynx was, that his girlfriend was able to learn beginnings of plasma ball. It took her very long time and many burns, but she was able to produce small plasma flame, that she could throw with her mind. We congratulated him, them. We didn’t ask him, how much she knew, as we were friendly there. We got that kind of atmosphere that evening, as sometimes people got, when they achieve something good and feel, that they are on right track.

I started talking about appointed meeting with Vivaldi and our preparations, even as there were some Associated Devas with us. I just wanted to share more good stuff with those people.

I told them, that Vivaldi contacted Lily and Sith first, because he were in need of some healing mixture, which Unlimited Devas could possibly have. My anti-stone mixture wasn’t exactly healing mixture, but it could help with stone influence based problems. I got some conversations with Vivaldi, as he was interested. He just didn’t seem to have anything for exchange. In the end, he told me, that injuries inflicted by monstrous second muzzle of Diana wasn’t healing. In fact they were healing slowly, just physical activities were opening them easily again. He said, that if I could help with that, he would show me magic ability, we didn’t have. I wanted them to know, some knew already, that I had some healing potion. If I was going to trade it with neutral party, friends have right to know.

Then, we started to change plans as Asmo and Huntress wanted to go too. Coal then, would stay in capital in case there was some sneak attack on as during meeting. Yes, we considered, that meeting could be trap of some kind.

All present wanted sample of healing mixture, to check, if their bio-stones could produce it. It seemed, that they almost could do it. As if some little detail was missing. We speculated, that they would be able to do it on next level. That pointed us to speculation, that other low level mixtures possibly could be copied too, if there were any. Maybe even expensive medicines produced by humanity.

It was long evening, that ended in the middle of the night. I felt it, maybe we all felt it, that I was happy with this way of doing things, with cooperation with us.

POV Huntress

Our plans for developing supporters to higher circle was close in schedule. En was teasing me, that I didn’t have magic ability to show off. I got one freezing ability, so I was ready. I also wanted to go with team and confront Vivaldi. I wanted to check myself.

We had appointment in white forest near Halfcity (Pułtusk). It was about fifty to sixty kilometers from War-Saw. Vivaldi was waiting for us in hunters house in forest. As he said, his friend let him use it for few days. He wasn’t alone. Asmo recognized Kirk, one of cultists, with him. In our preparations for the meeting, worse case scenario was pointed to be, as if somehow Vivaldi joined forces with Diana.

We came there in one SUV. We went out carefully, worrying for ambush.

-= Hello. – Vivaldi came out of house to greet us. – You come more numerous, than I expected. Come, come inside.

En agreed to meet out of War-Saw under condition, that he would take others with him. Here we were.

We calm down inside building. It seemed, that Vivaldi didn’t try to ambush us or trap us there. He showed us his lacerations and went with En and Sith to other room, to start healing process. We stayed with Kirk in main room. There was lot of animal trophies on walls, which I saw waiting. Asmo tried to talk with Kirk, but conversation quickly died out. There was no bio-stones nearby. There was no hosts, or even normal people nearby.

After half an hour En, Sith and Vivaldi came back. Treatment of anti-stone liquid and healing potion was working. Vivaldi needed more of this treatment, but he was one to pay first.

He and Kirk prepared bags full of wheat. They showed us sonic boom technique on them. Vivaldi was using only his left hand, as it had no lacerations. He wasn’t good teacher. He told us, to stop fist immediately after blow connected, and imagine, that kinetic energy went through. Me, Asmo and Lynx started our training with blowing bags under eyes of Kirk. Vivaldi and others got back to treatment. It took hour and half to finish it. When they were ready, only Lynx was able to incorporate this technique. He said, that it was enough and that he can teach us later. I thought, that there was some king of silent communication with him and Sith and En. We left. There was no tea or cookies in that house. When we were going back to War-Saw, I saw some field flowers through window. I didn’t see them earlier, as I was too tense and focused on our purpose.

I felt, how danger awareness, constant search for threats, was tiring me out. I liked more organizing things with people. I was happy, I was able to do it and didn’t crack under pressure. Not only me, others started to loose themselves on way back.

-= I got this sonic boom technique. – Lynx said. – It took my third and last slot for major [Flow bending]. We can only have three abilities there, it seems.

-= Can you teach us? That Vivaldi didn’t help us much. – Asmo said. I agreed with him. I was silently watching roadside wondering, how many flowers I missed.

-= Yes. That technique, I tried it in my own way, is more like whip boom effect. You need to strike fast, then loose hand and part of arm, than pull it back, than it hits. It must be done in less than a second. It hurts elbow joint a little.

-= How do you know such things? – Sith asked.

-= I’m farmer now. I know how to use whip.

We laughed at that.

-= And I think, that to use that technique, you have to have [Muscle] stat around twenty two or some martial arts experience.

-= You know, what bothered me? – Asked En.

-= What?

-= He didn’t use his legs to kick with that technique. Legs are stronger.

-= Maybe. – Said Sith. – But legs are harder to control.

-= And I’m disappointed, that there was no cookies. – I said.

They laughed.

-= No, really. They should prepare cookies or other stuff even for themselves. – I pressed.

There was silence. Then En said.

-= We need to go back. Right now.

-= Why? We’re almost in War-Saw.

-= I think, that hunters house was used as trap. Turn back.

Sith turned back.

-= How, I didn’t feel anybody on radar? – I asked.

-= There are two malicious options in my opinion. One, they broke in to that house. Two, they murdered owner to get there. Either way, we left our fingerprints inside.

We went back. There was nobody there, but house was opened. Someone took some stuff from house and left. Then we found body in the cellar. We took body and burned wooden house.

Vivaldi wasn’t seen as neutral in ours eyes anymore.