Dylan opened his eyes to find fewer people around him than he’d expected. He glanced over at the training mannequins and was surprised to see two of their lanes unoccupied.
Convenient for me, he thought. His next plan had been to try using one of the mana gauntlets, and he needed something to act as a target. But where is everyone?
He didn’t think the facility would start to empty out until closer to nightfall.
As he stood and moved out from behind the wall he’d been leaning against, he discovered that the area around the mannequins wasn't the only place feeling a little deserted. Nearly half of the people in the training ground, both the guard members and the newly awakened, were gathered around the sparring ring.
Dylan began walking to the warehouse full of practice weapons and tried to observe what was going on as he passed by. A tall girl with a longsword was facing off against a wiry boy wielding twin daggers. The fight was much more vigorous than the matches Dylan had seen earlier in the day.
As he watched, the boy sprinted toward the girl only to disappear moments before reaching the range of her blade. Immediately, she swung the weapon behind her while turning around. A clash of steel was accompanied by the cracking sound that Dylan had begun to associate with a shattering shield.
The boy, having reappeared in the path of the sword, tumbled across the ring, swiftly maneuvering his body to regain his feet. As he spat out a mouthful of the white sand, he suppressed a grimace and glanced at his left arm. Dylan couldn’t quite tell from where he was, but it seemed like the boy’s wrist was slightly limp; the dagger was loose in his hand.
Fingers trembling as he tightened his grip, the boy first looked to his opponent, who hadn’t pursued after knocking him back, and then at a spot just inside the dampening enchantment.
There was another girl in the ring that Dylan hadn’t noticed when he’d started walking; his initial line of sight had been obscured by a cluster of people watching the combatants. But now, he could see clearly as she nodded in the boy’s direction and raised a hand wearing a complicated three ring finger chain. The metal emitted a soft glow, and then the air around the boy shimmered for a moment. It reminded Dylan of a shield, but he could clearly tell that it wasn’t the same kind he was most used to seeing.
When the distortion faded, the boy looked back to his opponent and said, “Continue.”
“Good.” The tall girl raised her sword, and the battle began again.
Dylan looked back to the other girl in the ring. As he approached the warehouse, he was finally at an angle that allowed him to make out her face.
It was Alyssa.
He hadn’t seen her since the fight against the welf in his basement. His father had told him that she’d made it back safely from the Tutorial, but it was still good to see her with his own eyes. It made things more real.
As Dylan watched the match continue, he noticed the calm but serious expression on Alyssa’s face. Unlike the somewhat carefree attitude she’d usually shown in their classes together, she now carried the same bearing Dylan had seen in her during the dungeon break.
He saw her raise her hand twice more as the fight progressed. The first time was when the wiry boy succeeded in getting past the girl’s guard for an open strike at her back; the second was when the girl brought the full force of her sword down on the boy’s shoulder. Each time, the air between the impact point and the weapon would take on the same transparent sheen Dylan recognized from most common shields, and each time, that newly born shield would shatter. The recipient of the attack would take the force of the blow, but they’d be saved from the more serious injuries that might have otherwise occurred.
And then the pair would keep fighting.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” It was Bennet’s voice. “Barrier Mage is one of the rarer classes I’ve seen come out here in Fairbasin, and she seems well suited for it.”
Dylan nodded and then turned to the man.
“What can I do for you?” the Warrior asked. “Here to take me up on my suggestion?” The man tilted his head toward where Alyssa was standing. “Like I said before, helping others can be good way for you to train yourself.”
“Not today,” Dylan said. “My class is a bit…complicated. I have too many different things I need to practice to focus too much time on just one of them.” He thought for a moment. “I can help with a little bit of sparring starting tomorrow, but I definitely won’t have time to do the target practice thing.”
Bennet sighed. “Well, it’s better than nothing. Do you know what time works best for you?”
Dylan shrugged.
“How about this,” the Warrior looked back to the ring, “you two alternate tomorrow afternoon. When she needs to meditate, you can have your lizardman fight, and when you need to rest, it’s her turn in the ring.”
Sounds feasible. “I’ll talk to Alyssa.”
Bennet nodded. “Now, I assume you didn’t come over here just to chat.”
“Right,” Dylan said, “I need to get a mana gauntlet. My dad wanted me to practice with one.”
“Come with me.” The man turned to open the warehouse door and walked inside. “I assume your old man told you that we’ve only got the clunky, outdated models here. If that works for you, pick out one that fits.”
Dylan followed Bennet’s finger to a shelf halfway toward the back of the small building. Walking over, he noticed the array of equipment around him. All manner of melee weapons to his right and ranged weapons to his left. Swords, spears, hammers, bows, crossbows, and many more that he didn’t pay attention to.
Further back, manatech and magical gear began to appear. He could see various Mage focus weapons on his right and older gun models on the shelf neighboring the one he was headed toward.
When he reached his destination, there were just over a dozen gauntlets spread before him. Dull metal and rough, faded leather. Dylan's eyes eventually settled on one of the three right-hand gauntlets that looked to be about his size.
He pulled it on and tried wiggling his fingers and bending his wrist. Movement was a little stiff, but it was serviceable.
A metal plate half-enclosed his hand and forearm, extending from his bottom knuckles to a few inches below his elbow. The functional part of the weapon. Two lines of runic script had been etched down either side of the grey surface, and a hollowed-out mana crystal was centered above the back of Dylan’s hand. Underneath it all was a long leather glove that held the rest of the contraption in place.
Old and clunky is right.
Mana gauntlets came in all varieties. He’d often seen more advanced models on both adventurers and members of the guard, and that wasn’t even touching on the expensive ones he’d seen on television before. Some had been designed to function more effectively as armor while others had managed to compress the manatech inside to such a degree that the gauntlet looked more like a simple cloth glove.
But Dylan reminded himself that what other people had access to didn’t matter right now. He just needed to practice with the thing and figure out if the weapon might be a good fit for him.
“Know how to use it?” Bennet asked as Dylan walked out of the warehouse.
Dylan shook his head.
“Just channel your mana here,” the Warrior pointed to the hollow mana crystal. “When you stop, it’ll fire. Simple as that. They can be charged in increments of one mana, capping out at ten. Power’s related to both the amount you channel and your magic power.”
“Any precautions?” Dylan asked.
“Not really.” Bennet paused. “At least not for someone at your level. These things are tier one equipment and are old enough to have trouble handling anything beyond that. When your magic power gets above eighty, it’s best not to give them a full charge, and after crossing into tier two, anything more than the minimum is practically asking them to explode in your face.”
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Dylan subconsciously held his right arm a few inches further from his body.
Bennet chuckled. “If you find yourself liking the weapon, it’s best to invest in a newer model when you have the chance. Those are generally more stable, and even if someone of a higher tier uses them, they can handle it. They won’t do any extra damage than what they’re designed for, but they won’t blow up either.”
Dylan nodded and began to move away. “Well, I’ve gotta practice.” He gently shook the gauntlet in the man’s direction.
A new fight had started in the ring while he was getting the weapon. It was two boys this time, one with a bow and one holding a staff. They stood on opposite sides of the white sand firing projectiles back and forth. Arrows crossed with streaks of mana, and off to the side, Alyssa monitored it all.
Dylan recognized one of the boys as the short Mage he’d seen doing target practice earlier. As he walked past, tiny bolts of mana erupted from the boy’s staff in a wild scattershot that swept across the ring. The archer was forced to release his arrow prematurely so that he could roll out of the way.
That explains all the small pits on the front of the mannequin.
Returning to the lane that he’d used before, Dylan kept the target at the fifty-yard mark. He knew the gauntlet wouldn’t have a problem with the range like the wisps had. In fact, the weapon could shoot farther than any of his cards could reach; the energy contained in its bolts dissipated slowly, and they would essentially keep travelling in a straight line until they hit something. It was rare for combat at Dylan’s level to be fought at a longer distance than the gauntlet could touch.
Whether the weapon could find its target, however, was another matter. Where Dylan could guide the projectiles his cards created, he could only count on his initial aim with the mana gauntlet. Working with the weapon would take practice.
Looking at the mannequin in front of him, Dylan held out his wrist, pointing the hollowed-out mana crystal at the target. Centering his breathing, he began to channel his mana.
The runes lining the gauntlet’s sides leaked a soft white light, and after half a second, the crystal glowed along with them. Feeling he’d lost about one mana and remembering Bennet’s words, Dylan stopped channeling.
The hollow crystal flashed, and a swift current of mana swept forward from the back of the gauntlet. Every rune it passed went dark, but the current only intensified. When it reached the crystal, a bolt of pure energy streaked out from the weapon and rushed toward the mannequin.
And missed.
The bolt passed over the target’s shoulder and continued until it crashed into the large wall at the back of the lane.
Shit.
Dylan calmed down and tried again. Another miss.
With his third shot, he took extra care to hold his arm steady and finally found the target.
After a few more minutes of practice, he began to slowly become comfortable with the weapon and decided to experiment with using different amounts of mana.
He quickly found that each point he channeled into the gauntlet took about half a second. He tried to channel faster, but it didn’t work. No matter how much mana he urged toward the device, it would only ever accept one every half second.
Doesn’t that make me like my archers if I want to fire a full powered shot? Charging for five seconds before I can do anything? Dylan wondered. Although I’m not quite as helpless as they are during the process. He could still play and control his cards. And he’d certainly have an easier time moving around than the phantoms; the mana gauntlet did nothing to limit that.
It took a bit of practice, but soon Dylan felt he had a good feel for how to use the new weapon and for what kind of damage it could do.
Charging only one mana was comparable to a single bolt from one of his wisps. Maybe a little stronger. Four felt like it should be equivalent to a Mana Bolt, but it wasn’t until nine that the weapon felt on par with a Mana Spike.
Dylan frowned. Mana Spike’s description says it does twice as much damage as Mana Bolt, but the gauntlet is taking more than twice as much mana to reach the same effect.
After testing a full powered shot at ten mana, he could be sure that the efficiency of the gauntlet was decreasing the more it was charged. The blast was more powerful than a Mana Spike, but not by much.
Is it because the weapon’s old, or is that how all mana gauntlets are?
When he’d had the chance to meditate, Dylan exchanged the gauntlet for another and got similar results. It seemed, at least with the models available to him, the efficiency peaked at three or four mana.
Well, it’s better than nothing. He thought for a moment. Maybe it could work as support with a low-cost ravager deck after I max out my Mana Surges.
Dylan shook his head and continued to train.
For the next couple of hours, he practiced with the gauntlet while using his deck, making sure the device didn’t slow down his ability to play his cards, and as his operation improved, he also began to make progress with his aim. It wasn’t difficult for him to hit the stationary mannequin anymore, but he still needed to work on not hitting his summoned creatures when he sent them to attack the target as well.
Given their size and the ease he had controlling them, Dylan didn’t have a problem avoiding the wisps, but when he switched to the ravager deck, he found the way the creature attacked would often put it in his line of fire. He could order the lizard to move around and strike from behind the mannequin, but he knew he wouldn’t always have that luxury in actual combat. He needed to learn how and when to take his shots with the ravager between him and their shared target.
Slowly, he got better, but he knew he still needed work.
That should be enough for today, he thought, noticing the sun’s position. It would only be another hour before it began to set.
He returned the gauntlet to the warehouse and then walked over to the sparring ring. Noticing the crowd had thinned out a bit, Dylan assumed that people had started to finish their training and head home.
Only two people were in the ring at the moment. Alyssa was sitting outside meditating. He’d told Bennet that he’d talk with her, but he didn’t want to interrupt her rest.
Instead, he sat down and pulled out his card catalog. He was thinking about how to handle sparring with Risha and what kind of deck he should use.
He knew her well enough to guess that she’d limit her strength to somewhere in the middle of tier one for the match. Strong enough to defeat him but not to the point of being completely overwhelming. It was supposed to be a guiding fight where she pushed his limits, not a beatdown.
But Dylan was wondering if he could convince her to forgo a more traditional match and instead help him test out the cross-tier effectiveness of a few of his cards.
He was curious about just how much his support and control cards could help or hinder someone so much stronger than he was. Would Immobilize affect her at all? Would Lunadera’s Bloom maintain its full ability to clear the mind and remove mental debuffs?
He wondered how well stacking three or four Phantom Rally cards would truly work. It wasn’t something he could test against his other peers, and without them being powered, he was worried about the damage he might cause to the mannequins. Someone like Risha would be able to help him gauge the tactic’s true strength without him needing to be overly worried about safety or excessive destruction.
Not to mention Assimilating Void. Because its activation cost required him to sacrifice a Blank Card, it would be too wasteful to test the card without pushing its limits.
There was a lot that he could gain from working with Risha, but for much of it to be truly worthwhile, he needed to set up specific scenarios and card combinations that simply weren’t possible in a normal guiding match.
Noticing movement from Alyssa, Dylan pulled himself from his thoughts and closed the card catalog.
He nodded a greeting and said, “It’s good to see you back.”
“You too.” She gave a restrained smile. “Do you want me to help with sparring?”
Dylan shook his head. “Actually, I’m also here to help.” He paused. “Well, not right now. Tomorrow. I’ve got the ability to summon monsters, and Bennet thought that it would be good to use them as opponents for everyone else.”
Alyssa nodded.
“He thought it might be a good idea if we coordinate our rest times so that whenever one of us needs a break, the other can be in the ring.”
“I can do that. How long can you act and how long do you need to rest?”
Dylan gave a brief explanation of what he could do, and after Alyssa did the same, he was impressed.
“So, the one you put on everyone is the Ablative Shield, which is essentially like giving them a temporary defense stat, and the one you use to block with is the Absorption Shield, which is like the ones I’m familiar with?”
“Right. And those are only the basics. My core skill is Barrier Manipulation, and that lets me change the properties of any of the shields and barriers that I can cast.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“It is, but it’s also a lot of hard work.” Alyssa sighed. “I can do simple things well enough. Add a bit of elemental resistance, block a bit of airflow, I got that. But learning to set up just the right shield for the situation in an instant, that’s certainly gonna be a project.”
“And I’m guessing that’s why you started helping in the sparring ring.”
“Yep.” She nodded. “I'm learning to read what’s needed and sharpening my reaction times. I’m also training my judgment skills. When and how much to help and when to conserve my strength.”
“Sounds useful,” Dylan said.
“It is. The only downside is that I haven’t had much of a chance to work on the new skill I got for clearing the dungeon.”
“Why not?”
Alyssa smiled, wider than Dylan had seen since before the break. “It’s offensive. Barrier Detonation. It does just what it sounds like, so I can’t use it while helping everyone else spar. It’d mess everything up.”
Dylan raised his eyebrows a bit. “Sounds powerful.”
“It has the potential to be.” She sighed again. “It’s hard to control though. It releases an amount of damage equal to what a barrier can prevent as an explosion, but the problem is that it releases it everywhere. The power of the explosion is evenly spread across its range. For now, it’s too unfocused to be much help.”
“For now?”
“Yeah,” Alyssa leaned back and looked up at the sky. “I should be able to control it. It’s not listed in the skill’s description, but I have this gut feeling that if I work at it, I can shape the blast. If I can do that…” she paused. “If I can compress the force and focus its direction…Things should get fun.”
“I can imagine,” Dylan said. “How’s it interact with Barrier Manipulation? Can the properties of the explosion change?”
Alyssa didn’t answer directly, but her smile said it all.
“You’re gonna be a force to reckoned with once you get the hang of it all.”
“Thanks, you too.” She stood. “Anyway, I need to get back to training. Finn’s been looking over here every few seconds for a while now. Probably wants my help sparring, and I’ve rested enough.”
Dylan turned to see a boy wearing a loose shirt and carrying a metal quarterstaff take a step forward when he noticed Alyssa moving.
Guess I should finish my rest as well.
As he stood, he looked around for Risha. Training with her was the last thing he was planning to do before heading home.