"It is the sovereignty of man to hold Authority over all the world. It is also the hubris of man to hold Authority over all the world."
- Saa'færuun the Enlightened
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Eden Floor 1 | The town of Weir:
Attack: 11 Defense: 6 Wins: 6 / 35 Penalty: 1 / 7
"So how'd you do it?" Ars asks as I walk back out to him after I once again top his score on the Striking Dummy, leaving it sitting in it's glass box with a 146 floating over it's head. The score had gone up quite a bit over the past several days, but neither of us had any trouble completing the challenge within the 60 seconds yet. At this point it'd become a sort of morning routine for him and I to go accept the dummy challenge first thing in the day and complete it before we went to meet up with Amelia and decide on whatever other stuff we wanted to do for the day.
"Do what?" I respond, looking up from my palm, and the screen showing my stats and wins.
A brief glance around shows the platform stands pretty much vacant, it would seem that after the first day pretty much everyone had learned their lesson, not many people hang around and risk becoming a free win just to watch us or anyone else do the striking dummy challenge. Overall there were still a lot more Seekers around Weir than their had been though, more and more had finally found their way to the town as the week progressed.
"It's been a week now and every day you complete the challenge the exact same way, are you using some kind of poison or what?" Ars questions back exasperatedly, it seems like this has been bugging him for a couple days now.
"Poison?" I laugh back, beginning the walk across the courtyard towards one of the nearby lifts.
We were supposed to meet Amelia for breakfast on one of the upper platforms that looked out over the waterfall. Though Weir was devoid of anyone except for Seekers the town still had a full suite of amenities that could be taken advantage of. I had no idea where the food or any of the other resources actually came from as I never saw anyone working in any of the restaurants or stores but nothing looked weird and the food tasted great so who was I to complain.
The restaurant also looked out over the towns entrance, our plan was to use the vantage point to spot any new arrivals and challenge them for our daily win. As the week had progressed it wasn't quite as easy to find free wins, even with all the new Seekers showing up, it was just harder to predict who'd have what stats and how many. So we'd come up with the plan to just take advantage of the relative cluelessness and low stats of the people who were just getting to town. It may have been a bit of a cheap tactic but it had worked so far, both of my companions sat at 7 wins in as many days and I was only 1 behind at 6.
"It's nothing so complex, I'm just putting a little pressure on it is all. How would poison even work on a striking dummy?" I continue on with a quirk of my eyebrow at him.
For some reason Ars looks frustrated at my answer, standing there for a moment before hurrying to catch up. "What does that even mean? Pressure? All you did was place your palm on it and stand there..." Ars stares down at his own open palm as if it holds some untold secret.
"Ahh I don't know how to explain. Do you guys not use intent here? You just kinda focus your internal energy and give it a push with your will. Like this," I stop in front of the lift and turn to Ars, briefly encompassing him within my intent. Not in a hostile way or with any actual purpose behind it, but just letting it loosely hover around him so that he could feel what it was since I wasn't sure how to explain it. "It's just like, pushing your internal energy out of your body and then using your intent and will to shape it and give it purpose.. Huh, feels weird that I'm the one answering common sense questions for once," I finish, snickering a little at the role reversal.
Ars is looking around himself wide eyed, moving his arms and staring at them in a daze as they brush against the formless weight of my intent before I withdraw it. "W-what.. That was an Authority Sola! How can you maintain an Authority at this level? The lower Floors of the Tower are supposed to be extremely resistant to Authorities, the nature of reality near Eden's base is supposed to be more rigid and harder to enact ones will upon."
"I have no idea what any of that means, but I guess it has been a little harder to use my intent than I'm used to though?" It had taken me a bit more effort and focus than I'd originally expected, but I just assumed it was due to the striking dummy being stronger than it looked and not something to do with being on the first Floor of Eden.
As we both step into the lift Ars continues on to explain, "since the lower Floors are both figuratively and literally the Towers foundation, you could say that reality is more 'dense' down here. The 'weight' of all the Floors above us ends up bearing down onto the Floors below, this makes powers like an Authority harder to use since they manipulate reality. Normally as you Ascend this 'weight' gets lessened and Authorities get stronger and stronger as reality becomes less 'dense' so to speak."
As always, Ars is an abundant source of knowledge. I was still feeling lost though, why is something I consider at best as being a useful trick on those weaker than me something that people here on Eden would choose to call a pretentious name like "Authority"? Had I somehow been using this power incorrectly all along? Or maybe the "weight" on Sola was heavy enough that it stopped me from seeing the true uses of my so called "Authority". Letting my intent stir within and around me I can't help but wonder, was there untapped potential here? Some power that I and everyone else on Sola had missed? What could I be missing though...
Hearing Ars' breath catch in his throat and seeing the slight grimace starting to appear on his face immediately breaks me from my thoughts. I hurriedly reign my intent back in, "Shit I'm sorry, it's just a lot that I hadn't ever really thought about back on my world. You alright?"
With a shaky breath and a tug at his collar he speaks up again, "Whew, yeah I'm fine. Maybe it's just a True Seeker thing? I can't imagine what kind of monster you'll be on the higher floors otherwise if your Authority is already this stifling heheh."
His nervous laughter and flustered reply makes me feel a bit bad, I should've been paying more attention. In the small space of the lift, releasing as much of my intent as I did had definitely been too much.
The slight jostle of the lift arriving at it's destination thankfully breaks us from the awkward atmosphere. Stepping out onto the veranda that rings the platform, we continue on our way to meet up with Amelia, both taking a moment as we walk to gaze down over the railing and onto the town which lies spread out below us. Intermittently, smaller waterfalls cascade down from the roof above, falling in steady streams down to one of the many platforms below. I can see why Amelia likes it up here; the soothing sounds of birds chirping and the water falling down below, the sunrise out over the lake, the fresh breeze carried atop the trees, it all makes for a very pleasant and relaxing atmosphere.
The open-air restaurant Amelia's picked out sits within a large circular balcony jutting out from the larger platform we'd circled to get here, the seating area sits back-dropped by the waterfall falling down the cliff face and the large rainbow hovering out over the lake. As we arrive, Amelia sits at a table near the railing, wearing a fashionable baby blue chemise and a beige bucket hat with a ribbon to match her dress, Kuro appears the same as always and stands at attention behind her like some sort of butler. I wonder if she has a reason for the more casual attire, or if she just wants to feel more comfortable for breakfast, it's not really suited to most of the challenges we've done so far and would likely be doing later though.
Ars and I proceed to join her at the table she's picked out, each of us offering her a greeting, "Good morning Amelia."
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"-Did you know Sola has an Authority?"
Amelia raises a single delicate eyebrow at the both of us and I roll my eyes in response to Ars, "I didn't know it was anything special, I've just been using it to complete the Striking Dummy challenge."
"What type of Authority is it?" Amelia calmly asks, clearly not as surprised as Ars had been, or she's just better at hiding it.
"Type?"
"Authorities tend to come in two main types, or a combination of the two. There's Somatic ones, which are more tangible and active in nature and typically have very visible and noticeable effects. Then there's Meta ones, which are more intangible and passive in nature. Depending on what people can do with their Authority it likely leans towards one of the two types," Ars once again comes to the rescue, providing me with useful knowledge as always.
But I'm still confused, because the way he phrased it makes it seem completely different than the intent I'm familiar with from my world, "Wait wait wait, they're not all the same? Where I'm from we just use what you guys call 'Authority' to scare and pressure weaker people. It's more of a deterrent to keep people way weaker than you from trying to fight you than anything else."
"Eh? What about common things like controlling the elements? Or enhancing your physical strength or speed? Are you saying people can't do any of that with their Authorities where you're from Sola??" Ars seems strangely let down at the idea that our "Authority" on Sola had been so limited.
"I mean we have spells that some people can use to accomplish those things.. But just through intent alone? It's not possible where I'm from, even the strongest individuals can't do more than create larger amounts of pressure with it. Are you sure it's the same thing as an Authority?" They sounded so different and distinct from one another, could they really be the same ability I wondered?
"Maybe her home is simply comparable to the third and fourth floors? Though it's rare for people to develop an Authority as early as the third or fourth floor, I've heard that when it does happen they're always extremely limited in scope due to the towers nature. It's not until slightly later floors that they show their true shapes," Amelia conjectures, breaking from her musing to take a sip of the tea that had just spontaneously appeared on the table while we'd been talking.
Ars also grabs a cup of tea in front of him, blowing on the steaming liquid before taking a sip as he speaks, "I hadn't actually heard of that.. don't most people develop their authority around floor 7?"
"Well as I said it's rare, but if people lived on those floors all their lives then maybe it'd be less rare. That's why I think that may be what happened with Sola, if her home is comparable to those floors then it makes more sense for her to have already developed an Authority. By the same note however, even though she already has an Authority, it's never had a chance to show it's true nature. Simply put, its because it can't until she reaches a higher floor-"
"-Wait so what can I expect as we ascend then? Is releasing my intent going to start lighting things on fire or something?" I interrupt Amelia's admittedly accurate sounding theory.
"Ooh maybe you'll shoot lasers out of your eyes and have to wear goggles all the time," Ars pokes fun at my ignorance, causing Amelia to roll her eyes as I glare at him.
"An Authority is a power that's closely tied to you as a person, it's rarely something you won't be able to control. As it grows in scope you'll likely intuitively know what it's capable of. You can also train with it to increase it's power, or in some cases to slightly alter it's form. For example if you had a Flame Authority, you may be able to eventually change the colors of the flames as you gain power and manage to increase the heat." Amelia continues on to explain, stopping when a full suite of breakfast food appears situated on the table in front of us.
I have no idea how the food was ordered and there's more I want to ask but if I have several floors before any significant changes occur I figure it can at least wait until we've all eaten. Taking my mask off I settle into my seat and dig into the meal before me.
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Somewhere above Weir:
Klaus had a bit of a problem.
Surprisingly it wasn't from the True Seeker, though he was keeping an eye on her and her companions.
No this problem was a result of foul play, a certain troubling Seeker and their accomplices had actually decided that the best way to complete the test was by kidnapping weaker Seekers and then leaving them chained up out in the woods until they failed out due to not challenging anyone for the three days.
It wasn't like he couldn't go and put a stop to them, or send someone else to, it was just that technically they weren't breaking any rules. It still left a sour taste in his mouth though, so he wanted to come up with a way to punish them that didn't look like he was overstepping his bounds. The test had purposefully been designed to be cutthroat but intentionally causing others to fail out so early on, and in the way they were doing so, was needlessly cruel. He felt it was better to punish those types of people as early on as possible.
As he sat thinking of possible solutions his eyes roamed over the various screens around the bridge of his ship, settling after a moment on the one showing the True Seeker, the Felaine girl, and the bastard. They were just getting up from their breakfast and heading in the direction of the challenge pavilion. Though the girl, Sola as he'd learned, was certainly problematic just by nature of her existence, it seemed she at least had a strong sense of right and wrong. Their little group was one of the few that had remained mutually beneficial, amongst all the Seekers backstabbing and taking advantage of one another, those three continued to stay allied without any sort of infighting. She also stood head and shoulders above most of her fellow Seekers in strength it seemed, he'd have to keep an eye on her and her Authority as she ascended the floors.
With that in mind, Klaus made up his mind, "Create a special quest to stop the kidnappings and find the kidnapped Seekers, then have it show up on whichever screen the True Seeker goes to look at."
"What should we set as the reward sir?" one of the attendants in charge of managing the challenge pavilion asks him, already typing up the quest information.
"Bah, I don't care. Just give them all a couple attack and defense points upon completion."
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Eden Floor 1 | The town of Weir:
"-Yesterday I didn't even manage to get a win, the person I challenged for some reason had 13 defense and 2 attack! Like seriously what was I even supposed to do?!" I vent my frustrations of the prior day to my companions as we head back down the lift, our breakfast finished. We were on our way to the challenge pavilion to find some quests and challenges to pick out and do for today.
"Pfft, who even does that? How are they going to get any wins if they only increase their defense?" Ars chokes out through his laughter.
I see Amelia hiding a smile from where she walks next to us as well, "I know right? I was so upset. I'm definitely not going two days without a win though!"
We'd seen a few potential targets enter the town while we'd sat eating breakfast, if we were lucky then we'd run into at least one of them once we reached the challenge pavilion but even if we didn't, we still had the majority of the day to find and track one of them down. It wasn't like we were in a huge rush this early in the day, the only deadline was challenging someone before the next day began.
As we exit the lift back onto the platform with the challenge pavilion it looks like we're not lucky today, there's only 2 other Seekers here perusing the listed challenges and they're both people we've all beaten already. Guess we'll be waiting until later to challenge anyone after all.
Stepping in front of us before we get to the pavilion Ars turns and asks, "Alright, what're you two in the mood for today? Hunting something? Running one of the training courses? Learning to disarm traps? Collecting materials?"
"Uh, maybe something in the town?" I suggest with a glance at Amelia whose still dressed in casual clothes.
She looks at me appreciatively before voicing her agreement, "Yes, please. Something around town would be ideal, I was hoping for something a little less stressful today."
"Alrighty then, something simple within Weir it is!" Ars readily assents and we all split up to take our time perusing the various quest and challenge listings.
-o-o-o-
Quest: Stop the kidnapping Seekers! Find and rescue the kidnapped Seekers!
Reward: 2 attack and 2 defense to all quest participants.
"Huh." I mutter as a quest spontaneously appears directly in front of me on the screen I'd been looking at, before sharply breathing in as I actually read the quest, "Stopping kidnappers? Find and rescue kidnapped Seekers?! ..a 2 attack and 2 defense reward to all quest participants upon completion."
At my incredulous, progressively angry tone and slightly raised voice, both Ars and Amelia walk over and join me in front of the screen, each of them taking a moment to read the quest that had caused my outburst. As ridiculous as it had seemed at the time, maybe Amelia had been right when she was worried about getting kidnapped that one time.
"Tch. Truly scum of the lowest kind can be found anywhere it would seem," Amelia states with a scowl and obvious disdain at the sordid affair.
"What do they even gain from kidnapping others? It's not like people can refuse your challenges.. this is just cruelty for the sake of being cruel," Ars glares at the screen, anger evident on his face.
I smile under my mask at my companion's shared righteous indignation, "So we're in agreement then?"
"Well now that we've been made aware of it, it wouldn't do to just sit and do nothing," Amelia begrudgingly voices her assent.
Ars follows up with, "people who would do something like this don't deserve to Ascend. The four stat points for each of us is also pretty nice."
"I only hope the reward is worth the trouble," Amelia finishes.
And with our minds made up, we all reach out and accept the quest before us.
"...So where to begin?" Ars asks after a moment and we all sheepishly look at each other.
"Well first, I suppose I need to change," Amelia says with a sigh.