Chapter 8 - Setting Foundations

I was helped up by the asshole in the plate, too weary to complain that he almost risked the wounded dying. “Thanks, what’s your name man?”

“Oi mate, it's not a problem, name’s Druskil, used to be my gamer tag, figured it fit.” With a grin he clapped me on the shoulder. I winced as the wounds were not quite finished healing and I was still quite weak.

“Cildarian, I had the same idea.” As I stood, the people around me did as well, all looking at me, the more critically wounded were back on their feet gathering around, Lucas coming up to grasp my hand. “Well fought,” I nodded toward him and looked around at the either-seven others. “Well fought, all of you. Hopefully we have time to plan when the actual wave arrives.” Murmurs of agreement went through, and before anything else, were interrupted.

“That’s really not going to be your problem going forward, good job on taking the reins in the situation, but you most likely none of you will be in charge of anything. That’ll be for the actual army to attend to. They don’t even know you, after all.” A’dal chimed in from the side. “Well, get to it then, it's your final class of the day,” he stepped up to me and quieter, he added. “Do tell your teacher you can already wield your primary and secondary elements and achieved the four points. It would be a waste of time in class, otherwise.” And as quickly as he arrived he left, the elves dispersing.

Taking the advice to heart, I looked down at the guide's note and a familiar path appeared before me. With a light jog I made my way through the districts, surprisingly the location led me through temples and shrines. The air tingling against my senses in a strange way. With ornate pillars rising high on each side I mounted the steps into an open air chamber, only to slow in surprise once I stepped properly into it, as the outside word became muted and it seemed as if I was walking in a forest of stone with a heavy sense of antiquity.

Moving on the way shown before me, statues started to be interspersed every few yards, showing scenes that I could have sworn came from ancient greece. At the pinnacle of a floating mountain, it seemed as if court was held with numerous deities in attendance, further in, other more fantastical scenes were portrayed. A feast of sorts over a fallen titan shown locked deep in the earth. An arrow piercing time itself was somehow shown in the exquisite piece of work. And it continued on, lightning ripping through oceans as the oceans fought back, the earth quaking. I marveled at the craftsmanship before me. Until no longer were there statues, just a drop down that I arrived at.

Stairs leading down into a bowl ringed by seats, perhaps enough to seat near a thousand people. In the center was a podium surrounded by open space for demonstration. As I came down, I noticed half the theater was already filled and I quietly took a place near the front, the air solemn. I sat there waiting, trying to grasp the feeling brushing against my skin, eyes closed. I waited, the feeling hard to grasp the elusive power became a susurration against my senses, confusing my sense of self. Ideals came to the forefront of my thoughts not my own, hard to grasp it seemed as if an inherent appreciation of art and intellect battled against war and love. I found myself starting to drown, these beliefs trying to worm their wordless way into my soul.

With a start I was shaken out of it as a pillar of flame threw heat against my face, saving me from the horrid trance that almost washed away my personality. Eyes wide I saw a woman of fire and unparalleled human beauty float down from above, wings formed of flame. Silver armor trimmed in gold flashed within the fire, a round shield with a longsword strapped to her back. She alighted gracefully upon the podium, dark hair flowing around her as if on an invisible wind. She projected safety, as if all within her domain were under her care while in her presence, compassion sparked from her bright green eyes, a stark contrast to her mocha skin. Her eyes met my own and with the speed of thought, an instant in real time, she spoke to me.

*Careful young earthling, you are not ready to convene with the gods. Beware their whispers for I sense interest from multiple of the Olympic pantheon. Do not ponder the faith energy here alone in the future.* Her voice was somewhat high pitched and breathy. Why were all these women so damn attractive?

“Young humans, you may call me instructor Acacia. Unlike the others who have taught you thus far, my god has touched on your world, certain restrictions becoming a non-issue. Such as who I am, you will notice deep ties to what you call Greek mythology in these halls, I can confirm that. As a priestess of Hestia I have been charged with teaching you the ways of fire.” At the dawning realization on the faces of the gathered assembly she smiled with a motherly air. “Yes, your myths are sometimes true, while others quite wrong but all with a grain of truth. It was long ago when they touched upon your world, very few of your population believe in them still, but it paved the way for us to be here early.” She looked across the gathering of humans and sighed.

“There's no time to dawdle, I only have you once more before your lives are on the line. Please everyone who has had a class on essence and opened their nodes come upon the dias.” With that myself and a surprising amount of others, perhaps almost half the class came to the dias. Looking around me it was hard to make out faces in the multitude of robes and armor around me, but looking at the seats I saw a few of my compatriot spellblades. A strange feeling stole over me then as I felt a kinship with them, and I knew we were together, perhaps we won't be on the wall side by side just yet, but these were allies beyond a mere relation by being humans. They had my back, and I had theirs.

“Alright then, if you opened one node go stand over there,” she pointed to the side of the theater to her left. And pointing forward she continued, “Two nodes straight ahead, all others to my right.” I went to the right with two others in robes, and a young man and woman, looking eerily similar. Pitching her voice so all heard, “You will notice these before you but do not fret on them surpassing you, many either got their guidance quickly or were not assigned a rigorous regimen, which is usually how magi training goes. Do not attempt to open more than two nodes today, if you do you could have a severe setback. However if you choose to do so, know there is reward within the risk, and let me know before the attempt. Once you start the third, you cannot stop.” Could have used that warning before..

“Meditate, breathe in the energy of the world, and breathe out distracting thoughts. Do not be alarmed when I appear in your mind, guiding you. Remember, humanity depends upon you.” Looking across the seated earthlings she waited a few minutes and nodded sharply when they did as told, the atmosphere draining much of the tense energy. A red sheened dome appeared on the dias and as she turned to us. “First nodes, your job right now is to continue as before in previous classes, open your second and then break. We will do our utmost to see if you have the potential for the fourth.” The group in question sat obediently as red domes appeared over each, and upon seeing it so close I could see the power of flames within, interspersed with something that called to me, yet out of grasp.

“Two nodes, you have a decision to make. Look within yourselves to see if you have the fortitude to continue forward, increasing your essence expulsion points. Note that if you decide to instead opt for another path your future flexibility in essence manipulation will be limited. Take the time to meditate and explore your inner channels. All you will have to do to make the attempt is simply think my name and I shall be with you.” Red shimmering domes appeared once more around this group.

Her attention fell on us and I was slightly uncomfortable, feeling a foreign presence run through me. I shivered, and she looked at me curiously. “Well you all reached the fourth node, thank Hestia. It is different now for you moving forward, to continue opening nodes, you must first condense your center, starting the first step to a proper core.” Six pills appeared in her hands and she handed two to each of us. “What they do not know is that I have you until you all are ready to quit. You and any others who choose to continue past the allotted three hours will receive special dispensation. I cannot go into now, but know your time will be well spent.”

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“First you must deepen your cores, which the pills I have given you will assist in, how deep you decide is up to you. The system will assist you somewhat due to the integration, alerting you to your ranking as you achieve it. There are levels of both deepening and condensation, the further you go in each will have possibly the largest impact on your cultivation in this tutorial. As you choose one, the other will become more difficult. With deepening your pool of essence you will have more energy to draw from. With condensing you will find the energy more potent.” She looked us in the eyes. And for some reason the twins, which I assumed they were, reddened and put their eyes down. “There are also benefits I will not disclose besides those I already have. Center yourselves and begin. Call for me if needed within your mind.”

“Oh and don’t worry about balancing your affinities too much, that will sort itself out naturally.” And with that we were surrounded in red bubbles. So close to it I couldn't resist and pushed upon it, finding it solid and unyielding. The fire I could feel but the other whispered to me that it could be mine. *I see you and understand young man, focus on the task before you, later will be the time for discovery* I glanced through and nodded to her. It was time to deepen my core. With that I swallowed the first pill and went into my meditation, my mind's eye on my center as she spoke again. *Think of grinding the edges ever outward, chipping away at the edges as if widening the bed of a lake.* And with that her presence faded. I beared down on my center as the pill spread hit it.

Before it seemed slightly amorphous but solid to me, with this pill it became soft, malleable. I went inside and my entire consciousness focused on my center. I imagined a large sharp spinning spiral spinning around, similar to that I seen construction workers dig into the ground with I bore down and went circling the edges, which were three dimensional downwards I created depth, running the edges down steadily. There was a small discomfort, however it was negligible. My core was circular in nature it seemed, widening and lengthening my core by degrees, my instincts telling me to make sure everything was equal in proportion. After my first pass I got a surprising notification.

~Inferior energy repository achieved~

Shaking my metaphorical head I continued, grinding away on another pass, the discomfort increasing exponentially, from a nagging discomfort into a dull ache. I kept grinding away, widening everything about my core as it started to visibly grow, the undulating patterns of the light blue and deep red energies gave way to more solid convergences, becoming predictable, I also started to notice specks of things I couldn't identify but stayed true to my task. The third round of deepening brought with it a sizable increase in pain, turning from a dull ache to an active stinging throb. Gritting my teeth as I was taken briefly unaware, I pushed forward.

~Common energy repository achieved~

My nascent core expanded once again, this time noticeably larger. As I considered it I shrugged mentally and forged forth, starting the fourth round. As my reservoir of energy slowly grew the pain came to the front, trying to pull me from my goals, the shooting pain became more insistent. Needles felt as though they were swirling around my center, plunging inside to disrupt my progress as I passed the fourth, then the fifth round of widening. I beared down and sectioned off the pain just as I learned to section off my emotions in unpredictable situations. Continuing onto the sixth round saw more specks of the energy that belonged yet I didn’t understand, somehow my capacity kept full. Unknowing of the time passing outside I finished the sixth and a notification.

~Uncommon energy repository achieved! Please note you are among the first on your planet to do so!~

Unaware outside my mind's eye, my body started breathing heavily and sweat was forming on my brow. I started the seventh revolution - the pain turning into a light agony as knives came forth metaphorically tearing my insides slowly, but I pushed forth, I've experienced worse, after all. I started running our predicament through my head, staying focused and progressing until suddenly on the eighth rotation my center started to solidify, I started panicking. I called out for Acacia but received no answer. I gritted my teeth and split my attention, keeping the drill spinning. A part of me knew that if it stopped for even a moment, it would set, and that was it, I would be stuck with an uncommon capacity. It simply would not do. Slowly but surely my hand holding the second pill raised to my mouth, and as it creeped further up I felt my mind straining from keeping the outside world and my inner eye separate with such concentration. I flicked my wrist up and it landed on the tip of my tongue, quickly swallowing.

Breathing in relief as the effect of the pill took, I continued, somehow it was easier than before, fresh malleability making my progress swift the rest of the way through the eight rotation. The ninth spinning up and propelling myself through the remainder of the tier. The tenth, and eleventh passing in a whirlwind of intense focus and controlled pain. It was when the twelfth cycle started that my concentration wavered. The pain I was blocking out broke into the front, blood pouring from my pores I fought through. The effect was a doubling after all, and if this continued much longer I didn't know if I could withstand it. But like A’dal said, my discipline and control were lacking and if I wanted to prove him wrong, this was the only way. That bastard will be eating his words when I was finished with this ‘tutorial’.

~Rare energy repository achieved! You are the first of your planet to accomplish this! Rewards available~

My core expanded greatly, almost doubling in size of the uncommon core and I was left flabbergasted as to how much I would be able to access. As I grinded the thirteenth revolution I considered quitting, the pain similar to hot knives entering me, almost shattering my will until a voice appeared *Continue* Acacia’s voice reverberated through my mind *The next step shakes off the chains that bind your mind so tightly, trust in me. Do not hesitate!* A healing wave went through me, revitalizing my mental energies and body *This is all I can do, I can feel the system frowning down on me, go! Advance!* And forward I went. Bulldozing through the subsequent tiers, my mind clear, I took the brunt of the spears in my chest, almost as if I was being stabbed in real time. What was pain but fucking temporary? Ten revolutions I went through, carefully making sure I was evenly distributing my attention to all sides while being assaulted mentally, my tolerance building and straining.

The final two, making an even twenty four pain inducing cycles were excruciating, I did not see anymore, I simply continued with instincts guiding me. I was being burned alive from the inside when I finally saw it.

~Legendary energy repository achieved, rewards available - Due to being first in your universe to achieve, rewards are enhanced.~

~Calculating. -ERROR- Please finish your advancement before the distribution of rewards.~

I shuddered and flopped onto my back, breathing heavily, wiping my face. I saw it come away with blood. Surprisingly I saw my sleeves covered in blood as well and only then noticed the pool around me. I raised my head and saw Acacia looking at me. I grinned, “So if I continue down this path you think we could get a drink?”

Laughter flickered in her eyes as she smirked back, bringing my hopes up. “I’m sorry but being a priestess of Hestia I took a vow of abstinence.” And quickly dashed. She shook her head and looked down on me protectively, “But if I wasn’t,” she breathed towards me. “I still wouldn’t.”

You gotta be fucking kidding me.

“The system will allow you to rest for thirty minutes until you have to finish. Collect yourself.”

I turned my head and saw the twins, energy emanating from them, potent within the dome. Four others had arrived on our side of the dias, and by their expressions couldn’t have been at it long. “No naps?”

“No naps,” she confirmed. God damn gorgeous demon.