Chapter 125: Our Duty
With Siyu slain, his Crystal Monstrosity died with him, crumbling with a grate of glass and a squelch of flesh. It was already a scrap heap of fractured crystal that looked as if a moose had impaled itself on an abstract art glass sculpture and died on top of it. It’s inorganic nature had kept it alive far longer than the team had expected possible. As they chipped it down more and more like shaving flakes for an ice sculpture, the being adapted and continued to survive. They wondered if the monstrosity had adapted itself to become incredibly hard to kill. It didn’t have much else going for it, but it proved a continual hinderance to the team throughout the fight. It was just fast enough and hit hard enough to be dangerous. Its crystal shards inflicted bleeding, which absorbed healing and prevented it from reaching the team. If Siyu had been more intelligent and familiar in his teamwork with the monstrosity, the battle would have been more precarious.
Sen was confident they would have won even if Siyu had worked well with his familiar, but the team was happy to keep that question a mystery of the cosmos.
The team contacted the town head and told him of the result of the battle. Nara thought that the townsfolk would immediately want to move back into their own homes, even if it was late into the night.
“They like the feel of the furniture,” Town Head Jing said, “And would like to wait later in the afternoon to leave. It has been a busy night, and everyone wants some rest. Me included.”
They could hear his cautious optimism. He couldn’t quite believe the serial murders that had been plaguing his town was finally put to rest. Now, he wanted rest. With that he ‘hung up’, too exhausted to care.
“Be my guest …?” Nara thought that the people of Erras were strangely adaptable. Was that normal in a magical society? Nara turned to Aliyah, “If you were normal rank, would you be okay sleeping in some strange essence user’s ability?”
“Hm? I have,” Aliyah said, “It wasn’t an ability, but some sort of magical construct. It’s a shame I was so young at the time. I would have loved to have learned more from it.”
“How is that not weird? ”
“Part of it is there’s nothing you can do against an essence user, especially a high ranker,” shrugged Aliyah. “If they’re asking nicely and with the authority of the Adventure Society, most will follow. Going against an adventurer’s recommendation is usually a quick way to die. Most of the time it ends up being very comfortable, with amenities and free food. If everything goes well, it is an interesting experience. If it does not…”
She trailed off. Nara could guess.
It was the equivalent of a tycoon offering a temporary stay in their mansion.
“I’ll have to work on the free food portion then. I only have enough food for this team. I hadn’t thought to stock up for an entire town. Seems a waste normally, but I guess the food I keep doesn’t go bad. Maybe I can feed them that spirit coin stuff…but I also need to actively make that.”
“Next time,” said Sen. “There’s always room for improvement.”
“No, I’d rather not evacuate a town ever again. There is no next time.”
Nara frowned.
“I shouldn’t have said that out loud. I know better.”
*****
“Thank you for everything, all of you,” the town head said, beaming with teary-eyed joy, now energized enough to express emotion. He was happy that the entire town had survived Siyu mostly unscathed, except for the property damage caused by beams of fire Ranshi’s giant eyeball familiar had caused. It would be fixed, in time. It was nothing that the people of Erras weren’t used to, and Ranshi had done his best to keep the damage relatively contained. The main street of the town was torn up and needed to be repaved, and some houses suffered unavoidable damage from Siyu’s assault and Ranshi’s blasts of fire. Still, he had demonstrated considerable control in property damage. The relevant agencies would send out essence users to conduct repairs.
“It’s our duty to protect you all,” Sen said. He bowed formally to the town head, his tone solemn, “Please accept my sincere apologies that we could not protect everyone. We failed our obligation to the people here.” Sen did not think he genuinely failed; he was not so naïve to expect a bloodless outcome. But sometimes there were proper condolences to be made.
“No, no, please don’t bow to me, sir Arlang,” Town Head Jing said, raising Sen up with a fluster, “You cannot be blamed for Siyu’s depravity. I’ve failed my town. I…I had really considered him our town’s star. I am ashamed of my own inability to judge his character.” Haoran Jing didn’t want to acknowledge Siyu’s vanity and disrespect towards others. He had fallen into the trap of sunk cost fallacy—the town had already invested three essences in him (although Siyu didn’t use one of them). Many of the town had rather close their eyes to his arrogance. What else could they do? The essences were gone.
Many essence users did consider it their duty to protect normal people. Sen was raised this way, and Encio to a lesser degree. Nara didn’t think there was anything wrong with it, as long as they were careful what they did ‘in the name of duty’, but…she wasn’t going to ruin the moment. She had enough sense to keep her mouth shut and let the town head shake Sen’s hand like he was holding the hand of Buddha. If there hadn’t been so many people watching, he may have kissed it.
Ranshi stood back, letting the iron rakers enjoy their achievement. He was the unsung hero, protecting the domain door from a swarm of monsters. But not completely—Just one had managed to slip through despite his own concentrated defense. He turned back to react, only to see the frothing boar monster slowly eviscerated by afflictions and effects. It fell apart as its body was ripped apart inside out, then collapsed into a meaty pile. Even the rainbow smoke borne of the monster vanished, as if that dimensional space had consumed it. The residents had no idea a monster had even intruded, barricaded in their temporary lodgings.
That dimensional space was hostile to all invaders. Ranshi made note never to step inside uninvited. He debated for a moment whether he’d report this to the guild, then remembered a saying often told to young adventurers.
Diamond rankers don’t have enemies because all of them are dead by gold.
If she wanted to tell, she’d say it. Ranshi knew when to keep his observations to himself. He couldn’t avoid reporting the capabilities of providing a temporary shelter with an easily defensible entrance. All the townsfolk knew about it. It was outstanding but not unheard of. Defensive fortifications, even portable ones, were common with certain ability sets such as the Prison, Fortress, Edifice, Boundary, and Vessel Confluences. Unheard of with racial abilities, but outworlders were equally abnormal, both in known racial abilities and frequency of appearance.
Its defensive capabilities would remain an unintentional secret between him and Nara. And his familiar, whose mad ramblings had disinclined him from mentioning them to anyone in the first place.
Unbeknownst to Nara, Soul Legion applied to her door domain as well, her temporary territory. She had thought the effect was incredibly specific, limited to her body and her Astral Domain. She was in no danger whatsoever in her Astral Domain, so the effect was meaningless there.
The hand of a Great Astral Being was not so simple.
Nara’s inclination for her Racial Abilities were pacifistic: Astral Traveler was of escape, Astral Domain was of safety, Traveler’s Bounty was one of creation, Guide was of communication, Resilient was of defense, and Free Spirit of liberty. Her original evolution, Soul Sanctuary, would have been of a similar theme. The Great Astral Being Legion altered it slightly, emphasizing the intensity she was more than capable of.
It was the being of the propagation of life. For life to grow and survive, it destroyed and consumed others.
*****
The trip back was quiet, the team in focused meditation. The glow of attributes advancing sporadically lit up the inside of their ship cabin, eliciting quiet groans and gooseflesh shivers from the soul-deep stretch. They deserved a rest, so they purchased boarding on a slow passenger ship traveling down to Sanshi.
Nara’s perception ability was the next to advance past Iron 9. The upgrade wasn’t anything special. All perception abilities gained magic perception and enhanced aura perception by silver rank, in any order, with the third effect a magical perception power.
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-Mystic Essence Ability, [Gaze of the Boundary], has reached Bronze 0. Progress all Mystic Essence Abilities to Bronze 0 to increase the [Spirit] attribute to Bronze 0.
-Progress all Essence Ability to Bronze 0 to rank up to Bronze rank. Progress to Bronze rank, 20%.
Ability: [Gaze of the Boundary]
Perception
Cost: None
Cooldown: None
Effect (Iron): Perceive dimensional boundaries and dimension effects.
Effect (Bronze): Perceive the flows of Magic.
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In her case, she awakened her magical, non-mundane perception (the ability to perceive dimension effects) first. After perceiving the flows of magic, her next would consequently be enhanced aura perception.
The next ability to advance was the very first ability she awakened, Phase Shift.
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-Dimension Essence Ability, [Phase Shift], has reached Bronze 0. Progress all Dimension Essence Abilities to Bronze 0 to increase the [Speed] attribute to Bronze 0.
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-Progress all Essence Ability to Bronze 0 to rank up to Bronze rank. Progress to Bronze rank, 25%.
Ability: [Phase Shift]
Special Ability (dimension)
Cost: Extreme mana-per-second
Cooldown: None
Effect (Iron): Phase shift into an adjacent dimension. While phase shifted, your abilities and attacks will not affect non-phase shifted targets. In this state, non-phase shifted abilities and attacks will not affect you. You are harder to detect while phase shifted. Mana cost of this ability further increases as duration increases.
Effect (Bronze): You can partially phase shift. Phase shift cost is reduced proportionate to the area phase-shifted down to a minimum of moderate mana-per-second, but the non-phase shifted locations can be affected by abilities.
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“Ohhhhhh. Oh. Oh noooo,” Nara groaned quietly to herself.
It was a fantastic upgrade to Phase Shift, greatly cutting the cost of the ability if she just needed to avoid a localized attack, like a sword swing. Spells that targeted her whole body, such as her own Astral Judgement, still needed the expensive full-body effect.
This new upgrade combined with Cosmic Path would no doubt reignite Laius and Amara’s passionate ninja-rock-dodging-training-session. This one in particular would be incredibly difficult to master, once again demanding her full attention.
Her body foresaw purple welts in the new future, but she found herself grinning when she reached up to feel her face. She really was somewhat of a training junkie now; magic was just too fun and engaging.
She’d never tell Sen.
The next ability to reach bronze rank had become a staple of Nara’s fighting style once she awakened it. The evasiveness that frustrated Siyu was in large part the handiwork of this ability. Even if he predicted her teleportation, many of his attacks, besides his most powerful of attacks, would still miss, as if pushed aside by the disapproving hand of God.
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-Dimension Essence Ability, [Infinity Domain], has reached Bronze 0. Progress all Dimension Essence Abilities to Bronze 0 to increase the [Speed] attribute to Bronze 0.
-Progress all Essence Ability to Bronze 0 to rank up to Bronze rank. Progress to Bronze rank, 30%.
Ability: [Infinity Domain]
Conjuration (dimension)
Cost: Moderate mana, low mana-per-second
Cooldown: None
Effect (Iron): Conjures an [Infinity Domain] around self. Within the [Infinity Domain], physical space is passively manipulated, slightly shifting the trajectory of incoming attacks. Manipulation can be actively managed for more direct effect or disabled and re-enabled as a whole or locally.
Effect (Bronze): Size of [Infinity Domain] can be reduced for a concentrated effect. Enemies within [Infinity Domain] are inflicted with [Inescapable]. This effect cannot be resisted. When leaving the range of [Infinity Domain], [Inescapable] is removed from the enemy.
* [Inescapable] (affliction, magic): Subject cannot be affected by teleport or non-damaging dimension effects.
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As usual, she pondered the new effects. Training and testing would come later; contemplation on how new effects evolved a fighting style was an important part of an essence user’s development. Sen was insistent that no matter what exciting new ability they awakened, they needed to take it easy for the next few days. He was right, as always.
It was an interesting effect…Inescapable would be removed as long as her opponent escaped the field of Infinity Domain, or if she disengaged from them. With her teleportation capabilities, she could force Inescapable on a target and trap them as long as she was within melee range of them, then teleport out when she had enough. Combined with Phase Shift, it had the potential to set up some devastating combinations, although her domain would stop affecting her opponent once she shifted. Her partial shift would come in handy here—she may be able to be affected in turn, but she could still affect others.
As always, her abilities demanded exact timing.
While unstated, its space manipulation effect and maximum size also increased. All abilities increased with their effects upon rank up—strength of the effect and range for non-single target abilities. This applied to Infinity Domain, although it’d need testing to determine its change. A more powerful space manipulation effect would make her even harder to hit. Heavy attacks and area attack were still a point of weakness for this ability, but she had her ways to deal with those.
The concentrated effect was an interesting if not risky detail. With less space meant less time to react. Nara used a combination of physical movement, space manipulation, and swordplay to maximize the effectiveness of Infinity Domain. In what case would she strengthen the effect at the cost of area covered? It was likely she’d keep the range the same as she used now and enjoy a more powerful effect, but Nara could see the advantage of a flexible size, such as adjusting for tight confines.
*****
Eufemia walked onto the terrace of the nebula, looking out towards the dark sea at night. It brought her no comfort. It stared back at her like a sea monster lurking below the waves. With one snatch, pulling her in and drowning her.
“Eufemia?” Sen’s voice called out cautiously from behind her. He settled onto a terrace chair beside her. In his hands he held two cups of warm alcohol, something soothing for the night.
“Why are you here, Sen?”
“Nara said you were feeling upset.”
Eufemia nearly hissed, “She felt that? I thought I was doing pretty well.”
“It is what you would say: ‘it doesn’t take a magic ability to figure it out’.”
“Ladies don’t like it when you use their words against them,” Eufemia snapped.
He sat and waited, wondering if Eufemia would shoo him away; she was in an irritable mood, but waspish attitude aside, did not make her displeasure otherwise known. She picked up the glass of warm alcohol and sipped, enjoying its scent and mouth feel.
She sighed. “Chrome has good taste, as always, for an astral being. I wonder where he’s picked this all up.”
Sen wondered why Nara had sent him instead of John. Surely, John knew his long friend better, and she would be willing to open up to him. Compared to John, he was still a child. He may be well-learned compared to peers of his age, but Sen was aware he lacked experience except in a few areas.
“I was wondering if the team was better off without me,” Eufemia finally spoke in a quiet voice, “I’m just the hanger on that came with John.”
“Why would you say that?” Sen said. His heart thumped quicker, fearing she’d leave the team for a moment.
“During that fight, I messed up. I blew it! I had the perfect chance to seize the moment and I let it completely slip past me. That spell…” She recited it: “Life corrupted, Death abound. The cycle of life and death is reversed. Nothing is sacrosanct, all is corrupted.”
Nothing activated of course; she didn’t have the requisite ability unless she decided to copy it.
“I knew it was coming. I should have reversed it,” she said quietly, hands in a white-knuckled grip around her cup. “Instead, I got Aliyah and John badly injured. And Nara, Encio, and you had to cover my mistake.”
She curled up a little closer on her chair.
“I’m not like the rest of you. I’m not an outworlder like John and Nara. I’m not some descendant of a famous family. I’m not a genius like Aliyah. All my abilities, they’re partial replications of the real thing. Imitations of the genuine. I can copy Encio’s abilities, but I will never be as powerful as him. I can copy Aliyah’s spells, but I will never have her theoretical knowledge. I can wield the same weapon as Nara, but I’ll never have her sharp reactions, focus, and tenacity.”
She rested her head on her knees, her dark red hair cascading over in a waterfall of wine.
“Aliyah says that the abilities you awaken is influenced by your soul. What does that say about me? While wealthy, I am an actress. While destitute, I turn to crime. I’ve tricked and stolen from others to fund my escape from Nekroz. I was so desperate to get away from what my mother so selfishly decided for me…” She balled up a hand, nails biting into her palm, “Who would want to be a vampire?” she said bitterly, while knowing exactly who did.
“It was John who helped me onto a different path. That outworlder that knew nothing but kindness,” Eufemia chuckled derisively, “We both still struggled. I don’t want to admit the amount of times John and I have gone ‘dumpster diving’ for traces and clues. I was covered in filth and stunk like a dead animal had died in 100 degree weather.” She leaned back, looking at the stars twinkling overhead without a care for her worries. “But I can’t deny the fulfillment I felt when I scammed some rich asshole that stole some poor family’s heirloom.”
Sen felt self-conscious comforting a woman more experienced from himself, but he was nothing if not bold.
“Eufemia. You’re not an imitation or an imperfect copy; You are what we need most in a given situation—adaptable and flexible. You did what you had to in Nekroz. I do not have the experience to speak on this.” Sen had grown up fortunate. Guaranteed essences and the best training this world had to offer where others struggled in their path with neither. “Your new life here is evidence of your determination to change yourself and your way of life. It does not matter that John offered his hand to you. You are the one that chose to grasp it. Not many choose to change.”
Eufemia raised an eyebrow, “So says the teenager. What do you even know about change?”
“Not much, but I do understand what it feels like to feel inadequate,” he said coolly. He didn’t mean for that to have as much bite as it did.
Eufemia thought of the first team Sen had tried to gather that fell apart. And now, she was insulting him for something he had no control over—his age. He wasn’t any worse than her for it. In fact, he was more skilled that she was.
“I’m sorry,” she said earnestly. “I didn’t mean that. You’ve been training the rest of us all this time. I’m grateful.”
“There’s no need to be grateful. This is what a team is for. We help each other, Eufemia.”
She smirked, the moonlight catching upon her ruby eyes transforming them into glowing philosopher stones.
“I got a talking to from Encio about that, when we first met.”
She recited what he said, word-for-word, adopting his same tone and body language of his arrogant wisdom:
“You’re asking us to trust you on our team. Do you have any idea what you’re asking for? In a moment of life or death, you need to have our backs. I think trusting Nara brings you along is the lesser ask. What do you take adventuring for?”
“You remember all that?” Sen asked.
“I’ve always had a talent for remembering words,” she said, flicking her hair over her shoulder flamboyantly. “Makes for picking people apart all the more satisfying.”
“You understand his words now.”
Eufemia gave him a look as if to say, ‘this again?’
“I get it. We’re all going to mess up at some point.”
“Yes,” Sen said. “That’s why we form teams. With your ability to duplicate another ability, you can cover those mistakes. A shield for when John mistimes it. A teleportation to move another team member to safety. To identify mistakes and weaknesses and react to them is a great boon to the team. There will always be those situations where each of us individually do not have the abilities to counter. You can provide what we need. Perhaps lesser than our best, but you are the best in our most desperate moments. And that is when we need you. Even when you believed it to be your mistake, you came through.”
Eufemia looked away, feeling shy over his genuine assessment. She deflected her embarrassment: “Lesser than our best?” She said accusatorily, “Anyone ever tell you that you somethings say one word too many, Sen?”
He looked away.
“No,” he said unconvincingly.
“Don’t lie to me. It’s pointless.”
Her grin was blade sharp, but Sen saw the fondness it hid.
*****
“All’s well that ends well,” Nara said, feeling their unsettled emotions resolve in their auras.
“Nara, spying on others is uncouth,” said Chrome.
“Benefactor,” Sage said. “There is nothing wrong with spying.”
Chrome glared at her. Sage folded her arms into her robe sleeves, nonchalant.
She rolled her eyes at their antics. “I’m not spying on them. It’s not my fault I’m still working out the sensitivity settings on my new bronze rank aura.”
“Nara?”
“Yes Chrome?”
“Are you trying to set up your teammates?”
“No, of course not. People can just be friends Chrome, what is wrong with you.”
“I can see through you’re falsehoods. You’ve thought about it,” he accused.
“I guess it’s fun; I don’t mean it seriously. John’s off the table for obvious reasons. I’m not going to pretend he’s ever going to have eyes for anybody other than his wife. And damn, I certainly hope he dog-gone stays that way. Aliyah and Sen, while they could have the classic teacher-student to lovers dynamic, it just doesn’t work. Aliyah’s not interested in men, frankly, she’s violently interested in women, and Sen just won’t ever think of her that way. I’ve always thought that cliché was icky too.”
“Uh-huh,” Chrome said, disdain oozing from his tone. “And so, your little, depraved mind thought of Sen and Eufemia?”
“Or Eufemia and Encio. That meeting where we met them for the first time—oof, you should’ve felt that tension, so hot and spicy! If words were flames, they would’ve set the city on fire. Anyway, this world doesn’t have the same taboos against workplace relationships. It seems a lot of people meet through their teams. No greater person you can trust than the person that has your back.”
“And what about you, Nara? How do you feel about relationships?”
“You sound like Redell.”
“Redell has a point.”
“I think the team is more than I could ever ask for. I haven’t felt this close to anybody in a long time.”
“You don’t want to rock the boat.”
“I’ve caused enough trouble. I want to fade into the background a bit.”
“Trouble that wasn’t your fault.”
“Doesn’t mean there wasn’t trouble.”
He folded his arms and sighed, his fingers tapping on his folded arms with clear displeasure.
“You sound like my mother,” Nara sighed dramatically. “Always telling me to date somebody, get married, and have kids.”
“I am NOT telling you to do that,” Chrome rebuffed, sounding like he was offended that Nara even suggested that he could care about something so base and mortal as procreation. He probably was. “I’m saying that you’re holding yourself back.”
“Sure, mama Chrome.”
“Do not call me that.”