Chapter 132: Power and Subtlety
After another two weeks, the full team had made it to bronze rank, which was subsequently followed by another week of ranking up and buying new equipment. Eufemia had no growth items (save a necklace her no-good father had made, unfortunately stuck at iron rank, the rank he made it at), but the bronze rank effect of Mirror Realm let her ‘equip’ items directly onto her body. She could duplicate any armor conjurations she remembered, but having actual armor as a backup was a policy Sen had for the team. Nara had her own set of crafted armor as well, and she had to commission another for her rank up as well. She may have a resistance to ability seal thanks to Tribulation of Self, but she’d be remiss to dismiss Sen’s advice. Preparation was key, and she had the disposable income to afford it.
Eufemia herself was the perfect example of why a back up amor set was important. She had abilities which could disable conjurations. Eufemia was actually more vulnerable to the effect than most, since her conjuration and inventory was joined in a single ability.
John’s Partner-In-Crime racial ability had also evolved into a completely new effect, cutting off Eufemia from his translation and inventory powers. His new racial ability was related to cleansing, which he had struggled in their fight against a higher rank vampire.
-------
Racial Ability: [Partner-in-Crime]
Share your racial abilities with an ally, with certain limitations.
Current Partner: Eufemia Teresina
Racial Ability: [Faraway Sanctuary]
Transfigured from [Outworlder] racial ability [Partner-in-Crime]. The effects of this ability have been lost.
Afflictions do not gain additional resistance against your abilities for being higher rank.
Abilities that cleanse have increased effect. Healing abilities have a slight cleansing effect. For each affliction on an ally that resists cleansing in your aura, you gain an instance of [Benediction]. For each affliction cleansed, gain an instance of [Sanctuary’s Blessing].
* [Benediction] (boon, holy, stacking): Instances can be consumed to increase the effect of a cleansing ability. When consuming instances past a threshold, circumvent all effects that prevent cleansing. Additional instances have a cumulative effect.
* [Sanctuary’s Blessing] (boon, holy, stacking): Instances are consumed to absorb damage from any source. Additional instances have a cumulative effect. Instances can be consumed to empower shield or barrier abilities.
-------
It was primarily combat focused; It seemed it was not uncommon for one or two previously adaptation focused Outworlder racials to shift to something more appropriate for combat, but they group was basing their findings on a very large, very representative sample size of 2 Outworlders. Nara had Tribulation of Self and Soul Legion as her Racial Ability combat representatives, and Faraway Sanctuary stood as John’s runner up.
It was a powerful racial that denied the advantage higher rank afflictions would normally hold over them, and John’s version of “Ignore rank disparity”. As a healer, ignoring rank disparity for cleansing specifically was far more effective than ignoring it for damage. If that was not enough, every failed cleanse stacked a boon that John could burn to force a cleanse through. With John’s new bronze rank aura effect that passively cleansed afflictions, it was a charge that built up automatically over time.
Eufemia didn’t need the convenience of his abilities anymore, either. She had her own ability to use skill books and a dimensional inventory. Symbolically, they were less partners and now integrated into the full team.
The team had started as three disparate duos. Slowly, those walls had been broken down and a web of companionship woven anew.
*******
They threw a small party for themselves, happy to revel in their newfound sense of power and genuine accomplishment. Eufemia wasn’t one to pass up a chance to party, and the team’s full rank up to bronze rank was the perfect chance. They invited friends like Lawrence, Duncan, Alea, Vallis and her team, Raja Jagar, Nara’s other sponsor recipients, and Malik Fenhu and his small team.
Eufemia demanded a party dress code. She wouldn’t accept them wearing the same old things they wore every day, no matter how fancy or tailored they were. This was met with objections and groaning, but Eufemia’s half declaration half volunteering to plan everything meant that the rest of the team was willing to order some fancy custom clothing if it meant they could sit on their asses for a while. For all the planning Sen did, party planning was not one of them.
Nara’s beneficiaries found themselves at a spontaneous, high society party. Four of the great families were in attendance, even if Nisei’s local reputation had taken a heavy hit. Nara had some local fame from her Edea name and was a household name in the Academy for her sponsorships, and those who recognized Encio’s last name shook in surprise, amuse bouche sliding dangerously across dainty plates. By Encio’s sly expression, he was making a game of seeing how many people he could get to spill. It was a race between the cloud house and Thanatos who could vacuum the flood from the floor fastest. He could have his own fresh food, of course, but something about the cloud house’s self-cleaning capabilities ignited Thanatos’s competitive spirit. Or perhaps he’d eat both, floor food and fresh food; He did not discriminate.
Chrome had prepared a spread of fancy party food—bite sized sandwiches, glasses of celebratory alcohol separated by rank, cutely wrapped deserts and entremets. He looked very proud of himself as he enjoyed the fruits of his own labor on the deck of the oceanside pavilion together with Nolan. No matter how nonchalant he tried to appear, Chrome always pestered the chefs for their secrets.
Nara turned herself into a wallflower (of a room with no walls), enjoying the open deck party, the seaside breeze, the painted colors of the setting sun, and the gentle chatter of happy partygoers. She liked to watch and observe, her social energy was always on the low side, so she recharged in relative peace, until Malik Fenhu approached, greeting her with an uncharacteristic nervousness.
“You’re…Malik right?”
*******
Malichai Fenhu, known as Malik to his friends, was a bronze rank adventurer of 19 years. His family was famed not only in the Sanshi region, but worldwide for their considerable businesses in international trade and emergent communications. They are founders and owners of the Transportation and Communications Society, or Transcom Society, a society which hires portal users to and schedules routine portals. This has enabled normal people to afford portal transportation, as they can buy passage and move through the portal as long as they show up on time. In conjunction with the Adventure Society, they also do inventory inspections to prevent illegal smuggling of goods.
He was a strapping young man, a dark red haired and red eyed runic—the quintessential image of the Fenhu red. He thought he was handsome—no, he knew he was handsome. His beautiful celestine mother and runic father looks had passed on nicely. As with most Sanshi runics, he was unusual for his head of hair and lightened skin tone. Sanshi was a melting post of people from around the world that sought new beginnings.
He had it all: looks, money, lineage. So why did he feel so nervous approaching his crush?
“Get it together Malik, where’s your usual bluster?” His teammate Aina told him through the small, oddly adorable duck earring on his ear. It was the only part of his outfit that clashed—a conjuration of Aina’s Duck Essence.
“I don’t bluster.”
“Whatever. Chin up. You look like a teenager clamming up on seeing a cute girl.”
“He is a teenager clamming up on seeing a cute girl,” his teammate Kars retorted flatly.
“I’m 19!”
“Still a teenager.”
“Kars, you’re going to make our team leader cry. You have got to be supportive. All this time I was wondering if you were gay. Not that your family has any problem with it. Not that I have any problem with it, I just haven’t seen you even try to flirt with a single girl!”
“I’m not going to cry,” Malik said, already feeling frustration building in his forehead at his teammate’s chatter.
“I was wondering what your type was. I see, I see. I understand now,” Aina said, unable to stop chattering, to Malik’s dismay.
“What. Do explain,” he said dryly.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
“She’s got that nobleness to her. Sort of aloof and dignified. Not standout like that ruby celestine, but more of a natural beauty. She’s like chancing upon a misty moonlit lake. One touch, and you’ll disturb the illusion and its gone.”
Malik was silent.
“Did I get it right? Aren’t you picky, Malik~”
“I don’t like her for her looks.”
“Of course not Malik, we’re bronze rankers,” she said with a teasing lilt. “If you just wanted looks you could’ve flirted with anyone.”
“Could you shut your big mouth for a moment and help, like you promised? Instead of talking my ear off? I’m going to crush this gods-damn earring. I see no use in it?” He lifted a hand threateningly.
“Wha—No okay, look, wait a minute. I’ll help so don’t!”
He strode forward stopping in front of Nara Edea, who was sitting peacefully at the deck, quietly enjoying the sunset breeze. She was wearing Saggia style fashion—a dark blue dress with an asymmetrical collar and hem. I draped beautifully over her body, accentuating her shape without hugging too closely. Delicate, shimmering silver embroidery of started from the collar, as if the blue silk was the night sky and the embroidery a meteor shower. The silver embroidery caught the sunset glow, shimmering with pinks, golds, and purples—a combination of the inherent properties of the material and the natural lighting.
Her brown eyes caught the sunlight as she looked up at him, and his words caught in his throat. He felt like parched man in a desert, wandering futilely until he just set his despairing sight on a shimmering oasis, almost afraid it was a desert mirage.
“You’re…Malik, right?”
“I am Malichai Fenhu, of the house of the red phoenix.” He thought his introduction was smooth despite his nervousness, hammered into him by his strict mother.
He heard Aina sigh in his ear, “Why did you do a full introduction? Not even the Arlangs or that Aciano boy does that. My gods, you’re so stuffy. If this fails, you could always still join Purity’s clergy.”
Malichai imagined cracking Aina’s skull between his gritted teeth.
“So, Malichai?”
He cleared his throat. “No, you can just call me Malik.”
“Alright,” she said, her slight confusion evident in her voice, “Malik, then. Did you want to talk? Just hang out? Chill?”
“Could I sit with you?”
“Sure,” she patted beside her in invitation, and he joined her on her bench seat. It was oddly comfortable for its appearance, but all furniture inside this oceanside pavilion was. It was a cloud flask, as far as Malik knew, and that was more or less expected. His family had many top-line cloud vehicles and cloud furniture, although no cloud flask for themselves. That was something not even money could buy, only connections could, and he wondered how she had acquired hers.
“You’re curious about the flask, just ask about it,” Aina said. “Say something!”
“Are you saying this for my benefit or yours?” he snapped back telepathically.
“Both! It’s at least an icebreaker. Any more of this and this conversation is going glacial.”
He mentally grumbled but accepted her advice, “Is this a cloud flask? I was curious on how you acquired it.”
“Ah,” she said, slight smile playing on her face, “It’s actually not a cloud flask.”
“It’s not?”
“It’s a nebula flask.” She scooped her hand into the furniture, bringing a piece of the seat cushion out as if it were tofu. It disintegrated into sparkling glittering light halfway between clouds and gold dust. “The lesser known cousin of the cloud flask.”
“I did not know they existed. I shouldn’t be surprised that I don’t know all of what diamond rankers can do.”
“You know, the mythologies here are really hard to evaluate what parts are accurate and what parts are dramatic retellings.”
“Our historians struggle dearly with that issue,” Malik said, relieved that the conversation was less stilted. “When they say a diamond ranker founder king carved away a mountain to create his first city, nobody is quite sure whether he got stone shapers to do it, or if he did it by hand.”
“Couldn’t you just ask them?”
Malik shrugged, “Some of them are still around, others disappear.”
Erras had their own myths, going back thousands of years. Recent history was the last three thousand years, where even the oldest of the modern nations had been founded Before that, history is more myth and legend than recorded word.
“The mood is good Malik, so maybe try getting to the point?” Aina pressed, her annoying voice quacking through the duck charm.
He glared at her where she and Kars leaned nonchalantly against the deck railing, enjoying drinks and food. Those two were conspiring!
“Miss Edea…”
“Just Nara. We’re all friends here, right Malik?”
He cleared his throat, “Um, Nara, I want to declare my intentions to pursue you.”
He heard both Kars and Aina groan through their communicator, and saw them in the corner of his eye, reacting with the same overdramatic disappointment. “How would you have done that?!” he hissed.
“Not like that!”
“I’m not really interested in a relationship right now,” Nara replied.
“Oof, rejected. He didn’t he step off the ice!”
“Could I know why?”
“Oh? He tries again? It’s round two. Will he win any points?” Aina chattered.
“This isn’t a game, Aina,” Kars heaved a sigh.
“I’ve forgotten that those my rank don’t know,” she mused. She pointed to herself cheerily, “It’s sort of refreshing that you don’t know.”
“Don’t know what?”
“I’m an outworlder.”
“That doesn’t stop you from having a relationship, does it?”
She blinked.
“I suppose it doesn’t. But…”
“He gets points for ignorance?” Aina interjected, “That was a tactic?”
“What is it?” Malik asked Nara, ignoring Aina’s jab.
“I don’t want to lead you on. I’m not one for romantic love and all that. It’s not that I’m stopping myself, but that my emotions don’t run strong. I’m afraid any road I walk is one to the horizon.”
“You can’t walk to the horizon,” Kars pointed out.
“That’s her point Kars, she’s saying there’s not a goal or an end in sight. What now, Malik?”
“I thought you were supposed to be helping me!”
“That’s a you decision, Malik, she’s saying there’s no payoff and no promises.”
“Well of course I’m going to try. She’s the...she the lady I like.”
He turned his attention away from his communicator and back to Nara.
“The end of the year festivities are upon us soon. I’d like to spend the festival with you.”
Nara hesitated, “I hate to burst your bubble, but the team is leaving Sanshi soon. Not earlier than the end of the year, but we won’t be here for much longer beyond that.”
“Where are you leaving for?”
“Kallid.”
*****
As she had promised Laius, Nara showed up at Innovation’s Retreat for aura training. He let her feel his aura, and she followed it like a beacon to where he sat, at her usual place beside the shaded lakeside forest.
“Good morning Laius,” she greeted.
He nodded.
He worked her over the basics again, pushing out her limits of aura projection, aura retraction, and aura suppression. By the end up it, she felt like she had gone through an intense aura workout. They hadn’t even gotten to the main set.
After the aura warm-up, Nara demonstrated the aura technique she had been working on. She integrated her aura into the surroundings like a mist, and her own presence became thin. With the mist, she could sense and gently redirect others, like Sezan had done. His technique didn’t require her elaborate set up, but he was a diamond ranker.
“It’s unnecessary.”
“Is it? I was thinking I can expand it into a misdirection. Make my location appear as if its somewhere else when it’s not.”
He tilted his head, pondering this proposition for a moment.
“Complicated, but it may work,” he concluded.
“But, if I just want to redirect others like Sezan did, it’s unnecessary?”
“Yes.”
“I can just do so directly?”
“Yes, needs training at subtly. You’re good at subtle aura control but not strong aura control.”
“So it’s something I should work on?”
“Yes. Go to Sanshi, sit a plaza, keep trying. I will demonstrate later.”
She nodded.
“Bring your team,” he added.
“Okay. If you’re making the trip out, the rest of them may as well learn too.”
Having a dedicated aura teacher was rare. Sanshi adventurers were better than the average as even the ordinary essence users had access to classes at the academy. Otherwise, it was mainly scouts, stealth specialists, and ambush attackers that focused on learning aura control. In battle, aura was at best a clash for aura supremacy. If your aura was suppressed, you’d lose the effects of your aura ability, or it may only apply to yourself. For auras like Aliyah which gained effectiveness with greater numbers in her aura, it was a great loss. The importance of aura for adventurers was just that their auras weren’t suppressed. The suppression of an aura would also unsettle and unbalance, but it would not tip the scales of anything but the closest of fights (and in such a close fight, that advantage was unlikely).
Suddenly, Laius spiked her soul with an attack. It nearly caused her to pass out on the spot. Nara detested the sensation of attacks on her soul, but she had been hardened against them. Her aura strength should have made her aura difficult to suppress, but the attack blew past all of that, knocking her off balance like she was a biker smashed by a speeding truck. She shot upwards, portal at her back. She felt like a rabbit before a cold wolf, who stared at her impassively but with the cruel ease of ending her existence on a whim.
“Sit,” Laius said simply. “A demonstration.”
“I didn’t like it,” she grumbled back to him, shaking the fear and nervousness from her body like a wet dog.
“No. Not meant to like it,” he agreed. She hated that he was right.
“What was that?” she asked.
“You know what it was.”
She was reluctant, knowing what was coming. “It was a soul attack.”
He nodded, “You can do it too, but you do not.”
She frowned. She understood the meaning behind his words, even if she did not like them, “You’re saying I should practice. This isn’t something I can practice. You need a soul and I’m not attacking my friends.”
Laius pointed at her portal door. Evidently, he had a sense on sight of where that portal led, and what power she possessed behind it.
She gritted her teeth, “Okay, I can technically practice.”
“You can do it earlier than most. You should make use of it.”
“Earlier than most?”
“For the aura and soul, easiest to learn what you have experienced before.”
“Ah, the whole ‘learn by experience’ philosophy of magic.”
“Not philosophy,” he denied. “Truth.”
Nara could use soul attacks since her soul had once been tortured by the Weaver of Dreams, long before she was even an essence user. While she had no physical memories of the event, her soul remember the sensation. If there was anything she learned about the soul, it was that they were frighteningly adaptable. She could replicate those attacks. Practice was just a matter of suppressing the aura of others first.
The aura acted as a shield for the soul, preventing it from direct soul attacks. Laius was gold rank, so suppressing her soul in an instant to spike it was easy for him.
“Can all gold rankers do this? That’s terrifying.”
“No.”
“No?”
That answer surprised her. She had thought for sure it was a basic technique.
“It is difficult to attack with the aura.”
“Is it?”
His waving tail was distinctly smug.
“Okay, okay. I get your point. I know how to do it so I should actually use it.”
He pointed his finger at her heart, his tone firm, “Attack is not torture. Use it wisely.”
“It’s a way to subdue someone without killing them,” she realized.
He nodded, “Or to gain an advantage in a desperate fight.”
She looked at Laius curious but hesitant to ask. If you learnt soul attacks by suffering continuous, constant soul attacks like soul torture, then had Laius had his soul tortured too? Was he perhaps one that had suffered those unethical experiments and survived to tell the tale?
“Did you…?”
“No.”
“No?”
His smug aura grew stronger still.
“I trained.”
The unsaid was that Laius was a genius and a hard worker at aura manipulation, which she picked up from his pride that shimmered like polished obsidian. No doubt it wasn’t as simple as just ‘training’ but his implication wasn’t that he had his aura forged by an unwilling plunge into a pool of pain an lava, but had put himself through dedicated, measured yet harsh training to reach the level he was at.
It was reassuring to Nara that the most skilled individuals weren’t all those who had just survived body trauma or soul-scarring pain.
“Practice.” He stared at her with the disapproval of a piano teacher that new their pupil wasn’t practicing between lessons as she should.
“There are times for power and times for subtlety, I understand.”
He nodded, satisfied with her conclusion.