Chapter 133: Learning to Be Ninjas

The next day, Laius showed up at the front of Nara’s nebula house, guided in by Sage. She hadn’t ever told him where it was, but he found her so easily he probably barely spared a thought. Even with the privacy protections built into the nebula house, Laius’ perception punctured through like an infrared camera through forest cover.

He couldn’t quite hide his pleasure when he sat down on the comfortable furniture. The furniture Chelsea made was fit for gods, but the nebula furniture had the advantage of an aesthetic surprise. The full team hadn’t met Laius yet, and introductions were in order.

Nara gestured to the jet black and sleek leonid, built like a stealth bomber, “This is Laius Sotir, one of the four at Innovation’s Retreat. He’s a brilliant cook, and my parkour and aura teacher.”

“Brilliant cook,” Chrome scoffed, his fist balled up, “He’s divine, short of a divine god of cooking.”

“Is there one?” Nara interjected curiously.

“Not on this world.” He said irritably at being interrupted. “I have spent millennia cultivating my skills, but this young upstart has far surpassed me. I will not suffer this indignity.”

“Chrome you literally can’t be the best in everything.”

He clicked his tongue and looked away, unwilling to concede.

Laius removed a few items from a dimensional pocket, setting them in front of Nara. She stared at the familiar objects with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity.

“Suppression collars?”

“Yes. For training.”

They weren’t the type for suppressing criminals, and could be easily self-removed, which brought a measure of peace. Encio had a few collars, his of varying degrees of restricted construction; some removable by oneself and others requiring a key.

There were three of them, starting at bronze rank. Logically, the last one was a gold rank suppression collar.

Eufemia pointed at that collar incredulously. “Isn’t that majorly restricted? Silver collars are one eye closed, but gold collars are another matter. Sezan’s grandfather is the eternal exception, but not even gold rankers should be able to get their hands on them.”

“Amara can make them,” Laius said.

“Of course she can.” Eufemia said, annoyed at her own surprise.

Aliyah furrowed her brow, “The way to construct suppression collars are only taught to a select, trusted few.”

“She figured it out.”

Aliyah was rendered silent, eye wide and mouth agape. Amara’s specialty was eclectic, but if she had to be described, it was a combination of astral magic, reverse engineering, and artifice. Figuring out how to make a suppression collar if she had one on hand was solidly in her domain of expertise.

“But the material that makes them is—”

Laius shrugged, “She has void iron.”

Aliyah pressed a hand to her face, sighing deeply, “I really hope the Adventure Society and Magic Society know about this.”

Laius was nonchalant. “They do.” He was messing with Aliyah. He pointed at the collars, “They know about these.”

“Oh,” Aliyah straightened, relieved. An untracked source of gold rank suppression collars was a danger, especially if the unscrupulous got their hands on one, “They’re letting a bronze ranker have them?”

He folded his arms, arrogantly, “They don’t have a choice.”

“…Why?” Aliyah asked, once again nervous to know the answer.

“She’ll make another.”

“Right. Take it away from Nara and she makes another. Of course.” Aliyah could imagine the Adventure Society’s resignation over the topic and felt a sympathetic pang.

Encio pressed his lips tightly in a line, thinking what was unsaid. They’re letting her have them because her diamond ranked mentors are giving them to her. They’d be foolish to take them away from her. What happens when an angry, famously good at combat diamond ranker shows up at their doorstep, demanding to know why the gift she had made for her student had been stolen by the Adventure Society? Best let sleeping dragons lay. The collars made for her were for training and were clearly more ornamental than of solid construction. They were ‘easily’ broken, and couldn’t be locked. Their potential for misuse was low. Not that Nara was likely to misuse them in the first place, unless they were stolen.

*****

The set off, leaping across rooftops and Laius made them parkour with their new bronze rank attributes. Nara was a graceful doe, bounding across gaps and past obstructions with ease, even without using abilities. John floundered a bit, but he was much improved from his original middle-aged man, crack-your-back-if-you-bend-over-too-quickly level of personal fitness. He was perfectly fit now with an Olympian level physique along with the rest of the team. Compared to iron rankers, he was a dancer. Compared to Laius, he was a bear in a china shop.

Laius appeared next to him, spinning him mid-air with a casual swipe, causing John to faceplant on the ground below. In a blink, he was next to John on the ground standing over him.

“Needs more work.”

John pried himself off the ground like a pancake off a poorly oiled pan. He easily survived the fall; Laius knew he would. Bronze rank attributes and damage resistance meant he took far less damage from falls against ordinary material.

“I’m the healer!” he groaned. “This isn’t my strong suit.”

Laius casually grabbed him by the ankle, not sparing him any dignity, and tossed him back up to the roof. The crowd that had formed watch with curiosity and cheer as he formed a perfect parabola and landed at the top with a surprisingly gentle touch—the perfect angle and velocity.

Laius was on the roof before John even landed.

“I will come by to train you all.”

“Ooh, to the retreat?” Nara said with a stupid and nostalgic grin.

“You are not exempt.”

She mumbled expletives under her breath, but she turned to her team cheerily, “Good news guys, we going to get some really good post-bronze conditioning. At the end of this, we’ll all be ninjas.”

“What’s a ninja?”

“Ninjas as a stealth specialist in my world that excel in acrobatics, assassination, spying, illusions, and ninjitsu. They have the ability to replace themselves with a wood log.”

“What?”

Laius launched a snap kick at her, which Nara managed to twist herself to dodge, flipping over to the opposite building in an acrobatic maneuver. He was keeping himself to bronze rank speed, and just a touch above to amp the challenge. He wasn’t needlessly unreasonable, even if the thought crossed his mind against the too-smug bronze ranker.

He curled his lip, approving of her nimbleness. “Keep moving.”

They made it to a plaza with dense enough with people that Laius was satisfied with it.

“Watch.”

He used aura manipulation to redirect the perception of the people within the plaza. He had to weave through the crowd, since none noticed he was cutting perpendicularly through the foot traffic. He passed by them like a ghost. If he had stopped in place, someone would have run into him despite the fact a 7 foot tall jet black panther man stood out in the crowd of majority average height races.

Then, he did the opposite. He walked through the crowd, and the sea of people parted around him subconsciously as if he were Moses. They still didn’t realize he was there, but it was as if he manipulated that crowd psychology that caused people automatically move around dangerous objects or gross objects on the floor or walk around those, like city goers keeping their eyes down as they passed the person screaming on the streets or trying to hand out flyers.

“Wow,” Eufemia breathlessly gasped, “What was that? His aura…what he let us see of it. That was amazing. They just didn’t notice him at all. And that second thing—they avoided him even though they didn’t notice him. How does that even work?”

“That,” Nara said, needlessly proud for she was neither master nor teacher, “Is what we’re all going to try to learn today.”

John sucked in a breath, the most haggard of the group, “This is crazy. I thought I knew what magic looked like, but this feels like someone’s pulling my leg. How do they not notice him?”

“This is magic,” Nara said, “And Laius is probably the best aura trainer I know.”

“He’s the only aura trainer you know,” Eufemia pointed out, “That doesn’t mean anything.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

She had, of course, accidentally named top 1 of a list that didn’t exist.

“You’re saying you know someone better?”

“No. The academy teachers are great and all, but they can’t do that,” Eufemia said pointedly. Laius was now pretending to swim through the air, floating with gold rank power. The normal rankers who’d normally take a stop and look didn’t see him at all, despite his magical acrobatics. Even for a world of magic, a flying leonid juggling balls of shadow like some sort of jester for a dark court was still exciting.

Laius moved so fast he vanished, in front of them again

“All applications of the same technique,” he said, “Redirecting perception. Easier to do on those already not alert.”

“So, not useful for combat,” Nara said.

“Useful for infiltration,” Eufemia added, “I can see some…practical applications.”

Laius nodded, “You should learn well.”

Laius didn’t know Eufemia’s ability set, but essences showed within the aura. The Adventure Society used a verification device, but unless it was hidden, anyone with above average aura control could read essences within an aura. Those that tempted death by using a Death Essence had to hope they also got an ability that allowed them to hide the identifying marks in their aura. Unfortunately, since it was such a necessity, most did.

With just a cursory sense, Laius knew what Eufemia’s role was on the team.

He sent them off a shadow clone watching each of their progress, and offering advice as needed.

“Laius was the ninja the whole time,” observed Nara absentmindedly.

Shadow Laius smacked her back with his tail, which had surprising power for a feline tail.

“Ow! What was that for.”

“Focus.”

She grumbled, but turned her focus back to aura manipulation. As Laius critiqued, she forwent the aura misting. She spread her aura out normally, directing the people’s perception to stream around her.

She recalled how Laius performed his technique. It was a gentle hand, like the wind gently pushing against someone’s back. All of what Laius had shown was the application of the same technique, just used in different ways. She was pulling the wool over their eyes, or leading them around her like a pied piper.

“Next.”

She moved from her standing meditation, weaving through the crowd. No one actively tried avoid her, as if she was crossing a busy street in Bangkok. They didn’t see her at all; if she stopped, they would have tripped over her.

Off to the side, there was a yelp, and a Encio caught a lady in his arms, apologizing with a charming smile. She stumbled again, swooning in his arms. If she had died there, a fainting maiden in the arms of an unreal emerald eyed beauty, she would have died happy. Encio helped her up again with a little twirl and a swirl of skirts, and she was off on her way.

Nara’s smile was smug.

“Don’t say anything,” he said.

“Finally, some—”

“I said not to say anything.”

“—thing you’re not the best at.”

He groaned, eyes narrowing in mild annoyance.

Nara inclined her head while sidestepping another busy office worker.

“You’re doing better than John at least.”

Encio had better than average aura control. He used aura retraction to disappear during chaotic team fights, enabling him to launch a decisive blow when his abilities were off cooldown. As the healer, John never had an opportunity to apply aura retraction, and it clearly was not his strong suit. Aura retracted or not, healers were always a target.

He stumbled and bumped into others. He had the same bronze rank handsomeness, looking like a middle-aged British fashion model with a muscular body and a warm and apologetic smile. While falling into Encio’s arms was like wondering if you had died and ended up in the arms of an angel (or demon), falling into John’s arms was the start of a Hallmark romantic comedy movie—he felt approachable and real. Unfortunately for the men and women that felt their hearts skip a beat and briefly imagined their potential futures together, he was a happily married man.

Occasionally, a shadow Laius intervened, picking him up and swinging John to the side to prevent particularly disastrous collisions. He moved John off a ways from the throng of the crowd, instructing him slowly, having John step forwards for a test, and repeating the process.

Sen had his own mild failures, but he was a better judge of his own mastery and control. When he’d be successful, he made his way through. When his control started to slip, he retreated from the crowd.

Eufemia was the next best after Nara, although she struggled to turn off her street instincts. She could already weave through a crowd unseen, and she needed to temporarily stop doing that without also using aura control. The exercise was about making others avoid her, or making others not perceive her at all. Being inherently good at avoiding detecting was getting the right answer by using the wrong equation. How she pulled off her crowd disappearing act with her brilliant appearance was a magic trick on its own. As far as Nara could tell, it was a subtle application of shifting her gait, the way she stood, and her overall impression. She transformed herself from a shining ruby celestine into just another busy citizen. Combined with her actual magic transformation abilities, Eufemia could lose a silver ranker in a crowd, as long as they weren’t a tracking specialist.

Aliyah was bottom of the team, together with John. Neither her aura control, physical combat, or bodily control were resume worthy. Her learning was methodical—she tried out a method of perception manipulation. When it didn’t work, she adjusted her method. It was too exacting for a non-physical force and expression of the soul, but it was Aliyah’s method. Combat and aura control was an art, not a science, and Aliyah struggled in her own way to make it work. She wasn’t successful on the first day. Laius could only shake his head and tell her to keep practicing.

Laius’ clones gathered the group at the edge of the plaza.

“One more task. Have her suppress all of your auras.”

Nara frowned, unwilling to do so.

“Complaints?”

“It doesn’t feel right.”

He smacked her with his tail again.

“Ow!” Nara sulk and rubbed her hip where she was smacked. She had no idea how a flesh-tail could smack with so much force!

“Have the stronger aura suppress the weaker auras. Have the weaker auras resist. Good practice for all,” he said. “Requires trust.”

He stood expectantly, waiting for her answer. There was only one way she could respond and couldn’t out stubborn her mentor who was in the right.

“Fine. I’ll practice with them.”

*****

As the rest of the team learned and Laius had figured out, if they could weasel out a verbal promise from Nara, she was very likely to fulfill it. Nara didn’t care if she lied to strangers, but lying to friends made her feel guilty. She couldn’t bring herself to do it. She’d avoid speaking the whole truth, she’d leave out details, but Nara was very bad at blatant lying.

Sanshi still had more to offer the team, and they would not depart for Kallid until after the year’s end. They would go by nebula boat on the ocean, passing by Fenhu territory on the west coast. From the city of Huxin, one of the large trading cities of Fenhu, they’d pass through Atilsalhaya, the central crossing. Through the crossing, they’d pass into the Tier-Media Sea, and stop in the city-state of Akripodia. To the west of Akripodia of the Tier-Media Sea, the ambient magic was too high for the team to travel by boat. They’d purchase passage on a passenger ship, and sail to Esmera-Mar. After visiting Sezan and Wisteria in Esmera-Mar, they’d head to Saggia to visit Encio’s parents and they De Luca Academy.

“Why are we visiting this academy?” Nara asked, “Do your parents work there?”

“They do,” Encio nodded. “The De Luca Academy run by my father’s side of the family. My father married into the Aciano family and took my mother’s last name.”

“The De Luca family? I’ve heard of them before,” Eufemia said. She had a great memory for names, unlike Nara, and kept track of who the important people to remember in society were.

Encio’s face was caught between joking boastfulness and slight sheepishness, as if he couldn’t choose a single response, “The De Luca family is a noble family of the Rona Kingdom.”

Eufemia’s palms slapped the table with a bang, and she sprang to her feet. “So you are actually a noble!”

“No!” He fervently denied, “I’m part of the Aciano family. Honorary nobles, not real nobles.”

Eufemia rolled her eyes at the technicality. “Sophistry.”

Nara’s smile was teasing, “You are genuine blue blood. Generational nobility.”

He raised his arm threateningly. “Do you want to cut my arm and see?”

“I’ve already seen your blood. Even if my house will absorb it, I don’t want your blood all over the furniture. Does that make my house carnivorous? Can it eat people?”

“Do you want to check?” Aliyah offered. “I could source a cadaver.”

“I can too,” Eufemia said with her arms crossed, “I can’t guarantee the quality, but it’d be cheaper.”

“It’s not a competition, Eufemia,” John grimaced, “and I’m not sure you want to win this one.”

“No to both of you! I’m sure circumstances will have a monster show up at my doorstep at some point. So, your father’s side of the family runs an academy?” Nara said, directly the conversation back to Encio. “Is that why you’re so knowledgeable about essences and stuff?”

“And stuff?” Encio raised an eyebrow, mildly amused to be so diminished.

“Sen is knowledgeable too and his family doesn’t run a school,” John pointed out. “They do seem like some sort of generational paramilitary family, which I know well enough not to get into. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a training program.”

“That’s somewhat accurate,” Sen said, “We have training schools for Arlang and their team members. It’s efficient to train the whole team together—common tactics, baseline strategy, efficient resource and mirage chamber usage. It’s unnecessary here in Sanshi; Arlang branches in other cities have more extensive training compounds.”

“So, was this an arranged marriage?” Nara asked.

“No, it was a marriage of love,” Encio said, a smile played over the features at the thought of his parents, who he had a good relationship with. “One that worked out well, admittedly. The Rona Kingdom is assured that Sezan has familial ties to the kingdom. Sezan has some genuine political force to utilize if he doesn’t want to get heavy handed—”

“—meaning death,” Eufemia coughed out.

His returning look was disapproving. “—The kingdom is incentivized to maintain this harmony, so the De Luca family gained considerable political status after the union.”

“The Rona Kingdom has a diamond ranker, don’t they?”

Encio nodded, “They do. Not just one. Diamond rankers are rare, but when they’re needed, they’ll show up.”

“Encio,” Nara said slowly, “Have you gotten marriage proposals from the royal family?”

He looked away.

“He definitely has,” Eufemia crooned at her victory. “You’re the second son of your family, right?”

Encio’s older sister had died, but he still had another older brother, Hadrian.

“He’s not married yet,” Encio denied. “My grandfather has been strictly against any royalty trying to impose marriages on us. And,” he stressed, “I’m not actually—”

“—technically,” Eufemia amended, smug.

“Not strictly a noble,” Encio said, resigned.

“An honorary one,” Eufemia said in a joke-mocking tone.

“But we’ll get to meet your family, besides Sezan. That’s exciting! I’ve really only met some of Sen’s family. I haven’t seen you’re family, Aliyah, even though they live in the area.”

“They’re ordinary folk but I could introduce you if you’d like,” she offered.

“Of course. That feels right, you know? I feel like I should know my teammates’ families. We live and die together. If I was a parent, I’d want to know who my kid is running off with to a foreign country.”

Aliyah chuckled, “It’s not as you imagine, Nara. I’m the adventurer and the authority on this matter, and an adult of my own decisions. My mother and father are core users. They don’t have any say over my activities, any more than any average parents have for their children. It may be different for Sen’s and Encio’s family, but we’ve been together until now, into bronze rank. It’d be detrimental to break up a working team now. If they had any complaints, they should have been made moths ago.”

“My family lets us decide,” Sen confirmed. “There is no opposition from my side from the beginning.”

The team turned to Encio, who had an unusual guiltless grin on his face.

“Sezan knows,” he said with baseless confidence.

“Right…” Nara said suspiciously, “And your parents?”

“Sezan must have told them,” he said with a reassuring smile accomplished the opposite.

“Encio, you may want to think about sending your parents a letter,” John offered with the tone of an exasperated teacher. “Do they even know where you are?”

He smiled, saying nothing, yet saying everything.

“What is wrong with this world?” John said with a sigh, “A bunch of kids run off to go fight monsters. There’s astonishing little adult supervision.”

Encio raised a brow. “By our world’s definition, all of us are adults.”

“And by our world’s definition, even Sen is a legal adult. If it makes you feel better, John you are the adult supervision,” Nara said, grin wide, “You’re even the healer!”

He frowned but found himself unable to retort. His middle-class, stable family origins were biasing him. It was inadvisable, but some young adults of 18 did stake it out on their own, unwillingly or willingly.

“I’m the chaperone?” He was distraught.

“No,” Sen denied, who, on the matter of the team’s leadership, rarely joked. “We’re all equal members of this team. John, you are not the team’s minder.”

“He’s the one getting minded,” Eufemia corrected with a wave. “Whenever anybody is in danger all his calm reasoning vanishes and I’m left dragging him by the collar and holding him back. Did you really think for a moment you’re the adult in team?”

“Well yes, Eufemia, I was under the impression I am an adult,” John said sourly, but his smile was fond.