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Fear Not Death [HWFWM Fanfiction]
Chapter 180: Combat Trance

Chapter 180: Combat Trance

Chapter 180: Combat Trance

It was bright and on the uncomfortable side of early when Nara felt a familiar aura nudge her from her morning tea and news, languorously sipping away the slowing fog of sleep to the pleasant chill of crisp mountain valley air on the outside veranda at the cloud house. It was a tad too early for Chrome to start cooking, and those awake were performing their morning ablutions.

Encio usually joined her for tea and gossip, and Eufemia as a less-often third. John had taken to tending his herbs and various plants for alchemy. He was still a beginner, although skill books provided him with immediate knowledge: actual skill was a long way to come. During the ‘free’ half of the month, he had started apprenticing under a local alchemist and herbalist. This was the knowledge he wanted to bring back to Earth.

Sen always woke at the crack of dawn, staff snapping outside and sweat glistening in sunrise. He still sought a hobby, but he stuck to his morning routine like clockwork. If the gossip was sparse, the tea party would join Sen for a quick spar. Aliyah was always the last to rise, if Eufemia was not having one of her bad days. She always woke in time for breakfast, but it was the last minute: long hair pulled into a rough ponytail to keep it from her eyes as she indulged.

Lawrence bunked at the local knowledge temple. I am still a priest, he said—and he seemed excited about what his potential role was in the apocalypse to come. He did occasionally stop by for breakfast. Knowledge’s kitchens weren’t so flavor-minded as what Chrome crafted. For potentially having all the knowledge on what made good food, it wasn’t the Church of Knowledge’s priority. It is adequate, is all Lawrence said on the topic.

The familiars varied—most lounged around outside of their summoner’s bodies around the nebula house. Ensi-kuliana, Aliyah’s arcane dragon, lounged around in the garden, careful not to crush plants. She was a sisterly-motherly sort, often raising her head to check on how the others were doing. She let the sun tickle her scales, and arched into the pricking air like a van size, scaley cat. Caspian often played on her back (and was the one Ensi most watched out for, as he was the troublemaker of the group, alongside Thanatos), or trotted at someone’s heels, whoever was up and about, although he seemed to ignore Sen on principle of finding morning sparring too boring to watch. He usually went to bother the other familiars or watch John fail at making a few potions: It was often exciting.

“What is it?” Encio asked, noticing her inattention to her cooling tea, since she had been distracted by the aura nudge.

“Laius. And Amara. And…another person I don’t recognize?”

He nodded. “Let’s go together and greet them.”

Laius was polite—his aura nudge was an aura ‘knock on the door’ for someone who Nara couldn’t detect even if she sat and meditated and blocked out all other sensory input.

There wasn’t a door to knock from where they were, standing in the garden out front. The veranda was towards the back, facing the back gardens and the view of the majestic Ilywd mountains, the edges glowing with god rays raining from a canopy of storm.

“Laius, Amara, and guest! Good morning! What are you all doing here?”

“We are your mentors,” Amara said, as if in the months apart Nara would have forgotten. “And Laius suggested it was time we mentored some more. I’ve been waiting for a chance to teach you some more techniques.”

“…Am I getting rocks thrown at me again?” Nara correctly guessed. It’s not like the training wasn’t effective, but she really did have mixed feelings on it ethically. Did ethics matter compared to effectiveness and practicality? It was ever the conundrum.

“Later, but that is not the purpose of our visit this time.”

“Speaking of, it’s nice you came to visit! I’ve missed y’all. And I know you did too, Laius, even if you don’t say so!”

“And I have missed you too, Nara!” Amara confirmed. “And if we did not reappear, I was afraid you’d forget your training,” she said, somewhat ominously.

Laius, instead of speaking, gave her an unimpressed but amused look, remaining unbothered in his silence. Amara usually talked enough for him.

“So, who is your mystery plus one?”

The woman besides Laius was a leonid, unexpectedly taller than him, beige and white to his sable fur and spotted like a snow leopard. Her fur was denser whereas his was sleek, an adaptation of the winter climate. True to form, her tail was just as long as a snow leopard, relaxedly extended outwards and hoveringly balanced above the ground, easy in strength and poise. Her eyes were a beige-silver, and her expression held an easy, amused smile.

“This is Ragnelle.”

No last name, Nara noted. But was that paranoia or just how people introduced themselves? No one except James Bond went for the double name.

“A pleasure.” Ragnelle slung an arm over Laius’ shoulder. His tail flicked in annoyance, but he made no move to remove her. “I’ve known little Laius here for a while, and what a good morning it was to see him out an’ about in the Queen’s country! Made my day. And then I learnt he had a disciple, and he hadn’t told me.”

“We are...not friends,” Laius said in lieu of an explanation. Apparently the distinction warranted speech.

“Bah! What are friends but long-time acquaintances.”

“That is an inaccurate definition.”

“Anyway, he said—well, he didn’t much say—Amara said that she was teaching her little student about combat trances, and I just love to see the little ones learn. I thought I’d join along an offer my expertise.”

“The more the merrier, I guess. I’m Nara.” She stuck out her hand.

“Ragnelle! Oh, look at all you cuties. You’re little Encio, aren’t you?” she cooed.

Encio, unphased, grinned just as unreservedly. “A friend of my grandfather?” His gaze was a little sharp.

“Mm, well, if you go by Laius’ reductive definition...”

“A friend of my grandfather is a friend of mine,” Encio said sagely.

“Bold claim, young man,” she admonished, but she grinned.

“If not live boldly, then how else should one live?”

“Haha! I like that! Young ones should be bold. You all have the greatest of chances to be bold. However else can you be bold, if there is nothing stronger than you?”

“Well said. It implies my grandfather can no longer be bold.”

“Oh, what a hoot! This is why I love the young ones. Unabashed. Unburdened. Ambitious.”

“Enough, Ragnelle,” Amara grinned, and lazily slapped her back. “Let’s gather the students and get started.”

“...After breakfast?” Nara interceded.

“Acceptable. Never miss a meal. Right, Amara?” Laius said, with possibly the most force she’s every heard in his voice.

“Yes Laius,” she said obediently.

*****

Lawrence had been sent by his goddess, and participating with mild confusion on why he should be here, as a reluctant combatant. Ragnelle, with a smirk and a peppy wave, disappeared to fetch Theodore. Nara didn’t know how she knew their family, because otherwise Egil and Jago had offered up their son to a stranger. (It seemed a semi-regular thing to do around here and was hardly any worse than homeschooling.)

The whole team was corralled out into the yard, Aliyah wrangled from her still semi-catatonic half-sleep state. If only this world had bronze rank expresso shots, Aliyah might be able to pass as a functioning person in the morning. Unfortunately for Aliyah’s morning classification as a sapient being, the tea here wasn’t that strong. Erras hadn’t cottoned onto the beneficial effects of caffeine yet.

Ragnelle sat obediently on a bench, although her posture was atrocious, excitedly observing as Amara launched into an introduction. It always seemed some part of her was moving, energy contained as mass, a tail or an ear, or shifting her questionable ‘sitting’ position any which way.

“As the capabilities of your mind grow with magic and rank, it will become capable of enhanced forms of cognition, which we call combat trances. While not exclusively used in combat, it is during the situations in which you need to bring out your fullest capabilities that they are first, usually inadvertently, used. Nara you likely did so during your mimic fight. How did that feel?”

“Ah...It was like everything focused. I had to cut everything else away to focus on the fight and on improvement.”

“Exactly! That is a rather common type of combat trance for sword masters. Hyperfocus. But there are multiple types. Healers, for example, will often shift into a state of greatly increased situational awareness so that they may process an entire battlefield at once.”

“Why not do both?”

“Ah, that is the crux of it! You want your state of combat trance to be instantaneous: Multiple trances muddies the waters, and reduces the overall effectiveness of your chosen trance. What we’ll practice is shifting into trance, developing your trance, and managing your trance. Most trances can’t be maintained for long durations without significant mental burdens.”

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“Like the on and off trance of healers?” John supplied.

“Good example, John,” Amara praised, fully in mentor mode. “Since we have three willing teachers here, you’ll have a consultation for what trance is the best for you. The trance you naturally slip into may not be the best one moving forward. Nara, you in particular.”

“Me?”

“To be discussed. Look forward to it.”

Nara sat down with Laius along with a few others—the most combat focused of the bunch: Encio, Sen, and Eufemia. Amara was consulting with the researchers: Aliyah and Lawrence, and Ragnelle seemed to be handling the rest: John and Theodore.

It seemed this would be another opportunity to hear Laius speak uncommonly many words.

“Think,” was all Laius began with. “Ask yourself, what is the best for you.”

“I don’t even know my options.”

“Skill book,” he simply said.

Right. That settled Eufemia and Nara. They’d consult their internal skill book knowledge for what type of combat trances were best for them.

“Important going forward, to ask yourself what you are.”

Suitably mysterious. Laius was better at this than she was. (It seemed everyone was better at that than she was.)

She mentally perused the archives of The Way of the Traveler, but no trance stood out to her. They all sounded interesting, of course they did: magically enhanced mental states. She learned they were achievable by iron and even normal rankers, but usually required extremely dedicated training. Sen and Encio, by their upbringing, may have been able to achieve a trance at normal rank.

Hyperfocus was the primary trance for combatants focused on out-skilling an enemy and moving at high speeds, where any fight turned into a one-on-one fight; it stuck out to her as suitable, but Amara had said it wasn’t the right trance for her. Increased perceptual speed was another common trance, allowing one to react faster than their body could move; It was a useful state for those who had abilities that could be activated instantaneously, like teleports and shields. It was one that warranted extra consideration. Dual cognition was another interesting option—Usually there was a primary cognition (the active mind) and a secondary sub cognition that handled other aspects. The active mind focused on actions that required active movement, and the sub cognition could be trained to focus on other aspects. A perceptual trance was common for detection and scout types; If you were hunting one enemy in a chaotic battlefield. Maintaining heightened perception was usually a byproduct of meditative states, and a perceptual trance allowed that sort of fine-toothed detection without the stillness of meditation.

Trances could even be combined, forming one trance with aspects of two. It resulted in lower performance, but if you needed the aspects of two trances, it was an option. There was a myriad of options: reactive trances, predictive trances, processing trances, empty trances...

She didn’t have to immediately decide. In fact, she was advised against it. Laius summoned a legion of upright shadows, and the sparring began.

It was the most intense sparring she had faced, on account of the demand for skill. The shadows had been configured to deal little damage, but their attacks inflicted pain as if they had inflicted their full damage. She danced around the six shadows that chased her, suffering glancing blows from a shadow army that differed in gear—archers, assassins, pugilists, mages. They were just mimicries of real abilities and inflicted no fancy effects.

From the corner of her eye, her companions were suffering similarly—then ow! Arrow to the knee. Guess she had to stop adventuring.

“Focus, Nara!” Amara called, immediately noticing her mistake despite not even looking at her. “You won’t achieve trancing by letting your mind wander! This is battle, not art!”

With a whirring hammer flying through the air, Nara slipped back into trance.

They broke into a rest, and Nara pondered the battle. She could tell that hyperfocus wasn’t right for her. Against the mimic, it had brought her victory, but rarely would she fight one opponent. Adventurers were almost always outnumbered by monsters, and while Nara was fast, she didn’t have the time acceleration and massively increased reflexes that true sword masters had: Hers was a passive, not an active ability like Between the Raindrops. Moreover, she had to actively manage a bouquet of effects to work in harmony—Cosmic Path, Phase Shift, the incorporeal and size manipulation effects of Blade of the Boundary, the form shift of Nirvana, Chrome’s swords, umbral flames, node conjuring and node jumping, Infinity Domain, the light manipulation of Moonlight Robe, sacrificing boons for Boon Conversion, and all of her different special attacks and spells.

It was making her head hurt just thinking about it. Soul Legion had been a double-edged boon, she didn’t have the full capability to manage the benefits it offered her, let alone the benefits she already had. Moreover, many of her abilities require exacting timing and risky positioning.

“I have been curious, Nara,” Amara began while siding up next to her, cross legged in internal introspection. “Why is your ability set so active while you profess a preference for relaxation.”

Nara suspected this line of questioning was for her own good, rather than to actually satisfy Amara’s curiosity.

That one was easy enough. If nothing else, Nara understood herself as a person well. “I’ve always been terrible at self-motivation. I excelled in academics—for everything I was assigned. But I was terrible at getting myself to participate in extracurricular activities, especially when there was no active cost, financial or otherwise, to not doing so, like paying for lessons. When you established a schedule for me to train, I followed that training. When I attended the Adventure Academy, I participated in all those classes. When Vallis, Sen, and Encio sought out to spar, I did. Contracts as well—Adventurer work give me a responsibility to follow through when on my own prerogative, I may or may not. Not in a timely manner, anyway.

“It’s not like I don’t like being motivated or active. I like achieving things, I’m just terrible at getting myself to do them. It’s why I’m a follower, not a leader. My abilities are the same. They’re external motivation. My own soul generated external motivation. Because they exist, I will master them.”

“That seems circulatory,” Amara said, an odd look on her face. “Does that not count as an internal goal?”

Nara shrugged. “An ability is like an assignment. The fact that I assigned it to myself is less important than the fact that it is a tangible, motivating goal. A goal with clear stages, and one that exists outside of my own will for it to exist. I won’t stop having abilities because I no longer want abilities: they’ll always be there.”

Amara and Laius already knew what combat trance would fit Nara well, but they wanted to encourage introspection. She was bronze rank now, and capable of more independence in her own growth, an independence in thought that was necessary if she wanted to broach gold.

Nara had claimed her ability told her that her combination was the one her soul chose for itself. Amara had seen Nara for what she was—not an overachiever, not in the normal sense. She would achieve when given the framework to achieve, but not on her own.

“I’m an introvert that needs people. I do fine on my own, but it’s other people that make me better.”

She’d always have other people now, with her familiars.

Amara gently slapped Nara on the back, but even that elicited an oof. “Now get up, you continue pushing until you figure it out.”

“In one day?!”

“No. But what is work without spirit!”

After Nara had resumed her shadow ninja warriors gang fight, Ragnelle approached Amara, siding up next to her.

“Starting them early on the path to gold?”

“Starting them right. They need to think about themselves: who they are, and how their essences relate. They all have the potential for it.”

“You believe everyone has potential.”

“Not everyone,” Amara defended, staunch in her opinion. It was shared with her theory of magic—that any essence ability could become a ritual. Accordingly, Amara believed everyone had the potential to reach gold, or even diamond, rank. “But most people. Most people choose not to pursue it: The potential is still there.”

A manipulated aura enveloped them, blocking their words from those outside to hear with an aura-based privacy screen.

“Are you here to help?” Ragnelle asked. “I certainly wouldn’t mind the company.”

“Have you figured it out: light or darkness?”

Ragnelle’s lips curled angrily back. “No. Not cold or heat either. We aren’t sure.”

“A void user then?”

“There isn’t a diamond ranked one around. That essence is notoriously hard to use, and an all-consuming void is even rarer rather than nullification.”

“We’ll stay, in case you decide it is light or darkness you need.”

“You are a beauty and the light of Chelsea’s life, Amara, but you use lightning, not light.”

Amara shrugged. “It is heat, it is light, it is energy. Whether or not it is effective remains to be seen.”

“I hope we won’t have to.”

*****

Three days passed.

The shadows were attuned to their ranks, dealing damage not as health but as pain. She was instructed to use her full abilities, even when they had little to no effect—Laius would decide when one had been killed. She had no idea how he was tracking five battles simultaneously (John, Aliyah, and Lawrence were going through some sort of meditative exercise for spatial awareness and weren’t battling shadow clones, at least for now.)

A shadow spearman shot forward with the power and precision of a jouster. His pike bore forward, stabbing repeatedly towards Nara. She parried and blocked, teleporting behind to deal a counterblow. Meanwhile, the annoying fly of a shadow archer had been picking off her nodes with disruptive-force damage (it was a shadow, after all), so she was constantly restrained to one node and seven bodies of Sage. It restricted her to mainly ground combat unless she wanted to risk some new body piercings of the overlarge and bloody kind.

Approaching the archer was a frustration; A shadow shieldman kept in tight, constantly rebuffing Nara with full body bashes and shield launches like a beefy linebacker. She couldn’t bait it to overextend. Sage tried to get behind the archer as best she could, but she was vulnerable to its disruptive-force damage as well.

Her iconic slitting-throats sword move was ineffective after the first day. Either Laius had improved the shadows, or the shadows had learned to expect it, and they kept their guards up to their throats whenever she disappeared. The back of the neck was equally vulnerable and easier to attack, and the shadows had started pairing up to keep each other’s backs occupied: she couldn’t teleport where space was occupied. Sage was restricted to the ground, so Nara couldn’t rely on tricky angles and 3D mobility to outmaneuver her enemies.

Nara would have been outmatched entirely if the shadows had any actual magical powers. They kept to pure skill—physical attacks that more or less followed the laws of physics. They were sturdy, as expected of bronze rank summons, and outnumbered those participating to make up for it. Their teamwork with a limited skill set was remarkable, for a bunch of shadow manifestations of which sapience was questionable.

Then, she made a mistake—she was launched into the air by the shieldman. His partner’s arrow whizzed right behind with impeccable timing. Nara deflected the arrow with an intercepting kick and used cosmic step (the physical step portion of Cosmic Path) to change her trajectory—downwards, straight into the path of the pikeman.

Options buzzed through her head—teleportation, phase shift, attempting another parry, and, oddly enough, materializing a book beneath her foot to push off it and slightly shift direction; combined with Infinity Domain, it was enough to slip past another injury rest break.

Astral Domain allowed her to make astral constructs—they didn’t block for shit, but she could still make things. Nara’s head swam with another option to add to her growing list of options, but it was unexpected enough that she made it past the pikeman and delivered a devastating blow to destroy the shadow.

Laius rematerialized it; her victory was short-lived. This time it had a trident. Instead of being skewered like beef she could be skewered like fish. Wonderful.

The point, of course, was not to win, but to force extreme circumstances to develop her combat trance. It was in another pincer move, another moment of choice paralysis and wandering thoughts, that Nara had her realization.

Nara, before the trials of Erras, had been a musician: A high school level musician, at best. She wasn’t terribly impressive, but she had still cultivated some skills of ‘multitasking’. As a musician in a high school symphony, she had to watch the conductor, move her fingers, blow on her instrument and control air flow, listen for tuning of the whole, match volume, keep the tempo, keep her place on the sheet music, play with melodic beauty and musical punctuation, and every so often turn the page.

It was multitasking. It was a part of her then, and a part of her now.

She realized with a start: The answer was dual cognition.

Realization did not beget immediate results as pregnancies did not beget instantaneous children, so Nara still got skewered like a fish (lightly. She did have some skill.)