Chapter 181: Dodging Rocks Part II
It wouldn’t have been a real training session with Amara and Laius if at some point Nara wasn’t dodging rocks.
They used an ‘unoccupied’ forest this time. The obstacles were considerably less complex (by Nara’s standards, compared to their magic-shaped parkour course), but Laius and Amara outdone themselves by having the shadow warriors participate along with their standard-fare rock-throwing. To make it even spicier, the monsters were still out and about—Hazards, or rather, obstacles.
If this did not classify as extreme sports by Erras’ standards, Nara was afraid to find out what did.
The team plus extras were also reluctantly dragged along (minus Sen, who was enthusiastic), and there was much falling from trees like uncoordinated monkeys, yelps of pain from rock-sized bruises, and yelling ‘whose team are you really on!’ to the shadow warriors that pincered them alongside monster attacks.
It was also another excellent opportunity for Nara to work on her dual mind trance.
The dual mind combat trance was one of the more difficult ones to establish, especially at bronze rank. At silver rank, the changing of one trance to another was far easier, and splitting attention was inherently easier. But Nara had experience with multitasking and the advantage of technological allusions: It was like improving her CPU or adding more sticks of RAM (she wasn’t tech savvy enough to know which was right for comparison.)
She tried to shift into an instinctual flow—letting go of the death grip she had on Infinity Domain and her other abilities and allow them to move on instinct. There was a lot of stumbling and flailing and claws striking where they should have missed, but the pain of trial-and-error (and pain in general) was not unfamiliar to Nara, and John was undergoing his own trial healing the whole team while they all leapt around like Nara did—like they were mad. His assignment was to use only half of his abilities, so he had to prioritize which blows he blocked with his shield, what damage he healed, and whether or not he should even heal himself (since he, of course, also had rocks ‘tossed’ his way.)
While Nara had concluded on mind-duality, she had had some reservations, which Amara cleared up. A second mind would not react mindlessly. It was still her—reduced in some way, with limits, but still her. If a normal person tried to punch her, her second mind wouldn’t just retaliate with indiscriminate death.
Her second mind, for clarity, she called Sense Mind. It would take care of abilities requiring the tightest of margins—Phase Shift and Infinity Domain, for now. The second mind would be focused on perceiving threats to herself, trimmed so it's ‘processing speed’ or reaction speed was the highest possible that she could achieve for her rank. It was still her reaction speed—just without other tasks and actions jamming up her circuits.
At least, that was the plan.
…The plan was taking its time.
*****
It was one week later that Theodore had finished Nara’s commission and had notified her to meet him at the smithy. Now that the ice was broken, a few other members had commissioned Theodore or the other crafters of the smithy for some additional equipment. Eufemia had requested a variety of weapons and armor—by far the most expensive purchase of the group. Just like Nara, the inability to conjure her weapons or armor was a not insignificant weakness. For Eufemia, it greatly affected her shifting fighting style. Encio requested a sword, a set of throwing knives, and a body-concealable knife with anti-detection, anti-perception effects. If anyone was dumb enough to suppress his abilities without searching his body, he would have a way out.
Theodore was waiting this time, and he led her inside.
“Special attacks can be difficult to awaken within accessory type objects for mediocre smiths—its more usual for weapons and shields,” Theodore began, “but I’m not a mediocre smith. Although...” he continued, a bit more hesitant, although stiffly hiding it, “I’m not sure whether you’ll want this particular effect or not. It’s not something I’d normally make for just anyone, but it was the best option that fulfilled your requests.”
“You’re really leaving me in suspense. Didn’t know you were such a tease, Theodore,” she teased with a grin.
She felt the ripple of embarrassment within his aura, although she couldn’t see any flush on the leonid’s furry face on account of all the fur.
“Shut up,” he grunted, his voice betraying his embarrassment where his fur had hidden it. “Stop being weird.” Despite his gruff embarrassment, the way he presented his craft to her was careful and respectful—Nara could tell that he’d never disrespect equipment, even if he had been overzealous in trying to analyze hers.
“Here it is.”
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Item: [Blood Moon] (bronze rank, epic)
Classification: accessory, arm guard
Description: A pair of arm guards created by a skilled craftsman, crafted to deal high damage at a cost.
Effect: Grants use of [Blood Rebound], a special attack costing high stamina with a 5s cooldown.
[Blood Rebound]: An attack that deals very high physical damage. For a short duration after use, suffer increased damage.
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Effect (Iron): When used after suffering damage, damage dealt by [Blood Rebound] is increased.
Effect (Bronze): Physical strength is increased.
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The pair of arm guards were made of a dark purple-black metal, shining with the iridescence of raven feathers. Underneath it was lined with a dark red leather, sleek with designs Nara could only call ‘understated edgy’. Down the center of the guards were engraved runes, ones her ability translated as ‘blood’, ‘karma’, ‘reversal’. The metal was stained with designs, of raven feathers, geometric knots, and an ornate full moon on one guard, and a crescent moon on the other.
“Well? Any thoughts?” Theodore asked impatiently, shifting from one foot to the other.
“…The color kind of clashes.”
“What?” His voice rose with incredulity. “Did you want me to re-dye so it color coordinates with your ‘outfit’!?”
Nara perked up. “Can you?”
“NO!” He shouted, indignant.
She pouted.
“I can’t. Look,” he relented, opting for an explanation that’d get that irksome pout away. “A lot of material can be dyed, but some can’t! The dye can interfere with the properties of the materials. Us crafters have to be careful to preserve the power of the craft. Overtreatment will diminish it.”
“I’m kidding. It is exactly what I wanted, thank you Theodore. Well almost.”
“You could have left that last part out!”
Nara spent a day of her break out in the Ilwyd valley, casually picking off stray monsters here and there to test out the effects of Blood Moon. Blood Rebound was a surprisingly potent physical attack made better by the increased physical strength, but the rebound afterwards was dangerous. She’d need to be careful using it, or something that would have been just a scrape would erupt with blood and gouge her skin, much like her own afflictions.
As a learning experience, she now knew how her opponents must feel when a stupid scratch inexplicably severs through muscle like butter. This was an experience she’d rather have been spared, but it seemed much of her journey was lined with blood-stained flowers of empathy.
*****
Life if Kallid had been exciting yet peaceful—as peaceful as an adventuring culture where street brawls were common and encouraged. However, on the cheese scented breeze came the whisperings of a Storm. The phantom itch at Nara’s wrists, and the goosebumps that shivered up her arms told her as much.
She looked around the mausoleum. Most of the team—Eufemia, Encio, Aliyah, and John—were in a challenge room. The iron rank team—Ceri, Gwen, Iola, Huwe, and Wynthell—were in another challenge room, trying their luck. Theodore was leafing through some crafting research, his furred hands large in contrast to the small script. The way they lifted pages was almost dainty, and Nara chuckled quietly to herself at the juxtaposition. Sen was meditating, which was hardly a surprise. If you had to bet at any given moment what Sen was doing, meditating or sparring would be top 2 on Family Feud.
It had been six months since Nara ranked up to bronze; The team was at roughly Bronze 3 to Bronze 4, and progress was slowing. They hadn’t done anything wrong, but progress would slow as they approached silver.
A shift in the relaxed atmosphere was ended by a shift in Roscoe’s posture; He straightened, tensed, his dark chocolate fur rippling and tightening around his corded muscles. His ears twitched and angled, and his pupils narrowed into displeased slits.
The portal in front of them activated, whirring as a membrane of energy filled the arch. Theodore put away his reading material and hefted a rune engraved hammer. Sen stood, heavy staff held at the ready. Nara let herself fade into the background, and she moved into a new position—Nara found that people rarely considered what lay behind a portal.
A pale blond haired celestine stepped out of the arch.
“Maelon.” Roscoe confirmed through voice chat. “The one you wanted me to investigate.” Behind him followed five more bronze rankers.
“I don’t recognize any of them.”
“Neither do I,” Theodore added, as he frequented different circles than Roscoe did, although he had recently fallen out of the social sphere. Still, a craftsman’s memory was not to be disregarded.
The five bronze rankers fanned out, their weapons equally at the ready. They were outnumbered—not by much, but it wasn’t a good position to be in. They had no healer, and one of their four was primarily a craftsman, and another was a scout. Although Roscoe was non-core, he also wasn’t particularly good at combat (beyond what a typical leonid was, given their inherent strength and agility.)
“Maelon.” This time Roscoe spoke aloud. “What sin have we committed to have you curse us with your flea-ridden presence?”
Maelon bristled, eyes flashing dangerously. Evidently, the fleas were a sore topic. The four were under no illusions that this was a social call—Roscoe had no need for pleasantries. Sen shifted closer to stand next to Roscoe.
“Roscoe,” Maelon sneered back, his face an unpleasant wrinkle. “I couldn’t be bothered to curse you. Your sin is existing.” He raised his nose to the air and sniffed, unable to achieve Eufemia’s attractive disdain when she did a similar thing. “I’m not here for you anyway.”
“Since you are incapable of getting to the point, what do you want?” He addressed the five behind Maelon. “I can’t say your taste in friend speaks much for your intentions.”
“He’s not our friend,” a pixie cut brown-haired human woman said. “He’s just some mediocre local. We’re here for…” Her brown eyes darted around. “…Where is she?” She turned to Maelon. “You said she was here!”
“She is!”
“Find her!”
Maelon sneered back. “Apparently I’m just some mediocre local.”
“Are you really so thin skinned? Have we not compensated you enough?”
“You need me now. I’m changing the terms—”
“You’re a lying cheat—”
“ENOUGH!” A dark-skinned elf snapped over the bickering, instantly quelling it. “We’re here for the outworlder.”
Sen tensed.
“What do you need an outworlder for?” Roscoe said, keeping the attention on himself at Sen’s telepathic direction. “Surely, friend, you can find another one?”
“We are here to offer amnesty. Refuge. The outworlder has information that belongs not in the hands of this volatile world. This does not have to be violent, although I know peace is not inherent to your culture.”
Nara flickered a thought to the group. “Advent?” She posed.
“Possibly.”
“Just tell me if they’re enemies,” Theodore said, nervously shifting his stance. “Will I need to attack them?” He asked, discomforted with the prospect of a to-the-death battle.
“Looking that way, yeah.”
“How does this work. Do we make the first move?”
They waited for Sen, with whom rested the burden of this decision. There was a good chance these were Adventist. They hadn’t said so in so many words, but they’ve come with a guide known for working with criminal elements, armed and ready, no matter what peaceful intentions they falsely profess.
They couldn’t leave. If they escaped through Nara’s portal, their allies would be left exposed in the trial room if they suspected Adventists stayed. If the iron rankers finished first, they were as good as dead, even if these were just common criminals. Maelon had timed it well—there should be at least 30 minutes until their team finished in their challenge room, which had restrictions on portalling out.
“This is a warning,” Sen said suddenly, focusing the group’s attention on him with his inherently commanding presence. He brought his staff up from rest, a pillar blocking their path. “Your continued occupation here will be considered a threat. If you have no desire to engage in conflicts as you claim, return from whence you came. The outworlder you are looking for is not here.”
Nara gave Sen an internal thumbs up. Asses were covered, warning was delivered.
The elf’s eyes flickered to the room. “In there, then.”
“You should leave,” Sen repeated, his voice low with threat.
Weapons were raised. “I think not.”