28: Starting on Survival
The next morning (Day 6) they did not have Felinia, they had Gallen. Instead of the hall, they were in the arena.
This worried people.
Gallen let them sit and looked around. He seemed dead serious.
Taking a breath he called out to them “Listen up, and listen well! Your lives depend on this! Tomorrow students will be allowed to visit the nearby town called Inlar. The name is a play on words, but that is irrelevant.
“You will also be allowed to kill each other. However, there are a few conditions. On the school grounds you are only allowed to openly kill here in the arena, and you are not allowed to just force people into here. I have mentioned 2 loopholes there, so know that even in the school you are not safe.
“Another place you are not allowed to kill other students is if you are away from the school on a school trip.”
He saw many people not fully comprehending what he was saying, and it saddened him.
“In the town are people who also have powers. Piss them off, and they can kill you!”
That got them!
Gallen hated it was only self interest that worked on many of them.
“To help prepare you, you are t train with your powers. Some are not combat orientated. Team up with others who can fight, or make yourself more useful than being a target. Fortunately, those with Murder Domains won’t benefit much from killing someone whose Domain may be flower arrangements. This means they have less motive to start a fight with the friends of the flower child. A Deity of Art, on the other hand, may see Flower Arrangement as part of their Domain and seek to either control them, or kill them. Yes, everyone will have someone wanting to kill them. Some due to competition and some due to conflicts in their Domains. Some will do it for pay and others just for laughs. Some won’t have any reason other than being bored at the time.
“You are to train. You can train here, or in private. If you train in private you can keep you abilities secret and surprise potential enemies.”
People were thinking of that.
“Under this arena and to the side is a gym. You will find equipment strong enough to handle most powers you have. You can even enter a small area to train without using powers. If your power is super strong muscles, with them being one hundred times stronger than they are normally, you will need that room to work out and get stronger muscles. If you don’t your muscles might wither away from disuse!”
That was something most people never thought about!
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“NEVER GET COMPLACENT! Learn all the aspects of your powers, and train them to the fullest! By doing this you can develop them, and potentially unlock new powers!”
Most people were very eager to start.
Gallen frowned and told them “It will not be easy. There are other ways to protect yourself than using powers.
“There is good old fighting methods. Learn them. Even if you have super speed, if you meet someone who can match you or negate your power, you will need to know how to fight.
“Learn other things, like magic if you don’t already have it as a power. If you do, learn some more. Not many people expect a fire elementalist to blast them with razor sharp bolts of ice!
“Then come tools. There are two main ways powers go. I call them the Innate and the gadgeteers. The Innate have the power as part of them and can use it as such. The gadgeteers use gadgets, devices, amulets and more. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. Learn them, and learn the dangers.
“There are other things, like planning, preparation and manipulation. Learn what you can of them from wherever you can. I believe the library is a nice resource, if you can find the books.”
Someone called out “But the library is mostly full of useless books not relevant to anything here!”
Gallen smiled evilly. “Are they really irrelevant or are you just too dumb to see how useful they can be?”
There was chuckling at that.
Getting back on track, Gallen told the people, “If you need help, come see me after this speech is over. You can see me anytime for help. You might not recognize me, but you will see me.
“Any questions?”
A whole bunch of people stood up, and the first asked “How can those with non-combat powers prepare?”
“It all depends on their power. For example, A Craft Deity might make weapons, armor, traps, spy devices and trick devises. Someone whose power was to grow flowers could use it make poisonous flowers grow around their foe, releasing deadly spores and pollen, or maybe just something to knock them out. I know at least one of the students here is an expert fighter capable of taking on supers one on one even without using powers. Felinia had Flesh Sculpting while human. One trick was to use it to use weapons or makeshift armor to her body. She could also use it for some Healing.
“It is up to the students to think about all the potential ways their power can be used! You should also try to think about how the power may be countered, negated or leave weaknesses, and try to find way to counter those things.”
The next question was “Where can we train in private?”
Gallen smiled. “Tomorrow you can leave the school grounds, and go to the town. You can practice there . . . or in other places away from the school. You have been shown the school; we are surrounded by a forest on most sides! You can practice there.
“You can also practice on your Motes. A safe place to practice, and privacy all combined! In one place!
“Some will have powers that can be practiced and trained in the school. For example, a Hearth Deity may have the Power to keep the food healthy and free from sickness. They could practice in the kitchens. If you do so, please do not experiment on the food served. If I find someone has given the shits via food poisoning, I will vent all over you. Maybe even express my anger as well.”
There was laughter, but some very nervous Hearth Deities! Oddly, one seemed happy and excited.
Gallen told them “I will cover more about Powers in my lessons, but as every person’s power is probably different, there can’t be any standard training for this. Even if they seem similar, they may be vastly different. Take Speedsters for example. One may increase their own speed beyond what a body can take, while another slows down time around them. A third may have a massively boosted metabolism that not only allows super speed, but increased Healing and possibly super strength, at the cost of needing to eat a lot more.
“Consider your powers carefully, and contemplate all I have told you here.”
With that the lesson was over.