Adam stared at the glowing cube before him. It shifted with hues of white, blue, and black in what looked like snow blowing over a mountain in gale force winds. It had a hypnotic quality to it, and he felt he could sit here for days and be lost in the mysteries of the skill crystal.
Ava held the other, though hers showed shifting hues of green and red. Ava had snatched it as soon as she saw it, her eyes glowing with pure desire. She said she felt a connection to the cube, like it was calling to her. She didn’t feel a thing for the cube Adam held. That had grabbed Finn’s and Caius’s attention even more than just seeing a new skill be formed.
“Wait.” Adam said. “Are you saying that you can have a connection with skill crystals? As in they will work better with who you are as a person?” He asked. The way Ava had described the sensation it sounded similar to how he had been drawn to the soul skill crystal before he was transported to this crazy trial.
Finn nodded eagerly. “Absolutely. It’s the dream.” Caius nodded beside him. They had talked when Caius and Ava returned and were back to their goofy friendship.
“Then why don’t you wait until you find skill crystals that resonate with you?” Adam asked.
“Because it is exceedingly rare. You could spend your entire life waiting for a perfect fit and maybe only come across one if you’re lucky.” Caius said. “The only thing that would allow you to search for such crystals would be to progress on the path to Kingship because with each tier your longevity increases.”
“And obviously it would be pointless then.” Finn said. “It’s a matter of fate whether or not you get one. Researchers theorize that they make it much easier to progress because you have such a profound understanding of the skill. Especially as you get to the later tiers of Viscount and Duke, many people get stuck simply because they can’t figure out how to elevate their skills in suitable manner to sustain the increased pressure of the new tier.”
Adam blinked blankly back at them. They had mentioned they would go over progressing through the tiers but told him he wouldn’t have to worry about that for a long while.
“It’s still too early to get into it with you because you need to focus on mastering your energy control. And technique. And Primordial Energy knowledge and theory. And, well, just about everything before you should be thinking about the intricacies of tier progression.” Caius said. “For now, it’s enough to know that to progress to the next tier, your skills must be a perfect expression of your path that mesh with your unique understanding of Primordial Energy. Ultimately, our skills are our expression of Primordial Energy.”
“Sooo.” Adam said, thinking over what Caius had told him. He had no idea how he would progress since he had absolutely no idea about what ‘his path’ was or anything else they had said.
“I can see the gears turning in your head.” Finn laughed. He took his glasses off and rubbed them on his now freshly cleaned shirt. The fresh hint of lemon on the air wafting off him. “It’s the main reason why higher tiered skill crystals are preferred. A tier four skill crystal can carry you through the first two grades and are much easier to integrate. Like we said before, it’s not that the skills themselves are superior.”
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“All though they can be.” Caius added.
Finn nodded. “It’s that they allow you to progress farther on the path just on basis of tier of your skill. Whereas a tier one skill.” He whistled and raised his brows. “You’re essentially having to reforge that skill with each tier. And if you don’t have an extremely deep understanding of Primordial Energy you’ll likely be stuck. And it will only get harder with time.”
Ava still stood off to the side with the cube held gingerly in her hands, cupped between them like she was holding a baby squirrel. Her green eyes soaked reflected the dancing hues of green and red. A tear had carved a path down her cheek.
Adam found himself feeling oddly more connected to her in that moment. His entire experience with her she had only had two moods so far. Angry and sarcastic. This was a refreshing change.
Finn and Caius quieted as they watched her. She took one final look in the center of the crystal and then pressed it to her leg. A bright green glow burst from her body followed by flashes of red. The tattoos snaking up her arms and around her neck began to dance and shift across her body. She lifter her head, arms out to the side and eyes closed. The pulsing slowed over the next minute as they all sat silent and waiting.
Ava’s eyes shot open, a fierce grin on her face. She crouched and jumped, two wings, each more than five feet long exploded from her back. They were rimmed in black and the interior looked like a clear film to Adam. He could feel no wind blowing as Ava beat her newly formed wings. It was as if they weren’t disturbing the air in the slightest.
She took off and flew over the clearing, soaring only fifteen feet or so in the air, but turning rapidly and barrel rolling. She giggled, a tinkling sound erupting from her. It was perhaps the truest sound of joy Adam had ever heard. Ava came back to hover just before them, her wings flapping slowly in the air, definitely not fast enough to keep her aloft, but the laws of Primordial Energy were uncaring for Adam’s old understanding of physics.
A second later, the interior of her wings took on a green sheen as plumes of an almost translucent green haze came from her wings. It surrounded them, smelling of flowers in the spring after a brief rain, and Adam felt as if his entire body was being restored. His aches and pains slowly withdrew. His head cleared of all tiredness. The few cuts and bruises he had from the fight that Ava hadn’t healed slowly faded to nothing. He could see the relief on Caius and Finn’s face as well. He even noticed himself regaining Primordial Energy at an increased rate.
“That’s… Incredible!” Finn nearly yelled. He looked like he was vibrating with as much joy as Ava did. “I may never run out of Primordial Energy with this surrounding me.”
Ava landed beside Caius, her eyes fixated on him. “What do you think.” She winked at him.
He looked dumbfounded for the first time since Adam had met him. His mouth open as he stared at Ava. Adam nudged him in the side and cleared his throat. “I. You…” He stammered. “You’re” His eyes darted all over her.
She laughed and leaned in and kissed him. “It’s called, [Wings of Allorum].”
Caius stared at her and Adam thought he could almost see his eyes watering.
“The Wing of Allorum?” Finn asked. His excitement reigniting at the name as he almost started dancing in anticipation. “As in the first emperor of the Elven kingdoms. The Emperor who united the factions and rooted out the old corrupted?”
Ava kept her eyes locked on Caius. He reached a hand behind her neck and kissed her. “You’re amazing.” He whispered.
“And just wait until those self-righteous little shits find out. This is going to be amazing.” Finn said loudly as he stepped right next to Caius and Ava. He examined the wings still fanned out behind her and Adam couldn’t help but laugh at the lack of awareness.
Adam didn’t miss that there was something deeper there, but he kept his questions to himself for now. Finn’s interruption had interrupted Ava’s and Caius’s moment, and they stepped apart a bit. Ava dismissed her wings, and they puffed to balck mist, much like how Caius’s swords did or Adams’s armor when he dismissed them.
They turned their attention to Adam who still held the other leg skill crystal in his hands. They looked at him expectantly. He had nearly forgotten he was holding it after witnessing Ava’s amazing transformation.
“Wait.” Adam said. “If it was a leg crystal, how did Ava end up with wings?” He asked.
Caius smiled. “Just because a skill is designated to a certain section, doesn’t mean you will get a skill that requires that part of the body for usage.” He said. “In general, leg skill crystals have some sort of movement component to them, hence her wings. But they can have other effects as well. Don’t think about it. Just let the skill crystal do its thing.”
Adam shrugged. Who was he to argue with someone whose preferred field of study was in the formation of skill sets and how skill crystals effect our bodies. He looked at the crystal one last time, feeling a deep cold resonate through his body that sent a shiver down his spine. Adam put the crystal to his right thigh. It pulsed a bright white light, then everything went black.