Nick tensed, but forced himself to remain perfectly still as he turned on force acceleration. Concentrating on exactly how he needed to move, he took aim and leapt, all within a couple of seconds.
It still took long enough that he barely made it out of the way in time. He could have sidestepped the stone faster if he hadn’t bothered with the ability, saving himself a chunk of mana in the process. But that was the point of practicing and refining his technique. At least he didn’t get hit this time. Progress is progress, Nick. No point in getting frustrated.
He turned to share his triumph with Sophia… just in time to see a second rock heading his way. Not having anticipated the follow up strike, although by now he probably should have, Nick panicked and fucked up his reaction.
He managed to activate force acceleration in time, but when he leapt, he lost control over his speed and direction. Wasting a piercing ray’s worth of mana, he soared over twenty feet straight up. He could hear the roar of the air in passing, the force against his knees sufficient to make his bones creak.
“Fuuuuck!” he cried out, praying that he wouldn’t land hard enough to break his legs as his ascent began to slow. As Nick looked down upon Sophia’s astonished face, he stopped gaining altitude at last.
For one glorious fraction of a heartbeat, he was flying, then completely weightless, hanging in midair. Then gravity dug its merciless talons into him, and he began dropping like a rock.
He had just enough time to be terrified. Not only was he about to take a considerable fall, he was angled to come down right on top of the campfire.
With a sinking feeling that was a great deal more literal than usual, Nick realized that he was about to cripple himself and light himself ablaze in the process. He tried to come up with a solution, but there wasn’t enough time. The ground rose in a streaking blur, poised to strike like the planet itself had reached out to slap him.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
He couldn’t decide if he should brace himself or go limp, suspecting that he wasn’t going to enjoy the outcome either way. Just before his feet plunged into the fire, something hit him hard from one side. Something warm and pleasantly soft.
When the world stopped moving, Nick found himself cradled in Sophia’s arms, her eyes staring down into his own. They both looked surprised, relieved, then embarrassed in turn.
She quickly set him down and looked away, deciding to pretend that the last thirty seconds had never happened. “Thanks,” he sat down on the ground and buried his head in his hands, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“No worries,” she sighed. “That was at least half my fault. That ability has too much raw power to rush your training like that. I’ll be more careful going forward.”
“I’ll have to take it even slower until I get a few more levels under my belt. This ability isn’t well-suited to someone with my stats, or with the size of my mana pool. On the bright side, it should be great once I have some time to grow into it. I may have made a poor choice when I picked the utility category instead of offense or defense.”
“No point in second-guessing the decision now. The same thing could have happened no matter what you chose. At least you wound up with something with a lot of potential.”
“I know. You’re right,” Nick smiled. “Hopefully, with your help, I’ll live long enough to make something of it.”
“That’s what friends are for. Besides, I have a similar problem with my strongest summon. I wouldn’t have time to use it at all if you weren’t there to watch my back. All other issues aside, a five-minute casting time is a ridiculous liability and one that I’ll have a tough time resolving. I can’t train with it much since my power doesn’t lend itself to practicing in small bites, like you’re doing with force acceleration.”
She took a seat beside him at the fire. “Let’s worry about tomorrow’s problems tomorrow. For now, how about we grill up some dinner and then hit the hay? We still have a long and treacherous road ahead of us.”
Nick nodded his agreement and reached for his pack, glad to have Sophia at his side. Her presence was a bright spot during these dark days, and right now, Nick needed all the light he could get.