Zeke moved ahead towards his own creation, the Hell Barrier, which at this point was foreign to him with so many rune arrays working in tandem to move his barriers along. After approaching it, he finally realized just how difficult it was to discern which to step on due to the similar colors.
Was this what the soldiers had to deal with? Now he wished he didn’t openly make fun of them on the side. He figured it was just for shits and giggles, but now he was starting to see that karma was indeed a bitch.
He breathed in and out, realizing several things that were already going wrong for him before he even started. For instance, He only just realized that Clara was there to watch. He knew he had to train eventually, and he was glad for it, but now that Clara was watching him intently was causing some butterflies in his stomach. He worried that he might look too ridiculous to keep relying on him.
The other mistake was that now since he was going by himself, literally everyone was around staring at him and waiting for him to get on the Hell Barrier. He looked back to see quite a large crowd of soldiers and his comrades watching him, his supposed new healer friends standing by the side, too scared to tackle the training course even with him along.
Since he can only use his barrier at a small rate and forced to use his physical body, they had no way of defending themselves. He was honestly surprised how brazen they were to go against Zacharia’s orders despite them being part of his group.
He was actually surprised that Zacharia was willing to give the healers some ‘mental preparation’, but any more than that and they’ll supposedly be in trouble.
He noticed some of the disks flying about, but he instantly rejected trying to go after one of them. Not even Mikella could catch these things after so many days spent training, so there was no point. For now, he needed to do baby steps, and that was just to stand in the training course and tackling one of the challenges.
For now, he stepped onto the platform to face the first layer of the course–the one where it focuses on teaching people how to evade appropriately. The whirling dummies swung their arms with such velocity that it felt like watching a rotating fan in his old world. He felt his skin tingle just thinking about getting close, imagining the pain that would come from getting hit.
Yet he saw Mikella dodge these with ease all the time, almost at an instinctual level. Surely, it was possible to at least take on one of them, right?
He shook his head, and he lightly jumped on his feet. That helped his blood rush throughout his body as he started working up a small sweat.
The cold chilly air hitting his skin wasn’t helping though, but rather than trying to keep stalling and fearing that someone is gonna call him out on it, he rushed ahead.
Everyone gasped at his sudden rush. Was he not supposed to do that? He had to anyways, so it was probably just figuring out that he wasn’t bluffing. The closer he got to one of the dummies, however, he realized why they were so shocked.
These things were fast. Faster than he imagined, and before he could even think about it, he rushed in too deep to stop himself and landed straight onto an arm spinning right at him. It was slightly larger than the other arms, something that could occasionally happen when facing a soldier with a longer weapon than normal.
It hurt. It hurt like a bitch. His left abdomen roared in pain as he groaned, unable to even figure out why he even bothered closing in. But he realized too late that after getting away from one, another dummy was about to hit him.
The other arm hit him across his face, and pain exploded across his face. His eyesight turned blurry for a second as his body was unable to handle the sudden blow.
“Zeke! Watch out! There’s one coming for your leg!”
He heard Mikella shout. He wasn’t sure whether that was allowed to be said or not, but it wasn’t as though having allies watching out for you was anything bad in combat. Just as he heard, another dummy was closing in when he staggered, the lower arm ready to swipe at his feet.
This time, he was ready. He channeled his Mana and summoned a barrier at the size of a small hand right in front of the incoming arm. The arm slammed against the shield he created half-hazardly, but it should be enough to–
The barrier broke with ease. He has not focused enough concentration to truly make it work. He was so used to making large and powerful barriers that he hadn’t truly focused on creating smaller, more compact barriers. Even at his level, his barrier was only as strong as his concentration, and right now, his concentration was severely lacking.
Still, he had enough sense to get away from the dummy, and get away from the entire layer as a whole. He breathed heavily, trying to settle the pain on his stomach and face.
He knew the only reason why he wasn’t curling up and screaming in pain from the blows was only due to his Pain Resistance. That really helped him survive quite a lot of trials so far, and he wondered whether that would be his second maxed skill. He had a feeling that might occur if he kept screwing around.
But the pain was still there, aching and making him hiss. There was only so much mitigation his resistance skill can give him. His physical stats lacked too much for the incoming attacks. But he knew he couldn't stay still for long.
This was still training. And he sure as hell knew that the enemy won’t suddenly stop and let him rest. So he willed himself to cast Recovery on his affected parts.
He had so much practice healing other folks with their own different channels that healing himself was child’s play. His wounds recovered with ease, and the pain stopped circulating his insides.
He felt his body working well again, though the phantom aches still hit him hard, and his dizziness was still there. He just had a debuff notification telling him that his mental stats was suffering from the blows, but he put that aside for now. He knew that he might be seeing them more often than he would’ve liked.
But just as he was about to turn around and ready himself to face only a single dummy again, he noticed something terrible going on above him.
“Zeke! Watch out! It’s gonna–
He only managed to hear Mikella shout one more time before horror struck him. A training disk was flying just above him, charging a pressurized wave right at him.
It hit, and Zeke was too slow to conjure a barrier in time. He was pushed back, his physical stats unable to even keep him grounded as he was pushed forward. Thankfully, it was just a wave rather than a physical force, so he managed to land with just a minor force hitting his lower back and head.
He quickly stood up, shaking his head before he found himself in a rather serious predicament. His jaw dropped when he found out where he landed–right in the center between all the dummies in the layer. And one of them was dangerously close to hitting him.
At that moment, adrenaline pumped through his veins. His sight became tunnel vision as he only thought about one thing–survival. He conjured his barrier, this time acclimating to his surroundings by enforcing it in a nanosecond. Once that arm hit it, this time, it struck with a resounding thump rather than just breaking it apart.
The arm was swung back, only to be replaced with another incoming swiftly. He tried to use his barrier again, but thought of it better and just hauled ass to the side.
If that arm hit his shield again, it would only bring that other arm again, and he was sure the impact this time would’ve broken his concentration. But that lunge only caught him in another blow to the face by another arm belonging to a different dummy, returning him back to his sad reality of being stuck in-between the dummies.
He swerved, blocked, and was hit for the next few seconds, unable to really comprehend what was happening. In one case, he thought he was back at Cloud’s study again, studying his runes.
That quickly shocked him when the other soldiers began to shout at him to focus. He swiftly returned to find himself being charged with not a dummy, but an incoming flying disk coming at him again.
He ducked the incoming pressure wave, hitting another dummy ineffectively. If anything, that only made the arms swing faster and slam his poor ass to the side.
Pain raced across his lower back. The impact was so deep that it felt like it hit him right on the spine. There was that small sting residing, reminding Zeke that it was actually possible that his spine might have gotten injured.
Was it possible to be paralyzed in this world? Can a normal healing spell help reduce those chances? He stopped caring as he poured more mana into using Recovery than on his barriers, trying to focus on dodging each arm that came across.
Unfortunately that only occurred a quarter of the time. Half the time, he was hit across his body part, and the rest of the time was spent hitting his face and head, the worst offenders.
Blood flowed. Teeth rattled. His skull aching at just the idea of being hit again.
Each blow to his body reminded him of this cruel fact–he was weak. He was so weak without his barriers. Forget about getting out of the layer in time–would he even be able to survive another battlefield like the one back in the tower?
Would he have to go back to seeing his comrades die, forcing him to see that horrid funeral pyre once again, this time of his own making?
The idea of facing that pyre again, the tears flowing, the sobs caressing his hearing dominated his senses. That fear forced heaviness onto his soul, his very being. The very same one that he was forced to accept when he realized that it was possible that Ana might grow up without a mother.
As he dodged, blocked, swerved, and got hit, the idea solidified in his mind. He wasn’t afraid to die–he was afraid his actions might lead others to their deaths.
His uselessness will kill other people that matter more than himself. His breath was caught in his throat. His mind blanketed at the thought.
If his actions led Mikella and Clara to die, then what was the point? He should’ve just stayed in his room and let the world pass him by. At the least, he could serve his purpose of being just a barrier for the town.
No!
He refused the idea.
I don’t want to go back!
He refused to be another cog, a tool to be used.
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These two ideas–to be useful and to be used–vied for control within his mind. He wanted to help, he wanted to be useful–but he refused to be a battery even when it was better suited.
He hated how Mikella only wanted him to stay behind to act like a personal shield to use whenever she wanted.
He hated how she always had to go out there on her own, wanting nothing more than to protect her at any cost.
There was no way out of his mental hellhole as his own body was going through a physical hell hole. Pain stopped mattering as his uselessness was shown to everyone in the group, to the soldiers who looked up at him as a healer and a lord.
To Mikella who was crying out in concern, to Clara who was shouting his name with worry in her eyes.
“Bobo!”
He refused to be weak. He hated being useless. So if his barrier isn’t working, his body isn’t catching up with him, and his healing skill isn’t working hard enough to get rid of the pain and anguish he was going through–what else does he have?
His attunement. The World.
It sounded powerful, yet he hasn’t made a clear sign of using it at all. All he could ever really do is reach out with Overreach, but it barely mattered in this current scenario. He told Mikella before that it felt like trying to reach it beyond a wide gap. If he went further, he might lose himself in the process.
But at this point, is he really satisfied staying the way he is? Of course not. So he forced himself to reach over the gap, to reach into his core.
He strived for his attunement, shining so brightly in the dark distance of his mind. He knew that level of power should push him forward, to get him out of this predicament his stupid ass put himself in.
He felt it. A twinge of power surging through him. That was it. He needed that. So he forced himself further and further, reaching into it. While his body continued to play around in the Hell Barrier, trying to survive, his mind stretched for the power buried deep within him.
Then he finally grasped it. He pulled, bringing out the power within him. He didn’t exactly know what he can do with it, but with it in hand, he could–
He could–
The power… it didn’t just surge. It expanded.
It was trying to swallow him whole. His mind blanketed as he stopped caring about the dummies, finally entering into the centerpoint where the other dummies couldn’t reach him. But he had something going on that was far worse.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!
He felt like he was going to overflow. His throat clogged like he was drowning. At the same time, a burning sensation filled his being. It was hotter, fuller, brighter, and more powerful than he had ever sensed before.
Fuck. I’m gonna–I’m gonna drown.
The power was too overwhelming. It forced his mind to search for a way out. He wanted to go back to the other side–only to find out that the power has completely and utterly filled the entirety of his mind.
I’m gonna blow! I’m gonna kill everyone! Shit! I can’t stop it!
He panicked, sweat riddling his body more than his own blood and bile from his mouth. He paled, the inner fire burning so hot that his physical skin was starting to steam. His own core was burning him inside out. He clutched his chest, his mouth making gurgling sounds that reminded him of actual drowning.
But to everyone’s ears, it came out as something else.
…..
Something was very wrong. She didn’t know how or why, but Mikella felt it. Something was wrong with Zeke.
She rushed ahead, noticing that he suddenly stopped moving about after reaching the center of the layer. He knelt to the ground, his mouth opening and closing like he was struggling to breathe.
She didn’t know what to do other than to try and rush ahead, the stupid training be damned. But a hand forced her back away.
She growled as she turned to find none other than Val stopping her, moving so fast that she barely caught her presence.
“Stop, don’t go,” Val said, her tone sounding more intense than before.
“What do you mean, he’s–”
Then Zeke screamed. But it wasn’t his usual scream. It carried the same tone, the same pitch.
But there was something more. It was the same level of daunting noise that caught them all agape back at the tower. Following that scream, a wave ensued from his person.
Everyone felt it immediately. The soldiers screamed in a panic, the magic-focused users folding themselves to the ground on their hands and knees.
Zeke continued to scream, and a powerful wave of pressure hit them all. It didn’t just came as a shockwave this time, it was a constant pressure. It built itself on her shoulders, forcing Mikella to grit her teeth. The Journeyman staged users shouted their orders.
“Everyone, retreat!” Zacharia was the first to respond, getting the soldiers to pay attention to him. “He’s gonna blow!”
“What?!” Mikella shouted, unable to comprehend what Zacharia just said. Then she looked back at Zeke, her eyes widening.
Zeke’s body was starting to steam, like he was about to catch on fire. But instead of normal flame, his body was glowing a bright blue, his eyes following suit to becoming bright blue lights instead. His mouth opened wide to keep screaming, continuing to sound alien and foreign to her. In that small instant, Zeke turned to her.
He could only mouth the words, his consciousness only just barely there.
‘Run’.
Mikella refused to listen to his plea, instead trying to go after him. But both Val and Myra grabbed her by the shoulders.
“Mikky, don’t!” Myra shouted, trying to bring her friend back to reality. “You can’t go there!”
“Shut it!” Mikella shouted, her narrowed eyes filled with wet determination. “Zeke! Zeke!”
“Myra, help me bring her back.”
Val ordered and Myra complied, forcing Mikella back no matter how much she tried to wrestle away.
“Zeke!”
“Mikky, what about Clara?” Myra shouted, bringing her attention back to her. “If she stays here, she could die just from the pressure!”
That immediately got Mikella’s worry as she turned to find both the girls hugged tight by Cloud, who was already on the move and hauling ass away with the kids.
Even though she wanted to help Zeke, if literally everyone, including the Journeyman users, were running away, what other choice did she have?
The air started to quake along with the dreadful noise and the cacophony of pressure ensuing. It was like a powerful orchestra of majesty and power was resounding all over to the point that the town barrier was beginning to shift uncontrollably.
Mikella could only watch as she tried to force herself away, turning back with the others as the soldiers ran away from the training course.
Once they got a decent distance away, Cloud shouted to everyone as the girls were safely pulled away with the help of the other soldiers.
“Everyone, get back! I’m pulling on the barrier to protect us!”
“Cloud, can you actually control Zeke’s power?” Val shouted to be sure, surprising Mikella that he could actually do that.
“As lords, it’s possible for us to share powers if we’re connected to the Unity Core, but this is the first time I’ve ever done this, honestly,” Cloud looked back at the charging power that was already starting to destabilize the Hell Barrier surrounding him. “But better to try it now than to regret not doing it later.”
He raised his hand, the feeling of mana surging from within him. With a grunt, he willed the mana to bend to his needs.
Mikella saw the Barrier that once acted as the protection for the town shift. It felt wrong, almost as if someone was forcing it to work against its own master. Like a living thing, it resisted Cloud's pull.
He was showing active strain as the surge of intense power kept radiating from Zeke’s direction. It was enough to have some of the soldiers bleed from their ears, their lips cut from biting into them so hard to bear through the pressure he was giving off.
She hated this. She hated this so much, but she forced herself to move towards Cloud against Val’s orders and placed her hand on Cloud’s own.
Please, do as he says.
Just like that, Cloud’s focused consternation on his face vanished as the barrier easily bent to his will. The town barrier shifted and changed, reforming itself around to put the screaming and agonizing Zeke outside of its range, leaving only the soldiers protected.
Cloud looked back at her in shock, only to see Mikella look back at him with a frown.
“I figured it was easier to let me handle that. In some way, we’re connected, remember?”
Deciding that was enough, Cloud nodded in agreement as he watched Zeke along with the others as the power now began to glow.
It turned bright and hot, like watching an actual sun being born right there in front of them. After Zeke saw that everyone was out of his sight, protected within his barrier, it was as though he held nothing back.
He roared, a primal sound that came deeper than his own core. And soon everything turned bright white.
…..
The citizens who were just trying to return to their normal lives after the ambush several months ago watched as a pillar of light suddenly formed outside of the town’s barrier. It was so bright, it beat the afternoon studded star’s light and casted shadows everywhere around the town.
The citizens shouted in fear and panic, expecting another attack. But thankfully, the barrier held firm. Despite the explosion of air pressure surely happening outside, the trees outside of the town bending and breaking from the force, the rest of the town was utterly safe.
That is, until the barrier itself began to shift and tear itself apart, the power too much even for its own defenses.
Much to the citizen’s relief, however, it held. As the pillar of light slowly disintegrated, hopefully never to return again, the barrier finally gave in and broke apart. The town was once again freed to be attacked at any moment, but the citizens couldn't really do anything about it.
Instead, they braced themselves. They knew the lords were here now, and even the lord in name who provided the barrier was here. As long as they were around, they were safe, but they weren’t fools.
After being pushed around by the world around them so many times, they had enough of being targets. They turned weary, expecting some soldiers to come in to take them out again. This time, they were ready, with their own soldiers and even their own weapons granted by the smith for this very purpose.
And as time slowly passed, the feeling of bloodlust faded, thankfully. No blood was shed, and no battles were fought. The citizens slowly returned back to normal, expecting the barrier to return back to how it once was.
Of course, that didn’t stop the citizens from gossiping at what the hell they just saw. Perhaps a spell has gone awry? But it certainly wasn’t that powerful before, no matter how strong the mages were. They certainly had a lot to talk to the lords once they returned.
…..
Her eyes burned from the intensity, but only for a moment. The barrier held, but once the energy dispersed, the barrier was taken down along with it. It was a miracle that it even held at all. Even the Journeyman watched in awe at the power displayed in front of them.
As for the soldiers, they weren’t at awe–they were in astonishment and fear. Mikella looked towards the only one victim that the blast caught, but was also honestly distracted at the result of the explosion of power.
A deep crater was formed where the Hell Barrier was once at. It eclipsed the size of the Hell Barrier, becoming several diameters bigger. She could only see a vast darkness underneath it all, not even the light of the studded star capable of discerning what was there.
Did Zeke blew up so much land that it reached the core of the entire world or something? But just as she thought about him, she desperately searched for the same boy that blew up the world.
She saw him, finally, and as she feared, his body was just limp in the air as gravity finally took hold. On some level, his body floated in the air as his energy took control of him, but now that his power was gone, his body soon followed gravity’s will, heading directly towards the crater.
“Zeke!”
This time, nobody stopped her as they instead followed her. Myra ran after her, fully intending to save their barrier mage that was about to fall to whatever dark hole that was down there. As she reached the edge of the barrier, she lunged at the falling mage. Her attunement coiled around her feet as she flared Dragon Descent, giving her enough control to dash forward at an incredible speed across the huge gap and catch Zeke by the arms.
Unfortunately she didn’t really think about much else as now the two were now falling together, but not any longer. A wave of cold air manifested around Mikella as ice suddenly formed beneath her, catching her mid-air and nearly crashing into it.
They slid off the slippery ice and straight back towards the edge Mikella jumped from. They hit the wall, several miles down from where she jumped.
Mikella felt icey burns across her skin, and her already wounded body was aching more. But she looked up to find not only Myra, but the panting Piker with his blade out. Looking down at them, Mikella shouted her thanks as she then looked back at the downed Zeke in her arms.
He looked so pale, and now he was deathly cold. But he still breathed, even if it was ragged and dry,
As long as he was alive, that was enough. She cradled him in her arms, thanking her lucky stars that no deaths occurred.
Though when Zeke wakes up, she is definitely going to kill him in every single way she could possibly imagine. And she was going to have Clara help along. She deserves to punish him just as much as Mikella did for making them so worried.