Alistair and Riseth spent the following weeks training in their personal arena, honing the skills and techniques Sotarr had recommended. Since Nessyra's return with the Kaiakos, Sotarr had not made an appearance. The influx of people had not fully resolved the issues Rathos faced, as most newcomers needed training for their new roles, whether working as crafters, joining expeditionary and combat teams, or establishing their own businesses.
One of the most successful new businesses was Al-Farisi's Magic Emporium, opened by a friendly and industrious Middle Eastern family. Their most popular items were flying carpets and feather fall rings, which quickly became a common sight in Rathos. The Al-Farisi family had a long history of crafting and selling carpets and jewelry on Earth, catering to tourists and wealthy locals. With the introduction of magic, they expanded their craft to include various magical trinkets with all kinds of effects.
Resni Stoneheart had also partnered with the Al-Farisi family, using their emporium to sell her own magical equipment. Occasionally, she collaborated with them to create new items, such as the feather fall ring, a safety measure introduced after a few accidents involving people falling off flying carpets. Fortunately, no one had been seriously hurt, but the rings provided an added layer of security.
During their training, both of them had made a lot of progress. Riseth had managed to turn one of her unselected skills into an ability called 'Hijack.' It allowed her to take control of opponents' skills, such as his battle sphere, manipulating their friend-foe recognition, among other effects. Riseth had a much harder time hijacking and manipulating any skills that were located within his body. She had tried targeting his conceptual awareness and arcane energy manipulation skills, but Alistair's inherent resistance and purity foundation made it extremely hard to wrestle control from him.
Alistair's efforts to resist and reclaim his battle spheres had, over time, increased their inherent resistance, providing excellent practice for the meta aspect of his force concept. Sotarr had explained that the force concept wasn't just about its physical aspect; it was also likely Alistair's strongest social and meta concept. He could use force to both physically and metaphorically expel other concepts, whether defending against Riseth's attempts to hijack his skills or against mind-based attacks.
This led to a series of discoveries for both of them, which would likely have taken them a long time to figure out and master. Alistair planned to follow Sotarr's advice and create a handful of specialized kinetic skills, including a significantly improved kinetic blast and a passive skill to enhance his kinetic skills overall.
Alistair felt confident he would obtain the freedom of movement skill in his next skill selection, as he was intimately familiar with it. Due to his high affinity for the relevant concepts, it had been easy to pick up on its proper execution, much like learning the kinetic blast from his kinetic combat gloves had been in the past. Upgrading his auto barrier skill to auto force barrier was also relatively straightforward. Although it still lacked defense against mental attacks, it was something his force barrier would eventually be able to stop just as well as physical and magical attacks; it opened new avenues for him to further upgrade the skill in the future.
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SKILLS:
Tier: [Epic]
Name: Automatic True Force Barrier
Description: Protects the user by automatically creating a protective force barrier that either surrounds the user or a designated area at the cost of a slight amount of [MP] or [Qi], shielding the user from attacks. The Barrier drains a tiny amount of [MP] or [Qi] over time and requires additional [MP] or [Qi] to maintain itself based on the damage it receives. The Barrier has a very high efficiency when defending against physical and energy attacks and a moderate efficiency when defending against mind and other esoteric concepts.
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The last skill Alistair had been working on was "Death From Above." Despite his best efforts and directed intent, it still refused to transform into a "Telekinetic Mobility" skill that boosted attacks from elevated positions. Sotarr had warned him that this might be the case, as the wording of the skill and the initial intent behind the skill were not ideal, but he assured Alistair it could be changed with sufficient effort and time.
Using telekinesis for mobility, on the other hand, was not very difficult for Alistair as he had gained a lot of practice with telekinesis by now. After some initial problems with using too much energy and lacking fine control, he eventually managed to get the hang of it. It was far more energy-efficient than flying, and mobility and momentum were not as much of an issue, allowing him to move at incredible speeds and unpredictable angles and acceleration. Since it wasn't flight, he could likely circumvent many lesser skills and anti-flight arrays with this technique.
This experience also opened Alistair's eyes to his issues with fine magic control. He was always a little too forceful, and he considered developing a 'Fine Magic Control' skill to help him with that. This skill would likely be useful in general, particularly for enchanting. As they advanced, the scripts and arcane structures became more intricate, and he struggled a lot more than Riseth to avoid botching things and having to start over, likely due to her having the control concept as a linked concept.
When they weren’t training, they were either attending meetings or planning large-scale expeditions; they were enjoying their free time in Rathos, which had grown into a bustling city. The selection process for new residents had been careful, aimed at minimizing the number of troublemakers or those likely to bring conflict with them. As a result, despite the wide variety of species represented, there was little friction among the inhabitants. People could release their frustrations through combat expeditions or in the public arenas, where leagues and teams were forming for competitive matches between similarly skilled individuals.
Crafting events were also organized to encourage healthy competition, adding to the community’s activities. However, the number of Crabkin in Rathos had noticeably decreased, with most relocating to Nautilis. During the initial wave of settlement, many Crabkin had declined to join the clan, as the specifics of their new home planet were unclear. However, during the second wave of recruitment, when it became clear that the clan had settled on an archipelago moon and a lake planet, many Crabkin took up the offer to join the clan, drawn to the more suitable living conditions. During this time, they learned that most species didn’t appreciate being referred to as some kind of "beastkin." In fact, many species viewed humans and their subraces as nothing more than "monkeykin," while demons were often considered "Demonkin." The term Demon, in this case, applied to an underground, bipedal, humanoid lizard-like species that thrived in hot, volcanic environments, a species not found on Earth. Unless the term was used derogatorily, Alistair wasn’t particularly bothered by being called monkeykin. Still, he and others made a conscious effort to address different species by their chosen species names.
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One of Alistair’s favorite activities was the regularly held cooking competitions, which were also televised over the network. These events often featured ingredients newly discovered by the expedition teams exploring the planet and its moon. Neshan cuisine was typically highly garnished, with a strong emphasis on visual appeal as well as flavor. Human food, on the other hand, prioritized taste and was generally less elaborate to consume compared to the often intricate and over-garnished Neshan dishes. Although demons shared a similar sensibility to humans regarding taste and presentation, their dishes occasionally had a nightmarish appearance. Alistair was particularly horrified by a dish of eyeball turtle soup, served in the turtle’s polished shell, with the wyvern eyeballs floating in a highly garnished vegetable broth, arranged to stare at the eater, with the turtle’s skull grinning ominously from the center.
However, despite the diversity of dishes, Barton and his team of halflings often emerged victorious, striking the perfect balance between creativity and inoffensiveness to humans, demons, and beastkin alike. Luca and the rest of the Fichera family also managed to secure multiple wins, sparking a fierce but friendly rivalry between them. This competition benefited everyone, as the two chefs continually pushed each other to create even more delicious dishes, many of which found their way onto the menus of their respective restaurants.
Their plans to explore the southern continent had been deprioritized until another dungeon or treasure with a powerful guardian was discovered. Instead, they focused on a major military expedition to Riddickulus. The operation would require establishing multiple defensive positions that could withstand Wendigo attacks while they dealt with the inevitable waves of monsters. The mission promised valuable experience, regeneration materials, and the coveted Slayer title. However, many were hesitant to join due to the inherent danger. Wendigos were formidable foes individually, and the prospect of facing swarms of them, aided by bat-like creatures attacking from the air, was daunting. The primary motivation for cleansing Riddickulus was the risk of some Wendigos evolving into stronger, more intelligent, and overall more dangerous variants, capable of spreading to other worlds.
Ensuring prepared escape routes and achieving orbital, if not aerial, superiority would be crucial to success. Since prefab bunkers and emplacements were impractical, Wendigos would inevitably burrow their way in. James and his engineers were working on 'Project Ziggurat.' This initiative involved developing flying battlecraft that would provide elevated positions for attacks and retreats, armed with numerous emplacements and turrets and were capable of escaping into high orbit.
In the sixth week since the return of the Kaiakos, Alistair nearly spat out his morning coffee as he surveyed Rathos from his platform, where his Ginkgo tree stood, and spotted a walker mech stomping across the field on four massive mechanical legs. The mech unleashed its oversized plasma weapons and missile pods on a group of Hukris approaching the walls, turning the concept of overkill into an art form.
When Alistair eagerly demanded an explanation from his brother, he was informed that the large machine was the brainchild of Aknis. Despite its impressive firepower, the mech was still a prototype. Its current design, while as fast as most off-road vehicles from Earth, had low mobility, limiting its use to that of a large, semi-mobile gun emplacement. However, Iknis had plans for a variety of mechs that he was sure would be more useful as they promised much higher mobility and could potentially assist the expedition to Riddickulus.
They had discovered a handful of blueprints from various species utilizing mechs in the study dungeon. However, most races had taken different approaches to military doctrine and combat vehicles. Mechs, while not uncommon, were rarely the centerpiece of combat strategies, typically serving in support roles, tackling challenging terrain, or engaging in heavy assault missions. Aknis believed that the introduction of magic made mechs more viable than traditional tanks and emplacements, but he acknowledged that creating a truly viable design would take time.
One of his early successes was a smaller version of the quadruped mech, named the Yuret after a common cave spider on Neshan. This mech was already popular due to its ability to jump, cling to walls, and still carry significant firepower along with a small shield engine. It was a clear upgrade from their standard automata produced by the Synth Alliance Self-replicator. However, they lacked the means or industry to mass-produce the Yuret like the Automata.
James, on the other hand, preferred working on power armor, finding it more practical. He had already produced a significant amount of standardized power armor for the expedition to Riddickulus. Still, he didn’t mind Aknis branching out in a different direction, as they could both learn from each other’s work in the future. Mechs and power armor would become significant power multipliers for many of their people who didn’t excel in individual combat like Alistair did. Although Alistair wouldn’t be piloting any mechs into battle, he was already recommending color schemes for the mechs and was looking forward to taking them for a joyride, just for the thrill of it. He couldn’t wait to see what Aknis would come up with next.
After another long day of training, Riseth had arranged a dinner for them on their platform, offering a breathtaking view of the landscape below and the vibrant evening sky above, where colorful nebulae and stars shimmered. Despite their elevation, the air was pleasantly warm, with a gentle breeze drifting over them. The freshness of the air seemed enhanced by the towering Ginkgo tree nearby, its leaves swaying lazily in the wind. Riseth looked stunning, and Alistair couldn't help but glance up from his large plate of Lisaross Jambalaya, smiling contentedly at her.
She noticed his gaze and smiled back, though he sensed a hint of nervousness as she awkwardly cleared her throat before placing a small box in front of him. "I understand that, in human culture, pairs exchange wedding bands. Since you honored our tradition, I thought I should do the same."
He was caught off guard, staring at the box for a moment before carefully picking it up and opening it. Inside was a golden ring, likely crafted from the Saint's gold they had discovered in the Everbright dungeon. The band itself was formed by a wyrm and a serpent coiled around each other, their maws appearing to consume the cosmic gem set in the center. The design mirrored the intertwined creatures on the choker he had created for her.
He put on the ring, ensuring it would display even if his comfort array would display his usual armor, smiling at her as they leaned in for a kiss.