“Well,” Jess began, breaking the group’s silence after half a minute spent sitting in a shell-shocked daze, “I was right that Chester would win.”
“It was a great duel,” Alex replied. In truth, his mind wasn’t on the duel anymore at all. Deng Jing’s Imprinting was far more impressive.
He stared down at the field, remembering the determination he’d felt in the fifth aperture. Councilwoman Deng had imprinted her heart onto her soul, and it had required strength of will that had only grown stronger after decades of effort. The takeaway was clear. If he wanted to be powerful, there was still plenty of work to be done.
“Dale’s new ability was incredibly impressive,” Becca said, “Do you think he somehow programmed the leaves, or does he control all twenty-one individually?”
“The second,” Anthony replied, “What kind of mana type would let his leaves learn new movements as they go without his direct control?”
“True,” Becca hummed, “That’s the kind of ability you dream about, but there’s no way to make the cost feasible.”
It was a bizarre reversal of the group’s normal dynamic, where Alex and Muhammad were the loud ones. The two of them both wore thoughtful expressions after the display of Councilwoman Deng’s power. Their friends were handling it more smoothly.
Alex tore his thoughts away from the scene of the oak tree, “Chester handled it incredibly well. Using his Domain to predict trajectories like that while Dale’s Domain was overlapping and interfering with him must be incredibly difficult.”
“Do Domains even work like that?” Jess asked, prompting the whole group to stare at Anthony. When Anthony didn’t reply immediately, she continued, “I mean, could Dale interfere with Chester’s senses?”
“Oh, Dale could interfere with Chester’s Domain, but he’d have to focus on it instead of using his Domain for anything else. Chester would also be able to push through the interference, so it’s not a particularly impactful skill unless you’re significantly better than your opponent. They do that to most of the Imprinted monsters they find in the wild. Most have a shoddy Domain even if they have one.” Anthony replied after a second of thought. The Academy didn’t go into any specifics about Domains, leaving most knowledge that students possessed a mixture of conjecture and hearsay.
Anthony, of course, was a primary source of reliable information. Spending his entire life around Domains had granted him a greater understanding of the topic than all but a few of their instructors. The conversation had drawn some interest from other students, everyone wanted to hear Anthony’s opinion on the duel. It was a common problem the group faced, everyone knew Anthony by sight.
“That makes sense,” Alex nodded, trying to shift some of the attention off his friend. Anthony wasn’t particularly shy about the extra attention he received because of his parents, but it did make him uncomfortable when he didn’t have anything he wanted to say, “Duels between Dale and Chester are normally more limited than this. They ramped the intensity up because today wasn’t just entertainment, it was a show of force. There might have been a lot going on outside of the visual spectrum that the higher tiers would’ve noticed.”
“Yeah,” Becca replied, quickly joining Alex in changing the topic, “We can’t actually see mana, and the projection only gave us the most basic visual cues to help. Domain manipulation is something for the Dean and the most powerful Attuned to think about.”
“Jess, what did you think about Chester’s pugilism? That was impressive flexibility for a man covered in sheets of metal.” Alex took Becca’s setup for a topic change and brought it home. If they weren’t talking about Domains and other advanced magic, people wouldn’t eavesdrop in hopes of hearing Anthony’s thoughts.
“It wasn’t too surprising,” Jess replied, “I’m honestly surprised we don’t see it more often. I feel like he could add spikes to his fists, or at least bracers, very easily.”
“I didn’t think about it like that,” Alex said, taken aback by the thought. It wasn’t that he was surprised Jess noticed something he didn’t, it just seemed obvious after it was pointed out to him, “Do you think he’s been practicing to fight like that, or is it just his spatial awareness and footwork?”
“He’s been practicing,” Jess said after taking a second to think about it, “If I noticed the potential, there’s no way he missed it.”
Alex nodded, “Either way, that was impressive. I’m not even mad that Dale lost. Hard to argue with that performance.”
Jess grinned at him, “Yep, just like I said it would go.”
“You did not know the duel would go like that!” Alex rolled his eyes at her. He couldn’t reasonably begrudge her some teasing since he had been only too happy to point out Dale’s winning streak while it was still going.
The playful arguing continued for a bit, as Alex didn’t feel the need to be particularly reasonable. Alex was drawn out of his thoughts completely, just having fun with his friends. A happy side effect of their inane chatter was that even the most nosy eavesdroppers stopped paying attention after a couple of minutes.
“How long do you think we should wait before heading out?” Becca asked.
“With the stands this packed? Even if we head out now it’ll take like an hour to get out. The stairs must be terrible.” Anthony replied. None of them had moved to get up, knowing this fact from previous experience. Fitting so many people into a building made for an incredible environment, but the press of bodies getting out was brutal.
“Yeah, but I’m hungry,” Becca lamented, “Should’ve gotten more popcorn.”
“Muhammad, are you doing alright?” Jess asked, prodding her boyfriend with an elbow to try to get him out of the stupor he’d settled into.
“Huh?” Muhammad nearly jumped out of his seat, he blinked a few times and looked around, “Sorry, I forgot where I was for a second there.”
“It’s not like you to get that distracted,” Jess noted, “What were you thinking about?”
“Did you all see the inscriptions?” Muhammad asked. He had an almost crazed look on his face. Alex was more than a little surprised, this was significantly more bizarre than the thoughtful demeanor from before.
The rest of them confirmed that they had, but Muhammad continued, “No, I mean, the aperture arrays. How she designed them.”
“Oh,” Anthony nodded, “Her path left an Impression. I’m surprised they didn’t warn people to not stare too heavily at the apertures. You can see the runes used for them when they’re on display like that. It’s pretty easy to become fixated on the runes if you aren’t careful.”
“Magical Obsession?” Becca asked, “Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Not when it’s just an Impression.” Anthony replied, “Muhammad will probably be really into nature magic for a day or two. It’s nothing that will last unless it resonates with him on a deeper level, in which case it might just help him down the road. It’s not damaging, even if it does stick around. He saw something beyond his understanding and trying to wrap his head around it feels important.”
“Of course it’s important,” Muhammad snapped at him, “That was powerful magic, we can learn from it.”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Well, yes and no,” Anthony replied. A few eavesdroppers had tuned back in, but they were ignored, “We can learn from her example, but not from her runes. We aren’t advanced enough to glean real knowledge from that stuff.”
Muhammad frowned for a second, opening his mouth to argue before forcing it shut. He closed his eyes for a second and then took a deep breath while he ran his left hand through his hair, “No, you’re right. I’m not being rational.”
“See?” Anthony faced down Becca’s skeptical expression, “He’s already able to push past it. The Impression isn’t anywhere near as bad as what my mom’s tower can cause. The Imprinting conjuration is entering the threshold of real magic, but Deng Jing isn’t through the door just yet.”
Becca’s concern lightened a bit, but didn’t go away, “There’s no chance he’s the only one, though. What if someone gets hurt.”
“I’m sure they’re keeping track of people,” Anthony replied, “My parents have let me see parts of their apertures several times so I’m familiar with the process. Like I said, it’s nothing to worry about.”
“You’ve seen your parents apertures?” Alex asked. He was trying to ignore his friend’s assertion that only seven, soon to be eight, people in New Chicago were capable of ‘real magic.’ That was a discussion they’d had before, “Aren’t they fused, instead of imprinted?” Entering Tier 3 was only the first part of preparing for Tier 4, and Anthony’s parents were significantly further down that road.
“Well, I never said I’m able to understand much of what I’m looking at,” Anthony replied, a wistful expression on his face. “It worked kind of like an immunization, though. I don’t have any problems with seeing Tier 2 runes anymore.”
“I got a glimpse of the inscriptions that made up her apertures, but I managed to snap myself out of it.” Alex noted, “Still, I think one of them might’ve left a bit of an Impression.”
“It’s possible,” Anthony replied, “You’re a lot more stubborn than Muhammad, so you might’ve pulled yourself mostly out of it because you were offended by the lack of swords involved.”
Alex nodded, fake sadness painting his features, “What a bleak, uninteresting way to live your life. You truly have to pity the unenlightened.”
Becca laughed at him, not showing any respect for the serious moment Alex was having with himself. He pouted exaggeratedly in return, which didn’t seem to help his case.
“Which aperture stuck out the most to you guys?” Jess asked, “I didn’t get too caught up in things but it was a beautiful display.”
“Winter,” Alex replied, “That determination… It was incredible.” Becca shrugged, and Anthony had already declared the display to be not that impressive.
“Well, I did just say you can be stubborn,” Anthony grinned, “It makes sense you’d appreciate someone else’s stubbornness.”
Alex decided that arguing would only prove his friend’s point, and acquiesced to prove that he was completely in control of his stubborn nature.
“Wait,” Muhammad drew himself back out of his thoughts with some annoyance, “Are you calling me weak-willed?”
“No,” Anthony rolled his eyes, “It’s natural to get caught up in the moment, especially if it resonates with you. My dad says there’s an instinctual awe when faced with the truly supernatural, that seeing day-to-day magic can’t help you with.”
Conversations like this one were a reminder of the silver spoon Anthony had been born with. Alex didn’t quite agree with his friend’s perspective, “Do illusion chambers count as day-to-day magic? They’re pretty extraordinary.”
“The runic underpinnings are completely hidden from us, and they’ve been a normal part of our lives for years.” Anthony replied, “They’re effectively mundane at this point.”
The others nodded with varying amounts of agreement, probably not wanting to repeat this argument. Alex dropped the topic.
“What are we doing this evening?” Alex asked, “I don’t have plans.”
“Heading to the cafeteria after this,” Jess replied, “I’m hungry too.”
“Instructor Delgado told Marlin that he’s not going to be around the dorm tonight,” Becca noted.
“The instructor whose job is to make sure students follow the rules in the dorms is just going to leave on the night of a massive event?” Anthony frowned, a doubtful expression on his face.
“We’re all adults,” Alex rolled his eyes at his friend, “He hasn’t cared what students get up to all year as long as we keep things reasonable and don’t keep people who want to sleep up late.”
It wasn’t like there were irresponsible students to be found, by the time you reached senior year at the Academy. Slackers were weeded out in favor of students who performed well and showed dedication to their work at the city’s other schools. Consistently underperforming students who showed an effort to improve were given additional chances and resources, but the Academy ultimately had to be pragmatic. They were preparing the next generation to delve into trials, they couldn’t afford to give the best opportunities to any but the best students.
This led to a rather competitive environment. Class grades and training performance rankings weren’t publicized to the entire school, but it was pretty easy to tell who was doing well and who was struggling. Alex had never had to worry about relegation, and neither had the others. Muhammad was among the students who were promoted later in the program, having made it in as a twelve-year-old. With graduation around the corner, discipline and competition could relax.
Muhammad grinned at Becca, “What are you implying?”
“You know Marlin,” Becca replied, “I’m implying he’s going to cram like fifteen people into Alex’s suite common area and give them all beer.”
“We’ll have to snag some beer before we head over to your suite, then.” Alex nodded. He loved it when a good plan came together. Amy and Becca’s other suitemates would probably be over in his dorm, so they’d have Becca’s suite to themselves.
“That’s… not what I meant, but sure.” Becca nodded. “First we have to actually get out of here and get a bite to eat, though.”
“That’s going to take a while,” Alex grimaced. The group had successfully talked their way in a full circle, and now it was just a matter of waiting out the crowds.
They had a fun, not particularly exciting, night planned, and Alex looked forward to the time spent with his friends. He enjoyed parties like the one Marlin would be hosting, but the past few days had been tiring. He hadn’t yet completely recovered from the stress of certs, and the excitement of his recent discoveries and finally watching the city’s most infamous memory had left him running on empty before the excitement of today’s event.
*****
“I’ve been thinking about Achievements,” Alex’s voice was a bit louder than necessary as he spoke. As expected, they had Becca’s common room to themselves and plenty of beer. Before he’d started drinking, the plan had been to head back to the library tomorrow and see if he found useful information. Now that he was a few beers deep, discussing it with his friends first seemed like a great idea.
“Is this that mana type idea again?” Becca asked from his side, “You can’t even reliably get the increased Connection you’d need.”
“And if you do get that much Connection, they’ll probably have methods to prevent you doing anything dangerous.” Anthony reasoned.
That was a good point, which Alex hadn’t considered. What would he do if the Imprinted declared that he couldn’t be allowed to chase a mana type?
“That’s not the point right now,” Alex continued, “They talked about the competition. I know that Earth hasn’t been a competitor since before we were born, but if we get back in, high-rarity Achievements are game changers.”
“Do Achievements we receive while the Planet isn’t a competitor make a difference?” Muhammad asked. No one answered for a few seconds, as they didn’t know.
“Alex’s thought is that if he manages to create a Legendary Mana Body the Achievement will upgrade to Mythic and then to Unique,” Jess spoke up, “He wants to get back into the competition himself.”
“Uh, yeah, how did you figure that out?” Alex asked
“You’re both the least subtle and most ambitious person I know. It was very easy,” Jess grinned at him.
“And you’re not doing it,” Becca added, “You know that the city requires you to request permission for attempts at Mythic Achievements, right?”
“Really?” Alex asked. He hadn’t known that. He could understand why, considering how dangerous the known Achievements could be to attempt.
“Yes, they deny anyone who asks to attempt one. Since we need Imprinted assistance for the ritual, mentioning your idea might end up with you stuck doing the normal emplacement.”
“Why would I have to mention it?” Alex frowned. Things were not looking good for his plan.
“So you plan to lie to the people who are helping us get Epic Achievements so that you can risk your life chasing a minuscule chance at insight?”
“Even if everything plays out and you get the mana type, how would you use it in a Legendary Mana Body?” Anthony added, “The Enhancements can’t be slapped together if you want to reach the quality requirement.”
They were all good points but Alex grunted noncommittally, “I’ll think about it.”
His friends didn’t approve, but that wasn’t overly surprising. It was a dangerous plan. The call of a Unique Achievement rang through his head all the same. Tomorrow, he’d hit the books. Maybe a path to success would reveal itself.