“We’re trying something a bit different today,” Mrs. Stirling declared, “As I told you yesterday, there isn’t one easy path to accessing your soul. You didn’t get far with stationary meditation, but I didn’t expect you to.”
“Why did I spend the whole afternoon working on meditation, then?” Alex asked. He was a bit annoyed by the idea of a day wasted.
“It’s the most basic method,” His teacher explained, “If it worked we could have avoided anything more complicated.”
“And we’re doing something more complicated today?” Alex had been feeling unenthusiastic about another day of meditation, but the mage had his full attention now. He pushed thoughts of how he could gain greater control over his aura to the side.
“Nothing too involved just yet. Today, you’ll be doing more active meditation. Similar to your sword forms.” Mrs. Stirling replied. She conjured a sword for him to use, which he happily took. This sounded like it would be much more up his alley.
Mrs. Stirling guided him through an uncomplicated series of movements that were well-suited to his current attributes. The ritual room was spacious enough for him to have a decent range of motion, but he had to remain controlled. Every sequence would end with him in the same position where he began.
Alex quickly picked up the rhythm, simply mirroring the Creation mage’s movements. Despite being a mage, she was clearly well-versed in meditation through swordsmanship.
“Dale and I have designed several meditation techniques like this one over the years,” She told him, “This one is variable. As you grow used to the movements, you’ll be able to mix and match them a bit more. Don’t focus too much on that part, instead let it come naturally.”
She continued to guide him for the next ten minutes, and he was able to discern that the technique came in three parts. There were eight different opening maneuvers, all attacks. They were followed with what Alex was calling reactions in his head. This second maneuver could be another attack, a dodge, or a parry. These were more varied than the attacks, but Alex was able to keep up thanks to years of practice with a sword.
Finally was the return. Every repetition ended in the same ready stance with his sword held out in front of him. The combination of the first two maneuvers could leave him in several different positions, although if he performed them properly he would always be close to his starting point. Depending on his position, returning could be as simple as pulling his sword back, or it could require a few steps.
At this point, Mrs. Stirling let him start to mix and match the movements while she spoke, “As I said, let it come naturally. Rote memorization of a series of movements isn’t ideal for meditation, but neither is overthinking where you are going. Flow from attacking to defending to your starting position.”
Alex did as she said. The moves flowed together quite naturally, allowing him to move from maneuver to maneuver without ever hesitating. Still, while it felt quite nice, he couldn’t claim that it was completely natural just yet, as he was still getting used to the way the techniques blended together.
Mrs. Stirling gave him time, but after nearly an hour of constant movement, he was beginning to tire. It was far from his most exhausting sword form, but it wasn’t just a few practice slashes either.
“You’re doing well,” The mage praised, “Now that you’re growing more familiar, we’ll start to work our way toward actual meditation.”
Alex nodded, unsurprised that this wasn’t yet the full meditation technique. Pure movement without a mental aspect would not get him very far. He was sure there was a focusing technique at the very least.
After his break, he went through another few rounds without any changes. Once he was fully warmed up again, Mrs. Stirling spoke, “Now, slow down significantly. Continue moving, but drag every movement out for as long as you can without breaking the movement.”
Alex did so, although he was a bit surprised by the annoying instruction. He wasn’t a stranger to instructors telling him to slow down, it was a fairly common methodology for finding mistakes. Itt didn’t seem to fit with her previous statement that he shouldn’t focus too heavily on what he was doing, though.
Alex did two full rounds at this slowed-down speed, and Mrs. Stirling just nodded without further explanation, “Return to a normal speed.” Not wanting to be put through any more of those excruciating repetitions, Alex happily did so.
“You seem familiar enough with the movement portion of the technique,” Mrs. Stirling stated, “Next, I want you to start thinking while you go through these movements. Over the past few days, what have been your goals? What aspirations do you keep on returning to?”
Alex did a few more repetitions while going through that thought exercise. His goal had been, and still was, to get rid of Inspire. The problem was that it wasn’t an immediate goal. At points, when Inspire’s influence was at its strongest, he had even questioned the goal itself.
With his mind turned to the Hell Mode trial coming up, he knew that removing the mana type might not be a good decision even if he could do it today. He would have time to work with, and maybe he could use his remaining rewards to gain back a significant chunk of power. Would it be enough, though?
The Stirlings had already outright stated that his aura was the main reason they were comfortable with Alex and his team delving Hard Mode trials from the beginning of Tier 0. Would they allow a Hell Mode delve without it?
Would they have any chance of completing Hell Mode without it?
Alex wasn’t certain on either front, and it left him conflicted. He couldn’t say for certain, but he got the sense that being conflicted about what exactly he desired wouldn’t help him with this.
“Can we take a break?” Alex asked after making a slight mistake. He’d gone from an attack into a poorly fitting follow-up and then pivoted wrong on his return to the starting form. It wasn’t a terrible screw up, only putting him slightly in the wrong direction, but it was his worst execution in a while.
Mrs. Stirling nodded, “Is there something troubling you?”
Alex frowned as he sat down, “I’m unsure what exactly I’m trying to do here. Improving my soul resistance is our stated goal, but that’s not what I’ve been focused on.”
“You want to remove David’s mana type from your soul.” Mrs. Stirling stated.
“Yes, but I’m conflicted about it,” Alex admitted, “Well, not conflicted about removing Inspire. Conflicted about doing it now.”
“If you manage an Ethereal Drift, you would be able to firm up your soul enough to cut off the portion which presses against the outside of your soul,” Mrs. Stirling nodded, “But you would be weaker for the decision.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Would we be allowed to attempt a Hell Mode trial without my aura?” Alex asked. After the past few days, he didn’t plan on making the mistake of keeping his doubts and questions about the situation to himself. Especially when the person most able to answer the question was here in front of him.
“If you remove the mana type, you could focus on growth and do it a while down the road,” Mrs. Stirling answered, “You still have a Grand Mana Guidance and a Greater Mana Baptism to work with. You’re nearly guaranteed to gain your own mana type using those.”
Alex frowned. She had a good point but she also hadn’t answered the question he was really asking. He didn’t want to stay at Tier 0 for months, he wanted to push to Tier 1 and start working on a new Achievement.
She must’ve understood his doubt because she continued unprompted, “You would not be allowed to attempt Hell Mode without Inspire until your entire team had at least Rare Mana Bodies and you managed to gain a new mana type.”
Alex was unsurprised. After learning more about Hell Mode, he wouldn’t let them try it without Inspire either. He had to assume that standards for how he used a new mana type would be quite high, to make up for the loss.
“I’m still a bit conflicted,” Alex admitted after thinking it over, “I understand that I should try to get rid of Inspire as quickly as I can, but I’m unhappy with the idea of waiting to reach Tier 1.”
“Then give up on doing a Tier 0 Hell Mode trial,” Mrs. Stirling shrugged, “You’ll have more opportunity for growth at later tiers. If you’re conflicted about what you want, you won’t be able to achieve an Ethereal Drift. Especially not with this meditation technique.”
That wasn’t what Alex wanted to hear, but it made sense. Overthinking and questioning things would be a massive detriment. Would he be better off pursuing a different desire, one that he wasn’t so conflicted about? Did he have anything like that?
“I believe this is may be a poor use of our time,” Mrs. Stirling sighed, “You’re going through so much, and your path forward is unclear. I’m certain that Inspire is muddying the waters further, making you second guess your desire to rid yourself of it.”
Alex had been vaguely aware that was likely, but even after considering the possibility it didn’t feel quite right. There wasn’t anything left for him to do at Tier 0 besides a Hell Mode trial.
“So what should I do?” Alex sighed, “Just give up on trying to increase my soul resistance?”
“It’s clear to me that you don’t consider that an actual goal. It’s a happy side effect, but not a purpose. That makes things difficult. You need to find something that you aren’t conflicted over. Something that’s important enough to be a major goal for you.”
Alex thought over it for a second, but he quickly came to a conclusion, “I want to gain more control over my aura. Especially when it activates.”
Mrs. Stirling nodded, “That could work, but it will be tricky. You’d need to try and seize control of the Inspire mana, linking it to you more tightly.”
“But I’d be in control,” Alex argued.
“You can not fully control Tier 3 mana, but you may be able to direct it. This is a worthwhile goal, but your desire to remain in control must be at the forefront. You can not bear any compromise in this.”
Alex nodded, and they got back to work. After another few minutes he began to relax, and the instructions started.
“With each round through the meditation, you return to your ready stance. That stance is your center,” Mrs. Stirling told him, “Your body returns every time, as part of its natural flow.”
Alex worked through the repetitions for several minutes before she continued, “Think about the goal you’ve set. Let it become your center. Every repetition you return to it until there is no need to focus, it’s just a natural part of the process.”
This was easy enough to say, but significantly harder to do. Mrs. Stirling was content to let him flow through the sequences until he grew frustrated, only interjecting to give vague advice when it was clear his annoyance would ruin his focus.
Alex was exhausted by dinner time, and his enthusiasm had completely vanished. Mrs. Stirling refused to let him resume in the evening.
Their delve the next morning was made more difficult than necessary by the focus on allowing Becca, Jess, and Muhammad to gain contribution. They needed the Guidance far more than Anthony, who was held in reserve. He’d managed to finish his third Enhancement and was so close to finishing his fourth that the Legendary Achievement was all but guaranteed to come only a few hours after the delve.
“More difficult” was a relative term. The trial was still dangerous for the three who didn’t have mana types, but they’d made so many improvements that they were handling it quite well.
Becca’s Mana Body was back to Rare after completing three more attribute Enhancements to help balance out her Agility. None of the others were as powerful as the Agility boost, as she didn’t have the mana required, but they each provided an additional three points. She’d chosen flat attributes over something more specialized partially because the Enhancements were simpler and partially because she didn’t have a physical specialty to work towards.
Muhammad’s Mana Body was much less straightforward, and he didn’t have as much skill with inscribing it. Still, several hours of work and some Guidance had let him inscribe a strong Uncommon Body. He already had plans to improve it, but wouldn’t be at the Rare standard without a few more days of work and trial rewards. Once it was completed, his sight Enhancement would be stronger and he’d have a Strength boost centered in his arms to allow him to make better use of the high-quality bows the Stirlings could offer.
Jess had seen the least success. She had the least talent for mana control, and her strong showing in their early trials was actually working against her. More Mana Guidances meant fewer Skill Guidances. She was working on a fairly straightforward tank Body, with a flat Toughness boost already completed. She’d also finished an Enhancement that made her significantly harder to knock over, but still had to work on boosts that would make her vitals more durable.
These changes made the three of them significantly more capable, and the zombies were coming apart even with Anthony and Alex both holding back. After several fights, their strategy changed. Jess’s contribution was around what they estimated she needed to receive Skill Guidance with Becca and Muhammad close behind. Jess and Muhammad took a step back, but Becca continued to fight. As she already had a Rare Mana Body, the Mana Guidance would be much more useful for her.
Alex took a central role in the fights at this point. It wasn’t like he’d been watching the others before, but the need to share contribution had held him back. With that covered, he was able to start pushing himself. Becca’s Mana Body let her nearly match his Achievement attributes, but Alex’s ability to rapidly adjust to his attributes continued to shine through, making him a significantly more capable combatant.
When it came time to face the boss, Alex was left alone with it. The others were ready to jump in if necessary, but it wasn’t needed. The monster was another ghoul in the pugilist archetype, an apparently popular breed. The fight was short and fast, with both combatants fighting at speeds well exceeding what most Tier 0s could hope to match.
Alex was still marginally slower than a Hard Mode ghoul, but the advantage of reach and skill kept the fight from escalating out of his control.
“We’re getting pretty good at this,” Alex grinned, ignoring the macabre sight of the boss’s dismantled corpse at his feet. Taking the trial a bit more slowly had prevented the group exhausting themselves, especially with everyone but Muhammad now sporting some form of a boost to their endurance either through boosted recovery or a flat attribute increase.
“I got the Skill Guidance,” Jess didn’t bother responding to his gloating, “Looks like this strategy is going to be our best bet.”
“I’m a bit wiped out,” Muhammad groaned, “Don’t know if I can push this hard again tonight.”
“Take a nap,” Becca suggested, “Mr. Stirling’s aura will fix you right up.”
The suggestion was apparently Muhammad’s real angle, and he nodded his agreement, “Very wise.”
“Don’t be lazy,” Jess rolled her eyes at him, “We still have work to do on our Mana Bodies.”
Muhammad sighed dramatically, and Alex grinned at the banter. His statement might’ve been ignored, but it was clear that the others agreed. Muhammad getting back to his roots of faux laziness to annoy Jess was a sign that they were feeling confident.
Or Muhammad was, at least.
“I got the three Capacity,” Alex stated, “Seems like this strategy works out very well against the zombies.”
Anthony nodded, “I only got a point of Power, but I’ll take it.” Anthony hadn’t done too much this trial, but he hadn’t sat around watching either. Fighting defensively and acting as an obstacle while the others killed zombies didn’t provide much contribution, but it did help.
Becca and Muhammad confirmed that they had each also gained the reward they’d wanted, confirming that the trial had gone quite well.
“Alright, let’s go,” Anthony stated. He was grinning as he spoke, “I want this Achievement.”