What the hell just happened?
Becca had been the one to ask the question, and Jess agreed wholeheartedly with the sentiment. Just an hour ago they’d been leaping into the city, enjoying their first experience away from New Chicago.
Traveling at magically enhanced speeds, visiting ancient ruins, and undergoing magic rituals. They had checked all of the boxes for an epic first adventure away from the city. Now, she wondered if this evening would ever be one they could remember fondly.
Alex had tried to hide it, but she’d seen the look in his eyes. David and Alex had both been stingy with details, but whatever happened to Alex, he didn’t like it. Every time the visions were mentioned he’d poorly conceal a wince. When the mana type was explained he looked almost sick. There was none of the cocky grandstanding that he should be forcing them all to put up with. Something had gone terribly wrong, and Jess had no idea how any of this worked.
Jess’s rage threatened to boil over, as the man responsible for all of this deflected Becca’s questions with half-truths and non-answers. Her friend had immediately begun interrogating the recovering Imprinted directly after Alex went to sleep.
“I wish I could give you a proper explanation,” David sighed, “but I barely understand it myself. The experience, which I’m going to call soul resonance, shouldn’t even be possible. Our souls are too weak to sustain a link, but my mana type somehow bridged the gap.”
That, at least, was a real answer.
Becca’s prying was bordering on rude, but Jess couldn’t blame her. If anything, Jess felt that the rudeness was completely justified. Alex’s explanation had done nothing to quell the confusion regarding his emplacement.
“So you used the link between your souls to give Alex your mana type?” Anthony asked. It sounded feasible, to Jess. Inspire was a mana type that, among other things, helped others grow. David giving it to someone else might even help the city, in the long run.
That thought did nothing to quell Jess’s anger. Alex hadn’t agreed to anything of the sort.
“Not intentionally,” David replied, “It is a danger, as you grow more powerful, that your insight can outpace your power. For all my control, I have to constantly wrestle with my mana type, to avoid talking myself into outlandish schemes and impossible gambits. Tonight, I failed to control an impulse, and things rapidly fell out of my control.”
“So you took over Alex’s soul?” Jess asked, struggling to keep her tone even. She hadn’t missed the missing element in Alex’s story. He’d looked at David, and been overwhelmed with visions. At no point had they talked over a plan or what would happen when he looked. Now, it sounded like the man had done it off an impulse.
He’d implanted Alex with a mana type and was now explaining why that was even worse than it sounded. Would having Rare insight warp Alex’s thoughts? Would it turn him into a clone of David’s? Her mind was running wild with speculation based on vague descriptions of the mana type’s effects. Was she overreacting?
“Do you truly believe I would do such a thing?” David asked. He sounded defeated, and Jess noticed for the first time just how exhausted he was. This was New Chicago’s founder and greatest defender?
David was currently seated in a chair, and he looked like he desperately wanted to slump over. Even as she stared at him, her mind changed. He was recovering quickly, wasn’t he? Jess felt a headache growing as she tried to wrestle through the conflicting thoughts.
“You’re messing with my head,” Jess realized, putting together the reason for the different impressions she had of the man. His mana type made her see him as inspiring, but she refused to think of a man who had assaulted one of her friends in a positive light.
David frowned, and suddenly any notion that he was recovering vanished. His face grew paler, his shoulders slumped further. He looked about ready to pass out in his chair.
“My apologies,” He sighed, “As I said earlier, it comes naturally. My mana type is not fond of allowing the impression of weakness.” There it was again, David’s mana type infecting his thoughts. The man claimed that his mana type had influenced him to meddle with Alex’s soul.
What would that mana type do to Alex, now that he had a less powerful version? Holding Rare insight as an Aspirant should be similar to David’s problem, if not worse.
“I see that I am not going to fix your impression of me.” David sighed, “But I will not accept the notion that I enslaved your friend’s soul. Alex’s soul remains his own. It would be more accurate to say that once the link was formed, there was no way to avoid him gaining insight. I did what was necessary to make sure he didn’t undergo False Enlightenment.”
Jess went to reply, but Muhammad placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him and was surprised when he shook his head. Was she overreacting? He didn’t seem particularly upset. Jess had expected him to be just as angry as she was.
“What next?” Muhammad asked, “You mentioned trials?”
“Your friend has gained insight well beyond his power and he needs to catch up. Fast.” David answered, “The rest of you will need to enter the path this evening if you want to join him.”
There was, of course, no question about whether they would be going with Alex. Jess put on a front of reluctance when it came to adventuring, but she wouldn’t abandon her friends just because of danger. Alex needed help, that was obvious. There was no guarantee that David’s apparent exception of trials adjusting their difficulty for him would extend to Alex if he went at it alone.
Of course, even if Jess bowed out, he wouldn’t be alone. Becca wouldn’t let Alex go solo, even if the rest of them left. Muhammad would probably be even more enthusiastic about the whole thing after David mentioned the Achievements. Anthony wasn’t going to turn down a challenge, but he wouldn’t consider abandoning his friends regardless.
“We’re sticking with him,” Muhammad confirmed. No one spoke up to disagree, “I don’t think I’m interested in the Epic Achievement, though.”
“I’m not, either,” Jess agreed. Maybe he hadn’t been actively malicious, but she didn’t trust David at all. She turned to Mr. Stirling, “Can we do normal emplacement rituals out here?”
“Yes,” Mr. Stirling replied. He and his wife had both remained silent, while the group interrogated David. Neither was letting any emotions show, but Jess felt that their decision to not stand with their longtime friend said plenty. They stood to the side, next to Alex’s sleeping form.
“You guys mentioned Hard Mode trials, a few times,” Becca seemed to have realized that they wouldn’t get any more information about the disaster. Jess was reluctant to move on but knew that her friends were right. Pushing David wouldn’t get them answers he didn’t want to give, but it might annoy or alienate him.
She was supposed to be the strategic one. Letting David feel guilty might help them, in the future. She pushed the rage down.
“They’re exactly what they sound like,” Mrs. Stirling explained, “Hard Mode trials have the difficulty increased so that powerful Pathwalkers still face challenges while ascending. Normally, they’re optional. Our group has cleared a few of them, trying to get powerful Achievements before tiering up. They’re characterized by stronger monsters, but the other challenges can be scaled up as well.”
“Thanks to his Unique Achievement, all trials Alex enters will be set to Hard Mode. Ideally, I would have him be carried by Defense Forces veterans at the peak of Tier 0 to limit risk. Sadly, getting carried through a Hard Mode trial will just result in your rewards being nullified.” David added, “Before today, I had simply thought that it was a method to make sure noncombatants stay away from increased difficulties.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Jess was a bit surprised. Normally, the Trialbringer was happy to give levels to people who were carried through trials. In fact, several three-man groups in the Adventurer’s Guild stayed at level nine for years, carrying noncombatant duos to the peak of Tier 0. Apparently, harder difficulties weren’t so generous. David’s thoughts were probably right, but it was quite inconvenient.
“So we’ll be entering these trials at level zero?” Becca asked. She sounded a bit frightened, “How dangerous is that?”
“I cleared my first hard mode trial with a team of Aspirants without the years of training you all have,” David replied, “It’ll be difficult, but I believe your team can handle it. If you’re willing to delve this evening, you can even get the wild boar trial that’s a few miles from here.”
Boars were a bit of a joke, even among Aspirant monsters. They were even stupider than mundane boars and had next to no ability for lateral movement.
There was one of them within a week’s journey of the city by foot. Probably the trial David was reminding them of. They were an incredibly common first trial for Aspirants, no trainee would be allowed out of the city before they were proficient in getting out of the way. As long as you stayed moving, the boars would tire themselves out. There were even tales of them getting stuck, but that wasn’t something you could rely on.
Wild boars were a great matchup for their group. Alex was a dodging specialist, and the rest of them also put a great deal of focus on the skill. Only Jess went the ‘stand and take it’ route, but she knew better than to utilize that strategy from the start.
She would need plenty of levels worth of attributes and a specialized Mana Body, first.
“So we’re just going to head to the trial?” Anthony asked, “How are we supposed to cover enough ground to make ten trials in fourteen days?”
“You can’t,” Mr. Stirling replied, “I’ll be taking you. There’s no way you’d be able to maintain such a breakneck delving pace without a healer to patch you up in between trials.”
Mrs. Stirling frowned, “They’ll need me to handle any high-tier monsters that come around. The planetary tier up is likely to kick up a small frenzy, it might even start another horde.” Mr. Stirling had no talent for offense, acting as a pure backline healer. If they came across any Imprinted monsters that were provoked into action by the tier-up, things could get dangerous without a more combat-focused Imprinted to counter the monster.
“Isn’t that a lot, sending two Imprinted with a group of Aspirants?” Anthony frowned. Jess couldn’t blame him, the ‘freedom to adventure and see more of the world’ pitch that had brought him on board hadn’t included his parents coming along. She wouldn’t say no to the additional protection, though. If Mrs. Stirling was pointing out danger it was probably worth listening.
“In any reasonable circumstance, we wouldn’t allow any Aspirants to leave the city for at least a month.” Mrs. Stirling replied to her son, “This is an extreme scenario, which requires extreme precautions.” It was also possible that she just wanted an excuse to tag along for her son’s first delves.
“Trial locations will change with the tier up tonight,” David noted, “I recommend entering the boar trial before then, as I can’t guarantee anything that easy will be so close tomorrow.”
“Trial locations will change?” Becca asked. Trials moving wasn’t unheard of, but it was rarely predictable. It was unfortunate because the city had a well-plotted “Path to Tier 1” of the easiest trials in the area. Wild boars were a common level zero trial.
“Things will reshuffle.” David nodded, “It will only take a few hours to map out a route for you afterward.”
Jess was reluctant to enter a trial so soon but had to admit that the man had a point. Aspirant wild boars were one of the easiest fights you could get. If you could dodge, you could beat them. If they got unlucky with the reshuffle, they might have to attempt a riskier first trial.
They talked over logistics a bit more. Mrs. Stirling would be returning to the city to pick up gear and inform the Dean of what happened. Jess also extracted a promise that her mother would be notified, which would quickly spread to Muhammad’s parents as well.
Soon, she set out. Mr. Stirling started to draw the runes for the emplacement ritual on the ground after she left.
“The ritual chambers we use are useful infrastructure because they allow anyone with mana control to start the emplacement ritual,” He explained as he worked, “I’m more than capable of enacting the ritual with a new array.” Mr. Stirling wasn’t a part of the Academy’s emplacement ritual program, but Tier 0 runes were well within his ability.
Jess wasn’t particularly worried, but what should’ve been an exciting moment with her parents and friends was now an anxious rush job. No one suggested that David should be involved, and the man didn’t step up to volunteer.
Anthony’s emplacement went first, passing even less eventfully than Becca’s. The congratulations he received were muted, with his father just patting him on the shoulder and telling him he did well. Jess couldn’t help but glance over at Alex’s sleeping form after she gave her own congratulations. Becca sat next to him and hadn’t even gotten up at Anthony’s success.
Anthony didn’t complain, having read the room before his ritual. The Achievement didn’t feel like the crowning feat of their days at the Academy. It was just the first step on the path to saving Alex. They’d celebrate when he didn’t have a timer ticking down in his status.
Alex should be with them. The thought brought Jess’s fury roaring back. He should be loudly proclaiming Anthony’s success. Thanks to David, he was passed out, resting before he started a race against time to catch up to his Connection.
Lashing out would do nothing, Jess reminded herself, even as she looked over to where David sat in his chair. No one needed her to cuss out New Chicago’s greatest hero. It would be nothing but self-indulgence.
Muhammad went next and drew his Mana Body faster than he ever had in practice. The muted congratulations repeated themselves, but Muhammad just shrugged them off. There was a silent intensity, where normally he was boisterous. Jess had earlier wondered if he just wasn’t as angry as she was, but she could recognize the look in his eyes now that she wasn’t focused on David.
Muhammad was furious. More angry than she’d ever seen him.
Jess’s emplacement went the same way. She entered the path and then drew her runes. Her status showed the Uncommon Achievement she’d received, but she didn’t bother looking at the rewards. She already knew what they were, and she knew that a Hard Mode trial had a decent chance of improving her Achievement before the night was over.
Becca smiled weakly at her. Anthony came over to congratulate her with a quick hug.
She made eye contact with Muhammad, and they just shared a nod.
The group was quiet, as they waited for Mrs. Stirling to return. Mr. Stirling took it upon himself to go over boar-baiting. It wasn’t anything they didn’t already know but Jess listened. She knew that the others were probably too lost in thought to care.
Eventually, Mrs. Stirling returned. She’d brought a vehicle that looked like a lifted van from before the arrival, but Jess knew that it ran on steam. The creation of an engineer with a mana type that allowed the fabrication of stable steam engines.
“We’ll drive so you can sleep on the way,” Mr. Stirling stated, “It’s important to be well-rested when clearing trials.”
The group piled in, with Alex waking up. They caught him up on their plans for the rest of the night, and he nodded along.
As she fell asleep, Jess’s last thought was of a quote she’d read somewhere a few years ago.
Don’t meet your heroes.
*****
The original grave had been ruined, during the lich’s occupation. One of the thousands and thousands that had been overturned.
David had replaced the tombstone with a small monument. It stood in the backyard of their childhood home, which he had managed to reconstruct with the help of an Attuned architect. Something to honor his brother, after he hadn’t even been able to allow him to rest in peace. There was no skeleton underneath the monument, just ash.
David’s thoughts always turned to Juan, when he visited, but even that wasn’t able to hold his focus for long in light of what he’d just done.
His oath to protect had shifted over the years. The people under his aegis needed some danger if they were to grow, after all. Never before had he actively hurt one of them. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Alex Moore would be irrevocably changed by the experience, despite his best efforts.
“The world needs heroes,” The voice wasn’t real, but David’s exhaustion had let his control slip. The words of the lie washed over him, and he listened because he wanted to believe them. It was scathing, tonight, he had shown far too much weakness to a group of kids.
David lay down next to the monument, letting the harsh truth wash over him. He contemplated his error, wondering if he would be able to make it right.
“Was it truly a mistake?” His own voice whispered reassuringly, “If he learns to make use of it, to make the mana type his, he will be destined for greatness.” It was so tempting to agree.
David Alvarez rejected the lie. Tonight he had failed, but no one was infallible. He would find a way to make amends.
In his soul, a crack formed on the altar he’d built upon his achievements.
David didn’t make mistakes, after all. The legends all agreed on that.