Being home again felt nice, but it was also different. Kalle had been such a drifter back then before meeting Harold, spending his days feeling aimless.
This time he had so much to do, and improve at. That part of it really felt great.
Now that Kalle had the space to stop and really look at the tools of his Class more closely, the design of [Wailing Bolt] was brilliant really. Now that he had gotten to use it in some real action he could see its tremendous utility a lot more clearly.
So, what was so brilliant about it?
Firstly, it was formed in the shape of a skull, so it looked like some fatal sort of death magic; meaning your first instinct, when you saw the gaping Spell come wailing towards you was fear for your life.
Second was the way it screamed–as if alive and in tremendous pain–when you were not prepared it was a truly bone-chilling noise. And a strange sort of noise that reached straight into your mind,bypassing the ears, to boot.
The sight of such a Spell could put all but the most experienced fighter into a degree of shock; which would open them right up for whatever emotional attack the Spell was charged with.
Kalle did suppose you could be somehow born with an unnaturally strong mind, or else train yourself to withstand such stress. But if not you really were screwed if you let Kalle hit you and start dictating the pace of the fight. You were well and truly screwed, so long as you lacked the correct affinity or resistances, which it certainly seemed like the vast majority did; in which case you would be incurably vulnerable as long as Kalle didn't mess up on which emotional button to push.
Then again, Kalle knew that having a rare Class did not mean you could start resting on your laurels. If your opponent did happen to have said resistances, they could likely tank multiple [Wailing Bolts] without their aggression slackening one bit. In that case the young [Esperlock] knew he would need something solid to fall back on.
But that did not mean you could neglect your primary tools either. Kalle had started learning quite a bit about magic since gaining his Class, even if pretty much all of it was self-taught.
His discussions with Livia had shown him how he was on the right track.
Of course, Harold handled magic very differently, but that was always going to be the case–and not just because of their personalities–but because [Warlocks] and [Druids] dealt with completely different strains of magic, from different sources.
That kind of thing mattered deeply, certainly to both of their rather principal Classes.
And it meant you could take very few things for granted when it came to magic. Livia had reiterated more than once already how there were too many Systems among the different races to ever try and predict what abilities an incongruous Caster might have. And each time she did so she ended up trailing off, muttering about how she would have preferred ending up on a simpler LitRPG world, with stricter rules.
Yes, it was nice being home, but it also reminded Kalle why he had felt so strongly that he had to leave. This morning he had gotten up early to eat his favourite scones for breakfast, but mere minutes after was when it started.
"Do you have your breakfast down? Do you feel ready to start improving the stores of firewood, sweetheart? Winter isn't far off now you know," His Ella said sweetly, and with intense intent.
This was the system every winter season, despite the fact they had three years worth of firewood stacked to dry already. It was backbreaking work too, unless you wanted to be at it all day.
Which was fine; but doing it for someone else, for their business or home–and never your own… There was an added heaviness, or maybe just a distinct void where the motivation should be.
Yes, sure… He lived here too. But if he had his own place he would have stopped at storing two years worth and leaving it at that, not being able to make that choice was the difference.
Nevertheless, Kalle got to it, with Ella and Liam smiling on gratefully, from the comfort of their veranda where they were sipping fragrant tea.
Just a while longer.
That was the mantra.
It was not as if the old couple would have to deal on their own when Kalle left either, they had money, enough to last them through a war, and so Kalle had zero guilt.
All they would have to do was just head into town and hire one of the local kids, probably somebody who could switch between Aspirations, and have them do all kinds of tasks with whatever Skill they were offered.
They only avoided it because of the hassle that came if said kid got sick to his stomach one morning; or more likely, if he just got sick of their crap and went storming off… Yes, that had happened more than once when one of the old couple's teasing moods came over them and lasted a full week.
Of course it was different for Kalle, since he had basically been saved by them when his original step-father kicked him out of the house. Kalle admitted he might have deserved it, on some levels, but it was not as if he had come even close to doing something a real father would consider abandoning you for, he felt sure.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Really he had just argued a lot with his step-siblings, but over time it caused enough of a feud for them to start blaming him over every little thing. And as it turned out, when his mother was no longer around to take his side from time to time, his already demented step-father swiftly had enough.
However, that did not mean Kalle wanted this place to become his whole life forever, no matter how grateful he felt. He was an adult now, and knew he could do more for both them and himself if he found a true calling.
Livia made him feel as if he had, even if they were still taking baby steps.
Chores done Kalle considered his plans for the day. As usual Harold was going to be draining his rapidly improving batteries–physical and magical–by challenging every obstacle he could find in the nearby forests, and bonding with the animals that he regularly met there, until he came back and used his Spells to recover… Before going to work on his new fighting style over at Brunner's. And like that’s not enough to make our efforts feel paltry, if we push too hard to try and keep up, he’ll come help us heal back up too.
The sort of convenience you dislike.
Oscar usually tagged along for the latter part of Harold’s routine, but today it seemed he had some business with Kalle, because before the [Esperlock] could head out for a new kind of training session of his own, the younger brother came up to talk.
Kalle and Harold had both discussed their Classes a lot with their youngest member. Just as any other kid approaching their 16th birthday his mind was constantly on Classes and the possibilities in his future.
"What are you up to today, working on your [Telekinetic Push]?" Exactly the question I don’t want to answer.
The work the two had done together had really paid off.
These days Kalle was really regretting his early reluctance to work on the Spell. With the things they had discovered it was clear now that the low tier Spell could never truly live up to its full potential; the growth was endless.
For one, as it turns out you didn't have to push with yourself as the focal point. Instead you could push from anywhere you wanted if you exercised some control, meaning you could move your hand forwards and have the Spell shove your opponent in the back, guaranteeing a confusing fight; and that changed everything.
It was still different from if he could actually pull–in that the further you pushed your Spells from the standard form it came in, the costlier it became.
But at least he was learning that he had more options on the table, especially now that he was managing to increase the power to something more significant. And Oscar had been a tremendous aide, helping him work on everything from changing angles mid-push, and even learning to defy gravity in different ways; by using the Spell while jumping off boulders and scaling trees and the like.
Kalle had a different plan in mind for his training today however. "No, uhm, yeah. Today I was planning on forming a new version of my [Wailing Bolt], I might be gone for a couple of days actually,"
This sounded interesting to Oscar. As the fellowship had figured it, the Spell was made significantly more impactful, and the induced delusion all the more real, if the Caster had true experience with the trauma they were inflicting.
Like with Kalle getting his arm burned to a crisp.
"Don't you already have your standard one focused on depression, hesitance and failure, and now your other one on burning, that really sounds like it should be plenty?"
Kalle knew that was good, but also that it was not nearly enough. "Yes but I'm going to add one for attrition and helplessness,"
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He just may have been acting rashly, but he knew this was important; and realising his Class’ possibilities had really spurned him on. I’ve waited long enough. Reaching higher levels takes risk.
Kalle's theory was that there was a difference between convincing someone that their strength was not enough–and making them feel doubt–or convincing them that they never had it.
The thought was that even the strongest warrior could break down and lose their confidence if you told them that not only was their strength inadequate and the chances for success low; but that they never had any true strength in the first place, that they had long since lost the tools to even make it a fight.
So, when did anybody feel the weakest?
When they were cold, injured, far from home, and starving.
That was why you could find Kalle three days out from Salcret, naked in a waterfall, at the tail end of autumn. Without provisions.I may have taken things a touch too far this time… Really, it's all because of that damn Harold.
It may not be completely true, but the thought was a surprisingly strong comfort in the moment.