Chapter 50
Ensconced within Tobias' cloak, sprawled across his lap, as they rested up against a wall, her world was warm and comfortable.
The sound of Cid moving quietly drew her out of her slumber with a yawn, her movements groggy and sluggish after another hard day had passed, and her schedule remained fractured.
There was no light outside, no beam descending from the crystal structure above, as she peaked her head out, parting the cloak, to see Cid setting up for breakfast.
Tobias snorted, his head snapping forward as he pinched the skin between his eyes. "Is it morning?"
He looked around blearily, pausing to rub at a shoulder sore from sword training the day before, giving Riley a friendly pet.
"It's about half night, and you're right on time. I need you to heat the stone again," Cid asked, sounding strangely chipper and focused.
Weapons were arrayed to his side, next to a sharpening stone, his black bladed sword, and two daggers, next to two leather gauntlets, with metal plating Riley had not seen before, along with shin guards made of leather, with an overlayed metal plate.
Zorna was curled up just behind, resting, though her eyes watched warily.
Cid was ready for war.
"Just a moment," Tobias said, easing Riley off his lap, leaving her to throw out her forelegs and stretch.
His hand glowing orange, he held fire a scant few inches above the stone, pushing power into it.
After a minute of focus, it began to glow orange, the smell of hot dust wafting over Riley's sensitive nose, along with a burst of welcome heat cutting the morning chill.
"Good!" Cid praised, taking up the sharpening stone. "See the ridge here, set into it? It's angled proper. Take up your training blade, and go like this…"
Taking up the notched and weathered blade, he lined up the ridge and stroked down from tip to hilt twice, in rapid and deft motion, belying years of practice before handing it off to Tobias.
"Do that till I tell ya to stop, boy. Take care of your gear, and it will take care of you," Cid ordered.
Tobias set dutifully into his task.
Riley scooted closer to the hot stone and risked flopping on her side, exposing her belly and chest to the luxurious heat, letting it sink into her sore torso muscles with a pleased grunt. Comfort and the contrast between the cool stone beneath her threatened to pull her to slumber.
Through force of will and the fear Cid would catch on to her slacking, she addressed her prompts instead, hoping it made her look busy.
Your debuffs have expired. You will again gain experience at the normal rate.
You have gained the buff "Relentless Training"
All gains increased.
"Well that's kind of cool," She thought to herself, dismissing it, pulling for the next.
You have reached level 2-1. Congratulations!
Within her mind, a trumpeting fanfare played.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Progression of abilities is now unlocked.
Relentless training grants you an immediate bonus of 10% progression in all abilities.
Through dauntless perseverance and desperation, serving under a relentless taskmaster, you have begun your journey in a sometimes hostile magical world.
Continue your training to unlock new abilities.
Your skill in Subterfuge has granted you "Minor Veil," Congratulations!
Minor Veil, Chaos/Shadow, Active- Obscure yourself and those of your
party from all forms of detection by magical means, granting a bonus to stealth and obfuscation of your appearance from all those at or below your level.
Progress to level 2-2 at 10%
Your health has increased.
Your mana has increased
Your stamina has increased
With each level, your abilities will grow stronger and will sometimes evolve or unlock further progression paths in the magic.
Your plant whisperer ability has grown. Congratulations! You can now control three plants actively and create stronger bramble walls.
Your righteous flame ability has grown, granting you more damage per second.
It's shake and bake, and I helped!
Your chaos bolt ability has grown, granting you more damage per second.
It's a beautiful day to cause chaos!
Your inventory space has grown! You can now store 15 items.
You are kicking ass and chewing grass!
Riley giggled at the last line, then reached for her new veil power, curious how it worked.
Her world became swathed in greyscale hues.
Cid was distracted, making breakfast while Zorna watched quietly, resting on the ground. Tobias worked on his sword, running the sharpening stone down each side over and over again.
With all the deftness she could manage, she skulked across the floor, suppressing her bound.
She arrived at Tobias' side and watched the rhythm of his work for a few moments.
The last thing she wanted was for him to cut himself.
As he pulled the stone away, Riley reappeared.
"By the dead gods!" He exclaimed as both sword and stone clattered to the floor, drawing Cid's attention.
Something deep inside thrilled at the chaos she had caused.
Then Cid looked up from his cooking.
"Oh shit," Riley remarked.
Cid set down the pan and held out his hand, "Give that sword here."
His tone was even; outwardly he seemed perfectly calm.
Riley wasn't buying it.
Tobias warily handed it over.
"Good, good," he praised, thumbing the edge, turning it over in his weathered hands, "now, set to your forms, and remember, today it's life or death; train accordingly."
Riley tilted her head in a scan to get a better look, confused by the magnanimity.
Tobias swallowed hard, "I truly hope we don't let him down."
"Me too," Riley continued to watch Cid, as he went back to making breakfast.
"Huh..." She puzzled, letting it drop.
"Did you see? I leveled! I can veil now," Riley reported proudly to Tobias.
Not trusting the strange peace that surrounded this particular morning, she looked back to Cid for a moment, ready for anything.
"Grand?" Tobias groaned, sounding confused, pulling himself to his feet.
Still foggy from sleep, he stretched, twisting at the midsection before beginning to work through his sword forms.
"Tighten up!" Cid barked, his voice echoing off the walls of the cathedral, before returning back to making breakfast with a smile.
"It's time to get in front of this freight train," Riley said with a grunt, finding her own quiet corner to practice.
Focusing, she began channeling and dispelling her abilities. Holding balls of fire and chaos between her forepaws. The disparate lights of her cast threw shadows across the wall, all as the smell of cooking breakfast filled the cathedral.
Playing with her power, she focused, pushing more mana, then grounding some off. The white ball of her righteous flame brightened and dimmed with the effort, but try as she might, there was only so much she could push into it, like there was a limit to the amount of mana she could channel.
"Huh…" She pondered, thinking back to her prompts, moving on to chaos bolt. It, too, would brighten and dim, seemingly on command with sufficient focus and will, but ran into the same limits.
"So level 2-1, and such is the threshold. It's the maximum to my bandwidth, ok," she reasoned to herself, checking her mana bar.
It had dropped by about a quarter, but there was a sense of more that was not there before, like she had a deeper lake to draw from.
"Finesse and control," she said, trying to switch rapidly between the two spells, then switching to her veil.
That had an effect. The initial pull of a spell had its greatest draw. Holding it was like a slow burn, a bleeding of her power. The moment of casting was much like the beginning; it demanded an upfront cost.
Riley looked towards the upturned crystal torc upon the altar as a moment of connection dawned, two high peaks of draw, separated by a low arcing valley.
"That's enough, you two; report for chow," Cid ordered, calling them for breakfast.