The group rested very briefly in the abandoned building. By the time Grant had recovered from the pure adrenaline of the fight they’d just been through, the others were also ready to move on. Ramy was the worst off of any of them, gingerly rubbing his arms where he’d had to block blows from the oversized paws.
Ramy stood beside Grant while he replaced the layer of enchanted reflective cardboard on his shield. “I don’t think I’ll be able to go toe-to-toe with anymore beasts like that again. My elbow guards are barely holding up, and my arms are gonna be a mess of bruises later.” He pulled at his elbow pads, which started peeling off in concerning layers. The ‘protective’ enchantment was still visible on the material, but it was notably faded. The bare portions of his arms near the guards were covered in deep red splotches, bruises already beginning to take shape. His arms still had a small tremor to them from the exertion.
Grant nodded, trying not to show his concern. “You’re not the only one. I only have one more ‘reflect’ plate, and Mai’s got a couple molotov’s left. Frank and Kevin could probably keep going, but one needs prep and the other isn’t a heavy hitter. Violet…” he said, trailing off as he glanced at the girl in question. She was sitting near one of the windows, looking outside with a complicated expression. “I don’t know how long she can keep using her Skill, or how well it works in combat.”
“But!” He briefly cut his eyes to the examiners with their group, “We can keep going and feel things out. If it gets too dangerous, we’ll retreat.” Ramy nodded, and went back to his own preparations.
The two members of the Vanguard were sitting in the corner of the room, quietly conferring with each other. Grant finished re-arming his shield and moved toward his bag, nearer to the examiners. He opened his bag and started shuffling through his items, trying to inconspicuously listen in on the whispered conversation.
“Are we setting back out?” The question startled Grant out of his attempted espionage, and he looked at the Vanguard escort that had asked it with a blank face.
“Uhh…” Looking quickly over the rest of the group, he could see no reason to delay. He nodded a bit stiffly, ears growing warm from embarrassment. “Yup! Everyone, let’s get ready to go. Can’t keep the other group waiting for us for too long.”
Outwardly, he tried to project confidence and leadership. Internally, he cried. Just a few words and I might have had a hint! Do they think we’re doing a good job? Are we spending our resources too fast? Damn my need for constant validation!
Begrudgingly, he made his way to the door, trying to sneak a peek at the examiners body language whenever he could.
The others grabbed their things and headed back into the heat of the day, walking into the intersection they had just fought in. Frank and Kevin were still outside, putting the finishing touches on their ‘looting’ efforts. Kevin grimaced, loading beasty bits and still bloody hides into trash bags in a duffel bag, while Frank tried to coax a bit of blood into an empty water bottle.
Kevin waved a hand at them. “Hey, do any of your towels still work? Ours wore out.”
Grant put a hand under the collar of his shirt, feeling for his towel. He sighed. “No, mine’s out too. Damn.”
Frank got his bag settled on his back again, wiping the sweat from his brow. “I wish I had a way to recharge enchantments, but they just disappear when the energy runs out.”
“Maybe improving the Skill will help with that?” Mai asked.
“Maybe! I guess it depends on how it works.”
She gave him a flat stare. “You improve a Skill with gathered Aether.”
“...Right.” He tilted his head in confusion. “I know that though?”
She furrowed her brow, staring at him incredulously. “You… do have a notification, don’t you?”
Frank’s eyes widened and flicked down to the corner of his vision. Grant looked at the generally unobtrusive HUD visible at the edge of his sight. There, awaiting his attention, a little exclamation mark sat. With a little surge of anticipation, he mentally flicked the notice open.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
You have absorbed Aether from Brawler Beast [Dog] x7.
Congratulations! You have enough Aether to advance.
He noticed the others in his group going through the same process, and the same emotional journey. Open the notice, excited to improve your Skills and then… Confusion.
Grant looked around, brows drawn down. “How do we apply the Aether?”
Frank shrugged. One of the examiners stepped forward, hand raised slightly. “The System doesn’t have an intuitive interface for it, sadly. Generally, we’ve found that you just have to imagine your Aether moving towards a Skill, or infusing a Skill, something like that. Most of the Vanguard who’ve advanced have different ways they visualize it; feeding fuel into an engine, watering a tree, stuff like that. Any image works as long as it works for you.”
He had to sit with that for a minute. This feels… important. Too important to just use any image. But what kind of vision can I use for this? He looked at his hands, turning them about. Looking for any sign of the Aether he had now. He looked at the dogs, dead on the road. Aether can change things. It can make things stronger, in ways. What do I want Aether to do for me?
Briefly, he opened his Skill list. He only had a few right now, and the central one was clear; [Bulwark]. I can use my Skill to become a wall. An image flashed through his mind, an imposing stone fortress, walls built brick by brick to keep threats out, to turn any blade aside. It was an impressive, cold, and isolating vision.
He shook the vision from his mind. I don’t want to build anything that cold. If I could build something strong, protective, and warm… A new image flashed through his mind, and he froze.
There, as clear as if they were there before him, he saw his wife and daughters. The three of them were sat on a simple rug, around a game they were playing. They were in a very plainly decorated living room, with a well-worn couch and a merrily crackling fireplace. Behind them, a window gave view onto a dark, snowy vista.
They didn’t seem to notice him.
He didn’t care. This was the one for him.
Gently, he tossed a log into the fireplace. As the flames licked at the wood, a gentle pulse spread out into the room. With everything it touched, the room felt more real. It felt like it had a presence now, nestled somewhere deep in his mind. All he had to do to visit was reach out and touch it.
He opened his eyes, breathing deep. As he reoriented on his actual surroundings, he tried to gauge his companions' reactions. It was a bit of a mixed bag. A few were thoughtful, a few excited. He wasn’t sure the others had had similar emotional reactions to their visualizations. Subtly, he wiped at the corners of his eyes.
The examiner continued their explanation. “The advancement doesn’t take effect immediately. It takes about a day for it to settle in fully, at which point you’ll be able to see improvements to your Skill. Advancing is exciting,” they put their hands out in a warding gesture, “but temper your expectations. The first comes the easiest. It slows down from here, and you’ll need to fight more and more dangerous creatures to keep going.”
“Well, we’ll get at least a few more of them today, yeah?” Ramy grinned, pulling his hand wraps tighter. “We can milk the exam for a bit more Aether.”
Grant nodded, gripping his shield. “We can, but we’ll be careful. We have to be alive to spend the Aether. Come on! We should be pretty close now.”
They continued on, turning left at the intersection, moving into an older section of the city. Referencing the map, he knew they’d be there in a few minutes.
Quietly, Violet came up next to Grant. He turned to her, curious. “Hey Violet. What’s up?”
She looked at him, hands clenched, expression tight. “I want to be more useful. I didn’t do anything in that last fight.”
“You were plenty useful! You don’t need to push yourself to–”
“No!” She said in a firm tone, hard eyes boring into him. “You all are very nice. You’re too nice. I can’t let myself be coddled, because that won’t help anyone.” She took a deep breath. “I need to be stronger. I think– I know I can use my Skill better.”
He looked at her, a young woman pushing herself into uncomfortable territory to grow as a person, and smiled wistfully. I hope my girls grow up with the same kind of conviction. “Okay. Well, you might be up to the plate pretty soon.” he said, gesturing down the road. Ahead of them, taking up an entire block on its own, was the train station. With a bus stop out front and tracks stretching off to the East and West, it was a central feature of the area. It was also overrun with mice, with dozens in sight, moving in and out of the building.
He clapped her on the shoulder, chuckling. “We’ll be right behind you.”