After the Blackwell party finally ended, Aodhán, Aldric, and Daruk made their way back to the inn they’d rented earlier to spend the rest of the night or morning as it was already nearly dawn. They trudged back home, drunk off their asses and cheering themselves for a mission well accomplished.
After Aodhán had handed over the earrings to Rahim, he’d finally been able to enjoy the party without worry. He had evaded both Meredith and Imani like a plague and had reveled in the food and overflowing wine. This was their last party before the break was over, and Aodhán intended to enjoy it to the fullest.
However, when they reached the inn, Aodhán felt a stirring in his spirit followed by a pulse of eagerness, and he knew he would be skipping sleep that night. He downed a cup of ice cold water and waited a while for his regeneration to purge the effects of the alcohol from his system before moving up to the roof of the inn. Unfortunately, the roof of the inn was made out of flammable wood, so Aodhán had to create a construct large enough to comfortably occupy both him and Varéc before releasing the familiar from his spirit.
Varéc rushed out, the image of excitement and anticipation. His sinuous body dazzled with lightning of various hues, and his horns gleamed even darker than night. Usually, even during the day, Varéc was easy to spot, but in the shadows and darkness of the 3rd sector, he might as well have been a beacon. The entire roof top shone with the bright and unstable light of electricity, creating a dazzling display of light and colors that banished the shadows from the surrounding buildings. Windows opened, curtains shifted, and the awed whispers of several people echoed in the silence.
Aodhán ignored the whispers and the camera flash that came from the opposite building. Instead, he raised his hands to caress Varéc’s snout. “I’m sorry.” He whispered, but Varéc cocked his head in confusion.
“For the night at the Willowood’s mansion.” He explained. “I should have been more gentle.”
Varéc growled, projecting emotions of love and understanding through their psychic link. The fact that Varéc was so willing to forgive him made Aodhán feel slightly worse, but he pushed his guilt aside and vowed. “I promise to do better, to be a better bond.”
Varéc growled again, and Aodhán chuckled. “Well, I don’t care to hide you anymore; let them take as many pictures as they want.”
Varéc let out a growl of amusement and arched his neck as if posing for those watching. The lightning rippling around him surged, brightening the surrounding areas, and this time, a flurry of camera flashes followed as more reporters appeared.
“Cone on, let’s give them a show.” Aodhán grinned, and after creating a saddle, he caressed Varéc’s neck and whispered. “Ready whenever you are.”
Varéc shot into the sky like a bullet, his majestic wings spread out wide and rippling with lightning. Aodhán grinned widely. He had missed this. This overwhelming feeling of freedom and weightlessness. This rush of euphoria.
They tore through the clouds, scattering a murder of low-tier crows with their passage and leaving behind several silhouettes in the clouds. Aodhán dared a look down, and his grin widened even further. From this height, he could see the entirety of Wraithstone city and perhaps even the border of Ashville, the neighboring city.It was beautiful—an entire city cast in so much shadow that every burst of light stood out in blinding contrast.
Aodhán hooted, letting the thunder in his voice rumble out as Varéc turned, twirled, and literally danced among the clouds. It had been over three months since the dry season began, and Aodhán couldn’t wait for the raining season to return.
If Varéc was this excited to soar among normal clouds, Aodhán wondered just how excited he would be when actual storm clouds came. Aodhán himself couldn’t wait.
They soared for hours, just enjoying the peace it brought them until the sun came up and most of the clouds dispersed. Of course, Aodhán could create more, but that was just a waste of energy. Besides, it wouldn’t be as interesting as the actual thing.
They descended unto the platform floating above the inn, a flurry of camera flashes as their witness, and as much as he had made peace with their presence, Aodhán still scowled at the reporters, his expression warning them not to get close.
Varéc returned to his spirit, and before long the reporters left too. Aodhán scanned the roof, a little tired, but as much as he would have loved to go to sleep, it was already too late, or in this case too early for that, so he decided to meditate instead.
With all the happenings of the past few days, Aodhán had barely had enough time to harness or tame his willpower, not to mention train his control. But now that the mission and parties were over, Aodhán's felt settled enough to cultivate. Besides, there was no other time more suited for training than dawn.
He breathed in the crisp air and lifted his face to the east as the sun rose into the sky. He let himself enjoy the sunrise for a moment before plopping down on his construct and folding his legs into a meditative pose. He closed his eyes and focused on his core, which blazed brightly to his senses. It wasn’t as pure as he would have preferred, though. Tiny clumps of impurities were scattered around it, a side effect of his reckless absorption of cores when he’d first arrived within the Warren forest. The clumps were too tiny to be of any issue to him, though, so he dismissed them from his mind and focused on taming his willpower. The taming process had become almost as easy as breathing now, requiring even less of his concentration than before, yet Aodhán refused to let his mind wander. Instead, he split his mind between taming and condensing the burning flames of willpower within his core.
The extra work grounded his mind in the task, and before long the bronze ball of tamed willpower floating in his core burned almost as brightly as the core itself. It emanated a profound sense of weight and impact that although Aodhán had always been able to sense, he’d never been able to physically feel. Now though, he could feel it like a weight bearing down on both his body and spirit. The feeling wasn’t painful, but it wasn’t comfortable either. An apt description was the feeling of a bloated stomach, and it only got worse as the minutes turned into hours. Aodhán immersed himself deeply in his task, losing track of time as he tamed more willpower and merged it with the condensed ball of tamed will floating in his core.
Several hours passed, and the feeling of weight not only grew worse, it became very painful. Aodhán felt like he had a ton of lead weights placed on his chest, and with each strand of willpower he tamed and merged, the overall weight increased, making it harder and harder for him to breathe.
This would have been the right time to stop cultivating his willpower, but Aodhán refused to stop. Shuddering, he focused deeper on his core, ignoring the notification pings that echoed in his mind and continued taming.
This continued for an extra hour, and it felt like Aodhán was carrying an extremely unstable bomb in his chest, yet Aodhán forced a bloody grin. He was on the cusp of a breakthrough. He could feel it, and with ragged breaths, he tamed one more strand of willpower, and then another, and then another.
With each strand he tamed, the crushing weight on his chest intensified, and just when Aodhán thought he couldn’t take it anymore, the shuddering ball of willpower within his core exploded. Untamed will and energy blasted out of him in a wave, and he collapsed as willpower surged out of his core and soaked into his entire being. Not an inch of him was spared. Like molten lava, willpower soaked into his flesh, bones, and even his spirit. They widened his pathways and mixed with his blood. His bones hardened, and his flesh thickened as willpower soaked into it.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
All while this happened, Aodhán lay on the roof of the inn, gasping and panting for breath as the crushing weight that had plagued him for the last few hours subsided. Power brimmed within his core, and as willpower surged through him, his fatigue slowly receded. The entire process lasted for nearly five minutes, and when Aodhán finally mustered enough strength to stand to his feet, his willpower had changed hue, turning from its bronze color to a bright silver, reminiscent of the glint of moonlight on cold steel.
The silver ball of willpower emanated a dense pressure, almost as if he’d let out a wisp of his aura, and Aodhán grinned, wondering what other changes the surge of willpower had made in him. With barely suppressed excitement, he opened the flurry of messages he’d received.
Most of them were from Aldric and Daruk, with a trio from Andrew and one from Rahim, but he ignored them all and focused on the system messages.
Congratulations! You have tamed 1000 units of willpower. Silver title gained.
NB: Willpower is now passively infused into your skills, giving them a little more impact than before.
Despite how little the changes in his status screen seemed, Aodhán felt like a different man. His sight and hearing had sharpened enough that he could hear Daruk and Aldric bickering two floors below. A glance at his body showed that he’d also grown taller, and the tightness around his waist suggested that he had added a few pounds. More than that, though, Aodhán noticed that the surge of willpower had also affected his bloodline manifestation, although he couldn’t tell to what degree without a mirror. A quick look at his chest showed that the glowing gold lines had elongated about an inch, now crossing the halfway mark into the left side of his body.
Aodhán grinned, feeling the urge to test out his skills, but he pushed the urge aside for now and focused on the other changes his breakthrough had wrought. His mastery over his core sense ability had increased, and through it, he could feel the attention of several individuals; most of them evolved, but he sensed some advanced-class individuals among them. Most of them were simply inhabitants of the neighboring buildings whose attention he’d caught, but he sensed some whom he suspected to be security officials.
“Creeps.” He muttered loud enough for them to hear, and almost instantly, many of the inhabitants withdrew their attention. The security officers remained unfazed though, their attention unwavering, and Aodhán wondered if there was a particular reason they were watching him. He could already think if a few, perhaps it was because of his unlicensed jaunt into the sky with Varéc or the fact that he was cultivating atop the roof of a public establishment, both of which seemed like serious crimes, but since they made no move to arrest or question him, Aodhán decided a tactical retreat was best.
He made his way back into the inn and grimaced as he approached the room they’d rented. With his enhanced hearing, he’d heard the ongoing argument, but his mind had been on something else. Now, as he walked closer, Aldric and Daruk’s voices echoed in his ears, rising with each spoken word until they were basically shouting out at each other. Aodhán had never had a blood brother, but he’d had many from the monastery he considered brothers, and if there was one thing he’d learned, it was that brothers fought. How else would they show their love for each other if not by fighting?
This one was no different, as the argument was about the topic of piracy. Daruk must have found out about Aldric being a pirate, and he definitely wasn’t pleased.
“It is illegal, Aldric!” Daruk hissed as Aodhán neared the door. “But more importantly, it is dangerous. Pirates die all the time, and then what happens when you’re eventually caught by the sea patrol, because I assure you, this is not even a matter of if, but when?”
“Keep your fucking voice down!” Aldric’s words were barely a whisper, but Aodhán didn’t even need to strain to hear them. “This is the reason why I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you’d overreact.”
“Anyone with half a brain would overreact!” Daruk shot back, and Aodhán grimaced at the unintentional shade. Perhaps he should have overreacted when Aldric had told him about it.
Aldric laughed, and Aodhán wondered what his reply would be, but the door suddenly jerked open and Aldric scowled. “I may not be able to sense cores, but I can definitely sense when someone’s eavesdropping on a conversation.”
“Ha.” Aodhán grinned awkwardly and walked into the room. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”
Daruk glared at him from the other end of the room. “Why am I not surprised you knew about this?”
“I most certainly did not!” Aodhán quickly defended himself, but when Daruk’s glare intensified, he shuffled awkwardly like a kid caught cheating. “I only found out a few days ago. I wanted to tell you, but it skipped my mind.”
“Of course it did.” Daruk smiled, the expression not at all amused. “I’m the youngest one here, yet I find myself having to mother you lot all the time.”
Aldric snorted. “You wouldn’t have to if you just accepted that I’m an adult and that I can make my own decisions.”
Aodhán refrained from commenting and instead moved towards the mirror to view the changes in his bloodline manifestation. As he sneaked past the arguing boys, though, Daruk suddenly narrowed his gaze and pointed at him. “Something is weird with you.”
Aldric paused and turned to scrutinize him. His eyebrows furrowed as he came to the same conclusion as Daruk, and he waved his hands weirdly. “Your aura is leaking out.”
“That’s not it.” Daruk disagreed as he came closer, his brows furrowed as he scrutinized Aodhán’s features. His expression brightened after a moment, and he grinned. “Found it! It’s your eyes; they’ve changed.”
Curious, Aodhán moved to the mirror and stared at himself. His features had truly changed, but rather than a single concentrated change, his transformation was more widespread and subtle. His gold-ringed pupils were now surrounded by a thin band of silver, too small to be easily noticed, but their presence highlighted the golden bands and caused them to glow slightly.
The change didn’t stop there though; his hair had grown about an inch or two longer, and his facial structure seemed more refined. He couldn’t exactly pinpoint what features had changed, but it was obvious something had.
Like he’d seen earlier, the glowing lines on his skin had elongated, peeking much further above his collar as if reaching up to cradle his chin.
“Did you evolve your bloodline?” Daruk asked with obvious disbelief, and Aodhán shook his head before proceeding to explain his willpower breakthrough. When he finished, Aldric chuckled and waggled a finger at him. “Well, at least now, you can’t blame your lack of game on lackluster physical features. If you don’t get with someone before the end of the term, then I’ll just disown you.”
“Speaking if getting with someone—Daruk exchanged a grin with Aldric, their earlier disagreement now forgotten—you didn’t tell us what happened in Makeba’s room last night.”
Aodhán froze, as several emotions suddenly took center stage in his mind. He tried to suppress them, but the grin that suddenly blossomed on Aldric’s face assured him that he’d failed.Before Aldric could expose him, Aodhán quickly responded. “Eh, it went just as we planned.”
They didn’t believe him, obviously, so Aodhán decided to distract them instead. “Do you guys want to see the changes in my status screen?”
Aldric narrowed his eyes, understanding what Aodhán was trying to do. Yet understanding his intention and countering it were two different things, and just like he’d expected, Aldric caved and agreed to view his status screen instead of countering the deflection. Daruk already had access to his screen and was already muttering to himself as he read the explanation of the silver title.
Aldric whistled when Aodhán’s status appeared at the corner of his vision. His eyes darted from left to right as he read through Aodhán’s titles and skills, and when he finished, he whispered. “Damn, that’s a lot of skills and titles.”
Aodhán exchanged a glance with Daruk and grinned. “Well, since you’ve seen my status screen, now we'll have to see yours too.”
Aldric’s gaze jerked up immediately, and he shook his head. “No, that’s not necessary.”
“Oh, but it is.” Daruk replied, his lips stretching into a grin that spelled trouble. “If it’ll make you comfortable, I’ll even share mine.”
Aldric retreated several steps and raised both hands in a placating gesture. “No, that’s not necessary. Why not let us go back to discussing Aodhán’s lust for—
“There’s no such thing!” Aodhán shouted, and Daruk chuckled. “Oh, we’ll come back to that. Now though, I want to see your status screen!”
“I’m not sharing it!” Aldric insisted, a smug grin on his face, but the expression crumpled when Daruk smiled and said. “Then I’ll just have to inform mom and dad about your new profession and the fact that you're skipping classes.”
Aldric scowled at them and swore. “By the heavens, Daruk. How can you blackmail your own brother?”
“He wouldn’t have to resort to such cruel tactics if you just shared the damn screen.” Aodhán retorted, and Aldric glared at him. He relented a moment later and sighed. “Fine! I’ll share it.”
A cloudy gray screen appeared before Aodhán a moment later, and with eager eyes, Aodhán read through his elder brother’s status.
[STATUS]
Name: Aldric Brystion
Title: Neophyte, Bronze.
Class: Emotion Awakened
Tier: 24–62%
Glimpse—>Grasp: Increase conceptual affinity and abilities by 1.5%
Skills: {Innate}: [Emotional manipulation] [Sense Emotion]
Other: [Empathic link] [Aura Reading] [Emotional resonance] [Empathic shielding] [Pseudo Mind Control—Crude] [Emotional Resistance].