Levi was meditating in the middle of his room. It was a new meditative style that he had created. It was a mixture of Tai Chi, Yoga, and aura control. Letting the movements of the Tai Chi influence where he would shift his aura.
“Aura manipulation is an important skill to learn as a summoner. The stronger your aura, the more your summons will respect you,” Professor Bertrum had told him. “You can use it to command your summons to do things without saying out loud, giving it away to your opponents.”
“Isn’t it true you need an ability to perceive auras?” Levi asked.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you cannot learn how to control your own. You remember our lessons on aura control, your aura is much more refined. What is important to know as you continue to grow your skill is how to add your aura to your movements. Start slow but use your aura as a decoy or false projection. If you can master that, aura manipulation will be a very powerful tool to you and your survival.”
Ever since that conversation, Levi has been doing Tai Chi to help develop his aura and movements. It had taken many nights of practicing and failing before he got it right. Willow, when fused with Levi, allows him to see auras. This was a huge advantage, but Levi wanted aura perception powers, and when Willow was not fused, it would help him in battles. Levi didn’t know what type of dangers he would be facing in his new world. The fact that he had gotten a quest to not die was enough reason for him to train hard.
Levi hadn’t told the girls that he had gotten that quest. He still wasn’t sure how many people got quests and if it was something he should share. Professor Egret made it sound like it was no big deal, but she was much older than she appeared, so her perception could be off. Even though he had gotten that hidden objective, and they all benefited from it, he felt like it would be different if it were an oddly specific one. Of course, that was when Anna wouldn’t trust him as far as she could throw him.
New Ability Unlocked: Yin-Yang
As a summoner with an affinity for chaos magic, by learning to work with chaos magic and bring calmness to your spiritual state with that same affinity, you have developed an affinity for order magic. Creating a harmonious state. The harmonious state can be read in your aura. Aura manipulation has increased, and Aura suppression from a higher rank will be negated. Aura senses have increased. User is now able to sense & perceive auras of other things. Familiar Willow’s bonus has evolved. Now every time your familiar is fused with your eyes, it will add a buff to your aura.
“Finally,” Levi said, pumping his fist in the air. He lay on the ground, tired from his meditation routine and from all the new sensations he was experiencing. He looked at his familiars and noticed how pristine their auras were. They were different in their own right, but they were amazingly well-controlled. Anza’s gave a constant sense of danger; it was like going on a hike and hearing the rattle of a rattlesnake, but I was not sure where it was coming from. Except when it was interacting with Levi, it was friendly and loving. Willow’s aura was calming yet had an undertone of danger, like there was a beast behind a sketchy barrier that could break at any moment. When Willow interacted with Levi, it gave a sense of childish joy.
“Have your auras always been that?” Anza made a whirling metal sound in response. It did this to be sarcastic with Levi. “Alright, relax.”
He sensed his friends at the door. He told them to come in before they knocked. Anna and Piper walked in with surprised looks on their faces. They looked at the tone man shirtless on the floor, sweating. He smiled and welcomed them in.
“You don’t have any aura powers,” Anna said in a way of greeting. “How did you?”
“What Anna means to say is,” Piper said, interrupting her friend. “Hi, Levi how are you?”
“No,” Anna responded. “I meant what I said.”
Levi chuckled, “it’s fine, Piper. I just got the ability,” Levi said with pride. He shared the text box with them. He watched as their eyes glazed over and started reading an invisible, to his sight, textbox depicting the description of Levi’s new ability.
“Wow, Levi,” Anna said. “That is really impressive. That’s a strong ability, how did you get that?” Levi had gotten up to get some juice, a towel, and a shirt. He was wiping the sweat off his body and put his shirt on. He took a long swig of juice before responding.
“I was doing this new meditation technique I developed. It combines movements with aura control and pops the text box. Now, I am able to sense auras a bit better.”
“A bit is an understatement, Levi,” Anna said, chuckling. “I have to say thanks by the way.”
“For what?” He gave Piper a long hug before they all went to grab dinner before their journey.
“I got top marks because of your help with chaos magic. I realized that chaos magic in itself is without order so by forcing it to be ordered was never going to work. That helped me get a better grasp of all the other spells.”
“Congratulations, Anna!” Levi said with excitement. “I knew you could do it.” He said with a beaming smile. The trio kept talking about their exams over dinner. It turned out that Piper also received top marks on three of her three exams. She had done very well and still remained the number one rogue. Anna did great as well, receiving top marks for two of her three lessons. Putting her at the top spot, she was relieved as she was heading home.
“Anna?” a voice came from the entrance. A tall, tan man stood at the door, muscular like a professional basketball player. He had buzzed black hair and five o clock shadow beard. It was neatly groomed. He was classically handsome. Levi had no idea who this guy was or how he even got into the guild. “The professor let me in, once I told her I was looking for you,” his voice did not really match his looks. Levi stifled a laugh at the deep, gravelly voice of the typical Asian features of the humans in this region. “I wanted to say congrats on getting top marks. Your control of the chaos magic was… incredible.”
“Oh,” Anna said in unusual nervousness. Levi raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Piper. “Thank you, Declan.” She glanced at Levi, “It’s not controlling chaos, it’s working with it. That’s how I was able to do it.” Levi smiled gently. That was one of the sweetest things Anna had done for him since arriving. It was a stark contrast to when she first met Levi, but that didn’t matter much anymore; Levi dared to call her friend.
“Hmm,” Declan mused. “I’m not sure that makes sense. Perhaps you can teach me one of these days.” This time, Piper raised her eyebrows and had a childish grin on her face. Levi and Piper received daggers from Anna’s eyes. Declan stood there with amusement on his face.
“I’m not sure I’m qualified to teach; Levi here was the one to teach me,” Anna replied, pointing out Levi.
“The summoner,” Declan said. “If you would be willing.”
“Sure, thing bro,” Levi said casually. “I’m Levi, by the way.”
“Excuse my manners, I am Declan Raya. I am honored to meet the infamous summoner who took down a bandit on his lonesome.”
“That’s crazy that someone would lie to you like that. I had familiars who did most of the work, I just got lucky,” Levi said, patting Anza on the head.
“My uncle says that the best magic user is one who relies on his allies just as much as his skills,” Declan said.
“I know that was meant to sound all philosophical and cool, but that doesn’t make sense.”
“The point is,” Declan said, trying to hide his annoyance. “Your familiars helped you, yes, but you also helped them. Accepting responsibility is equally important as it is to acknowledge other’s responsibility.”
“Sheesh,” Levi said. “Now that’s a truth bomb I was not ready for. Where were you several years ago with that advice, my life would have looked a lot different.”
“I’ll reach out to you,” Anna said. “When we get back from cold break, okay?” Anna said softly.
“Deal, I'm looking forward to it. Lady Vendular, Levi, it's a pleasure to meet you,” he said, respectfully bowing and leaving.
“He seems nice,” Levi said in a mocking tone.
“Shut up,” Anna said, her typical sharpness returning to her voice.
“He looks a lot more buff that I would expect a sorcerer to be, definitely expected warrior, if I would have seen him.”
“He comes from a family of warriors,” Anna said. “He was number one, until these marks came in.”
“Ahh, I see. That’s why he works so hard, to prove to his family that he made the right choice, good for him,” Levi said.
“You mentioned your home world,” Piper said, changing the subject. “You rarely ever talk about it.” Levi sensed trepidation in her aura. “I feel like by now you would have mentioned something: parents, siblings, girlfriend, wife, kids, something.”
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Levi got sad, “there isn’t much to talk about.” His voice was barely audible. “I lost someone. Someone who was really important to me… then I kinda ruined my life. I didn’t leave anything behind but ruined relationships and a mountain of mediocrity.” The two girls stared at Levi—a rare moment of him being vulnerable. Levi didn’t really keep a wall up, but as Piper said, he had never talked about his life before getting here—just comparisons between worlds.
The tension in the room dropped when Levi lifted his head with a beaming smile. “Anyway! We’ve got a long journey ahead of us.” Piper looked at him with expectant eyes. Not wanting to push or be too nosy, she let it go and smiled. After Declan left, they went back to Levi’s room to gather some of his things before they were off on their grand journey to their home. Levi was not hiding his excitement well. Thinking about it, he wasn’t sure if he was excited to go to another city or to explore. This new world was fascinating, and he couldn’t help but feel that he was going to experience something great. After all he had been stuck in this city for the past few months, it was time to stretch his legs.
It was getting dark, so they made plans to leave first thing in the morning so they would not have to deal with traveling in the dark.
“Are there more dangers at night?” Levi asked.
“No,” Anna responded. “There are dangers all the time. You got an aura ability yes?”
“I did,” Levi nodded.
“We all could theoretically leave tonight and make a good amount of the journey with our aura senses alone. However, since we are not pressed for time, there is no reason to go at night. We can leave at first light.” Anna said.
“Sounds good to me,” Levi responded.
“If we take our time, it will be a five-day journey there and five day back. That will give us plenty of time to stay at home,” Piper said. “I was planning on staying at least five days, but I will defer to Anna.”
“Five days is plenty and likely too long,” Anna said. “We can figure out once we get there.”
“About that…” he said nervously.
“What’s up?” Piper asked. “Why do you look so nervous?”
“I-uh,” Levi took a deep breath to steady himself. “I got another quest,” he said.
“Oh?” Piper said with a raised eyebrow. “That took a lot of trust to tell us that.”
“It did,” Anna said. “Why tell us now?”
“Because I have a question and there would be no real good reason as to why I would ask the question,” Levi said.
“Okay, shoot,” Piper said.
“Is the valley dangerous?” Levi asked.
“Very,” Anna said straightforwardly.
“Oh, most definitely,” Piper said with a giggle.
“Y’all seem very casual about danger…”
“We’re budding adventurers Levi,” Piper said. “Of course we are going to go somewhere dangerous. We want to form a team and explore the world, conquer dungeons, complete quests, KILL monsters!” she said with excitement. “You thought we could do all of that by not running into danger??”
“That does sound like fun,” Levi admitted. “Honestly, I hadn’t thought much about what I would do when I’m done with the guild.”
“Maybe,” Anna said, looking at Piper. “You join us.” She smiled the most sincere smile Levi had ever seen from her. He looked back and forth between the two of them.
“Wait y’all are for real?” Levi said.
“Of course we are,” Piper said. “Why wouldn’t we want you?”
“I can name five reasons off the top of my head,” Levi said.
“Okay go,” Piper challenged.
“I don’t know anything about magic, I’m very weak, I don’t know about this world, I’m a summoner, and I’m sure you can find someone better.”
“Out of the three of us, you’re the only one who knows ritual magic. You killed a 3-star, you are learning and so are we, that’s an advantage cause you know how to use it, and of course we could find someone better. There is always someone better,” Piper said. “But if you think that is a good reason, EHH wrong try again.”
“Okay…. So maybe I had one reason,” Levi said. Looking at Piper, who was giving him a smug look. “I’m honored, honestly.”
“What did your quest say that made you ask us? Also, you get quests?” Anna asked.
“I do,” Levi said. “I wasn’t sure if that was normal or not, so I kept it to myself. It said don’t die.”
“Don’t die,” Piper said.
“Don’t die, your quest actually said don’t die?” Anna asked.
“Yep,” Levi responded. “Here,” He pulled up the quest and shared it with the girls. He watched as their eyes focused on the air in front of them.
Quest: Journey to Arvendon
You and your new friends are going to their home world. Make it to the city of Arvendon alive.
“That is certainly ominous,” Anna said.
“Yeah,” Piper added.
“Does it ever tell you rewards?” Anna asked.
“No never. Only the quest and the objectives to complete the quest though,” Levi responded.
“Interesting. Well, I am exhausted from exams, I am going to get some rest. So should you two. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” Anna got up and walked into one of the vacant rooms. The suite that Levi lived in was meant for four people; each person had their own room. There was a common space, a shared bathroom, and a shared kitchen. Because it was just him, Levi had the entire suite to himself; he took one room while leaving the others open as guest rooms.
Piper got up and asked Levi to join her in her room for a little bit. Levi nodded and followed her into the room. In the room, Piper slowly closed the door behind him.
“Are you going to kill me?” Levi asked.
“Yep,” Piper said with a sinister grin. Levi chuckled, watching the grin fade into a genuine smile. “No, I wanted to talk about our families. I am sure we will talk more but I wanted to make sure you were aware. My mother and father are pretty protective of me.”
“And the boys that you are around, I imagine,” Levi said.
“Yes,” she nodded. “They are amazing people but super intense—that’s what happens when you have an entire family of assassins. I don’t know how they are going to react to you; we should not tell them that you are an otherworlder. Stick to being a summoner and only a summoner.”
“That’s fair,” Levi conceded. “I guess I need a sufficient lie huh?”
“Are you good at that?” Piper asked.
“Yes,” Levi said.
“You’re good at lying?”
“I’ve played a lot of social deduction board games, so yes when I need to.”
“What are board games? How often do you need to?” Piper asked.
“They are type of games that you play. Not often, except in playing board games,” Levi said with a grin.
“You make my head spin sometimes,” Piper said, shaking her head.
“To be honest I thought you were going to tell me to not say anything about us,” Levi said nervously.
“There is no hiding that from my mother,” Piper said. “She was never an assassin, but she is intense. She is a part of the clergy who help with pregnancies.”
“She is a part of the what that does what?”
“How do women get pregnant in your world?”
“Uhh sex?”
“That’s highly ineffective,” Piper said.
“Yeah, well you’re not wrong. You can get help make it more guaranteed but that is crazy expensive,” Levi said.
“We use magic to help the process be more efficient, she is one of those sorcerers who does that.”
“But you said clergy, isn’t clergy religious folks?”
“Yes and no; I would guess that religion is not the same as it is for you. We have a group of people who venerate different gods, hers is the goddess of fertility.”
“Interesting,” Levi sat with it. He was not a religious man, but he wasn’t against it. Levi would describe himself as agnostic over anything. Over the course of his life, Levi really needed proof of existence, especially after his dad died. He hadn’t found it, but he still believed it slightly.
“So do they perform rituals or something to help it be more guaranteed?”
“That is exactly what they do. You come into the temple, pay for a room, with a bed that is on top of a ritual circle, do it, then leave, pregnant. You could pay for just any baby, boy, girl, or a different race.”
“I assume that’s if you’re single and really want a kiddo?”
“Exactly,” Piper said. “You seem to be taking this a lot better than I thought.”
“I mean I have a wisp that lives in my eyes and a metal world-devouring organism that is covering my bones right now; it would be a weird line to draw at paying for someone to guarantee your pregnancy. It’s all about perspective, I guess.” Levi said with a chuckle.
“Fair point,” Piper said with a giggle. “What is important to know about my mother is that she has an ability to sense authentic romantic desires, she will sense it in me right away. You I would assume too but Willow might help you there.”
“They’re there,” Levi said softly. “Also, that’s a helluva ability, good lord.”
“It is important for the high priestess to have such powers,” Piper said.
“Oh, so she’s a big deal, you and your dad. So, you’re a big deal too,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “That’s gonna get me a lot of enemies.” “Most likely,” Piper said with glee. “But I believe in you,” she leaned in and kissed his cheek. He felt butterflies flutter in his stomach. Levi really did like Piper. Her goofiness through her stone-cold rogue facade was amazing. He stood up, gave her a long, lingering hug, and walked to his room, where Anza was snoozing away.
Levi chuckled. He had never wondered what a metallic world-devouring organism sounded like when it snored, but he found the answer by listening to his friend. Terrible, it was an awful sound. Like metal slowly being ground in a garbage disposal. Levi thought about meeting Piper’s family, and it freaked him out. He thought to himself, this is my second chance at life.