“This is a sword,” Maven said as he held the weapon up. “Notice the slightly curved blade. There are a lot of different-style swords out there. Each one possesses unique names and combat techniques. It is beneficial to familiarize yourself with them. What kind of sword would you call this?”
“A samurai sword,” Samson said. The students were sitting in one of the many classrooms at the once-abandoned school. This one had turned into their unofficial classwork classroom over the last couple of months. After so many weeks of training their bodies, Mav had started teaching them tactics and real-world knowledge. This was the class most of them had been looking forward to.
“Ryu?” Mav asked.
“You know, it’s racist to assume I would know the name,” Ryu said. Mav raised his eyebrows. Ryu let out a sigh. “A katana.”
“Good,” Mav said. "In the world of Arcs, swords are far too common. Romanticized beyond belief, every Goon wants one as their main weapon. However, only a select few possess the ability to use it effectively."
“Wait,” Samson said quickly. “Are you telling me you can use your Arc ability with a weapon?”
“Yes,” Mav said, letting out an annoyed sigh. “We’ve talked about this. There are Arcs called Augers who can augment items.”
Samson responded, "Well yeah, you mentioned that they can stop your power from working or create a barrier or something similar. Nothing about weapons.”
“Those are weapons,” Katy said, annoyed as well. Will had to agree; Samson’s mind drifted way too easily when Mav talked. “Remember? He said to not fight Augers if you can help it. They are capable of imbuing abilities into almost anything.
"Right, but a weapon? Like picture it…can Pyros have fire swords?” Samson asked.
“Of course,” Mav said. “Augers can make weapons an extension of an Arc's abilities. I’ve seen a sword imbued with the ability of a Fever. The blade would glow red and could slice through most anything.”
“Holy hell, I want one,” Samson said. He pointed to the table of weapons in front of the old man. “Are any of those upgraded with anything?”
“No, these are everyday weapons I got from a pawn shop,” Mav said. "I have only encountered a handful of Augers." The Goons hoard them as much as they can. But maybe you all will luck out and meet one.” Will tried to imagine what it would be like. Channeling his ability through a sword would make it some kind of light- His thought process was cut off as Mav continued.
“In my book, swords are too common,” he said, throwing the weapon to the side. “Whips, can be useful, but they take a lot of practice. Katy, your main goal is to keep people at bay. A whip could be a beneficial option.”
“Dominatrix, Katy, I could see it,” Ryu joked.
“Me too,” Katy said with a nod. A shiver ran up Will’s spine. Their personal sparring with their abilities had started a while ago. Katy really was strong with her wind. Even if he managed to catch up with her instantly, she could summon the wind to propel him away almost as quickly.
The last two months had gone by in a flash. Daily training had pushed them far past whatever limits they had set. Their bodies and abilities were never stronger. Over time, the group developed into close friends. They spent most of their waking hours together. William could hardly remember what his life was like before his ability. The nickname of Light had stuck with him. Everyone called him by the name that was also his ability; it was so bad he was starting to think of his own name as Light, and he got offended when someone didn’t call him that.
“Maces, spears, scythes, axes, sledgehammers—I've seen them all used,” Mav said. “The Goons made owning a gun a felony because that was one of the few weapons that could hurt them. Some of the Goons use guns, of course, but most use melee weapons. You don’t want to mess with a Goon that has an augmented weapon, trust me. We will start training with these and begin learning how to defend against them later today.
Mav clenched his hand into a fist, drawing everyone's attention. By directing their ardor to their entire body at once, they gained instant Control. “Good,” the old man said, continuing to explain weapons. The Control had a slow start, but most of them got the hang of it. Mav had forced them to be in Control, extending their ardor throughout their bodies, for a full 12 hours before he felt they had passed. But every now and then he would make a fist, which was the signal to be in Control. If they were too slow, they had a rough sparring session later that day. It's safe to say they learned how to use it rather quickly, so they wouldn't have to spar a serious Maven.
The biggest problem with Control was that it took focus. Extreme focus. It was like stretching a balloon to the reaches of your entire body, all the while the balloon wanted to reform into a ball at your center. They had practiced it with Irish, though, and he couldn’t push his explosive power into them when they were in Control, so Light guessed it was worth all the effort it took to learn.
Over the last few months, they hadn’t had too many calls about other Arcs in the city. Maybe one or two a week, a few had been cleaned up by the time they got there. The police had learned that their group consisted of Arcs, which led to a less favorable response. Thanks to the mayor's and chiefs approval, none of the officers said anything bad about them.
Light didn’t expect to get a warm reception anytime soon anyway. He had focused on his training. His entire body felt like a dense muscle, ready to spring in any direction at any time. With thick muscles bulging in him with every movement, he felt strong. He was nowhere near Samson's giant physique, neither in the past nor in the present. Light was still strong, but not huge. His muscles were dense, and his skin was thick after focusing on sparring. Fighting was a daily activity for him, and he could feel it more with every passing day.
“Light, what’s this weapon?” Mav inquired, pulling him from his reverie.
“Uhh, boomstick?” Light asked.
“Close; this is a muzzleloader,” Mav said. “Still illegal, but Irish, picture what you could do with this if you charged the bullet with your explosives.”
“That would be pretty cool,” Irish said. His accent had dimmed greatly since living with them. Light had observed that his speech frequently varied based on the people he was around. When Irish had to interact with officers, his accent would be so bad that no one could understand him. “But I prefer to handle my own explosives.”
“You mean your balls,” Samson said.
“Aye, that’s what I said,” Irish said. He frequently restocked his rubber bouncy balls, but he had started to use metal ball bearings when he was serious about a fight.
“I think that’s about it,” Mav said. “Now I think-”
“What about that?” Katy asked, pointing to a small, clear bottle at the end of the long table.
"Oh, right,” Mav said, walking over to it. “This is the most dangerous weapon in the world.”
“Water?” Irish offered.
“Solin,” Mav corrected. He turned the bottle to show there was a label on it. “Back in the day, this was used as an anti-psychotic drug. Only a few years later, researchers discovered that it actually inhibits Arcs from using their abilities."
There was another long pause. “What?!” More than a few of them asked. Light felt the same surprise as the others.
“That’s a thing?” He inquired as he stood up to inspect the bottle. Mav handed it to him as he read the label. It had a suggested dosage amount. It was called Solinoscrypantis. It listed a few ingredients, all names that sounded more and more made-up than the last. Katy ripped it from his hand before he finished pretending to understand what he was reading.
“Solin is a drug that Goons use to subdue Arcs in the most dire situations. They don’t like information about this drug getting out. If it did, they would-”
“Be screwed,” Samson said, taking his turn with the bottle.
“Not anymore,” Mav said, sobering a few of them up.
“Why?” Ryu asked.
“They took over the country,” Mav said. "Trust me; I've looked. This stuff isn’t on the market. The Goons own the patent and ensure that no one else produces this drug. The last thing they would tolerate is for ordinary people to have access to their one weakness.
“Why are we just hearing about this now?” Santos asked.
“This is weapons class,” Mav said. “These are the major things you need to look out for. A lot of Goons carry a dart gun with this stuff loaded in. Even if they don’t know it stops abilities, they have been known to use it.”
“So we need to watch out for it,” Samson said grimly.
“Not…so much,” Mav said.
“What do you mean?” Katy inquired, squinting her eyes at his lack of a meaningful response.
Mav acknowledged, "I may have been adding this substance to your food since you all arrived." This led to another silence from the group. “You all haven’t noticed you get a little woozy after lunch?”
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
“Yeah!” Katy yelled. “I thought it was because we were sparring after eating. Like how you shouldn't swim after eating.”
“Yeah, no,” Mav said. "I've been slowly increasing the amount of Solin you all consume. Each of you could handle a dart or two without noticing. That doesn’t mean you should go out and get shot, mind you. But when I teach, I like to be thorough.”
Will was eager to express his thoughts, but found it challenging to disagree with the reasoning. He merely wished for an earlier explanation. “What?” Mav asked. “None of you questioned the food? I could have put anything in it. I've done nothing but beat you up every day for weeks. What makes you think I'd have trouble making you cry, uncle, but not spike your food?” There were more grumbles, but no one pushed it.
“Solin is rare. Just be aware of it. I will continue to spike your food, but if you wish to increase your resistance to it, I can give you more." Mav looked at everyone. They didn't push the matter. "Enough of that,” Mav said. “I want you each to pick a weapon. We are going hunting.” Everyone perked up.
“Really?” Samson inquired, growing excited.
“Yep, as I promised. We can go kill some monsters,” Mav said. If they weren't quickly searching the weapons for a way to kill hounds, everyone would have cheered.
—
“You have all seen my Joules,” Mav said. The old man again filled his hand with electricity. A ball of power materialized, and it dripped out two small eggs of electricity. Instead of shooting off into the distance, the eggs slowly rose up. They turned into two stick figures made out of electricity. The stick men crackled with power, as if Mav had drawn them with lightning.
“I can control them, and they do what I want,” Mav said. Everyone stared wide-eyed. Though they had all seen this before, it was still amazing. To make a thinking being out of electricity was still way out of Will’s ability to comprehend.
They parked on the outskirts of town. Mav was flanked by old warehouses and other businesses. It seemed as though no one had occupied them for a long time. Mav didn’t mind showing off small tricks like this when no one else was around.
As they faced Maven and his Joules, the group was sporting the weapons they had chosen. Each had their own weapon for fighting; it was like they were an actual adventuring party as they listened to yet another lesson from the old teacher.
“I think one or two Goons might be able to produce these,” Mav admitted. “But I doubt they are as autonomous as mine. I can see through their eyes, or I can let them act on simple orders. They would continue to follow those orders until the power I granted them disappeared.”
“Are there wild Joules out there?” Katy inquired, glancing at the shorter men.
“Maybe,” Mav said. "I've never seen one. But I could probably make these run indefinitely. I could modify them to ensure that a lightning strike would recharge them. It's possible that another Arc, similar to me, has already achieved this, but we'll discuss that at a later time. For now, you should know about the other monsters out there.”
“Why do you categorize them as monsters?” Ryu asked.
"It's because they aren't natural," Mav stated bluntly. "Every animal I have observed has undergone some form of Arc intervention. Whether changed molecularly or brought to life elementally like these Joules. There are more out there than you would think. The first and most dangerous are called Nymphs.”
“Nymphos?” Samson asked, perking up.
“No, Nymphs. They are living, breathing plants. These are born from Arcs called Greens. They control nature. A very select few can make Nymphs. Personally, I've killed more than 100 of them in the wild. They are impossible to find if they don't wish to be. They attach themselves to trees, wait for humans, and then use their vines to strangle and kill them.
“That’s a thing?” Katy asked.
“Yes, very much so,” Mav said. "I've been looking for a Nymph for the last few weeks in preparation for this class, but I haven't found any."
“Why would someone make those?” Ryu asked.
“Greens are very nature-conscious. They hold a strong distaste for both humans and the environmental damage we have wrought. A lot of Greens made Nymphs to protect forests from human intervention. That’s one of many reasons people disappear while hiking. Trust me, you want to avoid encountering them."
Will gulped, agreeing with him. If Mav had trouble with them, they all would. “I’ve seen Undines, which are water elementals. They were harmless, though. They have likely existed for a considerable duration, given their resemblance to mermaids and their water-based nature. I haven’t seen any fire ones. I’m told they’re called Imps, though.”
The group nodded. Each of them was picturing a different visage of the elementals he was talking about. “Dirt and rock elementals are called golems. They’re pretty rare though. "Don't worry about most of them, except for Nymphs, okay?"
Everyone nodded. “Is there a wind elemental?” Katy asked.
“I haven’t seen one,” Mav said. “Maybe you’ll make it.” Katy smiled, and Will could tell she wanted to, just like he wanted to make a minion out of light. As he thought about what to call it, Mav continued.
"Most monsters possess some degree of control over the elements. There are Crystalserpents which are a pain in the ass. It’s honestly best to just wack them against something hard until they stop moving. Once, I saw a mouse that could project a sonic boom. I named those Sonics. But I’m sure you’ve all seen the main culprits of Arcs messing with the DNA of animals. Bloodhounds.”
Light nodded. He had first encountered them during the Anarchist War. The wolf-sized canines with the blood-red fur and twisted faces had been a menace that only got worse over the years. They drank blood, and whatever had caused them to turn gigantic and red could spread to other dogs. The packs of Bloodhounds were often referred to as a bloodbath. After the Goons took control of the country, they skyrocketed in number, only to retreat to the edge of town once people became organized again.
“Bloodhounds are how they sound. I’m sure some Arc that can control blood was experimenting and made them. The intriguing aspect of these creatures is their ability to survive on vegetables and meat, yet they have a strong craving for blood. They frequently gain strength simply by consuming blood."
“How many of you have run into bloodhounds?” Mav asked. Everyone but Katy raised their hands. “They thrive in the big cities, where they can survive on rats and other rodents. They are strong and smart, so don’t underestimate them. One thing you should know is that they crave Arc blood above all others.”
“No way,” Samson said.
“That makes a lot of sense,” Irish said. “I always wondered why I seemed to draw them out.” He was the only one without a weapon. He chose his steel and rubber balls as his preferred weapons, making it difficult to deny his preference. It wasn’t like he could stop destroying weapons. In order for him to deal damage, they had to explode.
“Yes,” Mav said. “Which is another secret that the Goons don’t want getting out.” He clapped his hands and turned around to look at the area behind him. "Good, I've been drawing the Bloodhounds from around half the city to this location. Last time I checked, there were about four dozen. I want you to kill them all.”
“Kill them all?” Katy asked. Mav had spent an entire week forcing them to slaughter an animal they intended to consume. If they didn’t kill it, they would starve. Katy starved for two days before she finally got the nerve to cut off a chicken's head. Even Will had trouble with it, but it was the circle of life, and with all the training they did, he needed as much protein as he could get.
“Yep,” Mav said. “We won’t be eating them because the meat is crap. But they’ve been a menace to a lot of people. And I’ve decided to let you all turn in the bounty.”
“There is a bounty on Bloodhounds?” Samson asked, perking up.
“Yep,” Mav said. “$10 every left ear.”
“My first bounty,” the big man whispered in awe. He had the katana in hand, holding it like a club. Will doubted that he would be able to kill any hounds with it.
“Yep, so go out there and kill some hounds,” Mav said. “The person with the most ears gets…I don’t know. Something. A favor?”
“Favor?” Ryu asked, perking up.
“Yep,” Mav said with a nod. “Unless you want money, I could give you a lot of money. Let me know what you want-” Will disappeared as he phased into light and moved to the door of the closest building. He turned and flipped the others off as he heard cursing from them about 1,000 feet away.
Will had grown very accustomed to his ability. If he was focused, he could travel miles at a time. As long as he had a line of sight of where he was going, he could go there instantly. Almost like teleporting, there was still a flash of light as he traveled, but he was getting used to that. There was hardly any lag when he was phasing from one spot to another; he was getting closer to his routine of phasing, punching, and then phasing away. Mav could still beat him up, but Light was catching up to him.
Opening the door to the warehouse, Will felt the long dagger at his side. A brown leather grip on the handle—he hadn’t thought of using a weapon before. They had fought so often with their hands that he felt like he should stick to punching and kicking, but killing with his bare hands was still a far-fetched idea. He doubted he could really do it, but stabbing was possible.
As he walked inside the building, he heard the others already getting closer to him. Scattering to their own abandoned buildings, they began the hunt, but Will was the first to find his quarry. The Bloodhound was by itself. The blood-red hound was about 4 feet tall and stood on all four legs, sniffing loudly at some old blankets.
Back when he was a kid, Will thought Siberian huskies looked like actual wolves. No, wolves made even big dogs look like chihuahuas. Huge beasts that braved the wilds, they could take down bears in a pack and were deadly as can be. These bloodhounds were as big as or bigger than wolves. Their fur was a matted red color, devoid of any shading. The beast had a thicker chunk of fur around its neck to protect it, resembling the mane of a lion. The thick fur made it difficult to deal with. But like the chicken, he would.
The hound must have caught a whiff of him. The hound sniffed loudly, twisted around, and began to growl as it crouched down to face him. The fur around its neck puffed up more to make it look bigger. Will took a breath and phased toward the animal. His blade in hand, he struck down as he appeared next to the bloodhound. There was no hesitation in his strike as he pointed it at the skull's base.
There was a little bit of resistance, then the knife made a squelching and cracking noise as it severed the spinal chord. The beast fell to the ground, and Light held the blade there until it stopped twitching. His heart pounded rapidly, and he was taken aback by how effortless it had been.
His knife stuck as he pulled it out, and the hound's body jerked when he extricated the blade. His heart pounded with fear, and the dead hound stopped stirring. Light tried not to take any pride in klilling it. His attention was elsewhere, and as he searched for something else, he came to a halt.
“Oh right,” he said, looking down to the left ear of the hound. He needed proof.