M3 checked their psionic reserves and sighed. He was effectively running on fumes due to having so many Minds active as well as his intense training up to this point, and seeing as how he might need to use most of those minds in this fight, he didn’t want to dip into what little psionic power he had left. Hence his need to use an ability or two that wouldn’t actively drain his power pool.
M4 reported that the Psijic Star was doing well, so there was at least that. Unfortunately, he didn’t have very many translated psionic powers that could use Psijic Energy yet. At least they’d gotten through most of the first level Powers, which meant that he could use [Astral Construct] to help give him openings in the coming fight.
So, Joram had M5 and M6 draw on the knowledge of Soulknives and of the Aegis. The former allowed him to create tremendously powerful psionic weapons, while the latter would increase his defense. And defense would surely be needed.
Joram looked up at the rapidly descending aquamarine dragon. It looked like it should be in the water given that its neck spines connected to look like a giant fin, or neck frill. Even its tail was made for swimming, being narrow and tall like an oar.
As he quickly dashed to the side, he transitioned into his fused form. He gained another ten centimetres in height, as well as some more muscle mass, but it was the wings that he really needed for the fight.
The dragon wasn’t letting him go, though. As he ran, the dragon followed, opening up its maw wide before a torrent of steaming liquid sprayed out in a wide cone, with him at its centre.
Acting on reflex, Joram spun and twisted out of the way, very glad for Altaea’s insane training. The acid narrowly missed him. He looked at the ground around him and frowned. The acid dissolved every plant in the glade and even began eating down into the ground.
By this time, M5 had summoned a mindblade in the form of a pair of gloves, and M6 had managed to form their astral suit, “skin” type, giving him a huge boost to his defense and outright damage reduction. And, due to his picky nature, the astral skin’s appearance had been altered to make it look like his normal combat suit, colour, texture, and everything.
Joram flapped his wings and shot into the dragon’s side, crashing into it hard enough to break its scales and shove it back a few dozen feet. He grabbed the broken scales that were still attached to the dragon and held on as they spun through the sky.
The gargantuan dragon roared in pain as Joram took the opportunity to start ripping out its scales one after another once its flight stabilized. He’d had M7 focus on their field of perception, so when the massive claw bore down on him, he was able to brace before impact.
The blow rattled him, but didn’t manage to dislodge him from the dragon’s side. Holding on with his left hand, he raised his right hand, fingers extended and squeezed tightly together, then brought it down in a flurry of slashes that opened up the dragon’s side.
Blood gushed out of the wound, faintly sizzling on his astral skin. M8 reported that the acidic blood wasn’t strong enough to penetrate the astral skin. So, M6 willed the suit to completely cover his exposed skin while M3 dismissed his wings of light.
From there, Joram unleashed another flurry of slashes that opened the wound even further. Before he could do more, though, he felt the mana in the dragon surge. His eyes widened as he recognized the spell.
The mana disjunction spell washed over him, managing to dispel his gloves and astral skin. He barely held onto [Schism] though. As his astral skin faded away, he felt the potent acid of the dragon’s blood start to eat at his skin. Making a quick decision, he released his grip on the dragon at the same time as he kicked away from it.
As he fell, M7 re-summoned their wings, halting their descent while M5 and M6 brought back the gloves and astral skin in their previous forms.
By the time he halted his fall, the dragon had turned, bringing its head around to bite him with its massive teeth. Not wanting to see what that felt like, M3 manifested [Dimension Hop], shifting them roughly ten metres to the right of the dragon’s head.
Once he was out of the way, M4 manifested [Mind Thrust A] at the same time that M8 started manifesting [Astra Construct A], both using as much Psijic Energy that he could augment them with.
As the [Mind Thrust A] took effect, Joram’s mouth dropped open. The amount of energy contained in that Power was enough to send blood gushing from the dragon’s nose, ear holes, and eyes, soon followed by its grey matter.
The aquamarine scaled dragon fell from the sky, sending a visible tremor through the ground when its thirty-metre-long body smashed down.
A moment later, the Astral Construct popped into existence, hovering ten metres away from him.
He looked over to it and sighed. He’d done an amazing job with this one. He’s shaped it in the form of the phoenix he’d seen fighting the Heavenly Lightning Jade Dragon. Every feather of the Astral Construct was identical to what he remembered, even the colour. Which was something, for standard Astral Constructs were the silvery-white of shaped ectoplasm, making it obvious what they were.
But this one really looked like a phoenix, down to its fiery aura.
“It’d be a shame to dismiss you right away,” he murmured to his creation. “Maybe just go sit over there for now,” he directed it vocally even though it wasn’t necessary because Astral Constructs were controlled mentally.
He quickly landed beside the aquatic dragon and dismissed his fused form along with his astral skin and mindblades/gloves. He regarded the dragon for a moment, contemplating just how easy it had been to take down a Peak Tier 6 magical beast by attacking its mind.
Sure, if it had been anyone else, they might have become a pile of dissolved flesh after that first breath attack. Even his resistance to acid from having used the Adamantium Body Technique hadn’t been enough for him to go unscathed. He looked down at his pitted skin and manifested [Natural Healing A] with Psijic Energy.
He watched, awed, as his skin quickly repaired itself, the wounds closing without leaving a trace. No scars, no different tone of skin that would tell someone that it had recently healed. It was perfect.
He then had each of his Minds gain their psionic focus, then had them all use [Repair] to mend his clothes and body suit, then used [Cleanse] to rid himself of the gore from the fight. Once that was under way, he shifted the dragon’s corpse into his stasis storage space in his Realm, then turned around.
‘Hi,’ Alicia sent, then physically waved at him from the other side of the portal where she stood with the other members of the study group.
* * * * *
Jezira was beyond terrified after witnessing Mr Aneath’s fight with the mutated flood dragon. She had immediately recognized its Peak Tier 6 strength and had thought that he was done for. But contrary to her expectations, the fight had been relatively short and incredibly brutal.
She’d heard all about Mr Aneath’s and Princess Hornwood’s latest spar, but hadn’t given it much thought due to them being so low Tier. But one thing that she’d taken away from her princess’s account of the spar was her description of the auras that had been used.
That Mr Aneath hadn’t gotten worked up enough for his aura to appear during his fight with the mutated flood dragon made her more than a little wary. That he’d just punched through its scales like they were boards, terrified her.
Mr Aneath was definitely not what he claimed to be, and as she sat at the table they’d been supping at not five minutes ago, she wondered what she could do.
She looked over to the other guardian present, Matsui Aya, and wondered what she would do. They were both in the 6th Tier, but they were also just into it. She felt that Aya was a bit stronger than her. The problem was, if Mr Aneath could destroy a Peak Tier 6 mutated flood dragon like that, she was sure that they wouldn’t stand a chance against him in a straight-on confrontation.
Jezira was brought out of her musings when Mr Aneath finally spoke.
“I’m sorry for earlier this morning,” he said, looking for all the world like a child apologizing to someone he’d hurt.
“Never mind that,” Faenwyn broke in. “What was that just now?!”
“Ah, hmm, I’ll get to that in a moment, if you’d all be so patient,” he said, then looked around to see if anyone would say anything.
Jezira was more than tempted to say something, but a pinch from her princess stopped her.
“I’m pretty sure that the topic has never come up before… our guest showed up this morning. But, I have very strong views and opinions when it comes to slavery.
“When I saw what kind of slavery seal was on that woman, my mind went to…. Well, I thought of some important people who’d been taken away and wondered if the same thing had been done to them,” he said, then paused to take a few breaths.
This was news to her, if it was true. But judging from Alicia’s, and Mr Aneath’s servants’ reactions, she was reasonably sure that it was true.
“That said, I seem to have a bit of a… an anger management issue,” he said, getting a few surprised reactions from the young women present. “My… unique bloodline comes with the downside that I get much angrier than I used to,” he said, then looked around at them all.
“I’m not going to say anything more on that, as there are some people here who aren’t likely to stay with the study group after today, and I’d rather not have sensitive information about me spread about,” he said, then specifically looked her in the eye.
Jezira’s blood pressure spiked before she realized that he wasn’t likely to kill her to keep his secrets. He just wouldn’t share those secrets where she could hear them. Was he too soft?
His words caused the study group to start babbling, assuring him that they would never do such a thing, which amused Jezira more than a little. It wasn’t hard for a secret to slip out when chatting with someone else, especially if that someone was trying to get information from them. But she supposed the ideals of youth were still ingrained in the young women present.
“So, I apologize for releasing my aura around you. I’m very sorry for the hurt and distress that I caused,” he said, then bowed at the waist to everyone.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
He stayed bowed until, of all people, Gabrielle stood up, walked over to him, and pulled at his shoulders until he stood up straight.
“Accidents happen,” she said quietly, but firmly. “We were just startled at how strongly you reacted, that’s all,” she said, the others nodding to her words.
Though, Jezira noticed that Aya wasn’t nodding along with her princess.
“From what Alicia told me, it was a near thing,” he said, shaking his head and looking as sad as a kicked puppy. “Any loss of control is still ultimately on me. So, once we return, I’ll be going into seclusion for a while to try and work things out,” he finished.
That stunned the group, but pleased Jezira greatly. If he wasn’t around for a while, she’d be able to talk some sense into her princess without worrying about his presence erasing any progress she made every time the study group gathered.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Alicia said, shaking her head. “If anything, the fight just now proved that your reaction to the slavery seal was an anomalous event.”
Mr Aneath shot her a frown, but didn’t argue the point. Jezira very much wished to do so, but another pinch from her princess stopped her. She looked to her princess and found that she had that Look on her face that meant that if Jezira stepped out of line, that she’d soon find herself in an unemployment line.
“So, about the fight?” Princess Hornwood prompted, looking more interested in the details of the fight than an apology from her fiancé.
“Ah, I can’t explain that until I know for sure if everyone will keep it to themselves,” he said, looking around the room, pausing on Matsui Aya, then on her.
His gaze once again told her that he knew that she wasn’t someone he could trust. Though she was now reasonably sure that he wouldn’t kill her to keep his secrets, she was also sure that he wouldn’t say anything sensitive in front of her. And, it seemed, Matsui Aya as well.
After more words were spoken by the study group saying that they’d keep his secrets, and that he could trust him, he shook his head.
“It’s not that I don’t trust your words,” he said, looking at each of the study group members one-by-one. “But telling you won’t just affect me, but my family and friends that are relying on me. I won’t ask anyone to take a Heart Oath, for I don’t like them at all, but I can’t share things unless I know of a certitude that those things won’t be shared with others. Ever.”
That caused the study group to quiet down and exchange looks.
Jezira was pleased to see more than a few frowns, especially Kassandra’s. She didn’t know if Mr Aneath was purposely pushing them away, or was just incompetent when it came to dealing with people. Either way, his words would make any future efforts to distance her princess from him much easier.
“Alicia told me what she said to you all while I was gone. As much as I’d hate to lose any friendships that I’ve made with you all, I can’t help but agree with her.
“When I consider someone a Friend, they’ve already become like family to me. I’d never betray them, never reveal their secrets to another without their permission. I’ll do everything that I can to help them when they need,” he said seriously, his words and tone even managing to catch her up.
“I respect my friends. I value the time I spend with them. I think of ways to help them even when that help hasn’t been asked for. I’m there when they need comfort or support. I’m also there to tell them when I think they’re about to do something… unwise. I’ll tell them when they’re being an idiot, or when they’re just plain wrong.
“I do all of that, and more, because of that friendship, that love that I have for them. That’s who I am.
“But I’m also insecure. I fear disappointing my family and friends. I’m an introvert, contrary to what you may be thinking right now. Social situations like this are very hard for me. I’m burning through Mental Strength just to keep talking; just to keep myself from running away,” he said, looking down at the end of that.
Alicia put a hand on his shoulder then, giving him her silent support.
Jezira still wasn’t sure if this wasn’t just an act, though. She’d met her fair share of Mentalists in the past, from one trade or another, and every single one of them had been proud. Proud to the point where they had to be threatened to admit a mistake or a fault. Sure, most had been amiable sorts on the surface, but that amiability had only hidden their immense pride.
That someone of Mr Aneath’s talents and power would lower his head in front of a bunch of kids, even though there were three princesses amongst them, wasn’t believable to her. If she wasn’t wrong, Mr Aneath’s talents would have him at the peak of the crafting world sooner rather than later. That level of ability, in her experience, always came with an equal measure of pride.
Was he just working them? Trying to snake his way into their good graces so that he’d have plenty of contacts for when he graduated from the Academy? Or was he looking to go further than that? He was already dating Alicia, the top beauty on the Goddess Ranking, not to mention that he’d just been engaged to Princess Hornwood, another stunning beauty.
Was he trying to get more solid attachments with them? If he could marry or make them concubines, then he’d surely have a profound foundation in the future. Three princesses, a few nobles, as well as other talents would be tempting for anyone, let alone an up-and-coming talent like him.
“So,” Mr Aneath said, raising his head then taking another breath before going on. “If you think that you can be a friend to me like I’m a friend to you, then say so now.”
Jezira glanced around quickly and saw that there were many sympathetic expressions to be seen.
“Hah, that more sounds like a spouse than a friend,” Sophia joked, laughing a bit as she looked around.
To her dismay, her princess nodded at that, looking entirely too serious for her comfort.
“I’m OK with that,” Gabrielle said quietly from Mr Aneath’s side, a blush turning her cheeks a charming rose colour.
“As am I,” Kassandra said, breaking Jezira’s heart in the process.
Faenwyn spoke up next with a firm look of determination. Then Alyraele, then the others. Only Sophia and Matsui Aya stayed silent. She could see that Matsui Aya was less than pleased with her princess, but still kept her mouth shut.
Sophia, though, looked more torn than anything.
Mr Aneath turned to regard Sophia for a moment before speaking, his tone soft.
“What’s bothering you?” He asked.
Sophia squirmed in place for a moment when her peers looked over at her, their gazes curious.
“I’m a merchant,” she said, then finally managed to look at Mr Aneath directly. “Merchants aren’t supposed to get tied down with one person. They’re supposed to be ready to move on to the next business deal when it proves to be the better, more profitable one,” she said, then looked down at her lap.
“But I also want good friends,” she said, quietly. “I want to have a friend like you. I want to be someone like you described. But I’m afraid that I’m not,” she finished quietly.
Alyraele reached over and clasped her friend’s shoulder before speaking.
“Sophia, you’re one of the most reliable people that I know,” she said kindly. “I wouldn’t have started speaking with you, then spending time with you, if that wasn’t the case,” she said, their eyes finally connecting as Sophia turned her head towards Alyraele.
“Who isn’t at least a little afraid that they’re not a good friend to someone important to them?” Daleira asked from Sophia’s other side. “That you’re worried about being important to someone says a lot about you,” she finished, also reaching out a hand to clasp Sophia’s shoulder.
“You can take your time,” Mr Aneath said kindly. “I won’t kick anyone out who isn’t able to decide right now. I know that this isn’t something to take lightly. So everyone, please, take your time thinking about this.”
“I can appreciate that sentiment,” Kassandra said, stabbing Jezira’s heart again. “But I’m already decided. I like you Joram, and I don’t want to leave,” she said with a beautiful smile that showed just how sincerely she felt about what she’d just said.
That got more than a few reactions from everyone gathered. From blushes to wide eyes, not a one of the study group that weren’t already with Mr Aneath one way or another didn’t react.
“I-I-I-I-I- really like Joram too!” Renna shouted out; her face so red that Jezira worried about her bursting a blood vessel.
“I liked him first!” Jae-Eun suddenly shouted as she suddenly jumped to her feet, also redder than a tomato and shocking everyone into silence.
For his part, Mr Aneath looked stunned, his face also starting to turn red.
Jezira looked over at Matsui Aya and found that the woman looked like she was about to murder Mr Aneath right then and there.
“I’m glad that I’ve made such good friends!” He suddenly yelled out, looking up at the ceiling the whole time. “Howaboutweallheadtothehotspringsandtakeaminutetothinkthingsover!” He yelled before dashing off so fast that even she had a hard time following his blurred form.
“Huh,” Jezira said, looking around at the stunned faces of those present.
Maybe he really wasn’t lying about being incredibly shy, she thought, also a bit stunned at his sudden departure.
Is that really the same young man that punched a hole into the side of a Peak Tier 6 dragon? She asked herself, then shook her head.
* * * * *
‘Why are people so hard? Why can’t they be easy like psionically rearranging molecules?’ Joram asked as he reclined in the onsen.
Onsen, because it was easier to think of the hot spring like that. Also, because the whole design of the bathhouse was taken from Japanese hot spring resorts. Well, the ones from manga and anime, anyway.
‘For as awkward as you made your apology and appeal to them,’ Alicia replied, ‘I’m glad that you did it. You’ve made progress. I’m proud of you,’ her sending full of warmth.
‘Ah~~~, it was truly embarrassing. Opening up is hard!’
‘True. But when you do, others then feel comfortable enough to do so as well,’ she replied sagely.
‘Are you sure that you’re not aiming to get me a huge harem?’ He asked suspiciously.
‘If it happens, it happens. I know that I’ll always be with you, so why not share your awesomeness with others who’re willing to explore your awesomeness,’ she said teasingly, causing him to flush.
‘Like I said, I’m not that awesome,’ his sending practically mumbled.
Thankfully, Alicia let it go with just that this time. He was still very unsure of everything, even though his body reacted to the possibility of being with so many beautiful women. Physically, he was ready. Especially with his… vigorous bloodlines urging him to reproduce.
Intellectually? Emotionally? He was scared shitless. The possibility of so much commitment and emotional attachment and sharing of feelings….
Joram took a deep breath then let it out slowly. Then repeated that a few more times before his heart calmed down enough that he was no longer in danger of passing out.
What will be, will be, he thought, resigning himself to the future.
He was in another world with different values, and especially cultures. Not accepting his new world would only lead to unhappiness and frustration. He first needed to accept it before he could properly move on. Only then could he, for him, really start to make changes that he hoped would be far-reaching and enduring.
Like abolishing slavery.
He looked over to where he knew Alicia had tucked the Belladonna away. He would have to deal with that soon enough. For as much as he disliked invading the privacy of another individual, he would have to.
The biggest problem was the slavery seal. When placed on the Core, it became incredibly powerful. It could draw on the power of the one sealed to do a myriad of things to the host, as well as anyone trying to mess with the seal. They could be simple or incredibly complex, depending on the one who made the seal.
At the least, most seals had anti-tampering scripts incorporated into them. From what he’d read, those ranged anywhere from causing wracking pain in the host to killing the host all the way to causing an explosion that could wipe out anything within a radius of many kilometres around the host.
Seeing as how the dark elf was from an assassin/spy organization, he was confident that she wouldn’t have been given one of those kinds of seals. That said, he was almost sure that her seal was of the lethal variety that would not only kill her, but also the one tampering with the seal.
If he were evil, that’s what he’d do, after all.
The next question was: how sensitive was the seal to magical probing? However inadvertently, they already found out that it wasn’t so sensitive that a simple detection ritual hadn’t set it off. But. Would the seal react of another form of probing?
He was woefully underprepared to handle this, but at the same time, it was a situation that was a bit time sensitive.
Then he facepalmed.
‘I’m headed to the Heavenly Archive for a bit,’ he sent Alicia. ‘Let me know if anything happens.’
‘Gotcha.’
That done, he quickly got out of the onsen, dried off, and got dressed before shifting to his Realm. Once there, he looked down at the transfer platform he’d made the year before. It hadn’t gotten much use in the past year. He shrugged, then stepped on and infused it with Psionic Power to activate it.
Once inside the Archive, Joram headed off to the 5th Tier section. It was there that the Clan had stored away the various slavery techniques they’d gathered over the millennia. Not just because they were dangerous, but because Tier 3 Mana had the highest affinity for creating such seals.
Joram looked at the disturbingly large section for a while before shaking his head. Knowledge was just knowledge after all. It was what you did with that knowledge that mattered. The intent you had when exercising that knowledge was what determined if you were good or evil.
But some knowledge was just so repulsive to one’s very being that it was hard to deal with, let alone learn.
He shook his head again, more vigorously this time.
There was a good chance that the people of Brightside and his Clan had been made into slaves, having such seals placed upon them. If he was truly serious about finding and freeing them all, then he would have to do this. He would probably also have to do other things that he didn’t want to do.
Like picking fights.
Like killing or crippling people who weren’t actively trying to kill him.
Like using the knowledge he was about to acquire to place slavery seals of his own.
That last thought nearly made him throw up. But he swallowed hard, took a few more slow, deep breaths, and got to work memorizing every page in that abominable section of the Heavenly Archive.