The moment the brand wore off Mark was relieved, but not for the usual reasons. Jonathan had been desperately cutting through the alined Corrupted, and he showed no signs of wanting to stop anytime soon.
It was not that Jonathan was injured or even looked tired, it was that they had been at this for hours now, and obsession did not begin to cover it. Mark had to routinely sink stacks of Corrupted corpses into the surrounding earth so as not to clog up the tunnel.
Jonathan swept his way across the marching Corrupted with a hunger that matched their own.
At the same time, Sam had kept experimenting with spatial magic and unleashed numerous wayward spells in an attempt to achieve long-distance teleportation. At one point she accidentally released a wave of silver energy that tore through the tunnel in the shape of a crescent. It carved through the surrounding concrete of the tunnel with such ease that only her early dismissal of the spell stopped it. Mark had to switch to supporting the weight of the stone above them until he could get it fixed. After that, he got her to promise she wouldn’t use as much power in her spells going forward.
As it turned out the initial levels of spacial magic were more offensive in nature. Such as disrupting space rather than teleportation. Or at least that's what Sam thought.
Cara probably just had such a high compatibility with the magic, that she could start with the more complex stuff. Similar to how Mark had done with force magic and his constructs.
The fact that Sam could even use short-ranged jumps was a testament to her high compatibility, and yet it was only a minor help when it came to understanding the more intensive jumps. On the bright side, Mark was decently sure Sam had added a powerful destructive spell to her repertoire.
It took over an hour for Mark to see a drop off in the number of Corrupted arriving. At that point, the mark had long since faded, and with it went Jonathans all you all-you-can-eat buffet of Corrupted.
Jonathan was so lost in the battle lust that he had not even realized the mark had dissipated. When no more arrived he glanced at Mark, the question in his gaze, but Mark shook his head firmly.
“Jonathan, it's gone, and getting late. We should head back now.”
The guy glanced back at the tunnel and then at Mark.
“I think I’ll spend the night down here.”
Mark grimaced, he somehow knew that would be his response.
“How about this? We all go back, get a bit of meditation in, and after that, you can come back to training. I’ll even lend you the amulet so you can escape if there’s something you can’t handle down here.”
Mark didn’t want to get in the way of Jonathan's training but he needed the guy to take a break.
Even if it was just for a couple of hours.
Sam was still lost in contemplation, not even registering their conversion, so Mark shook her and repeated that they should leave. Sam was easier to coax with promises of warm food and a bed. Seemingly mentally drained from all the effort.
Jonathan still seemed hesitant but Mark just ushered him up towards their vertical tunnel. When they reached the top of the staircase Mark saw a unit of twenty guards quickly standing to attention.
Neither Sam nor Jonathan responded beyond silent greetings so Mark spoke to them.
“Relax everyone. For now, split into groups of five. There are three lower levels and the ground level to guard. Those at the bottom level will be able to use ranged attacks on any stragglers passing by, I suggest you rotate the groups to keep everyone at peak condition.”
Mark directed this at their group leader but beyond that, they would have to get further instruction, as this was not Mark's area of expertise.
Leaving the building Mark lifted all three of them in the air, giving Sam a break from magic. The new training grounds location was not far from their core district, in case it ever became a problem; that way, reinforcements were never far off.
The evening air pressed against Mark's skin like a heavy blanket, a stark contrast to recent days when a crisp chill had embraced the surroundings. Cold winds had danced through the city, leaving Mark bewildered at the sudden shift to a sweltering heat. It dawned on him that the influx of new energies the system had introduced could be the cause. Playing havoc with the weather patterns and who knew what else.
Arriving back at the building Mark spotted a car carrying NAS’s colors as it drove from their territory.
Sensing something was up Mark brought them directly to Karter's office.
By the time they arrived, the shoebox-sized room was already filled with people.
Ethel and Karter were in the middle, surrounded by Daphne, Chloe, and Gibby. The guy had left the training grounds when he saw the unit of men arrive.
Then Mark saw Donny and Abby huddled together, talking in low tones.
“Hmm, just a couple of minutes earlier and you could have been the ones to explain things,” Karter said to Mark.
Stolen story; please report.
Looking around Mark tried to figure out what was going on, it looked like a delegation from NAS had passed through.
“Mr. Gibby said you may need some time so we called in Ms. Abby to give her opinion.”
Mark nodded.
“Alright, what’s going on?”
“Well NAS came to officially confirm we were joining the expedition. Which, as we discussed, we agreed to. However, seeing as the clinic is doing so well, they also requested we help them with a crash course for their healers. They wanted to know if tomorrow would be enough time to make a difference in the level of treatment.” Gibby said.
Mark then understood what Karter meant.
“Hmm, yeah it would help. And frankly, if they’re asking, I don’t see a reason to turn them down.”
“And that's exactly what Ms. Abby advised. They offered to pay us for the lesson if someone gives it at the institute tomorrow.” Karter said as he glanced at Abby and Donny.
Mark scratched his head.
“Is that all they said?”
Gibby’s lip twitched upward and he mulled over his next words.
“Yes, that was all they had to say, but I do have news to add. I heard from a reliable source that the Loyalists were unable to help with the expedition. They said they could send a small elite team to assist, however, the bulk of their forces will need to remain. There has been an increase in sightings outside the walls. I can confirm that these are not just rumors. Something's brewing out there. ”
Mark couldn’t help but think of those creatures they had encountered out there. As of yet, they had only told the pillars of their order but this type of information needed to be more widespread. Mark made his thoughts known and Ethel agreed.
“Then we should make sure it comes from the source, we’ll make it public information, but I think one of us should go and deliver the news of this personally. Sam, I have to ask this of you.”
Sam looked to be lost in thought but she must have been keeping tabs on the conversion because she didn’t hesitate in accepting the task from Ethel.
The older woman smiled at her softly.
“And Mark, they initially asked for you to be the one to do the lesson, do you think you can swing that? If not perhaps Abby or one of your other team leads could go in your place.”
Mark thought about it. He did not personally mind being the one to do the class as long as they didn’t need him here during that time.
At one point Mark had even considered giving a class to make extra some extra SP, but he had never had the time.
It would even be a good opportunity to learn how others did their healing—an exchange of techniques and ideas. The thought lifted Mark's spirits.
“Sure, I’ll put aside some time tomorrow afternoon.”
Ethel jotted a note down in her little book and glanced at everyone.
“Right, Chloe, I need your help tonight on a couple of predictions. As for the rest of you, you look like one of Boe’s chew toys; go get some proper rest.”
Mark knew that probably wouldn’t work on Jonathan, but it did earn Mark enough time for a shower and a blueberry muffin before the guy practically pounded down his and Daphne's door, and just about whisked Mark off to the roof by his collar.
Amused, Daphne fell in step with them and joined them to get a better understanding of the [Meditation] technique. Mark was glad to have her along because he had barely gotten to spend any time with her since they arrived back.
When they stepped out onto the roof, Sam was already waiting there. The space had changed over time from a desolate rooftop to an inviting hideout.
Mark had continued to practice his [Nature control] up here and had used the awning overhead to develop his control, growing creepers up the length of the beams into a natural canopy. Sam had scored scatter pillows from who knows where, which she deposited under the canopy in a circle. The final change had been one of necessity, Jonathan had lugged a set of chairs and a large oaken table up the side of the building to give them a surface to work on documents when the need arose.
The two cherry trees had grown in size and now took up a good portion of the roof planters as they looked out over the cityscape. Hard green fruit bloomed in abundance across the branches, causing them to drop their flowers. The withering petals littered the floor of the rooftop and were sent soaring whenever a draft moved through the space. Spreading their subtle floral scent into the surroundings.
Daphne pulled another pillow from the stack and dropped it down beside the other three. They had already discovered that the [Medition] technique didn’t work well with more than three people.
A problem arose when additional people joined, causing the energy produced to fall out of balance. If another Aura user joined, the circle generated more Mana and Prana, but the Aura needed, was doubled. This benefited others, but the same amount of Aura would then need to be shared amongst all Aura users. As a result, the efficiency dropped greatly.
The challenge lay in maintaining a balance between increased energy production and the need to distribute it among a growing number of participants.
Mark had a hunch that if they assembled another Mana and Prana user their speed might increase even further. But as a basic rule of thumb, for the technique to work one needed an equal number of Aura, Mana, and Prana users.
The less focused their cores, the less efficient the technique was.
So the three of them practiced until Jonathan had reached his limit and got up to leave.
Source: Mediation (+19 Prana, +38 exp points)
Jonathan’s eyes still held that feverish light in them, but now it contained less of an edge.
Mark took the amulet from around his neck and held it up to the guy.
“Take it, and don’t fight me either,”
Jonathan watched the waystone swing like a pendulum in Mark's grasp, dancing in the air.
Mark only took his eyes off the guy when he took hold of the item and placed it around his neck. Daphne took up Jonathan's empty spot, and Mark grasped her outstretched hand, helping her to gather the energy but taking none for himself. Having already reached his limit, it took more time, but Mark was more than willing to do so to help her get stronger.
Sam had sunk into a deep meditation, which she did not wake up from even when Daphne reached her limit and broke contact.
Mark stood, walking over to the cherry trees with Daphne in tow. Leaning back against one of their trunks, he drew Daphne into his lap, pouring his power into the plants, further ripening the stone fruits from olive green to a deep crimson. Mark didn’t even mind the crunch of dirt beneath him as the two of them watched the busy roads below, illuminated by the glow of nearby buildings and street lamps. The evening had fallen like swaths of black material scattered with silver stars, and for a time, the night was peaceful.