Mythshaper - Chapters 60 and 61

A/N: Sorry about the delay, there was a bit of a hiccup. The next release will come in a bulk.

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Chapter 60: Duel

Immunis Lucien hesitated on his way out, when Mum called after him, 

“Not you. Sit down.”

The Immunis froze on the spot, while Mum rested on the couch after a thorough check on me. Finding nothing amiss, her gaze shifted to Lucien once more.

Lucien swallowed his breath and, like an obedient child, quickly sat on the couch, hid posture was too rigid.

“Pumpkin, do you want to go to your studies?”

I shook my head vigorously and sat next to her, clutching her arm. She stroked my head and finally leaned back, closed her eyes, and relaxed.

On other occasions when Lucien came to settle the commissions, Mum had offered him beverages, even going so far as to guide him through a few questions he had about runesmithing. But right now, she showed no indication of acting the polite hostess.

"Tell me,” she said, her eyes still closed. “What is all this mess about?”

Lucien tried to explain, saying that it was at the very last minute that Tribune Alexis decided to join him, as other times he mostly came by himself along with a couple of auxiliaries. Being from a middling Equites family, with merely the post of Immunis, Lucien had no way of defying a Tribune of high Patrician class. Even still, he overtly tried to steer Alexis from acting too imperiously, oblivious to what schemes were brewing in the young tribune’s head.

"I even asked Centurion Arata for help, hoping he’d warn Alexis from acting recklessly, but that bullheaded man laughed it off, merely saying 'good luck’.”

That told us he was completely aware of what would happen. 

Mom shook her head.

"Forgive me if I overstep my boundaries," said Lucian, "but don't you think it is a bit reckless to offend someone like Alexis Daenerys? He might not be powerful, but he's just petty enough and has the support of his family to make trouble that might not be worth it..."

Mum opened her eyes. "The Daenerys family has no jurisdiction here," she said. “It might become a bit tricky if your legion had a hand in it. They do tend to fish for any benefit they can get without paying a price, and that fool boy seemed like the perfect bait to test the water.”

“I assure you the higher-ups are not involved in this,” Lucian explained. While the legion would like Mum to make new, innovative fabricators, and would pay handsomely for them, they wanted this business relationship to evolve slowly. Perhaps they really wanted an artifact or two. Who doesn’t, really? You could never have too many of them. But that was after many collaborations. After all, one simply couldn’t get an artifact made through gold and silver leafs.

Alexis Daenerys found out about Mum and her capabilities and thought he could bully her into making anything he desired. The fool didn't understand that it would only get him on the blacklist of Artisan guilds like Dragonforge, Anvil, and many independent artisans.

"If the Empire is behind this,” Mum thought out loud, “we can simply leave. We are already debating it. Wouldn't hurt if it was a year or two earlier."

Lucien sat uncomfortably, wiping sweat from his brows every now and then, as though he were working in the forge, when the solitary figure of Father came in from his daily patrol. Unlike most others who were admitted into the local milites, Father never seemed to wear the standard wear of auxiliaries. He didn't like the empire's colours, but the legions were all too glad to get someone dependable. 

“Ashlyn, there was a strange man outside...” he paused, reading the solemn air of the room. “What happened?”

Mum told him. She excluded how rampant and disrespectful the patrician acted, but father’s eyes blazed in fury, his palm reaching for the pommel of his sword when he learned about Alexis flaring his coercive aura with me present.

“Um, sir,” Lucien said with great deference, as though afraid to offend our family anymore. “I know you’re powerful, but perhaps it isn’t wise to strike at an imperial official.”

“It isn’t,” Father agreed, “unfortunately for your imperial official, he just challenged me to a duel without knowing which tree he was barking at.”

“That little—” Even Lucien failed to keep his temper in check, veins popping in his temples. 

“If it were some random awakened, I might have overlooked it, but that fella now only flaunts his backing to oppress my family; he even dares to flare his malicious aura in the presence of my son...”

I believed Father was overreacting on my part. While the reddish aura appeared ominous for a brief moment, far more malignant than any instances of aura manifestation I had encountered, Mum neutralised it aptly, not to mention the [Band of Protection] activating to protect me from any of the aura invading me.

I guess he was worried about what would have happened if Mum wasn’t there and the artefact failed to protect me. Still, I didn’t think it could have injured me. Perhaps my concept of aura was shallow, but that tribune seemed only to have tried his hand at intimidation.

However, that didn’t mean I would feel pity for him when I'd watch Father thrash him for all he was worth. Hell, if I had the power, I would have done it myself. Thinking about the words he uttered made my blood boil.

As Mum didn’t disapprove of Father’s intention, we all crept out of the study room to face the young tribune standing near the wagon with a cold scowl.

“Set time and location,” Father said, “I’ll fight you.”

Alexis appeared ready to fight it out right now and repay the abuse he had been through, but a look at my mother faltered him, though the malicious glint never left his eyes.

Poor fellow, he didn’t stand a chance against my Mum and still believed he could do something to Father.

“A week from now on,” grunted Alexis coldly. “At the Institution compound.”

Father nodded as Alexis turned away with a cold humph, uncaring about the task he had come with.

Lucien could only sigh.

“Perhaps it’s not a bad idea,” Mum said with a shake of her head, “to give him a lesson his parents failed to deliver, though I fear it will hardly teach anything.”

Her gaze turned to the wall of hardwood boxes and then to the Immunis. “Before you leave, let's settle this deal with them.”

Lucian nodded, tracing a clumsy hand through his hair. “While the artefact had been Alexis' idea, the legion does have some design on getting some higher-grade equipment. We need it desperately. I don't know how much you have heard, but the rise of rifts has been continuous since the last time we resolved the issue here in Karmel."

Not getting an answer from Mum, he continued, “Of course, you can renegotiate the contract, and the legion will compensate far more handsomely, even better terms than what the various crafters’ guilds offer.”

“Perhaps the situation is as dire as you paint it to be, if they can bear parting ways with their treasury,” Mum muttered, though she didn’t outright promise anything. Once again, she gestured for us to return to the study room. She finally took a sip of her tea, deep in thought.

Immunis Lucien waited anxiously, forgetting his tea.

“Whose legion is working as the vanguard around here?” Mum asked.

“Primus Plius Selene’s,” said the Immunis. As though remembering something, he quickly added, “We have been stretched thin on more than a few occasions, where Sir Nikolas Aelius’s legion assisted us.”

“Smart," Mum lifted an eyebrow, "putting a name I’m familiar with to ease me.”

The grown man practically blushed at her words, sipping the beverage hastily. The Plius Nikolas Aelius here was none other than Rosalyn’s father, who had visited with my grandmother not long ago. 

“Still, Sir Nikolas is one of the few folks in your legion who still has my respect,” her lips quirked upwards, “and Selene is not half bad, despite her ill temper.”

“Is that the woman who set our camp on fire?” Father chimed in, surprisingly.

“Who else?” Mum laughed, scratching her nose. “Didn’t know she became a Primus Plius… How long has it been? A decade, almost.”

“I didn’t know you were familiar with Plius Selene,” Lucien said.

“There are only so many of us advanced to Fabled class,” Mum said, finishing her tea. "Now, back to our topic. I think I have made it clear, I won't be crafting anyone any artefact—at least, not squandering my own essence threads.”

“You did,” the blond man paused. “Not squandering your own essence threads? Does that mean you aren’t against crafting an artefact when the essence threads are provided by someone else?”

My eyes widened at the implication, and then I felt stupid. Of course, it should have been possible to craft an artefact with not just the artisan’s essence threads. The way Mum had sacrificed her own for my bracelet gave me the misconception, not to mention she was still withholding any information on how the actual process went.

“It depends on your sincerity,” Mum said, leaning back, “same with fabricators of elite classes and higher."

A breath of relief escaped Lucian's lips, but Mum waved her palm. She wasn’t finished.

“I’ll give you one week to prepare for the sincerity. Just in case you’re not aware, gold and silver don't hold my interest much. Hmm…” She paused, her eyes darting to me. “Fortunately for you, I’m in dire need of some materials.”

“As long as it is within our reach, I’m sure we can come to a term.”

“A fully intact Dusk Essence Seed,” Mum said, “the higher the grade, the better.”

Lucien was flabbergasted, the mild relief he felt a moment ago evaporating into thin air.

“What?” Mum smirked. “Did you think you’ll win me over with some broken pieces of moonstone and nethersteel?"

“Still, a dusk essence seed... It is one of the rarest essence types there is.” Lucian met her gaze, but something in Mom's look hinted that there was no negotiation to be had. He sighed and shook his head. “I’m not nearly high-ranked enough to say anything about it. I fear even Tribune Alexis isn’t.”

“That’s why you have a week. I’m sure you have a way to contact your superior.”

With that, we crept on the way towards the workshop to offload all the repaired wares. I practically forgot that in a moment my pocket would overflow with silver leafs, as a question gnawed at my throat since Mum asked for a Dusk Essence seed.

"Why do you need a dusk essence seed?"

Mom spared me a look, her hardened expression melting at once as she looked at me.

"The answer is not too difficult to figure out, pumpkin. I think you already know what I want to use it for."

The only aspect in which dusk essence was unparalleled was healing and longevity. While it should be nigh impossible to graft on longevity, healing was still one of the most significant aspects for a combat-class awakened. At once, a realisation came to me.

"You want to make another artifact," I said, clenching my fist.

"Don’t get so worked up, pumpkin,” Mum chuckled. "I won't strip off a large number of them like I had to in that bracelet of yours. My healing aspect is all but secondary to having any greater effect on you as pure dusk essence would. I'm even certain it can be grafted."

She ruffled my hair. 

“You see, pumpkin, even after an awakened dies, their essence seed bears most of the essence threads they had cultivated throughout their lives. Unless they died through some strenuous way that impacted their core, it is possible to craft an artifact from them with a bit of flourish and restoration."

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Chapter 61: Levitation 

Telekinesis was an easy art to grasp, however, its difficulty only increased when the object I telekinetically wanted to connect with was something beyond my capabilities. The heavier the object became, the more difficult the task grew. And when the object turned out to be the very ancient rock upon which I was standing, the art became practically impossible.

No, I was not boneheaded enough to think I could move the planet to my whims with the few measly essence threads I had.

I was trying the opposite. Since I couldn’t move the planet (yet), my whole desire revolved around using the repelling force to thrust me upwards into the air. It wasn’t quite flying--like we see birds gliding through the wind, flapping their feathery wings--but it had about the same effect.

The trick was not to target the entire globe, but to push the weight of my essence against a sizeable chunk of the ground. Before, with only 24 threads of essence, I mostly failed at the task, always levitating barely a couple of feet in the air with no power to sustain it for more than a few seconds.

But now I had eight more essence threads to utilise, not to mention my Weight practically doubling. So, while my classmates sparred and trained on one side of the institution grounds, I shot 16 essence threads into the ground beneath my feet, connecting with it. Satisfied, I collected half of my essence Weight and thrust it all through kinetic waves.

The ground was immovable, but as Magus Infecius had proposed, that force had to go somewhere. Since I was standing straight, with the kinetic power thrust at a right angle, the opposite force thrust me straight upwards. In no time, I was a couple of feet into the air.

The result was no different from any of my previous tries, although it was far more sustainable now with half of my Weight remaining to be employed.

A few of my classmates pointed at me, calling to others. Some of their eyes widened in awe, but I was far from content.

Dividing my attention, I wove the rest of my free essence threads into the weave of Empower, linking it with the other simpler weave and creating a new weave. The moment it completed, a terrible force jerked against my essence seed, wrenching an indignant yelp out of my mouth. But that wasn’t all; the force had propelled me several metres higher in the air.

Wind curled against my face as the yelp soon transformed into a squeal, partly of joy and partly of horror. I thought Empower would only be able to raise the height by a metre or two. Unbeknownst to me, however, the force had more than doubled. That upward thrust had been so powerful that it flung me beyond the reach of my influence. Unless I stretched it to a straight line.

But I didn’t have time for that. As soon as my essence thread was cut off, my body plummeted down, the weave dissolving. My heart thumped with heightened excitement as my thought process soon expanded.

Various solutions I could try to solve this little pickle came to my mind. Thrusting the kinetic force against the wind was one, though not really achievable with the current crunch of time. Shaping wind was far more feasible, and so was balancing my body for a safe landing.

The thought acceleration ended, and panic returned to gnaw at my throat. My instinct took over, and somehow, I tried all three of the options.

In the end, my body reacted first. Then my fingers lurched downwards as green essence threads spun below to form wind and kinetic force. My fall slowed as I easily came down for a safe landing, both arms unfurling to balance myself. It was almost perfect to an outsider's eyes, but only I knew how stupid I acted with the fear of falling, even though there was never really a real danger of breaking even a bone with my high fortitude. As long as I toughened up my muscles, there would only be some scratches.

[A new Way is Accessible: Levitation I (0/100)]

I let out a deep breath, and only then did I discover the others were looking at me, nonplussed. Some of my classmates had missed the whole thing, glancing around at others in confusion. My squeal had definitely called more attention than I wanted to deal with.

"What was that?" asked Instructor Delric, stepping closer to me. His class should have ended half an hour ago, but he had remained to guide a few students in their practice, where there was still no sign of the other instructor who should be here in his place.

My palms were still itching to try it again, but I forced myself to answer the instructor.

"Sorry, I was trying levitation."

Instructor Delrick shook his head. "You’re only common class, awakened for a couple of seasons. Levitation should be impossible for you."

Well, it certainly didn’t feel like that, I thought, though I only inclined my head in acknowledgement.

"Besides, it’s too dangerous," said the instructor. "What if you had fallen? You could have broken your arm."

"I will practise more carefully.”

Instructor Delrick met my gaze, held it for a prolonged moment, then shook his head, recognising he could not dissuade me from pursuing the way of levitation.

True to my word, I practised much more sensibly until my essence ran out. Applying 32 essence threads in a steady stream of kinetic waves, I managed to remain levitated over a metre in the air. My balance was still unsteady, and yet I couldn’t wait to rise even higher.

However, I refrained from acting on my impulses. It was only after I had found a bit of a rhythm with my balance—levitating with only the simple kinetic wave shaping—that I freed eight threads of essence and shaped them into the familiar weave of Empower.

Instantly, the kinetic wave I was releasing surged, hurling me upwards once again, but this time only a storey high.

Already prepared for it, I stretched my influence in one direction to stay connected with the ground. Balancing at one metre high was not that difficult—perhaps a bit taxing on my essence seed—but I was definitely capable of it. However, the difficulty escalated the higher I went.

A great weight contorted against my essence seed, twisting it as though a tremendous pressure had seized it. I believed it was my own force working against me, and from the look of it, I didn’t seem capable of bearing it for more than a couple of minutes.

Unless... with the thought surfacing, I immediately channelled Essence Unification as the essence began to revolve in its ever-so-slow pace, drawing in more essence and repelling the force.

It wasn’t quite the solution, but it would do for now.

Only about a minute later, I found that Levitation wasn’t really sustainable in common class. Not only did I have to maintain the complex weave of telekinesis, kinetic force, and Empower, but I also had to stretch my influence, which made the Weight distribution difficult. And finally, there was the need for Essence Unification to repel the inward force.

Even with all that, it wasn’t quite flying, as I hadn’t quite figured out moving through the air part yet.

Honestly, all of these issues could be solved by just having more essence threads, Weight, Influence, and Will.

"Wow, you’re flying!" Diana exclaimed, standing beneath me with her eyes wide. "Can I do it too?"

Foolishly, she tried to utilise her few threads of essence while lunging into the air.

Her feet lifted a few feet off the ground, though that had more to do with jumping than the careful manipulation of essence. Gravity pulled her down as quickly as she rose, though she wasn’t easily dissuaded. Diana attempted her lunging and wave of kinetic energy a few more times until she clenched her fists in frustration.

"How are you flying?" she asked. "Can you teach me, too?"

"Well, it’s not so much flying," I muttered, "as it is stubbornly holding myself up in the air. To even consider it flying, I’d have to move through the air."

With my mind made up, I tentatively tried to move the essence thread connected to the ground.

It shouldn’t have been a difficult task, considering I could do it effortlessly with all the elementary telekinesis practice I had done, but I soon found that was not the case. The reason was the weight I was bearing. The essence thread had become far more rigid, sustaining my entire weight in the air.

I practised moving in a circle, descending to hover only a few feet above the ground. Kinetic force costed far less energy than any other elemental shaping. The problem was Empower. As much as it escalated the power, it also devoured a large quantity of my reserve.

Finally, with my Will and essence nearly depleted, I returned to the mortal plane, wiping a line of sweat from my face. Then a feeling of crash overwhelmed me, as I couldn’t help but lay down on the yellowed grass, wincing.

I hadn’t even rested for nearly long enough when my eyes fluttered open at a ruckus. It seemed Instructor Ao finally found time to take over the resistance training class.

"Ha! You finally found your way to class," said Instructor Delric, his expression full of disapproval as he gazed towards the newcomer. "Didn’t the Headmaster already tell you to be more punctual and serious about the classes?"

"I asked Tullia to cover for me today,” Shaper Ao scoffed, “but she bailed on me at the last moment.”

Delric's gaze was full of reproach, as those reasons did not warrant such wasteful behaviour.

“Unlike you,” snorted the patrician shaper, “I have more serious business to attend than training a few plebs."

"Serious business?" scorned Delrick. "You seem to have this serious business quite often, as you ask Tuli to cover for you almost every other day."

That was true as well. Not only did most of the resistance training fall on Shaper Tullia with his absence, but even when he did attend the class, he never did so at the correct time.

It cost Shaper Tullia nothing more than her time, as she seemed to be busy all day as her duty lay with the milltes. She hardly gained anything of real value from training a few kids—the monetary compensation was practically nothing. Yet she never showed any signs of impatience or anger during the classes. Tullia was delighted to give something back to the academy that trained her, not to mention that she was training the kids of her own town. That was something Shaper Ao lacked. He neither had a connection to the town nor did he seem like a man who could see outside himself.

"Humph, I have my own training to attend," said Ao. "I can’t squander my precious time to fully train these children. Excluding an exceptional couple, none of them stand a chance of attaining even noble class. Training them is nothing but a waste of my essence and time."

“Waste of your time?!” Instructor Delric’s eyes grew cold, his jaw clenched and unclenched. That statement not only insulted the very place he had lived most of his life, but it even belittled the work he had been doing for the past few seasons. “Then why did you agree to such arrangements, knowing that it will cut into your ‘precious’ time?”

“As I said, I had an arrangement with Tullia,” said Ao, seemingly irritated with the whole thing about explaining himself. “Her potential was already wasted when she reached the noble class. Only Oracle knows whose bed she warmed to get her into our guild. It is only right that she takes over these measly tasks.”

A red aura surfaced on Delrick’s arms, his veins bulging, eyes narrowing with a crimson glow. "What did you say?" he asked. "You think you have more potential than Tuli? Don’t make me laugh. Tuli had to specifically request to remain here for a season as she wants to help the town, while you were left behind because your guild didn’t need the likes of you.

"She’s also advanced further than you, even though she’s two years younger. Have some shame."

The very air seemed to boil as soon as Instructor Delric finished. 

"You foul-blooded cur!" Shaper Ao’s voice boomed as his influence suddenly surged towards Delrick, the weight of his essence pressing down on the local instructor. While Shaper Ao wasn't much compared to even the likes of Alexis, it still made the very living air unbearable for most of the kids.

“You think I fear you, little lordling?” snorted Delric, unsheathing his sword.

But by then, Ao’s attack was already upon him.

It looked like a battle was unavoidable. I wondered who was going to win.

But more importantly, shouldn’t these two instructors be more careful, there were dozens of kids scattered all around them?