EG :Monster Island Chapter 28

The next morning a very subdued group quietly ate breakfast. “Kami and Zim needed help purging the Chaos in them. It was not as bad as the others, but it was growing,” Vaya said, plopping into the seat heavily. “Does anyone else need checking over?”

Silence was the answer, then Aleks said, “I think I am okay, but would appreciate being looked at again. I,” she gulped, “I have never felt that helpless before. Uh, after breakfast.”

I reached over and gripped her shoulder. She turned to me, “And do not let me forget to get my father to reward you when we return to Craesti City. You saved my life.” She threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. “Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure, Princess,” I said, hugging her back.

She released me to smack my arm, “Aleks, not Princess. Humph.”

I smiled at her, shook my head, and laughed. The rest of the table laughed with me, and I winked at Aleks, “That broke the mood at least.”

“Yes. Ming, I will not allow Lea to suffer for attending this in the name of my kingdom,” Aleks said, looking him in the eye. “Any of you. Craesti will not sully our honor by abandoning the greatest seeds in our kingdom because you were injured representing us.”

“Thank you, Aleks?” Ming said, adding a question to his use of her name.

She smiled and nodded.

“So, what is everyone going to do today?” I asked.

“Wait for Librarian Narwan or Knight Kaminski to tell us what is going on?” Jon asked.

“Well, while that,” I laughed. “I am going to the workshop. I am sure they can find me there, but I want to work on a healing pill, rather than a powder. We are getting too strong for a powder to be useful for more than immediate first aid. Each advancement, each temper, makes the powders less effective. So having a stash of pills would help keep us all safer.”

“That is a good plan,” Librarian Narwan said, appearing beside me. “Unfortunately, events have overtaken you. Prince Gunther is awake, but in no condition to fulfil his promise. So Ritter Felix, one of their trainers, will be arriving in an hour to give a single lesson. You will do your best.”

“Yes sir,” I said, smiling excitedly.

“On the subject of points. Ming, your team placed sixth overall with eight hundred seventy three points. Fifteen more points and you would have been fourth. Princess, your team was in fourth with eight hundred eighty seven points. Exceptional job for both teams given your injuries and interruptions,” Librarian Narwan continued. “The next two teams were both Illyrian, as was the fifth place. The Ashkhas teams were attacked earlier than any others, and thus placed much lower. Aiden,” he smiled. “Without the report of the Dungeon, you had eight hundred ninety three points, which would have left you in third. Sultah Aleahil investigated it personally, and decided it was worth two hundred points towards the event by itself, and then gave an additional hundred fifty for defeating the Ashkhas traitor. Thus, you ended up in first by being lucky. Yet again.”

“So, we are first overall?” I asked.

“Yes, by a large margin,” he smiled brightly. “You have all performed well, and I look forward to you humiliating the Illyrians even more.”

“Yeah!” Jon said.

“What is the next event?” Aleks asked.

“They are still debating it,” he said. “There are nine teams who have lost at least one person, so only six are whole. Additionally, there is a worry that whatever Chaos group facilitated the attack will re-emerge and attack again. The Sultah’s Enforcers are trying to figure out who the person you defeated was and follow her connections. He has promised we would be informed of any major developments.”

“Who is still whole?” Jon asked.

“Your team, two Illyrian teams, the main Ashkhas team, the weakest Weltreichi (name) team, and a Topraki team that was not attacked by the Chaos lizards. They were in last place, having had two members severely injured by the Psychedelic Mushrooms. They lost all their points, but were still able to recover entirely.”

“Only six?” Milenna gasped.

“Yes. Finish your meal. Prepare yourselves for an ordeal. You will only have one day to learn from Felix. I expect a glowing report from him,” Librarian Narwan said, then he walked off.

“Wait, uh, where’s Sam?” I asked.

“Knight Kaminski is overseeing her right now. Her foundation was destroyed by the Illyrian’s techniques. There is a treatment, though she will never be as formidable as you all, but we can restore her ability to at least reach Complete Core,” he looked me in the eye. “It is not cheap, but you can afford it. If not, the Kingdom will, though that requires service in return.”

“Thank you,” I bowed to him, and he was gone when I straightened. Discussion was nonexistent after that, everyone stuck in their own heads. Finally, everyone was done eating. We filed into the rear courtyard. I moved to the side, then started to stretch.

I was only part way through my routine when a massive Volk stepped out the door accompanied by Librarian Narwan. “Here are your students, Ritter,” Librarian Narwan said.

“Excellent, they are getting limber,” Ritter Felix rumbled. His voice was deep and craggy. “Continue what you are doing. I will examine you.” He walked over to stare at Aleks, who was bending over backwards with her hands and feet all on the ground.

I focused on my legs, trying to touch my nose to my knees with a straight leg. After a minute, I extended my hands onto the ground, then flexed into a handstand. This is still amazing, I thought, I’m able to hold this with almost no strain at all. Every once in a while it hits me. I’m a superhero now. I still wonder, am I as strong as Captain America, or Thor? I kept daydreaming for a bit, flexing my arms to maintain my balance. When I came back to my surroundings, I exclaimed in surprise and collapsed.

“Hmm, you are like the other three,” Ritter stated. “Different. I do not know why, and have been asked not to ask. I will treat you as the others, but that will limit your ability to take advantage of my teachings. Get up, pay more attention to your surroundings.” He paused for a second, then raised his voice, “Everyone, come to me.”

I stood hurriedly, brushing off the dirt from my back that I could reach. The others hopped to their feet or straightened up and walked over. We stood silently, waiting respectfully for his instruction. “Good. All of you have completed at least two levels of what your nation calls tempering. Every one of you has started a third. These are adequate, but I will teach you our first level of development.”

He stood and stared at us for a few seconds. “You, come here,” he pointed at Ming, who walked up to stand directly in front of him. “Now, direct a single element of your Aether, your strongest, from your center up to your life meridian. From there, down to your left leg, to your right arm, left arm, then left leg, and return to your life meridian. Maintain that flow, regardless of what comes next.”

Ming nodded sharply. I activated my Aether Sight, following his actions while Ming set up the Air Aether flow he was directed. He made five full cycles, with Ritter Felix chiveying him in minor fixes, before the instructor jabbed his fingers into Ming’s stomach. Earth Aether shot into him. The flow broke, Ming bending over and gasping for breath.

“Keep the Aether moving,” Ritter growled. “This technique requires two. You, watch what I do.” He pointed at Lilianna. She nodded hurriedly and scurried over. Ming recovered the flow, then Ritter Felix gestured. A small set of runes formed in the air. “Lo Ming, make these runes in your center at the completion of a cycle. Try to keep them formed the entire time, setting up a continuous flow of Aether. Kourier Lilianna, create these runes at the tip of your fingers.” Another set hovered over his hands.

Lilianna quickly complied, Aether flowing over her hands and forming the runes just in front of her fingers. “Good,” Ritter said. “Now, jab him in the stomach, just to the side of where I did.” This time, I caught the flare of Aether that spread from the impact point. Ming was expecting it, this time, so he didn’t drop the flow of Aether. He did grimace, though. Of course, she also hit him much softer than Ritter Felix did.

“No, jab him like he stole your favorite warbler,” Ritter commanded.

She looked confusedly at him, then shrugged, “Is this okay, Ming?” He nodded, straightening up. She poked him again, just next to her first tap. He flinched, but held the technique.

“Better,” Ritter nodded. “Now, continue until you have hit every square centimeter on his torso, arms, and legs. Avoid the neck, head, and groin area. I will return to guide you for those locations.”

“Yes, sir,” she grimaced, then turned to Ming. He smiled at her, standing loosely and ready to take the punishment headed his way. Ritter collected the rest of us, pairing us up with seemingly random people.

I ended up pairing with Aleks, and Jamila and Vaya were paired together. Jon and Xiao were paired as well, both smiling excitedly at being able to pummel each other with permission. “Uh, you attack first,” I smiled nervously at Aleks.

“What, afraid to hit the princess?” She glowered at me.

“Nah, I just want to see what this end looks like. I’ve hit you plenty of times when sparring, and this is the same,” I shrugged unconvincingly. I set up the flow, pushing Lightning Aether through the five largest meridians in my body. The runes at the center were a bit difficult, and Ritter showed up to guide me through them.

Minor tweaks in curvature and positioning happened over the next minute before he commanded, “Good, continue.”

Aleks stood with her right shoulder pointed towards me, her arm making a v-shape. Two fingers were pointed up, and Ritter helped her fix the runes. He stepped back, and Aleks flashed forward. Her fingers jabbed into my gut, hitting my navel with precise strength.

I grunted, taking the hit while staying relaxed. The Lightning Aether flowing through my meridians splintered, a tiny percentage flowing out of my center to the spot she hit. Her Wood Aether had damaged my cells, and the Lightning fixed them slightly stronger. It took everything I had not to scream at the feeling of being stabbed, grown through, and electrocuted that followed the technique hitting. Another attack, another pulse of Aether, and more of me was tempered. More pain, but I pushed through it.

The pulses overlapped, the first bit getting strengthened when the second and third hit. Aleks kept hitting me about once every five seconds at first. She had to reset the runes every time, while I was focused on just keeping the flow going and making sure I had enough Lightning Aether. Once the damaged spots were separated by five centimeters, they no longer impacted each other, but then they got bolstered again when the receiving point wrapped back around to a close enough distance.

The only point I struggled to hold the technique was when she hit my right armpit. It tickled enough to make me giggle and pull away slightly. “Oh, so you are ticklish,” Aleks grinned evilly at me.

“Uh, no. No I’m not,” I shook my head hurriedly, only to be rewarded with a laugh and another poke. She circled around me, then gestured for me to hold my arms up so she could get the underside. I felt covered in bruises by this point, but had no injuries at all. Just the phantom pain that can occasionally follow healing.

“Boots off and sit,” Aleks gestured at my feet.

I gulped and nodded, slipping off my boots and plopping down. She knelt down and started to poke the tops of my feet. Just like my hands, it felt much stranger, each jab spreading Aether over about twice as much space. It took everything I had not to twitch each time, the Aether tickling the bottoms of my feet. Aleks’s grin let me know she noticed. “I bet you’re ticklish too,” I glared at her.

“I guess we will find out soon, will we not?” Her self-satisfied smile made me roll my eyes. “But that is the last spot.” She jabbed between my big toe and second toe and I snorted.

“Then I guess it is my turn,” I hopped to my feet. “Uh, cycle the technique.” I watched her for a bit, nodded, then held up my fingers with the runes. “This look good?”

“Uh, slightly closer together on the last three,” she corrected.

I fixed it and she nodded. I took a deep breath, then jabbed her stomach.

“Harder, I can take it. You have to drive the Aether in. Same spot again,” she said with a wince.

“Okay,” I nodded, then poked harder. She grunted, but nodded. I kept up a steady pace, slowly moving across and up. She giggled when I got to the underside of her ribs, and a smile grew on my face.

“It is unbecoming of a Knight to tickle the princess of our kingdom,” she raised her nose haughtily.

“Uh huh, sure,” I laughed, then poked her again. Two levels later, though, I stopped.

“Go ahead, it is fine,” she said, blushing.

“We’re going to be learning something about the groin area, maybe it’ll work here?” I still paused.

“It is fine, I will get stronger so I can defend the kingdom with Father,” her blush got bigger, and I could tell it made her uncomfortable.

“I will wait, and if the groin technique doesn’t help with your chest, we can use this instead, or have Milenna help out,” I said firmly, blushing myself, then skipped over her left breast to jab her breastbone. Two whacks there were followed by more skipping.

I kept a measured pace, taking nearly thirty minutes to finish. Finally, I had Aleks sit. “Now we can find out if the princess also has ticklish feet,” I laughed. She glowered at me, and did her best not to giggle. At least until I started to deliberately tickle her feet in between.

“Stop,” she gasped after laying out flat and laughing.

“Oh, fine,” I fake grumbled, then finished getting every centimeter of her feet. “And done.”

“Good,” Ritter grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet, not letting me get my boots back on. “Now we will start with Aiden. Princess Aleksandra, take out the second and fifth rune of the tempering technique,” he turned to Aleks. She held up a hand and projected the runes. “Move them closer together. Add this rune.” A curvy x shape with flags on both crosses that extended perpendicular to the rest of the shape, both pointing in the same direction. “This reduces the strength, so you will have to hit the location twice, and direct it in a line rather than a circle. This allows the avoidance of directly touching sensitive areas. Hit him just below the navel.”

Aleks followed directions, jabbing her finger into my lower abdomen. I felt the technique extend down, tingling.

“Again,” Ritter barked, then nodded when she did. “Now, make a circle around that area. Use this for the head and neck, without the directionality rune. The reduced impact makes it safer. Master Narwan and I will be watching to keep you safe. Begin.”

It took us another hour to finish the tempering. Getting jabbed in the neck wasn’t fun, but at least we were able to avoid directly poking each other in the eyes. Tempering the eyes this way was strange, each eye’s vision dissolving into static for a few seconds before clearing up. Each hit on the crown of my head jolted everything, feeling like an electric shock.

The last one, connecting every other spot, caused a flare of Aether to flow out of the runes I’d been holding for the past two hours. It kept flowing, draining me dry of every drop of Lightning Aether, and then every bit I could convert from the other types. Finally, I fell to my knees, feeling empty. I shook my head, then stood up.

I left the ground slightly. “Wow, my strength must have increased by at least half again from that. That’s the first level?” My mouth hung open.

“Hurry up, do me,” Aleks said.

I laughed, and she gave me a funny look. “Later,” I said, then I focused on getting the techniques right. Her reaction was similar to mine, only she didn’t jump when she stood back up.

“You are right, this is amazing. Thank you for earning us this boon,” she said, then leapt into a hug. “Thank you.”

I squeezed her back, then stepped back and let go. “It benefited me as well,” I said.

“Uh, sir,” she turned to Ritter, who had walked over, “how much of this can we teach others? Also, is there any benefit to repeating with another Element?”

He thought for a second. “You may show the internal parts of the technique. Do not show the attacker’s portion. This will limit how many may benefit, but will allow you to teach your family and close friends. You may teach all of it to your recovering teammates. Yes, complete with every Element. The rest of the gains are fractional, but they will overall add another twenty five percent to your strength and resilience. It would have been more if you had learned it before Condensing your Aether.”

“This is amazing,” I said.

“Good, then I have discharged my duty to my prince. He will be sad he cannot fight you again,” Ritter bowed slightly to me.

“I’m still amazed I beat him,” I laughed. “It took me quite a while to recover from the fight.”

“He limited himself as well as you with the restriction on external techniques. He has a similar attack to yours, but it starts a small distance away from the skin, while yours originated underneath. He would have beaten you otherwise,” Ritter said in a matter of fact tone.

“I don’t doubt it. He was strong,” I shrugged. “Maybe someday I will be able to visit your Empire and spar with him again.”

“I will inform him of your desire. Expect an invitation once he recovers,” Ritter shook his head. “Excuse me, your friends need some guidance.”

“Thank you, Master Ritter,” Aleks and I said together, and we both bowed to him.

“So, what Element next?” I turned to Aleks.