Wish upon the Stars chapter 368

Today was the day. Round twelve. I got up early so I could finish my  goal of ranking up DS Mastery, and was just finishing up the last step  of that. Yesterday I'd ranked up Earthseeking to 'Song of the Soil',  which increased the range and specificity of my seeking ability by using  my Minor Singing Skill to boost it. I'd also considered using piano and  guitar, but realistically there were accessibility issues there. I  wasn't carrying around a whole piano for one skill.

Aside  from finishing up that last skill, I'd also done Benny's wishes for the  last two days. He'd paid me in chits this time, from his jobs, and I  was up to a hundred and sixty of the things, which would make buying my  new weapon after rank up so much easier. Twenty points each to Might and  Focus brought Focus to three hundred twenty three, and Might to two  hundred eighty nine. At seven hundred forty three total points he was  incredibly close to three quarters done.

With  all that done and out of the way, I was officially at a point where I  could do what I'd been dreaming of for months now. Get my first  intermediate Skill. Sitting down and crossing my knees, I closed my eyes  and breathed in deeply. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Then I reached  into myself and flicked on my overlay.

The  overlay was the most basic ability of my DS Mastery Skill, and the  first I'd gotten. It was also completely unchanged. I could probably  have ranked up the Skill just by upgrading this one aspect, but I didn't  want to do it that way. I wanted to make DS Mastery a complete system, a  unique skill all on its own that didn't need any other abilities to  function.

Feeling  DS Mastery resonate as I tapped into it, I reached out and found the  connection I always used, one that I'd begun to internalize so much it  was almost like it didn't exist. I pushed the connection between  Beginner Enchanting Mastery and Beginner Doom Sovereign Mastery. I'd  never merged two actual Skills of the same power like this, but I felt  in my bones it was the right call.

The  two of them resonated easily and quickly, having both been shaped  around each other. I reached into the resonance, and pulled. The two  Skills began to blur, and so did my brain as I felt a MASSIVE pull on my  soul. It hurt. A lot. But I kept at it. This wasn't great, but I'd  already started, and taxing myself before my match without accomplishing  my goal was the stupidest thing I could imagine doing.

It  felt like trying to drag an engine through tunnel full of hot coals and  broken glass, but finally, after what seemed like hours but was  probably a minute or two, I felt that same click as the last few times.  Unlike the last few times though, there was a massive shift in my brain,  like someone turning over a car key, and then things just...changed.

I  didn't know if the sensations were from ranking up my first  intermediate, from combining two huge Skills, from the change of losing  one of my foundational Skills, or some combination of the three, but my  body felt different, better. More. It wasn't Impact, or stats, or any of  that stuff. It was more like I'd gotten over a cold, or cleaned out  something gunking up my body.

Bringing  up my Skills, I looked at that I'd created. Intermediate Path of the  Doom Sovereign. I didn't know what the lack of the word mastery meant,  but it didn't seem like a bad thing. I was pretty sure it had to do with  this being a unique Skill. A REAL unique Skill now. Other people could  theoretically have DS Mastery, but with all my additions and this final  shift, this Skill was something that was only mine now.

I  could also actually bring up the subskills directly and read them by  focusing on the Skill itself. Which allowed me to see the three new ones  I had available. Mountain Stance, Danger Sense, and Marked for Death.  My soul also felt...stronger. Like I'd gotten a burst of power when I  did whatever I did. I'd have to ask Zeke about that later, but for  now...I hopped to my feet with a grin.

Only  an hour or so until my second to last match of the solo tournament. I  had no clue who I was fighting but I was sure I could take them on as I  was now. I was salivating thinking of possible synergies, attacks I had  stored, my new powers, all of it. I was sure they would be terrifying,  as the first Intermediate skills I had access to.

Finished  up, I headed to my room to knock, and the door opened to reveal Callie.  I just...stared. My girlfriend was wearing a dark blue sundress with a  black jean jacket over it. Her hair was in a long ponytail and she had  on a hint of lip gloss, which was rare because frankly, she didn't need  makeup. She wasn't wearing her mask, and she gave me a beaming smile  when she saw me. "Here." She said cheerfully, shoving a bag the size of  my chest into my arms. "Hold my purse."

I  just stared, dumbstruck by both the beauty and the audacity, and then I  burst out laughing. She pouted at me. "What? I just mean until we get  to the car. It's not like you're driving." She grabbed my arm, dragging  me behind her as she headed for the car. Jessie was already outside  waiting, listening to music. The arena was far enough that we would need  to leave soon to get there on time.

Callie  and I climbed in, and I dumped her monstrosity of a purse on the seat,  earning a glare. I just shrugged. "You said carry it to the car."

She  growled at me, sifting through the bag to make sure everything was  unharmed. "You know." She said testily. "I went out of my way to dress  up and be supportive today. This will be a big fight for you. The least  you could do is appreciate my hard work."

I  took off my mask, giving her a soft smile. "You don't need to put in  any hard work to be beautiful Cal. But the fact that you decided to is  sweeter than I can say. Thank you." She blushed at the comment, clearing  her throat and going back to rooting around in her purse. I could feel  her pride and embarrassment through the bond, and knew she was just  trying to distract herself.

Jessie  giggled from up front. "I don't know if the two of you are relationship  my goals or the biggest cautionary tale for cringey sweetness ever.  Either way, I think you're pretty adorable. Plus I think it's sweet  you're trying to hard to distract him from being nervous, even if we  both know it isn't going to work."

Callie glared at her. "It MIGHT have worked. If you didn't have such a big mouth."

I  put a hand on hers, squeezing gently. "Sorry love, I can feel your  emotions. I knew what you were doing. And it IS working. I can't help  but be distracted by you." She blushed again, rolling her eyes  dismissively as she tried to hide her small smirk.

We  spent the rest of the trip like that. Cuddled close and chattering  about nonsense and flirting to try to keep my mind off the fight. I  was...afraid. Norman had been a monster, and realistically, whoever I  was fighting NEXT would be worse. I was about to take on someone truly  terrifying and even though I felt invincible with my new Skill, I was  also worried as hell.

If  I lost, it would all be on Mel and Abel. I'd be cutting our chances  down even more, and that would be AFTER making them worse by beating  Callie. It was just the same old thing all over. The excitement of a  great fight tempered with the knowledge of what was riding on it.

Callie,  sensing that confusing mix of emotions, tried her hardest to distract  me, and did a better job than anyone reasonably should have been able  to. Sadly, all good things must end, and we eventually reached the  arena. Callie hopped out, stopping to press a firm kiss to my lips  before shoving my mask back on with a wink. "For luck." Then she took  off into the area to find seating so she could watch my match.

Jessie  just giggled, shaking her head at me. "I don't even have to see your  polaxed expression to know what it looks like. You'd better win I guess,  can't go disappointing the lady of the house."

I just chuckled. "Nah, can't do that. But thanks for the well wishes, Jess. I'll give it my all."

Her  smile became affectionate. "Oh I know you'll do that. You always do.  I'll be up there cheering you on. Don't...don't put too much pressure on  yourself ok? You're not in this alone. I know how prone you are to  trying to take on too much, and so does she. She'd have told you that  herself, but she was pretty sure you'd get all guilty about making her  worry and overcompensate. You're not the best listener."

I  put my hand to my chest with an offended gasp. "I am an amazing..." I  trailed off jokingly. "Sorry what was that last bit? I wasn't paying  attention."

"That was a bad joke." She said flatly. "And you should feel bad for making it."

Grinning,  I rolled my eyes. "Nag, nag, nag. Poor Maria. I wonder if she knows  what she's getting into. Go sit in your comfortable stadium seat and  watch my match."

She  turned and headed for the arena with another giggle, muttering to  herself about idiots who thought they were funnier than they were. I  chose to ignore her hurtful and clearly spurious remarks and headed into  the arena myself. I walked down to the waiting room, excitedly warming  up for my match. Stretches, bit of cardio, I didn't really need it, but  it helped me go in the zone.

I  also started mixing and matching possible combos for my match, I'd need  to evaluate my opponent and figure out exactly what I needed to do from  there, but some canned combinations like Dark Swamp and Magma Leg were  always helpful, and with my three new tricks I was sure I'd be able to  do even better. Finally though, I got the call to head out to the pit to  meet my opponent.

Giving  the attendant a nod of goodbye, I strolled out onto the sand, having  mostly gotten over my nerves from spending time with Callie, and ready  to take on anything. I was in the best possibly position to take care of  this, so there was no reason to worry. It's not like I'd be  fighting...I froze.

The  smile dropped off my lips and my eyes widened in horror at my opponent.  His own reaction was slightly less dramatic. He just offered me his  usual toothy smile, eyes twinkling with sadistic amusement behind his  silver mask. "Well, looks like I'm going to get a chance to put all that  training to the test, huh kid?" Asked Abel Castleton casually.

I  just stared at him, feeling one of my new abilities trigger passively  before the match even started. Despite the warning, I wasn't even  remotely amused by the occurrence. After all, Danger Sense warned me  when I was in a position where I was vulnerable to extreme harm, so it  wasn't a shock it would be going off right now. Telling me Abel was  dangerous was far from useful. I tuned it out and considered my next  move as he stood there, hands in his pockets, and waited. This...was  going to suck.