The Fusionist Book 3 -- Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Nearly tripping over her own feet, Karley rushed toward the SIC headquarters building inside of Whittleton with no thoughts to her own safety. Her hands shook as she carried the bundle of staves in her hand as she realized she could’ve dropped them if she had accidentally fallen, which was much more of a concern to her than anything else. Considering what she witnessed over the last hour, she knew she didn’t want to be on the bad side of the individual that scared her more than a little bit with the extreme power he wielded, even though it wasn’t directed at her.

Behind her was Vivienne, one of the Martials that was part of the group she received the staves from; she was carrying another bundle of staves and a bag that held additional items that had Fusions added to them, each of them by themselves worth more than she thought she would ever earn in the SIC over her lifetime, even if she lived to be 200 years old. Together, what the two of them held was enough to buy a significant portion of the Kingdom, if they were sold to people rather than being kept. Of course, selling them was stupid when one considered how powerful they were, because anyone who possessed them would see a significant jump in their abilities.

First were the staves she was holding, each of them holding three Fusions each. All of them were so strong and complicated that Karley was barely able to make out a portion of them. Two of the Fusions would propel what was essentially a strong spell projectile, one of which was essentially a Fireball and the other a Stone Fist, two very basic spells that were useful to beginning Mages, but were overshadowed by stronger spells once a Mage learned more and had progressed their Level to a certain degree. These projectiles, however, were strong; having seen them demonstrated on the journey back to Whittleton, she would equate them as having at least 6 to 7 times the amount of Mana in a normal Fireball or equivalent spell would require injected into the spell pattern – which made them significantly stronger.

While any Mage could inject more Mana into a spell to make it stronger or enhance the effects, the amount of Mana injected was typically capped at 2 to 2 and a half times the original cost; this limiting factor wasn’t because of the expenditure, but because the spell patterns that were created during the normal process typically couldn’t handle much more than that. That wasn’t to say it couldn’t be done in an emergency or through some deliberate experimentation, but that could sometimes become disastrous as the pattern ruptured before it was cast, resulting in an explosive decompression of Mana in the area as it was released from where it was being held.

Apparently, each of these projectile-based Fusions could be used every 5 seconds, which was incredible, as any faster would begin to degrade the Fusions’ formations. Even with that restriction, Karley was told that the Fusions would last for at least a year, if not longer, as long as it wasn’t damaged through rapid usage.

The same could be said for all of the Fusions, including the other Fusion on the staff that strengthened the wood to the point that it was virtually as strong as a steel bar. It also meant that they wouldn’t be harmed if she was to accidentally drop them, but she didn’t want to do it anyway because it almost seemed like sacrilege to treat something so precious like that.

Apart from the staves, there were enough leather-strung necklaces holding simple copper medallions in a variety of styles, each of them a healing Fusion of one of two types. The first was designed to heal Martials and tapped into their Body Regeneration Skill, while the other was appropriate for Mages or any of the normal, common people of the Kingdom and beyond. It wasn’t as powerful and took a little longer to heal than the one designed for Martials, but that only made sense when it was typically Martials that took the brunt of the damage during a fight against monsters.

Last but certainly not least, on some decorative steel bracelets for the Mages and steel anklets for the Martials were Boost Fusions – but not just any Boosts. These were all Magnitude 10, something she didn’t even think was possible, and each of them provided a 100% increase to the Intellect, Acuity, and Pneuma stats for Mages and Strength, Body, and Agility stats for the Martials. To effectively double the capabilities of each member of the SIC stationed in Whittleton was incredible, and if it was just those stat-boosting Fusions, that would’ve been amazing by themselves. When she took in everything else that the powerful young man had created before her very eyes, it was a bounty that was almost unbelievable.

And he was giving them all to her and the SIC for free, with only the promise not to try and take anything more from them or mention them to anyone in Thanchet. Even if they were deserters or thieves – the latter of which she wholeheartedly dismissed after seeing the Fusion process for herself – their contribution to the safety of her and the SIC in Whittleton couldn’t be understated. There was just one thing that complicated matters.

Larek. That was the Fusionist’s name, which coincided with what she had learned about the prodigy Fusionist that was apparently attending Copperleaf Academy.  If this was indeed the same person, and she had no doubts about that at the moment, then his presence outside of the Academy could only mean two things. The first, and what had seemed likely at after first learning his name, was that he had run away with his friends – which would brand him a deserter. It only took her a few seconds to conclude why he probably deserted, and it was for the same reason she imagined anyone would want to run away when they had something other people wanted. More than likely, someone – or even the entire Academy – was treating him like some sort of Fusion production line, forcing him to create Fusions for the benefit of the SIC. While Fusionist ultimately did this when joining the SIC after graduation, it wasn’t all they did, and she knew that dozens of those with that Specialization made Fusions on the side for those who were willing to pay for them. With Larek reportedly still a first or second-year student – she couldn’t remember exactly, but it fit with his robe color – he shouldn’t be subjected to that kind of exploitation, so she could well imagine that might be a reason to run away.

The other thing his presence outside of the Academy might mean was that he was being transferred somewhere else, potentially the capital, where his talent could be put to better use and nurtured in a way that was inaccessible even to Copperleaf. It was this latter premise that had the most credence, as she had heard mention that they had an objective and a mission to complete, though that could’ve been a fabrication of some kind for all she knew. Regardless of the reason, if there was a reason he didn’t want to be found by anyone from Thanchet or the Academy there, then she would do her darnedest to respect that; not only had he and his group saved her life and the lives of her own team, but had also given them Fusions that would help propel them to new heights of power and safety. It was more than a fair trade, in her opinion.

Karley stepped through the open front doors of the SIC headquarters building to find that the bustling commotion of a large group of people intent on leaving the next day was still in effect. The Elementalist had managed to sneak away earlier from any packing duties as she made up an excuse to evaluate the walls and relieve those on watch so she could warn Larek and his group about the plot to steal from them in the morning; she felt slightly guilty about the entire thing, especially pitting herself against the orders of her boss concerning the group, but in the end she believed that it had been the right move. Especially with how it turned out.

Vivienne neatly dropped and stacked the staves just inside the doorway before dropping a pack with all of the other Fusions in it next to the stack. Eying both, she realized she was going to have to distribute them soon or they would begin to start degrading as the different Fusions fought over ambient Mana in their proximity, but she was told she had an hour or two before any serious damage to the Fusion formations occurred. She thought she’d have plenty of time to get that done, especially when she announced at large what she brought with her.

“Thank y—” she turned to say to the young woman, but the Martial from Larek’s group was already gone. Mentally shrugging, she delicately put her own bundle of staves next to the one on the floor, before looking for her boss.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long. “Major! I have some good news!”

Her boss, who had been racing through the hallway ahead of her for one reason or another, stopped when Karley called her name. Scowling at the interruption, Major Kuama looked over at the Elementalist standing next to the pile of staves on the floor. “What?” she snapped. “I don’t have time for your games.”

“No games, boss. I’ve got a surprise for you and everyone here.”

That caught the attention of a few other members of the SIC forces walking by, as they stopped what they were doing and looked curious at Karley. One of them was Deivin, the Combat Healer from her group, and all it took was one look at the pile behind her for him to rush over with a very unmanly scream of joy. “Karley, you beautiful goddess – what did you do?!”

Blushing and shaking her head, she warned Deivin to be careful. “Those are real, so don’t be knocking holes in the building.” Waving to the Major, who was now looking at the Combat Healer in confusion at his enthusiasm, especially when he picked up one of the staves, began rubbing it lovingly, and then whispered to it like a long-lost love, she quickly explained. “I was able to negotiate a deal with the group staying over at the Waterbury Inn, so there’s no need to—”

“You did what?! No one gave you the authority to—wait.” The next second, the Major was right in front of her face. “You told them, didn’t you?”

Karley hesitated for a moment, but she eventually nodded. “Yes, but—”

“Why in the world would you go and pull a stunt like that? Your insubordination—”

“Boss? Boss? Major Kuama!”

Deivin was quickly joined by the Martial he had been walking with, Brant, and they had opened the bag full of powerful Fusions. When they looked inside, the burly Striker immediately tried to get the Major’s attention. Karley sighed in relief as the Major’s intense stare switched targets as it homed in on the Martial. “What! Can’t you see—”

“Boss, you’re going to want to see this,” Brant said, tossing a pair of steel anklets toward the Major, who deftly caught it in the air.

“Why are you—oh. Ohhhh, wow.” Her boss’s vision went unfocused for a moment as she undoubtedly looked at her Status, and her mouth dropped open in shock. Karley could well understand that reaction, as she had felt it only a short time before when she put on the two bracelets around her wrists.  “How? This doubles all my stats!” Her exclamation was so loud that it wasn’t a surprise when there was a sudden stomping throughout the entire building as nearly everyone heard her, despite there being walls and floors between them.

“Like I was trying to tell you,” Karley explained again, “I negotiated the gift of these items for everyone here, on the condition that you don’t try and steal anything from them or mention their presence to anyone in Thanchet.” The other stipulation was that she not reveal that it was Larek that had made them all, though that was a bit of a stretch with all the staves. When she mentioned that to him, he just shrugged and told her to figure out a good explanation. For what these Fusions did, she would be willing to make up any story he wanted.

“They had all of this with them?” the Major asked, her shock wearing off when she heard Karley’s words. “Why? And why do they not want us to mention them to anyone in Thanchet? Are these all stolen?”

“Yes, they had them all with them, or at least nearby,” she answered as smoothly as possible. “As for why? They’re on a mission to do something, but they wouldn’t answer what it was or where they were going. They said it’s Academy business, but that’s all. I also do not believe they stole anything, either.”

Her boss snorted. “Yeah, right. Who else would have this stuff, otherwise?” Looking at the crowd that was now snatching up the items with powerful Fusions on them, the Major added, “There’s no way they have the legitimately; no one would trust a bunch of kids to transport it all. Not only that, but their desire for anonymity is suspicious. I’ve a mind to capture them and bring them to Thanchet when we leave tomorrow.”

“No!” she practically shouted, holding out her hands pleadingly.  When the Major looked at her with a shocked and then ticked-off expression on her face, she realized she had just yelled out an order at her boss. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” she backtracked. “I just meant that there is no reason to do that, because we already got this much from them, and they aren’t hurting anybody. Just let them go on their way and we get all of this for free.”

“Nothing’s for free, Karley. Is this a bribe? What did you promise them?” the Major asked. As everyone got their staves and other Fusion items, without any extras left over, her boss added, “How did they know how many of us there are? Did they just happen to have the perfect amount to account for all of us?”

“Well, I told them how many Mages and Martials were—”

“So they gave you exactly what you asked for, huh? That likely means that they have even more that they’re hiding. We’re going to take it all and distribute as much as we can get our hands on in Thanchet. Hoarding these Fusions with the current situation concerning the Scissions and monster hordes running around is criminal, and I intend to bring them all back to face punishment.”

“But you can’t do that—”

“I can’t what? It seems to me that you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to.”

Now getting increasingly more nervous as the Major took on a threatening tone, Karley tried another tact. “I really would suggest leaving them alone; I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“We’re not going to hurt them, unless they force us to. We’ll leave the punishment to those in authority back in Thanchet.”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t talking about them getting hurt.”

The Major stepped back in surprise, before chuckling. “Ha! That’s funny. If you think a couple of kids can hurt the veteran members of this force, then you must have hit your head. Do you need to see a Healer? Or better yet, use one of these healing Fusions I see we have now?”

Karley just shook her head again. “I’m serious. They could be more dangerous than anything you’ve encountered before.” She couldn’t explain how or why she knew that at least the Fusionist was particularly powerful, but she tried to convey that it would be a bad idea to try and take their stuff or capture them.

The Major looked at her and then glanced around at the happy celebrations and exclamations of shock that was still going on when the SIC forces obtained their new gifts. She was silent for a few moments before she turned back to Karley and slowly nodded. “Fine. There’s something you’re obviously not telling me, but I’ve known you long enough to understand that you’re looking out for all of us.” She sighed before continuing. “And thank you for negotiating all of this,” she said, waving at the now-crowded front room of Whittleton’s SIC headquarters.

Karley released the breath she had been holding in relief, and practically sagged in place. She was hoping that she would get through to the Major if she simply worked all the different angles, and that thankfully proved to be accurate.

“Your welcome, boss. Believe me, this is the best outcome we could get from all of this.”

Turning away, the Major nodded. “I’m sure it was.”

Snatching her own staff away from someone who was trying to snatch it away from where she had left it, Karley began to instruct everyone on the restrictions of the new weapons and healing Fusions; she had to switch some that were made for Mages or Martials because the recipients didn’t know their properties as well as she and Deivin had learned. The boosts were self-explanatory, though she saw more than a few Martials a little unsteady as they got used to having double the stats they used to have just a short time ago.

Overall, it had been a success, and Larek and his group would leave tomorrow unmolested and free to do whatever mission they were on. Karley and the SIC in Whittleton would also depart, heading toward Thanchet and whatever plan the Major had to join up with the forces there.

To think, in less than 12 hours she had gone from nearly dying to being more than twice as powerful than before, and it was all thanks to an oddly powerful stranger. She wished him the best of luck, and as much as it would be nice to obtain more Fusions from him, she also hoped that he was able to fulfil whatever mission he had – or escaped the obligations that his talent imposed upon him.