The Fusionist Book 3 -- Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Larek was met by Grandmaster Fusionist Shinpai as soon as he arrived inside the Advanced Fusions workshop about a week into the break, which wasn’t really much different from every other day. What was different, however, was that his Professor was standing up and barred him from entering the room any further with his body halfway blocking the doorway.

“No, not today, Larek. You’ve been going full-speed for months now, and you need a break. I want you to take two days off before you come back, and I don’t want you to make a single Fusion in that time.”

The confused Fusionist shook his head. “But I’m fine. There’s too much to do to take a break now.”

“I’m not going to deny that what you’ve been able to accomplish is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen and is consistently saving lives, but even you need to let your body rest every once in a while. If you don’t, your Pattern Cohesion will begin to permanently suffer.”

Opening his Status, Larek looked at his Pattern Cohesion, but he couldn’t see anything different. “What do you mean? It looks just fine to me.”

“The numbers on your Status are one thing, but they also reflect you; that might seem nonsensical, but each of those stats are dependent upon your body in some way. For Martials, this is easily seen in the strength of their muscles or their speed, but for Mages there is very little physical manifestation of their stats. While Intellect and Acuity affect the mind and how well we are able to manipulate Mana, Pneuma and Pattern Cohesion are directly tied to your pattern, or some might say your very soul. You’re imparting a portion of your pattern into every Fusion you create, and while you possess incredible amounts of Pattern Cohesion and are able to regenerate it much faster than anyone I’ve ever met, you’re eventually going to overuse it to the point where it can hurt you if you continue what you’re doing.”

Penelope had accompanied him as a bodyguard that day, and when she saw Larek’s confused expression, she spoke up. “I believe I know what he’s trying to say,” she interrupted. “It’s like when we train too hard and end up straining our bodies past the point where Body Regeneration can keep up,” she explained. “There have been examples in the past where lingering injuries were sustained after a trainee pushed a little too far; weakened muscles and brittle joints that can last for weeks are the typical side-effects, though I’ve heard that there have been a few that have suffered permanent disabilities from extreme cases. Thankfully, it’s rather rare, and our Instructors keep an eye on the trainees to ensure that no one accidentally pushes too far.”

Larek listened to her explanation, but shook his head after she was done. “I guess I can understand that, but I don’t think it’s the same thing for me. I haven’t had any sign of—”  He trailed off as something occurred to him.

Over the last week or so, as Larek spent most of his days making Fusions rather than having classes to break it up, he had noticed that it seemed to take a little longer than it should have in between creating Fusions. Originally annoyed that his Pattern Cohesion wasn’t regenerating as fast as he wanted it to, he had ignored it as him simply being tired and impatient and kept creating Fusions, only stopping when he had no other choice. Looking back at it now, Larek had to consider if the reason his Pattern Cohesion seemed to be regenerating slower than usual was because it actually was.

Shinpai peered into his face after he stopped talking. “Ah, you see it, don’t you?”

Larek reluctantly nodded.

“Given your stats, it shouldn’t take your Pattern Cohesion long to recover from the abuse you’ve been putting it through,” his Professor went on. “It might even be better within a day, but I want you to take at least two days off before you attempt another Fusion. Besides, you need a break every once in a while, just like everyone else.”

He nodded again without saying anything, as his mind was working overtime to assess all that he had been told. Leaving without a word, he barely recalled the walk back to his room; if Penelope had tried to talk to him on the way, he didn’t remember.

As soon as he sat down on his bed, Larek immediately felt extremely tired despite getting up shortly before. Laying himself down, his mind suddenly released all of the furious thoughts roaming through them as they drained away like stopper on a bathtub being removed. The worry about what he was doing to his pattern from his constant Fusion creation, the pressure he felt from not being able to make enough Fusions for the groups of SIC members going out into the countryside, and the concern over not being able to improve his Skills and access Advanced Fusions flowed out of him until he felt deflated and empty.

He was also exhausted; more exhausted than he’d ever been in his life. Not even the creation of hundreds of Healing Surge Fusions back at Crystalview felt like he did at that point. As the debilitating fatigue crashed into him, it only took a few seconds before he fell into a dreamless sleep.

“Larek? Are you alright?”

The Fusionist twitched as he was startled awake, Nedira’s voice near his ear causing him to wake up in a flash. It was so sudden that he nearly bonked into her head as he abruptly sat up, confused at what had happened.

After a quick glance around the room showed Kimble the Pyromancer – who was another member of his bodyguard squad – near the doorway leaning up against the wall, he looked at Nedira’s concerned expression as she gazed at him. He was about to answer her when his stomach rumbled loudly, interrupting anything he was about to say.

“How—” Larek coughed a few times as his throat felt inordinately dry. “How long was I asleep?” He tried to remember what had happened before he passed out, but it was all a jumble of mixed-up memories.

“It’s been about 46 hours,” she responded after a few seconds, sitting down next to him on the bed. “We didn’t want to wake you up because Penelope said you were exhausted and that your Professor told you to stop making Fusions for at least two days, but I figured you’d had enough time to rest. How are you feeling?”

Larek almost automatically replied with, “Fine,” but he stopped himself as he performed an honest evaluation on himself. Closing his eyes, he looked inward, immediately sensing that the large ball of energy in his chest that held his Stama appeared perfectly fine. When he looked at the rest of his body, he immediately identified something different in his internal pattern and the Mana that infused it.

The only way to describe what he saw was that it appeared worn down and frayed – or at least it had been that way a short time ago. What he saw now was the result of it being repaired and healed over time, though there were subtle hints of scarring and lingering damage that was incrementally disappearing even as he looked at it.

I guess Shinpai was right; I was messing myself up without even knowing I was doing it.

Larek couldn’t understand how he had missed seeing what was happening to his pattern. From the traces of damage that had been done to it, he could tell that it hadn’t been something that happened overnight, so it must have been like that for weeks, if not longer. He’d been slightly angry at first after having been told to stop creating Fusions for a couple of days, but now that he saw what could happen if he kept pushing himself like had been doing, he was especially thankful that this had been caught before any permanent damage had been done.

“I’m… getting there. Apparently, I was pushing my pattern too much for my body to handle, so once Shinpai told me to stop, my body and mind had enough and shut down for nearly two days. I’ll probably take another whole day off while my pattern finishes healing—”  He was interrupted again by his stomach growling at him, causing both Larek and Nedira to chuckle. “But first, I need to eat. I’m starving.”

An hour later, after gorging himself on food from the Dining Hall – which had thankfully not been rationed yet like some of the city supposedly was as less food was being safely transported inside – he nearly passed out again when he got back to his room. However, having slept for nearly two days, he didn’t feel like wasting any more time, especially as his body and his pattern seemed to increase its rejuvenation after ingesting large quantities of food.

Instead, he chatted with Nedira for a while before Verne and Norde arrived to drag them all outside to the arena. As opposed to Skirmishes, which were put on twice a year, during the break between academic years there was a constant stream of duels being put on in the arena using shadow-casted spells and blunt weaponry. These duels weren’t usually large affairs, as they typically only consisted of one-on-one or two-on-two matches, but this year they were altering it to include larger five-on-five and ten-on-ten matches because it better reflected the environment outside of the walls.

The SIC defenders were going out as groups now, instead of being relegated to being in large defensive formations, and teamwork between smaller parties was very important to staying alive.

“I’ve even heard that they’re changing a lot of the team coordination classes that Academy students take in their fourth and fifth years to adjust to the new way of fighting the monsters coming from the Scissions!” Verne said excitedly as soon as they sat down in the arena stands. Larek noticed that it wasn’t nearly as filled as it typically was during the Skirmish, but then again, these duels were more for “fun” rather than for prizes like the larger tournament.

“That is correct,” Nedira agreed a second later, nodding at the boy. “There were some alterations to everyone’s upcoming schedules, which is the reason why we haven’t received them yet.  Apparently, every student – not just those incoming – will be required to attend classes in the different behaviors that the Scissions have been undergoing. In addition, survival courses are supposed to be a new addition this year, as learning how to survive outside the walls of a city or town will be important going forward,” she explained, a worried tone to her voice.

Larek thought he knew why. “I’m sure that everything will be fine; once the SIC adapts to the change in the Scissions, they’ll get a handle on it,” he attempted to assure her, though he wasn’t sure if he even believed it. After learning some things about The Culmination from Ricardo, he had a feeling things would get worse before they got better.

“I sure hope you’re right, Larek, because with all of these dangers cropping up, it’s only a matter of time before our parents hear of it and call us back home,” she said.

Call them back home? What—? Oh. He had forgotten for a moment that Nedira and her brother – and Verne, for that matter – weren’t actually from the Kingdom, so they weren’t technically duty-bound to join the SIC. To pay for their instruction in the Academy, many of them did end up joining, teaching, or doing something to contribute to the Kingdom, but he was sure that there were ways for them to get out of that obligation – especially when it came to staying in such a hostile environment. Of course, leaving the Academy and traveling through the lands to get back home was probably not the best idea when there were monsters roaming around, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any ways to pass through safely if absolutely necessary.

Nothing more was said on the subject at the moment, either because it was something no one wanted to think about or because worrying about something they couldn’t do much to affect wasn’t productive, so they instead turned their attention to the arena floor. In the center, in between the fortifications that he remembered vividly from the Skirmish he participated in a little over a half-year ago, there were two groups of 10 facing off against each other. Each team held 5 Mages and 5 Martials, and they worked together to score points against their opponents using their blunt weapons and shadow-casted spells. Unlike the Skirmish, blows by weapons were greatly reduced in severity, and it was rare that anyone would receive a broken bone or any serious injuries. Instead, it was more of a test to see what kinds of strategies of working together functioned for the participants, both in terms of defense and offense.

Larek watched with the others, but his interest in it all was quite low. He was never really attracted to the conflicts that took place in the arena, even back at Crystalview Academy, though he dutifully observed them with his friends because it was something to do outside of studying and making Fusions. Since there were no classes at the moment and he was still recovering from what he had done to his pattern, he took a little more interest in it this time, as there wasn’t really anything else to do.

For once, he wasn’t impatient to get back to work. He knew that he needed to get back to it eventually, but for now, he was reveling in this opportunity to relax.

But even though he tried to relax, some part of his mind always seemed to be thinking about Fusions, even if it wasn’t actively holding his attention at the moment. It was due to that portion of his thoughts that his focus was pulled to the arena floor as he watched one team absolutely dominate the other, which was mainly thanks to the powerful Martials they possessed, all of whom held large wooden swords that reminded him of the one that Penelope used. They moved their weapons so quickly that they were able to block not only strikes by the opposing Martials, but also many of the spells that either attempted to hit them or push past them to hit the more vulnerable Mages behind their line.

Four of the five Martials on the losing side had already “fallen” as they were hit too many times and were considered out, and three of the Mages had also been overwhelmed by shadow-casted spells coming from their opponents that hadn’t been blocked or avoided otherwise. The final two Mages were actually both Geomancers, wielding a specialty in Earth-based spells, and as they moved behind their remaining Martial teammate, they began casting the same spell at the same time.

Normally, this wasn’t that big of a deal, as he’d seen hundreds of Mages cast spells next to each other and there were many times when they were similar or the same. This time was different, however, as the spell they cast was apparently a lot stronger and more complicated than simple spells like Stone Fist; as a result, it took them nearly 5 seconds to complete the spell pattern and then infuse it with their Mana. As soon as the spell was cast, the two Geomancers visibly slumped as a barrage of shadow-casted rocks the size of an average-sized torso rained down on the entire enemy team. Two of the Martials were unable to block the boulders as they fell upon them, and one of the Mages got bonked pretty good on the head, taking them out of the fight, but the last-ditch spells coming from the team with the Geomancers wasn’t enough to win the day as they were eliminated shortly thereafter.

So why was that significant to Larek?

Because as they were casting their spell, the two Geomancers had – either through chance or planning – been completely in sync, from the start of the spell pattern to the end. Watching the patterns being perfectly completed together gave Larek an idea of something he wanted to try out the next day. If it worked, then it could speed up his Fusion-creating process significantly. If it didn’t, then there really wouldn’t be anything lost from his experiment and he would go back to doing things like normal.

But he hoped it worked. He had already shown that he could create a single, powerful Fusion using his abilities… but what if he could create two at the same time?