The Fusionist Book 2 -- Chapter 55

Chapter 55

“I’m glad that to see you made it!” Penelope exclaimed as soon as Larek and Nedira showed up to the Fort side of the humongous building. With neither of them having been on that side before, other than a brief stop at the training yard where Larek had healed Bartholomew more than a month ago, they hadn’t known where to go; fortunately, the blue-haired trainee was waiting for them outside and jogged over to them immediately. As he waited for her to arrive, for the first time he noticed that they weren’t the only students from the Academy nearby, as there were a few dozen Mages streaming into one of the Fort entrances. He could only assume that they were there for the same purpose that he and Nedira were, which was proven to be correct as a few of the students looked at the duo with measuring glances, as if they were sizing up the competition.

“Follow me; the rest of the team is already in our designated sparring room!” The two of them followed after the blue-haired woman as she led them inside the same entrance he had seen the other Mages enter. Almost immediately they turned right down a long hallway, and along his left side they passed closed door after closed door, spaced about 30 feet apart. Larek could faintly detect some sort of magical emanations coming from behind the doors, as if someone or multiple people were casting spells, but he couldn’t tell any detail about what they were.

Finally, after a few minutes of walking, they came to a door that had SR 14 marked on the face of it, which he assumed meant Sparring Room 14; Penelope opened it and beckoned them inside, so Larek and Nedira quickly followed her through the door. Inside the sparring room, he discovered a fully stone room approximately 30 feet wide but was twice as deep, along with a 30-foot-tall ceiling. It wasn’t huge, by any means, but he supposed it was plenty big enough for those that wanted to spar; there was enough distance that long-distance spells or archery could be practiced, though small enough that it meant that anyone who used those methods would have to be wary of being overtaken in a matter of seconds, especially by those who had a high Agility stat.

Along the backside of the room was an elevated stone block attached to the wall, with a set of stairs through an 8-foot-tall and 4-foot-wide opening at center of the block that allowed access. This 6-foot-wide top of the block was approximately 20 feet off the ground, which meant that it would be difficult for anyone on the ground to jump up to get them – which he supposed was the point.

Larek noticed all that upon his first glance at the inside of the sparring room. His second glance showed him that every single portion of the stone he saw other than the ceiling was being strengthened by approximately 60 different Strengthen Stone +1 Fusions that provided almost complete coverage. Despite the strengthening of the stone, there were still chips and slices taken out of the surface in different areas, as Magnitude 1 Fusions obviously weren’t able to withstand all the abuse that had been dished out in the room.

His third glance showed that the other members of the team were, indeed, present. There was Penelope, of course, wearing her accustomed chainmail top with leather underlayment and short leather pants. As he watched, she picked up a very similar wooden sword as he’d seen her use before, which was both wide and long, though he could tell that it was blunted on its edged side, unlike when he’d seen her use it to practically bisect another trainee.

Speaking of that trainee, Bartholomew looked almost identical to the last time Larek saw him nearly a week ago, though his wooden spear was also obviously blunted along its tip, though it did still have a general point to it. Since it wasn’t necessarily sharp, it was more of an instrument to annoyingly poke someone, but could still inflict damage to an unlucky opponent if they didn’t have armor to protect them.

After that was the archer, Vivienne, who was dressed in her leather chestpiece, leather cap, and cloth pants like before. She had her bow out and was fiddling with the blunted arrows in her quiver, which appeared to have had their steel heads replaced with a heavy wood to simulate the weight, but they weren’t sharp nor did they have a point; instead, they were rounded at the tip, something he was sure would likely affect the flight pattern of the arrows. He wasn’t a Hunter or anything, but he knew enough about bows and arrows that even the slightest changes in an arrow’s construction could dramatically affect how accurate the one releasing the projectiles was.

Lastly, there was another Mage, another citizen of the Kingdom by his common appearance. He was wearing a red robe which indicated that he was likely a pyromancer by specialization, and he looked old enough to be at least a fourth-year, if not a fifth-year student at the Academy. He was holding a Mage’s staff in his hand, and while Larek couldn’t clearly see the Fusions well enough at a distance to make out which each of them did, he could tell that they were only moderately well-crafted. In other words, he’d seen worse – a lot worse – but the pyromancer was obviously not an expert in creating Fusions like Larek was.

It feels strange calling myself an expert, but based on what I’ve seen in others’ work – other than Shinpai’s, of course – I can honestly say that my quality is much, much better.

In most things, he preferred to be relatively modest because he didn’t like to show off or appreciated when others did it, but that also didn’t mean he couldn’t privately feel more than a bit of pride at his own work.

“Larek, Nedira, meet Kimble,” Penelope waved toward the red-robed Mage. “He’s our heavy hitter on the magic side of our team, as he specializes in quick-casting Fireball spells like nobody’s business.”

“It’s very nice to meet—” Larek began, but was almost immediately interrupted by the pyromancer.

“So, you’re the one everyone’s been talking about, huh?”

Slightly taken aback by the abrupt question, Larek stiffened defensively as he answered. “I’m assuming so. I don’t really hear what anyone is saying, so…” He left it at that.

The young man, who Larek felt was a Noble as soon as he started talking, did something he wasn’t expecting. Instead of acting like he was better than Larek because he was a higher year than him, he genuinely smiled and said, “Well, I don’t really know much about you, but your height alone is enough to have the other teams running for the hills! If you can do even half of what Penny said you can do, then you’re the exact right teammate that we need right now.”

“Uh, thank you? But what was Penelope saying about what I can do?”

Kimble chuckled. “She said that you’re a great Fusionist and are some sort of healer prodigy. If either of them are true, then we’re going to win for sure!”

“Well, I—”

“Alright, enough talk!” the blue-haired Martial trainee interrupted. “We need to get started since we don’t have a lot of time. Now, I want everyone on the same page here, so we need to be sure we know who everyone is and what they can do. I’ll get started, since I put this team together.

“Hi! My name is Penelope but you can all call me Penny, because all my friends do. I’m a fifth-year Martial trainee and my specialization is Striker, which means I can hit hard and move fast with my higher Strength and Agility, but I don’t have a lot of Body, so I can be hurt easier than other Martials. While most of my Battle Arts are focused on doing large amounts of damage, which aren’t allowed during the Skirmish, I have Fleetfoot which increases my Agility for a limited time, increasing my movement speed and ability to dodge significantly.

“I use the Cleaver Sword as my primary weapon, but I also have a dagger,” she continued, pulling out a blunted wooden dagger out of a sheath behind her back before waving it around, “in case I’m ever disarmed. It doesn’t happen very often, but it’s better to be prepared than be without.”

She stopped and there was silence for a few seconds as the others just looked at each other. Finally, Kimble cleared his throat and introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Kimble and I have a Pyromancer specialization, which means I like to play with fire.” He chuckled again, which caused Larek to chuckle as well, because it was humorous the way he said it, as if he was some sort of pyromaniac.

“Anyway, I have also mastered the Fireball spell to the point where I can cast it in my sleep – which I hope never to do, because it would be awkward explaining to my dormmates why I set my room on fire – but with my high Spellcasting Focus, that also means that I can form the spell’s pattern quickly and repeatedly. Unfortunately, if I cast them quickly it degrades my accuracy, so I can either bombard an area with a shadow-casted Fireball after Fireball without picking targets, or I can take my time and hit what I’m aiming at most of the time. I have other spells as well, such as Flame Wall, which can help to deter someone from moving through an area, and Explosive Fireball, which is basically what it sounds like: a fireball that explodes. I can’t cast them as quickly as a normal Fireball, but each of them can be used if the needs arise.

“I carry my staff which has Basic Fusions I’ve created for Magnitude 2 stat boosts, giving me a 20% increase to my Intellect, Acuity, and Pneuma stats. I also added a simple Strengthen Wood +2 Fusion on the staff itself so it is harder to break, but that is about the extent of my Fusion-creating abilities; my strengths lie in other areas.”

“Great, thank you, Kimble! Next?” When no one stepped forward after her question, Penelope looked at Bartholomew. “How about you, Barty?”

“I told you, don’t call me Barty! How many times do I have to say it?” The Noble trainee looked both angry and tired, as if he was getting worn down by the blue-haired woman’s constant name-calling.

“Only about a million more times, Barty.”

Shaking his head, the armored Martial trainee sighed and began to speak. “Hi, everyone. I’m Bartholomew or Bart,” he began, while staring daggers at Penelope as he stressed his name, “and I’m a fourth-year trainee here at Fort Pinevalley. My specialization is a Shieldguard, which uses a shield as a primary method of defense, but can also be used to bash my enemies. My longer-range attack via my spear allows me to keep some distance so I don’t have to take as much damage, but my Body is strong enough to withstand most minor attacks without too many problems.

“My Battle Arts are primarily used in defense, as I can enhance my guard with Blocking Blow to withstand nearly any powerful attack once without harm as long as I block with my shield, or if I use Guard Stance I can boost my Body and Strength stats by 30% as it consumes my Stama. My primary objective during the Skirmish will be to guard either our attackers or defenders, and I’m quick with my shield and can block most long-range projectiles if I have enough warning.”

After Bartholomew was done, the archer went next.

“Uh, hello. I’m Vivienne and I’m a fifth-year Ranger specialization, which means I am best when attacking at long range. Agility is my highest stat, which means I can both move quickly and release a barrage of arrows upon my targets, and my Strength stat isn’t that far behind. My projectiles pack a punch because of the draw strength of my bow, though that won’t matter too much during the Skirmish.

“For Battle Arts, I also have Fleetfoot, allowing me to move even faster; I can be in and out of our opponents’ fortifications in seconds with their flag. I also have Multishot, which can multiply my arrows into a tight cluster of 5, which can help slip past some defenses.”

When all of the Martial trainees were done, as well as the other Mage, all that was left was Nedira and Larek. Nedira stepped forward before he could react and spoke next without any prompting.

“Hi. I’m Nedira and I’m a fourth-year Naturalist specialization, which means that I primarily focus on defensive and control spells. My Binding Roots spell can trap an opponent’s lower body as they are wrapped up in vines, and I can create a Wall of Thorns to block off access to different areas; the latter does a small amount of damage to anyone who touches it, but from the rules I’ve heard that should still be allowed at full strength?”

At Kimble’s affirmative nod, she continued. “I can also cast any of the basic offensive elemental spells such as Ice Spike, Stone Fist, and Fireball, but my main offensive spell is the Seed Barrage, which grows a large seeded sunflower that can launch dozens of finger-length seeds at a target of my choosing. Even shadow-casted, this attack can come in handy when being assaulted by multiple enemies, though it is channeled and requires concentration, so I’ll be vulnerable while I’m using it.

“I also carry a staff that has Fusions on it, which boost my stats, as well as an Illumination Fusion that creates a very bright, blinding light that can be used in a pinch if necessary. That’s about it.”

Kimble looked interested in her staff, and asked, “That’s very interesting with the light Fusion; I’ve never thought about something like that. How high are your boosts? Magnitude 1 or 2?”

“Uh, I’ll let Larek answer that, as he’s the one who put them on.”

All eyes turned to the tall former Logger, and he bolstered himself as he debated what to share and what not to share. Ever since the others had begun introducing themselves, he furiously considered what would be dangerous and what would be necessary for them to know about him. While they couldn’t know everything, a certain amount of his abilities was going to required if he was to keep his team “alive” during the Skirmish, so that none of them suffered from the attempt to make him heal with a Fusion. If he could only figure out how to heal without tapping into the Body Regeneration Skill, then most of these problems would go away; unfortunately, everything he’d attempted was stymied by his simple knowledge of the Skill, though he had hopes he would figure it out soon. He might need to learn additional healing-based spells in order to do it, but he thought it should be possible.

“What I’m going to tell you, only a few people know,” he began, looking at everyone in the sparring room – and he could tell that he now had his undivided attention. “It’s not necessarily a secret, but the faculty of Copperleaf has been debating how to reveal it to the wider world for a little while now, and they believed that the Skirmish was the perfect opportunity to display what I can do to everyone in the Academy and the Fort.

“That being said, it is imperative that you keep this to yourselves until after the Skirmish, because we don’t want to give away our advantages in case they have a counter for it. Can you all keep this a secret?”

Nedira hissed up at him, “What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. This is necessary, after all,” he responded, waving away her fears.

The rest of them looked either curious or skeptical, though Penelope looked excited for some reason. Regardless, all of them said that they would keep his secret until after the Skirmish, because they all wanted to win with whatever advantages they could.

Bargaining has reached Level 5!

“So, what is it that is making you all mysterious-like?” Kimble asked.

With another deep breath… Larek told them.

Book 2 Chapter 56: https://www.patreon.com/posts/fusionist-book-2-84524531