Silverspear (Rise to Omniscience Book 6)

by Aaron Oster

  He could see she wanted to ask questions, but as soon as she noticed the small tremble in the stones littered around her, she took off without saying a word. He observed her form as she ran the lap, noting once again where she was going wrong, and when she came back around, already breathing hard, Morgan held out a hand to stop her.

  “Your running form is terrible,” he said simply. “You’re working far harder than you should, and it costs you stamina and breath control.”

  Grace nodded along as he showed her the proper form, demonstrating how best to positing her shoulders, hips, and head. He ran back and forth a few times, showing how high to pull the knees and how much force to place behind each step. He placed careful emphasis on foot placement as well, noting that a twisted ankle with her amount of weight wouldn’t just be a little uncomfortable.

  “Do you have any questions?” Morgan asked as he finished the explanation.

  Grace hesitated for a moment, seeming unsure whether she should ask or not. Gold had pulled a similar stunt with them. However, where Gold had simply ignored the questions after they were asked, Morgan had no intention of doing so.

  “Don’t be afraid to ask questions,” he said when she shook her head. “You can’t learn anything if you don’t understand it. Questions are how we better ourselves, so never refrain from asking one, no matter how stupid you think it sounds.”

  “Um…okay then,” Grace said, still seeming hesitant. “You showed me how to pull my knees up for proper form, but I don’t understand how that will help at all. Doesn’t pulling your knees higher mean more work?”

  “It does, and it doesn’t,” Morgan replied. “Say you’re running at a dead sprint over uneven terrain like this, then your foot catches on a protruding rock because you haven’t pulled your knees high enough. What do you think would happen?”

  “I imagine you would fall,” Grace said, now understanding.

  “Yes, you would fall, and with a vest like that on, it would be very painful. Now, any other questions?”

  Grace did have a couple more, about why pumping her arms or twisting her shoulders was important in an exercise that involved the legs, both of which were answered to her satisfaction.

  “I think I’ve got it all,” Grace said as Morgan finished up with his last explanation.

  “Good,” Morgan said. “Now, run.”

  This time, Grace took off without needing to be told twice or even threatened. Morgan watched her carefully, noting all the corrections he would make when she came back around. Today was less about working her to the bone, and more about getting into the habit of doing things right.

  It would take time to undo a lifetime of ingrained muscle-memory, but luckily for him, she was only fourteen. With enough training, he should be able to do it, if not easily, then at least without having too much trouble. By the end of their two-hour session, Grace had shown some marked improvement.

  She was a sweaty, panting, and groaning mess, but she was learning, and that was what mattered.

  “Get yourself cleaned up. I’ll be back in an hour to continue our lessons.”

  He was about to teleport away when he realized he hadn’t actually given her any positive reinforcement. It was as important to compliment someone when they did well, as it was to correct errors. Morgan had spent his life without much of that, but he didn’t want the same for someone who could end up being a student. Being emotionally stunted wasn’t exactly a good thing.

  “Oh, and good job. You’ve done well.”

  Grace looked up at him from her prone position on the ground. Even through her red-faced, sweat-streaked panting, he could see the pride his compliment had instilled. He gave her a rare smile, then left, heading back to the palace, both to give her privacy to bathe alone and to eat a hot meal. Just because Grace was stuck eating cold food didn’t mean he had to do the same.

  “Tell me what you think went wrong inside the Beast Zone yesterday,” Morgan said.

  He and Grace sat inside the small copse of trees, shaded from the sun by the newly budding flowers. The air smelled pleasant, and the early-afternoon sun had finally dispelled the morning’s chill. Grace winced at the mention of that, and he noticed a small flash of fear cross her features before she hurriedly composed herself.

  “Well, I guess I probably shouldn’t have rushed in like that,” she said sheepishly. “Maybe I should have taken some time to observe and tried to coordinate better with Lumia?”

  Morgan had already decided after yesterday’s fiasco that Lumia would be staying out of Grace’s fights. The girl needed to learn how to fight on her own before he tried to make her a part of a team.

  “Anything else?” he asked.

  “Um…I should have been more aware of my surroundings? Maybe not taken my eyes off the beast.”

  “Is that all?”

  Grace scrunched her face up, as though trying to think of anything else she could have done. After a few long moments, she shook her head.

  Morgan resisted the urge to sigh, knowing that she was here to learn, and he to teach. If she already knew everything, there really wouldn’t be much point to this arrangement. Still, he wished she’d have taken away more than that from yesterday’s battle.

  “You shouldn’t have even had to close with that beast to win,” Morgan stated flatly. “I can go into all the myriad of detail on how and when you messed up, but I’ll keep it simple. One, you don’t know how to fight. You ran in, swinging like a child whose favorite toy was broken. Two, the grasp you have on your skills is appalling, something which we will be rectifying. And three, your mage skills are not to be neglected. I’ve noticed that you haven’t used them even once.

  “The fact that your attributes are so skewed towards Strength and Intelligence also tells me that you haven’t been focusing on anything other than increasing the power of your attacks. The Intelligence boost, I assume, was added so that you could increase the frequency and duration of your super skills. But you’ve neglected everything else.”

  Morgan had done a little digging and uncovered some very interesting information. It seemed that from ranks 0 through 8, supers and mages now each received five free attribute points to allocate. He found this interesting because this had never been the case before. It was also interesting because it meant that while a regular super or mage would receive a total of 40 AP, Grace could receive double that amount.

  “Oh yeah?” Grace asked, anger already building in her tone and body language. “Anything else you wanna say? Like how I’m too weak to do anything, or too stupid to think for myself?”

  “No,” Morgan replied, keeping his tone calm and even. “What I’m saying is that you severely lack training and forward thinking.”

  “Oh yeah?” Grace asked once again, her shoulders tight and expression angry. “And how would you have handled that beast with my power?”

  Morgan debated firing back but decided that a calm and rational approach would be best in this situation. Pointing out how Grace could have won that fight would also help her change the way she thought of her abilities.

  “There are many ways in which you could have succeeded and even avoided injury. I’ll give you the scenario, and you tell me if you think it would have been impossible. That sound fair?”

  Grace looked as though she wanted to snap back with an angry retort, but he hadn’t really given her much to respond to. So, she did the only thing she could and agreed.

  “Firstly,” Morgan began. “I would have used Echolocation to discern the whereabouts of any enemies as soon as I entered the Beast Zone. I would have continued using the skill until I found something. Once the creature was discovered, I’d have chosen high ground, be that a small rise, a big chunk of stone, or something similar.

  “I’d have taunted the beast by throwing a piece of stone at it as it approached, goading it into a charge, and when it drew near, I’d have used Air Siren. The skill is powerful enough that it would have knocked that beast clear off its feet and stunned it in th
e process, even from ten yards away.

  “The beast’s momentum would have caused it to slide the remaining distance, coming to a stop right at my feet. I’d then have placed my hand directly over the beast’s ear and used Air Siren once again. At that close of a range, it would have blown the beast’s head to pieces, thereby winning you the battle.”

  Grace looked like she’d swallowed something unpleasant. What Morgan had just said was perfectly true, logical, and could have given her the fight without question. Still, she wasn’t having it. Morgan had told her how to win with her mage skills, but she didn’t use her mage skills because mages were cowards, always fighting from afar and hiding behind their little shields. A real warrior charged head-on. That was how fights were won.

  “I see that you’re not convinced,” Morgan said, snapping her from her thoughts. “You seem to have some sort of twisted idea that mages are somehow weaker, because they fight using a different set of skills. That isn’t even the least bit true, but we can address that issue later. So, how about I give you a scenario in which you could have succeeded purely by using your super skills?”

  “It was impossible,” Grace immediately snapped back. “The beast was too fast.”

  “Really?” Morgan said with a raised eyebrow. “Then I’m sure you’ll be able to point out the flaws in my logic when I’m finished.”

  Grace didn’t reply, merely folding her arms over her chest with a huff. Morgan took that as his cue to continue.

  “Spotting the beast would have been harder without the use of Echolocation, so instead, I’d once again look for high ground. I’d bait the beast just the same as before. When it was almost upon me, I’d use Body Shift, changing my density to make myself lighter. This would allow me to get out of the beast’s path.

  “In the same motion, I’d use Expand blows, increasing the size of my knee, and strike the beast’s unprotected side. Now, with my density decreased, the attack wouldn’t do much damage. But with the beast’s momentum and the unexpected attack from the side, it should be more than enough to throw the creature off its feet.

  “I’d run after it. Using the decreased density, I’d rush towards the downed beast, leaping atop it before it had a chance to get up. The decreased weight would allow for a higher jump, and, as I came down, I would increase my density as far as it can go. This would stun the beast once again and effectively pin it in place.

  “Now that it can’t move, all I have to do is use Expand blows and slam the beast’s head until it dies. The loss of speed from the increased density wouldn’t matter, further lending weight to my attacks. I’d say that with my Strength attribute of 16, the rank 2 beast would take two blows before the contents of its head were painting the sands.”

  This time when he finished, the wind seemed to have gone out of the small girl. She now looked more embarrassed than angry. Morgan had given her two very plausible scenarios in which she could have won, neither of which she could deny.

  “I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Grace said in a quiet voice.

  “Apology accepted. Now, we’re going to do an exercise. I’m going to give you a scenario, and you’re going to tell me how you can use your skills, terrain, and wits to win. If you get more than eighty percent of them right, I’ll even give you a treat.”

  “I’m not a dog, you know,” Grace said with a rueful grin.

  Morgan shrugged at that.

  “You don’t need to be a dog to be rewarded for doing well. Now, let’s see how well that brain of yours can reason.”

  19

  “I’d then use my increased density to shift the unstable shelf, collapsing it onto the beast and killing it.”

  “Very good,” Morgan said. “I think we’ll do one more, and then take a break. We’ve been at this for over three hours, and I think you’ve learned a lot.”

  Grace nodded excitedly as Morgan laid out the scenario. She thought it over for a couple of minutes before relaying her answer. She felt a small thrill as Morgan nodded, letting her know that her plan was indeed feasible, and would win her the fight. She was enjoying herself so much that she hadn’t even noticed the passage of time up until Morgan had mentioned it.

  “Very good,” Morgan said, giving her a smile.

  She felt a small thrill at that, seeing how it lit up his face. More than that, she enjoyed the warm feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction that the smile imparted.

  “Does that mean I get that special reward you promised?” she asked eagerly.

  She’d lost count after a while, but she was pretty sure she’d gotten most of them right. There had been a few where she’d been stumped and Morgan had had to correct her, but she was confident.

  “Yes, you will receive a special reward,” Morgan replied.

  She watched eagerly as he dug into his pack, removing a shiny gold coin.

  “We need a bit of a break before our next lesson, so I figured we could go visit the shops in the Central Kingdom’s Academy.”

  Grace felt her a wide grin stretch across her face. She had no idea how Morgan knew she would enjoy something like shopping. He seemed to know a lot about the things girls liked and needed, such as his inclusion of the brush in her pack, and the way he always gave her the privacy and space she needed. An entire gold coin to spend in a foreign country’s shops, especially ones like the Academy’s, was beyond her wildest dreams.

  She’d heard of the Central Kingdom’s academy, of course, and how it had been destroyed and rebuilt. She’d been wondering if she would go there when she awakened her abilities and had asked Shul about it incessantly. He’d gone there as well, as had his sister, Hilda. She had been the one to tell her all about the wonders of the Academy. Of course, that had been before they’d told her she was coming here, which may have contributed to her bad mood.

  Grace was so excited that she wanted to jump up and hug Morgan. She was still way too shy to do that, so instead, she just settled for the next best thing.

  “I would like that a lot!” she said, springing to her feet and beaming from ear to ear. “Thank you so much!”

  ***

  Morgan came out of the whirling tunnel into a darkened alley. He’d had to find a place he could enter without being seen doing so, as he didn’t much feel like having to explain himself. Next to him, Grace was on her knees, dry heaving. However, after another minute of this, the girl managed to regain her feet, and all without throwing up.

  “Looks like you’re finally getting used to traveling this way,” he noted as Grace continued to take deep breaths.

  “Yeah, just a few more times, and maybe I won’t feel like vomiting quite so much,” she replied.

  The usual venom was absent from her voice, likely because of their location. He hadn’t known if Grace would like the idea of coming here to shop, but seeing as Sarah had enjoyed it so much, he figured he’d give it a try. Being around her for as long as he had, he’d picked up a few things, so dealing with Grace was just a little easier.

  “We’ve got an hour,” Morgan said, reaching into his pocket and handing her the coin. “Meet me back here when you’re finished.”

  “Aren’t you going to come with me?” Grace asked, a slight note of disappointment in her voice.

  “I don’t think I’d be welcome in any of the shops you might visit,” Morgan replied, giving her a pat on the shoulder. “Besides, I have some business to take care of while we’re here.”

  “I’ll go with her,” Lumia said, drifting from his shoulder to land on hers.

  They’d gone back to the palace to collect her before coming here, although the drake hadn’t been too happy about being woken up. He swore she was becoming lazier the longer they spent out here, but seeing as she spent most of her time in her smaller form, that much was unsurprising.

  Lumia’s presence seemed to calm the girl, and giving him one last wave, Grace dashed from the alley and out into the busy street. Just a few seconds after she vanished, Morgan turned to face the man who’d appeared, much as h
e had.

  “So, what’s the status of the barrier?”

  “What, not even a hello?” Gold asked with a pout.

  “Hello.”

  “There, was that so hard?”

  “Yes.”

  Gold glared at him, but Morgan didn’t have any patience to play the man’s games.

  “Are you going to tell me why you wanted to meet here of all places, or not?”

  “Fine,” Gold said with an eye roll. “The barrier is still holding for now, though the cracks are growing larger. I can’t really say when it’ll fail completely, but the longer you spend here, the greater the chance it will.”

  “I’ll be leaving in five days,” Morgan replied. “I have to see if the girl can handle the trip. Have you spoken with the smith?”

  “No, why would I do that?” Gold asked.

  “I thought you said you knew him.”

  “I do.”

  Morgan felt a small tick begin to form at the corner of his left eye. Gold could be a serious pain in the ass when he wanted to be. He was a massive attention seeker as well and seemed to love unnecessary theatrics. The best way to handle him was to not give him what he wanted.

  “Well, if that’s all, I’ll be on my way,” Morgan said, turning to head out of the alley.

  “You’re a real kill-joy, you know that?” Gold called after him.

  Morgan didn’t stop.

  “I think I may have located Loquin!”

  This got Morgan’s attention. Loquin, Samuel’s closest ally and someone who’d taken an active role in messing with his life, had gone missing on the same night Samuel had been killed. She’d come to him, asking for a meeting, but when he’d arrived to oblige, she’d been nowhere to be found. They hadn’t heard so much as a whisper of the goddess since, so Morgan had just assumed she’d either gone back to her own world or been killed as well.

  “Really? And where might she be?” Morgan asked, half-turning.

  In truth, he didn’t really care what happened to the woman. As far as he was concerned, she was still an enemy, one that needed to be put down.