by Dakota Krout
Dale's clothes had no tears, abrasions, or even loose threads. He could feel nasty bruises forming under the paths of the claws and teeth but was able to grab the thing and squeeze. Crying in a cross between piteous and furious, the animal struggled even harder for a long moment before a *snap* resounded through the area. The creature fell limp, and Dale slid to the ground as well, completely exhausted.
“Let’s see here… ‘the dungeon wanted me to do it’. ‘I needed to get the dungeon Core and give it to the dungeon’. ‘It was something I was supposed to do myself’.” The Moon Elf was ticking things off on his fingers as he recited parts of earlier conversations. “We are going to try again, and if the answer doesn’t satisfy me, I am going to let something nastier in. Now, tell me again why you went into an unknown dungeon, with a team in the C or D ranks, with no backup, and without explaining it to the people relying on you.”
“I just…” Dale sighed and dragged himself to his feet, “I have no excuse. It was a bad idea, and it won’t happen again.”
The Moon Elf stared at him, nodding after a few long seconds. “That was the correct answer, finally! I thought we were going to be here all night.” He pulled a lever, and a small gate opened. Out of the gate came a yowling Flesh Cat from the lower levels of the dungeon. It pounced at Dale, its Essence ability tearing open his skin and ignoring his armor entirely as it slashed hooked claws at him.
“Ow!” Dale twisted away from the Cat, returning the assault with one of his own. His fist hit the Cat, and the studded knuckles broke its skin. The Cat had a strange expression on its face as the blood in its body lurched and churned away from the normal paths it would be taking. A huge bruise formed on the hairless Beast before it collapsed, but when it did, Dale angrily tore it open and pulled out a Core. Glaring up at the Elf, he asked a simple question, “Why?”
“I told you that if your answer didn’t satisfy me, I would let a monster in. Just because your answer was correct…” he trailed off, pulling another lever and making Dale blanch. Thank goodness, this time it revealed an exit from the training arena the academy had built. “This is a handy invention. Great for letting people test their limits. How do you feel, Dale? Do you feel that your limits have been… tested?”
Dale frowned, feeling at his Core. It was almost completely drained, leaving only a depressingly small trickle of Essence running through his body. “I certainly feel like I am completely exhausted if that’s what you are getting at. I have almost no Essence remaining, and I haven’t slept in thirty-nine hours. My limits feel tested, yes.”
The Moon Elf sneered at him. “Good. Dale, if you are so weak currently, how did you not only break the Scrivener’s spine but also beat a Flesh Cat to death with repeated blows? Before you try some half-baked answer, I’ll just tell you. Your aura. It’s weak as of yet, but your body is becoming more directly powerful. All of this was without using Essence directly, which means you are becoming formidable. Not to mention the hand-to-hand combat style you have been learning is the most effective style for killing without a weapon that currently exists. Now, there is another aspect to the aura that you have been building throughout your body and in your immediate surroundings.”
He paused a moment, considering his next words. “Two aspects, actually. First, the Essence that you are inserting into your body is the path that your Mana will take once you actually gain access to it. This has a different meaning to many people, but the gist of it is that Mana will only empower the areas where you have stored Essence. I've seen people do a poor job of maintaining their aura, and they are torn apart when they try to move into the Mage ranks. I heard that you needed motivation; I hope that covers it. Consider yourself motivated."
"I'm feeling it." Dale's face was green, extra queasy at the thought that he had been ignoring his Essence collection recently.
“Good.” The Elf looked away, gathering his thoughts. "Second, there is a reason it is called 'aura' and not 'body preparation'. You've already been using what I am talking about, or your body would be significantly more singed than it currently is. By holding your Essence in multiple patterns around you and infusing them with various corruption, you are able to generate elemental ‘shielding’. This is more useful than you seem to think if your lax attitude in practicing your shields is any indication. What I want you to do is prepare the shield you've been using to block my fire traps."
Dale was relatively confident that this was another lesson that he wasn't going to like. "One small issue, teacher. I am almost fully out of Essence right now."
The Elf waved at him and growled. "Then sit down and cultivate, you infernally frustrating man-child! Not that it will matter much. Until you have a full aura and step into the C-ranks, whatever you manage to create will be a wispy shadow of what it will become."
Glad for the respite, Dale sat and began greedily sucking in all of the Essence around him, heedless of its natural affinity. The strange energies swirled around him, getting pulled to his body and covering him with colored lights if you could see them. Typically, this would make for a corrupted Center and would hamper the future growth of anyone foolish enough to cultivate in such a manner. There were a few exceptions. In the dungeon below them, the Essence was cleaned and had little to no corruption in it. Dale could take it a step further, as the tiny corruption Cores that surrounded his central Core would funnel all of the corruption away and use it to power the various cursed equipment that Dale was using.
Within five minutes, Dale was moderately sure that he could hold his shielding in place for a handful of minutes, so he stood, got into position, created the shield, and nodded at the Elf. His instructor hadn't bothered to wait for the nod of confirmation, throwing a massive fireball at the now-nervous Dale. The fire washed over him, splitting around and rebounding off of his shielding.
"I have three important lessons to teach you right now. Lesson one: like reflects like." The Elf held a fireball in each hand and bounced them off each other. Creating a strange watery spike, he tossed it at Dale. "Lesson two: opposites cancel."
Indeed, as the water hit Dale's shield, there was a small gout of steam that rose away from the impact site, and Dale felt a bit weaker. The Elf continued to speak the entire time Dale was pondering. "It is easier and less Essence intensive to reflect than to cancel. When canceling out another affinity, you are betting that you have put at least as much Essence into your shield as your opponent is throwing at you. Lesson three."
His instructor now had a whirling tornado in his palm. He threw it at Dale, and as the wind Essence brushed against the fire Essence, a roaring flame scorched Dale's exposed hands. As Dale cursed and shook his hand, the Moon Elf snickered. "Hee… I love this lesson. Adjacents interact. When in combat, knowing the protections that a person has in place is the key to not only winning, but surviving. Since I knew that you had only placed fire in your defense, it was easy for me to know what would happen."
"There are only so many things that I can make!" Dale had waited until it appeared that the Moon Elf was finished speaking. He had learned long ago that interrupting the Elf was a recipe for a tooth-loosening slap. "I have access to each of the elements, but how can I possibly know what is about to assault me?"
"Two things." Luckily his instructor seemed to be in a talking mood instead of a 'beat Dale ‘til he gets it' mood. "Practice. You know how to look at a person and see what Essence is swirling around them. You simply need to get better at interacting and understanding what that means. Now, some people will intentionally misdirect you, using an element in their shields that they don't plan to use for attacking. Be wary, for all combat is a life-or-death situation. Honor is a joke in battle, and if I have taught you anything, I hope it is that you must do anything, anything, to survive. Winning is secondary in all cases. Next, think for a moment; if you have access to all forms of Essence, what do you need to do to protect against a larger portion of them?"
Dale didn't respond right away, instead cursing himself for not seei
ng the obvious answer right away. "I would guess that I need to combine them?"
"Correct. You have an advantage that others can't get without reaching the B-ranks at a minimum." The Elf lifted his hands and twined together fire and wind Essence over his hands. "Aura can be used for defense and attack. There are many, many people who focus entirely on using aura to its fullest potential. Typically, these are people without access to techniques or other forms of more efficient fighting abilities. Using aura allows you to empower your body as well as offer other simple short-to-medium range means of assault without the need for extensive training. Observe."
Dale watched as the Elf increased the swirl of wind. Pointing his hand away from himself with his palm aiming at a training dummy, the Assassin forcibly ejected a river of fire that acted like a twister, creating a blazing cone that engulfed the mannequin and quickly burned away all the flammable portions. Liquid metal began to drip, and the fire suddenly stopped sprouting from the delicate-seeming hand. "Now, the trick is to learn how to combine elements in your shield without doing that to your body. I'm sure you understand the inherent risk involved here, so please practice near a healer or at least away from highly-populated areas if you plan to do something extra foolish."
Staring at the ruined dummy, the thought that he could have easily started a conflagration on his skin of the same intensity caused Dale’s eye to twitch nervously. This had been an excellent lesson: no practicing until he was well-rested and thinking clearly.
Chapter Ten
After getting a very rejuvenating three hours of sleep, Dale decided to find one of the few people he knew of that could help him with exact requirements for his shielding. "Good morning, Craig. Do you mind if I take a few minutes of your time?"
The Monk looked up from his breakfast of tea and broccoli, seeming a bit surprised by Dale's words. "Oh? I believe that our next session was supposed to be tomorrow, but if there is something I can help with, I am always glad to do so."
"Thank you. I am attempting to create aura shielding, but I am concerned that I may damage myself. I was hoping that you could give me some information to make this a bit easier." Dale was trying to keep his voice down; several people were already looking over at them, exchanging coins, and chuckling. There was a simple explanation for this. Dale no longer ate in this area but he still technically had a standing order from the cook to bring him herbs, meats, and rare ingredients that may be found in the dungeon. Dale was attempting to keep a low profile because the man would always charge at him and demand service if he knew that Dale was here. It had become something of a game for the cook, but the threats he made were genuine.
"Oh, we were going to start going over that tomorrow night anyway. I suppose you were given a more… practical lesson from your… combat instructor?" Craig had initially been excited for Dale, as the Moon Elf hand-to-hand combat forms were considered to be the most thorough and deadly martial arts in the world. After seeing Dale's patchwork of new scars and the constant damage he sustained, Craig had grown more concerned. Not to mention he was starting to dislike the Moon Elf that would inflict such punishment on his former team member and current student.
"I did, and I am very excited not to turn myself into a wreck of a person. I've died too many… I mean, I've come close to dying too many times to want to put myself into that sort of situation again. I'm also fairly certain that he is standing over in that corner watching me, and if I were to try it alone he may very well cut off an arm or something as punishment." Dale had gestured at a corner of the large tent they were eating in, and moments after he did so, the tent flap opened and closed 'by itself'. Sure. Invisible freaks.
"I think that we can do some work on that this morning." Craig swallowed his tea, standing and walking outside with Dale by his side. He had Dale explain what he knew about shielding, nodding begrudgingly at the straightforward explanation that Dale had been given. They walked to the academy and took an entire stone room for themselves. Craig explained that learning aura control was the purpose of this room, and so it had been specially reinforced. Dale winced. As helpful as this shielding sounded… no turning back now, though; he was committed to improving himself every day.
"Let's begin." Craig had Dale sit down in the lotus position, then place his hands out in front of him with his palms facing upward. "The most common mistake when learning to combine elements is to use your entire body to practice. In a safe location like this, it is fine to retract your aura or focus it into your palms. Do so now."
It took a few minutes because Dale had never needed to control the aura around him in this manner. Typically, it was a consistent coating of energy that was the same thickness throughout. Once he got the hang of it, it was simple to retract the aura, though it made him feel vulnerable in a way that he hadn't been expecting. He had been building his aura for weeks at this point, and it had grown to be a familiar friend that protected him from dangerous things. Craig was watching closely and nodded when he saw that there was no aura leaking from Dale's body. "Very good. I am surprised at your instinctive level of control; many people have a much harder time learning to do even this much."
"I do have to say that the daily life-or-death training has helped me to know myself better." Dale had a rough time most days, but it was all in an effort to become stronger and protect himself, the people around him, his land, and the dungeon. Which was also kind of like defending himself, but unfortunately, the memories that he had initially gained from combining with Cal had been fading day by day. He had written down a small portion of information that he had deemed essential to remembering, but in general, he was back to being just Dale. He hadn't told anyone about the memories he had gained at the time and was now glad that he hadn't done so. If they wanted information, secrets, leverage… he had lost all of that by this point and would have been seen as a disreputable source.
Knowing himself as only himself wasn't terrible, and what little he did remember about Cal’s ability to use Essence with a master's ability compelled him forward and heightened his own understanding of his skills. In everything he did, it was just a little easier to get better. Craig was now speaking, so Dale returned his attention to where it belonged. "Exact proportions are needed, every time, in order to create a powerful shield that does not damage your body either through its own creation or during another's assault. Also, not every combination is useful as protection."
"What do you mean by that?" If he got a combination wrong, he could be leaving himself entirely vulnerable?
"It's very simple, and I can give you an example right now." Craig smiled, waved, and vanished entirely. Dale looked around uncomprehendingly when suddenly, Craig's face was floating in the air in front of him. "Boo!"
Dale flinched backward with a stifled yelp as Craig became fully visible again. Craig smiled at him. "I've been wanting to try that ever since Hans told me how much fun it was. Allow me to explain. That type of shielding is a simple interaction of fire, celestial, and water Essence. The fire and water interact to make a film of steam around the body, and the celestial works to enhance this while bending light. This type of auric invisibility is fairly weak in terms of actually hiding, as it creates a 'shimmer' in the air whenever the person using it moves. And guess what? Breathing counts as moving. The Moon elves have a different 'recipe' that they use for their invisibility, and it is - as you have learned - far more difficult to see through. I was actually quite impressed when you were able to point one out earlier. So, as you can see, though it offers little defense you gain excellent utility."
"That's… that's amazing!" A whole new world of possibilities was opening up for Dale, and he was excited to see where this would take him. "How do I know which combinations are going to be useful for helping to survive battles?"
Craig tapped his chin, then steepled his fingers. "It is possible that I was not being as clear as I should have been. Even the invisibility that I was just using is beneficial in some combat but realistically only against those
who need to see you to attack or those that weaponize light in one way or another. As this particular technique bends light around you, so long as you are able to output enough power, you would be able to survive a lance of light that can melt a hole in a mountain.”
“Each situation calls for a different type of shielding, but the fact is that most people are unable to generate shields with such a plethora of affinities. You may have access to all of them, and learning to use as many as possible will make you more versatile but will also weaken your ability to practice them to perfection. What you should do for now is practice the most common types of shielding you will need. Utility and specialized shields will simply have to come later."
"I see. Thank you for this. Can we work on a few of those shields?" Dale needed to get started; he had other responsibilities creeping up on him, and while theory was important, practicality needed to come first.
"Yes. Let's work on bio, magma, ice, mud, and regenerative shielding. Normally, I would exclude that last one for a long time, but… looking at you makes me think that you will be needing it." Craig ignored Dale's wry look, explaining what was needed from the young Noble. "Bio shielding is similar to plant shielding but is more difficult to hold correctly. When you make this aura type correctly, you will be able to grasp the others much more easily. This requires earth, water, celestial, and wind corruption to be added in a ratio of three, four, half, and two.”
“I would suggest that once you get a good feeling for the power you expend, you decide upon a metric for determining what a 'single unit' of Essence is. This is different for each person, but the ratios remain the same. Some people simply create stronger shields when they add 'one unit', but I would suggest making a single unit into a tiny portion of your Essence. You can always increase the units that you add, but that is harder to do when just one takes a full third of your Essence. Please try it now."