by Andrew Rowe
There were minor practical elements to knowing if we were blood related, though. If Derek thought that we could track Tristan using my blood as a focus, that meant it might be possible to track Sera through the same means — or to track me through her. Maybe it was worth investigating if that was possible.
It was worth thinking about.
More importantly, it was worth asking Sera about.
I’d made the mistake of making a big decision — making Patrick a retainer — without asking her.
I wasn’t going to make that kind of mistake again if I could avoid it.
I wasn’t going to ask her that night, though. I was still overloaded on social activity. I couldn’t handle more contact with people.
I kept reading instead, eventually finding the closest thing to the section I’d originally been looking for.
There are three basic location spells, each of which has numerous variants with more distinct function.
Arrow of Direction shows the caster a visible arrow pointing toward the current direction of the target. The most basic version only lasts a few moments. More powerful versions remain active and continuously shift based on the movements of the caster and the target.
Locate Target shows the caster an image of the target and their current surroundings. More powerful versions persist longer, show a larger area, or include senses other than sight. Using the Locate Target spell through a focus, such as a pool of water or a mirror, is often known as “scrying”.
Evaluate Distance tells the caster how far their target is away from them. More powerful versions work at longer ranges, or also include if the target is moving and the direction of their movement.
Various combinations of these spells also exist; it is extremely common to find spells that combine Arrow of Direction and Evaluate Distance, for example.
Note that spells also exist to block Divination attempts. In these cases, more raw power is required for a Divination to break through the defending spell, much like how an attack spell would need to break through a barrier.
That was all useful information. Now, I just needed to figure out how to get into the spire to make use of it, or maybe test some of the spells outside the spire to see what happened.
A few hours of reading had calmed my nerves a bit and helped diminish the pain in my hand to a manageable level.
I still wasn’t ready to sleep, but I forced myself into bed.
Tomorrow, I had training to do.
Chapter X – Difficult Questions
It was Tensday. My hand had mostly recovered, but I was still feeling nervous about overusing it.
I wasn’t going to stop training, but I needed to be aware that if I kept my regeneration items on, it would dull my pain to the point that I could overwork myself. I resolved to avoid using the regeneration items while I was enchanting and just put them on when I expected to be in combat.
I had three days left to get ready for the next dueling class, and I’d spent much of that time working on fixing Sera’s problem.
I knew it wouldn’t be as simple as just fighting another pair of students from our class. Things with Teft were never that simple.
I wasn’t sure exactly what he’d throw at us, so I needed to prioritize carefully.
I wanted to finish the replica of Dawnbringer, but if the class was anything like the last one, we wouldn’t be allowed to use magical weapons. I estimated that it would take nearly a full day if I didn’t want to overuse my attunement again, and I couldn’t justify using that much time on something we might not be able to use.
I started by making a list of likely things that Teft would change for the test.
First, he could change the style of opponents. Maybe we’ll be fighting people from other classes. Maybe even summoned monsters, like a Survival Match.
If he’s feeling particularly mean, maybe he’ll make us fight a teacher.
To prepare for this, Patrick and I should do some two versus one fights against Derek or Keras. We’ll lose badly, but it will be a good chance to adapt to team tactics against a single stronger opponent.
Second, he could change our team members. My best way of preparing for that is to make sure my close friends are all properly prepared and ready to adapt. I should be ready to work together with anyone, however, even if they aren’t on my team. That means thinking about ways my style can synergize with each individual attunement. I can make notes on this.
Third, he’s almost definitely going to change the tiles.
I should check the arena the night before, either directly if possible, or remotely by asking someone to scry on the area for me. Given Teft’s personality, I don’t think he’d consider it cheating.
Fourth, I could cheat intentionally. If I do check the arena physically in advance, I could make alterations to some or all of the tiles, or place other enchanted items in the arena in advance. That might be something Teft applauds, or it might be something he’d fail me for. After looking at the arena, I’ll consider this and evaluate the risks.
Fifth, I can ask Teft in advance about the next test. It’s likely he won’t tell me anything, but he’s the type of person who might consider asking questions in advance to be part of the test. It is unlikely I will have any points deducted for asking, so this is worth doing, even if I really don’t want to.
I felt like that was a good enough list to start with. Enough so that I swallowed my usual distaste for talking to other human beings and shared it with Sera.
She wrote me another note in reply. She was capable of whispering now, but it seemed like it was still pretty painful for her.
When contemplating cheating, you’d be wise to destroy the evidence in the future. But I applaud you for the thought, even if I think you’re too innocent to ever go through with it. Talking to Teft seems unlikely to help, but wise to attempt.
Thank you for sharing your ideas. I’ll plan to do some two versus one training with Marissa as well. I’ll let you know if I think of anything else we can do to prepare.
That sounded like a good plan — and it reminded me of another training step. “Marissa and I will be getting some team practice today, too.”
Sera tilted her head inquisitively.
“We asked Keras to teach us a few things. He’s already been doing a little bit of combat practice with Marissa, but I asked him to teach me some things as well. We’re having our first lesson together today. Do you want to watch?”
Sera shook her head, scribbling another note.
Not today. Practicing trying to cast Summoning spells through my hand. I tried releasing my contracts verbally now that I can whisper again, but it didn’t work. Just speaking aloud doesn’t help if I can’t draw any mana to trigger the effect. And even with what Sheridan did, I can’t feel my attunement yet. I think the contracts are still draining it too fast for the attunement to generate any mana.
I think I can figure out how to convert the mana in my hand into the right types to break a contract, but it’s hard, because I’m used to converting my mana by using the types I already have as a template...and I don’t have the right types anymore, so I just have to try to feel my way through it.
That all made sense, but it seemed...inefficient. “Do you want me to try to transfer a little bit of transference mana into your hand? It’s purified now, so it should be safe.”
She shook her head.
Thank you, but you’ll forgive me if I’m a little shy about having any more foreign mana injected in my body after what happened last time.
“Yeah, fair. That makes sense. Hrm. I suppose enhancement elixirs would be the same problem, in that case. Maybe I could....”
She raised a hand to stop me from speaking, then shook her head once, and wrote another note.
It’s fine, Corin. You’ve gotten me far enough. I can take it from here, at least for this particular step. If I can’t get this to work, we’ll see about going hunting for flowers in the snow, and you can help with that. But for now? Let me work o
n this myself for a bit.
That was fair. “Okay, I’ll leave you to it, then. Just be careful, okay?”
If you’re going to go train with Keras, you might be the one who needs to be careful.
I grinned. She was probably right.
***
“Today,” Keras began, “We’re going to start with the two of you showing me what you’re already capable of.”
“Okay,” I replied, “But do we really need to be up here? You know Derek has a training room, right?”
Keras laughed. “Sure, but fighting feels more exciting on a rooftop, doesn’t it?”
Exciting wasn’t the word I would have used, but he wasn’t going to be dissuaded. “Come on, take positions,” Keras instructed. “I want to see how you two hold up against each other.”
He sat down on one of the edges of the roof.
“But you’ve already seen us both fight, m’lord.” Marissa sounded dejected, probably because she’d been hoping to learn some sort of secret techniques immediately.
Admittedly, I’d been sort of hoping for that, too.
Keras waved a hand dismissively. “Sure, but not in a dueling context, and isn’t that what you two are practicing for this week?”
I shrugged at that. “Yeah, but we’re probably not fighting each other again. It’s more likely Teft will make us do something unusual, like fight together against a stronger opponent. Maybe the two of us could fight you for a bit?”
Marissa shot me a concerned look.
Keras just nodded seriously. “Okay, we can do that first.”
I...hadn’t expected him to agree to change his plans like that, so I wasn’t exactly sure how to reply. “Huh. Uh, thank you.”
Keras cracked his knuckles, then unfastened his sword belt and shoved it to the side. The sword in the sheath was just a training weapon — he’d left the enchanted weapon he usually carried downstairs. “You two ready?”
I walked over to Marissa’s side. Ideally, we could guard each other if we were adjacent. I put a hand on the hilt of Selys-Lyann, and then turning to face Keras. “I’m ready. Marissa?”
She took a breath and focused, drawing a dueling cane off her belt. I didn’t see her use weapons frequently, but it was probably a good thing for her to practice with. “Ready.”
Keras made a come-hither gesture with his hand. “Begin.”
I frowned. Keras was still sitting down. “You’re not going to stand up?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Not unless you make me. I like it down here.”
That seemed like a pretty extreme handicap...but then again, I’d seen what he could do. I wasn’t going to underestimate him. I drew Selys-Lyann and turned my head toward Marissa slightly. “Advance together. Attack together.”
“Right. Go.”
We took a step forward in sync.
Keras opened his palm upward toward the air, forming a globe of flame. Then he flicked a finger into it and launched the sphere at us.
I moved first, swinging Selys-Lyann into it. Ice met fire, and the sphere vanished as the opposing elements mixed.
Marissa fired a blast from her cane, but Keras just smacked it out of the air with his other hand.
Another step closer.
My forward foot hit the floor, then began to sink into the stone floor.
“Lesson one.” Keras tapped a hand on the ground, and the stone solidified around my right foot. “When fighting a sorcerer, a threat can come from any direction.”
Marissa punched downward, smashing the stone that had trapped her own foot, then repeated the process for me. While she did so, I slashed toward Keras and pushed on my sword’s mana, creating a shockwave of ice.
Keras waved a hand, and a wall of flame rose up in the path of my ice. Both the attack and the wall vanished on impact.
“That’s an interesting weapon. You said you’d heard a legend about it belonging to one of your goddess’ lovers?” He sounded casual, conversational. This wasn’t straining him in the slightest.
“Yeah, but it’s always hard to tell when Lars is just making things up.” I still intended to do some digging about the sword later, but it just wasn’t a priority right now. That weird dream seemed to match up with what Lars had told me, but that might have just been my imagination filling in details in a fictional tale.
I wiggled my foot now that the stone around it had been crushed, extracting it carefully. Marissa and I stepped forward again.
“It sounds plausible to me. I can take a look at it later and see if I can figure out anything about it, if you’d like.”
“Sure,” I replied, trying to regain my focus. I’d fought a few people who liked to chat constantly — it was almost always a deliberate distraction.
He can use fire and earth magic, as well as whatever that cutting aura is. He’s also much faster and stronger than we are. I need to compensate for that and catch him off guard.
I looked at Marissa and said two words. “Flank him.”
I stepped to the side, rather than forward, and Marissa mirrored my movement. His eyes flicked back and forth between us, but he showed no sign of concern.
I cut the air, pushing another shockwave at him. Keras raised another wall, as I’d hoped.
For a moment, he couldn’t see me. In that moment, I activated the jumping ring.
But I didn’t jump — I just angled my feet. I’d practiced this.
The ring activated and blasted me forward, following in the shockwave’s wake. When the shockwave hit the wall of flame and dispersed it, I was right behind, lunging toward Keras’ face.
He tilted his head to the side, avoiding the attack effortlessly.
Marissa was right behind him, swinging her dueling cane with the blade extended.
He caught the blade between two fingers, then snapped the steel in half.
Marissa hopped back, abandoning the cane. I swung again, and he batted my sword out of the way. For a moment, right before his hand met the sword, his aura shifted to fire.
Vapor rose from Selys-Lyann’s blade.
Marissa threw a kick at the center of his back, and with my attunement active, I could see her shroud concentrated around her leg.
He swatted her foot with an open palm, and she flew backward, landing and sliding about ten feet away.
For that moment, he looked distracted. The sword attacks were too obvious, so I switched my grip momentarily and fired a blast of gray mana from my gauntlet instead.
That hit him straight on. I didn’t see the telltale flicker of a barrier or shroud. He patted the spot on his chest where the bolt had struck and nodded to me. “Not bad. Wasn’t expecting that one.”
While Marissa closed the distance again, Keras stood up.
Marissa threw the broken dueling cane at him. He side-stepped the hurled weapon, and I used that moment to slash at his midsection.
He grabbed the blade of my weapon faster than I could process. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the blade began to glow red, instead of blue, and I saw steam rise from the surface.
Alarmed, I tried to pull the weapon back, but his grip, even holding the blade, was far stronger than mine.
I grabbed the hilt with both hands, wrenching against his strength, but to no avail.
Marissa swung at him with a charged fist, but he stepped to the side again, seemingly without any effort.
I released the grip on my weapon and blasted him with transference mana from my gauntlet.
Keras slid back a few inches, then tossed my sword to the ground. “I like the glove. That’s useful.”
I glared at him. “Please don’t break my sword.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t do that.” He blocked, rather than dodged, another swing from Marissa. “Just needed to use some flame to make sure the ice wouldn’t spread across my skin. That sword is dangerous, even to someone like me.”
I tried to blast him again, but he swatted it out of the way this time. Marissa followed up with another punch, but he grabbed her arm and
hurled her past him.
She hit the floor, rolled, and growled as she rose to her feet.
Think. What can I do that can actually threaten him?
I took a swing at him with the gauntlet, but he dodged my strike even more easily than he had with Marissa.
My sword might be a real danger, but he knows about it, and he’s being careful about it.
I don’t have anything else that can hit him harder than the cane.
...But Marissa does.
He’s been deliberately dodging or grabbing when she uses her arm. He must know about the bracer I gave her that can boost how hard she punches. And now she has that strength-enhancing ring, too.
Keras glanced at Marissa, then back to me.
Marissa was back on her feet, rushing toward us.
I was only a few feet away from him now.
I moved my arms to my sides and activated the jumping ring.
Slamming into Keras was like hitting a brick wall, but my phoenix sigil absorbed some of the force of the impact.
I wrapped my arms around him in the moment after impact.
He broke my grip a second later, but I’d never had any hope of holding him for long.
Just long enough for Marissa to punch him in the face.
Keras staggered at the force of the blow, and I shoved my hand into his chest, activating my gauntlet repeatedly at point-blank range.
I managed four direct hits before he caught my hand, twisted, and shoved me right into Marissa.
We both stumbled at the impact, but managed to avoid falling over.
“That was good teamwork.” Keras rubbed his chin. “I actually felt that. Been a while.”
Marissa beamed. “Got a lot more where that came from.” She put up her fists in a ready stance.
I didn’t have a weapon at this point, so I just mirrored her. “You ready for more?”
Keras laughed. “Sure.” He sat back down. “Go get your sword, Corin.”
I glanced at Marissa, and she nodded.