by Mills, H. C.
Dave smiles and shakes his head. “It makes tactical sense. I’d do the same in your shoes. But still, thank you, of course. Looks like I’ll owe you another heavy favour, and I haven’t even repaid the Power-Up.”
I shrug. “I’m sure you’ll get plenty of chances, with your lovely new Restore Skill. Speaking of which, I want to take a bit of a gamble. You see, there’s another Skill I feel you should get. Telepathy.”
Dave squints at me questioningly. “Okay...”
“I was thinking you could take half a Skilldream for the Restoring variant of Radiate for 25 Trial Points and try to gain it that way. That would leave you with enough Trial Points to take a full Skilldream for Telepathy, as it only costs 25. With the Social System disabled, Telepathy might turn out crucial in our combat communication, and you’ll likely be in the best position to direct us, from the back lines. It’s also the only low-grade Lavi-based Skill none of us has yet, and I’m hoping you’ll be able to teach us at some point.”
“Back up a bit there,” Jacob says. “I’m with you on the potential importance of the Telepathy Skill, but... half a Skilldream?”
It turns out I’m the only one who knows about half Skilldreams. I guess Suri wasn’t the only one reticent about divulging this information.
I explain the advantages and risks associated, to everyone’s rapt attention, and take some time to gently dissuade Alec from trying anything funny and wasting his Trial Points.
Cowering behind Kaitlynn, he promises to purchase a full Skilldream for Lightning Manipulation.
Dave isn’t entirely convinced yet. “Should I really be taking such a risk with a Skill this important?”
“I think you should,” I say firmly. “Here’s my reasoning: you already know the Radiate Skill, and have quite some experience using it, so all this Skilldream has to accomplish is to get you used to creating this new Purpose. And, you have a unique advantage in learning this Skill here.” I point at the unassuming pink Crystal of Restoration in the ceiling. “You have a reference.”
Dave looks up, and back at me. “That’s solid reasoning. I think I’ll be going with your suggestion.”
Sweet. If he succeeds, that is.
I turn to Kaitlynn, who smiles self-deprecatingly. Right, she has the lowest amount of Trial Points available out of all of us, only 26.
“Due to my limited funds, my choice is pretty easy,” Kaitlynn says with a shrug. “I’ll only be taking a weapon, and save the rest. I was thinking of the set of ten long throwing knives. They can be either wielded or thrown, pretty versatile.”
Right, those would fit her role on the battlefield of medium-range DPSer—ehm, I mean, attacker.
I clear my throat. “Actually, I’d like to extend the same offer to you.”
She perks up. “You mean...”
I nod. “I’ll purchase your weapon for you, so you can get a Skilldream. For example, half a Skilldream for the second level of Astreum Manipulation, if you think you can hack it by yourself.”
She deflates a little. “I... I’m not sure if I can. I haven’t been able to practise it that much, as I always run out of Qi in no time.”
“In that case,” Dave says, “I have a suggestion. We’re kind of lacking in sensory Skills so far. If we’re heading into a jungle type of environment, we might need to deal with camouflaged enemies. I think the Heat Vision Skill would be a very sensible addition to Kaitlynn’s skillset, as it also uses the same energy type as Astreum Manipulation.”
“Ooh, yes,” I say. “Let’s go with that.”
Kaitlynn tilts her head to the side cutely. “Will you still have enough Trial Points for your own purchases after all that?”
“Well,” I say, “three weapons—that’s including a proper spear for me—will put me back 30 Trial Points, leaving me with 84. I actually only plan to spend 50 of that, currently, and save the rest to make a bigger purchase later, so... yeah, I’d say it’s plenty.”
“What are you intending to buy then?” Dave asks.
“Half a Skilldream for Boost Physical level 2—that’s 25 Trial Points—and the basic Infuse module for another 25. If I get two Qi-based Skills right now I would permanently be lacking the Qi to properly train them, and all of my other Skills I’d rather practise on my own than spend precious Trial Points on.”
Dave tilts his head. “Well, I agree about the two Qi Skills being a waste, and it makes sense for you to wish to pursue Toxic Energy type Skills, but are you sure you wouldn’t rather get something like Increase Inertia or Boreum Manipulation? I mean, how are you going to use Infuse in combat?”
I smile. “Well, with Boost Physical level 2 and my spear I should be able to come a long way regardless, but I’m actually pretty confident I can work something out with Infuse. In fact, I already have some ideas...”
CHAPTER 5
Hot N Cold
THE FIRST SKILLDREAM I purchase is the discounted version of Boost Physical’s level 2.
My eyes roll back and my body slumps down bonelessly on the bed.
I find myself not at the peaceful lily pond in the forest I visited last time.
Instead, I open my eyes at the top of a humongous mountain, high above a sea of clouds. My breath hitches and my jaw drops like an avalanche as I gape at the roiling sea of pink fluff stretched out before me into infinity, bathed in the light of the setting sun.
Except it’s not the sun that lights the scene, nor is it setting really, rather dropping. The massive ball of fire sinks into the clouds, sending the peaceful blanket into a hissing, sputtering frenzy around it.
Shook up from the sudden intrusion, violet snakes of lightning slither outwards through the clouds from the point of impact, roaring deafeningly as they dispute each other’s territory.
The ball sinks away slowly, lighting the clouds up orange from below, as up here, day turns into night, revealing a host of stars that are bigger and brighter than they have any right to be.
I have never felt smaller.
Suri clears her throat, and I turn to find the goddess of horny anime fans towering above me.
[Feeling small again, are we? There there, it’s all right,] she says soothingly, her angelic face shrouded by her ink-black hair looking soft in the starlight. Her cyan eyes twinkle knowingly as I slowly regain my regular size.
[Well actually, it is a bit dangerous here,] she muses. [Normally I wouldn’t take you this far out, this soon, but since this is half a Skilldream, we’re lacking the time to do this safely. You’ll have to bear with it.]
I blink owlishly and tilt my head. “Hoo-hoot?”
[Try not to think metaphorically, Emma. Now, could you do me a favour and look up at the stars please?]
I bend over backwards to fulfil her request. Literally, because I’m not supposed to think metaphorically.
Suri lets out a long-suffering sigh. [That’ll do, I suppose. Now, pay close attention.]
Suri flourishes one of her hands, and up in the skies, the stars move, forming a constellation of me, energy paths and all...
I wake groggily, not rested at all. Flashes of the Dreamscape linger at the edge of my mind, slowly growing incoherent.
“I gotta be honest, Suri. That was the trippiest high I’ve ever experienced.”
[I’m glad you approve,] Suri chimes. [Now please attempt to properly gain the Skill, before the memories fade.]
Right. Gotta iron the hammer while it’s hot, or something along those lines.
I stay in my room to prevent any distraction and take up a lotus position on the bed.
I close my eyes and turn my senses inward, focusing on the beat of my heart.
A lot of time has passed since the Second Trial, and my understanding of the first mode of Boost Physical has grown considerably in the meantime. For example, I’ve come to understand that there are actually four flows of Lavi passing through my heart: one for each chamber. These flows don’t follow the bloodstream, but they do pulse with the contractions of my heart.
&nbs
p; Activating the first mode of Boost Physical is done by manipulating the flow of Lavi that passes through the left ventricle, which is the biggest chamber of the four.
It remains odd to consider myself One with the streams of little green flecks, but the way they respond instantly to my will like a flexed muscle helps a lot.
I’ve also come to grasp the timing much better. For the best effect, I have to accelerate the flow and turn it back on itself in such a way that the collision occurs right before a contraction. That way, the explosion of energy interferes least with the heart’s function, hurts the least, and shows the quickest and greatest result.
The second mode is easier in some ways, and harder in others. Unlike the first mode, it entails creating a semi-permanent change in the flows of Lavi through the heart. Specifically, I have to cause the Lavi flows through the left and right ventricle to cross over through the septum—the muscle that separates the two.
The flow entering the left ventricle will then exit where the flow through the right ventricle normally would, and vice-versa. The important bit here, however, is the crossflow in the septum, where the streams intersect. Here, just like in the first mode, Lavi collides with Lavi to cause an explosion of raw energy. Except, this Lavi isn’t accelerated, and the flows intersect under a 90-degree angle, so the amount burned away is less.
All in all, it’s a much more sophisticated method than the first mode, and far easier to maintain, as the crossflow stabilises once properly established, essentially turning Boost Physical into a passive Skill. The only difficulty is that establishing the crossflow requires the manipulating and balancing of two flows simultaneously.
Which is what’s currently making my head hurt. Redirecting a flow of Lavi requires a lot of focus. Having to split that focus... it’s kinda like trying to look into two different directions simultaneously.
If I’d taken the full Skilldream I probably could’ve gotten more used to that sensation, but I couldn’t afford such luxury.
I mean, I could’ve afforded it in points, of course, but that wasn’t the issue. There’s too much at stake to consider doing things the easy way.
So, after feeling the second flow of Lavi waver, but ultimately fall back to its usual position for the seventeenth time, I just take a deep breath and try again.
Now that I know how it works and can vaguely recall what it’s supposed to feel like, there’s no way I’m not going to succeed in grasping this. All I need is time.
If trying to split my focus is like trying to look in both directions, then succeeding is kinda like going cross-eyed and then focusing both eyes at different points.
Immensely satisfying when it works, but still terribly headache-inducing.
Soon, the challenge becomes maintaining that double focus without faltering for long enough to cross the two Lavi flow paths and hold them in place until they stabilise.
I’ve completely lost track of time. Hell, I’ve lost count of the number of breaks I’ve taken to let my splitting headache subside to a manageable level. Suri keeps pulling me out of them like clockwork, however, nagging at me until I continue.
Like now.
[Come on, Emma, time’s wasting. You’re getting so close!]
I groan. “You’ve been saying that for a while now, Suri!”
Still, I can’t give up now.
I go through the motions on autopilot. Turn my gaze inwards, split my gaze like a chameleon, and redirect the streams. I smoothly pull them both through the septum, crossing the flows as I try to ignore the proverbial ice pick being shoved into my forehead.
Good thing I’m not in the Dreamscape at the moment, that’d be a dangerous thought there!
I hold them as long as I can, my concentration degrading as the pain comes in waves. Finally, I am once again forced to let go with a sigh.
The flows falter and... hold.
I blink, for the first time able to feel the light burn in my chest coming from the stable crossflow.
A long-awaited notification pops up.
“Oh, thank god,” I murmur, flopping back down on the bed.
The second mode is so much better. The burn in my chest actually isn’t even all that painful. In fact, my eyelids feel kinda heavy...
[Now now, none of that, young lady. You only succeeded once, and although this is an important milestone, you still need to consolidate the Skill. Not to mention the lunacy of going to sleep whilst it’s still active.]
For the umpteenth time, I groan.
After another half-hour of practice, and a well-deserved ninety-minute power nap, I’m positively starving.
Little wonder. Apparently, I spent—in total—four hours practising, which, combined with the four hours I was either sleeping or dreaming, means I was stuck in this little room for a full eight hours.
Before I leave, however, I make a few purchases.
When I finally come out, carrying an assortment of weapons, the rest of the gang is already present and accounted for. Alerted by the sound of my door grinding open, they all turn.
“Finally!” Alec calls teasingly, mischief in his eyes. “What took you so long?”
I roll my eyes. “Har-de-har. Gaining a Skill level with half a Skilldream isn’t exactly a walk in the park, you know?”
Kaitlynn bounds up towards me. “What’s that you got there, Emma? Is that for me? Aww, you shouldn’t have.” She chatters as I hand over the black leather satchel which has the handles of ten long Greysteel throwing knives sticking out, each from a separate, built-in sheath. “Ooh, Emma, check this out!” she adds.
Kaitlynn holds her glowing, white Yang Focus Crystal up to her cheek, right below her eye, and scrunches up her face in concentration. The light coming from her Focus Crystal turns a familiar shade of orange that I recognise as the colour of Astreum—or no, Heat—but then dims. Instead, her eye lights up. Her actual eye, surprisingly, not the crystal occupying her right eye socket.
“Awesome!” I say, and quickly toss Dave the leather quiver containing a sleek Greysteel bow, and thirty deadly looking, solid Greysteel arrows, before striking an exaggerated pose with my awesome new spear. “Well, how hot am I?”
She leers at me, raking her gaze up and down. “Oh, you’re smokin’, babe,” she says with a wink.
Damn straight I am.
Dave brings his free hand to his mouth and coughs gently.
A blush makes its way up Kaitlynn’s neck. “Actually,” she says almost apologetically, “your body is rather cool. About the same as Alec’s.”
Dave nods thoughtfully. “That pretty much confirms it. It seems like people with a Yin affinity like you and Alec are a little cooler than those with a Yang affinity, in terms of body temperature.”
“Maybe it’s you guys that are just overly warm,” Alec counters. “Right, Nonya? Back me up here.”
Ignoring Alec’s use of his nickname for me, I walk forward to place a hand on Kaitlynn’s forehead. “You do feel a little feverish,” I tease. She blushes harder. Heh, too easy.
“Anyway,” I continue, moving to casually lean my spear against a wall, next to what must be Alec’s hammer, and take a seat on the uncomfortably hard couch. “Can I take it the rest of you also succeeded with at least your first Skilldream?”
“Hell yes,” Alec says, grinning. “I’m out of Qi right now, or I’d show you...”
“Later,” I promise. “I definitely want to see. Dave?”
Dave smiles. “It took some time, but you were right: the Crystal of Restoration in the living room was a big help.”
“Nice, man!” I say, holding out my hand for a high-five. “Ah, that’s a relief. What about you, Jacob?”
“I’m glad you asked,” he says, smirking coolly at the other end of the room, where he’s eyeing up a practice dummy from twenty feet away.
He brandishes his grey, metallic sword and shield, and a familiar yellow flash of light comes from the Yang Focus Crystal gripped in his shield hand. Suddenly he’s flying forward, heavy-look
ing kite shield readied for the inevitable impact.
Then his foot snags one of the vine-mats on the floor or something, and he goes sprawling with a loud crash, his remaining momentum carrying him forward, rolling him into the practice dummy like a bowling ball hitting a pin.
It’s a good thing I’m on the couch when I fall over laughing. It’s still marginally softer than the floor.
After we’ve all calmed down, and Kaitlynn has managed to convince Jacob to stop pouting in the corner, we sit together and eat a simple meal of jicca nuts, birberries and some dried Trigot meat, out of leafy bowls. The mood is relaxed and the conversation flows easily, despite the coming Trial. Everyone’s probably still very relieved we made it out of Hub Two.
“All right,” I say, as the meal winds down. “It’s been a long day—so to speak—so I suggest we all have a good rest and prepare for another day of intense preparation.”
The boys all nod complacently, though Alec sighs exaggeratedly at my promise of hard work in the morning. Kaitlynn kind of shuffles on the couch next to me.
“Are you guys planning to sleep, like, in the beds?” she asks softly. “I was thinking this couch is probably, well, equally uncomfortable...”
I stare at her for a second. “I guess it wouldn’t make much of a difference.”
“Yeah,” Alec pipes up. “We might as well sleep here, it’d just be kinda lonely otherwise.”
Dave just nods.
Kaitlynn shoots us all glances of relief.
Finally, we all kind of end up looking at Jacob.
He hesitates. “Well, I...” He trails off with a sigh. “Fine. I guess bonding as a team has its merits. But if any of you snores, I’m outta here.”
“You heard him, Dave,” Alec warns, “no snoring tonight.”
Dave scoffs. “Oh come on, I don’t snore, do I?” He looks at me, but I avert my gaze. “Guys? Do I?”
I stifle my smirk, and, for once, just quietly enjoy the bickery banter of my friends.