NOVEL NEXT Book Two - Chapter Twenty Four - Homecoming
“Push it to the limit, walk along the razor’s edge but don’t look down, just keep your head or you’re finished.”
I bopped myself to the music, using one hard wingbeat to bounce myself in the air in time with the beat. One of the Fledglings had traded for some old-world devices, and the music from Earth was something else. I hoped Grant and I could get a sound system for our home somehow. Work on translating electric power to mana was underway but it was a development that would take time.
For now, the “jams” were enough. There were no soft eyes left in the group, and the music was more for the people watching than the participants in the battles. Our training had drawn quite a crowd. Grant was sure to be pleased that I found something for whole families to enjoy, with people in the crowd screaming with joy when their loved ones fought. Good, wholesome fun.
The music worked as a theme song for each combatant. For the crowd, this was a way to identify the person fighting. Depending on the music they used, certain impressions were made. The fighters variously ignored the music, kept time to it while fighting or just liked the song they chose. With most songs chosen ranging from three to five minutes, people weren’t burning out. Unlike Grant - the monster - these people had what would be considered a normal mana pool and stamina pool. They needed to rest, even with my healing to top them up from damage.
Psychologically, the first day had been the hardest. First, the little birdies hadn’t wanted to get back in the ring with the spiders. I disavowed them of that choice by searching quickly for something worse. Humans might not like spiders, but when I found what I had in mind, they were much more ready to face the arachnids again.
Sanjay, the spear wielding fighter who had chosen the current song, sang along while he fought against three large mantises. Each was the size of a small human, which meant they were nice and deadly. These, of course, were the enemy I had made them face. In the first engagement, a single one of these had caused wounds on a group, but within just a few days, members were starting to show off and specialise.
“Welcome to the limit,” Sanjay could be heard in the wide space due to interesting acoustics and the effects of mana on the body. He also held a newly evolved Dao Pool of Piercing, causing his words to strangely punch through distance as though it didn’t matter. “Take it baby, one step more, the power game's still playing so you better win it.”
A contingent of the women in the crowd gave whoops. Sanjay was popular. He received a round of applause which he met with a bow. The System didn’t allow for people to remain humble for long and continue to get stronger. Sanjay was no exception to that rule, but perhaps the biggest sign of it was in Tom. The two had stood out from the first day due to their willingness to take more damage, and ability to deal more than anyone else either.
Tom had even absorbed another Aspect on top of his Dao of Magic. I hadn’t asked him what it was, but it felt ominous. His fighting style didn’t change much, but the spells at his disposal took on a brutal quality. It was only a positive as far as I could tell, even if his music was a bit… different. Just a loud and angry man screaming about a puppet master.
By the time Sanjay’s song played the final notes, he was already bounding away to the side for the next challenger. The day was winding down, and Tom was looking to step in. I was weighing up my options and wondering if I could even push the mage without getting into the ring myself when I felt it. A tug which turned my head to a blank section of the woods. “Grant!” I shouted, forgetting all about these boring people and shooting off. I even used Sparkstep to hurry my speed.
I had just missed him so much.
—————————————————
Naea was more than just a sight for sore eyes, she was a boon for sore everything. She met me a few miles outside of Ascentown, mere minutes after our connection came back online. I was too tired to even worry about the name anymore. I talked Naea through what had happened while I had been away. She listened in uncharacteristic silence. I was sure that meant bad things.
The pair of claimant bosses had given me a level up, which had repaired my hearing. However, my stronger body was becoming increasingly difficult to heal. I dumped all of the points into Fortitude, but my mangled body was only just healthy enough for me to climb down from the mountain. The extra strength helped against the elementals, at least. I opened a System prompt and showed it to Naea.
She scanned it with a look of disgust on her face. “Why would you want to claim a smelly mountain? Is it a dragon thing? I don’t see the point.” I could only smirk at Naea’s instinctual and sensible disdain of the idea of such a place. The heavy Dao all over the mountain would have wrought havoc on her ability to fly and cast spells.
“Still, we’re going back whether we want to or not. Not right now though.” I didn’t mention that to receive the quest, I hadn’t needed to poke my hand into the dungeon which appeared atop what I now knew was Cloudslash Horn. Simply waiting around the portal’s edge for a few minutes was enough, which was good intel to receive. I had run face first into the first dungeon I found before, not thinking of the consequences. This one, at least, seemed simple.
Dungeon Quest - Descend The Mountain
Sometimes the climb is not the struggle. Sometimes, it is the opposite.
Reward: Ownership of nearby mountain, Cloudslash Horn
Ominous wording, but I was basically an expert at falling down mountains at this point. How tough could the dungeon be, really? “I’ve just jinxed us,” I told Naea. She glared at me, but continued healing. Her happy energy had faded into a quiet one as I told her about my fight. “I’m okay, you know?”
“Are you?!” Naea exploded at me, and I held her gaze. I definitely deserved this. “Why didn’t you run away, Grant? Why didn’t you use your much stronger Dao rather than attacking the strongest enemies you’ve faced with a weaker one? You said you would come back and get me, Grant! You lied to me! And if you had died? Then you would have died having told me a lie, Grant. If you died then so would-”
Her breathing hitched, and a sob wracked her body silently. We were currently both sat cross-legged, Naea’s hands on my legs. She dropped her head and cried quietly on my leg. I didn’t know what to say, so I put my hand near her and brushed her hair. She didn’t push me away, so I figured it was appreciated. I didn’t miss the very important end to her panic.
“Hey. Hey, little one. Can you look at me when you’re ready? No rush.” I waited after whispering gently. When she eventually looked up to me, her eyes were bloodshot. That looks extra uncomfortable on her big eyes… I gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry. I’ve said it to you a few times, and I am. I’m so scared for my family, and so excited for you to meet them, I didn’t think… I didn’t think it would be nearly so hard.”
Unable to hide from the truth, I had to accept my mortality. I had come within inches of death, maybe closer than at any point before. If not for my Dao evolving, would I have survived? Would the Dragon I created in my soul have let me die rather than be a second choice power? I didn’t have a good answer. “I… I don’t think I’m okay, Naea.”
The edges had been raw for a while, but what was wrong with me? I had so many grand ideas, plans and people counting on me, and I had nearly died… for a challenge. I was staggered by my own selfishness. “With great power comes unbelievable stupidity,” I mocked myself.
“Stop,” Naea said gently, floating to my shoulder and applying her healing touch directly to my forehead. It cooled my migraine and my rushing thoughts. “The System has pushed you from the start, and you have shown time and time again that it’ll be the System that backs down before you.” The fairy chuckled and rested her head against mine. “You have a tendency to get obsessive once you have a plan in mind. The reason you keep falling into the pattern is because, despite the stupidity, it has worked for you. You get stronger and you win.”
I sat with Naea’s statement for a while, the two of us quietly funnelling mana to each other. My mana became Naea’s power, which returned to me as healing magic. Bruises soothed, bones were repaired, internal damage swept away with the magic of Battle Bond. “I won’t always win, though, will I?” My voice was quiet.
“No. Up to now, we’ve done well, but that’s not going to last forever.” Though her words were negative, I found myself relaxing anyway. While Naea’s arcane healing did its magic, a more mundane recovery was happening, too. I was okay. Or, I would be. “Stop doing things on your own.”
“Yep, no, for sure, you’re right,” I agreed quickly. The mountain might have been a struggle for Naea, but it would have been her choice to continue. It shouldn’t have been mine. “We’re a team,” I nodded, reminding myself.
“Not just us.” Naea’s smile was somewhere between wickedness and pride, a sinister combination on the semi-insectoid face. “Before I knew you found two claimants, I was thinking we could start sending the Fledglings out to look for signs of them. Come on, stop moping. You’re all healed, let’s go see the troops.”
I laughed. “Fledglings wasn’t enough, now they’re troops? What have you done to those poor people, Naea?” I was joking, but I stood up and decided that she was right. I definitely should check in on the town and make sure things were okay. The pressure of the world had gotten too much for me for a second there, but my head was clearer now. There was a good chance I needed to do the same for the Fledglings after what Naea had put them through.
Naea’s response was only another wide smile, a cheshire grin in the falling daylight of the afternoon.
——————————————
Name - Grant Kaeron Race - Stormborn (Grade 1) Level - 44
Title - Dragon Slayer
Fortitude - 120 Speed - 95 Mental - 528 Will - 430
Free attribute points: 0
Dao
Fortitude - None
Speed - None
Mental - Dragon (2/4)
Will - Tempest (1/2)