OverXelous
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22. Sparring
🕑 Added 2025-01-20 14:00:14 +0000 UTCAlex pushed through the heavy door into the same training facility at the Voss estate where the New Year’s tournament had taken place. As he looked through the thick glass window at head height, he caught his own reflection and was still shocked, even after being back for an entire month, to see the difference in his appearance.
“-and that’s where the fundamental difference lies,” a woman’s voice came from the phone. “The Hunters Association wants control, regulation, and oversight. The Adventurers Guild advocates for freedom of choice, personal responsibility-”
“Morning,” Alex called. He dropped his gym bag on the floor, and the scent of leather and rubber training mats filled his nose.
Olivia glanced up and gave him a smile. “Hey.” She paused the video from where she was sitting cross-legged on one of the training mats. Her phone was propped against her water bottle. “Did you see this video?”
“Nah, but sounds like some more drama?” Alex said, settling down on the mat beside her. “Another hit piece on the Guild?”
“Actually, this one’s pretty balanced.” Olivia stretched her arms above her head.
Alex smiled at her, distracted for a moment by her beauty. His eyes were most often drawn to her button nose and dark eyes, but in her tight compression shirt and with her hair pulled up in a ponytail, his eyes were drawn to her slender neck.
“Some journalist finally did their homework. They’re breaking down the ideological differences between us and the Association. As dark as it is to say, I think it looks pretty good for us that there is beginning to be more Awakened crime in the Safe Zones. It makes the Hunters Association look like they can’t control their own circus. Did you know that they’re talking about pushing for mandatory scans at the checkpoints entering the Safe Zones? Apparently if you’re not registered to one of the guilds in the Hunters Association’s purview, you won’t be able to enter. Or at least need to be willing to be detained and register with them before gaining access to the rest of the Safe Zone.”
Alex lay on his back on the mat and quickly blew air from his lips, causing his lips and cheeks to make an exacerbated noise. He brought his hand up to lightly scratch Olivia’s back while looking up at the ceiling.
“Shit. That changes a lot of things. Does that basically make us outlaws or something? This is pretty crazy.” A silence hung between them as Alex thought through the repercussions of a mandate like that. “It’s got to be hard. I know you don’t really like the Hunters Association, but I don’t know what the right answer is for them, to be honest.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, think of how much damage any of us could do with some serious ill intent. It’s not like it used to be, where firearms were the primary concern. That was bad enough, but now there are spatial pouches and people who can cast spells and blow stuff up by simply willing a skill to activate. They’re trying to position themselves in a way to regulate and monitor Awakened, but the hardest part of that has got to be actually managing people like us.”
Alex saw her ponytail bob as she nodded to what he said. “Yeah, I can see that. But…” She let out a sigh, and he knew it was hard for her to want to side with the Hunters Association in any way, even if it was just to acknowledge the difficulty of their situation.
“Speaking of difficulties,” he said, changing the topic for her. “You know we’ve been in queue for a few Uncommon and Rare Rifts for a while now, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Derrick told me two days ago that there was a note in the AG system saying that our group didn’t mind waiting if others needed to get in ahead of us. ‘because we were already so high leveled,’ or something like that.”
“What?” She twisted in her seated position to look at him with her eyebrows pulled together and her nose scrunched up. “How does that make any sense?”
“That’s what I said. So, it wasn’t you who put the note in there?”
“No. Why the hell would I put something like in a note for you guys. That totally goes against what you’ve been talking to me about for your goals since you got home.”
Alex nodded, “Yeah. I didn’t think it was you, but Derrick did say it was logged in the system that a Peacekeeper put in the note… and, well, you’re the only one that I ever really talk to.”
“Well,” she stood up and offered him a hand, “I can ask around. See if anyone’s heard anything similar or who might have made the note.”
“Thanks,” Alex said, while accepting her offered hand. “I appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it.” Olivia’s serious expression melted into a mischievous grin. “Besides, I need you focused for our spar. Can’t have you distracted when I show you how much stronger I’ve gotten.”
Alex laughed. “Oh yeah? Still got a ways to go to catch up to me.”
“We’ll see about that.” Olivia’s eyes sparkled at the challenge and she moved to the center of the mat. “Better quit slacking off. I’m closing the gap.”
“Wait, seriously?” He focused and used the scan function of his left eye.
***
Name - Olivia Santoro
<Unbound>
Class: Nightblade - Level 18
Primary Stat: Agility
Secondary Stat: Intellect
Most Used Ability: [Shadow Step]
<Non Hostile Humanoid>
***
“Level 18? Wait, when did you get that title- how did you get that title?” There was a lot to unpack in her visible status, and Alex was reeling.
Olivia laughed, “Hey, rude! You shouldn’t scan my status like that. It’s still crazy to me that you can get so much information. Most of the other Guild people can’t at this point.”
Alex sputtered for a moment. “Seriously, how did you get the Unbound title? Did you go into the Epic Rift?”
He felt his heart twist a bit as she nodded energetically. “Yes, a team of us were sent in to see if we could make contact with that leader you mentioned to Elana.” She paused and looked at his face.
Maybe not hiding it as well as I’d hoped.
Alex adjusted his facial features quickly.
“I know it was dangerous for you in there and a lot happened in those two months. But it’s a resource that we need pretty desperately and if we can find a way to fight some of those monsters safely, it’ll allow our Peacekeepers to level faster than almost anyone else.”
Alex nodded. “I know, sorry. It was more a gut reaction, I know you’re tough and the team you guys have is great. It’s just… even at 20 you’ve gotta be at least 10 or more levels down on whatever you’re fighting. Be careful?”
She smiled at him. “Of course. It really is needed…” She lowered her voice. “You know, the Hunters Association found a D Rank Rift this week? If they’re starting to pop up, we might seriously be screwed. It’s hard for us to just keep up with closing the E Rank Rifts before they start breaking, if D Ranks are starting to appear, it might turn in to a pretty desperate scramble to keep up.”
Alex gulped and thought back to his first conversation with Eura. Where he mentioned that if the integration was failed, Earth could be shattered and turned into a broken world.
“Hey, enough stalling. Let me show you just how safe I’m gonna be in those Rifts.”
Alex pulled his wand and one of his leather-bound notebooks from his spatial pouch. Olivia’s eyes narrowed as she drew both of her daggers. He was pleased that it was the pair he’d given her for Christmas- the ones he’d taken from the Shadow Serpent Sect altar back when he released Eura. The metal of the dark blades seemed to drink in what light would normally reflect off of their matte surface.
“Really?” She twirled one dagger. “The wand- and what? A book? I thought we were sparring seriously. Where’s your sword?”
“Got some new tricks I’ve been working on. Thought you might want to see them.”
“Hmph.” Olivia settled into a low stance and started to move to the side, her movements fluid. “Don’t complain when I close the distance then.”
She’ll probably use [Shadow Step] right away since it’s her most used ability, and I’m at a disadvantage in melee with the wand.
Just as he’d practiced so long ago in his apartment, Alex kept his index finger pointed along the length of the wand to help with aiming. Though, now, it helped him for another reason as well. He used [Mana Thread] and began to weave a quick restraining ritual beneath his feet, using the same method he had on one of the disciples during his time in Tianluo.
It was finished in mere heartbeats, his speed having increased two-fold with the endless practicing he’d been doing in the last two months.
Olivia vanished in a wisp of darkness.
Anticipating her to appear beside him, Alex pulsed his mana and activated the Ritual under his feet while using his own movement ability to move away. He drifted backward and landed several meters away, only to realize that he’d been baited. Olivia had actually stepped to the corner of the room to his right.
“Too predictable!” she called, while launching herself forward. Her high Agility showed itself through her explosive movements.
Alex backpedaled, his left hand flipping through the notebook while his right hand moved the wand rhythmically and in a pattern to more easily weave the threads of mana he was using. Thanks to [Parallel Mind], he could split his focus and allow one half of his mind to focus on the detailed notes in his book for the ritual components.
“Stand still!” Olivia growled. Her daggers blurred as she pressed the attack.
Despite Alex’s training with the Celestial Sect and his experience using the Eight Petal Steps, he quickly found that he didn’t stand a chance against Olivia regarding speed and close-quarters movements.
“Come on. You’re really fighting me while reading that book?” Her nose scrunched up in the cute way it did when she was annoyed. “Take this seriously!”
Almost got it. He thought while ducking another swipe and had to close the book for a moment to block with his left forearm as Olivia spun and sent a kick toward his chest.
Jesus.
Just as the last thread clicked into place, something cold wrapped around his ankle. Alex glanced down to see a shadowy hand emerging from his own shadow and yank his foot out from under him.
“Got you!” Olivia pouched forward.
But Alex was already moving. He let [Parallel Mind] end, and all of his Willpower and mental agility crashed together as he formed one of the main rituals he was most comfortable with. It was formed under him even as he hit the ground.
He dropped his notebook, and several loose items spilled out of the pages. He fell onto his back and placed a hand high on his chest, palm facing up toward the ceiling. A second later, Olivia landed on top of him, placing her dagger in a dangerous spot at the base of his chin.
“Do you yield?”
Alex smiled, “Yield? Why would I do that?” Alex pulsed his mana, and the weight-reducing ritual activated, leading to further confusion on Olivia’s face. It wasn’t until he pursed his lips and blew air toward her face that he saw the light of recognition in her eyes.
As the small gust ritual activated over his palm, she was propelled ten feet in the air. She flailed and managed to hold on to both of her daggers. Alex rolled back to his feet and pointed his wand at her as she landed in a heap.
“Do you yield?” He asked in a teasing tone.
“Fine,” she laughed, brushing herself off as she stood. “But I totally had you if you hadn’t pulled that wind trick.”
He laughed back. “You can’t even say that. What the hell was that shadow hand?” A note of incredulity crept into his voice as he thought of the cold sensation on his ankle and through his pant leg.
“Isn’t it awesome? I don’t know, the skill is just called [Shadow]. I can only make a hand appear now, but it’s super useful for trips or in the dark; I can use it over my hand for more reach. Ugh- It’s so cool.”
Alex’s smile grew as he saw his girlfriend in a similar light to one of the first times they’d ever really met. He loved seeing her passion and excitement when talking about magic and skills. “Want to go again? That was fun, I’ve been teaching Mark and Sam so much lately I feel like I’m going to get rusty without this kind of practice.”
Olivia’s response was to vanish in another [Shadow Step], this time appearing on the other side of the room. “Less talking, more fighting!” She flicked the light switch off and started laughing.
Alex smiled as well. While she had a huge advantage in the dark, he saw the mana leaking from her clearly despite the darkness. He sent a normal mana bolt from his wand toward her to let her know that he knew exactly where she was.
He saw a flash of purple and blue mana in his vision as she used her movement skill, and their second match began.
Comments
OverXelous
That's definitely the plan! Print should be an available option through Aethon's publishing process
spoonful_of_sugar
Another wonderful chapter! It just occurred to me, but will you have the book(?) available in print when it's finished? After a scare with kindle I've been stocking up all my favorites on paperback.
Thomas V.
I can’t wait for your take on it then, I always love stories that actually try to give a more in depth examination of the potential consequences of common tropes and narratives in fiction. Good luck, and thanks for writing!
Corwin
I liked that Alex made some headway with his rituals. But I think Alex needs to make his spell/ritual book out of mana conductive paper and bind it like they used to do during the 12th century. That way he can rip out a page and have a functional ritual ready to go once he pumps some mana into it.
OverXelous
I enjoyed reading this. Thanks for leaving your thoughts and comment. I was actually just hammering out the details for book 3 outline today, and it actually goes over several of the points you’ve for above. I love thinking about how this stuff would be handled.
Thomas V.
I liked the ideological nuance in this chapter. “Freedom of choice and personal responsibility” is all fine and dandy until someone with bad intentions lucks into being significantly more powerful than those around him, after which it quickly turns into “freedom of choice for me but not for thee” (just look at the current billionaire tech lords for a real life example). And yet, trying to curtail those excesses when power disparities are this absolute is only possible through superior force and intrusive surveillance, which would lead to equal amounts of friction. It just leads to making enemies of anyone with a desire for more personal freedom (whether they’re part of or outside of your jurisdiction), until one of those people inevitably grows powerful enough to go against you - and then we’re right back where we started. It really seems that, whenever a System is involved, the only way to have a semblance of a functional society is by making sure that it’s the ones with good intentions, lots of empathy and a strong moral framework that are the ones to reach the top first, and that’s more relying on luck than anything else. The path to even short term stability in a world like this is a narrow one, in this story as much as in any progression fantasy, and it’s framed on all sides by rampant slaughter and callous abuse of power. It’s a good thing indeed that this is fiction - this would be a social Darwinist’s wet dream (especially if certain powers, aptitudes or skills are inheritable), because a world like this is only “fun” in the initial stages. Give it a few decades or centuries and you have levels of social stratification that are near-impossible to surmount. Man, what a shitshow.
