EG Monster Island Chapter 15

*** AUTHORS NOTE ****

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*** AUTHORS NOTE ****

Light training apparently meant gathering all day, not just train for an hour then have free time. Librarian Narwan passed out pills he made, telling us, “King Craesti is helping to fund your development here. Succeed at the tournament, bring honor and glory to Craesti, and secure our position among the nations to repay him. Go gather. I will be by shortly to inspect your foundations. This afternoon we will go support your seniors in their next competition.”

“Sir, what are these?” I asked, looking at the three pills he’d given us after breakfast.

“Enhanced Extended Gathering Pills. They will improve the rate of gathering by a factor of a hundred or so for three hours each. So nine hours of enhanced gathering that you will use to their fullest potential,” he grinned at me. “The rear courtyard of the inn is walled off. We will start the day with the Eight by Eight Gathering Formation. After three hours, a short lunch will be available, and then you will gather where you wish for another three hours. We will leave here shortly afterward to support your countrymen, and then gather into the evening.”

We followed him to the back of the hotel. The courtyard had high walls surrounding it, and three carriages were parked in the very back near a gate. The front half was thick grass that felt like carpet under my feet. Knight Kaminski waited with all three of the Core level teams. Mentor Jameson nodded to me when I caught his eye, and Mentor Granjer smiled at Jamila and Vaya.

Immediately, we were chivied into lines, the Core level teams interspersed between the Condensation ones. Librarian Narwan did something, and the Aether in the air around us thickened immensely. “Begin,” he called out, and we started to walk through the Eight by Eight Gathering Form, arranged in rows to enhance each other’s gathering rates. I popped the double E pill into my mouth and swallowed it down, then began to gather.

The familiar motions and actions of my gathering technique took over, and I concentrated on maximizing my pull and slowly expanding my Aether Pool. Two hours passed by as I fell into a trance, my body continuing to move without my mind’s active direction. Aether filled me, then emptied as I used it to push, strengthen, and smooth out the walls of my Aether Pool. A sudden wave of someone else’s Aether brought me out of the trance, and I almost stumbled the form, but managed to catch myself without falling.

“Hmm, you have progressed well,” Librarian Narwan said, his hand on my shoulder. “Maybe two more months without significant resources until you can advance.”

“Thank you, sir,” I said. “Uh, about where am I now? I’ve kinda lost track, other than much larger.”

“Slightly over nineteen times. You have also done well at maintaining a balance from the Pool to the Crown, and kept the edges smooth and consistent. Your foundation is strong, but you could do better at smoothing the bottom of the Pool. Make the sides slope continuously inward so that your entire center makes as close to a sphere as you can.”

“Sir, how far ahead are Vaya and I from the Tower?” I asked.

He looked me over again, nodded, and said, “Two weeks. You will also advance slightly faster through Circulation than Jon and Bridget, though they did well in the slots given to them at the base of the Tower. Do not worry, we will work at balancing you out with your team. The other team’s will have to depend on their placements, though I will be available to advise you on helping the young Naanva stay close as well. Now, focus on your progress here. Do not slow down so that others may catch up. Make them work harder, and provide some extra resources so they can move faster down the long road of gathering Aether.”

I nodded sharply, unable to bow in the Eight by Eight, and he walked over to Vaya. I could not hear what he was saying to her, so I closed my eyes and focused again. Time passed and the pill’s effects faded. Nearly everyone in the line slowed our movements to a stop in sync, only a few, like myself, stuttering our arms as we brought them down from overhead.

Lunch was a hurried affair, and then Jon dragged me to a spot he’d staked out a couple of days ago. About a third of a way through the park he showed me a glade with six benches made of a blue and purple marbled quartz. Two were occupied already. “Best place I have ever been for gathering Air and Ice Aether,” Jon declared proudly. “Not too shabby in the other Elements either.”

“Neat,” I said, then moved to sit on a bench. Too bad we’re not supposed to use the Eight-by-Eight gathering form in front of others. I set down my Beast Core Formation and Jon dropped a level two Ice Core into it. The other two people, an Ashkhas and a Topraki, looked over at us and gave a questioning look.

“Feel free,” Jon said. “We will not be able to gather it all. Just, not too much?”

“Thank you, packmate,” the Topraki said, his voice surprisingly deep.

“Yes, thank you, competitor. I wish you blessing in your next fight, as long as you are not facing my nephew,” the Ashkha said, smiling.

I bowed to him, “You have my thanks.”

He started at my use of his language, then smiled bigger. “You do me honor. If that Core runs out, I have a level one on me that I will share.” I nodded to him, and we all settled in to gather. An hour and a half later, he made good on his promise and dropped another Core onto the Formation. Another hour and a half of gathering emptied out the Core and our second pill.

“Thank you for the company,” I said, standing and bowing. “Unfortunately, we must run.”

“Ah, go watch your compatriots,” the Ashkhas said. The Topraki smiled, his face becoming slightly more canine for a second. Jon and I then rushed off, heading back to the inn. We joined up with Ming and Lea who were running like we were. We dodged around two carriages to reach the front of the inn.

Librarian Narwan, Knight Kaminski, and Counselor (name) were waiting with almost everyone else when we ran in through the door. I looked around, but the only people missing were Aleks and Hanna, who came rushing down the stairs soon after. Counselor (name) nodded. “Good. Go load up into the carriages.”

I turned and walked back out the door. A full sprint for nearly a kilometer and I’m not even winded. I love gathering! The carriage ride was longer than I expected, and we ended up at a very large, open field near the northern wall.  A set of bleachers made of the same sandstone as most of the buildings in the city. I wished Mentors Jameson, Lo, and Granjer luck.

“Welcome to the penultimate competition for the under twenty-five competition! These young men, women, and neuters have demonstrated amazing resolve and skill, showcasing their capabilities as some of the youngest Core-level or Focused-Body gatherers around the Inner Sea! Now, they compete in a spar, seeking to defeat their opponents in single combat! Four fights will be fought at once, spread among the different teams. Our first fights are,” Sultah Aleahil said, appearing in front of the crowd watching. He held up a bucket, and drew out two balls. “Topraki team two versus Weltreich team three! Send up your competitors!”

He drew out more balls, sending the Illyrian first team versus the Ashkhas second, the second Ashkhas versus the third Craesti, and the first Craesti versus the first Illyrian. The third Craesti team was the one from Zelec’s City, while the first was the team from Craesti City. “Of course I am first!” Kanclerz Marcel declared. I just shook my head at the boastful guy.

He rushed off, meeting his opponent in the center of the field in front of us. Another Ashkhas walked up and talked to them for a minute, before they both separated and moved to the edge of a circle engraved into the dirt. The Ashkhas moderator yelled, “Begin!” And Marcel flashed forward. A massive blast of Earth Aether erupted where he had been, but the feel of it was off. Metal Aether flared and sent a line that twisted into a spiral focused on the Illyrian, who defended with some type of crystal that shot out around him like a flower.

Marcel’s sword flashed around, carving lines in the ground that hit a barrier at the circle they fought in. The arena was nearly a hundred meters in diameter, and in seconds most of it was ripped apart in the violence of the Core-level gatherers fight. Their movements were faster than I could see until I sent a massive surge of Aether into my senses meridian and pushed the Divine Senses technique as hard as I could.

The Illyrian used a whip, which I was starting to feel was the weapon of their elites, with a large metal-coated handle. It kept deflecting slices from Marcel’s sword, slashing out with the whip to try and entrap him but he dodged or deflected every slice. Even enhanced, I saw them more as blurs that my mind put together rather than seeing every movement or attack.

Marcel suddenly gave up trying to dodge and simply absorbed an attack, coating his body with a technique similar to my Iron Skin, Granite Bones. I could feel, even two hundred meters away, the impact the strike did on his technique. He flashed forward and ran the Illyrian through. The lizard dissolved into smoke, though, and struck again from the side, slapping Marcel into a spin. He landed, deflecting a series of stone spikes, and threw out a hand. A massive sword shot out of the ground, and the Illyrian was slightly too slow to dodge.

Scales and blood shot off it as it carved through its left torso. As it fell, though, it slashed out with its whip glowing green. A vine extended out from the whip and cracked through Marcel’s block, shattering his knee. He spun, but stood on one leg before vaulting towards the fallen lizard. Whip and blade flashed, deflecting and attacking in equal measure, before a golden film covered the Illyrian and it was whisked away just before a straight stab into its gut.

“What was that?” I heard Bridget ask.

“The advisors are watching their students fight and they pull them if they falter or are at risk of a fatal attack. That is why every team has at least one being at or near Librarian Narwan’s level of power,” Knight Kaminski said. “If he was unable to come, there are eight other people who have advanced beyond Perfect Core in the Kingdom.”

Marcel bowed, keeping his left leg elevated, then hopped off the field as the Ashkhas moderated declared him the winner.

“Who are they?” Lea asked.

“The five headmasters, King and Queen Craesti, and Royal Guardian (come up with name) are the only one’s I know of. There might be more, but I doubt it,” she answered.

“What about in the other nations?” I asked.

“We all have similar numbers, and are working at getting more,” Knight Kaminski said. “Unfortunately, advancing past Perfect Core is not well understood, even though many have done so. I have been trying for nearly three years now, with no luck. We still do not know how the Chaos Cult got so many people to that level. Now hush, another round is starting.”

Mentor Jameson was walking forward, meeting a Weltreich female in the arena in front of us. The Volk bowed, and Jacob bowed lower. They said something, again too softly for it to travel to the stands, but their smiles were visible. She slammed her fists together in front of her as Jacob drew his two swords. Seconds later, they vanished from the edge, appearing in the middle in a blur of flashing limbs and blades. Again, I had to push hard to even see their movements.

“Why is Mentor Jameson not using any ranged attacks?” Milenna asked.

Counselor (name) answered, “Because that boy is entirely too enamored of his swordsmanship, and the Weltreachi are the best bet he has for a true challenge in that area. Of course, it might cost him the match and lose us points for the final expedition. It is too bad the (name of extraplanar realm) is limited to Condensation gatherers.”

“It is?” I asked.

“Yup, only those in the Condensation tier or equivalent can pass through the aperture,” Counselor (name) answered, then winced.

Mentor Jameson went rolling across the field. He flipped a few times before getting his feet under him, only to meet his opponent in a blaze of Aether. She was shrouded with an aura of Fire, and he met her in a silver shine as Metal coated his arms. He got her focused on his blades, slashing and stabbing, before he suddenly kicked forward, connecting with her front knee.

She shifted into a roll, dodging a horizontal slash by the width of a hair. She turned it into a sweep, but Jacob leapt over it and kicked downward. She deflected, then spun into a rear kick. It connected with Jacob’s stomach, but he folded around it deliberately to reduce the impact. One of his blades connected to her shin, but a flash of Aether surrounded her leg and the blade didn’t cut. She still staggered, spinning from the impact, but she turned it into a cross punch that Jacob had to deflect.

Of course, the time to describe this took much longer than the actual motions, as their attacks caused shockwaves from the speed of their motion. More attacks, deflections, and dodges occurred faster than I could ever speak. Finally, it ended when a punch sent Mentor Jameson flying. He rolled again but staggered before collapsing. The Ashkhas announcer appeared next to him, spoke quietly, then declared, “Julia von Muller is the winner! An amazing fight yet again.”

We watched for the rest of the afternoon. Dozens of matches occurred, each one changing my opinion of what a Core level gatherer could do. One match had a Topraki form a ten meter wide ball of Fire and Earth, then dropped it on their opponents head. Said opponent, an Illyrian, threw whips of Ice at it, before wrapping one around and swinging themselves out of the way, only to be smashed into the shield surrounding their fight when it detonated. They immediately pushed off then ran across the air at their opponent, barely damaged by something that would have liquified me. Another fight involved a forest of metal spears grounding out balls of lightning in massive spirals.

Core gatherers were able to do more. Larger techniques, massive quantities of Aether flying around and destroying the arenas they fought in. After each round, some Ashkhas gatherers would restore the surface and recharge the barriers. There were dozens of them enlisted in the effort to keep the spectators safe and entertained. I tried to watch the techniques, seeing if I could learn anything from them. Unfortunately, we were too far away, and they formed them too quickly, for me to get anything more than a gut feel for what they were doing. It did give me an idea, but I’d have to practice more on area techniques and forming runes faster.

I fell into daydreaming, barely paying attention anymore, until Jamila shook my shoulder. “It is time to go,” she said.

I looked around, surprised. “Uh, I guess I zoned out there,” I laughed.

“Yes, your head was in the clouds,” she smiled at me, obviously amused. “We did well, winning eight of the twelve fights. What were you daydreaming about?”

“Uh, I was thinking of ways to improve my area techniques. That meteor strike attack looked awesome, so I was thinking of something like that.”

“Meteor strike?”

“The Fire and Earth ball that the Topraki used against the Illyrian in front of us. I think his name was Aahan. Then there was that ball Lightning technique, so I got thinking about combining Lightning and Metal like the Fire and Earth, and trying to create a forced discharge with a spear,” I started. “But then I got lost in thinking about how to create that, where the runes would go, and realized I need to be able to extend runes much farther than I can now.”

“So figure it out for later,” she shrugged. “Knight Kaminski assured me my range would increase immensely once I advanced to Circulation. Planning is never a waste of time.”

“Thanks,” I gave her a side-hug.

The entire group hurried to dinner where Counselor (Name), Librarian Narwan, and Knight Kaminski congratulated the teams on their performance and made fun of Mentor Jameson for fighting without ranged techniques. “Yeah, but I almost had her! How awesome was that?” he yelled back with a cocky grin.

“It would have been amazing had you won,” Librarian Narwan said. “As it is, if you insist on using your swords without external techniques, I will have to train you more. Meet me in the courtyard after dinner.” His predatory grin wiped the smirk off of Jacob’s face. Laughter echoed through the dining area, and the other customers looked over at our group.

After dinner, Jamila took Vaya, Hanna, Aleks, and myself to an Earth and Wood aligned area to gather. It was hidden in a circle of thorny bushes, with seven benches spaced out. “How did you find this place?” Aleks asked.

“I did what Aiden said he did during his expedition, Princess. I cannot see the Aether, but I could feel which way had more and followed that. Got pricked a few times, but then,” she gestured bashfully at the small clearing.

“Thank you for sharing,” Hanna said. We settled in to gather. Again I pulled out my Formation, and Vaya contributed the Beast Core to start. Halfway through, Aleks dropped a level three Earth Core on, and the Aether in the clearing got dense and heavy.

Pulling it in, I discovered that slowly expanding my Pool was easier with thicker Aether, not just from the amount but the weight of it helped. Three hours passed in companionable silence before we hurried back to the inn. I was the first to yawn, which set off everyone but Hanna.

“Why did you,” Vaya broke off to yawn. “Could you not have turned away? I am going to yawn,” her complaints were interrupted by another yawn.

“Sorry,” I yawned back. Everyone ran a bit faster, ready for bed. At the hallway near our rooms, I said, “Goodnight. Let’s kick some butt tomorrow!”

“Night,” Jamila waved, and we all filed into our rooms.