EG Monster Island Chapter 14

*** AUTHORS NOTE ***

Thanks for all the great feedback! Happy Mother's Day!

*** AUTHORS NOTE ***

The next few days passed quickly. We spent every morning fighting, either as a team versus one of the other two teams, or as a pair within the team if we were the odd team out. Ming was amazing in the team battles, directing his group and adjusting their formations to defeat us twice, even though we were individually stronger than anyone on his team. Aleks and her team pulled out a number of tricks I’d never seen, and every fight was a close one. We all learned and grew, becoming stronger by the day.

Of course, to match Librarian Narwan’s warning, we all spent an hour every day learning to channel Aether where we couldn’t see it. The first day we had to carve the rune for Air, a set of three wavy lines, on the other side of a iron plate one centimeter thick. Simple rune, not very far. Only Aleks, Hanna, and Ming managed it. It took until the second day for me to finally get the hang of manipulating Aether outside my vision.

Every night, I spent most of it working with Librarian Narwan on the laser. Well, mostly I spent it getting lectured about proper Inscription techniques. When I finally asked, exasperatedly, “How am I supposed to know the finer points of the Craesti Inscription Technique if you’ve never taught it to me?”

“What do you think I am doing now?” He asked, a dangerous edge to his voice.

“Uh,” I gulped, but then pressed on, “trying to teach me but succeeding in only aggravating me?” I flinched as I said it, but it still came out.

“And how do you think I should be teaching you?” He asked, his tone making me shiver.

“Can you just explain what the Craesti Inscription Technique is, rather than berate me for not knowing?” I pleaded. “I have never heard of it before.”

“I thought you were enrolled in the Inscription and the Alchemy first year courses?”

“I was, but I ended up focusing on Alchemy fairly quickly when I got the mission for the Affinity Powders,” I explained. “Uh, I didn’t really continue my Inscription studies past the basics.”

“Very well, I will explain. I apologize, I assumed you had learned and then forgotten, rather than never learning at all. The Craesti Inscription Technique was developed by King Craesti’s grandfather, and it encompasses using the Aether flows within an Inscription to create another rune, often the simplest enhancement rune possible. So we are moving the four enhancement runes here,” he pointed to the blackboard he’d brought in on the second day, “to here,” he redrew them.

“That allows the flows to look like this,” he grabbed a green colored chalk piece and sketched out a series of lines that made a rune that increased durability in an item. “Hopefully, this will help prevent the melting we have seen now three times. Additionally, I procured four tubes made of Fire Iron, which has a significantly higher melting point than other types of metal. That should keep it solid long enough for the gem energy sinks to work. So, here is the new set up of the runes.” He drew out a representation of the tube.

“What about here?” I asked, pointing to a section that I was unsure on. “Uh it seems like it is making the strengthening rune, but the overall flow is disrupted. It doesn’t reach the right spot here,” I grabbed the blue chalk and drew an arrow. “So won’t it create a spot where the Aether won’t flow right, and increase the likelihood of failure?”

“Hmm, maybe. So, how would you fix it?”

“Well, what about changing the created rune to be a Metal rune, rather than durability? That would let us move these two down slightly, and make the connection to the next set more durable?” I quickly drew it. Librarian Narwan corrected my placement, and we talked for another half hour before we were both satisfied with the result.

“Wait, uh, there’s no spot to allow a weld,” I said when we had a final design. “I’ll have to carve this inside the tube without being able to see it. I’m not ready for that.”

“Then we are at an impasse,” Librarian Narwan said.

“Uh, can we procure a few cheap iron tubes to practice on? I don’t want to waste your money, or mine, on Fire Iron if I can’t draw the runes correctly in the first place.”

“Here,’ he pulled out a semicylinder of iron and set it down on the table. “Draw the first half of the runes, finishing at the first redirect of Aether into the crystals.” He pointed, and I nodded.

“Got it,” I said, then took a deep breath. Should be easy, no problem. Just picture what the rune looks like and shift the metal to form it. We’ve practiced this for almost a week now. I closed my eyes, then opened my Aether senses. I could feel everything around me. I formed the first rune with Metal Aether, holding it in front of my face. Even with my eyes closed, it was like I could see it, glowing in the false vision my Aether Sight layered in my brain. I carefully maneuvered the rune into its spot on the half-cylinder. Just before I stuck it on, I realized I was looking at the rune backwards from the way it needed to be. I tried to flip the rune around, but lost hold of it in the attempt. Drawing it backwards was a bit beyond my ability. Before I gave up and opened my eyes, though, I flipped the iron piece around and then shoved the rune on in the correct facing. Five more followed, though I left off the activation rune so these wouldn’t trigger.

I opened my eyes and saw the runes formed in the surface of the iron cylinder. I traced them with my finger, and they were rough and bumpy. “Still a lot of work to get done correctly,” I whispered to myself. I looked around to find myself alone, Librarian Narwan had left to do something else. With a shrug, I tried to smooth out the runes and try again. I lost track of time as I worked, trying not to marvel at my ability to manipulate metal with my mind. Of course, that was only with my fingers a few centimeters from the surface I was working on, so Magneto I wasn’t, but it was still cool. So much of my time is spent on getting stronger, to fight better, when I would rather be working on inventing stuff. There’s just no time, I thought, and I know a calamity is coming. This will give us another weapon, hopefully. Thought, given the mana cannons on the Ashkha ships, maybe not a significant one. Am I wasting my time? No, no doubts, just work. I lost myself in my efforts, slowly getting each rune better and smoother inlaid into the iron semi-cylinder. Each repetition also trained my Aether Sight, and I slowly became more adept at sensing the world around me, learning to rely on that sense rather than sight, hearing, or any of my other senses.

Finally, after the twelfth or so repetition, Librarian Narwan reappeared and took the latest from me. “Good progress,” he said. “Though you need to continue to work on maintaining the edges properly. Especially in the curves, here and here. Tomorrow, we will work with Magii Zlota. Once the runes are carved, you will have to fill them with the Magii Zlota. This will improve their efficiency and protect the Fire Iron. For now, though, it is late. Go to bed. You only have two days until the next round.”

The next afternoon, I sprawled out on the ground after Knight Kaminski called “Break!” I worked hard to control my breathing, slowing my heartrate with Aether and will.

“Need some help,” Vaya panted, sitting down next to me.

“I’m just sore. You fixed the bone already,” I gestured at my knee. “That was a good kick. Totally got me.”

“I’m sorry,” she blushed.

“Hey, your first contraction! And don’t be sorry. You fixed it almost immediately, and that was the point of this. Get used to hitting and being hit at our strength level. I’ve hit you almost as hard.”

“True, you did break two ribs yesterday with that right hook,” she shifted her shoulders uncomfortably.

“I did! Why didn’t you say something? I’m so sorry,” I sat up in shock.

“Did you not just say that was the point of all this?” She arched her eyebrow at me.

I looked down, “Yeah. Sorry. I’m a little bit hypocritical about that. I don’t like hurting you.”

“I have noticed. I beat you more than you beat me because you keep holding back against me,” this time I noticed her face was stern. “Please, don’t. I am as much a warrior as you.”

“I know,” I said, then bowed low to her, “but you are in my heart as well. I will work at not holding back next time, but that is all I can promise.”

“Good enough,” she said, then shoved me over. I spluttered, but she bent over and silenced me quickly enough with her lips. Aether flowed into me through the kiss, soothing some of the aching in my arms and stomach.

“Thanks,” I sighed. After a second of luxuriating, I clambered to my feet and joined the procession back to the inn for dinner. When we had first arrived in the inn, it was empty except for us. Over the last week, though, the number of guests had steadily increased, though we were still kept fairly segregated from them.

After cleaning up and eating, I hurried to the workshop to continue learning more about metal Inscriptions and work on my laser project. Librarian Narwan left a note to continue practicing the runes until he arrived. I hopped right to it, alone in the workroom. Jon and Xiao were the only other people in the workshop from our group. Aleks had taken all the girls out while Ming was trying to set up a trade agreement with an Ashkhas merchant.

I lost myself in the work, only distracted once when a large explosion sounded through the silencing Inscriptions. I hurriedly looked out the door to find greenish smoke pouring out of a doorway. Jon stumbled out, waving his hand in front of his face and coughing. Tears streamed down his cheeks, which were puffy and red. He saw Xaio and I, smiled hesitatingly, and said, “Oops?”

“Are you okay?” I asked. He nodded. “Good, be more careful.”

“What are you working on?” Xiao asked, staring dumbfounded at the smoke and the tattered remains of Jon’s shirt.

“You will see soon. It will be ready by the next round, and we will win it all,” Jon declared.

“Good. Don’t die first though,” I laughed, shaking my head while I turned back into my workroom. Ten minutes later, I inspected the semi-cylinder in my hand. The edges of the runes were mostly crisp and sharp, with only a few places rounded slightly from imprecise cuts. The insides were fairly uniform, though I needed to keep working on the depth of cut. The inside looked wavy in several places, but it was the best I’d done yet.

“Adequate,” Librarian Narwan said, taking it from my hand to examine. He nodded, then put it back onto the table. Next to it he placed a thin plate of iron and a small brick of blue-green tinted gold. The plate had a series of straight and curved lines cut into it, only a few millimeters deep. “Today you are going to learn to extrude and implant prepared metal into an Inscription to strengthen it. Pick it up.”

I reached out and picked up the gold. It was surprisingly heavy. Librarian Narwan then couched me into sending a small amount of Aether into it. The brick drank my Aether, and yet I could still feel it. With a pull, I was able to slowly stretch the metal out, a tiny pseudopod of gold extending off it like it was a slime. For the next hour, I worked on manipulating the extremely interesting metal. It was slow work, any fast movement either breaking the extension or letting the Aether in it flow free. The final design of the laser would require me to connect to a small block of (name) inside the cylinder and fill the runes with the gold. Librarian Narwan demonstrated the effect when he activated an Air Gust Inscription both without the gold, which blew some papers around and might have knocked me over if hit directly. He then activated a second Inscription, this time enhanced, and it blew hard enough to throw me into the door with just the rebound off the far wall. “Light! It, what, doubled the effect?” I gasped.

“Hmm, no. It is only an increase of about thirty percent, but it also reduces Inscription erosion. Each use of an Inscription damages it slightly. That is why we must make new medallions to keep the first tiers safe at Azyl. They will stop being useful after a few years and need replacing, thus preventing us from recycling once you graduate. Using the Magii Zlota triples the effective lifespan of any Inscription,” he explained.

I narrowed my eyes at him, “How expensive is this?”

“You will simply have to make more Affinity Powders for me,” he smiled. “Or crystals. Or any of the others that are bouncing around in your head. Now, fill the carvings in the plate. There is just enough Magii Zlota there to exactly fill each groove. Begin.”

“Will do, sir,” I said, frowning down at the plate. I’m already tired, moving this is fun but I feel like I’m straining a muscle that I’ve never felt before. Okay, just keep pushing, but if it starts to hurt I’m calling it a night.

I reached out mentally and started to move the Zlota the thirty centimeters from the brick to the plate, then stopped. I picked up the brick and set it right in front of the iron, then glanced up at Librarian Narwan, who winked at me with a smirk. I fought to not roll my eyes, then focused on the gold and started to move it.

It was slow, painstaking work. The gold didn’t want to flow into the bottom of the cuts in the iron plate, so I had to push down on it with my Aether, smoothing the bottom out while also making sure it didn’t overflow. By the end of the second gouge, my eyes were squinting against the pain of a headache. I sat back, “I don’t think I’ll be able to do much more now. My control is fading, and my head is killing me.”

“That is farther than I expected. Very well done. We will work more on this in a few days. Tomorrow is a light training day, just to keep you limber and ready for the match on Earth Day. Work on carving runes if you can. If not, just go to bed. Goodnight,” he nodded.

“Thank you for your instruction,” I stood and then bowed to him. “I would never have made it this far without you.”

“You will go far, regardless of who teaches you. You do me honor, and it is my privilege to train you,” he nodded his head to me. “But now I must see Jon about the damages to the borrowed work area.”

“Uh, don’t beat him too much?” I asked with a wince. He just laughed, then vanished.