A Simple Transaction I

Force of Nature

They convened at an Elementalist training grounds the next day, Letrizia alongside her ostensible classmates and Hunger with Gisena. The grounds themselves were no more than a rectangle of densely packed dirt, but there was an almost celebratory air to the proceedings - the high schoolers gawked at the two of them, turning to bombard Letrizia with questions, while Gisena set up a one-person cheer section.

Letrizia temporized, deflecting the interrogation with a mysterious flip of her hair, then began to explain the rules of engagement. There would be one warm-up and one serious match per challenger. At stake was, on part of Hunger, both a considerable sum of money and a substantial amount of time; on the part of the students, a massively smaller sum.

All involved understood that the main objective was to familiarize Hunger and Letrizia with their Elements; to facilitate this, a bonus payment would be made at the end, amount depending on Hunger and Letrizia's own assessments as to how they performed. Letrizia had assured the children that Hunger would score them generously.

"Alright, guess I'm up first! Nice to meetya, mister! Heard you killed a lot of Rotspawn yesterday." The first contender was a loud-mouthed redhead by the name of Aobaru, whose Element of Vigorflame could increase the strength of an person or object up to a set point, after which it caused them to explode. He was notable for his iron control over the Element, capable of inducing explosions seemingly without the intermediate step of strengthening his foes.

Hunger carefully set aside the Forebear's Blade and walked to the center of their makeshift arena. Aobaru offered him a fist bump which he neglected to return, but gave the boy a nod of acknowledgement.

"Er... okay! Well, you've got a buffing-type Element like me, right? I've got some tips and tricks I could show ya."

"That's right."

"Hm... okay, so if yours is anything like mine, it helps anyone that touches it, which is the main problem. You've got enemies in melee that would love to steal your buffs and equalize."

"Exactly."

"I've got a couple ways around that... but telling you would be boring. Best if I just show ya."

Hunger smirked. "Be my guest."

They retreated to opposite sides of the arena, and the first spar began. Aobaru immediately launched a pillar of Vigorflame at the ground, which bounced up and struck his body: the quantity of Element summoned was no less, but by focusing it into a vertical emission, enemies outside touch range would fail to benefit. Clever.

Hunger immediately tried the same, even as Aobaru rushed him. The boy was a surprisingly capable warrior but no match for Hunger's speed. He dodged the child's strikes, blasts, and grapple attempts easily as he tried to figure out how to make the pillar technique work. His first attempt had merely sent Edeldross into the ground, hurling himself skyward. Subsequent attempts spilled out into an explosive dome, nothing like the precisely controlled column of energy that Aobaru had manifested.

He frowned. Perhaps the warm-up spars were a mistake. The stakes were so low his Ring was unsatisfied. No power to be gained from such conflicts.

He fell to a hundredth of his normal speed and finally the boy caught up. They briefly exchanged blows and Hunger allowed the boy to prevail, hopeful it would entice more tricks out of him when they fought the second time.

"Well done. I concede."

The boy looked shocked for a moment before an overjoyed expression came across his features. "Holy shit, I won! I beat the Reckoner!"

"The Reckoner?"

"Yeah, the Reckoner of Rotspawn! It's what we've been calling you, Lord Hunger."

With mental reflexes capable of tracing a bullet in mid-flight, Hunger stopped himself from cringing. This... was a good thing. Notoriety could only improve his Astral Rank when he accomplished substantial feats, though he suspected his fight against the lesser Rotspawn did not qualify. "I see. An interesting name."

"Wo-hoo! Go Lord Reckoner!" Gisena called from the sidelines. From somewhere she'd produced white cloths that she and Letrizia had tied as headbands. His name was written on them in bold red ink. "Good match, have a drink?"

He rolled his eyes and took the proffered water. "It was a tough match, but I'm confident I can come back in the second round."

Aobaru was walking boastfully among his compatriots, fielding them questions with indifferent aplomb. "No big deal, I'm sure he was holding back like, massively..."

"Why'd you throw the match?" Letrizia pouted. "I had good money riding on you, Lord Reckoner!"

"Oh yeah? Is it for the warm-up or the fight itself?'

"Both!" She grumbled.

"I see. Then, if you don't want to lose the rest, I suggest you drop both parts of that title when addressing me in the future."

"H-hmph! Whatever you want. 'S not like I think it's cool or anything..."

"Good." He smiled, took another sip of water and returned to the field.

Before Aobaru returned, Hunger spent a long moment in contemplation. The Ring would disqualify any contest that was insufficiently challenging or lacked real stakes. In that event, he couldn't use his full power, or even one-tenth: the greater his chance of actually losing, the more quickly he would learn. One-fiftieth power ought to give him an edge while still retaining that essential element of risk. If he miscalibrated, so be it. Even this method would likely fail if he repeated it too many times against a given opponent. Luckily there was quite a variety here.

Aobaru walked back from the stands, his cocksure swagger replaced by serious determination. "Alright, let's do this. I've got a month's worth of part-time wages on the line, so don't expect me to go as easy as I did previous."

Hunger nodded, taking a low stance. As Letrizia's arm fell to indicate the match's beginning, Hunger immediately sprang forwards, catching his foe in a grapple before he could fire anything. He then emitted a thunderous blast of edeldross, saturating them both; with his speed and strength much the superior of his enemy's, the absolute difference in parameters merely grew. If Aobaru attempted to summon any of his own Element, Hunger could defeat him with a submission lock fairly trivially. His Ring flared slightly, a steady trickle of power which he fed into his mantle, willing it to increase his proficiency with Edeldross.

Before Aobaru could tap out, Hunger released him and withdrew to the edge of the arena. That had worked well, but it was a tactic to be kept in pocket against a physically inferior opponent. For general use he needed to master the pillar technique.

"That... was fast..." Aobaru said shakily. "Hm, guess you could beat me at any time, so my only chance is to get a great bonus. Alright, well, I think I see the problem in your technique."

"Oh?" Hunger waited patiently.

"Yeah. Looks like you have a force-based Element. Usually those can be solidified into a semi-inert state. While inert, they'll lose most of their unique properties and act as a generic solid. What you really want to do is form a lip of solidified Element at the bottom and sides of your blast. That way it'll bounce off the earth and hit you instead of seeping in or spreading everywhere. Why don't you give it a shot?"

"This isn't fair, you're getting all the instruction bonuses yourself!" Another boy heckled from the sidelines.

Aobaru made what appeared to be a rude gesture in response.

"I learn best under pressure. Take me out while I'm attempting it."

"Are you sure? I mean, that's-"

"Yes, and don't hold back. Otherwise it won't work as well."

Aobaru leapt forward, streams of fire launching him at radically higher speed. Hunger barely ducked out of the way, forming a frantic shield of edeldross that deflected the boy. Ah. The solidified edeldross that he used to make shields. That was what the kid was talking about. If he produced a thin amount to contain the pure Edeldross, the "pillar" technique was much simpler.

He fired downwards again and was gratified to feel a nearly-vertical column of his Element surrounding him.

"You've got it. Sheesh, that was fast," Aobaru panted, 'spent' after going all-out. Hunger raised an eyebrow. The kid was a good actor, but had a ways to go before he could fool Hunger. "Alright, the next level is density control. The pillar technique's good if you want to fire off a blast to buff one of your companions, but for solo buffing you really need to master density. Almost all buffing Elements have greater effects at higher density, so if you can compress an orb of it and hold it in your chest, you should see some noticeably improved effects. The boost will be strongest wherever you hold the orb, but should radiate out to the rest of your body."

"How do I compress it in the first place?" He frowned.

"Well, the best way is to just summon it compressed. Takes a few tries but that's the safest to avoid enemy-buffing. You have to summon lots of Element at one time, right?" He called forth a torrent of flame. "But there's nothing saying you can't summon a lot of Element in one space, as long as your fundamental control's good enough."

Aobaru gestured with his open palm, summoned an orb of searing brilliance. "Like this!"

He swiftly launched the orb at Hunger, following up with a spirited charge. Hunger ducked the orb but felt a line of boils form along the exposed side, the flesh bubbling up as if on the verge of eruption. Terrifying.

He attempted to do as his opponent had done, summoning an orb of concentrated edeldross. Though his sphere was much larger than his enemy's palm-sized orb, still it ended up considerably smaller than the tank-sized blasts he normally produced. Tucking it into his body, it melted seamlessly into his chest; a steady, glowing warmth that vivified and exalted every fiber of his being.

Firing wide columns of Edeldross to deflect his opponent's attacks, Hunger charged in again, only to be forced back as Aobaru finally stopped holding back. The boy produced a broad, deep wall of livid fire, crackling golden tongues stretching full to sky. Aobaru emerged from the wall similarly coated in flame, a set of densely focused orbs whirling about his head. One by one they flew at Hunger, who was forced to endure two blows to the leg and one to the torso, flesh rupturing raggedly as it exploded.

Shocked at the gruesome display, Aobaru faltered a moment, and Hunger sent him to earth with a quick chop to the back of the neck. He placed his palm gently but menacingly upon the boy's head. "Do you yield?"

"Uh, yeah, I yield. Holy crap that was hardcore. Do you just like, not feel pain?"

With the spar over, his other magics were unsealed. Hunger quickly repaired his wounds. "I do, but you learn to ignore that in combat. Perhaps my sense of pain has dulled over time."

"Jeez. As expected of the Reckoner, I guess. You're pretty cool for an old guy!"

"..."

Aobaru got up. "Anyway, there's one stage of enhancement beyond even density, but I haven't mastered it yet. We call it suffusion. You create a highly-dense construct of your Element in the exact shape of your body, and move it exactly as your body moves. That gives the heaviest augmentation of all, even better than just saturating yourself with a pillar of highly-dense Element, but it's really hard and requires continuous maintenance. The orb method is a lot stabler."

Interesting. He wondered why that was. Intuitively, a 'highly-dense pillar' ought to offer the greatest exposure possible to one's Element. Perhaps it was psychokinetic in nature, some aspect of the concentration itself focusing the Element's effect? "Good to know. Thanks."

"Hey, don't thank me. Just pay me well! I gotta make up for this lost lunch money." Aobaru grinned cheekily and handed over a pitiful sum.

"YEAH!!" Letrizia cheered wildly. She fired off a column of Pressure into the air. "I'm the best! I love gambling!!"

After that came a succession of considerably less impressive 'High' Elementalists, though Hunger's self-imposed restrictions nearly caught him out from time to time. Nonetheless by the end of the day he had gained an impressive competence in Edeldross manipulation without having lost a single (real) bout. Happily he paid out the students' bonuses, and was just about to leave when one final student arrived at the grounds.

She was a girl of about Letrizia's age, pretty and slender but not as tall as the Armament pilot, with eyes of dark violet in a similarly dark outfit. In her left hand she carried a slightly curved sword in a scabbard of polished wood. Her dark hair was drawn up in a ponytail spill of ink, stark contrast to her unhealthily pale skin. Her stance was light, alert; a fighter of professional skill, despite her nervous demeanor.

"Hope... I am not... too late," the girl said shakily, as Letrizia came over to greet the newcomer.

"Aeira!" Letrizia said happily. "I didn't think you'd be able to make it. Did your parents give you permission?"

"Ah, yes." Aeira replied. "It took much of the night, and today as well, but they have finally agreed to allow me to become a mercenary!"

She bowed deeply to Hunger, and then to Gisena. "Lord Hunger and Lady Allria, please permit me to travel alongside you! Letrizia has informed me of your mission and I would bring much in the way of novel capabilities. My Element, Shadowcord, dims light and deflects attention, allowing me to cloak you from detection even against automated systems. I am also a capable fighter with the sword, and can defeat most Sovereignty Armors in direct combat."

"Fascinating," Gisena remarked. "The information-theoretic implications of that attention-deflecting ability..."

"Aeira's really strong!" Letrizia gushed. "Maybe not as powerful as you, Hunger, but we could really use her stealth capabilities, and we've got plenty of money left over to pay her! Her family could really use it, and she can definitely take care of herself!"

---

The winners were [X] Ring of Power: Crimson Flare and [X] High Marshall.

[ ] Fine - She can guard Letrizia while you're away, and the outrageous output of every experienced Elementalist means she can even cloak Verschlengorge from detection. Perhaps it'll even work on Astral Beasts? If necessary, she may also be able to take the field against some weaker foes, or support Hunger from a distance with supplemental stealth. [7 Currency units / month]

[ ] Unacceptable - Proficient as she might be, it's nowhere near safe for her to adventure with the likes of you. Hunger is a Progression-type Cursebearer, Gisena is a (soon to be) High Sorceress with an extremely powerful and broad anti-supernatural defense, and Letrizia is a superweapon pilot. There's no room for an ordinary High Elementalist among your ranks, no matter how talented. [+.8 Arete, +1 pick to upcoming Experience]

---

As you will likely be facing the High Marshall soon, you may wish to pre-buy Stances, ensuring availability for the entire encounter. He outranks you significantly and has a powerful Soul Evocation. An abundance of caution would not be remiss here; Rank gaps of such size are dangerous to contest directly.

Tactics can also help, of course, but his Rank makes him difficult to deceive. You have 18.7 Arete with 1 put towards Crimson Flare.

[ ] Maximum Safety - Buy Hero-Defeating Stance and Guile-Defeating Stance (below).
*Combines high Charisma with a Rank nullification effect, vastly reducing the effectiveness of his greater Rank upon yours. Safest social option.
*Hero-Defeating Stance feeds into Foe-Defeating Stance, whereas Guile-Defeating Stance feeds into All-Defeating Stance. Not very synergistic in the long run.
*Expensive, but minimizes death %.

[ ] Somewhat Safe - Buy Guile-Defeating Stance and World-Defeating Stance (below)
*Both feed into All-Defeating Stance, so this is considerably more efficient than the above at the cost of reduced safety.
*You can only have two Stances active, so it won't make sense to buy Magic-Defeating Stance with this arrangement until you can afford All-Defeating Stance or have 6 Rank...
*Still expensive.

[ ] Kinda Safe - Buy Hero-Defeating Stance.
*It's not really that safe, but way better than Maximal Greed.
*Hero-Defeating Stance is almost always pretty good.

[ ] Maximal Greed - Don't buy anything.
*You will probably get rekt. He's 2.2 Ranks higher than you, literally everything you do will experience massive pushback from the universe itself.
*However, getting rekt does not mean you will necessarily die. You might still be able to retreat and limp away.

Guile-Defeating Stance - 7 Arete

A martial stance of the Forebear. Where comes the craven, who by shadowy pacts, scheming and circumstance seeks to undermine the wielder's unquestionable authority, they will find that age and treachery have already usurped that domain, and were lying in wait all the while. There can be no power behind the throne but he that sits the throne itself, if that sovereign is wise enough to adopt this stance of the Forebear. A pre-requisite for All-Defeating Stance.

++Wits, ++Wisdom, ++Charisma.

+2 Rank, ++++++++Manipulation for purposes of detecting, subverting, and overcoming hidden schemes, illusions, and deceptions. Apply the Power of Ruin against such efforts if hostile to the wielder. Be it a rapier feint or the meticulously calculated plot of eons, all forms of mistruth are laid bare before the Forebear's gaze.

World-Defeating Stance - 7 Arete

A martial stance of the Forebear. Forces natural and premeditated; forces unnatural and obscene - it matters not to the cause of the Forebear, whose march is steady and inevitable, carrying all before it. A billion realms brought to heel and countless more razed to ash, systems of the world in kaleidoscopic arrangement and all bent to his will. Meaningless as escape may be, more futile still is dissent: an enemy is just a future subject, and though they may forget the face of their fathers, the Forebear's visage is burned indelibly into their spirits.

If the user possesses all of the other [Type]-Defeating Stances, upgrades into All-Defeating Stance.

+.2 Rank, ++Luck, ++Intelligence, ++Protection

++++++Protection further against environmental harms, including from incompatible or hostile physics and metaphysics.
*Shelters wielder's powers from suppression or negation, even that resulting from a lack of magic or magical structures within the world.
*5x Power of Ruin against non-supernatural foes or phenomena beyond a human's ability to defeat.

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