Force of Nature reaction (1369 Words)
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.
Yeah. They must be wondering what this is all about. Hunger shouldn't even have an element given that you're supposed to need to be below 21 years of age in order to unlock your imaginary element...
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.
They must be really confused about the way to chose to go for training Hunger's ability, mainly stealing their lunch money.
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.
Yeah. For all that we are stealing their lunch money, they'll still end up better off as long as they contribute to our learning.
"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.
An interesting element. Powerful offensive applications while still offering powerful buffs thanks to his superior training.
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.
Eh. Fist bumps are too childish for you Lord Hunger? You don't have to be so aloof, you know? It's not like the banter you engage in with Gisena and Letrizia is all that more mature...
"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."
You're just saying the obvious, now! I can imagine Hunger going "Get to your point already!" in his head.
"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."
Do show us Aobaru, that's how we learn best!
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.
It is pretty clever... But it does assume that your opponents can't be above you or below you, which is not always a safe assumption in the level of fights Hunger will get up to...
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.
Hunger playing around with his abilities while fighting will never stop being surreal to me. At least this time his opponent is not actually trying to kill him... Also, "the child"? The guy's 17 or 18, that's not really a child anymore!
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.
Yeah... I don't think many people really thought about the drawbacks associated with the Hunger ring when we picked it. I don't regret taking it, obviously, given all the value it provided us, but it certainly lead to some weirdness and did, to some degree, foster the utterly reckless playstyle the voterbase have adopted.
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.
Wow. Even with Aobare having a very high level of mastery over a buffing element, Hunger still needs to go to one hundredth of his speed for Aobaru to catch up to him. It's hard to remember some times that, before the Accursed offer, Hunger was barely stronger than your average soldier. Also, I don't know why, but Hunger throwing the fight like that just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
"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!"
Not really. He was holding back to a ridiculous degree, it's not in any way a legitimate win.
"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."
What is it with Hunger and hating the names he get stuck with? Lord Hunger and now the Reckoner... It's not like being called the Reckoner is that bad really? I mean, what Hunger did might not be very impressive from his own perspective but, from the point of view of the inhabitants of the Sovereignity, it certainly is!
"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."
Good match, though match... Pull the other one! You both knows to what enormous degree Hunger was holding back...
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.
Aobaru at least seems to have recognized the situation for what it is. He'll still be able to claim that he once beat the Reckoner nonetheless... Which will end up sounding particularly impressive if Hunger ever comes back so that he can deal with their Rotbeast problem. Letrizia, Letrizia... You should know it's not okay to gamble with insider information, that's just not fair to the competition! You got exactly what you deserved.
"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.
You're not fooling anyone Letrizia! You totally think it's a cool name! Must be all the animes she watches...
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.
The ring is just so finicky... I wonder what the actual mechanism behind that effect is? Rings seems like they have some form of consciousness, so is it actually making the judgement call or is it a more automatic process? It kind of reminds me of the Depth mechanic for conjoined spirits in Terrascape.
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."
A month of part time wages... You say that like it's a big deal! It's also a weird way of conceptualizing it from Aobaru perspective. It's more understandable to the audience what it actually represent concretely but it's kind of weird for Aobaru to talk about it this way.
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.
I'm not sure it really should work that way? The ration in the relative strength between the two seems like it should be the relevant variable rather than the absolute difference. Also, Hunger casually showing that he could have won at any moment he wanted! That probably popped poor Aobaru's bubble...
"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?"
It's interesting that Imaginary Elements are similar enough that you can make that kind of prediction about them. I wonder what mechanism lies behind the existence of Imaginary Elements and why the Elixir waters are able to awaken them...
"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.
Teenagers are going to be teenagers, I guess. Also, a good demonstration of the first mover advantage.
"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."
The Hunger ring makes us act in such strange ways... It most not make the slightest bit of senses to the High Elementalists watching...
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.
Instant insight, just add conflict!
"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 whiles 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."
Another general property, but this one is a lot more intuitive. I would have guessed that higher concentration of a buffing element results in higher buffs, but that force elements lose most of their special properties in solid form, becoming a generic solid, is a lot weirder.
"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!"
That sounds really simple but that caveat of "as long as your fundamental control's good enough" is probably where the problem lies. It's always to pesky "if" and "as long as" that gets you...
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.
For all that Hunger calls it terrifying, I'm pretty sure he's not actually terrified at all!
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.
Yeah. The more I see of this training, the more convinced I am that it was a good idea for Hunger to spend that Apocryphal-free day so he could get properly familiar with the usage of his element.
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.
That's quite the spar... Good thing we can use our mastery of blood to heal ourselves!
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?"
Yeah. Faltering for a moment after inflicting that kind of wounds on an opponent in a spar is a totally reasonable response.
"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."
I mean... Adrenaline naturally make it so we're not debilitated by pain while in life threatening situations. Pain provides an evolutionary advantage, otherwise it wouldn't have evolved in the first place. It's not supposed to make us less capable when we're most in need of our full capabilities.
"Jeez. As expected of the Reckoner, I guess. You're pretty cool for an old guy!"
"..."
29. Old. Really Aobaru? You should know better than this. Plus, don't insult people in the same breath you're complimenting them.
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."
Yeah. That sound like it would require an extreme level of fine control of your element to manage.
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."
It seems pretty obvious to me? You're not wasting any of the effect if all of it is concentrated within your body and, by having it cover all of it, you get better efficiency than a more uneven distribution.
"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.
Even Aobaru is calling it lunch money! And yeah, he's more than earned a large bonus, at this point.
"YEAH!!" Letrizia cheered wildly. She fired off a column of Pressure into the air. "I'm the best! I love gambling!!"
Gambling addiction is a real problem Letrizia! Also, who exactly is betting on the other side of that bet? I wouldn't have thought anybody would bet that some teenager can beat the Reckoner...
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.
Yeah. Even though this counted as risky enough for the ring, the level of risk was always extremely minimal.
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.
And here come Aeira! Even though she effectively costed us 0.8 Arete and a pick, I'm sure she'll prove herself to be worth way more than that, in time.
"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!"
When we were originally told that she had the benediction of her parents I didn't expect her to have needed to argue with them for hours on end for them to finally agree. Though it's understandable, even if her parents are desperate for money, sending your kid far away into dangerous lands so that they can be a mercenary for some powerful and enigmatic stranger must be an absolutely terrifying prospect for any responsible parent.
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."
You're kind of starting on the wrong foot by calling him Lord Hunger, Aeira... Also, it seems like Sovereignty Armors are pretty weak... And what did Letrizia tell her about our mission? It's not like she's even seen the inside of the Temple personally and, in particular, how dangerous it can be...
"Fascinating," Gisena remarked. "The information-theoretic implications of that attention-deflecting ability..."
Yeah. How does that work? How can it possibly works on automated sytems? Does it just automatically rewrite their programming on the fly?
"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!"
I do believe she can take care of herself, but maybe not when exposed to the ridiculous level of danger that the playerbase is likely to throw us into...