Subtle and Quick
Letrizia was indeed capable of wielding an Imaginary Element. Her control and manifestation of 'Sharpbright' allowed her to manipulate a specialized form of Pressure, effectively increasing her Astral Rank. Direct control allowed her to focus the effects of Rank upon the world, creating avenues of influence unavailable to average practitioners. Though it had little immediate application, it was a power with nearly limitless potential.
He was happy for her; it aligned perfectly with her research interests and disposition, even if the combat applications would remain modest for the immediate future.
"This is so cool," Letrizia squealed, showing Hunger the slight distortion that passed through the air when she concentrated her Pressure on a nearby tree. It swayed slightly, creaking in the sudden breeze. A peach fell from its branches to land upon the grass.
"Don't be wasteful," he admonished her, opening his window to grab a peach. "Here, eat."
"You have it," she said cheerfully, "I gotta stay focused on this!"
"Turning down food." He shook his head sadly, biting into the peach. It was delicious. "You've changed, Letrizia. Leaning magic has changed you. I always feared this would happen."
"Hmph! The esoteric arts come through mastery of the self, after all." Playfully she turned up her nose.
"So, how powerful is your Pressure now? ...Care for a spar?"
"N-no!" Letrizia stopped, looking a him exasperatedly. "You know how that would turn out! My Pressure's not even as powerful as yours. Even if it were, your strength and speed are way superhuman. That wouldn't be an interesting fight at all!"
"Too bad," he threw away the peach core. "What about your lunchtime friends? Know any High Elementalists that would be interested in training with your bodyguard?"
"Maybe if you handicapped yourself," she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, I can think of one or two. But I thought you didn't get much from training, and only got stronger from fights with real stakes?"
"True," he replied, "But it doesn't have to be life or death. Wagering time or even large sums of money can work, though it's much less efficient. Why don't you go round up some interested parties while I awaken my Element this morning? Arrange some duels for tomorrow. I won't actively use my other magics and I'll limit my speed and strength. I'll kill some Rotspawn this afternoon for cash to pay out."
"You think you can beat experienced High Elementalists after only one day of fighting, without using your other powers?" Letrizia smiled. "Rather cocky, aren't we? Okay, I'll do it. But only because you've been such a good bodyguard lately."
"If you want a cut, you can say so. We agreed on thirty percent, right?"
"I-I don't care about this place's money! It's all illegitimate separatist roleplaying anyway!"
He looked around their opulent quarters. "If yesterday's meal was a roleplay, I wouldn't mind a re-enactment."
"G-go awaken your Element already! Then we can be wizards together."
"If you insist."
Patting her lightly on the head, he walked into the master bathroom, pulling the Evening Sky into the form of a towel. Turning on the faucets, he made the proper adjustments to his blood, settling in for a long wait...
Gisena dropped by at around the third hour.
"Oh, you're not pruney at all. A privilege of the destined hero, perhaps?"
"Of a sort." The Forebear's Blade granted him supernatural endurance, which apparently applied even to circumstances as mundane as this.
"Looks like your Element is percolating nicely. Should be done in about twenty more hours."
"Perfect. More time to think."
"Aw, you're no fun! You're actually done now, want to go fight some Rotbeasts?"
"Who do you think you're fooling? I can see the Element in my blood just fine. Go play with your toys."
"Yes sir!" Gisena winked. "Though, if you miss me too badly, come and find me in the library!"
At around the fifth hour he finally emerged, his body fully saturated by the magic of the waters. It was the work of a moment to dry off and dress. He headed down to the generously-stocked hotel library where Gisena was immersed in various technical manuals. She waved happily at him.
"We should buy some of these books and keep them in Verschlengorge! Such excellent reference texts."
"You mean to say you can't read and memorize them all in one day? Apologies, I thought you were a genius."
"But I love these books!" She clutched one to her chest. "I just want to protect and save them."
"We all have to make sacrifices," he said grimly. "They would distract you from completing your meditations to become a High Sorceress. That could be life or death in the Temple."
"Aw, you're so thoughtful." Gisena smiled brightly. "Well, if you're
so concerned for my well-being, I suppose I can give these up. Kind of like getting Letrizia to eat her veggies!"
"Disgusting. I'd much prefer-"
"Eating fish? Maybe one that you caught yourself? Well, mentally speaking Letrizia's still a growing girl. It's necessary for her self-discipline!"
"Is that so? Well. If a genius said it, it must be true."
"Now you're learning!"
Leaving her to her work, he quickly arrived at the border and engaged the Rotspawn. As with Letrizia, it had taken a few hours for his Element to come in. At first it was tentative, unformed, a bright purposeless warmth bubbling up in his chest. He sensed that it was some kind of augmenting effect, colorless but welcoming, like the radiant glow of a hearthfire or the sun veiled by clouds.
He called forth a surge of it, bathing himself in that nameless translucence. Swiftly he felt his mind sharpen and body grow stronger, the powers of his self and soul tuned like a violin-string towards a more perfect expression. It was a powerful and comprehensive enchantment, hopeful and clean...
For a moment he paused in consternation, having expected something bleaker, a power more in line with his other abilities. What did it mean that his personal Element had manifested in a form like this?
No point getting distracted in battle. He would ask the girls their opinions later. Though he felt his Element was capable of much more, for now he focused on its core augmenting function, deciding to master that aspect before splitting his focus. Compounding its power with his blood enhancements and the superhuman force of the Forebear's Blade would be the surest path to further growth.
A small contingent of guards followed him into the mist, apparently intent on spectating in case he slew another Primary. With the Forebear's technique, his new Element, and his second arm returned to him, the strength of his blows was simply incomparable to before. Rotspawn fell like wheat before the scythe. Even the obdurate mist of the deep swamp began to recede before him, deprived of the populace upon which it seemingly relied.
He took a break to experiment further, taking in the idiosyncrasies of this new power. He could summon forth the Element in great blasts and torrents, crudely shaping it into walls or other forms. To experience its benefits, one had to be immersed in the Element itself, which meant stepping into those (harmless) blasts and walls or centering them on himself.
He launched a blast at a group of Rotspawn, which sprang upon him with unusual vigor, employing clever feints with uncanny coordination. Interesting.
Repeating the experiment, it appeared that any being who touched the Element was indiscriminately augmented. Friend or foe, it didn't matter, this power desired to uplift all things, or at the very least not to bring them harm.
Therefore he had to be careful where he fired. He could launch a blast perpendicular to the ground, then leap into that blast to launch blade-winds, but melee combat would be tricky without further practice. Frustratingly the Element refused to come forth except in massive quantities; target discrimination was quite difficult.
Unfortunately, no suitable challenger emerged this time, even as he cut down Elites by the score. Previously it had taken two or three blows to slay even one, but now they fell in droves to a single slice. It was almost boring.
He sprinted into the depths of the swamp, outpacing the retreat of the mist, gathering Rotspawn about him like the eye of some inestimable storm. Only when they were packed so densely as to crush one another did he finally stop. Setting his feet, he brought his Blade around in a single full-bodied strike, weight and furious momentum as if swinging for the fences, and with a terrible crack of thunder laid earth and sky bare around him.
The force of his blow tore great fissures into the earth; the wind howled into the sudden vacuum of his wake; like the aftermath of a great tempest the world went quiet and still. Rotspawn like cut daisies fell slowly back to earth, pulverized and obliterated by that ruinous force, piling high atop each other like impromptu battlements.
Behind him, the guards began to cheer wildly, whipping off their caps and waving them in a frenzy as the few remaining monsters began to rout. Whether out of animalistic fear or tactical prudence, the Rotspawn had broken, at least for today.
Still no viable opponent emerged. Perhaps that was to be expected. Hunger shrugged and departed the battlefield.
He walked back to the border, collected his murderer's wage and returned to the city after, dismissing the guards who importuned him to drive to the Rotbeast itself. Their vocal adulation only served to remind him of previous victory parades, though the crowds then who'd cheered the Tyrant's death had been so much louder and more joyous still...
Arriving at the hotel, he convened the party in his room to discuss the day's events.
Hunger dropped a thick bag of Sovereign currency and gold plates on the table. "They gave me a bonus for exceptional work. They want us to stay."
"I recruited some prospective duelists!" Letrizia said, opening her hand-written journal to a densely notated page. "There are some really interesting Elementalists in my class. I think you'll have fun sparring tomorrow!"
"I'm touched by your diligence, both of you." Gisena wiped a single tear from her eye. "I slacked off the whole day, but you guys more than compensated!"
"And now our due reward," Hunger deadpanned. "The hot springs at last."
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[X] Vigor Itself and [X] Control were the winners. Hunger will become competent at self-buffing (without including enemies) and basic blasting / shielding,
before the benefits of Control are applied. Hunger has earned another
12 currency units today.
Who does Hunger focus his conversation on during the hot springs visit?
[ ] Focus on Gisena - ++Gisena, reveals the conditions for Gisena's EFB-equivalent, +Mental Stability.
[ ] Focus on Letrizia - +Letrizia, discounts Super Juggernaut Undead Chimera by 1 Arete, +Information.
Letrizia has befriended the wielder of
one exceptional Element, who along with some other classmates will attend the sparring tomorrow. Choose below:
[ ] Fullmight - This boy seems to be crushing hard on her. How unfortunate for him! Though his buffs don't stack with those of Edeldross, he's highly experienced at using an indiscriminate buffing Element. There are all sorts of buffing-specific tips and tricks he can give you, making him the best of all available trainers, though there wouldn't be much point in recruiting him.
[ ] Roilweft - This taciturn boy wields impressive mastery over space and chaos, but his crippling social anxiety and drastic lack of self-confidence make it difficult for him to communicate with others. Difficult to recruit without socially steamrolling him, as basically every kind of approach would qualify as steamrolling. Almost inevitably doomed to ostracisation or exploitation in his current society. Still, the utility of his powers is undeniable, and he would be a great help infiltrating the Temple, moreso than any other recruit.
[Costs 2 Arete to recruit]
[ ] Shadowcord - This soft-spoken girl is diligent and quietly professional. Her power makes her an unparalleled assassin and duelist among Elementalists, and she cares primarily for money. With her family's blessing, she has decided to strike out into the Voyaging Realm upon her age of majority, seeking fame and (mostly) fortune. She would be a competent sparring partner (with handicaps) and valuable ally, capable of cloaking the entire party (even Verschlengorge) in attention-deflecting darkness, and performing various feats of aural magic with her synesthesial Element.
[Mercenary; costs 7 currency / month to hire]
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Finally, after the spar. Now that Hunger's familiarized himself with his new capabilities, it's time to decide on his approach to the Temple proper.
[ ] Methodical Onslaught - Clear out the Middle Temple until it's trivial for you, if not interrupted by higher-level foes. Recruit from the Encampment to get some cannon fodder. Then move to breach the Inner.
[ ] Infiltration - Pretend to be interested in their offer of recruitment and see if your power will grant access to the Inner Temple. Gather information, perhaps even perform a few missions for them to size up the Inner Defenses before striking when they are weakest. With Edeldross improving your Charisma, Wits, Wisdom and Luck this has far better chances of working than previously. +Information.
[ ] Write In - You may write in a plan. Detailed and carefully considered plans may offer better odds than the default options. Much is possible!
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The patreon is up! As is the first bonus content - a look at some possible Special Advancements! There will be another bonus content update tomorrow!
