Ascension Blood - What A Busy Day
A loud but calm voice commanded, "Forward," Victor's squad advanced as one, hounding their foes as they pushed into enemy lines.
It had been a month since Victor arrived in the Dawn Fortress.
"Hold." Their formation halted, but their attacks continued, defending their position with fury.
A long and grueling month of endless training. Of constantly being pushed to their limits.
"Yield." Without hesitation, they began to retreat. Yet even as they did so, they fought.
Victor loved it.
"Forward." Their momentum shifted. The enemy was caught unaware by the sudden change. A fatal mistake, which his squad capitalized on. The enemy tried to hastily defend, but it was too late. Spear met bronze and in moments the battle was over.
Then the "enemy" started to complain.
"How the hell did we lose!"
"That was cheap!"
"Yeah! That was against the rules!"
"We demand a rematch!"
Victor frowned. This was a sight that had been getting more and more common as the weeks had gone by. His squad gets challenged, they win with some "trick", and the losers whine. It only gets worse, too, as the difference between their squads grows.
No one likes losing to those weaker than you after all.
And Victor's squad was weaker. There was no denying that. The complete lack of any 2nd Heavenstage members confirmed it. But they had broken their backs to keep up with their more "receptive" peers. They've trained until they couldn't move, studied until they passed out, and cultivated every second possible. Victor even made it to 1st Heavenstage, despite his bloodline.
But they were still falling behind.
He hated it. He hated that their best was barely good enough. And he hated that people looked at their success and called them cheaters. As if the only way they could win was to cheat. He could stand being mocked, he didn't have time to be offended anyway. But to be called a cheater? That was too far. It was an insult to all the work they had done.
Victor opened his mouth, and-
-was cut off as the calm voice from before spoke: "You asked for a Standard Spar. That's exactly what we gave you."
Flavia Glyca, Victor's squad leader, was an impressive tactician and utterly unflinching in combat… and outside it.
One of the losers yelled back, "You suddenly switched attack patterns! Standard Spars specifically say you have to stick to one!"
"No, they don't." A calm but irritated voice cut in: "The rules say you have to stick to one set of attack patterns."
Macedonius Bardas, rearguard: he had practically memorized the Legionnaire rulebook.
The loser was about to argue again, but an annoyed voice shouted over him: "Let's just go already! We're wasting time!"
Augustina Sphrantze, vanguard like Victor, incredibly skilled but a bit of a hothead.
The fifth member of the squad, Lucas Planudes, only nodded. He was a rearguard, like Mace, but he did not talk as much. Or in general really. The other two members, Valens Philoponus and Calixta Gregora didn't say anything. They were both middle guard. Cali was from a minor noble family and Val was from a merchant one.
Victor sighed, "You're right Tina. Let's get out of here." It was true too. Each one of them had signed up for every training session possible.
And so the squad walked away from the still-sputtering losers.
As they walked, Flavia began to go over the fight. "Alright guys, that was a good session. We really 'moved as one' as Instructor Constantinus would say. Cali, you need to be a bit more aggressive with your attacks, but otherwise, you did fine."
Cali flinched at the call-out. "Sorry, I'm just a little tired."
"Hey, it's alright. Just make sure to get some rest." A concerned Valen said.
She smiled, "Please don't worry about me, I'm fine."
Flavia shook her head: "No, Val's right, Cali. Make sure you get a good night's sleep. We need you in top form. That goes for all of you. Especially you, Vic, I know you've been staying up to cultivate."
Victor rubbed the back of his head: "Sorry… I'll be more careful in the future."
She raised an eyebrow.
He sighed, "Fine. I'll go to sleep early tonight."
Flavia nodded, "Good," and continued, "That was our last scheduled spar of the day, so I'll see you all tomorrow. And…" She smiled, "Great work, everyone, keep it up."
Saying their goodbyes, the group split off to their respective classes. Flavia to her leadership lecture, Mace, Val, and Cali to their course on logistics, and Lu heading to his blacksmith instructor.
As for Victor? He had a lecture on Formations to get to.
---
Formations. The pillar of Golden Devil combat. The thing that has allowed the Clan to not only survive against all the barbarians crashing against their walls… but to thrive. From the most basic Dust March to the Clan's signature Hoplite Formation. Each formation granted the Legions a vital advantage.
And Victor sucked at them.
Oh, he could go through the motions. Block this way to spread the force or step that way to move as one. But it doesn't matter. The moves are utterly pointless if you can't link your qi. If you can't do that one thing, you can't form a formation.
Not that Victor
couldn't link his qi, mind you. His friend Lipita helped him get past that issue after he became a cultivator. No, his problem was staying connected once the Formation started moving. Especially in combat where things were constantly changing. It had been an ongoing problem since day one. And one that Lipita couldn't solve. That really frustrated her. He can't imagine why else she would agree to spend so much time helping him with his bloodline.
But back to the matter at hand: Victor ended up reaching out to Instructor Constantinus for a solution to his problem. After explaining his issue, the man actually had the gall to laugh! Apparently, he had already noticed the issue and was wondering when Victor would ask for help. It annoyed Victor at the time, but considering the advice he got, the annoyance was worth it.
"Get good at formations." He raised his palm as he saw Victor getting ready to complain: "No, listen. I mean that you have to get really good. So good that you can predict what the formation will do next before it even happens. I'd recommend taking every formation class available. No matter how irrelevant they may seem."
It may not seem like much, but it gave Victor a goal. It also gave him a reason to take a bunch of formation classes he absolutely would've passed up otherwise. As such, he was currently taking Formation History I, the Science of Formations, Extra Formation Practice, Formation In Combat, and the class he was going to now, Formations and Feng Shui.
He'd be lying if he said he enjoyed it.
But it was helping him understand formations better and that was all that mattered. With that, he stepped into the lecture hall.
----++++++----
Lipita breathed and opened herself up to the world. Through her breath, she connected to the energy of the heavens and the earth, the potent vital qi of the Third Sea. Of course, being a Delphi, said energy looked askance at her invitation and slid into her body like a belligerent hooligan diving in deep with a painful aggravation. So really just like any other day since she'd begun cultivation.
Around the members of her training cohort sat in similar meditation, drawing from spirit stones practicing their cultivation. They had spent several hours drilling themselves in maneuvers and formations trying to get that unity of purpose that so characterized the renowned combat ability of the Golden Devil Clan. They were painstakingly slowly getting there with many fumbles and mishaps.
Lipita was refraining from as yet drawing on her weekly allotment of spirit stones as an Aspirant. The enclosed barrier of the Indomitable Peaks trapped qi within the Talk Wheat Fields creating an area of heightened spiritual energy not common to the Organ Meat Desert. It wasn't much, just enough to allow the average Aspirant to cultivate to the 1st Heavenstage in a mere 30 to 40 years but it presented a welcome opportunity to sharpen her sensitivity and strengthen the resilience of her will.
So she breathed letting raw environmental energy storm through her body tempering her will against the pain of cultivation enhanced by her family curse of the Harrowing. After acclimating to the unpleasantness, she began to practice familiar aura and sense expansion exercises drilled in her during her tutelage under the main family. Cycling qi through her eyes, nose, ears, skin, and tongue she carefully monitored how even the minuscule amount of qi she had access to at her low advancement improved acuity in those senses. Learning to handle the stimuli of boosted senses would take much more practice but she was getting there. Satisfied with her progress in physical enhancement, Lipita changed her focus to her spirit. Straining and pushing her intent outside herself, she felt for her peers around her awkwardly projecting her spirit sense around like a blind man groping in the dark. This form of active perception was a bit more difficult with the increased qi in the air dulling impressions. Her passive sensitivity was lit up with the potent blazes of mighty arrays and elders in her near environs radiating their spiritual presence but critical examination of veiled and distant targets would require more effort. Slowly she made out the presence of subtler signatures in the ground and in the air. Nearby to her rear, she could detect Callum cycling fairly deeply in meditation if the focused scrutiny she was putting him under didn't draw his notice.
Lipita spent several more minutes in practice, examining her peers and passerbys. A passing senior slapping at her projected sense giving her a mild headache from the backlash of the disruption taught her to be more cautious about choosing the subjects of her scrutiny. In time, she tired of her exercise and halted to switch to something more interesting. The Century Oasis Formation was a recent introduction to the curriculum for Aspirants in a manner of speaking. One hundred years of use in a clan with a long legacy such as the Optimatoi was not much really. She'd purchased a more detailed manual on the formation after the basic introduction in lectures had caught her attention. As an open formation that didn't just draw on the strength of the component members of the technique but also the dragonlines of sky and land, it might help her figure out a way to help her friend Victor Wulf bring up his abysmal competence with the techniques. Trying to assist him to get the requisite formations under his belt was pushing her to master them faster and better herself. Why she'd even put in a request to study a variant of the Kataphraktoi Formation, the Philoctetes, to see if the elemental transformation of qi to poison would be of use to Victor. Settling down to read, she drew deep on her dantian and sent delicate tendrils of wine up into her brain to engage her Palace of Memory. Borrowing texts was so much more profitable when you could easily memorize the content.
----++++++----
Stretching his back as class ended, Victor began making his way back home. Today's lecture was fairly insightful today. The teacher gave a deep dive into how the feng shui that was a part of the formations worked… and how to disrupt your opponent's. It was a good class. A lot more practical than he thought it would be too.
All he had left to do for the day was visit Lipita so she could continue her experiments on him. They were part of her attempt to help him with his bloodline. She's trying to find a way for him to cultivate faster. Although, Victor did wonder how much Lipita was really learning. All she does is poke and prod him as he cultivates.
Victor's musing was cut short when suddenly, a familiar figure descended from the sky before him.
"Elder Ypsilanti!?"
She grinned: "Yep, yep, that's me! It's good to see you again, Victor! And I see you reached 1st Heavenstage, just as I knew you would!"
Victor smiled back, "Yeah, I managed it in less than two weeks. Unimpressive as that sounds."
She waved away his modest response: "Nonsense, Victor! You should be proud!"
"I guess…"
Seeing his expression, the Elder placed a hand on his shoulder: "I'm serious, Victor, this is an accomplishment. Getting to 1st Heavenstage with your situation? So quickly? That's impressive. Don't diminish that." The sudden comment took Victor off guard.
He had forgotten how insightful the strange Elder could be.
Trying to change the subject, Victor asked, "Anyways, since you're here, does that mean it's time for the-" he paused and looked around— "secret experiment?"
Ignoring his attempt at subtly, she loudly answered, "Yep, yep. It's time for the 'modified mutant bronze blood enhancement ritual experiment'! Or the MMBBERE, as I like to call it!"
"Why are you shouting! Isn't it supposed to be a secret?!"
She laughed: "Don't worry, don't worry. I made sure there was no one nearby! And even if someone did come around—" She pulled out a metal plate from her robes "-I have a privacy array."
"That's… fair. I guess." He sighed: "So what now? Are we going?"
The Elder nodded "Yes, yes, we are. Are you ready?"
He didn't want to leave Lipita waiting, but… "I am." This was more important.
He was sure she'd understand.
"If that's the case, then," She stretched out her arms: "Come, let me carry you."
What?
"What?"
"I said, let me carry you." She repeated it as if it made perfect sense.
"Why?!"
"We'll get to Senior Elder Destasia's lab faster."
"Is it really that far away?"
She nodded.
Sighing in defeat, Victor conceded and prepared to be picked up when… Elder Ypsilanti started laughing.
"You, you should've seen the look on your face!"
Dumbfounded by the sudden shift in attitude, Victor sputtered, "I- what- you-!"
That just made her laugh harder.
Watching on in utter bafflement at the hollering Elder, Victor couldn't help but start to laugh, too. Maybe it was the stress of the past few weeks or the ridiculousness of the Elder's joke, either way, he laughed. And for a few minutes, that's all they did. Laugh at a dumb joke.
And when the laughter finally died down, Victor cleared the tears from her eyes and said, "Thank you, I needed that.'
She smiled, "I could tell. And I'm glad you're feeling better. But we do have an experiment to get to. So we should hurry along."
"Right, lead the way."
---
Despite Elder Ypsilanti's offer to carry him being a joke, she was being serious when she said it was far away. It took them an hour of running, or floating, in the Elder's case, to get there... despite already being in the research sector. The place was massive. Both the sector and the veritable palace they had arrived at.
It felt like a bit much for a research lab.
When Victor said exactly that, Elder Ypsilanti laughed: "You'd think so. But no. Experiments done by Core Formation experts can be quite dangerous, so it's best to keep them spread out and under multiple defensive arrays… especially when it comes to the Senior Elder." She grimaced at the end.
Victor suddenly felt a lot more worried about the coming experiment.
Walking right past the guards, they stepped into the entrance hall. It was abuzz with activity, as what he could only assume were assistants ran in every direction. Flagging one down, the Elder said: "Excuse me, we're here for an experiment involving mutant bloodlines. Where should we go?"
The man answered, "onefloordowntakealefttothethirdhallitsthefourthroomontheright" before immediately running off.
...Victor had no idea what the man had just said. But apparently, that was enough for Elder Ypsilanti, who began leading him through the halls and down a set of stairs. Stopping in front of a random room, the Elder turned to Victor.
"Okay, kid, this is it. Past this door, we'll be in Senior Elder Desrasia's clutches. If you want to turn back now, I completely understand."
Victor shook his head: "I came this far, haven't I?"
"Right. Just get ready, you might see some things you find disturbing-" she swung open the door, "-or not."
Instead of revealing the laboratory of a mad scientist what they saw was… a waiting room full of people. Just like that, all the wind was pulled out of Victor's sails. He had been expecting something truly horrifying. Or at least a place with vials, cauldrons, and array supplies all around.
"Oh well. Guess we have to wait." Completely unbothered, Elder Ypsilanti stood against a wall and said: "Go take a seat."
Doing so, Victor took a look around. The first thing he noticed was that there were a lot more people than he would've expected for a "secret experiment". Maybe it was more unadvertised than it was secret? Whatever the case may be, there were a lot of people. The room was almost full, with only a few chairs left unoccupied.
He also noticed how varied in appearance the other test subjects were. Unlike Victor and a few others, most had some physical indicator of their bloodline. Be it a minor discoloration or a complete lack of bronze skin.
As he looked around, more subjects came in. Just like with him, the aspirant would sit down while the Elder would stand against the wall. And after a few minutes, the last seat was filled. Right as the last person sat down, an unknown Elder came out of a side room.
"Everyone's here? Great! I'm Elder Destacsia, yadda yadda let's get started already! Eine Minnie Minny- you!" She pointed at a random trainee. "Come on, let's see what this will do to you. I'm just dying to see the results!"
Without even making sure they were following her the Elder walked right back into the room. Utterly confused, the trainee just stood there looking towards the Elder that I assume brought them.
The woman stuck her head out of the doorway: "Well, what are you waiting for? Let go!"
Reluctantly, the trainee followed her in. For a few moments, there was silence. Then there were screams. Screams that went on for a few minutes before abruptly cutting out. A few moments later, the trainee finally walked out. They were clearly shaken.
Elder Desacsia, however, was beaming: "That went great! Alright, let's see who's next… hmm, you!"
And that's how the next half hour passed by. Elder Destacsia would call someone in, they'd reluctantly go in, screams would happen, and after a few minutes they'd come out shaken but unharmed.
Eventually, Victor's turn came. Walking into the testing room he found himself in an operation room. One filled with strange devices, vials of glowing liquid, and jars containing… things. This was the kind of mad scientist lab Victor had been expecting. The kind he was finding a lot less interesting now that he was going to be experimented on in.
With unrestrained excitement, the Elder said: "Lay down on the operating table."
Doing as he was instructed, Victor immediately felt a number of restraints take hold. He couldn't even move his head. Steeling his nerves Victor took deep breaths as Elder Desacsia flit around the room humming to herself.
"There we go! Everything's ready. Now, from what your records state, you have the 'dull bronze bloodline' which means you're fairly qi resistant. Right?"
Victor didn't like where this was going.
"More specifically, you're resistant to qi overload."
He
really didn't like where this was going.
"Which means I don't have to be as gentle with you!"
This was going to be bad.
"Now just hold still."
Not like I-
Victor's mind went white with pain.
While he was thinking of a sarcastic comment the Elder had plunged a massive needle filled with a molten red liquid into Victor's side. To say the next couple minutes were painful, would be a horrendous understatement. It was as if actual lava had been poured into his veins. As if heaven itself had decided to rend his flesh from his bones.
It felt like an eternity before the pain finally receded.
And when Victor's conscious mind finally reasserted itself, he found himself face to face with a disappointed Elder Desacsia. She was staring him up and down and tracing his body with her suffocating qi. He tried to speak up but she just hushed him.
Eventually, she stopped and declared: "A completely boring success."
He felt a wave of relief when he heard that. He had actually been worrying that this experiment would do more harm than good. But boring? He was totally happy with boring.
Releasing his binds she continued: "Your bloodline was refined as much as it could be… but that's it. There isn't a single mutation. Utterly disappointing. Oh well, I guess you can't win them all."
Being ushered out of the room Victor followed Elder Ypsilanti as she led him out of the building. And in silence, they began walking in the direction they came from. It took a few minutes before either of them spoke up.
Of course, it was Elder Ypsilanti: "I might as well get it out of the way. How are you feeling?"
Victor thought for a while before answering: "I have just gone through the most painful experience of my life. The kind of pain that I will never forget. All to be called a disappointment at the very end. Meaning it probably didn't help with my bloodline at all."
"But?"
He smiled: "
But, I feel stronger than ever. It's like I jumped a small realm but, y'know, without
actually jumping a realm." The Elder gave an amused nod as Victor went on: "And while it didn't help my bloodline problem, I don't it made things
worse. So ultimately, I think things worked out."
"True, true. Although I do recommend you get a check-up, just to be sure. Maybe a certain someone who is probably waiting for you right now?"
Victor paused.
"You forgot, didn't you? Don't worry, don't worry, I'll get us there in a split second… if you let me carry you."
Victor violently shook his head: "No." Lipita would never let him live that down. "I'll just have to sprint. But first…" Victor gave a deep bow and said: "Thank you for all of your guidance Elder Ypsilanti. You've helped me more than you can ever know. And if there is ever a way I can repay you, please, just ask.
The Elder stared at him for a full five seconds before bursting out in laughter.
"Wha- hey! I'm being serious right now!"
She laughed: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's just-" she took a deep breath, "-you'd need to get much stronger before even thinking of paying me back."
"Then I will."
The declaration surprised the Elder. It was said with such solid conviction she couldn't help but believe it was true. She smiled: "I look forward to it then."
"Uh, yeah. See you around."
And just like, he was back to normal.
"I hope we meet again."
Nodding, Victor took off towards Lipita's lab.
He just hoped he wouldn't have to drink that awful concoction again. He'd honestly prefer to get naked again, as embarrassing as that was.
---+++---
Lipita slowly circled Victor with a furrowed brow. Her fellow Aspirant was topless, torso bared in the cool air of the room.
"You know, I never asked how you got a personal workshop so soon as an Aspirant. That's not normal, is it?" Victor asked, trying to keep still as he'd been requested.
"This isn't actually mine." Lipita idly replied not breaking her concentration. "The family maintains an estate within the Dawn Fortress even though our MN major holdings are outside it. As such, there are a number of workshops available for allocation and I got a good word from my old master sent to the staff in charge of distribution."
Victor wondered what it would have been like to be part of an established cultivator family with multiple properties and enough wealth to allow juniors free access to equipped workshops. His background was much more modest. Then again from what his friend shared about her family's difficulties in cultivation maybe he was well enough as he was even with poor talent.
Stepping back as she concluded her examination, Lipita offered her opinion. "I don't know exactly what was in the infusion that Elder Destacia had you take but I can surmise its effects. It appears to be a booster to the Blood of Bronze advancing the progression of its concentration. When my master Chemos had me assessing Legionnaires offering up vitae I had the opportunity to test the average potency of the Clan's bloodline in the first two great realms. As far as I can tell you are manifesting the Bronze as though you were in Foundation Establishment."
Victor watched amused as Lipita trailed off into muttered introspection.
"Astonishing really. The archives indicate that the power of the Blood of Bronze infused into legionnaires has declined with the fortunes of the clan. How did they manage this resurgence? The Callista scion, Rina, is said to have Celestial Gold but that's a singular occurrence. Perhaps…"
Knowing from past experience that letting Lipita get lost in her head would leave him abandoned, Victor waved a hand in front of her, snapping her back to focus.
"What does this mean for me? I'm already having enough difficulty as is cultivating and participating in formations. Is this going to help me or hurt me?" He asked.
Lipita shrugged in response, "It certainly shouldn't hurt you. You weren't any less responsive to my spirit senses so it hasn't negatively affected your receptiveness. We'll continue testing and observing. I'm sure the Elder and her staff will call you back in for a follow-up. We'll know more then, when the effects manifest fully as the infusion settles in your system."
Sighing as another hope for increasing his qi receptiveness didn't pan out, Victor dressed himself. Lipita was already at the door and calling for him.
"Hurry up, slowpoke. I have an interesting formation I just learned that I want to try out and I got some of your training squad to help out. We'll be late if you don't move your thick skull faster."
Victor Wulf wondered how he'd ever become friends with this pain in his posterior. She was a headache and a half all by herself.
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@occipitallobe
Omake Bonus: LST
Note: This took me way too long to finish. I started writing this a
month ago. But once I reached the part of the actual experiment (even though I knew what I wanted to write) I got hit by a massive writers' block. And if it wasn't for
@Insane-Not-Crazy help, I wouldn't have been able to get it done today either. So thanks for that.
But onto the omake itself. This is mostly a set-up chapter. We meet Victor's squad, get a glimpse of his situation in the clan, and see how hard his whole squad is working. I like it, but ultimately, not much happens.
As for my decision to go for an impact boost again... well, it fits the omake? I did consider going for a LST but... nah. Maybe next time. I have been convinced to go with an LST. It doesn't really fit story-wise but I think it's fine. I'll just go into the Qiguai realm in hopes from some bonus Impact to make up for it.
