Arc | Chapter. 50: Rumination (Patreon)

Chapter. 50: Rumination

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I didn’t know how long had passed, or what passed through my mind while I was out cold. But  when I awoke, I was lying in a forest and a weird sound was ringing in my ears. I bleary eyed, I opened my eyes, my ears muffled, my heart calm yet confused. I saw Ceylon face me only to let out a small squeal of relief, and finally, I managed to hear.

“Arc!” she chirped. “I’m glad you’re good, I was worried!”

I blinked as she clung to me, ignoring whatever cold my body produced as she embraced me, oddly enough making me feel the slightest bit of warmth. Perhaps…

“For how long was I… fainted?” I asked hesitantly.

“Enough for me to seriously worry,” Ceylon said quietly.

Meanwhile I heard footsteps draw near. “You were gone for about twenty-four hours. So, a while.”

I paused, confused as I turned to see Regis, the Dragon of Flames whose current appearance resembled a red-haired teen. He met my gaze and shook his head disapprovingly.

“I don’t understand what kind of fight you took, but next time let this be a warning.”

It was… confusing to me, but also amusing, I smiled. “Warning? It was the best.” I chuckled. “I loved every second of it towards the end; I was afraid for the first time in possibly years, and I was pushed for the first time since becoming SS Tier.”

Regis somehow, let out a sigh seeing my reaction. “I knew you had issues as soon as you attacked me for threatening you, but this is still surprising. Still… I saw you fought an Immemorial Emera Spider, those things…” He thought for a second frowning. “Those things were only present in the age of oblivion, and as strong as you are, I don’t think you are stronger than it, especially having to kill its Ancient variant first, or are you actually stronger than I thought?”

I blinked, confused as to why Regis seemed so invested in the situation. But, I still smiled; what he said, is actually why the fight was so enjoyable.

“You are right, when the fight started I was weaker than it, but…”  I smiled. “I overcame it. Though till the end its attributes were higher than mine.”

“Does it matter?” Ceylon asked. “I’m just glad she’s fine.”

I smiled, seeing the rather cute reply, but Regis slowly nodded in response.

“It does matter, but I can’t help but ask. How did you go through two fights in a row, and come out on top? All while having the energy to beat up the revived Heroine of Spiders⁠?”

I tilted my head.  “I came up with a skill called [Avatars of Frost] to deal with the Ancient Emera Spider to save my mana, and I came up with a skill called [Shattered Stasis] to conserve my mana and win against the Immemorial Emera Spider.”

Regis paused, and Ceylon blinked.

“You came up with two skills…?” she asked.

And Regis with his eyes wide, asked a question. “You are not joking, right? You came up with two SS Tier skills on the spot, in a single battle?”

“I mean… I had the rough idea of [Avatars of Frost], but yeah I guess so?” I said in confusion.

Regis swallowed and nodded, then, slowly laid down on the grass to simply look in the sky.

“What kind of monster are you?”

“Monster?” I raised my brow. “How does that make me a monster?”

He shook his head and didn’t reply, and Ceylon finally pulled me enough for me to turn to her.

“Arc, are you actually alright?”

I grinned. “I’m great. I even learned a new skill.”

Regis let out a sigh, but didn’t ask, meanwhile Ceylon’s eyes grew wide. “A new skill? What is it?”

I smiled looking at the notification.

[You have learned an SS Tier skill: Frost, Stasis, Eternity and a Prophecy.]

Its name was long, and weird. But in comparison to my skills, just bringing up my skill list there was a stark difference:

[ SS Tier skills: [SS Tier: Frost, Stasis, Eternity, and a Prophecy]  ]

[ S Tier skills: [SS Tier: Shattered Stasis], [SS Tier: Stasis], [SS Tier: Judgment of the Ice God],  [SS Tier: Avatars of Frost]... ]

It was my only true SS Tier skill.

Even [Avatars of Frost] and [Shattered Stasis] fell under S Tier, regardless of the System’s visual. Even though they were ranked according to strength; hence [Shattered Stasis] being first, it still didn’t cross into the SS Tier realm. Which was the reason I couldn’t stop smiling.

After a moment, I took a breath.

“It’s an SS Tier skill called, [Frost, Stasis, Eternity, and a Prophecy],” I said almost poetically. “As for what it does…”

I trailed off thinking for a moment, getting a sense of its effect only to smile.

“What doesn’t it do? It’s a realm type of skill.”

“That is…” Ceylon paused. “A domain type of skill? Aren’t those the most powerful kind of skills?”

“I dunno,” I said in a pleasant tone. “I’m just happy.”

“Right… I’m glad.” Ceylon nodded.

I could just feel it, the skill was strong. Incredibly so, I wanted to try it, but I already had an instinctual idea of how to control it; even if it was abstract and I couldn’t control it. However, I was looking forward to the day I had to use it.

I truly couldn’t wait.

I decided to enjoy the environment, as Ceylon finally let go of me and decided to lay next to me. Her clothes were casual, but I decided to not question it.

“You know, I didn’t think I’d be this worried for you. I’m glad you’re okay…” Ceylon admitted.

“Well, now you know how I felt during the assassination attempt in Blackcrest,” I said, chuckling, before turning to the sky. “Sorry for worrying you.”

“It’s… fine, not something to apologize for.” Ceylon shook her head. “Thank you for all the help thus far, to me and to my family. As for the future, I’ll try to make selfish decisions like you said.”

I smiled. “Good.”

And then, there was the pleasant silence of nature. Nothing to worry about, or to think about, just simple and unbridled enjoyment. I laid there, for what felt like an eternity; though it was probably a few minutes. After some time, I finally made my decision as I slowly stood up.

“We should go back to Rivas.”

“Didn’t we have business in Ranedale though?” Ceylon asked in confusion.

“Over half of the town was destroyed, as fast as they usually seem to rebuild, I don’t think it will be easy this time around.” I shook my head. “Not with the casualties; while there weren’t many, there definitely were a lot.”

Ceylon tensed, immediately rising from the ground. “That reminds me.”

I raised my brow. “Yeah?”

She stood up, and walked up to me, sternly meeting my gaze. “Why did you let the Heroine of Spiders live?”

I blinked. “She made a good offer in the way of making SS Tier monsters for me, and since she is under Jake’s supervision I see no issue with it.”

“That’s it?” She asked, irritated.

“What…?” I raised my brow, confused.

Ceylon glared at me. “You let her live, just because of that? What about everything bad she did to Ranedale?”

And I shook my head. “I killed her in the middle of Ranedale, that alone makes up for it. I’m sure they cheered too, since it happened in front of a lot of people.”

Ceylon blinked for a moment, taken aback by my rebuttal. “Isn’t that deceitful?”

“Maybe, but it is a fact that she died then and there, and I’m sure it felt like an actual death too,” I said, shaking my head. “And now, she will atone by working for me.”

“That is…” she trailed off.

“I think, it was a good thing,” Regis said musing, though it sounded as if he was forcing himself to speak. “The people of Ranedale will be happy that she paid the price; sometimes the truth is best kept hidden. Though in this case, it is not a lie either.”

With those words, he stood up stretching for a moment before shining in a bright crimson glow as Regis turned back to the Dragon of Flames, his majestic scales now shimmering to the sun as if they had never been injured to begin with.

He shook for a moment, as if dusting himself off before turning to regard us.

“Let us go back to Rivas.”

Ceylon nodded in an awkward manner, and well I was also taken aback because the topic came to an abrupt end. But I also felt like things were better this way, so I boarded the dragon, and after a few seconds Ceylon did too.

And just like that, we departed from the Black Forest and towards Ranedale.

* * * * *

Regis’karr felt weird about the information he had received, perplexed perhaps, but also oddly irritated. And, after asking Arc if the skill she learned was the only SS Tier skill she knew, he got a reply that put him at ease; that was until she added the two skills she created were S Tier and one happened to be her strongest skill.

It wasn’t something extraordinary in itself of course, plenty of other heroes had made their own S Tier skills; even though the higher tier the skill was the harder it was to make one, given enough time to perfect it, an S Tier skill was achievable. However, that was where the problem lied.

Most people, would take decades to create an S Tier skill, and based on what Regis’karr knew, heroes would still take years to create one, unverifiable rumors that the Hero of Flames had created a skill in months, but still, Arc had created a skill in mere minutes, if not seconds.

It didn’t make sense to him, and that’s why he was irritated, because there was no conceivable way for Regis’karr to believe that claim. Yet, he also didn’t take Arc for a liar, and asking for proof would hardly yield anything other than waste both of their time. So in the end, he was left alone with his thoughts, struggling to come to grasp that Arc was possibly the most talented hero he had ever even heard of.

While it wasn’t a widely widespread fact, heroes were said to be the pinnacle of their element or thing they represent. They are meant to stand at the peak in that specialization, regardless of whether the specialization was broad or narrow; insects or ants, spiders or arachnids, water or frost.

So the fact that a hero was talented wasn’t a surprise, however, Regis’karr couldn’t wrap his head around creating two skills in the midst of battle. Not only that but the woman had learned an SS Tier skill, essentially opening the gate to what they felt like.

Given that fact…

Wouldn’t she be able to create her own SS Tier skill soon enough?

While Regis’karr didn’t believe it to be a feat that had never been achieved before, it was one that was unheard of at least to him. And yet, deep down he felt like for Arc it was a matter of time, and that thought scared him.

It terrified him.

Maybe…

And he stopped his thoughts, he couldn’t entertain things or a new era or something ludicrous like that. In the end, Regis’karr focused on his destination and flew in peace, simply letting his own thoughts simmer. Because at the end of the day, Arc was extraordinary; an extraordinary individual and someone that perhaps could change the status quo on the entirety of Arlas.

The Forgotten Places, one of the looming dangers to the world…

Hours passed, and finally they arrived near Rivas, where Regis’karr transformed into his young form before being immediately taken to the Arlow’s place of residence. There, Ceylon was met with a lot of relief but also an endless barrage of questions, and all Regis’karr did was refuse to answer and to not be disturbed until further notice before heading to the guest room. One which he had been provided previously.

There he closed the door and shortly thereafter curled himself in bed, entering deep thought.

Days passed.

He was barely aware of his surroundings during this time. Of course, he still took note of Ceylon’s and Arc’s activities as much as he could, and apparently an ice business had been established in Rivas instead, but that was all he was aware of. Instead, most of his focus had been in his thoughts and feelings:

What he felt in regards to Arc and what was the best course of action, as well as how to ask for her aid when the time was right. How strong she was. What her capabilities were. What to expect from her.

So many things passed through his mind during this time, but one thing was for certain, and that was⁠—

A knocking sound startled Regis’karr, he shivered as he rose from the bed and⁠ fell to the ground before quickly recovering. His mood instantly became terrible, he didn’t understand who could bother him at this time, especially after specifically saying to not bother him until further notice.

He walked to the door and unlocked it before opening it only to be met with Arc, standing in front of him.

Regis’karr blinked in confusion, and seeing her expression he couldn’t figure out what she wanted, it was very neutral. He hadn’t spoken with her for so long, was she angry? Was she upset? Did she have an insane request for him? Regis’karr didn’t know, but he still spoke up.

“Is there anything you need, Miss Arc?”

She met his gaze.

“I am free now, take me to the Forgotten Places.”