Elemental Gatherers Book 4 Chapter 3 (Patreon)

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“Headmaster Glav said it is your team’s turn to enter the obstacle course,” Ming said tiredly. 

“How was it?” Jon asked.

“Fun, but very tiring,” he responded. Jon tried to give him a puppy look to get more information, but Ming just laughed and shook his head. “No hints.” 

“Aw, man,” Jon whined. He then grunted as Librarian Narwan slapped the back of his head.

“Vigilance,” he exclaimed. “You are all my students now. You will be ready to defend yourselves at any moment. Now, go, win the competition.” He vanished. 

“Ow,” Jon grumbled, rubbing his head. “I take back every time I laughed at you about him.”

“Now you know my terror,” I laughed. “Come on, let’s go see the fun.” Ming waved as we left, and he headed out to where his teammates were herding together. We waved back and jogged over to where Headmaster Glav was waiting. We lined up in front of her, looking into the course. The first obstacle was a wall, blocking the rest from sight. I’d seen some obstacle course walls before, but I’m pretty certain they weren’t ten meters tall. 

“Work together to finish the course set before you,” she intoned once we were all still. 

“Yes ma’am,” we echoed out, then ran to the base of the wall. 

“Jon, we’ll launch you up,” I said. “Reach down to grab me when Bridget and Vaya help me jump.” He nodded. Vaya and I formed a platform with our hands, and he put one foot on it. “One, two, three!” I counted, and on three we threw him up. He literally flew over the top of the wall, and only barely managed to grab a hold of it before falling down. Light! Maybe that wall needs to be ridiculous! 

“Your turn,” Vaya said. 

“Okay, throw me up, then jump up so we can grab you,” I said. I put a foot into their interlocked hands, and on three leapt upward. Jon grabbed me as I flew by, and directed my momentum until I slammed down on the wall. “I’ll grab your feet, you get Bridget.” I put action to words and held him down, dangling with only my knees on top, facing away from the wall. 

Jon reached out and caught Bridget as she was tossed upward by Vaya.  Vaya took a running leap, and bounded up the wall to grab Bridget’s ankle, and I did a sit-up to pull Jon to the top of the wall. I reached down again, helping Jon pull the girls up, and then we were on top of the wall. “Darkness, we are superhuman,” I said. 

“That’s the point of gathering,” Bridget said. “Becoming more than you were born to be. Reaching a new level of strength to protect your family and town.”

“Okay, but how do we,” I started, then looked over. Six ropes hung at the wall level in a line to a platform. “Never mind. Uh, I’ll go first.” I leapt from the platform, reaching nearly four meters from a standstill. I grabbed the rope, swung forward, and let go at the peak of the swing. I swung through the ropes, forcibly suppressing the urge to yodel like Tarzan, and reached the stop at the end. 

I landed and nearly fell off the end as I bled off my momentum. After setting my feet, I turned and caught Vaya as she landed, then clotheslined Jon as he soared past me. “Well, that was fun,” he said from the platform. There was a rope ladder leading down to another platform. We scrambled down the ladder, then were challenged with a bar that had to be stepped up to three more slots before reaching another stop. It was wide enough for two people, but there was only one bar.

“Uh, we’ll have to go bring it back, I guess?” Jon said unsurely. 

“Yeah, uh, you and me first,” I said. I jumped lightly up to the bar, and he grabbed on next to me. On a three count, we flexed up and rocked forward. A couple of motions later, we reached the stop. My arms were burning a little, but not too bad, yet. “I’ll take it back. Stretch your arms out. Uh, don’t use any Aether. I don’t know what Librarian Narwan considers a technique.” He looked at me and shuddered. 

I wiggled my way back to the others. “Off,” Bridget said. I dropped, and the girls jumped up and started to wrestle the bar back up to Jon. I flapped my arms and jumped up and down, getting my blood flowing, before Vaya arrived back with the bar.

“Come on!” She said. “We’re doing great!” 

“Yup, we got this,” I said as I jumped up. We moved together, synched up and ready to accomplish the obstacle. The next obstacle was a set of platforms that we had to jump between. They were all three meters apart, which looked ridiculous, but we were able to do so fairly easily. Bridget nearly fell at the end, as the platforms wobbled as you landed, but Jon was able to pull her up into a hug. They may have hugged a little longer than necessary, but I wasn't going to say anything in the moment. Later on, back in the room, that’s a different story. 

Each obstacle we met was conquered similarly. Teamwork and physical capability. Even without using Aether techniques, we were able to conquer the obstacles one after the other. Several required immense arm strength, as we had to hold each other through a series of tunnels that bifurcated in the middle. I swore I climbed more than I walked through the course. Finally, we literally collapsed through the finish line. 

“Good job,” Headmaster Glav said. “You have completed the first of five standard levels. The tournament will be harder.”

“Harder!” panted Bridget. “How is harder a thing?”

“One of the King’s innovations was an Inscription to increase the force of gravity on you. In the tournament, it will be used,” she answered. 

“Oh Light,” Vaya wheezed.

“Excellent job,” Librarian Narwan said, appearing next to the Headmaster. “Now, run around the circumference of the arena. Stretch your legs. Go.” We shuffled out from the spot, and I saw Anberlin and her team head to the start point. The run helped us recover, as we weren’t restricted on Aether usage anymore and could enhance ourselves to make it easier. We took our time with the run, then headed back to the targets Librarian Narwan had made. 

We spent the next two hours training, individually working on various tasks that Librarian Narwan directed us to accomplish. I focused on making multiple chains of runes, trying to create larger effects. Vaya was getting frustrated from healing me from the explosions, so I eventually subsided and just worked on speed. Combining Fire and Air Aether to make a ball of fire that exploded when it hit made me giggle though. “Fireball! Fireball! Lightning Bolt! Magic Missile!” I yelled out as we went along, getting confused looks and eyerolls from my friends. 

At least, until Librarian Narwan smacked some sense into me. “Acting stupid will reveal your origins,” he growled, then gestured to the side. I looked and saw one of the other school’s teams looking at me strangely from fifty or so meters away.

“I’m sorry, sir,” I said. He grunted, and then moved over to assist Jon. I attack the darkness, I giggled, getting that last bit out of my system, before I focused on trying to make a bigger lightning bolt. I need to learn more runes, I thought, then realized I was being an idiot. “Uh, Master,” I said, “Is there a rune that means enlarge or increase?” He gestured, and a circle with a lightning bolt through it appeared in front of me.

“Angle is important,” he said, then went back to lambasting Jon’s work ethic. Apparently, Jon had gotten distracted drawing silly pictures with Aether in the air.

“But look,” Jon tried to explain, then drew a squiggly sword and an arrow, and then threw Aether into it. A misshapen blob flew out from it and impacted a target with a clang.

“Yes, images can work too,” Librarian Narwan said. “Intent is just as important as depiction. Runes are more efficient and faster to draw. Or you can actually become proficient in art and do this.” An image of a towering tree, covered in vines, appeared in front of them. Aether flowed into it and suddenly a replica of that tree grew out of the ground, easily reaching thirty meters into the sky. The ground cracked as its roots spread, and the vines lashed out and grabbed Jon, before it vanished into Aether. Jon dropped a meter to the ground. The cracks were still there. “Until you can control the intent and depiction of the image, you will stick to runes. Understand?”

“Uh, yes, sir,” Jon gulped. He stood up and looked at the ground. We spent the next hour continuing to work, before Counselor Sila gestured us back to the entrance. I jogged over and waved at the other teams who were still watching us from the other side.

“So, that was fun,” I said. 

“Yup, I cannot wait to learn more runes now, and make more external techniques,” Bridget said. “Now we need to get ready for the reception.”

“I will help you, if you would like,” Vaya said shyly. Bridget smiled and nodded. We followed the other teams from Azyl back out of the arena. 

“Headmaster, who won?” Xiao asked. 

“The fastest team this time was Anberlin’s,” she answered. “They beat your team by thirty seconds, and Aiden’s by five minutes, twenty seconds. Aiden’s team did achieve the second fastest run through the course without using Aether at all.”

“Ha, our record is still untouched,” Librarian Narwan said from behind me. 

“Yes, but we were two stages higher when we ran this,” she admonished him. “You all did very well for your first run. Now, we will be returning to the inn. You will have two hours to recover from training, get cleaned up, and ready for the reception. New clothes will be provided to those who do not have adequate formal wear.” She looked directly at me when she said that. 

We spent the rest of the ride back to the inn joking about the obstacle course and the various falls and slips every group had.  Even Anberlin chimed in a few times, trying to reduce the tension that existed between her team and the rest of us. Well, the tension between us and Nicky, I thought, sparing a glance at the sullen boy. I won’t let my hatred for the jerk disrupt my life. Though I will be watching him.

At the inn, most everyone piled out quickly. “Uh, Master,” I said, getting Librarian Narwan’s attention. “I was wondering if you had some time to help me with one of my gifts from the King.”

“What did you receive?” he asked.

“Density Focused Aether Condensation Pills,” I said. “Eight of them.”

“Excellent! I was going to suggest you purchase those or something similar soon. You should encourage your teammates to do so. Hmm, eight pills. Good, yes, after the reception I will guide you in using the first one. You will only be able to take one a day. It will not be very pleasant,” he said.

“Uh, sir, where can we get them?” I asked, thinking of my team.

“Well, I supposed, hmm. I am your mentor. Twenty four thousand merit points, and I will get enough for your team while you get ready for the reception,” he said loftily.  “I will take payment from your teammates, not you. Go get ready.”

“Thanks sir,” I said, then rushed up to my room. Jon had pulled out the same shirt and pants he wore to the ceremony earlier and was pulling on them to straighten out the wrinkles that had formed when he dumped them on his bag.

“Get them wet, then use Air and Fire to dry them off,” I said. “That’ll get the wrinkles out. I’m going to look into the gathering technique Memory Stone while waiting for the new clothes.” 

“Have fun,” Jon said, heading out the door to go to the bathroom to get water. Okay, so the Meridian Runic Spiral Technique. What’re you all about? I thought as I opened the box again. I pulled up the first Memory Stone and put it to my forehead. 

Instantly, I was in a forest clearing. Something about it felt off, but I couldn’t figure it out. In front of me was an older version of the King. Must be his father or grandfather? I thought. “This technique is our legacy. You should only bequeath it to your family and those you deem exceptionally worthy,” the old man was saying. “Now, focus on my movements and watch the Aether I am allowing you to see.” He dropped into a horse stance, his feet wide and knees bent. His arms came up and his palms faced each other, ten centimeters between them and between his hands and chest, just in front of his center. 

A see-through image of him appeared, overlaid upon his body, and I could see the glow of the Aether inside him as he formed the familiar spirals of the Spiral Technique. “Many in the empire know the Spiral Gathering Technique. You have perfected it. Now watch how we improve it,” the old man said. In between his hands, a series of runes formed. I recognized two, Aether and Pull, but not the rest. They formed a line from his chest to his hands. He dismissed them and reformed them three times, each time commanding, “Watch!”

After forming the runes again, the Aether in his meridians started to swirl, moving faster to and from his center. In his center, around the spirals, another series of runes formed. Four runes per meridian and the Aether entering him was what was empowering the runes. I think those are Aether, Condense, Flow, and Gather, I thought, looking at the runes at each meridian. 

“Now, try to form the first stage,” the king’s father commanded. The body I was inhabiting dropped into the squat, and the old man kicked his feet apart slightly more than they were. The Spiral Gathering Technique formed, attaching to twenty-nine meridians, and Aether flowed into me. I put my hands up. I tried to make the runes between my palms, but got the spacing wrong. Over and over again, the king tried to follow the technique, until he finally got the first stage. I immediately felt the Aether flowing into me double. Light and Darkness, just that is awesome! 

Each set of runes, placed on the meridians, had to be just right, or it would injure me. I found this out as the king started the second stage, and messed up. Thankfully, the injury wasn’t bad and mostly felt like a muscle pull combined with acid reflux, but it wasn’t pleasant. The vision seemed to last for days, with them resetting positions several times, before the king managed the entire technique. Each meridian enhanced increased total Aether pull by five percent, with each eighth meridian doubling that. The final meridian doubled the total of everything before it, for an utterly massive five-hundred-fifty percent increase over the already effective Spiral Gathering Technique. That’s insane, and I love it! I thought. Just teaching the first stage will be beneficial to everyone! Uh, maybe I should ask first. Just in case. But now, time to actually accomplish it, rather than watch the king learn it. 

I pulled out of the vision to find Jon back in the room, dressed in his fanciest clothes. “Counselor Sila dropped that off for you,” he said, pointing to my bed. On it was a pair of breeches that were forest green. A bright yellow belt sat on top of the pants. Next to it was a top that looked like a gi from karate that was also forest green. The left breast had the Azyl Academy symbol stitched into it. Underneath that was a stylized Zarorzel in every color of the Elements. The gi had a couple fabric hooks that connected to the belt. Under the gi was a yellow v-neck shirt with sleeves that reached my forearms. 

After a very quick shower, I got dressed and looked into the mirror. Yeah, I’m Super Karate Man, kapow! Kachow, yeah! Lightning Bolt! “Dude, you are seriously crazy,” Jon said. “Who just looks at themselves and giggles in the mirror?” He walked out the door, shaking his head. 

“What!?” I yelled after him, before grumbling under my breath, “Calling me crazy, I’m not crazy. Keep talking to yourself and they’ll think you are. No, I'm not talking to you.” I laughed again, remembering some of my favorite movies. I hurried after Jon, not sure how much time had passed in the vision. Downstairs, I found Jon sitting with Ming and Xiao, both of whom had on a gi like me. Ming’s belt was the light blue of Air Aether, while Xiao’s was the purple of Ice. 

“Are the belts supposed to show our Affinity?” I asked them.

“Yes,” Ming answered. “Your belt shows your highest Affinity, and your symbol includes all the Affinities you have above Moderate.”

“Ah, that’s why the Zarorzel I have here,” I gestured at my chest, “has all the colors?” 

“Yes, though that might change if your powders become more widespread,” Ming said. “If everyone has a rainbow, then there are many that will be upset. Several noble houses pride themselves on having Affinities in all the Elements, though I think they are supporting all of their scions with pills. It is expensive, but they can afford it.”

“Well, hopefully we’ll be able to change that. Let many people reach that same level,” I said. I looked at his symbol and found a rune I didn’t recognize. 

“It means knowledge,” Ming said, following the direction of my gaze. Like mine, his symbol had all the colors.

“Why did I not get a shirt like that?” Jon asked. 

“It is only for nobles,” Xiao said haughtily, though he flushed afterward as he realized what he’d sounded like. 

“As Xiao said, the keikogi is only allowed to be worn by nobles,” Ming said. “I do not know why that is the case, but it is.”

“Gee, great,” Jon grumbled. “There are only going to be a couple of us not wearing that tonight, right?” Xiao nodded with a grimace on his face. 

Ming shrugged, “It is what it is. You being there, at a reception with the king, is only going to help propel you into notoriety. Remember, you will automatically become a Knight when you reach Complete Core. Learn all you can now, and you will go far.”

“Thanks,” Jon said, blushing at his outburst. 

“Well, you look fancy,” Mlody said as she came in with a tray of fruit and tea for everyone. She looked me up and down rather frankly, and I blushed under her scrutiny.  “You shined right up. Can I get you some tea?”

“Uh, y, yes, please,” I stammered, thinking of what Jon and Ming had said earlier about her liking me. 

“Of course,” she said with a curtsy, then she hurried back out of the room. As she left, Jon burst out laughing. Ming and Xiao shared a smile while shaking their heads. I glared at them, then sat down.

“How much more time do we have?” I asked. 

“Twenty minutes,” Xiao said. “Just waiting on the girls now.” We joked for a bit about women taking longer than men to get ready. No matter how different this world is, somethings are the same. Tea came out, and we snacked on the fruit and tea for a couple of minutes. Nicolai came down next, grimaced at us, then sat on the other side of the room. Zhin came down just after him and seemed torn. I gestured with my head at Nicky, not wanting him to be completely along. I smiled when I did it to try to take the sting out, and he nodded at me before joining Nicolai. 

The first young woman down was Lea. She was wearing the same dress as before, but had used makeup to accentuate her green eyes. Jamila was next, and she had styled her hair in waves down her back. A very light touch of makeup made her even more beautiful, and she blushed from my unabashed stare. 

The rest of the young women came down simultaneously, all of them wearing either the same or similar dresses to this morning, but covered by the keikogi. Nice to know that the style doesn’t treat women too differently than men. Of course, that just means that guys get traded as marriage partners just as much as girls. Grr. Vaya was last down, and she winked at me when pointing to her symbol. A panther was now depicted in the rainbow colors of her Affinities. I looked and saw that everyone with a keikogi had all the colors in their symbols.