114: Breakthroughs (Patreon)

“Yes. Yes! Show me the might of the Aprabomb!” Vason roared as he hunkered down behind his tower shield. An onslaught of blades struck his shield, forcing him to defend with all his might.

“I’m… not… a bomb!” Vir roared. Internally, he cursed at this pointless approach. Better to Leap around the big warrior, or sink into the shadows and strike from behind than to take Vason head on. He’d beaten the man repeatedly, but then Tia had handicapped him. No Talents.

With only Haymi’s Enhance Speed orb to augment his attacks, their duels had once again become far more equal.

That wasn’t quite accurate—Vir still used Prana Blade. More out of necessity than anything else. He knew just how easy it was to ruin a blade by banging it on steel armor. Even Seric was no exception to that. Prana Blade not only augmented his attacks, but protected the blade against damage when striking hard things.

He wouldn’t have dared use such a strategy were it not for Vason’s Bulwark, but thanks to the man’s Talents, they could spar without issue.

Tia had insisted he understand each member’s strengths and weaknesses firsthand, and Vason’s strength was his defense. With Bulwark active, and with his armor enhanced by Haymi’s magic, the man was frustratingly difficult to harm. Even a surprise attack would’ve had trouble penetrating all those layers of defenses.

Clang Clang Clang!

“Frontal attacks are going to have a hard time. But if you had no other choice, what would you do?” Tia asked from the sidelines, where she watched.

If I didn’t have Leap or Dance…  “I need to deal with that shield. I’ll never get through with that in the way.”

“Right.”

Vir had an idea. They were currently on a beach, and he had an old trick that seemed to always work.

Calling a quick timeout, he knelt to fix the laces on his boots. Then he lunged at Vason, taking the man by surprise.

Or so he’d hoped, but the warrior was ready. He brought his shield to bear, but then Vir ducked low and punched straight at Vason.

The man didn’t bother to move—Vir was too far to make contact.

But at the last moment, Vir’s fists opened, spraying a shower of sand into Vason’s face. Though he wore a full plate helm, they offered little protection against the fine sand.

“Agh! Sand!?”

Vir had to give the man credit. Even blinded as he was, he kept his shield in front, anticipating Vir’s next attack.

But as good as his instincts were, he was unable to predict Vir’s next attack. Using this opportunity, Vir knocked Vason’s shield aside and plunged his katar up against Vason’s neck.

“Alright! Now both of you against me,” Tia ordered, twirling her spear. “The first thing to know is that humans fight very differently from monsters. Sadly, I can’t turn into a monster for you, but I can mimic some of the attack patterns I’ve seen them use before. I want you to work together to take me on.”

“C’mon, Aprabomb! With our combined might, defeating Tia will be a cinch!”

“I’m not a bomb,” Vir muttered. Tia had had the brilliant idea of sending Vir charging in, katar blazing, to occupy their enemies. Previously, Tia had taken that role, but with Vir’s katar, he could attack far faster than any of them could. With Leap and Dance, he could evade any enemy’s attacks, allowing Tia and Vason to flank and destroy their opponents.

At least, that was the idea, but it was one thing to come up with a plan, and another entirely to execute it in perfect harmony with your team.

Tia began by activating Haste, allowing her to move even faster than Vir when he micro Leaped.

“Use whatever Talents you like!” Tia said as she flitted around them.

“Aprabomb, go!” Vason roared as he activated Bulwark.

Vir rolled his eyes. “Fine. But if we lose, you owe me one.”

“Ahaha. You got it, friend! But if we win, the first drink’s on you!”

“Deal.”

Maybe I oughta lose on purpose… But if he did, both Tia and Vason would chew his ears off. That option was strictly off the table.

“Haymi? You ready?”

“Go for it,” the convalescing mejai replied from her log nearby, where Neel kept her company. They kept these duels brief to avoid stressing her too badly; using magic took a toll on her recovery.

Deploying Prana Blade and activating micro Leap, Vir matched Tia’s agility, striking with a flurry of attacks.

After endless hours of repetition, he’d finally begun to grasp the timing of Haymi’s Enhance Speed orb. The real issue was alternating between quickened and mundane attacks—the way he used his muscles and positioned his body varied drastically between them.

She’s really fast, Vir noted. But she’s only attacking with simple strikes. Guess she’s trying to imitate an agile beast.

Whenever he Leaped to her, she’d simply run away, jabbing at him with her spear. The weapon’s long reach kept Vir from getting close; where Vason’s shield protected him, Tia’s weapon acted like a shield of its own.

“Apramor! I can’t help like this. You need to pin her down! Let’s attack from both side—Wait! Don’t act alone!”

“I got this!” Vir shouted back.

There was one critical weakness that all spears possessed. Unlike swords, their blade was only on their tip. Get close enough, and the weapon would be rendered useless.

Vir pretended to retreat while he charged a fully powered Leap.

Tia struck him with her spear, but he activated his Talent before she could react, surging right up to her.

If he was fighting alone, he’d have gone in for an attack—which likely would’ve missed.

But he wasn’t alone. He grabbed the shaft of her spear, pinning her in place, and awaited Vason’s charge.

What now, Tia? Take Vason’s attack, or abandon your weapon?

Only Vason was a moment too slow.

“Apramor, back away!” Vason replied, but Vir was unable to react in time.

Tia darted forward, smashing into Vir and taking him to the ground. Vason, not having expected such a move, charged right past where she’d been.

Straddling Vir, she then did something no one could’ve expected. She snapped her teeth together and lunged for Vir’s neck, stopping just short of it.

“There. If I was an Ash Beast, I’d have bitten your neck off.”

Vir just stared at her, too shocked to even reply. Then he burst out laughing.

“Hey! I’m being serious here!” Tia said, pouting.

“Sorry. Just didn’t expect that. If you really were an Ash Beast, I could always escape with my shadow ability.”

“Hmm. True. Still have no clue how that works. But it’s fine, I won’t pry.”

“T-thanks,” Vir said. “Now, do you mind getting off me? Haymi’s giving us dirty looks.”

“O-oh,” she said as she stood up, blushing. “Sorry.”

Vir took her hand. “Guess this one’s our loss, Vason,” he said.

The warrior hung his head. “Guess so. Guess so.”

“That was a good show, Apra, but you need to synchronize better with Vason. He was trying to match his movements to you, but you need to coordinate better with him.”

“Yeah… sorry. Still working on that.”

“It’s fine,” Tia replied. “We’ve all fought a lot together, so we kinda understand each other without having to communicate. Until you get there, make sure you’re both aware of each other at all times. Ash Beasts rarely use complex attacks. They’re fast and they’re sturdy, but by working as a team, we can take them down.”

“I really thought the Aprabomb would work,” Vason said, scratching its head.

Maybe it can.

“Vason,” Vir said, huddling next to the warrior. Can I have a word?”

He explained his plan, ensuring Tia couldn’t overhear.

“Yes? Oh. Oh! That’s a fine idea, Apramor,” Vason replied. “Yes. Let’s go with that.”

“Done strategizing? I’m up for a rematch if you are. Haymi? You good?”

The mejai waved tiredly. “I’m good, but let’s call this the last one, okay? Oh, and please don’t mount Apramor again. I’m afraid I might ‘accidentally’ cut your magic at the worst possible moment, Tia,” she said with a smug smile.

“Uh, noted…”

“Let’s go,” Vir said, facing off against Tia.

This time, the first thing he did was Leap away, allowing Vason to charge.

He’d had a realization after the last fight—until now, Vason had been responsible for keeping the enemy occupied. True, Tia’s Aprabomb strategy with Vir blitzing the enemy could work, but not against such an agile opponent.

They’d been chasing their prey instead of letting her come to them. Vason simply wasn’t as agile as Vir or Tia, and so such a strategy was doomed to fail.

This time, Tia faced off against Vason, and their familiarity with each other's styles became immediately obvious.

Tia would predict Vason’s actions, and Vason would predict Tia’s. Their duel became less and less violent until slight movements from each other would cause the other to reposition in turn. To an untrained observer, it looked as though they stood still, but each was focused on the minutia of each other's body language.

Tia finally broke the stalemate when she lunged at Vason.

Leaping at her from behind, Vir fired off one attack after another—this time without Prana Blade to avoid injuring her.

Against the deadly onslaught, Tia immediately aborted her attack to defend, but Vason then Leaped into her, hurling her back… right at Vir. Right into the Aprabomb.

His thrusts contacted with her Gambeson armor, slicing through the thick fabric.

Tia twisted her body, avoiding the brunt of the force, but then Vason swept her legs, sending her crashing onto the sand.

“Stop!” Tia shouted, panting heavily, but grinning despite the exertion. “Good! That was good! Nice teamwork there. Gotta admit, I got too preoccupied with Vason, there. Good usage of the Aprabomb.”

Vir rolled his eyes. “That’s such a terrible name for it, Tia. All I’m doing is attacking really fast.”

“But it just sounds so seric, doesn’t it? Aprabomb! It’d have been tragic to waste such a great name.”

“Uh, huh.”

“Well, I’m pooped,” Vason said, removing his helmet to reveal a sweat-covered face. “What say we head back, get cleaned up, then hit the pubs?”

“You all head back,” Vir replied. “Think I want to work on some stuff on my own. I’ll join up with you later.”

“Suit yourself, you overachiever!” Vason said. “C’mon, Haymi. Let’s head home. You too, Neel! You’ve been such a good boy. How about some treats for the good Bandy?”

Neel wagged his tail excitedly. Awoo awoooo!

“Tia?” Vir asked.

“I’m gonna stay back with you. Curious to see what you’ll get up to.”

Vir shrugged. “Suit yourself, but it’s gonna be pretty boring for you.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about me. Pretend like I’m not even here!” Tia said, kicking off her boots and digging her feet into the sand.

Vir glanced at the horizon—only a couple of hours of daylight remained. Time enough to work on Prana Blade.

He’d wanted to experiment with it more upon learning it during the mission in the mine, but with all the squad training, he’d just been too exhausted.

Plus, he needed appropriate targets. The Talent was far too dangerous to practice in his room; an errant swing could easily slice furniture in two.

Vir trudged up to the edge of the forest where it met the sandy beach and began.

HIs first strike was as normal—leveraging the prana density in his body, he released a small burst of prana, spinning it so it clung to his katar’s blade as he slashed into the tree trunk.

Tia sauntered up to look at the damage.

“This is… odd,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“Prana Blade isn’t supposed to leave such a… rough wound. Every time I’ve seen it used, it’s more like a scalpel, razor sharp and great for slicing. Yours seems… I dunno, blunt? You’re doing quite a lot of damage with it. It's just not concentrated.”

Interesting, he thought. If she hadn’t pointed it out, he’d never have known.

It was true that the way he used Prana Blade was likely different from that of other Talent wielders, but without an example to follow, all he had was his own intuition.

Flaring Prana Vision to its max, he sliced again, paying careful attention to the prana that coated his blade.

Once, twice… he kept his eyes peeled for anything abnormal.

By the twentieth slash—and after felling two large trees—he finally noticed it. Prana was dissipating from his blade. Compared to the total amount, it wasn’t significant, which was why Vir hadn’t noticed until now, but it almost looked like excess prana, bleeding off the blade.

Am I using too much prana? Vir had been so obsessed with making the ability as powerful as possible, he’d always poured as much prana as he could into the ability, but perhaps that strategy worked against him here.

With each subsequent slash, he lessened the amount of prana used bit by bit, until the ability failed to function entirely.

The results were surprising. Instead of a weaker attack as he’d anticipated, his slices penetrated deeper and deeper, leaving less of a visible wound behind.

“That’s more like it!” Tia exclaimed. “That’s now looking a lot closer to the Prana Blade I’m familiar with. What did you do?”

“Just used less prana, actually. You were right, there was too much before.”

“Hmmm. Curious. I’m not aware of anyone who can modulate Prana Blade like that. That’s a pretty unique ability, y’know?”

“Is it? I don’t know why I’d ever use the old version, though.”

Not only was his new variant deadlier, but it consumed nearly a third less prana. With Ash prana always being in such short supply, that was an advantage he couldn’t ignore.

“Hmm. I dunno about that. Go back to your original version. I wanna see something.”

Vir complied, pouring more prana into the attack than necessary. As expected, the blade’s penetration was far shallower than his optimized strike.

“Okay, now put even more prana into it, if you can.”

“Sure… but I don’t think that’ll help.”

Vir sliced again, pouring more prana, spiraling it faster so that it clung to the blade. Even then, much was wasted… but the result surprised him.

The attack was even shallower than normal, but his swipe took a chunk of the tree with it. Almost as if vaporizing the area around the blade… the wound looked like it had been caused by a far thicker, heaver weapon.

“This is amazing,” Tia said, inspecting the results. “The sharp version’s great for piercing flesh, but you could easily use this blunter version against armor. See how wide the wound is? It’s almost like you’re hitting it with a maul or something. Slashing attacks are nearly useless against tough armor, but blunt force works really well. It’s why most polearms have hammers on them.”

She’s right., Vir thought. In fact, this discovery allowed him to overcome one of his primary weaknesses—dealing with armor. Mundane armor was rarely ever a problem, but against Vason and his Bulwark, Vir had little recourse. But this augmented, blunt Prana Blade might very well be exactly what he needed.

“Thanks, Tia. I… don’t know if I’d have discovered this without your help. This is seriously useful.”

Tia clapped his shoulder. “Hey, what are friends for?” she said with a smile. “Just glad I could help.”

“It’s not just that, though. I’ve never really been able to bounce ideas with anyone before.”

Even with Maiya, their discussions were one-sided, with Vir explaining his breakthroughs, and Maiya listening. With Tia, things were far more equal… and constructive.

Which made him wonder just how many insights he’d missed. Friends, huh… He felt like he’d just glimpsed a whole new world.

“Well, if you really wanna thank me, why don’t you buy me a drink? I dunno about you, but I’m just about ready to get slammed.”

Vir sighed. This is going to be a long night, isn’t it?