Chapter 10: The Skills of Leadership (Patreon)

“So when I eat food… I’m burning it?” Stella said in confusion.

Aarl looked up from where he was caramelizing the kellfruit. “That would really smother my fire. Or stoke it?” He eyed his cooking with a perturbed expression.

Nathan snorted at the interjection. “Kind of. You’re oxidizing it from carbohydrates into carbon dioxide, which is a more oxidized state. Burning the food does the same overall conversion, but your body does it differently so it's more efficient and so you're able to use the energy to power your muscles, instead of just having it all go to heat.” He paused. “Though skills and Talents can definitely mess with that. Stamina is cheating.”

Sarah was frowning down at a rifle round that she was holding. “Then how does burning gunpowder move a bullet?”

“Well, the charcoal in there burns just like a carbohydrate does, but it’s not being oxidized by the oxygen in the air. The oxidizer is solid and mixed in. The process produces hot carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas, and that gas needs to expand so it just pushes the bullet really fast. So not all of the energy is going to heat, some of it is going into expanding gas.”

“Huh.” Sarah said, spinning the cartridge through her fingers. “That’s an Insight.”

Nathan was about to continue, but Khachi give him a warning look and he hesitated. “It’s late, and we do have a lot to do. Can I take a watch rotation tonight?”

Khachi replied with a thankful nod. “You can take the morning shift. It is the most likely time for an attack, and you are the most suited against these threats.”

“Great. I’ll head to bed then.” Nathan got up from his chair and snagged one of the soft slices of fruit before heading upstairs to bed.

Funny how magical healing - and [Perfected Body] - mean that brushing teeth isn’t a thing on Davrar. 

–

The night passed without incident, though some nearby celebrations meant it wasn’t entirely quiet. During his watch Nathan was able to relax a bit more. He was glad to have some more time to sit and think. He realized what was bugging him was that he didn’t have a true plan right now, or a way to make one. When he’d first come to Davrar, his objective had been clear - destroy Giantsrest. He’d needed to find his feet and figure out the details, but the objective and the means of achieving it had been relatively clear.

Get good at killing slaving mages, then kill a bunch of slaving mages. Simple. 

But now, the objective was much murkier. He didn’t know what a reasonable goal was. If Davrar was some kind of artificial world built as a game, what did that mean? Could he change how the game worked? Was he just flailing against something that couldn't be changed? 

I’m not even certain it really is a game. Maybe an ancient civilization set up some super-powerful wizardry and programmed things this way. Maybe the Endings are necessary to prevent Davrar from exploding or something. There’s also what happened on the Solstice, where the Seals were recharging the sun - or something. 

“Huh.” Nathan hadn’t thought about the Seal that sat atop Gemore in a while. He hadn’t been able to learn much about the strange door the last time he’d been in Gemore. But his ability to sense and understand magic had advanced dramatically since then.

I bet it’s wizardry. I should definitely drop by and see what I can learn before I leave.

The Heirs woke to join Nathan a few hours before dawn. They wanted to be prepared to make the most of the day. After all, they were planning to purge the city of golems today.

Khachi pushed the door open and led the way outside. There was a small crowd of people waiting for them who burst into mutters and low cheers as soon as the Heirs emerged. A woman came forward and bowed stiffly. Nathan expected her to praise them, but he was surprised.

“Honored Heirs of Gemore. There are two golems nearby, and the Adventurer Vhala asks that you defeat them.” She proceeded to describe the two locations while avoiding eye contact. “I can lead you, if you wish.”

“That will not be necessary. We will find these places and destroy the murderous constructs that dwell there.” Khachi replied in a booming voice. The crowd cheered louder, and Khachi basked in the praise, soaking it up like a plant soaked up sunlight. His glow spread out to encompass all five of them, making every member of the Heirs look like they were standing in a heroic painting. Except Nathan, of course. He was very aware that his shirt was stained and his hair could use a comb. 

He rolled his eyes at the display, then walked up into the air to get the ball rolling. The Heirs were grumpy when they followed him a minute later but he didn’t have a lot of sympathy. “Come on, we have a job to do. Let’s earn that adoration before we enjoy it.”

“But our deeds -” Stella cut off when Nathan arched an eyebrow at her. Her eyes flicked to the pile of rubble that was all that remained of the Academy, which was just visible over the rooftops as they climbed to get a better vantage point. Then she frowned and pointed. “What’s that?”

Nathan followed her finger, seeing figures moving among the rubble of the Academy. They looked big despite the distance, and Focus sharpened his vision. “Those are golems. They’re digging into the ruins?” He rose a little bit higher into the air to get a better angle. The giant statues were carving a trench into the rubble and dumping the debris into the surrounding streets. Nathan watched as a trio of golems hauled a particularly heavy block away, freeing a fourth golem that stood up and stretched before reaching down to retrieve a giant bow and bending it back into shape.

Oh shit. They’re digging out the rest of the golems. That one was one of the anti-air defense golems from near the top of the tower. I’m amazed it survived the fall.

“They're digging out the buried golems. We need to go deal with that.” Nathan said, more calmly than he felt. “At least it looks like most of them gathered in one place.”

Khachi rose up next to him, supported by a diffuse cloud of golden light. His hammer and shield were hooked onto his back, and the wolfman folded his arms and studied the ruins of the Academy. “We should destroy the nearby golems first. They are the brightest danger.”

Nathan did a double-take take at the divinely-powered flight. “How are you flying so quickly? Just yesterday you said you might have an idea for how to do it.”

The [Shield of Hope] gave a lopsided grin. “My class approves of my deeds. Freeing the enslaved is worth a dragon’s hoard.” His grin slipped and he looked down at the crowd with a measure of disquiet. “So is worship. It grants power. Though that power also makes Davrar seem simple, and worthy of judgement.” The self-doubt stood out as unusual coming from him. 

Nathan pursed his lips, looking around at the other Heirs as he thought of a response. “Just… be self-aware. Pull back if you catch yourself thinking in absolutes, and trust us to intervene if you go off the deep end. Now, should we go kill some golems?” 

The Heirs agreed enthusiastically, and they tracked down the nearby golems in short order. The first one was busy patrolling a single block over and over again, and a rut of cracked stone betrayed that it’d been doing this for a while. It didn’t see them approach, so it was simple for Aarl to swoop down behind it and dice the golem into a dozen pieces.

As they made for the second location, Sarah spoke up. “I don’t know if I need enchanted rounds against the golems or if mundane bullets will work. Let me kill this next one.”

“As your flame calls.” Khachi replied with an amused tone. “But it has nested itself inside of a building.” He pointed down to a warehouse with a gaping hole in the wall.

“Well, get it out.” Sarah replied in a disgruntled voice.

“I got it.” Nathan said with the air of long-suffering. He dropped down to the hole and peered into the shadowy cavern beyond. It was full of stacks of lumber that blocked his sight. “Hey! You big dumb lumbering lunk of stone! Get out here and fight me like a man! Or a giant, I suppose.”

The grinding of stone on wood came from within, but no golem emerged. Nathan eyed the building in displeasure. His magical senses could tell that the golem was lurking out of view to the right of the opening, but he didn’t want to go in after it. A fight in a tight area like that played to the golem’s strengths. With his recent [Immortal Body] Development the golem likely couldn’t kill Nathan, but that didn’t mean he wanted to get stomped into paste.

“This target is mine.” Stella called from above, and he glanced up to see her putting the finishing touches on a fireball about four feet across. She released the scintillating purple orb and it drifted slowly down towards the warehouse. Then she tossed a second, much smaller, fireball at high speed to blow a hole in the roof. The larger fireball flew neatly through the hole and Stella pumped her fists in victory.

The entire building blew up. Flaming wreckage flew in all directions and smoke and dust obscured the area. The Heirs were protected by a quick shield from Stella, but Nathan barely managed to escape the blast radius and was still pelted by wooden splinters that ripped at his clothing.

But Sarah was ready, and her rifle cracked as she aimed down into the cloud of dust. She didn’t look away as her hands blurred to load another round into the large bolt-action rifle. Moments later her gun spoke again, and then a third time. Only then did Sarah nod and stow the weapon, satisfied with the work.

A gust of magical wind blew away the smoke and dust to reveal the blast-site. All that was left of the building was a foundation and scattered flaming wreckage. The golem was laid out near the edge of the crater, slightly scorched but with the head shattered and broken from three overlapping bullet impacts.

Void of Magic has leveled to 597! Your party has destroyed a rogue golem!

Stella looked down at the golem in disgust. “Hear me, are the golems immune to fireballs? That blast did nothing to it.”

“It lit the neighborhood on fire.” Nathan grumbled as he climbed back up to join the other Heirs. He glowered at Stella. “That was dumb.”

“He wasn’t leaving the building.” She protested. “So I killed the building.”

“And now the freed slaves won’t be able to use it, or all of the lumber that was inside!” Nathan replied. “There were so many other options available to us. I could have killed it with my aura, or you could have been more precise in taking down the building. Or Aarl could have chased it out, or…” He fumed. “This, this right here is why I’m scared to teach you the most dangerous Insights. You blast first and ask questions later. We have so many ways to solve problems now, and we need to be responsible in how we do things.”

She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it and looked to the rest of the Heirs. Sarah and Aarl’s faces were studiously blank, while Khachi’s glare matched Nathan’s own. She turned to survey the destruction and the scattered fires and winced. Her tone was apologetic, “...pardon my ax. I’ll smother the flames.” She started circling the area, using fire and wind mana to quash the fires before they could catch on any of the surrounding buildings.

Tutoring 4 achieved!

He blinked at the notification as he climbed up to join the other Heirs. Did this mean that the lesson had finally sunk in? 

Aarl raised his eyebrow at his sister. “Well? You didn't use enchanted ammunition.”

Sarah nodded in acknowledgement, but there was a slight frown on her face. “No, but all three rounds struck the same place. Not a hard target with this distance and a stunned foe. But on a battlefield? It will be a challenge.”

“Better than each golem requiring an enchanted round. Even if you can make them now, they look costly.” Her brother replied in an upbeat tone.

Sarah merely hummed in response as she watched Stella finish her circuit and rejoin them. “Let’s face this blasphemous foe before they dig up any more golems.” The [Sniper] led the way as they flew towards the rubble of the tower.

Stella joined Nathan where was running on midair and sent him a streamer of mana to regenerate his Stamina. “Can you teach me an Insight to help with precise attacks? Something that can damage one of these golems? I can’t fight them without destroying the battlefield.”

Nathan nodded his thanks for the mana. “I'll think about it. Nothing comes to mind right now beyond a concentrated plasma jet. We could think about a magnetic spell to keep it together...”

The red-haired mage shook her head. “For later. I can’t strike through powerful armor if it’s shielded against lightning. What kind of spell would penetrate a solid wall?”

“I have a few ideas.” Nathan replied, tilting his head back and forth. “We’ve already started talking about the truth behind fire. Some of those Insights will probably let you burn anything. Even stone. Or water.”

Stella’s eyes lit up at that, but she merely gestured for him to keep going.

“Or I could try to help you get metal mana? There’s very little that’s more effective at penetrating armor than a lot of sharp metal going fast.”

“Could we do that?” Stella asked, looking intrigued.

“I think so.” Nathan said. “It’s probably something we could get from earth, lightning and magnetic mana.”

The Heirs came to a stop on the roof of a four-story building that stood just outside the radius of devastation caused by the collapsing Academy. About thirty golems were spread across the massive pile of stone, working tirelessly to excavate their peers.

Or maybe they’re trying to dig up the dungeon core? The one that Badud destroyed. It would be bad if they could get it back online. Good thing we’re here early enough that the question will remain unanswered.

They all surveyed the ruins for a moment, then looked at Nathan expectantly.

“Right.” He started. “These things are dangerous, and their teamwork is excellent. Aarl, if you get pinned down you’re toast. They could kill a castlebear in close combat. Stella, they will throw boulders at you as fast as an [Ice Spike], and probably try to hit you with a light spell similar to your mother’s. Sarah, they’re smart enough to triangulate where you’re shooting from and demolish the building out from underneath you. But they also don’t run from fights, so we can afford to fight this slowly and safely.”

He met Khachi’s eyes. “Khachi and I will draw their attention, Khachi on the ground and me in the air. I’ll go farther forward, try to keep most of them distracted while Khachi just draws in a few. Once they get split off from the main group, Aarl and Sarah will eliminate them. Then Khachi draws the attention of a few more and we repeat to cut down their numbers.”

“What about me?” Stella interjected, disappointment clear in her voice. “Am I a prophecy of doom?”

Nathan shook his head with a grin. “No, you’re our secret edge. When things go wrong, you blow everything up and scatter them. Do you think you could charge up a couple of those giant capacitors hidden from view?”

Stella’s disgruntled expression shifted into a gleeful smile. “As your flame calls. Should I worry about destruction?”

“I think the Ascendent Academy can’t get any more destroyed.” Aarl said wryly, gesturing at the giant pile of rubble and the destruction radiating away from it.

“Yup. People fled this area a long time ago, and most of these buildings need to be demolished anyways.” Nathan agreed. “When Stella blasts them, we try to finish them off if we can. But If they’re pressing us too hard, we use Stella’s spell to buy breathing room and retreat, but not towards the freed slaves.” He pointed away towards the east, away from the Chokiz estate. “That way. If we lose track of each other, meet at the Eastern gate.”

He looked around and nodded. “Don’t die.”

Khachi snorted. “Please. Allow me the benediction.” He breathed deeply and the divine mana responded to that simple action. His aura spread out to encompass the Heirs.

“By the Oath we swore, we defend the innocent. By our own strength, we smite the monster. By the power of prophecy, we fight the Endings themselves.”

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Arcane Nullfield 6

Permanent Talent 2: Immortal Body 4

Permanent Talent 3: Airwalking 7

Class: Void of Magic level 597
Deepened Stamina: 18167/18210

Void of Feeling

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Magic Anathema

Airborne Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Voluminous Aura

Denial of Wizardry

Mana Severance

Class: Spellslayer level 450
Regenerative Focus: 4492/4600

Catastrophic Blows

Battle Stealth

Mage Infiltration

Forgettable

Sneaky Blow

Antimagic Stealth

Magical Manipulation

Lethal Index

Wizard Resistance

Magic Jammer

Controlled Failure

Utility skills:

Wizard’s Meditation 7

Inspiration 6

Acceleration 9

Wizard’s Detection 5

Alertness 9

Wizard’s Understanding 7

Effortless Dodge 7

Mental Vault 3

Tutoring 4

Parkour 7

Visibility Control 2

High-tier Disguise 3

Mid-tier Battle Cry 10

High-tier Aura Manipulation 9