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Chapter 15: Swarm Manifestations

  Senadin felt his blood rushing through his whole body. His heartbeat pounded in his fingertips and toes. His breath was heavy. He took long breaths, attempting to control his breathing as he trudged forward.

  August, Zulli, and Sen had been walking for several miles, the outpost behind them no longer in view. The sun had set, and the chill of the night air stung their nostrils.

  “Slow down, Sen.” August told him.

  Sen stopped in the road and put his hands on his hips to catch his breath.

  “When you’ve got a long way to go, you need to pace yourself.”

  “You can just throw me in your carriage if I pass out.” Sen retorted in an impatient and exhausted tone.

  August and Zulli caught up to him, the pair had been walking behind him as he set their pace for the march.

  “Take off your pack.” August said.

  Sen looked at him incredulously, but after a moment did as he was told. August took the pack and put it back into his oversized knapsack.

  Zulli took off her pack for August to take, but August shook his head at her, and she put it back on.

  “I had sensed some softness in you, but it must have just been some rust covering your mettle. I wanted to condition you to the adventuring life quickly, but it seems you know what you need to do. Your physical training will continue in earnest once reaching iron rank, right now we’ll just be wasting time and energy.”

  Sen’s only response was letting out a rush of air from his nostrils as he peered at August. For the past mile or so of their trek, he was solely focused on moving forward and not stopping. His struggle had gotten to the point that he had to remind himself every few seconds to put one foot in front of the other as his body begged for rest. Having his momentum halted by August was frustrating, as if he built up a wall of resilience just for August to come crashing through it.

  “I’ll help you with your aura training for the rest of the trip.” August continued. “We’ll set up camp and get started.”

  They had stepped off the trail when they found a short cliff overlooking dense forest around them. The cliff was flat and was bereft of most vegetation. August had his own small tent that he pulled from his oversized knapsack, as well as his own fire pit and stools to sit around the fire. August gave Zulli a small steel hatchet to collect firewood, while Sen was left to build their tents.

  They had collected themselves around the fire after camp was set up, Zulli devouring her shawarma quickly, with Sen snacking on some berries that August said were okay to eat.

  “When you’re finished eating, we’ll begin.” August told them, slipping a bronze coin into his mouth.

  “Do you have an aura ability?” Zulli asked August.

  “I do. It lets me and my allies sense attacks from behind them.”

  “Can I see?” Sen asked. Sen had scanned August before, but something blocked Sen from seeing his entire list of abilities. Sen postulated this was because everyone had an inherent resistance to his scan ability, at least those who were more powerful than him, which proved to be most everyone.

  “If I let you see one, would you see them all?” August asked.

  “I’m not sure. Zulli is the only one who has let me see her whole list. I haven’t tried handpicking an ability. I’m assuming I’d only be able to see the ones you allow me to.”

  “Try it.” August replied.

  


      
  • August Niles: Bronze Rank


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  • Race: Human


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  • Racial Attributes: Human Ambition, Special Attack Aptitude, ???, ???, ???, ???


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  • ??? (Spirit)


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  Ability:

  


      
  • Peripheral Foresight [Aura - Sensory]


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  Effect (Iron): You can sense any attacks that are not within your vision. This effect is limited to a small area around you.

  Effect (Bronze): The range of this effect is increased, additionally, allies within your aura extend the range of the effect and gain its effects.

  “Yep. Just the one.” Sen told him. “I can’t even see the Essence it’s under. Or your special racial gifts for that matter.”

  “Interesting.” August said.

  They finished eating, and Zulli and Sen sat across the fire from August. “Zulli, follow along, you may get an aura power at some point, and it will help to have a good foundation. Sen, tell me about your aura power. Don’t read me its description. Just tell me what you feel.”

  “Oh, well, I know it creates a magical vacuum.”

  “Don’t tell me what it is. Tell me what you feel.”

  Sen’s lips turned downward as he thought about it. He closed his eyes. Deep within himself, he could feel the magical power of his aura. “It feels big… but empty, and… energetic? It’s almost paradoxical.” He said. “It feels like there’s an emptiness there that demands to be satiated, but is already full.” He added.

  “Do you feel empty?” August asked.

  Sen didn’t open his eyes, but his face recoiled at having to answer such an existential question.

  “I do.” Sen said quietly.

  “That’s good. Your aura matches how you feel. It will be easier to manipulate that way. Feel that emptiness, let it surround you.”

  “I don’t like it.” Sen said. “I don’t like feeling that emptiness.”

  “Zulli. Close your eyes.” August said.

  She closed her eyes, the bleak silver stars disappearing from her blank face. August did the same. August let his aura wash over them. It felt like a heavy blanket they couldn’t shrug off.

  “You should be able to push my aura away, Sen. Focus on your emptiness.”

  “Maybe try filling that empty space.” Zulli pondered. “If it demands to be satiated, then satiate it.”

  “Zulli.” August said. “Let him figure it out. He needs to find his own footholds.”

  Sen searched his mind for something to fill his emptiness. The thought of adventure crossed through his synapses, and for some reason Garrus was the first person he thought about. Despite Garrus’ creepy coldness, Sen could feel friendliness in him, almost like Garrus had a certain amount of faith and trust in him. Then he thought about August and Zulli, who had nothing to gain from him, but were helping him along the way regardless. Thoughts of his previous life then flickered into his mind. It had only been just over a week since he arrived in this world, and he nearly forgot he even had a previous life. Was he going to go back? Could he go back? Did he even want to? He felt like there was more to do here, now. He couldn't even remember the names of the people who knew; the void took that from him. He let his ambition excavate the possibilities of the new life before him. This filled him with a sense of purpose and fullness, and soon, August’s aura was slowly being lifted from both Sen and Zulli, pushed back by Sen’s feeble aura.

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  Zulli smiled when she felt Sen’s aura switch from a state of emptiness to something with more substance.

  “That is good.” August told Sen as he lifted his own aura away from them, pulling it back into himself. “That is the basic use of an aura power, to cancel out and push back other auras by projecting it. Almost every essence user can do it, so it will need to be practiced regularly. As for its tertiary effects, that’s something you’ll have to figure out on your own. I may be able to help guide you, but aura powers are special in that they blend with the identity of the user. Only you know your true identity, Sen.”

  Sen kept his eyes closed as he felt his aura expand. It didn’t get far before it became too weak to push any farther. “Like it’s actual effects?” Sen asked. He didn’t open his eyes, but he held out his hand and his short sword appeared in it, the remnant shadow of his voidspace wafting away from it to reveal is silver steel sheen. He remembered when August killed the cat-monster, his sword had turned a solid black, seemingly as a reaction to his emotions, and wanted to emulate that. He felt the leather grip in his hand and imagined pulling his aura from the air around him, into his body, then through his arm and into the sword. He could feel his aura, slowly being pulled from the air into him. It felt like he was holding a glob of molasses with his bare hands as it filtered between his fingertips. Eventually, with some effort, he could feel the energy of his aura pushing through his arm and into the sword. He could feel the sword, as if it was part of him. He opened his eyes. The sword was black from pommel to tip, as if he had just pulled it from his voidspace. The only difference now being the blackness unfading. It looked like sword-shaped silhouette in the universe, reflecting no light from the fire.

  “I don’t know what this does.” Sen said. “It’s just black. I can’t tell if there’s any power to it.”

  “We can experiment with it once you can control that a little bit better.” August remarked. “For tonight, just try to move your aura around like that. Back and forth from the area around you then into the sword.”

  More than an hour later, Sen had become fluent in the passage of his aura through both space and his body. It wasn’t masterful control, but he was able to expand his aura around him with a simple thought. By focusing on his sword, he could transfer his aura into it in a few mere seconds. He understood that he could eventually perform the manipulation faster, but the concentration and mana usage had exhausted him.

  August had practiced his own aura manipulation with Zulli, who despite not having an aura power, was learning to fend off Augusts’ aura pressure with the aura that any iron ranked essence user had.

  “Does your aura use mana, August?” Sen asked, placing another log in the fire and warming his hands from the radiant heat.

  “No. Some do. Especially those with intricacies like yours. It takes more than just a command to instill magic into things.”

  “That makes sense. Yours is more of a passive buff. Mine is pretty active.”

  


      
  • Ability:

      


        
    • Voidtouched [Aura – Void]

        


          
      • You have stared into the abyss, and it has stared back, granting you a modicum of its power.


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      • Effect (Iron): Extend the touch of the void to the area around you, providing a magical vacuum. This vacuum cannot breach rank barriers. You can extend your control of the void into physical objects that you can touch, allowing you to both become a part of it, and allowing it to become a part of you. This effect can cause harm to the user if used on objects of higher power or rank. This effect is lost upon losing physical control of the object.


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  “Just let your mana refill. There’s no point in wasting potions. I’m also taking the first and last watch, so feel free to sleep. You’ll need rest for tomorrow.”

  Sen looked out from the cliff looking at the dense forest ahead. The moons were overhead, one half, the other a crescent. Clouds dotted the sky but didn’t fill it. He could see shimmering blue lights dotting the landscape between the trees. Some of the trees themselves were more massive than any skyscraper he had seen back on Earth. The sober calls of different nocturnal mammals rung out. Every so often Sen could hear the faint roar of a large monster, or maybe just a magical creature, too distant to localize.

  “Those lights are the Springe Wisps, I’m guessing?” Sen asked.

  “Yes. Not dangerous on their own. Though when they catch you, it will sting.” August said.

  Sen opened the Magic Society Monster Records in his vision, directly from the MSRT in his voidspace quick-use slot. His mind searched for data on the Springe Wisps, and it opened up a pop-up window.

  


      
  • Monster: Springe Wisp [Iron]

      


        
    • Known Attributes: Incorporeal; Trapping field


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    • Known Weaknesses: [Disruptive Force] damage


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    • Attacks: None


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  Very weak, but will manifest over a very large area. Springe Wisps will coalesce toward one another, eventually resulting in a critical mass of magic, further resulting in a large magical explosion. Their mana-regulating cores can be looted to serve many purposes.

  “So they need to be culled, otherwise they make an explosion.”

  “You’re lucky they’ve manifested. They’ll be great training tools, tomorrow.”

  “We’re gonna go wisp hunting?” Zulli said excitedly.

  “Indeed.” August responded solemnly.

  “From what I’ve seen, it seems we were lucky to have found a mousekrat outside of Vitesse, that day you saved us. It was iron rank. Now we’re lucky that these iron-ranked Springe Wisps are around. It seems like the ambient magic levels have been fortuitous for us.” Sen remarked. Even the cat-monster that attacked Zulli was bronze rank. Sen still had not even seen a silver ranked monster.

  “Monster manifestations are still misunderstood. There’s many variables that come into play, but all you need to know is the strongest monsters localized to that area are what you need to be prepared for. With this area being of high-bronze level, sometimes a weak silver will manifest, and that's what I'm prepared for.” August told them as he stirred the fire with a conjured steel rod. “Those Mousekrats and Springe Wisps are a swarm type of manifestation. They require a large area that is generally undisrupted by other forms of magic, but will manifest many smaller, weaker monsters, rather than a stronger monster in one place.”

  Sen was silent for a moment, as he thought about the mousekrat, his first monster kill. “So that’s why that lady was talking about the sewers. That’s where the Mousekrats manifest. Are they that large?”

  “The sewers in Vitesse? Gods, yes.” August said. Both Zulli and Sen though they heard the slightest chuckle from him, but they weren’t sure. “Springe Wisps, well, most forest Wisps are the extreme case of these swarm manifestations. Those wisps most likely all manifested at the same time all over this entire forest.”

  Sitting on her stool, Zulli stretched her arms outward before standing up. “I think that’s it for me then. Am I on second or third watch?”

  “Sen will wake you up.” August said.

  Sen nodded to her.

  “Alright. Night.” She said, crawling into her tiny tent and rustling around for a moment, before she was inside her bedroll, snug as a bug.

  August got up from his stool to pick up Zulli's, moving it away from the fire and sitting down on it. He set it between the forest behind him and the cliff in front, becoming the wall that anything had to pass through to reach the camp.

  “You should sleep, Sen.” Were the only words he spoke before crossing both his arms and legs.

  Sen didn’t look at August but took another gaze at the vista over the cliff. He reveled in its beauty a moment before nodding and crawling into his own tiny tent. He switched to his comfortable set of clothes and snugged himself up in his bedroll. The exhaustion of physical and aura training helped coax him into a peaceful slumber.

  Sen awoke when he heard August rustling around pre-dawn, but had woken multiple times through the night, hearing strange noises in the forest, and also when Zulli woke up for her watch. August was now packing up his accoutrements into his knapsack. Hearing the rustling herself, Zulli also woke and crawled out of her tent. They had taken their watch shifts as planned, though they were less than a couple hours each. This gave August his rejuvenating few hours of sleep.

  “So, you’re going to be okay on that little bit of sleep? Is that another benefit of ranking up?” Sen asked. He packed up his tent and had been placing items into his voidspace as Zulli handed things to him.

  “Somewhat. Lack of sleep can catch up to any Essence User. Ranking up just builds a resilience against the delirium. I’ve never slept much.”

  “That makes three of us.” Zulli said, stretching out her arms and legs.

  “You two seem to sleep fine.” August remarked.

  “For me, it’s more of the quality of sleep. I’m not sure how much you know about sleep cycles, but on my world, we could do sleep studies to see the quality of our sleep.” Sen said.

  “I’ve heard of such a thing, though I don’t see how they monitor your sleep without analyzing rituals and the different kinds of magical crystals we have here.” August replied.

  “Without magic… My world got very creative.” Sen said.

  “They found your sleep to be low quality then?”

  “Very. How ‘bout you Zulli?”

  “I just don’t sleep like you guys. I’m kind of still awake when I’m sleeping.”

  “Elves naturally have that trait. Are you an elf, Zulli?” August mused.

  Sen and Zulli looked at each other, wondering if this was August’s attempt at a joke.

  “I don’t think so.” Zulli said awkwardly.

  Sen felt his sore muscles from the physical activity they weren’t used to; he rubbed the soreness in his shoulders from lifting August’s mace, and he had stiffness in his legs from the jogging. “I am… out of shape.” He said disappointedly.

  “We’ll head out when the sun fully breaks.” August said. "We’ll be moving all day, so prepare yourselves.”

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