Tia looked at Vir like she’d just unearthed a diamond in the rough. One that everyone else had dismissed as worthless, that only she knew the true value of.
If she knew the truth about Dance of the Shadow Demon, Vir felt like she’d faint from euphoria.
“Unlike you two, I don’t have as much of an issue with ranged offense,” Vir said, gesturing to the chakrams around his neck. “They aren’t perfect, but between my chakrams and chakris, I manage alright.”
“Anything else?” Tia asked.
“Well, I don’t have Bulwark, so I can’t take hits as well as Vason here. But Toughen lets me take a decent amount of damage, regardless. I’d say I’m pretty good at attacking enemies. Not so much at defending.”
Tia nodded the entire time, and Vir wondered whether her head might fall off. “You’ll be our strongest attacker. With me and you on the offense, our enemies aren’t even going to stand a chance. And as good as you are now, just wait until Haymi augments you with her magic. You’ll feel like a god.”
Vir laughed. He wondered what Ekanai, Shardul, and Narak had to say about that.
“So, to that end… Haymi? I hate to ask this of you while you’re still healing, but could we have a fresh blood rod?”
“Blood rod?” Vir asked.
Haymi promptly handed Tia two thin glass vials, each two handspans in length.
“Mejai have to touch orbs to perform magic, yes?” Haymi said, addressing Vir.
“Right… I’ve seen you mount orbs on your shoulders and legs too, though.”
“That’s still touching. Only inexperienced mejai have to hold orbs in their hands. But fundamentally, a mejai needs to be in contact with their orbs to power magic.”
“And by inserting blood rods into armor and weapons, you’re technically still in contact with them!” Vir said, understanding. “But how do you keep the blood… uh, alive? Won’t it die off after leaving your body?”
“There are utility orbs that assist with keeping the small amount of blood in a blood rod healthy,” Tia said. “The blood does need to be replaced eventually, but it can live for up to a week at a time with the aid of an orb.”
“And the prana in the mejai’s blood powers the utility orb!” Vir realized. It was genius in a way. The blood powered the orb which kept the blood alive. Of course, ‘power’ was a deceptive term. Vir knew that in reality, the prana in Haymi’s blood merely attracted the surrounding prana, which is what really powered the orbs slotted into weapons and armor.
He wondered if he could use a similar mechanism, but without a compatible orb to keep his blood alive, it seemed impossible. Still, the fact that blood remained in her control even after leaving her body intrigued him greatly. It gave him a few ideas about Blade Projection and other similar abilities. If he could shoot his blood out, then he might briefly get prana to bend to his will, even outside of his body.
Of course, that would involve injuring himself, which didn’t sound too pleasant. He hoped there would be a better way.
“Now that the boring stuff’s out of the way, let’s get your cuirass and katar slotted!” Tia said, grinning.
Liberation. Power. Overwhelming superiority. These were the sensations that rushed into Vir the moment Haymi activated her magic. Vason slashed at Vir with his talwar, but he merely shrugged off the blow. It was as if he’d suddenly gained Bulwark, such was the might of Haymi’s Slashing Protection orb.
And it’s only a C Grade orb!
And when he attacked, it was like he’d learned Tia’s Haste. That was another ability that required a tremendous amount of prana—essentially Leap, but permanently activated, and which affected all parts of his body.
Vason whistled. “Aprabomb’s more potent than I thought!”
“You do understand what a bomb is, yes?” Haymi said, narrowing her eyes. “Apramor is not a bomb. And let us hope he does not become one, for his sake.”
“Sure,” Vason said with a shrug. “But it sounds seric, doesn’t it?”
Haymi’s support orb only made Vir’s katar swing faster, but even that was an incredible sensation for him. The first few times he swung, he missed, not expecting the added burst of speed. After a few rounds with Vason, Tia had to jump in, just to make Vir’s pummeling of the man a bit less one-sided.
And I’m not even using Prana Blade or Empower. The seric katar, with Haymi’s speed enhancement, with Prana Blade, all boosted by Empower? Vir shuddered. He could scarcely imagine what devastation such a weapon would wreak. He could double up on the damage aspect by slotting Haymi’s Enhance Sharpness. He doubted the seric blade would benefit much from Enhance Durability, but it could be an option against especially hardened foes while using Empower and Prana Blade.
Adding Empower to Haymi’s speed magic was far more difficult than Vir imagined. It wasn’t that the prana interfered with each other—the affinities largely kept to themselves—but rather mastering the timing. Enhance Speed was hard enough to control, and when layered with another ability that increased his speed, it was almost too fast for his mind to process.
The blade would blur in front of him, and the attack would finish the moment he initiated the move, startling him.
Even after practicing for an hour, he wasn’t much better, and he had to wonder if he needed an ‘Enhance Mind’ orb just to control his ridiculous power.
Sadly, no such orb existed, but Vir wasn’t overly worried. If there was one thing no one could beat him at, it was dedication. He’d unlock those secrets, soon enough.
“Alright. Now that you’ve had your fun, let’s get down to the serious business,” Tia said after Vir bested Vason for the twentieth time.
“Now?” Vir asked. The sun had grown long in the sky, and there wasn’t much daylight left.
“No time like the present! Let’s start on some team-based combat tactics. I got a few ideas I think you’re gonna like.”There was that glint again. The same face Maiya got right as she was about to propose something vile. Something devious. Every instinct Vir had, told him to run.
“And I think we ought to call it the Aprabomb,” Tia said, winking at Vason.
The warrior pumped a fist in victory.
22BREAKTHROUGHS
“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, up until Tia 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.