“Rufus’s grandfather is diamond rank,” Farrah said. “He’s chancellor of the academy his family operates.”
“Diamond rank essence users are the peak of mortal power,” Rufus explained. “The Adventure Society likes to keep two or three in the biggest cities, in case a diamond rank monster shows up. That rarely happens, though, so they largely go unseen. When you’re that powerful, the idea of a higher authority is laughable. Mostly, diamond rank adventurers are mysterious figures pursuing goals known only to them.”
“And there aren’t that many diamond rankers in any case,” Farrah said. “The only reason they exist in the numbers they do is because they live so long.”
“They live longer?” Jason asked.
“All essence users age slower,” Rufus said. “At iron rank you wouldn’t notice the difference, but bronze rankers can live well past a hundred. Silvers can double that; reach silver rank young enough and you’ll look young for decades. Gold rankers live for centuries, and I’m not even sure diamond rankers can die of old age.”
“They’re immortal?” Jason asked.
“It’s a rumour,” Rufus said, “but a persistent one. There’s kind of an unwritten rule that diamond rankers don’t tell the rest of us the limits of their abilities.”
“So, am I going to get super old now?”
“Keep raising your rank, and yes,” Rufus said.
“Wow, that’s quite the bombshell,” Jason said.
“What’s a bombshell?” Farrah asked.
“It’s a weapon that causes a great big explosion. Imagine shooting Farrah at people.”
“We kind of do that already,” Rufus said.
“So how do I raise my rank?” Jason asked. “I want some of that sweet immortality action.”
“How about we walk before we run,” Rufus said. “You can’t even properly progress towards bronze rank until you awaken every essence ability you have. That’s all twenty. The first step is using those awakening stones.”
Jason nodded, picked up the first stone and took a deep breath.
“Here we go.”
The stone melted in his hand, sinking into his skin with little fanfare.
You have awakened the blood essence ability [Leech Bite]. You have awakened 2 of 5 blood essence abilities.
“That’s it?” Farrah asked.
Jason’s stomach made a large rumbling sound.
“I was pretty hungry already,” he said. “I think the stone of the feast made it worse.”
“You’re an essence user now,” Rufus said. “Eat a spirit coin.”
Jason took an iron-rank coin from his inventory. It had the metal-grey colour of iron but was actually made of crystal. Hesitantly he placed it into his mouth, where it immediately dissolved with an intense fizzing sensation. It tasted like he’d touched his tongue to a battery, tangy and energetic. He felt power flood through his body, washing away the hunger of moments before. Rufus and Farrah laughed as they watched his expressions, wide-eyed and panting.
“What’s wrong with him?” Gary asked. He had left the manor through the terrace doors and approached to sit with them on the lawn.
“He just ate his first spirit coin,” Rufus said, causing Gary to chortle.
Jason shook his head to clear it.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this awake,” he said.
Rufus picked up another awakening stone and handed it to him. Jason nodded and took it. He went through the remaining awakening stones of the feast in quick succession.
You have awakened the blood essence ability [Feast of Blood]. You have awakened 3 of 5 blood essence abilities.
You have awakened the sin essence ability [Feast of Absolution]. You have awakened 2 of 5 sin essence abilities.
You have awakened the sin essence ability [Sin Eater]. You have awakened 3 of 5 sin essence abilities.
Jason had abilities before he reached iron rank, but now he could feel them within himself much more clearly. They were like hunting dogs, waiting to be unleashed at his command. Even without the descriptions Jason clearly understood the abilities he had just awoken. Two came from the blood essence and were different ways of draining health. The other two came from the sin essence, letting him resist afflictions on himself or remove afflictions from others.
“My abilities feel incomplete,” Jason said. “Like a puzzle where I don’t have all the pieces.”
“There’s a scale,” Farrah said. “At one end of the scale is people whose abilities are individually strong. Those people don’t tend to feel what you’re feeling, because their powers might work together, but aren’t reliant on one another.”
“Those kinds of abilities are strong, but simple,” Rufus said. “Farrah’s abilities are like that.”
“Of course, simple doesn’t mean bad,” Farrah, said. “Straightforwards power is the usually most effective solution to a problem. It’s when you try to get complicated that things go wrong.”
“According to people with simple powers,” Gary said.
Farrah stuck her tongue out at Gary.
“At the other end of the scale,” Rufus continued, “are abilities that underwhelm in isolation, but used together become very dangerous. Affliction specialists tend to fall at that end of the scale, so expect your powers to feel awkward until you get the full set.”
“Doesn’t that dagger of yours poison people?” Gary said.
Jason’s dagger had been stored away along with the gear of his new companions. He had gotten it back at the same time Rufus reclaimed a pair of ostentatious blue boots. Despite the garish colour, he was demonstrably quite fond of them.
“You can rely on your dagger for an extra source of afflictions until you’ve awakened all your powers,” Gary said.
“Speaking of which,” Rufus said, “you have two more awakening stones to get through before we leave.”
Jason nodded, picking up the next stone. Unlike the awakening stones of the feast, his next awakening stone was higher rated.
Item: [Awakening Stone of Adventure] (unranked, rare)
An awakening stone filled with the spirit of adventure. (consumable, awakening stone).
Requirements: Unawakened essence ability.
Effect: Awakens an essence ability.
“With awakening stones,” Jason said, “you said rarity doesn’t make stones better, right?”
“No, just more specialised,” Farrah said. “And harder to find, obviously. All stones have some amount of focus, but there’s no telling exactly what they’ll give you. Those feast stones, for example, could have given you anything from mana-draining special attacks to conjuring food to summoning flesh-eating fish. People like to have some control, so stones with desirable specialties tend to be the most expensive.”
She patted Rufus on the knee.
“Although when you come from a big important family like Rufus here, they ship you high-rarity stones by the crate.”
“There are no guarantees when it comes to awakening powers, though,” Rufus said. “Not even with the rarest of stones. What kind of awakening stone is that one?” Rufus asked.
“Awakening stone of adventure,” Jason said.
“Really?” Farrah said, surprised.
“Those are highly sought-after,” Rufus said. “With a mid-rarity stone, it’s hard to pin down what it will give out, but it’s almost always a useful utility power.”
“Just having a bunch of destructive combat powers makes you less useful to a team,” Gary said. “Even Farrah knows that. A few good utility powers can really help you when it comes to getting jobs, since lots of teams will be happy to have you along.”
“Here we go, then,” Jason said as the stone melted into his hand. His whole forearm went numb, and for a moment he could see right through it before it returned to normal.
“That was weird.”
You have awakened the dark essence ability [Path of Shadows]. You have awakened 3 of 5 dark essence abilities.