If he’s close to the Artisan level Randidly said slowly Does that mean that I am also close to being an Artisan
Ah likely not Marco said shaking his head The tests for the different levels are very specific You are a combination of a lot of things Your many small strengths make you resourceful and resilient The Artisan test involves a single skill with requirements of a certain level of offensive or defensive power and also the ability for spectators those not involved in the fight to see the image associated with a move Your offensive power is likely approaching that level but when you can produce an image anyone can see that’s a whole order of magnitude higher
Mulling this over Randidly focused on training specifically on image training The Aether within him swirled slowly gathering but instead of allowing it to come together to form the skill he kept it apart slowly refining the images he had within him Something was slightly off about it some area he instinctively knew he could improve but Randidly couldn’t find it
Well it wouldn’t matter until that day But that day swiftly arrived and the group of them each wearing two bracers Engraved with the Shadow rune began their trek back into the prison Shal and the 3 others from the West led the way and with their speed and offensive power it was child’s play to cross the distance and break into the prison incapacitating the nearby guards
They quickly ascended the mountain and made it to the prison proper The tallest tower was the home of the portal out and was heavily guarded The portal itself was on the top on a flat open area with a view of the surroundings but each of the 10 levels that lead up to the top was teeming with guards To the North was the guard’s quarters to the Southeast the basic cells where people were tortured by battle intent and to the West was the villas for the powerful prisoners
Surrounding the portal tower were several small watch towers with three people constantly keeping an eye on the other towers and the main tower for people trying to climb up
Their plan was relatively simple Shal the woman and the scarred man would head to the guard’s quarters and challenge the warden who was rumored to be at the Adept level This was relatively common and happened occasionally and wouldn’t cause much of a stir Or at least it wouldn’t raise the alarm After all sometimes a prisoner got too big for their britches and wanted to test themselves That was why the warden was here to put down such uprisings
And he was an easy target Unlike killing the rest of the guards killing the warden was accepted by the First Spear of Tomkat although he wouldn’t be pleased and you would be forced to finish out the rest of your sentence But an influential position would be waiting for you under the First Spear when you got out
While the guards focused on this challenge to the warden the mustached man with Randidly on his back would activate the shadow bracer and attempt to climb quickly up the central tower Marco and Teliph would distract the watch towers on the side Once they ascended to the top of the tower the mustached man would kill any guards nearby and Randidly would call down the Judgement
There was a very easy way for them to lose this gamble if a single guard passed through the portal with knowledge of their attempt and made it out the First Spear of Tomkat would be warned Because of the time dilation he would only have a small warning before they arrived but that small warning was infinitely dangerous After all they were dealing with an Adept a vindictive one with his livelihood at stake he would not be willing to let it slide
Shal walked calmly forward followed by Tekni the woman and Sharshar the scarred man Guards parted whispering excitedly They hadn’t seen this before but they had heard about it A challenge to the warden This would be a good day Finally some entertainment
An old man with greying hair stepped out of the crowd holding a huge extremely thick spear His smile was small and sharp and he walked calmly to meet them Well well well It’s been about 30 years I think since someone has dared challenge me Good good And you come with more than one of you Excellent otherwise this would be no fun
The warden attacked as Shal had expected rushing towards Tekni The woman raised her spear and attacked back very quickly their spears blurring as they clashed time and time again To Tekni’s surprise although she prided herself on her power she was forced back with every strike Shal narrowed his eyes Truly this man was an Adept and not a freshly advanced one
Shal hated himself for this strategy but there was nothing he could do Breathing in and out he focused on his spear feeling the suppleness of the wood the elasticity and strength within it Slowly the spear began to move independently of his hands almost as if it was alive The Style he and his older brother used to dream about all those years ago The Spear with Poisonous Fangs Style
This is for you Pronto ’ Shal thought to himself then rushed forward striking viciously The spear moved unpredictably and the warden grunted as he turned and tried to deal with the strange strikes from Shal This split of attention gave Tekni some space and she began unleashing powerful blows upon the warden as well
The scarred man stayed behind eyeing the nearby guards ready to intervene if necessary But the battle continued without any changes Shal’s unpredictable attacks pushed the warden back but Tekni’s stamina was waning and as she needed to keep taking longer breaks or slightly less intense rotations in her attacks the warden would have more chances to strike both at her and Shal
Shal gritted his teeth smiling viciously The other problem was the level distance It wouldn’t surprise Shal to know that the Warden was level 70 His stamina seemed endless and his base stats were high enough to resist their combined attacks without using anything more than a basic defensive skill To be a young Adept is impressive but to be an old Adept is less so
But an old Adept would rarely lose to a young one no matter how large their potential is For the backing of stats and high stamina did more to change the space of the fight than the power of an image
Is this all The warden seemed almost disappointed and Shal snapped and began unleashing strike after strike his spear twisting and bending curving around blocks and defensive moves He used everything he could earning himself several small wounds upon the warden pushing him farther and farther back But although this was a Style Shal had thought more and more about as time went on and he had slowly refined it it was missing a very critical ingredient
He had not yet created the skill set that would serve as the backbone for the Style
Well I think we’ve played around for long enough Children it’s time for your spanking The very feel to the air changed This was the power of an Adept The warden stood still smiling but behind him the air seemed to ripple and a man wrapped in chains appeared roaring the man hefted a heavy iron spear and thrust forward even though the spear too was wrapped in chains pulled in a dozen different directions But such was that image’s strength that it could resist the force of those chains and thrust forward with the spear
The warden smiled arms behind his back For as an Artisan is judged by being able to allow spectators to see their image an Adept is an individual who can strike with their image unleashing an actual attack without even moving
Sharshar rushed forward crossing his arms in a defensive posture the heavy image of a stone outcropping appearing behind him as he blocked the warden’s attack But that image shattered to pieces and Sharshar was run through completely unable to resist the power of the warden After spitting out a mouthful of blood he collapsed coughing
Ha I appear to have broken one of my toys Ah well there are two more so Then the warden paused Clouds were swirling above the central tower where the portal was As he looked on he could feel the temperature slowly falling
A distraction He asked turning to Shal
Shal simply smiled The warden snorted It won’t matter if I kill you Your strength is insufficient