A lot of people might have ended up deciding Fates were not worth it had the Order Ducis not made one fact abundantly clear condensing a Fate increased your growth rate Both in Stats gained per Level and the rate at which you gained Skill Levels related to your Fate obtaining a Fate gave individuals an edge
Drawn by these tantalizing benefits most high Level individuals had recently pushed past their fear and began condensing Fates Immediately their boosted strength with which they were endowed proved that the decision to listen to the Order Ducis had been a prudent one
As for Vye fighting against someone with a condensed Fate The difference between them wasnÆt just at least thirteen Levels It was also between Vye whoÆs eclectic gathering of Skills had no real focus and this man who was talented enough to host the lottery And even so
Randidly Ghosthound would do it
At her instinctual thought Vye wanted to tear her hair out in frustration Who was she trying to kid aspiring to be Randidly Ghosthound
But before she could berate herself for unrealistic comparisons Roland bared his teeth at her His words were waspish and spat out like another thick glob of phlegm Do forgive me for underestimating you Miss Vye Worry not the rest of the challenge will be a great deal more difficult so your talents can be made abundantly clear
Remembering RandidlyÆs rather mild gaze Vye did her best to imitate the casual acceptance that she had seen in his emerald eyes She couldnÆt be sure that Roland could see through the crystal covering his eyes but there was no way in hell she was going to show even a hint of fear to this man Breathing in Vye pictured Randidly as she had first seen him walking barefoot to the Erickson Steel headquarters
Do you have any proof of your identity
She released a breath with that same unflappable confidence Perfect IÆm not here on vacation after all
The lines around RolandÆs face tightened Seemingly pushed beyond the reach of human civility he raised his hands and blasted two beams of concentrated golden light toward Vye
Although they moved extraordinarily quickly Vye reacted in time Her hands flicked out and four Reject rituals met the beams of light From the sizzle crack as the two Skills encountered each other Vye could tell that her RejectÆs were very close to being overpowered The fact that Roland was able to throw two of those beams at once would make this duel very
Sneering Roland spread his arms wide Eight beams of light blasted outward in curving arcs toward Vye
The graceful curves meant that the light beams took a little bit of extra time to travel to Vye but she also had to contend with four times as many vectors as previously Even though her hands were fast they werenÆt that fast
Still Vye blurred into determined motion This time she threw out her Rejects in a careful formation Five of them together combined to become a more powerful version of the same ritual allowing five of the Rejects to block three of the light beams So after throwing out fourteen pieces of paper she had neutralized his attacks
Barely The Rejects groaned and cracked Ambient energy refracted downward slicing into the ground with a prowling sort of stymied ill will VyeÆs heart rate gradually began to increase and her palms were slick with sweat Using that small moment of peace she earned she hurriedly wiped her writing hand on her shirt so her grip didnÆt slip
Roland slapped his hands together A beam twice the width as the previous attacks ripped forward toward Vye After the previous arcing almost lazy attacks Vye scrambled to track this one with her eyes
Goddamnit why canÆt that fucking crystal block his vision Struggling to control her breathing she raised a single piece of paper Mirror
Yellow eyes glowing Vye carefully watched the beam roaring toward her chest Even now she could picture vividly the blood mess it would make of her torso if she didnÆt act From seeing the refractions hitting the ground Vye knew it cut like a blade She would be split open like a rotten melon her organs mashed and reduced to pulp
This was not an attack meant to test It was thrown out with deadly intent Yet even as VyeÆs heart rate climbed ever higher her gaze did not waver
Right before it was about to strike her she activated the Mirror ritual Of her rituals Mirror was the only one that would require additional Attributes to fuel it Therefore it was the one she had the least experience using With a small thought Vye activated the ritual As the beam continued to blast toward her VyeÆs Mana began to drop precipitously
But immediately in front of Vye the beam of light disappeared Thin ripples of energy spread out like a casual goodbye wave from the domineering attack
Luckily the light beams moved quickly VyeÆs Mana held out through the entire attack She had survived and now held an ace in the hole should the situation spiral out of control
Before Roland could realize she was unhurt Vye threw out another dozen Ignite rituals into the surrounding area They exploded and careened toward Roland However he now understood their power and was able to smoothly side step the frequent energy bombardment With his attention completely focused it was childÆs play to avoid attacks like this
Which was more than enough time for Vye to press four Donate rituals against each hand and foot Power flowed smoothly into her limbs giving her the capability of someone who put most of their Stat points into Agility and Strength
Pressing her foot down with all of her strength Vye cracked the ground and charged toward Roland Although this completely depleted the one Donate it was worth it to see RolandÆs expression His eyes widened like a dead fish as he looked up at her blurred figure
But he wasnÆt completely without a response With a sharp gesture a brilliant aura surrounded his arm and he cut out with the back of his hand as if it was a butcherÆs knife toward VyeÆs neck
Using the energy in her other leg Vye side stepped smartly Now both of the Donates on her feet were consumed Her neck tingled slightly at the highly charged attack that zipped past her exposed skin Then she slammed one of her empowered hands into RolandÆs chest The Donates would not last long so she needed to take advantage of each limb while she could
A brilliant armor of interlocking plates of light sprung into being around RolandÆs chest Her hand had the weird sensation of punching a trampoline it was all elastic nylon and strangely unsatisfying But Vye had another hand that hammered in from a different direction Under the pressure from the two separate attacks the plates of light buckled and split
While his Skill had bought him a few seconds Roland flicked his hands out and sent out ten beams of light that looped up in the air and shot downward like an artillery shelling on the location where she was standing
Quick as a flash Vye felt the grim satisfaction of his bones shuddering from her punch and then pulled backward She slapped a Donate on her right leg threw six Ignites around Roland and then tossed two Rejects up into the air to buy her some time While the Rejects flared gallantly to life a split second against the rain of light beams Vye stopped her foot and retreated rapidly backward
The brilliant light beams cracked and smashed the arena between them sending up a cloud of thick dust VyeÆs heart pounded in her ears but she took this chance to relax and steady herself She looked downward at the papers she had pulled out earlier there were only two remaining Although she had some emergency sheets in her interspatial ring she likely had demonstrated her talent well enough
When the smoke cleared she would
Luminous Bombardment A cruel voice slithered out through the dirt and debris between her and Roland Ion Bolt
The dust exploded like a grenade designed to maim with molten shrapnel But the beams of light that pierced through bent and twisted a dozen times a second It seemed less like Vye was being attacked and more like someone was creating a labyrinth toward her But the terrible humming in the air revealed just how dangerous those light beams were The ambient static in the arena made the hair on the back of VyeÆs neck stand straight up