“Can we get away with Below Average control and Above Average Power?” Hammer asked.
“Maybe, we’ll need to wait to see what kind of portal size constraints he’s under once he does unlock the ability. We might just need to try to get him another five Milestones above the 31st before time is up,” Ward said.
“Won’t that make the villains suspicious if he suddenly comes back stronger?” Light asked.
“Villains get stronger all the time, just like heroes,” Hammer replied, crossing his arms and looking rather angry. Then he spat out a loud, “Damn it!”
“What’s the plan?” Ward asked. “Do we abort?”
“No, we can still do it. We are just going to have to hunt tougher beasts. And teach him a more efficient cultivation technique,” Hammer said, still looking angry. “If he wants to have any chance of surviving the villains he will be sent to infiltrate, then he’ll need it. He’ll need that experience to be able to compete with the two of you at the very least.”
I wisely kept my mouth shut. I could clearly see I was already in trouble, there was no sense in making it worse. I was also surprised to find out that Hammer actually had a reason for making it more difficult for me to cultivate by competing against them.
Light cleared his throat and spoke up for the first time. There was a slight nervousness in his voice when he asked, “When you say, tougher beasts, what exactly do you mean?”
I expected Hammer to grin or show some sign of excitement. Instead, he looked . . . grim. It was far more unsettling.
16
Light was nervous as he approached Hammer and Ward. It was late in the evening after the training with Davis had come to an end. Light was not pleased with the way things were being handled.
“Do you have a moment?” Light asked, interrupting the pair.
“What’s on your mind?” Hammer asked nonchalantly, all his heat from earlier absent.
“Davis,” Light started.
“What about him?” Hammer asked.
Light hesitated for a moment before speaking. “You need to be gentler with him. He’s barely more than a civilian. He hasn’t had years of hero training schools plus years as a sidekick to learn how to do all this.”
“And that is exactly why I can’t take it easy on him,” Hammer said. “Listen, I know you mean well but you haven’t really considered the situation too closely. We’re asking an untrained civilian to infiltrate an unknown villain organization. I don’t know many heroes that would undertake such an operation. And now this with his enhancement allocation . . . I’m sorry, but I won’t take it easy on him. If I do, he’s as good as dead.”
Light frowned, not liking anything that was just said, but not able to really disagree. Still, he could push to help Davis a little more. “Then you need to start explaining things to him better. You need to actually teach him how to fight. And you need to let him cultivate without fighting against us. Teach him to cultivate against others when his Milestone is higher, for now, he needs all the Nanos he can get.”
Hammer frowned and worked his jaw side to side, producing an audible grinding sound. He finally ground out, “Fine, I won’t cultivate. But you will, he still needs some competition.”
Light was glad to have gotten at least that much of a concession.
“And let me be clear. If you do not give him honest competition then he’ll need to compete against all of us again,” Hammer stated firmly. “As to teaching him to fight, that’s on you. You weren’t just brought along to be his buddy. Your fighting style is the closest to his. You both fight from range and you have the experience to teach him.”
Light couldn’t argue with that, except that Light wasn’t the strongest fighter. It was why he hadn’t even tried. He thought that he really was just there to be Davis’s friend.
Seeing Light wasn’t going to say anything, Hammer said, “Now, get some sleep. We’ve got hunting to do tomorrow.”
“About that,” Light said, pushing for more.
“What now?” Hammer asked.
“I had an idea . . . about hunting,” Light said.
Hammer quirked an eyebrow in interest, and asked, “And what is this idea of yours?”
“Warp hunters,” Light said, causing even Hammer’s eyes to widen in surprise.
“Are you insane?” Ward asked before Hammer could. “I wouldn’t even attempt to hunt those with a full and experienced group of hunters.”
“I understand,” Light said. “But I believe Davis could do it. He was able to get a squirbit. The first killed in my lifetime . . . in any of our lifetimes. And with his new Spatial Awareness ability, he might actually have a chance. And they are solitary predators, which means he wouldn’t need to worry about getting swarmed.”
Hammer rubbed his chin in thought. “It isn’t the worst idea I’ve ever heard. Craziest, maybe. But not the worst. And it might get him the enhancement points he needs in his Space ability.”
“Are you both insane?” Ward asked. “I would expect something like that from Hammer, but not you, Light. Just what are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking Davis’s only chance to get enough enhancement points in Space without over leveling, is to cultivate the meat of a warp hunter,” Light answered seriously.
“And you understand that we wouldn’t be able to help him with such a hunt?” Ward asked. “My barriers won’t stop it’s teleportation. We’d be vulnerable. I’m not even sure Hammer could stand up to their attacks.”
“I know it’s a risk. A very, very big risk,” Light said. “But it’s something we should at least offer to him. Give him the choice.”
“And what happens if he dies?” Ward asked.
“Then the mission is a failure,” Light replied. “And someone I am starting to count as a friend would be dead. But can you honestly say that he has a chance as things are now?”
“Yes,” Ward said, then hesitantly added, “Maybe.”
“I don’t like the idea of putting him in danger . . . more danger. We’re already putting him in plenty of danger just being outside of the fortress city,” Light said. “If you can think of a better alternative that does not include increasing his Milestone above what Dr. Portal’s was known to be, then please, tell me.”
“Raising his Milestone will work though,” Ward replied.
“Five additional Milestones?” Light asked. “Villains don’t have the same level of access to cultivation that heroes do, I’ve never heard of a villain increasing that much in such a short window of time, have you?”
“No, but it could happen,” Ward protested.
“It could. But I would bet anything, the villains would assume it was a setup by the heroes and kill him on principal. In that case, he has a better chance against a warp hunter,” Light replied. “I’m open to alternatives, but as Hammer mentioned, time is short.”
“Do you even know where to find a warp hunter?” Ward asked.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Light replied. “It will take a few days to clear a path to its hunting grounds, but there is a well-known warp hunter a few miles from here.”
“Now I know you’re insane,” Ward said.
“Maybe I am,” Light agreed. “But it’s the only one I know of.”
Hammer just chuckled and grinned. He said just one word, “Shadowfury.”
17
“Davis,” Light said, drawing my attention away from my morning preparations. I say preparations but it was just making sure my boots were tied and my canteen was full. “Let’s talk before we get to work today.”
“Sure, what’s up?” I asked.
“I had a conversation with Ward and Hammer yesterday. We’re going to do things a little differently today. First, you won’t be competing with all of us for Nanos today, just me,” Light started.
“That’s good . . . I think. What changed their minds?” I asked. It was good that I wouldn’t need to compete with either Ward or Hammer. Still, I would need to compete with Light and he was no slouch when it
came to cultivating Nanos.
“With the new issue you raised yesterday regarding your enhancement point distribution, we now need to push you to increase your Milestone even faster, especially if we have no choice but to raise you an extra five Milestones,” Light explained. “You’ll still be competing against me, but I’m actually going to teach you how to compete when cultivating against others, something you will absolutely need to be able to do once you’re among villains. With that, I’ll be teaching you the next step in cultivation.”
“Why is that? I mean, why would I compete with the villains for Nanos?” I asked.
“Villains are for the most part . . . cowards. They are unwilling to brave the wilds to increase their Milestones and too impatient to do it the old-fashioned way. They prefer to attack the weak and steal Nanos from them. As a result, when they get access to a good number of Nanos, they fight over it like wild quilldogs. Not fight as in trying to hurt each other but fight to cultivate more than those around them.” Light answered. “But we’re getting off topic.”
Light paused for a moment then continued, “Second, I have been derelict in my responsibility to you. I thought I was brought here so you would have a friendly face, someone to talk to as a friend. I didn’t realize I was also expected to train you in combat. Specifically, in ranged combat. Something I know more about than either Ward or Hammer because of my ability.”
I nodded in understanding.
“Third, for the next few days, we’re going to be hunting, trying to get you a few more Milestones,” Light said, but I could see there was something he wasn’t saying.
“What is it?” I asked. “That was already the plan, why does it sound like that’s a different plan from before?”
Light really needed to work on his poker face. Cringing all the time when ever he had bad news was a big give away. Eventually, he said, “We have an idea. Something for you specifically. But we need to clear a path to its last known hunting grounds. It’s dangerous.”
“How dangerous?” I asked.
“Very,” Light replied. “But don’t worry about that yet. We will evaluate how things go over the next few days before we make a final decision. For now, let’s focus on your cultivation and gaining Milestones.”
I really didn’t like that answer. If they were going to put me in even more danger, I had a right to know . . . didn’t I? “I’d like to know more about this danger,” I said.
“Later, I promise,” Light rebuffed my request. “For now, let’s focus on cultivation.”
I frowned. Relenting, I said, “Alright, what’s next?”
“I know we’ve been pushing your cultivation technique very quickly. Normally, we learn as children and have years to get used to it,” Light began. “I know this is getting repetitive, but time is short. You’ve had a few days to get used to starting at your limit and collapsing inward, building up momentum. Now, we’re going to see if we can increase that momentum.”
“And how do we do that?” I asked. I was also unsure why it would take time to get used to the different cultivation techniques they’ve taught me. So far, I hadn’t really struggled with any of it, not with the aid of my Time Compression. Or was that the difference? They didn’t have Time Compression to help them along. I found myself wondering just how powerful my skill really was.
“We pick a point out to our maximum limit. Then we spiral it. Rotate around the outside of your limit and spiral inwards,” Light answered. “You may have noticed using your current method, that you tend to get slowed down by large swarms of Nanos. This method should allow you to run over those swarms with ease.”
“And how does this let me fight for Nanos?” I asked.
Light chuckled, then said, “Learn this method first, then we’ll get into fighting for Nanos.”
I pushed down my desire to question him. The faster I learned what he wanted me to learn, the faster I would be able to move on to the next step.
I sat down on the hardpacked ground of the inner courtyard of the outpost and closed my eyes, only for Light to interrupt me before I could even begin. “On your feet, Villains aren’t going to wait for you to sit down and get comfortable.”
I stood back up again and closed my eyes, and Light interrupted me again, “Eyes open. I know I said that Villains won’t fight you over the Nanos but a Villain that loses to you might try to attack you immediately after. You would be better off seeing it coming.”
Okay, that was different. “Should I learn to do it while moving as well?” I asked, half-joking.
“Eventually,” Light answered seriously. “For now, just learn this step. Oh, and no Time Compression. You won’t be able to use it to cultivate while you’re around the villains or they’ll know something is up. If we’re lucky, you won’t have to fight it out like this. But just in case, you need to be prepared.” I really didn’t like the restrictions, even if he had a point. I hadn’t cultivated without Time Compression since I first activated the ability.
Trying to shake off my new doubts, I bounced on my feet a few times and shook out my limbs. “Okay, let’s try this,” I said. I wanted to close my eyes because it was how I was originally trained. I knew how my Nanos felt by now. That rhythm of fast and slow. The emptiness. I knew how wild Nanos felt. Their untamed, constant motion. Their restlessness. I just needed to figure how to feel for them without closing off my other senses. But I couldn’t close my eyes. I needed to figure this out a different way. I activated my Time Compression, feeling the world around me grind to a crawl. I knew the Nanos were all around me, I could faintly feel them. I activated my Spatial Awareness and suddenly I was acutely aware of everything around me. Light’s heartbeat slowly thudded in his chest right in front of me. Hammer and Ward were at the limit of my range.
And all around us was a sparse number of Nanos. I picked a spot at the limit of my reach and took hold of the Nanos. It was just a small bubble about three feet wide. There were maybe a few hundred Nanos. Then I moved my bubble of control, pushing it clockwise. It moved, slowly at first, but as it moved it pulled in more and more Nanos, until it was circling around my outer limits and no longer gathering Nanos. With a gasp, I dropped to a knee, my grip on the Nanos suddenly ending as I was out of breath.
“You alright?” Light asked, checking on me immediately.
“Yes,” I said, feeling like I’d just run a marathon.
“What happened?” Light asked, sounding worried.
Panting and trying to catch my breath, I eventually answered, “I think . . . I think I tried . . . to do . . . too much.”
Light looked confused and asked, “Too many Nanos?”
I shook my head. I answered, “Time Compression and Spatial Awareness. I think I held them both active for too long.”
Light looked both relieved, upset and worried by my answer. He said, “You need to be careful with that. You can actually damage your ability that way. Overuse can cause Nano-Burnout. It’s not good. And I said no abilities.”
“Right, Nano-Burnout, got it,” I said, shrugging off his reminder to not use my abilities. It wasn’t easy to just not use them after I had gotten so used to it. “Okay, so I was able to rotate but it just spun at the outer reach, never rotating in. What did I miss?”
“How big of an area did you try to grab to start?” Light asked.
“About a three-foot diameter,” I answered.
“That should be good to start. As soon as you’ve sent it around two or three times, give it a gentle, constant pull toward yourself,” Light instructed.
I nodded and said, “Okay, let my abilities recharge and I’ll try again.” Fifteen minutes later, my energy bars were refilled, and the Nanos recovered from their previous exertion. I was ready to try again, this time with only my Spatial Awareness active. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to just be more aware of where the Nanos were. I started my gathering bubble flying along the outer limits of my area of influence. As soon as I got two rotations, I started trying to pull the bubble toward me. I
was surprised by the initial resistance. It didn’t want to leave its orbit. I pulled a little harder and the orbit suddenly changed its trajectory, rotating just twice more before it reached me. I only gathered a few thousand Nanos, which was nothing compared to my previous methods. I believe that I pulled too hard, reducing the number of rotations and the number of Nanos I could gather at the same time.
“I need to rest again,” I said, ending my Spatial Awareness early.
“How did it go?” Light asked.
“Better, but I pulled too hard on the Nanos,” I answered. Eager for my ability to recover so I could try again.
“Okay, I’ll leave you with this for now. I’m going to go give Hammer and Ward an update,” Light said, leaving me to work on my cultivation.
I was surprised by how much more difficult this cultivation method was. Especially after I picked up the others so easily. It took a couple hours before I thought I had the hang of it.
“I think I’m ready for the next step,” I said as I approached the cookfire where Light, Ward, and Hammer were sitting.
“Good,” Light said. “Next step is to create another gathering point. Once you’re up to ten gathering points, I’ll fight you.”
“Ten?” I asked. I struggled mightily just getting one gathering point and now he wanted me to make ten? “Is that even possible?”
Hammer snorted. “Ten is nothing,” he said, then added, “I had over fifty gathering points when I was at that stage.”
Fifty! I was shocked. No wonder he was able to gather up so many Nanos so quickly. And wait, did he just say ‘had’? As in past tense? And what did he mean ‘at that stage’? I had so many questions.
“What are you still standing around for? If we ever want to get back to hunting, then you need to learn this stuff. Now get to it,” Hammer ordered gruffly.
Ten? I questioned in my head. How in the world was I going to get to ten? I suppose the only way I was going to find out was by doing it. I started with one gathering point. I spun it up and once I started pulling on it, I tried to create another point in the original starting spot only for the cultivation attempt to falter and fall apart. I tried a few more times but every one of them ended in failure.
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