by Aaron Oster
That was not a good sign.
“Thought you could get away, did you?” Kook said, chuckling darkly.
His laughter turned into a wracking cough and soon he was wheezing as blood poured from his open mouth.
He quickly stood as Morgan made to dart in, holding the sword out point first.
“Don’t think you’ll be getting past me that easily, boy!” he growled, teeth stained red with blood. “I may be a dead man, but I’ll be damned if I don’t take the two of you with me!”
Morgan stopped, eyes locked onto Kook’s. Most people would make the mistake of watching the weapon, but Morgan knew that the real threat would come from the man, and if he watched him closely he could predict the weapon’s path.
Kook was a man on the edge. He might not have an ability, but he was still extremely dangerous. Not to mention that he was a full grown man, albeit, a heavily injured one.
There was one thing Morgan found odd as the man slowly closed in on him- the lack of anyone else in the open square. The lack of city guards this close to the manor wasn’t just troubling; it was downright alarming.
“Sarah, I’m going to try and keep his attention on me. You try to get around him and find some guards.”
“I can’t!” she hissed. “The guards are in on it. I don’t know who to trust!”
Morgan cursed under his breath.
Well, that would explain the lack of guards. This just made things more complicated, but so long as they could get past Kook, they had a pretty good chance of getting away.
“Fine. Stay behind me. Make sure that I’m between you and Kook at all times,” he said as the man closed in, sword gleaming in the moonlight.
“Why are you helping me?” Sarah felt obliged to ask.
“You came for me when you didn’t have to. No one’s ever done that for me before and if that’s what friends do, then I want to be your friend.”
Sarah felt her cheeks color slightly and a warm fuzzy feeling spread throughout her body.
Morgan really liked her!
Then Kook let out a yell and lunged forward. Morgan rolled to the side, scooping up a small pebble from the road and flinging it in a sidearm throw at the man’s head.
This was meant to serve a dual purpose. It would give him a good idea of the man’s reflexes and with any luck, cause him to be distracted for a second or two. He dashed in as soon as the pebble had been released, but wasn’t prepared for Kook’s reaction.
Instead of blocking the rock, he lunged in, taking the small projectile in his right eye and skewering Morgan through his shoulder with the icy steel. Morgan let out a hiss of pain as the sword withdrew, now coated with his blood and darted forward to skewer him again.
Morgan’s reactions were fast and he nimbly dodged, feeling a smile creeping onto his face. He felt the excitement welling up inside of him, as he had his first real challenge in a while. Even though he was injured and the situation was dire, this was what made him feel most alive.
He ducked another swipe of the sword and drilled a stiff punch into the area where Sarah had stabbed the man. Kook let out a pained grunt and staggered back as a fresh wave of blood spurted from the clumsily bandaged wound.
“Little shit!” he growled, as Morgan quickly back stepped, keeping his eyes on the man the entire time.
Morgan winced as his shoulder throbbed in pain. He could feel hot blood pumping from the wound and judged how weak Kook was now compared to him. He grimaced as he realized that at this rate, Kook would kill them both before he bled out, which meant that he would need to take a stupid risk.
He chanced a glance back and saw that Sarah was listening to him, keeping him between herself and Kook. She looked afraid but determined.
Morgan turned back to the man, who was now breathing hard and blinking rapidly. He could see perspiration on Kook’s brow and as he moved his hand up to wipe it away, Morgan made his move. He darted in, closing too quickly for Kook to react and formed his fingers into a blade, plunging his hand into Kook’s bleeding side.
The man screamed in pain as Morgan dug his fingers in deeper, gripping whatever he could and tearing with all his might. Kook screamed and brought the pommel of his sword down on the top of Morgan’s head.
Morgan heard a loud crack and his vision flashed red as he momentarily lost consciousness. He grimaced against the horrible pain lancing through his skull and dug his hand in deeper. He heard Kook yell again, but it now sounded somehow distant.
He yelled, shoving his arm as deep as he could until his hand came into contact with something soft and squishy. He didn’t hesitate for a second, digging his nails into the organ and squeezing with all his might.
He heard one last scream, then felt a blinding pain from his head as Kook, presumably brought his sword pommel down on his skull once again. Morgan staggered back, his hand emerging from the man’s guts drenched in blood and bile. He got a fuzzy view of the night sky as he fell backward, blacking out from the combination of pain and blood loss, a massive grin plastered across his face.
***
Sarah woke up just as Morgan made it back into their makeshift camp. She felt well rested and slowly sat up, noting the coat that slid off her as she did. Had Morgan placed that there?
She looked up at him, and saw a slightly guilty expression on his face. That was new as well. Morgan never looked guilty.
She opened her mouth to say something, but Morgan quickly cut her off.
“I’m sorry for what I did. It was reckless and I could have gotten us both killed.”
The monotonous tone in which he recited it was a little off-putting, but Sarah knew that it was more sincere than any apology she’d ever received. She wasn’t about to let him off the hook though.
She folded her arms and fixed a scowl on her face.
“That’s not good enough,” she said.
“That’s why I got you these,” he said.
Her eyes widened as he opened their bag and began piling up one core after the next until there were over twenty of the red and blue spheres sitting on the tunnel floor.
“I may have gone a bit overboard since you probably won’t need that many and once you’re at rank 19 you won’t be able to use them…” he trailed off here and offered her a shrug.
But Sarah still wasn’t satisfied.
“That’s still not enough for me,” she said, turning her nose up at him.
“Well then, what can I do to make it up?”
She grinned as he said those words and turned her cheek to the side, placing her index finger against it.
“I want a kiss.”
She felt a flood of satisfaction wash over her as Morgan’s eyes went comically wide. That look alone would have been worth it, but she had gone through twenty-four hours of hell not knowing if he would survive or not, so this was the least she would get from him.
“Really? That’s what you want?” Morgan sounded more confused than embarrassed, but she still didn’t care.
“Yes, right here,” she said, tapping her cheek again.
“I don’t know how.”
“It’s really not that hard and you’ve seen people doing it, haven’t you?”
He nodded reluctantly, then got down on his knees next to her.
She felt her heart begin to pound rapidly in her chest as Morgan slowly leaned in. When his lips were only an inch away, she quickly turned her head so they landed squarely on hers. She felt him stiffen in surprise and slid her arms around his head, preventing him from escaping.
Morgan had absolutely no prior experience and neither did she, so the kiss was very awkward, to say the least, but Sarah enjoyed every second of it. After a few seconds, she finally released him and sat back with a slightly dreamy expression.
Morgan just ran the back of his hand over his lips, a slightly confused look on his face. Then he shook himself and the confusion vanished in an instant.
“I take it that we’re even now?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest.
<
br /> Sarah just grinned goofily at him and nodded.
She knew that he hadn’t felt anything at all from that kiss, but she most definitely had. Before yesterday, she never would have had the courage to do what she just did, but after Morgan had nearly died, she decided that she would no longer be meek or sit on the sidelines. She would take what she wanted and damn the consequences.
“Good. Now we should rank up before taking on that Arc. I also have a lot to tell you about the time I spent passed out.
Sarah nodded. She could still feel that big goofy grin on her face, but she didn’t care. She was content.
***
“Are you ready?” Sarah asked, holding up the last core she would need to rank up.
Morgan had recounted his entire tale, including his new ability to discern rank and ability. Now the two of them were both on the cusp of ranking up. Sarah had insisted they do so together and he didn’t care one way or the other, so here they were.
He nodded and she grinned back at him; the same grin she’d been wearing since tricking him into kissing her on the lips. He knew that a kiss on the cheek and a kiss on the lips were different, with very different connotations.
He had suspected that Sarah might have feelings for him after running through all his memories of their time together, but what she had just done proved it without a shadow of a doubt.
The kiss had been strange for him. There was once again no better way to describe it. There was a feeling that he could almost recognize, but then it slipped away before he could grasp its meaning. Now all he could remember feeling was Sarah’s mouth pressed against his and the distinct feeling of being uncomfortable. He just hoped that she didn’t make it a regular thing from now on. He could handle her hugging him, but if she started randomly kissing him he didn’t think it would go over too well.
“Morgan?”
Morgan looked up, only now realizing that Sarah had been calling his name for the last few seconds.
“Sorry, I got distracted. What did you say?”
“Your core? Are you ready to rank up?”
Morgan nodded, feeling the worrying thoughts about Sarah vanish as he prepared to break through into rank 19.
“On three,” Sarah said, her eyes focusing on the air before her as she opened the core’s status.
Morgan nodded, doing the same with his.
“One…Two…Three!” Sarah shouted the last number and Morgan assigned the energy, feeling the core crumble in his hand.
For a few seconds, nothing happened, then a massive shock ran through his body. The feeling was like that of moving up from rank 13 to 18, multiplied by one hundred. Morgan could feel his reiki flooding through him, strengthening his muscles, nerves, and bones. He could feel his skin growing tougher and his senses sharpening.
The changes he was experiencing weren’t all physical, however. Morgan could feel his mind opening up, expanding to understand concepts that had previously eluded him and ideas that he never would have thought of.
He could feel his reiki-heart pulsing with power as it used the massive amount of energy he’d collected to fuel his breakthrough. Then the reiki condensed once more, settling back into place where his heart used to be, but Morgan could feel that something was different now.
Concentrating inward, he could see that his reiki was no longer entirely purple. There was a new spot of color sitting at the very center of his heart. Tightening his concentration, Morgan’s view zoomed in to the small golden sphere of crackling energy sitting at the center of his core. He examined it for a few moments, baffled at what it could possibly be. Nothing in his lessons with Gold had hinted that supermages used an energy source other than reiki.
“Holy shit!”
Sarah’s voice cut through his wandering thoughts and Morgan opened his eyes, getting his first look at her since the rank up. Sarah was still sitting across from him, staring at him with wide eyes. Morgan was beginning to wonder what she was staring at, when his eyes began to pick out some subtle but noticeable differences in Sarah’s appearance.
Her face had become slightly narrower, accentuating her cheeks more and making her appear to be slightly older than she was. Her body had slimmed down a bit and he could see that her arms now had some very noticeable definition to them. That wasn’t all. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was at least an inch taller than she had been before the rank up.
“I could say the same thing,” Morgan replied once he’d finished looking her over.
Sarah just shook her head and conjured a mirror made of ice.
“Look,” was all she said.
Morgan stared at his reflection in dumbfounded amazement. He barely recognized the person who was staring back at him and if he hadn’t been seeing it with his own eyes, he still might not have believed it.
His face, unlike Sarah’s, had broadened slightly, giving him a stronger jawline than he had previously. His cheeks no longer had a sunken appearance and his complexion looked to be much healthier, but the one thing that stood out among all else, were his eyes.
Gone was the bright silver color that he was used to seeing. Instead, they had been turned a deep violet with a single brilliant golden ring around each of his pupils. They were now the same color as when he’d used his gravity storm. This time though, they seemed to be a permanent fixture.
He shook his head as his eyes traveled down to his shoulders. They had broadened quite a bit and he could see clearly defined muscles through the clinging fabric of his armor. He lifted his arms and could see the same definition through the tight material.
He was quick to finish his examination and shook his head in bafflement. It was clear that there had been some major changes, but no one had even hinted that this would even be possible. Dabu had said that the rank up would be significant, but he felt like the man would have mentioned the cosmetic changes his body had gone through.
“You done yet?” Sarah asked.
Morgan gave himself one more look, noting that he had missed a very significant detail. He had grown by a full two inches. What the hell?
“Yes,” he answered, his voice cracking a bit with the nervous tension he was feeling.
The mirror vanished in an instant, leaving him to stare into Sarah’s disbelieving eyes once more.
“Do you have any idea what happened to you?” she asked.
Morgan blew out a long breath but shook his head.
It seemed that every time he thought he’d figured one thing out, a dozen other mysteries arose in its place.
“Maybe looking at my status will answer some of my questions,” he said, rubbing at his temples.
Sarah nodded slowly and he noticed her very obviously running her eyes over him. He felt his mood lighten a bit at that. It was good to know that Sarah would act the same towards him, despite the changes.
“Yeah, I should probably check mine too,” Sarah replied after a few seconds. Her eyes abruptly unfocused as she concentrated on her status.
Chuckling lightly to himself, Morgan reached for his own power, feeling it flood into his eyes as his status appeared.
33
The first thing he noticed upon opening his status was the obvious addition of small golden flecks throughout his otherwise violet colored screen. For another, there were quite a few new additions and many changes to his skills. In fact, almost every single one of them had been altered in some way. But the one thing that stood out above all else was his ability.
Name: Morgan
Evolved Supermage: Rank - 19
Energy to next rank - 0/89,000
Ability - Divine Gravity & Air
RP - 1,280/1,280 (Regen - 12.8 per second)
DV - 10/10 (Regen - 0.1 per minute)
Strength - 121
Agility - 152
Constitution - 137
Intelligence - 128
Wisdom - 128
Skills - Advanced flight, Gravity impact, Explosive movement, Storm blade
Divine - Shock-blast
&nb
sp; Traits - Gravity field, Recovery, Aura sense (inherited)
Extra - Gravity storm (2nd category), Starbreak
Morgan’s mind reeled with the overload of information, but he quickly focused in on the first major change since his last rank up.
Evolved Supermage: When certain prerequisites are met, a genetic mutation will occur that will alter a supermage’s body on a cellular level. The result will be a slight increase in power, as well as the ability of choice.
Morgan gaped.
What the hell was going on?! He thought that there were only three types: supers, mages, and supermages. So what was an Evolved Supermage?!
The description was horribly vague and not at all helpful.
He blew out a long breath, deciding that he would find a way to visit Dabu as soon as he could. Maybe he would have some idea of what was going on.
He only hoped that those damn rules wouldn’t get in his way.
He closed that tab and moved on to the other major change since his rank up.
Divine: Divine skills are unique. Use your DV (Divine Points) to power your divine skills.
Morgan felt like throwing something.
What the hell kind of answer was that? First the new ability, and now a new type of skill?
Glaring at the floating words before him didn’t seem to have any effect whatsoever, and Morgan gritted his teeth at the less than helpful explanation.
If he didn’t know any better, he’d think that some god, possibly even Samuel, was messing with him.
He blew out a long breath, feeling his annoyance melt away.
It would do him no good to become upset. Besides, he still had a bunch of new skills to examine. Maybe they would shed some light on his slew of unanswered questions and if not, at least he’d enjoy looking at all his cool new skills.
Morgan felt a grin spreading across his face as he opened his skills and began looking through them.
Skills:
Advanced flight - Manipulate gravity and air to reduce your weight and move swiftly through the air. You can now reach half your maximum speed instantaneously.
