by Aaron Oster
Cost - 500 RP
Gravity Tear - Your power over gravity is such that space can no longer contain you. Vast distances can now be covered at the maximum speed your body can currently handle. Short distances can also be covered in small bursts called Blinks.
Cost - 75 RP per second
Blink Cost - 100 RP
Sunblast - Harness the power of the planet’s star within yourself and control it at will. This skill is stronger in the daytime and weaker at night.
Cost - 400 RP per second
Traits:
Dense Body Max. - Your body has undergone an evolution and has become denser and more compact. All physical attacks are now 49% less damaging, and all skill-based attacks have a 4% chance of failing to damage you at all. This is the maximum your body can manage in its current state.
Recovery Max. - The spirits of the air have blessed you with the power of healing. If you can survive for 3 hours after being wounded, no matter the injury, your body will be completely healed. Your body will begin healing immediately at 20% per hour for 3 hours, and the last 40% will heal at the end of the 3rd hour. This is the maximum your body can manage in its current state.
Aura Sense (inherited) - You have been bestowed the gift of sight by an Omniscient. By concentrating on the natural energy within yourself, you can read the aura in the world around you. You now have True Sight and can see through any deception, be they words or abilities. You can read the statuses of others, so long as they contain weaker wills.
Aura Flare (inherited) - You have been bestowed the gift of power by an Omniscient. You can make those around you feel your power, merely by focusing your intent. Your aura will now stun the weak-minded for up to ten seconds and may cause some severe physiological damage as well.
Perfect Self - The road to the Pinnacle of power is nearly at its end. Gather the required energy and find your Perfect Self.
Progress - 57%
Soul Stealer - You now have the ability to tear the cores from supers or mages, absorbing them as you would a beast core. The energy you will receive will vary based on the strength of the individual.
Suppression (inherited) - You have been granted the ability of control by Order. You can fully suppress any emotion you choose at any time. However, feelings of physical discomfort cannot be suppressed.
Extra:
Gravity Storm (7th category) - Create a hurricane of severe gravity, damaging winds, lightning and fiery hail in a targeted area. The ground quakes and splinters under the force of this storm, throwing boulders high into the air. The earth ruptures and spews forth fire and ash.
Cost - 3,200 RP
AOE - 150 Ft
Duration - 80 seconds
Cooldown - 6 hours
Starbreaker (7th category) - Create a dense ball of superheated air and compressed gas, which will explode upon impact with a selected target. The heat is so great that it will melt stone and detonate the very oxygen in the air. The ground surrounding the blast will turn to glass, trapping all in its area of effect.
Cost - 2,800 RP
AOE - 65 Ft
Cooldown - 10 hours
Collapsing Star (HyperNova) - Create a small sphere of super dense gravity that exudes the crushing force of a collapsing supergiant star. The collapsing star will then explode outward, burning all in its path with the heat of a HyperNova.
Cost - 3,600 RP
AOE - 45 Ft
Duration - 35 seconds
Cooldown - 40 hours
Shooting Star (Comet) - Cloak your body in fire hot enough to melt diamond and the power of a shooting star. Your body burns so brightly that it will blind any who look upon you.
Cost - 4,500 RP
Duration - 30 seconds
Cooldown - 120 hours
Massive Meteor (2nd category) - Tear the ground by pulling a mass of earth and stone into the sky. Then, bring it plummeting down to earth.
Cost - 5,500 RP
AOE - 100 Ft
Cooldown - 240 hours
Continental Crush - Split the ground with a massive burst of power, detonating the very earth itself. This skill has the range to demolish an entire city, so use with caution.
Cost - 7,000 RP
AOE - 25 Square Miles
Cooldown - 2 Weeks
Morgan had used almost every skill in his arsenal, except for Continental Crush. It wasn’t that he didn’t have the necessary power to use it, but rather that he simply couldn’t justify unleashing that sort of destruction, even against his enemies. He suspected that if this war with Faeland escalated any further, he might just have to use it, if only as leverage to stop the war in its tracks.
Closing the tab, Morgan pulled up his latest skill. It was the one he hadn’t yet learned but was always at the forefront of his mind.
*Soulstream (Contingent) - The power of your soul manifests in the form of your inner beast, cloaking your body in its incredible power, while leaving you in control. While in this form, any damage received will be instantly healed, though it will shorten the duration of the skill.
(This skill is contingent upon finding the Soul Well in the heart of Faeland)
Cost - 8,000 RP
Duration - 10 minutes
Cooldown - 24 hours
Morgan’s inner beast – or the Beast King, as he liked to call himself – was the manifestation of the wild creature that Samuel had created over ten-thousand years ago. Human DNA had been added as well, in an attempt to curb his bestial side, but upon discovering that he could not be controlled, Samuel had locked him away for several millennia. It was only after the disaster that struck the Ruined City, thousands of years later, that Morgan was freed from his prison.
His bestial side had manifested several times before, and though he’d been sure it was gone for good after the defeat of Octagon the Bitter, Morgan had once again felt his presence in Faeland when he’d faced the World Beast, Breaker. The Beast King had recoiled at the golden dragon’s very existence and had tried to break free to destroy him. But Morgan had been stronger against the Beast King and forced him into submission.
Gaining conscious control over the Beast King, and better yet, using his incredible power as his own, was something that Morgan very much wanted to do. Once, he’d had a skill that gave him just such an ability. However, it came at the price of surrendering to the Beast. Now, though, he was given an opportunity to gain conscious control, and it was one that he was not going to squander.
Closing the tab, Morgan maneuvered over his last one, the one holding the costs associated with upgrading his current skills. Some were, obviously, at the very maximum of what he could accomplish at his Advanced stage. There were still plenty of skills that could be maximized, and before he reached the Pinnacle, Morgan intended to get them all to that point.
Skills:
Hypersonic Flight - 21.2M/100M
Maximum Increase - N/A
Maximum Stormforge - N/A
Earthen Shift - 10M/75M
Nature’s Wrath - 14.5M/25M
Compression - 60M/100M
Gravity Tear - 39.9M/85M
Sunblast - 53.5M/120M
Traits:
Dense Body Max. - N/A
Recovery Max. - N/A
Aura Sense (inherited) - N/A
Aura Flare (inherited) - N/A
Perfect Self - N/A
Soul Stealer - N/A
Suppression (inherited) - N/A
Extra:
Gravity Storm (7th category) - 132M/200M
Starbreaker (7th category) - 198M/240M
Collapsing Star (HyperNova) - 258M/280M
Shooting Star (Comet) - 98.7M/145M
Massive Meteor (2nd Category) - 101M/370M
Continental Crush - 0.1M/500M
Of all the millions in energy he’d collected, Morgan had put the vast majority into his extra skills. After his fight with Gwendolyn – his adoptive mother’s doppelganger – he’d realized that he severely lacked in power. Closing out his status, Morgan re
alized that while he might not have considered the work he’d put in over the past couple of weeks as ‘substantial,’ others undoubtedly would.
He’d gained a lot of energy in that time, hunting powerful beasts over and over again. The trick, he’d discovered, was to assure that they were strong enough to provide energy in the high six-figures, but weak enough to be killed with relative ease. Sure, it had taken a few hundred kills, but with his speed, it could hardly be considered work.
All his other time was dedicated to Grace’s training and practicing with the silver spear. Even now, the shining length of Godsteel was slung over his shoulder. He could feel his connection to her growing, and Morgan was sure it was a ‘her.’ Sometimes, when he practiced, he could almost feel as though she were trying to speak to him. But whenever he tried answering back, he never got anywhere.
His hand slid back, moving over the sleek silvery length of metal, and feeling the slow-moving consciousness respond to his touch. Morgan would get answers about her in time, he was sure. Until then, he would continue doing all he could to improve his skills and assure that he would be well prepared when the time came to face the agents of Chaos.
3
Morgan exited into the courtyard of Pinnaclefall castle, previously known as City Eleven, and looked around for his student. It didn’t take him long to find her — or rather, the massive humanoid-drake keeping her occupied. Though he was tempted to walk over right away, Morgan stopped himself, crossing his arms and hanging back to watch the fight.
Lumia, the humanoid drake in question, was currently attacking at what seemed to be horribly slow speed, at least, where she was concerned. However, the short girl fighting against her appeared to be giving it every she had and more.
Grace’s face was red, her skin was streaked with sweat, and her curly brown hair – now dyed with streaks of pink and silver – clung to her face and neck, in contrast to how neat and styled she usually worked to keep it. Morgan knew that Grace would fix it as soon as this fight was over.
She was dressed in a cloth tunic, tied only with a simple belt at the waist. It hung off her petite frame in a way that told Morgan that it, like her, was utterly drenched. That was good, as it meant she was working hard enough to strain her to this point. And, judging by the myriad of small droplets littering the ground, they’d been going at it for quite some time. Though he could tell Grace was exhausted, she continued, refusing to give in.
Lumia, on the other hand, looked calm as ever. Her scales were shining and flashing in the late-spring sun as she wove gracefully between Grace’s attacks, returning with jabs to open areas to show where Grace was leaving gaps in her defense. While one might think that Lumia, as a beast, wouldn’t know the art of hand to hand combat, her time training with Morgan had taught her quite a bit. Because of that, she was able to serve as a stand-in when he was busy.
No skills were being used in this training, as this was all about technique, reaction time and learning to defend oneself. He stood to the side and watched for several more minutes, taking note of all the ways Grace needed to improve. She was still far too stiff in her attacks, telegraphing her blows and was less snappy than she should be. Of course, that could have been because of the fatigue, but the real training only ever began once you were exhausted. Until then, you were just burning away everything that had been gained the last time and making room for more.
“That’s enough,” Morgan finally said, revealing his presence by stepping out from behind the corner.
Grace staggered as Lumia pulled back, her punch going wide and nearly causing her to fall. Lumia, who’d smelled Morgan coming and knew he was there, was not surprised at all.
“Finally decided to come join us?” she asked, placing a steadying hand on the panting girl to keep her from falling.
“I had a few things to take care of,” Morgan replied, striding over to the two of them. To Grace, he said, “You’re getting better, but we’ve still got a lot of work ahead before you’re ready to go back to Faeland.”
“We’re going back already?” Grace asked, in-between panting breaths.
“In a few days,” Morgan replied, taking his canteen from his belt and passing it to her.
Grace gratefully snatched the container, barely managing to get the cap off before upending it over her mouth.
“Will a few days be enough?” Lumia asked, already shrinking back down to her cat-sized form.
“It will be, when I’m through with her,” Morgan replied, eyeing the smaller girl as she drained the canteen dry.
“You have something specific in mind?” Lumia asked, perching on his shoulder.
“There’s a Beast Zone in the South Kingdom that will benefit us all,” Morgan said in a raised voice so that Grace could hear as well. “We’ll be heading there in just a few hours, so I’d recommend getting washed up, changed and packed for a few days. Oh, and bring your armor.”
“What kind of training?” Grace asked, handing him back the now-empty canteen.
“The kind that’ll toughen you up,” Morgan replied simply.
Grace blew out a long breath, then tucked a sweaty lock of hair behind one of her ears.
“You don’t have to be so mysterious, you know. You can just tell me what type of training we’ll be doing.”
“It would defeat the purpose,” Morgan replied, turning to head back into the palace, forcing Grace to jog to keep up.
“And, why exactly, would giving me information beforehand make the training any less effective?” she asked, practically glaring at him for making her run so soon after allowing her to break.
“Will your enemies send you a letter three days in advance to let you know that they’ll be coming for you?” Morgan asked in response.
“Well…” Grace began.
“The answer is no,” Morgan replied. “Expecting the unexpected is part of any decent training, and if you never know what you’re getting into, you’ll be more adaptable when the situation demands it.”
“But what about knowing everything about your enemies before fighting?” Grace exclaimed. “I thought that if you knew your enemy, your chances of success go up!”
“That is also true,” Morgan replied. “But your enemies won’t exactly be telling you everything about themselves, now will they? That task will be up to you entirely.”
“But…How am I supposed to gather information, if you don’t give me anything?” Grace groaned.
“Who says I haven’t?” Morgan replied.
Grace hesitated for a moment, which, in turn, forced her to have to jog to catch up once again.
“I really wish you wouldn’t play these damned mind games with me,” she muttered.
“Tell you what,” Morgan replied. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll give you two hours to figure out what your training will entail. If you figure it out, not only will you be better prepared, but on top of that, I’ll take you to the Central Kingdom markets and buy you something new for your hair. How does that sound?”
Morgan had found that just as there were times to be tough, there were also times to be motivational. If all he ever used was the stick, then Grace could grow to resent him, even if his lessons imparted were practical. Just as he’d predicted, the promise of new hair products from foreign Kingdoms immediately lit a fire in Grace’s eyes. He was sure that he’d just found a surefire way for her to get all the information she’d need by herself.
Even if she had to skip bathing, resting and eating, she’d do it, which was why Morgan had to make sure she did all three. Otherwise, she would smell, be unprepared and miserable when they left.
“Your time will begin after you’ve taken care of yourself. So, go back to the suite. Lumia will let me know when you’re done.”
“You’re on!” Grace said, then spun in place and rushed off towards their suite.
“Amazing how much energy she suddenly has,” Morgan noted wryly.
“You did offer her a child’s equivalent of candy if she succeeded,” Lu
mia replied, already flapping from his shoulder. “What else did you expect?”
Morgan simply shook his head but felt a smile spread across his lips all the same as he watched the two of them vanish down the hall. It felt good to have someone counting on him. She needed him and was relying on his teachings. Grace would make an excellent supermage one day, and hopefully, she’d be someone better than him.
While he had undoubtedly done a lot of good, he’d also done plenty of damage as well. He’d killed thousands in his time, and while his actions had saved the lives of countless others, he knew that in the world of the future, he could not be a leader. While people feared or maybe even respected his strength, they would never love him, not like a proper leader should be loved. Grace had the potential to be so much better than him, and Morgan would make sure that no matter what happened, she maintained her endless optimism and inner strength.
***
Grace nearly knocked the doors of the suite she shared with Morgan off its hinges as she entered, once again panting due to the run. The door wasn’t even fully closed before she began stripping out of her sodden robes, leaving a trail to the bathroom as her mind worked to decipher Morgan’s words.
“You know,” Lumia said as Grace turned the handles on the oversized tub. “It would be prudent of you to remember that Morgan lives here too. What would you have done if he had followed us here?”
Grace, snapped from her thoughts by the drake, felt her entire body flush red as she realized what she’d done.
“Don’t worry, he didn’t follow us,” Lumia assured her. “But just try and think before you act in the future, for your own sake.”
“Right,” Grace replied, thinking of how embarrassing it would have been, had Morgan been there.
Though she wasn’t completely bare, she was dressed in only her underwear, and only the bottom half, at that. Had Morgan been here, she probably would have died of embarrassment. The next time she was in a rush, she’d wait until she was inside the bathroom before taking her clothes off. In her excitement, she’d momentarily forgotten that she wasn’t living at home with her father anymore.
