Skyflare (Rise To Omniscience Book 3)

by Aaron Oster

Morgan grinned when he saw that the time for his Recovery trait to activate had been halved. Now he could recover from any injury within 10 hours. It still wasn’t ideal, but with his improved core, he could now stop any life-threatening injuries until the trait kicked in. He also noted that his Gravity field had increased his resistance to damage once again. He hadn’t really noticed it working until now, and hoped that it would make an actual difference in the future. Finally, he moved on to what he’d been looking forward to the most- his extra skills, the most powerful ones in his arsenal.

  Gravity storm (3rd category) - Create a cyclone of intense gravity, damaging winds, and lightning in a targeted area. The ground quakes and splinters under the force of this storm.

  Cost - 850 RP

  AOE - 50 Ft

  Duration - 55 seconds

  Cooldown - 6 hours

  Starbreaker (2nd 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.

  Cost - 1,700 RP

  AOE - 50 Ft

  Cooldown - 12 hours

  Collapsing star - Create a small sphere of super-dense gravity that exudes a crushing force so powerful that even light cannot escape.

  Cost - 2,000 RP

  AOE - 20 Ft

  Duration - 30 seconds

  Cooldown - 24 hours

  Morgan had to stop himself from cheering. He didn’t know why, but the more destructive his attacks became, the happier he was. Maybe it was because of his love for fighting, or maybe he just liked smashing things. Either way, he was thrilled to have gotten a powerful new skill, though he still wasn’t sure what it would do. Judging by the massive cost and day-long cooldown, he was sure it would not disappoint.

  He closed his status and looked up to see Sarah giving him a knowing look.

  “What?”

  “I know that look,” Sarah said with a wide grin. “You get that same goofy smile on your face every time you get a new skill. Honestly, it’s like watching a child getting a new toy or some candy.”

  Morgan would have been insulted if he didn’t think she had a valid point. He did enjoy getting new skills. But what he enjoyed even more than that, was putting them to the test.

  22

  The fight with the Arch was disappointing, to say the least. Morgan had expected some gigantic beast made of diamond or something exotic like that. Instead, they fought an ape that used the water of its surroundings to attack.

  One use of his Gravity storm reduced it to a smoldering corpse, leaving Morgan feeling very unfulfilled. He sighed, even as he pulled the core from the corpse and absorbed the energy.

  “Well, that was a bit of a letdown,” Sarah voiced his thoughts.

  She hadn’t so much as gotten a chance to throw a single attack before it was over and the ape was no longer alive.

  “Yeah, it was,” Morgan agreed, as Sarah pulled the key from her pocket and opened the portal. “I’m sure we’ll get plenty of opportunities to use our skills if we get caught breaking into the palace.”

  Sarah grinned, then motioned him to step through the portal, which Morgan was more than glad to do. He was sick and tired of the endless rain, and was ready to get back to the scorching heat of the desert. Stepping through the portal, a wave of heat hit him and he let out a sigh of contentment.

  He was already stripping out of his sodden clothes when Sarah came through the portal behind him.

  “I can’t say I wasn’t expecting that,” she said with a half-smile as Morgan turned to face her. She tossed him the bag, while she began stripping out of her sodden clothes as well.

  Suppressing a grin, Morgan began pulling on a dry set of clothes. It had taken nearly an entire year, but Sarah finally felt comfortable with changing in front of him.

  “Toss me the bag, and don’t you dare look or I’ll kill you!”

  Mostly, he thought, letting the grin stretch across his face as he tossed her the bag. He straightened, making sure to turn his back on her and stared out over the dunes. They were only about an hour’s flight away from the city with his new top speed, and judging by the position of the sun, he assumed that they should arrive before the sun set.

  “Alright, you can turn around now.”

  Morgan turned to see Sarah, now dressed in a dry set of armor, unbraiding her long red hair and running her fingers through it.

  “You sure you don’t wanna cut that?” Morgan asked, approaching her.

  “Try and touch my hair, and I’ll cut your arm off,” she threatened, reaching into the bag and producing a long toothed comb.

  “Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug. “My hair is already dry.”

  Sarah glared at him as she began running the comb through her tangled and knotted hair, wincing every few seconds when it became snagged. Morgan waited patiently for her to finish with her hair - he knew it wouldn’t do him any good to rush her - before offering her his back.

  “Not gonna re-braid it?” he asked as she climbed on behind him.

  Her hair had grown longer over the year, and now hung more than halfway down her back.

  “Nah,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’m gonna let it dry before doing that.”

  Morgan nodded, then shot forward, forcing Sarah to tighten her grip. He basked in the feeling of freedom as he skimmed across the ground, kicking up a billowing dust cloud with his passage. At one point, he decided that he’d be less conspicuous if he flew further up, as the dust could be visible for miles around.

  He breathed in deeply, feeling his core revitalizing him. It had been nearly forty hours since he’d last slept, so he’d begun feeling a little drowsy. Morgan still found it amazing that he could go for so long without sleep, or food for that matter.

  His stomach growled suddenly and he resisted the urge to laugh. Funny how he only became hungry when he realized he hadn’t eaten. As they crested another dune, the capital city finally came into view. It looked much the same as the Ruined City, but all the buildings were intact. Two massive structures stood out immediately, even from the distance.

  One was a massive building with flowing turrets and tall spires. Morgan took this to be the palace. But the other structure somewhat surprised him. A huge, circular building stood near the western end of the city, and it took him a few moments to recognize it.

  “Is there an arena in every capital city, or just in the West Kingdom?” Morgan asked.

  He had to yell to be heard over the loud howl of the wind, but Sarah heard him just fine.

  “No,” she answered, bringing her lips close to his ear so she didn’t have to yell. “The arena must be new. I’ve never been to the West Kingdom before, but I know that the only sizable arena used to be at the academy.”

  “Why do you think the built it?”

  “Who knows. Maybe they’re holding some sort of tournament? Dabu mentioned something about important guests arriving at the city. It’s why he encouraged us to delay coming here for two days.”

  Morgan nodded, worried by the implications. If there would be some sort of big event happening here, security around the palace would be tight. They would have a much harder time sneaking in.

  They flew on in silence, until the main road came into view. It was a long, twisting path between the dunes, and Morgan could see many people dressed in all colors traveling along in groups.

  He landed behind the closest dune, making sure not they wouldn’t be spotted. They might live in a world where people could do incredible things, but he’d yet to meet anyone who could fly. He wasn’t about to draw attention to himself by letting everyone around know he could.

  Sarah hopped off his back, and Morgan turned around to look at her. Her long red hair gleamed in the late afternoon sun, and she carefully brushed her fingers through the thick locks. She didn’t move to braid it, instead leaving it to blow in the light breeze.

  “I noticed a lot of people on the road,” Morgan said as the two of
them began their walk around the dune.

  “That’s not uncommon around large cities,” Sarah replied with a shrug. “Don’t you remember what the Central Kingdom was like?”

  “Yeah. But this isn’t the Central Kingdom. I wasn’t expecting there to be so many people from the other Kingdoms here.”

  That brought Sarah up short.

  “There are people from the other Kingdoms here?” she asked, looking surprised.

  “I can’t be certain, but judging by the clothes I saw from the air, I definitely recognized some Northern wear.”

  Sarah didn’t say anything, but sped up their pace. Morgan, wondering what could be wrong, increased his speed to match hers. They walked in silence until they finally rounded the dune and moved onto the main road.

  Sarah was moving so quickly that she almost slammed into a passing cart and only Morgan’s quick actions saved them from causing a scene. The cart wouldn’t have done much damage to them, but the damage they would have caused to the cart would most definitely have drawn a crowd and caused a scene.

  As it was, a few of the passing people gave them odd looks, but none of them lingered as they continued on their way to the city.

  “Thanks,” Sarah said, flushing lightly as the two of them followed the throng down the road. “And you were right. I can spot people from just about every Kingdom here. There are even a couple of nobles from what looks like the East further down the road.”

  Following the direction of Sarah’s gaze, Morgan soon spotted a richly decorated open carriage, with a cloth awning serving as a roof. Sitting on the plush suede seats were a couple dressed in silken finery, something which Morgan associated with nobility.

  “Why would there be nobles from the East here?” he wondered.

  He must have spoken too loudly however, as someone butted into their conversation.

  “Same reason as everyone else. To watch the Skyflare Tournament!”

  Morgan turned to see a heavyset man appearing to be in his forties walking alongside a plump woman, and a pair of young boys. He wasn’t very good when it came to social interaction, so when Sarah answered, he kept his mouth shut.

  “It sounds vaguely familiar, but I can’t say I know what it’s about,” Sarah said, plastering a friendly smile on her face.

  The man looked genuinely shocked.

  “Where have you been living? All of the Five Kingdoms should know about the tournament by now!”

  “We’ve actually been away for the last few weeks,” Sarah said, her smile turning sheepish. “We’re only returning to the capital now.”

  “Well, that would explain it,” the man said, stroking his chin. “I’ll give you a brief summary, then. The tournament happens every twenty-five years, with all the Kingdoms, except for the Central, competing for glory, and from what I’ve heard, a crap-load of money!”

  Morgan and Sarah shared a glance, both thinking the same thing. What were the chances that they would both end up in this part of the world, right at the start of a tournament? Someone had sent them here on purpose, several someones actually.

  “When exactly is this tournament supposed to start?” Sarah asked the man.

  “I think it’s supposed to start in six days, but the commoners and minor nobles have to come early, as they’ll be closing the city off when the royalty of the other Kingdoms arrive.”

  Morgan and Sarah shared a look, before she flashed the man another smile.

  “Thank you for your help,” Sarah said, grabbing Morgan by the wrist and speeding up.

  “Not a problem. You kids enjoy yourselves!” he called after them.

  “If this tournament is as big as I suspect, what do you think the chances are that my father is here?” Sarah hissed as soon as they were out of earshot of the man.

  “If I know our luck, he’s most likely here already,” Morgan replied. He wouldn’t mind it if Simon was here, though. It would make killing him that much simpler.

  Sarah blew out a long breath and tucked a stray lock of hair behind one ear.

  “This is clearly a setup, you know,” she said after a few moments of silence.

  Morgan nodded. There was no other explanation as to why they had conveniently arrived right before the tournament started.

  “I’m going to try calling Katherine for more information once we’re settled inside the city. My guess is that all the cheap taverns and inns will be occupied. So I say we head deeper into the city and find something a little more pricy.”

  It hurt Morgan to suggest wasting money on accommodations, but spending a little extra would give them more privacy. It would also give them the added benefit of not being in a packed part of the city. There was also another reason why he wanted to call Katherine, though he didn’t tell Sarah. It would be her birthday tomorrow and he’d yet to get her anything.

  Even when he’d had nothing, he’d still had to get her presents back when they lived in City Four. Now that he actually had some money, he knew she was expecting something, even though she hadn’t so much as mentioned it once.

  Sarah perked up at his suggestion, and her sour mood instantly vanished.

  “Now that is something I can get behind!”

  Their walk slowed to a near crawl as they came to the city entrance, and they were forced to wait nearly thirty minutes in the packed crowd until they made it to the gates. The guards didn’t ask any questions, but did direct them to an inn that they claimed was the most exclusive in the city, and would likely have plenty of openings for people willing to spend a little extra.

  Morgan only found out how much extra when they were standing by the counter inside a very plush and luxurious inn about a twenty minute walk from the shopping district.

  “Three gold a night!” Morgan hissed as they made their way up to their undoubtedly luxurious suite.

  “That’s fairly cheap, as far as inns for nobility go,” Sarah said offhandedly.

  Morgan shuddered at just the thought of how much money they’d just wasted. With the average salary being 10 silver a week, three gold was more than some people made in half a year!

  They walked down the richly decorated hallway to the door marked with a stylized number 4. Unlocking the door, they entered into what Morgan could only describe as a palace. It had the same overall feel as Katherine’s room back in the North, only even more luxurious.

  A plush navy carpet covered one half of the room, with light gray marble covering the other. There was a single four poster bed in the center of the carpeted area, so large that a family of six could easily be comfortable sleeping there. A large basin made of white marble occupied the corner of the side of the room not covered in carpet. The long rod stretching across the top, with a curtain hanging from it, told Morgan that this was the bathtub.

  There were two plush armchairs, a couch, a table with four chairs, and an ice chest for cooling drinks.

  “Holy crap!” Morgan gaped as Sarah closed the door begin them.

  “I’ve seen nicer, but this’ll do,” she replied with a shrug.

  Morgan gave her an odd look.

  “What?”

  “You’ve seen nicer than this?” he asked, almost disbelieving.

  “You seen one nice inn, you’ve seen them all,” she replied, sitting down in one of the chairs and tugging off her boots. “Now if you don’t mind, I haven’t had a bath in nearly a week. I can’t even imagine how badly I stink right now.”

  “We literally just came out of a day-and-a-half long bath and you want to take another one?”

  “Walking through a muggy forest is hardly bathing, Morgan,” she replied, rising from the chair and heading to the curtained off area. “Do whatever you’d like, but I’m going for a long soak. And don’t you even think of peeking!”

  Morgan shrugged. He wasn’t interested in peeking, and she knew it. Why did she insist on reminding him? As the curtain closed, he realized that this was the perfect opportunity for him to contact Katherine without Sarah overhearing. Reaching into the bag,
he removed her pendant and slung it over his neck, tucking it under his armor.

  “Hey, Sarah,” he called out, heading for the door. “I’m going out for a bit to check out the palace. I’ll probably be back in about an hour.”

  “That’s fine,” she called from behind the curtain. “I’ll order us some dinner when I’m done with my bath. Is there anything specific you want?”

  Morgan began salivating at the thought of what types of food an inn like this would serve, but he pushed down his mounting hunger. The food would be here when he got back. He could wait.

  “Just order whatever you think is good,” he replied, fishing around in the bag until he found what he was looking for.

  His hand closed on his money pouch, that contained a little over 100 gold, five of the shortest chi-infused adamant spikes, and a few cores between rank 6 and 10. He was hoping that he could sell the cores and get a good idea on what the metal was worth.

  He only took five spikes however, because selling them all in one place or appearing to have too many, would arouse suspicion.

  “Alright.” Sarah’s reply was followed by the sound of running water, and Morgan took that as his cue to leave the room.

  Walking out into the hallway, Morgan headed down the stairs and into the lobby. This area was actually quite small by inn standards and didn’t contain anything he’d expect to see in an inn. There was no bar, no dining room and no waiters. Instead, there were a few oversized chairs and a large bookcase against the far wall.

  Morgan figured that the rich didn’t like mingling with others, and would therefore eat in their rooms. So why should a high-class place like this waste money on a bar? Whenever he passed a staff member however, they would stop and incline their heads, asking if there was anything they could help with.

  This, Morgan found strange. Sure, he would expect them to behave this way for nobles, but he wasn’t one of them. He took a look down at himself, noting that he was dressed in some clearly expensive armor. Since it was also self cleaning, it was spotless and didn’t have so much as a single wrinkle.