Skyflare (Rise To Omniscience Book 3)

by Aaron Oster

  He jumped to the side with a curse as a bolt of ice passed through the place he’d been standing and slammed into the wall behind him.

  “How dare you…?” Percival began, but was then forced to dodge once again, as a barrage of fireballs flew at him, courtesy of Morgan.

  “Yeah! You keep the bastard on his toes and I’ll pin him down!” Sarah yelled, leaping to her feet and building walls of ice to either side of the man.

  “You will stop this at once!” Percival shouted, smashing through the ice and charging at the two of them. But they would not be deterred. This man had woken them both early for no reason whatsoever. The least he deserved was an ass-kicking.

  After nearly five minutes of Morgan and Sarah mercilessly attacking the man and reducing every available piece of furniture in the room to splinters, the two of them finally calmed down.

  Percival, who had had a good portion of his outfit burned off, stood in the center of the room, glaring at them. Eric had ducked into the alcove where the door stood, and had used it as a shelter while Morgan and Sarah blew off some steam. Now that they were done with their barrage of attacks, he cautiously peeked out, eyeing the three of them nervously.

  “Fine!” Percival yelled, face dark with anger. “If that’s the way you want to play it, then the two of you are on your own. You can rot, for all I care!”

  He turned then and stalked out of the room, but not before shoving the rectangular piece of metal into Eric’s chest.

  “They’re your problem now!”

  And with that, he exited the room, slamming the door behind him. Eric gave the two of them one last look, before quickly following the man out.

  “I’ll be back to open the crystal before the challenge begins. Please be ready by half-past-eight. Breakfast will be here soon, and I’ll have someone come and replace…” He trailed off, then motioned around to the charred and splintered remains of the room.

  He bobbed his head once, then bolted for the door. As soon as it slammed shut, Morgan and Sarah both burst out laughing.

  “Did you see the look on Percival’s face when your attack lit his ass on fire?” Sarah exclaimed, leaning against the wall for support as she cackled madly.

  “I did, but I think I enjoyed it more when you froze his foot to the floor, then hit him in the face with that block of ice,” Morgan replied.

  The two carried on for several minutes, each praising the other’s creativity, until they finally ran out of steam. Sighing, Sarah sat down with her back to the stone wall and looked regretfully around the destroyed room.

  “It was fun and all, but I wish we’d at least thought of sparing the beds,” she said mournfully.

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” Morgan replied, eyeing the piles of blackened wood and ash that had once been their beds.

  Percival had been quite agile in avoiding their attacks, so he’d used his Goldfire barrage in a wide area, spreading out the barrage of expanding fireballs, so as to catch the man in one of the attacks. It had worked, as that was the attack that had burned off most of his clothing, but it had also cost them their beds in the process.

  “We can still use the couches,” he said, pointing to the mess of cotton and wood.

  Sarah had been responsible for those, but at least her attacks had left them kind of intact. She shook her head though, and forced herself back to her feet.

  “No. So long as we’re up, we may as well get the day started. I managed to get a few cores last night, though they’re not enough to move you up even a single rank, let alone help you to move up to the next stage in your ability.”

  Morgan smiled at her however, and shook his head.

  “There’s no need to apologize. The fact that you cared enough to go into a beast zone by yourself just to help me is more than enough.”

  Sarah felt her cheeks warming at the compliment and unconsciously fingered the necklace hanging around her neck. Morgan had become more and more considerate lately. The compliment he’d just paid her was evidence of that. It was one of the sweetest things he’d ever said to her. She’d been having doubts that once he regained his emotions, he wouldn’t love her, but the way he’d been acting put her fears to rest.

  “Yeah, well don’t go thinking I’ll be doing it again anytime soon,” she said, hiding her embarrassment by digging the bag out from inside her clothes.

  “I had a pretty close call when three Advanced beasts attacked all at once. It was actually what forced me to leave the beast zone in the first place,” she said, retrieving the nine cores she’d collected and handing them over to him.

  “Really?” Morgan asked, taking the cores and examining them. “Don’t you think it’s kind of odd that so many attacked at once?”

  “Now that you mention it, it is pretty strange,” Sarah said thoughtfully. “We’ve never run into a pack of Advanced beasts before…”

  “Well, I can put those minds of yours at ease,” Gold said, appearing in the center of the demolished room.

  If either of them was surprised by the man’s sudden appearance, they didn’t show it. Instead, they waited for him to explain.

  “What, not even a hello for your old teacher?” Gold asked at their lack of a reaction.

  “I can’t say I’m happy to see you again,” Sarah replied, folding her arms over her chest. “So no.”

  He gave her a hurt look and turned his eyes on Morgan, who was staring back at him impassively.

  “And what about you? Are you still mad at me for that little scuffle in the woods?”

  “You stabbed an ally in the back,” Morgan replied, his tone flat as ever. “I wouldn’t exactly call it a scuffle.”

  “She’s still alive, isn’t she?”

  “Yes. That’s the only reason I haven’t attacked you out of hand,” Morgan continued. “Well, that, and the fact that I don’t think it’ll do much good.”

  “Right you are!” Gold said, a wide smile back on his face. “Now, where were we…? Ah, yes. The beasts that swarmed you while you were training yesterday were courtesy of our dear friend Sammy.”

  “Why am I not surprised,” Sarah said, rubbing at her temples.

  “Good news is that he’ll be out of commission for at least the next day, maybe even more,” Gold continued, as though she’d never said anything.

  “Could you elaborate on that?” Morgan asked.

  “But of course! Sammy did a very bad thing, so he’s being punished. At this very moment he’s writhing around in agony inside the very beast zone you left earlier this morning.”

  Gold wiped an imaginary tear from his eyes and sniffed theatrically. “Poor, poor Sammy.”

  Morgan and Sarah shared a look at Gold’s slip. Whether intentional or not, he’d just revealed a very crucial piece of information. That there was a being capable and willing to punish even a god. Though it had been hinted at with the constant mentioning of the rules, no one had admitted to there being a higher power. Now, however, Gold had pretty much said it outright.

  This presented Morgan with another opportunity, and one which he didn’t think he’d ever get.

  “Is he weakened at the moment?” he asked, feeling adrenaline beginning to pump in his veins.

  “As much as I’d like to see the bastard killed, you wouldn’t stand a chance,” Gold said, reading right to the heart of the matter. “Even in his current state, he could swat you like an insect. And yes, if you attack him first, he will be well within his rights to kill you, though I’m not sure if he will.”

  Gold shrugged, then turned his back on the two of them.

  “Well, either way, just wanted to let you know that you can compete without interference. At least from Sammy, anyway. Until next time…”

  “Wait!” Sarah called out before he could vanish again.

  Gold turned his head, giving her a questioning look.

  “Will you at least explain why you did what you did? Why did you attack Katherine, and why do you want the Pinnacle Kings to rise?”

  “I’m a
fraid I can’t tell you that, but don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough,” he winked at the two of them and vanished, leaving them alone once more.

  40

  “Here are the current scores!”

  The announcer’s voice boomed out, and a massive screen displaying the current point totals appeared for all to see.

  “In first place, we have Sing of the North with 1,560 points. In second, is Marsha of the East with 1,395 points. In third, is Arnold of the South with 1,255 points, and in Fourth is Morgan of the West with 780 points!”

  Morgan suppressed a grimace when the point totals were announced as he noticed the screens shifting to each contestant as they were announced. The screens also panned over the rulers or representatives of each country, and Morgan noted that while Hu Vah looked far from pleased, Simon was practically oozing with smug satisfaction.

  The announcer then continued, having them play a short recap of yesterday’s challenge, showing a few minutes of each champion’s fighting styles. He paid especially close attention to those and watched as Sing plowed through golems with ease, her entire body seeming to flow from one attack to the other.

  She also displayed several of her skills, which Morgan guessed had to revolve around force or something similar. Marsha’s skills were quite interesting as well, as she displayed a stunning array of plant-based skills, from creating massive tangles of vines to blowing stone apart with a few seeds.

  Once Arnold’s turn came, Morgan decided that he’d seen enough and did a quick check of his status. He’d already seen Arnold fight several times and knew how his own fight had gone, so he figured he wasn’t missing anything. He’d already absorbed all the cores Sarah had given him, and had a good amount of attribute points to use. The problem was that he just didn’t know where to spend them.

  Name: Morgan

  Evolved Supermage: Rank - 33

  Energy to next rank - 78/520,000

  Ability Advancement: 3,274,229/3,800,000

  Total Available AP: 151

  Ability - Natural Disaster

  RP - 2,440/2,440 (Regen - 24.7 per second)

  Strength - 237

  Agility - 275

  Constitution - 220

  Intelligence - 244

  Wisdom - 247

  Skills - Perfect flight II, Explosive impact III, Stormforger, Goldfire barrage, Nature’s wrath

  Traits - Gravity field, Recovery, Aura sense (inherited), Aura flare (inherited)

  Extra - Gravity storm (3rd category), Starbreaker (2nd category), Collapsing star

  Morgan pursed his lips, trying to decide what to do with his available attribute points. He couldn’t increase any of his attributes, as they were at the current maximum his rank would allow. He could upgrade his Explosive impact III. That had been the most useful skill in his last challenge, but he wanted to save the points until the challenge started in case he really needed to upgrade another skill.

  He sighed, closing his status just in time to catch the tail end of his performance yesterday as he dove through the portal, narrowly avoiding the grasping hands of a golem. He suppressed a wince at how close a call he’d had, and instead stood with his back straighter as the screens showed his face once more.

  “Well, after seeing such stunning performances from our contestants, I’m more than ready to see some more action!”

  David’s voice boomed out once more, followed by the cheering of the crowd.

  “Then without further delay, let me announce today’s challenge!”

  Morgan’s attention flicked to the large screen, which was once more displaying a large map. This one was covered in colorful dots just as it had been the day before. The only difference was that today, the dots were moving.

  “Today’s challenge is actually quite simple. All the contestants will be dropped in a modified beast zone. Beasts of varying difficulty and rank have been collected and dropped inside. Your task will be to kill the beasts and take the spheres they are carrying with them.”

  The screen switched from the map to a picture of the five colored spheres, each with a number next to them displaying the point total of each.

  White: 5

  Black: 10

  Blue: 25

  Red: 50

  Purple: 100

  “The spheres cannot be taken without first killing the beast, so make sure the beast is dead before trying to take it. If you touch the sphere before then, it will explode and the points will not be added to your total.”

  And the contestant has a good chance of being injured, Morgan thought, noting that the others hadn’t missed the idle threat either.

  “The cores, are of course, yours to keep and may be used on the spot. Just keep in mind that you may not exceed the rank limit of 38. Otherwise, your point total for the day will be reduced to zero and you will be disqualified!”

  A man approached Morgan then, and he wordlessly took the pack that was offered. Checking inside, Morgan saw the same items as the day before. A canteen, two food rations, and the piece of metal that would give him his point total and time.

  “Now for the rules,” the announcer continued as the screen flashed back to the map. “The contestants will have eight hours to kill as many beasts as they can. They can, of course, also leave at any time. There will be a portal at the center of the zone, but no one is required to be there before the time runs out. If you opt to remain until the end, a portal will be opened in your location.

  “There will be three bonuses in this round, and they will be awarded as follows. As beasts are killed, we will be keeping track of how high their ranks were. Whoever has the highest total at the end will receive a 500 point bonus.

  “The second bonus will be awarded to the challenger who has the most overall kills and will be worth 500 points as well. The third, and most valuable bonus at 1,000 points, will go to the one who kills the highest number of powerful Advanced beasts. There are only ten of them, and can be easily recognized by a large red marker we have placed above their heads.”

  Morgan was bursting with excitement over today’s challenge. It was practically made for him. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he nearly missed the rest of the announcement, and when he heard it, it took all he had not to start laughing.

  “The previous ban on flight type skills has been lifted for this challenge,” the announcer continued. “As with the previous challenge, fighting with the other contestants is not forbidden, though it is discouraged.”

  He flourished his hand dramatically and four portals opened. Morgan was thankful that they had the decency to open them in front of them this time, instead of under them. The others were already tightening their packs and were focused on the portal before them as the announcer began counting down along with the crowd.

  “Three!”

  Morgan felt his adrenaline begin to pump as he prepared himself for the challenge ahead.

  “Two!”

  He pulled the strap on his back tight, and crouched as though preparing for a race.

  “One!”

  Morgan dashed through the portal, taking a deep breath to get his core active, just in case there was a beast on the other side. He emerged a second later and immediately took to the air, rocketing off the ground and stopping once he was fifty feet up. Reveling in the sensation of flight, Morgan began scanning his surroundings.

  He was in an open area that was covered in rolling grass-covered hills, and dotted with small shrubs and large outcroppings of stone. In the distance, he could see a massive white pillar stretching up into the sky and guessed that it was the portal out of the beast zone. Using Aura sense, the world around him lit up in brilliant colors. He couldn’t spot any beasts from up here, but there were several nearby.

  Lowering himself to the ground, Morgan quickly crouched behind an outcropping of stone and began searching for the other challengers. It didn’t take him long to find them, and he grinned to himself as he opened his status. So long as he kept careful tabs on them, he wouldn�
�t have any issues. And now that he could use his flight skill, he knew where he wanted to put his attribute points.

  It cost him 50 points to raise his skill to the third stage, and he then spent a further 100 to raise it once more. Movement would be important in a place this massive, especially if he wanted all of the bonuses. Morgan was pleasantly surprised when his Perfect flight III became a new skill after upgrading to what he thought would be the fourth stage. Checking it over, he was more than happy with the results.

  Supersonic flight - Manipulate gravity and air to reduce your weight and move through the air. You can now reach your maximum speed instantaneously. There is no longer a weight limit. For an additional cost, you can briefly increase your speed to supersonic levels.

  Cost - 25 RP per second

  Max. height - 200 Ft

  Max. speed - 125 Ft per second

  Supersonic Speed Cost - 1,800 RP

  Duration - 10 Seconds

  Cooldown - 48 hours

  Morgan wasn’t entirely sure what supersonic speeds were, but he could guess that they were pretty damn fast, judging by the massive RP cost and the two-day-long cooldown. Closing his status, Morgan pulled the small device from his pocket and pressed his finger to the center. A new display hovered over the small square of metal, showing that it had been updated for this challenge.

  The time was displayed on top, and Morgan saw that he’d only been in here for about five minutes so far. The next was his point total, which read 780. After that was his total of rank kills added up, and on the bottom was his beast kill count. There were actually two of those, one with a red dot next to it and the other with a blue.

  He guessed that the blue was for regular beasts, and the red was for the extremely difficult ones. Tucking the device away, Morgan readied himself, taking a few breaths to steady his nerves and he slowly floated off the ground. His body felt lighter than it ever had, and he grinned as he looked around for the closest beast.

  It wasn’t too far away, and with a whoop, he shot forward, rocketing across the ground at an astonishing speed. The wind whipped around his body, tugging at his clothes and tearing at his hair. Morgan had never felt more alive! It took him less than a minute to reach his first target, the beast’s aura flaring up around it as he read its status.