Chương 114: Coming To Terms

With all of my extra tasks, it didn't leave much time to spend in the library. But I needed to research my next Skill upgrades and prepare to upgrade it. After I cleaned off for the night, no matter how late, I travelled to the library every day and continued my search for crumbs of information about gravity Arts. Although I'd memorized the book written by the Order of gravity-wielding Path-walkers, I needed more sources. One wasn't good enough to base my entire advancement off of.

I found two more books that were useful enough. One wasn't exclusively gravity focused, but it did host a list of obscure Skills and how to get them, which I also wanted to commit to memory. I needed to know how to gather up more Skills, and which ones were most relevant for my current trajectory. It listed a Skill, then a brief blurb about it, explaining what knowledge it encompassed and what you needed to do to gain it—almost like a dictionary in format.

Most weren't relevant, but I gathered up a list of Skills that would be potentially useful. [General Balance], [Long Jumping], [Impact Absorption], [Unshakable Stance], among others. Of course, I also needed to know what I was aiming for. A gravity-based Art could go in one of two main directions: offensive or defensive. Within those categories, it could be precise, like mine was currently, or wide-reaching but less intense. Or, I could use it for myself, helping ground me, helping repel attacks.

I had no intention of focusing on the defense aspect of it. Sure, it might be nice, but I was far more interested in letting Brawl handle the defense while I put out as much damage as I could. Then came the question of precision versus spread. On my third night of dedicated study, I listed out the pros and cons of each on the library's scrap paper. Anchor was able to do precise damage, but if I spread my area of effect, it would impact my potential maximum damage and effectiveness.

Considering how we fared against Mugreth… single-target damage was still an issue for us. Besides, if we were going to face a massive horde of enemies, they were going to be weaker on average, so having area of effect attacks wasn't as important as concentrated damage. I had to consider the issue of the golems, though. With my Arts being as narrow as they were, it made it harder to simulate the central golem. Harder, though, didn't mean impossible.

I couldn't let convenience in the present ruin my effectiveness long-term. I gathered up a list of Skills that would help me keep merging a precise, focused Art. I'd hit the thirty-point Focus threshold for advancing the Art to Advanced, so that wasn't an issue. The last consideration I had to make was how much I wanted my Art to affect myself. Offensive Arts seemed like the natural conclusion.

But I couldn't deny how much it helped to be able to fling myself in different directions, to boost my jumps, or help me slam down on an enemy much harder. But was there any reason I couldn't focus on 'offensive' capabilities, then get creative with them? As long as I could withstand whatever damage the Skill did to me, and worked a little knowledge into my Spearmanship Skill (like using the Art to move myself), it should be enough to keep the Art from 'fraying.' When a Skill or Art frayed, it got too incohesive.

It meant you merged too many unrelated Skills in, or took it in two opposite directions at once. While it wouldn't harm you or destroy the Skill, it would make it weaker than an average Skill of that tier. But I had my plan. I'd stick to it, push ahead, and make sure that I advanced my Art next. ~ ~ ~ I planned our next Labyrinth run the same as the last: we were on a mission to gain more Skills.

I had three in mind: [Balance] as a general Skill—the System needed to recognize that I was good at keeping myself balanced. [Enemy Redirection], and lastly, I needed [Force Amplification]. That last one was a challenge. I had to use my Art to amplify attacks that others or myself were making. At least, it should've been a challenge. But I'd already done it multiple times outside a Labyrinth. I just had to put the finishing touches on it and get it to condense into a Skill.

As we waited for the Labyrinth run to begin, I glanced over at Sage. She held onto Morph's shoulder and practiced taking shaky steps as the Drillmaster read off the weekly rankings. Our squad was holding relatively stable. We'd dropped down to fourth, but Yesman and Habit's squads had also dropped a place. A new squad had taken the first place, led by a Dupe named Rowl.

I didn't want to get complacent, but we'd only dropped because we were going after Skills from the Quarter Guardian, instead of aiming to kill the most average monsters. Perhaps we should've been more concerned about our Presence income, but we were still killing plenty along our way, and especially my squad, with our income from Lord Ceonwin, would be fine. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"Do you have an estimate of how much Presence taking a step costs you?" I whispered to Sage as she steadied herself.

"It will be less costly when I get better at it. At the moment, I can only sustain ten-minute bursts, and it costs a tenth of my daily total," she answered. Brawl gave her an encouraging grin, but Anchor glanced back at us skeptically.

"Don't worry," Sage said.

"I won't use it until it becomes more efficient, and I have saved plenty of Presence to heal. For now, Morph is my chariot." Anchor nodded, temporarily satisfied by the answer. I rubbed my brow, then sighed. This was going to cause problems, wasn't it? We set off into the Labyrinth, proceeding as usual, but I kept my eye on Anchor as we ran through the early rooms, then proceeded into the main underground city. We took our standard formation, then navigated through the streets, eliminating threats as we moved.

When we took out a Titanium shambler, I sent Sage and Brawl to search through its remains and make sure there were no others around. Shamblers usually travelled in groups. I pulled Anchor aside and said, "We need to talk." Ducking into an alcove, I said softly, "Anchor, I respect your judgement. But how many times are you going to question my judgement? I'm trying to find a middle ground, but nothing seems good enough for you."

"She almost killed herself, and you let her, because what? You sympathized with her? You think she's pretty, is that it? You're giving her a free pass—""Let's not go there," I said.

"She's alright. But I'm not looking for that kind of relationship with a squadmate. If things go wrong, it'll tear the squad apart." I shook my head, ready to nip this in the bud.

"No, Anchor. I took a gamble, yes. Now, we've reassessed, and I thought we came to terms. If you can't accept those terms, I'd appreciate it if you brought them up to me in private and didn't express yourself like that. And come to me with a solution. We need to be professional." Anchor sighed, stayed quiet, then wiped the frustration from his face with a nod.

"I understand, sarge."

"You've been a good friend so far," I told him.

"Please, let's not let this affect that. Will you accept my judgement on this matter? We need to invest in all of our squadmates, and that's what I'm trying to do."

"Yes," Anchor said.

"Let's not let this get in the way. I…perhaps, may have been searching for signs when there were none, and thought you were letting your feelings get in the way of your mission." I stretched out my hand, then said, "I'm just doing my best to hold together a squad. You think you can lend a hand?" He clasped my wrist.

"It won't happen again. We'll stay strong."

"Good. Let's keep going." I gathered up the rest of my squad, then ran with them to our meeting spot, where we found Yesman and Habit's squads waiting for us. I said, "Same deal as last week. Work together, move together, and keep practicing. I'm going to do my best to enhance the golem's movements this week, so stay alert. We're still practicing as if we're up against the central golem." I paused for a few seconds, then added, "Your sergeants tell me most of you gained at least one Skill last week.

Think you guys can make it two this week?" A mumble of approval rolled through the crowd. That was, technically, a lie. Yesman and Habit hadn't told me that—but I'd talked to a few of the Dupes in our evening training sessions, and they confirmed that most everyone in their squads had gotten Skills as well. It had worked. I didn't want to pat myself on the back too hard, but now they also saw that this strategy worked, and that I was worth listening to.

"Let's get out there," I said.

"We don't have much time to waste." We stepped into the plaza, where the water golem waited for us. The fight began as it usually did. I used my Art to speed up and slow down the golem, as best I remembered when compared to the central golem, while at the same time, working on my Skills. [Balance] should've been easy to attain, and I had to be almost there. Gaining the Skill consciously was a different matter altogether, but I knew I could do it. Balancing on two feet was easy.

Balancing on one foot was impractical in most cases, but when the golem slammed an arm down into the ground, I took the opportunity to scramble up its arm, keeping myself steady on the rocking stones and holding on as long as I could before it threw me off. [Force Amplification] wasn't as easy, but I practiced taking Anchor's arrows, redirecting them, or enhancing them when they flew off his bow. We worked together, giving them different distances and heights.

Later, I helped Brawl hit harder with his flail, giving it a gravity well just in front of him, which pulled it down but didn't catch him. Of course, I didn't want to hit the golem itself yet, but we always practiced counter-attacking, practicing our swings, even as the golem retreated. We'd need to adjust the timing slightly, though. [Enemy Redirection] was a constant throughout the battle, with me using different Arts to change the golem's attacks, but also in our dodging.

Whenever it attacked, we rolled to the side, avoiding its attacks as best we could, but letting it continue moving, and striking it from behind to keep it moving the way we wanted. After all was said and done, we left the golem alive and retreated again, running back to the surface, where we claimed our Presences and began our afternoon of rest. Today, though, wasn't going to be the most relaxing afternoon—already, I could hear horns sounding outside, in the distance.

Someone important was arriving at the jousting grounds. Before I left to see who it was, though, I checked my reading slate. My attributes were still increasing steadily, and my Presence had climbed to thirty-three points. Lastly, as predicted, I'd gained the skills: Balance (Novice), Enemy Redirection (Novice), Force Amplification (Novice), and General System Knowledge had improved to Apprentice tier.

Before I could contemplate what I was going to aim for next week, Brawl pushed open our quarters' door and asked, "What's taking so long, brother?"

"I'm coming."

"Be faster. You are going to want to see this."