Chapter 147—Fate Colliding with Chaos

Tom stretched in preparation as they entered the gymnasium. His mind running over the lessons they had received over the previous two weeks. There hadn’t been much new for someone like him who had actually used the techniques in a previous life, but the training on how to incorporate highly variable attacks, defences and buffs into your fighting style and the way fate could influence them were spot on.

Like most things that the orphanage had set up, the lessons demonstrated the thorough foresight he was used to seeing.

As he bent down to touch his toes, Danger Sense blared a warning.

Without hesitation, he transformed the stretch into a forward roll and Fateful Earth Body contributed on the margin by speeding him up just a little more than should have been possible. He spun and leapt to his feet to face the direction of the attack.

Eloise giggled as her arcane missile fizzled harmlessly to nothing twenty metres behind him over the obstacle course..

Tom glared at her. “I’ve already re-earned the skill. You don’t need to keep helping me.”

That made her laugh harder.

She waved one hand. It was a languid movement, but it set all of his alarms ringing.

Not one, but three missiles appeared. To produce so many Tom knew she had to be cheating. She wasn’t supposed to, but she had clearly used a burst to boost her attributes and indirectly her casting speed.

Like a cobra striking, they shot at him.

Less than three metres separated them. She had launched them from point blank range.

The barrage of information from his still low levelled precognition skill was almost overwhelming. He followed the loudest of the thundering threads of information and leapt up desperately in an attempt to escape the arcane missiles that she had enhanced to have some level of target seeking. His dodge, which had been quick enough to remove him from the initial trajectory couldn’t fully compensate for their changes in direction.

Fortunately, his Danger Sense skill was not a toothless tiger, and it had guided him while knowing about the added dimension to the attack spell. He pulled his arms in and kicked a leg out to spin himself faster.

Two of the bolts, despite actively deviating from their course to hit him, missed.

The third slammed into the stone that materialised to protect his right buttock.

The force of the impact would have been enough to almost knock him off his feet and striking midair, it had a more catastrophic effect. His angular momentum, how he was spinning, sped up to a ridiculous degree, but once more, for an ever so brief moment of time, he was able to move faster than physics should have allowed. Despite his desperate unplanned acrobatics and the midair collision, he landed catlike on his feet. “I said stop it.”

Unspoken was the reminder that the rest of the class would be here in less than a minute. They could both already hear the chatter..

“You don’t need to yell.” Her nostrils flared. “I can hear them coming. I was helping you. Training your levels.”

She wasn’t or at least that was not why she launched the magic. She knew how quickly he healed and was pranking him plain and simple. It was a point of pride to land a hit and she had reckless disregard for any damage she did to him. Which was probably his fault as he always presented himself as being unable to feel pain. He had to try to teach her better but he didn’t know what to say.

“It still hurts.” He told her.

She rolled her eyes, unconvinced.

“I’m still human. I’m flesh and blood and have the same nerve endings as you. I feel these injuries just as much as everyone else.”

“Ssh… They’re coming,” she reminded him with a significant look, but it was clear to all of them that this was her playing the risk of discovery up to avoid a lecture rather than a magnanimous action.

Kang and Briana were not helping at all. They were both giggling at the antics.

“For goodness sakes. It’s childish.” In a huff, he used his free cast of Touch Heal to remove the bruise the missile had left. It was massive overkill as the bruise was minor and only took a couple of points to heal and not the ten that came with the free spell. But when it was a free, renewable resource a bit of waste didn’t matter.

They waited in awkward silence until twenty seconds later when the instructor, with the excited rest of the class following her, strode through the massive double door entries. “There you four are. Are you really that eager that you felt the need to sprint to get here first.”

“Yes Miss,” they chorused. 

“I love the enthusiasm. Well, as you know I’ll be giving away three spell stones at the end of the session. A tier three Chaos Storm and two tier two abilities. The first is the standard Chaos Bolt, while the second is the arguably weaker Randomised Elemental Bolt. Personally, I think they’re similar, but you guys don’t need to be worried because I’ll be assigning success purely by chance.”

As she spoke, Tom watch in amusement as Fate left Briana and half a dozen of the rest of the gathered crowd.

It made the instructor chuckle.

“None of that. No cheating allowed.” She grinned. “I’ve already set up defences to stop directed fate interfering.”

There was mild grumbling, and Tom smiled to himself as those words registered. She had left a deliberate loophole by the specifying the word directed. He was the only one here as far as he knew who could spend fate without directing it. Fateful Earth Body was going to earn the cost of that evolution crystal back today, or at least some of it. Though when he considered the problem further, he guessed a general I hope good things happen to me kind of image might get around the constraints she had set.

With the contagious title restricting the precognition nature of fate, Tom couldn’t spend his own fate to test the hypothesis. Instead, he started discreetly running through complex poses while mostly standing still. Stuff like balancing on one toe while simultaneously trying to look like he hadn’t moved. It was hard and took most of his leg and core muscles to pull off.

“I lied a little about doing it by chance. What I’m going to do is that the best three times through the chaos obstacle course will win the title.” She waved her hand. “It doesn’t have anything lethal, but it has lots of random effects, curses, cleans, slow and speed spells, and of course, magic to physically impede you. It should be a lot of fun and the more effort you put in the more chance you’ll have to win. The course is semi intelligent. It’ll reward effort. Now. Line up facing the pool.”

They complied.

“Rules are simple. You just need to reach the other end.”

The other end did not seem that intimidating. There was a blood red pool that based on the clear and purple sections was probably some type of slime.  It was Olympic size but wider than it was long. Basically, the finish line was only thirty to forty metres away and could be reached by presumably using the series of obstacles set above the surface. Crazy inclusions like ladder’s going to nowhere, bouncing balls, beams at odd angles and it absolutely blazed with magic.

It hurt to look at as there must have been literally thousands of spells tied into it.

She was grinning at them like he had seen battle maniacs do when they challenged someone to a friendly spar. “No need to worry. It’s perfectly safe. Now,” she produced what looked like a die. “This is a twenty-seven number die.” She threw it up, and it bounced on the ground. “Number fourteen gets to go first.” She declared happily and then pointed right at Eloise. The fact she was teaching chaos and rolled a die and got the person perfectly in the middle was lost on most of them, but Tom took note.

Initially, concern crossed Eloise’s face and then she shrugged, bowed to the class, and took a few steps back. Theatrically, she dropped herself into a sprinter’s pose and then dashed to the pool’s edge before leaping. It was clear she was going for distance and it looked almost like she intended to swim as she had targeted a spot without an existing obstacle near it. She plunged feet first towards the pool’s surface, but just before she did so, there was a glimmer of energy under her foot and she sprung up like the air was solid.

Tom smiled. With her arcane step improvement, she could probably cross the entire distance without touching either pool or any of the obstacles.. If she pulled it off. She would win, and that would get her a powerful spell that could only strengthen the team.

There was a thrumming noise, and he watched as an impossibly complicated weave of magic swept up from the pool. It got her before she landed for a second step and when it touched her all of her momentum vanished. She squealed and tumbled out of the air. Tom saw her try to create a new step but her magic failed and she splashed into the thick viscous red liquid.

The entire class gasped.

She bobbed to the surface and another web of magic seized her and propelled her back to the start of the course.

“Oh, I forgot to mention,” the instructor said brightly. “You can’t use magic to bypass obstacles. Sorry fourteen there’s no air stepping your way to victory, teleporting, quick step or anything. Now, because you didn’t know the rules, I’ll give you another turn. For now, go tidy yourself.” She pointed to the clean loop and Eloise who was dripping with a red sticky liquid tramped over toward it. “Now who’s next.”

She rolled her die looked up and gestured. “Three you’re up.”

While watching it, the course, Tom had to admit was fun. The instructor ended up having around half a dozen people on it continuously. Which was a fortunate decision as by the time the first half of the class had struggled to the end the best time was only ten minutes. 

The experience was literally magical. He saw all sorts of amazing things. Little kids being caught and thrown like they were being launched out of cannons so that they flew so  high that they almost reached the roof, three stories above, before plunging down usually screaming at the top of their voice only to be slowed moments before colliding with a solid object. And a variety of other spell effects such as teleportations, sharks of blood swallowing children, ladders inverting mid climb to cause the kid to fall helplessly into the liquid

It was funny. Even knowing that he was going to be subjected to the same ridiculous outcomes he enjoyed the spectacle. 

He had been running through modified yoga forms the entire time to stress his body and every two minutes, a point of fate was generated. Which he did nothing to direct, while secretly hoping it would bend itself to help him win one of the rewards. Gaining a chaos ability in a public forum like this was better than having Dimitri source it for him as he would be able to train it openly. Therefore, it was not surprising when he wasn’t selected until the fourth last. At this point he knew everything that he needed to know about the course. There was no secret or special path you were supposed to take. Instead, you just kept running and jumping until you reached the end and while doing so, you had to expect to be randomly deposited back at the start at least five times.

As he limbered up he didn’t bother with magic tricks. If it was effort, the course wanted that was something he was good at delivering.

The first obstacle became incorporeal while he prepared to jump off it and he plunged down into the pool.

Magic seized him and tossed him back to the start.

Grinning manically he restarted and this time he failed when he got bounced about two metres into a spot without anything to grab hold on. On the first dunk it had felt like coloured water. The second one it was like he was submerged in slime.

It was disgusting.

It was also fun. Laughing, he restarted. The sometimes slime and sometimes liquid was kind of fun to be dunked in and the sheer variety of randomised effects were amazing. It wasn’t truly chaotic because nothing generated was dangerous. Just frustrating if you were taking the whole thing too seriously.

He jumped across to a forty-five degree ladder. It went sideways rather than toward his destination, but Tom didn’t care. They had captured the essence of chaos. He was as likely to finish quickly by going backward as by charging stubbornly forward.

He clambered up two rungs and then beneath his hands the wood thrummed and after a second transformed. Before he knew it, he was on top of a blood lion. He could feel its body heat and the thick scratchy fur. Like a monkey clutching its mum, he hung on tightly. His hands were vice like around its neck and then startled at the sudden choke it sprang away. For a moment, it was airborne before it plunged towards the rippling red surface.

Tom wondered if this time it was going to feel like slime, water or blood He braced his body for impact.

The lion’s foot hit the surface of the pool with a boom and ripples spread out from the point of impact, but it held like it was solid ground. Tom was too surprised to do anything but cling tighter and then it leapt up into the air with a force that almost unseated him.

His fingers dug into the thick red hair on its mane to try to get purchase. It was bellowing, and he could feel the rippling muscles under him. As it bucked and attempted to dislodge him, all he could do was focus on the here and now. He lost his seat and his torso and legs became airborne and he was stuck to it only because of his arms.

It spun in a tight circle and his body slapped back and he found that he was underneath it and he was thankful its massive legs didn’t claw him. The only reason he managed to hold on was that he had instinctively burnt a burst to boost his strength. That was bad and not part of his strategy, but all his brain could think about was holding on. It flung itself, left, right and straight down, and Tom felt like his arms were almost being ripped from his shoulder. Overall, it was exhilarating, and he screamed out in delight.

He was flung everywhere by its continual motion, but he didn’t release his grip.

It stopped and he slammed back down on its back.

Then it vanished. One moment it was firm under him and then it was gone without even leaving smoke or dust in its wake.

He plummeted to the ground and landed awkwardly with not even Fateful Earth Body being able to do enough to let him keep his feet.

Effort, he reminded himself as he pushed himself to his feet. Everything hurt, and that last landing had knackered him. It felt a lot like being disemboweled. Not the stinging pain of the entry wound, but what came after it. The dull pain and ache of your intestines flopping out. 

Move, he reminded himself, and prepared to run the course again.

Tom froze.

His mind momentarily trying to interpret what he was seeing.

He was on the same side of the course as nearly everyone else. At the finish line, not the start.

“We have a front, runner for the winner,” the instructor proclaimed. Tom glanced at the course and realised that people were still going. He was winning and only people starting after him could beat him now. But as first one minute then a second and third passed he realised he had won.

Tom smiled.

It was his first cohort victory and as far as everyone would be concerned it was pure luck. The assassins, if they were watching him would not consider him to be a reincarnator because of this that was for sure.

Once she was finished, she handed him the skill stone. “Don’t use it on people. It’s potentially deadly.”

He successfully managed not to roll his eyes. After two weeks of lectures, everyone in the class knew exactly how dangerous chaos spells could be. Discretely, he tried to put it into his inventory and it went in, but there was no tingle to signal it had been upgraded. Annoyed, he pulled it back into the palm of his hands and looked earnestly at the teacher. “This is basically a gift, isn’t it.”

“Umm… I would call it a prize for fastest.”

That attitude was why Known Heretic hadn’t activated. “Was this a formal competition or just a fun way to choose the recipient of a gift you’re giving the class.” He asked.

The instructor looked at him funny.

“I mean it’s your choice to give this to me, right. You can just walk away if you want and keep it for yourself and no one would even judge you for it..”

“Well, I guess.”

The stone vanished from his hands, and there was a familiar tingle of an upgrade. “Thanks.”

Before she could say anything more and ruin things, Tom hurried away. But he could feel her eyes boring into him. Yes, he had acted slightly out of character but it was worth it to upgrade the spell a tier and increase its strength by fifty percent.

As the class meandered toward lunch, Tom took the time to go into the divine champion trial and check his new pick up. As he wished it, the description appeared on the table in front of him.

Spell: Mass Chaos-Affliction – Tier 4

Causes a random affliction to impact everyone in a target area determined by mana invested. The nature of the affliction will be based on your classification of the enemy.

·       Allies have a 40% chance of receiving a positive buff, 40% chance of being unaffected and a 20% percent chance of gaining a reduced* negative affliction.

·       Enemies have a 40% chance of receiving a negative affliction. 40% chance of receiving a reduced affliction and a 20% chance of receiving a reduced buff.

·       Neutrals have a 50% chance of receiving a reduced buff and a 50% chance of receiving a reduced affliction.

*Reduced buffs and afflictions have the spell level reduced from baseline by 1 to 4 tiers and 1 to 20 levels.

He nodded as he reviewed the new ability.

There was no question about whether he would absorb it or not. This was not a spell he could ever learn by himself. The only question was whether he wanted this in his arsenal and the answer was yes.

Every human needed some volatile magics for fate to boost when they needed something extra to survive. This was going to be one of those cards.

He considered exactly what he was getting. It was a tier four spell, but its raw stats didn’t show that. The base affliction or buff level would, on average be tier two with a level of ten. Tom was confident that, even in its current state, he could push the chaos spell to tier six.

That was just for now. The spell would also level up. If he managed to train it to a ridiculous level like sixty, the average curse would be a tier four with a level around that of the base spell. Then in an emergency he wouldn’t be talking about a tier six spell but rather something closer to ten. It was a given that he would be putting a lot of effort into this.

He smiled to himself. For the next six and a bit years, random chance would be against him whenever he used the ability. For that period, the backfires and disappointedly weak results would be common. Then when he needed it the ability would be primed to hit like a truck.

It was a great day and in less than three months he would be able to sell his full stockpile of disks and then he would be able to afford his domain.

AG. Next Chapter is on Wednesday