The Third Step: Chapter Sixty-Two

“I’ll be training, probably,” I said, waving a hand. I knew that I needed to find where the Sekhem earring had gone, but I could use every bit of training right now if I wanted to get far enough to potentially enter the top eight and earn some personalized prizes like a spellbinder rose. 

And frankly, I felt like a spellbinder rose had gone from a desire to a need. The Craftsman and Orykson had both commented on the fact my staff was consuming all of the space in my spirit, to the point I couldn’t take on even the smallest possible spiritbonds. Saturated to my absolute maximum, without pushing me over. Worse, there was the fact that it was still at my absolute maximum saturation, despite the fact I’d advanced several times since finding the artifact. Which meant the staff was growing to continually eat up all of the possible spiritual space.

It was stable for now, but that didn’t mean it would always be. I’d rather have the spiritual weight diminished or removed by the power of a spellbond, just in case. Besides, it would open room for spiritually bonded items like growth items or exceptionally powerful enchantments. Even if I didn’t plan to get another growth item, having the option would be nice. 

“You should utilize several of the banked charges of my simulacra to train with,” Ikki said, carefully picking up a roll and buttering it with a kind of precision that felt almost mathematical. “Your martial artist’s skills were utilized adequately in the end, when you mingled among the crowd, but there were several minor abrasions you could have avoided through a better reading of your opponent. Notably, your reaction to the bullet was poor. At your level of body strengthening, and with your sensory skills, you should be dodging them even as they attempt to aim.” 

“I was limiting my spells to–” 

“Sky Dragon’s Senses, I am aware. But Corra was still well within your sensory range. You should have been dodging even as she raised her gun and attempted to aim.” 

“You and Liz could also work on that,” Liz’s grandfather said. “With her shoes, she’s capable of much more speed than people expect, and learning to utilize that speed against ranged attacks is something we’ve worked on extensively.” 

I glanced at Liz and nodded. It was interesting, honestly. With how powerful some of my mentors were, it was easy to assume that I was always getting the best possible training. And in a way, I was. I could be sure that none of the spells I was learning were the sort to fizzle out when I hit a higher gate, and I had an intuitive grasp of many things that others struggled with. But it was also easy to forget that they weren’t perfect. Liz had a lifetime of training in hand to hand with her grandfather. Of course she’d have had this sort of training. I’d had a few years of training in martial arts, and most of that was spent on nailing down the basics. 

“Before any of that training, though, there’s something I have to do,” I said, then let out a long, rattling sigh. “It’s going to be a pain.” 

There were a few questions at my statement, but I waved them off with an explanation that I’d just be processing a bunch of mana. That seemed to satisfy most people, and the conversation quickly moved on as we discussed some of the more interesting fights that Liz had gotten involved in. At one point, she’d been in a three on one, fighting against a fire mage from Vinopae with strange green fire, a temporal magic archer who could create echoes of her attacks to maintain a hailstorm, and a lightning mage from Feng Chui who could cast Lightning Bolt from either hand, seemingly forever.

If it weren’t for her legacy quite literally doubling her spell output, she would have been eliminated. Even so, she’d been forced into a fighting retreat, using her spears and whips of shadow to keep the three at a distance. 

“Oh, I think I know something about that. The… what was it? Endless Storm Heron Sect?” 

“Endless Lightning Heron,” Kene interrupted, having apparently listened to Meadow’s list of sects better than I had.

“Right, them,” I agreed. “They’re a pretty small sect, but there was something of an uproar, because they got a competitor in. But their sect has a speciality full-gate spell specifically based around Lightning Bolt, reducing the cost of that one spell to essentially nothing.”

“I suspect that they also had the Faultless Fulgurite Meridians implanted early on in his development, as that would pair exceedingly well with their purple lightning heron bloodline,” Orykson commented. “The question is where they found them. Their sect and family together still shouldn’t have been able to afford such a thing.” 

He and Ikki exchanged a look, and then both of them returned to eating, leaving me to ask what the Faultless Fulgurite Meridians did.

“Meridians are an ancient attempt at mapping all of the flows of energy in the body and how they connect to the spirit, similar to the nadis,” Orykson said. “Both attempts have some merit, but both are also incomplete. The true map of interactions between body and spirit is far more complex than any ancient culture could have hoped to manage.” 

“But they did manage to get some things correct,” Ikki said. “They were able to trace flows between the spirit and body, in thousands of spots, and through a combination of alchemy, natural treasures, and enchanting, created items that may be incorporated into a body or spirit to provide beneficial effects.”

“The technology shares some overlap with biological enchantments carved onto flesh and bone,” Orkyon picked up. “The Faultless Fulgurite Meridians are created from a mixture of… well, I could give a breakdown, but you’d likely only recognize a few materials. They allow the body to serve as a near-perfect channel for tempest energy, particularly lightning. It helps the person gather more mana passively, amplifies the effect of spells, and decreases the cost to cast them.” 

“There are endless varieties of many different levels of quality,” Ikki continued. “If you have the chance to get your hands on a more advanced meridian flow set.” 

“What would be the best sort for me?” Liz asked, leaning in. Ikki turned to look her over, and I felt his perception lock onto her. He didn’t have Analyze Mana-Garden, but given his age and association with Orykson, it wouldn’t shock me if he had some sort of enchanted item that allowed him to do the same. Before Ikki could speak, though, Orykson was already answering. 

“The Binate Reclamation Nadis.” 

“I would have gone with the Endless Shadow Meridians,” Ikki commented. Meadow’s eyes, as well as most of the rest of the table, swept between Ikki and Orykson.

“Endless Shadow are my second pick – they’ll assist in channeling significantly more power into your lunar spells, and are designed to allow throwing out dozens or hundreds of attacks without stressing your mana channels. A fair increase in power, and would allow you to utilize some of your more powerful stored echo attacks without strain,” Orykson explained. “But her legacy and spellbonds already give her significant resistance to the strain from using her powerful echoes. The Binate Reclamation Nadis are typically meant for people who have bonded one another, to massively increase the synergy of linked attacks, and replenish some of the mana spent in creating the original attack. Not normally a good pick for most people, but judging by Liz’s soul’s structure and the method her legacy uses to produce her echoed attacks, they should work for her.” 

I leaned in at that. I wasn’t a full echo mage, and it seemed like this wouldn’t work for me at all, but hearing that there were such potent effects that could be further incorporated into my full-gate spells was interesting.

“What about me, Dusk, or Dawn?” 

“Dusk and Dawn both lack energetic bodies, and thus do not have the ability to incorporate these items,” Ikki responded. “But I would recommend the Beast-thorn Meridians or the Spirit Channeling Nadis.” 

“For Dusk, there are multiple options,” Meadow cut in, seemingly now more on her feet. “With her incorporation of the Lushloam and Purestar seeds granting her some of the beneficial spiritual effects, anything that could empower her realm should work well for her.” 

“There are a handful of items that may be useful for Dawn,” Orykson commented. “I know that the Library, Tom, and the government of Elohi all keep collections of assorted detritus from starfalls for research. There are also certain dominion or authority boosting treasures that would be useful for any spirit, including her, though none are truly incredible." 

My grandmother looked up at that. She did look somewhat concerned, and I was guessing that she knew enough about Orykson, Meadow, and Ikki to be concerned about interjecting. Still, some of my flippant attitude must have rubbed off on her, because she did speak, even if she sounded a little hesitant. 

“It wasn’t my digsite, but one of my old co-workers is studying arrowheads that were made of a stone mingled with a compound whose readout is remarkably similar to what I’d suspect would be Dusk’s mana type. Our current hypothesis is that they were produced using an ancient genius loci infusing the dominion, somewhere in the vein of fifteen thousand years ago. They’re not impressive by today’s standards, of course, but it’s proof of concept, I think. Something to improve dominion-based enchanting could be something worth looking at for her?” 

“I would agree in theory, but to be frank? Dusk is an even worse enchanter than Malachi. She has excellent skill with large scale geomantic arrays that interest her, but the only time Aerde has ever managed to teach her was when she was seeking to create a gatestone.” 

Dusk put her hands on her hips and pouted, then punched at Orykson, the air cracking as she unleashed a shockwave at his head. He rolled his eyes, and space bent. The attack slammed into me and threw me off my chair. It hadn’t been full powered or dangerous, since Dusk didn’t want to punch a hole in my chest, but the wave of concussive force was still enough to throw me off.A moment later, Kene’s grandmother hopped over the table in a single massive leap, landing on the ground and staring at me, her gaze oddly bird-like.

“Redirect Attack is the redirection of attacks,” she said sagely. “It directs redirection to the direction of your redirection. Much like me!” 

It was only as I stood up that I realized that she’d extended an arm made of shadows and was putting things from my plate onto hers and Kene’s. 

“Oh, come on. There’s plenty, you don’t need to steal from me,” I complained as I snatched my plate back up. Kene snorted laughter, and I glared at them as I went to go get more food.