Day 38

I stood and stretched, my back cracking in sweet release. Apparently my body had reached the point that sleep was unnecessary, but it still was perfectly content to complain about the lack of it. Unfortunately, I also had nothing to show for the sleepless night.

The original goal was to continue until I had some inspiration or breakthrough related to meditation, and then sleep. I assumed that at some point, the repetition would trigger something, allowing me to learn a meditation skill. But I suppose…

-That was a dumb assumption

-Do you have any better ideas?

-Maybe do an action related to mana?

Shaking my head, I walked towards the only building that remained standing on my path, skeleton archers and murlocs who were carrying bricks and mortar to repair the walls scurrying out of my way. The real problem was that I was unsure how to perform an action that was similar to meditation. The action I should be doing obviously wasn’t sitting still and spending mana. So for a few hours I had tried focusing on it. Then tried condensing it into a tight ball inside of me.

But controlling mana, without a skill, proved to be surprisingly difficult. It felt exactly like trying to control a pool of water with your bare hands. I could push and displace it, but without the impetus of a skill, it would just flow around me, heedless.

So for a few hours I had tried to use skills, watching how the mana would react. I figured that this would be a much simpler tasks, as Other Me could watch the mana while I used the skill, but it didn’t turn out to be that simple. Much to my chagrin, although you could see the way using a skill called mana to action, there was no detectable… anything that moved the mana. The mana just moved. I had originally thought that mana was a resource, but it started to seem like that wasn’t the case…

This realization was enough thinking for my night, prompting me to get up and head towards the building for food. Just shy of the door, however, I hesitated.

-MIght as well utilize the extra mana regeneration time.

Because I had been using mana while I tried to puzzle out meditation, I wasn’t at full mana, so I decided to simply summon 4 Ghosts to diversify my undead minions. To my delight a notification that made me smile appeared.

Congratulations! Due to your actions, your skill has changed to “Summon Lesser Dead Lvl 7”. Mana costs slightly decreased. Chances of summons evolving has increased by a very small amount. Degradation of risen dead bodies has slowed. You may now summon Bone Shamans.

I had to wait until I regained the annoyingly high 400 mana to summon a Bone Shaman, but…

Perhaps this summon would have some insight into meditation?

-Finally, something goes right for us.

Delighting in my own luck, I walked into the building for a meal. Hopefully it wouldn’t be that strange gelatin, which seemed to make Jen so moody.

-Speaking of Jen, I wonder if she could buy mana potions for us. It would certainly speed up the process..

*****

Jen squirmed uncomfortably, her small violet tie swaying like a pendulum.

“The thing is, this is a really bad time to buy. Economic conditions. It’s a Sea King market. Interest rates are pushing capital into other areas. I’m insolvent as I transition from a preparation stage to an execution stage. The fiscal year….. Is just starting…” Jen trailed off, as if unsure of what to say.

I scratched my head. “So you won’t be able to get any mana potions? Then do you know any….”

Frowning I searched for the word I wanted. “....activities that would help with mana?”

Jenn stilled, as if thinking, and I continued, slightly excited by the prospect of her thinking of something. “Stamina won’t be a problem. I can continue for as long as I need to, so I learn the skills. Any sort of thing is okay, as long as you think it would help.”

“You… uh…” Jen was slowly forming two long and thin tentacles, reaching them out towards me. “No…. no stamina issues…. As many times...as ….a-as l--l-l-long…”

Her voice dropped to a whisper, her tentacles nearing me. "Any sort of thing is okay..."

Abruptly, Ashni stood from her seat at the table, walked over, and kicked Jen, splatting her body against the wall. Snorting, Ashni then turned to me.

“Ignore her. Apparently our administrator is flat broke. Anyway, today is your day with me yes? Let us return to train on the Thunder Stance. Your form is disgraceful and your body inept. If you do not improve, it will be an affront to my honorable school, the Western Thunder Mountain.

***POV Jahntat***

Jahntat, 2nd Disciple of the Thunder Medium, Day-to-Day leader of the Western Thunder Mountain Academy, and loving father-

‘No,’ he thought to himself, ‘doting and respectful best father ever.’

-and doting and respectful, best father ever of Ashni, looked calmly at his right hand man, Anuk.

Jahntat coughed lightly into his hand and then spoke. “Could you repeat that number again?””

Anuk did, his nasally voice reading out a ridiculously large number of credits with relish.

Jahntat mildly scratched his chin. “And that number is our current assets…?”

“Ah well,” Anuk said, shuffling some of the papers in front of him. “Not exactly.”

Calmly down somewhat, Jahntat leaned back in his chair. But as Anuk continued talking, he froze.

“That is actually,” Anuk clarified, “The sect's total winnings from the bets we made on Ashni-”

“Light of our lives,” The three guards behind Anuk chimed in mechanically.

“-after deducting the betting house's 10% and making a few purchases. Our assets are currently about double that. In addition, that doesn’t count the individual winnings of our disciples or yourself.”

Blinking rapidly, Jahntat’s knuckles turned white from gripping the desk so tightly. Struggling, he focused on the one sentence that made sense in Anuk’s statements. “A few purchases…?”

WIth a knowing smile, Anuk led Jahntat outside. The Western Thunder Mountain was set up quite simply. The outermost ring of buildings that encircled was the civilian area, a circular city that housed commoners and hopeful applicants to the Academy. The next ring similarly encircled the mountain, and was the housing of the Outer Sect disciples, who would receive a group training session once a day by experts from the Academy. There the rings shifted. The 3rd right was split into two parts. The first part, sitting on the western and southern sides of the mountain, contained various medicinal facilities and training areas, as well as the grand public training square. The other portion was housing for the various higher ranking disciples.

The final ring contained housing for the intructors of the academy and the administrative center of the academy, which Jahntat was in charge of. In addition, above him, on the face of the mountain, were a few caves for affiliated experts, a house for guests, and the abode of the Thunder Medium.

Draped over the south face of the Thunder Mountain for which the academy was named was a giant painting of astronomical size, depicting Ashni, thunder clouds looming ominously behind her. Jahntat tried to calculate the cost of creating such a painting, then stopped as his heart rate rose abnormally high. Then he calculated the cost of a piece of canvas that large and durable, and a bit of drool started to leak out of the corner of his mouth.

Anuk grabbed Jahntat’s elbow and turned him, pointing to the grand training square where the lower level disciples of Western Thunder Mountain Academy received their daily instruction in the mornings. In the center, a newly erected, huge golden statue stood, depicting Ashni. As the disciple trained, striking out in unison, Jahntat could barely make out their chant.

“Light of our Lives!”

“Light of our Lives!”

Jahntat licked his lips. Truly, his daughter was unfathomably talented and beautiful. But… “Surely…”

After trailing off as he admired the gold statue, Jahntat finally found his words. “Surely this is a little… much? Isn’t the painting covering Master’s cave?”

Anuk waved his hand. “You know how much pride Lord Thunder Medium takes in the sect. I’m sure he won’t mind. Besides, is Ashni not glorious?”

With an increasing fanaticism in his eyes, Jahntat slowly nodded. Then he shook it, as if waking up from a dream.

“But… how did we…. This seems like more than should have come from betting on a 5th Floor event.”

“Ah,” Anuk nodded knowingly. “It is quite strange; it appears just a series of unlikely coincidences. After, on your orders, we invested all of the sects assets in the bet-”

Anuk ignored the choking sound Jahntat made and continued.

“-it appears that the betting house picked it up as a ‘Special Event”. It just so happened that there was a streamer who was recording the situation, and with that they were able to drum up a lot of interest very quickly. With our large bets, the odds were initially very favorable for the opposition, and the fact that the Path Boss then challenged another path boss made it seem like a sure bet to bet against us. You know how foolish the idle rich are; willing to wager a fortune on the smallest thing.”

Neither of them considered that they had done the same.

“Ultimately,” Anuk concluded. “The bets were overwhelmingly against us. The betting house was so pleased with the profit it made it generously allowed us to collect at final odds, not when the bets were placed. And thus…”

Anuk gestured around at the depictions of Ashni.

The disciples continued to train below. “Light of our lives! Light of our lives! Light of our lives!”

Squinting, Jahntat realized that something was wrong with the disciples. Their form looked fine, but they appeared… bulky. As if they were wearing some sort of armor...

“Oh here.” One of the captains walked forward, holding a bundle, and Anuk passed it to Jahntat. “In a show of generosity, the sect has bought these two items for all disciples. Here, it’s a coat made from the Silk Hatebeast. Yours, I believe, is from a broodmother.”

“What? Why- o-oh my. It’s quite soft.” At first Jahntat tried to resist, but as his fingers touched the impossibly soft fur, he couldn’t think of a good reason why to reject the coat. It was, after all, really quite soft….

“And here.” Jahntat heard a snap, and looked down at his wrist, only to discover a bulky and ornate timepiece. If he didn’t know better, he would have said that the entire thing was made of gold. The hands were made of elaborately carved diamonds.

“Well…” Jahntat allowed, grinning at his reflection in his ridiculously expensive timepiece. “I suppose there is no harm in enjoying the finer things in life if we have a little extra income.”

***POV Predator***

The Bone Shaman was less impressive than I had hoped. He had a small, ratty robe, but was otherwise just a skeleton with a staff. To make matters even more annoying, he promptly began cackling after he was summoned, largely ignoring me.

Sighing, I closed my eyes.

-We delayed training in the Thunder Stance for this…?

It hadn’t been necessary thus far, but I had noticed that when I summoned undead, a strange connection was made with them, one which I could sense. As the Bone Shaman continued to cackle and dance, I focused on his connection in particular, sending my attention inward. My will flowed along the connection and into the Shaman, forcing him to address me.

The cackling didn’t cease, but now the Shaman began dancing around me. Sighing, I beckoned over a squishy looking murloc and asked him to fetch Jerry.

I gestured at the Shaman, who was still dancing in a circle and cackling. “What is he saying?”

Jerry frowned at me. “You can’t understand him?”

-No, I don’t speak laughter.

-Or dumbass

I just looked at Jerry, who seemed to sense my annoyance.

“Ah… well he is rejoicing that he has been summoned, and that he has the opportunity to serve the lord of the damned, ruler of the evil, pillager of the peaceful villages, denier of basic human rights, marauder-”

“Is this supposed to be me…?” I asked in a low tone.

Jerry nodded.

Shaking my head, I asked. “Okay, well ask him to stop it. And also, what can he do?”

“Uh… you just…” Jerry looked from the Shaman to me, and then shrugged helplessly, turning to the Shaman. “Uh, please stop that. What are your abilities? How il you serve your new lord?”

At least the question caused the Shaman to stop dancing, but now he simply cackled and stood still, waving his staff. There were small skulls tied to the top, which I hadn’t noticed before, which clacked annoyingly. Abruptly, he went silent, slamming his staff into the ground in a way that echoed strangely.

“He can curse your enemies and…” Jerry paused, watching the ground intently.

I followed his gaze, and was surprised to discover that a small creature was rising from the ground. After scrabbling for a few seconds, it stood unstably, wobbling around.

It was basically a small skeleton. Except instead of arms, it just had a sharpened one. The same for its legs, drastically reducing its ability to balance as it walked. Within seconds, it had toppled over. It was a strange looking creature. The ribcage, head, and hips seemed vaguely humanoid. But all the limbs were just sharpened bones….

As I watch the first one struggle to its feet-

-Well, its leg spikes

Several others rose from the ground. Six altogether, and as they slowly found their ability to balance, they began dancing around the Shaman. I simply sighing.

Understanding that Jerry seemed to think I just had to ask, I said to the Shaman. “Alright, let me ask you this: do you know the skill meditate? Is there a way to gather mana more quickly?”

The Shaman waved his staff at me and cackled. I turned to Jerry.

“He says you just need to want it.” Jerry supplied.

Fury +1

Fury +1

Fury +1

“...I just have to want it,” I said flatly. Jerry noded. The Shaman nodded and began dancing again, the little skeleton midgets following him in a ungraceful conga line.

Fury +1

I turned and walked away.

*****

“Remember,” Ashni admonished me. “The trick is continuity of strength through the joints. You learned very quickly to manage your strength along the muscles, but you still waste too much as the power transfers through the joints. The joints are the fulcrum; the strength must not falter there, but explode forward.”

I followed Ashni’s motions through the forms of the Thunder Stance. Force exploding. Small change instantly becoming large. Wrath.

I stepped, force flowing up my leg. It went well through my ankle, but as the explosion reached my knees, I pressed hard, trying to explode even further.

BOOM.

The ground cracked beneath me and I felt my body accelerate as I shot forward. My other leg came forward, slowing my advance.

Ashni clicked her tongue. “Technically correct, but you relied on your superior body to force it. Next time, try again, but rely on technique.”

My breathing was even, my eyes narrowed. I had felt something that time. My knees are the fulcrum…

No, that was confusing the metaphors. My Thunder was wrath, brief, bright, beautiful, and intent on breaking something. Then my joints were events, incites, impetus. The ignition of gunpowder.

I felt the strength flow around my limbs, surging forward. My foot arched, pressing forward, yet remaining relaxed, so I wouldn’t rely just on my superior strength to create the noise of thunder. As the tension spread up through my ankle, I pressed a little harder, still careful. I felt it then, light the tightening of a bow string. I stretched that tension further, force racing up my leg.

When it reached my knee, I knew I had it. I pressed, gently, strumming the string, my eyes blazing. It wasn’t yanking the string, forcing power through it, but raising the tension at the right point to amplify the previous vibrations. An inciting moment to make wrath expand.

BOOOOOOM.

Congratulations! Due to your actions, your skill has changed to “Thunder Stance Lvl 5”. Thunder Stance moves will be slightly more powerful. The strain on your body from Thunder Stance moves is slightly decreased. You have a significantly increased chance to succeed in Thunder Stance moves.

I fell forward, surprised, as the ground cracked in such a way that my foot fell into a small hole before I had the chance to press forward with any force. In the end,the abrupt increase in force had shattered the ground before I could move.

“Good,” Ashni said while nodding. “Now if you can do that without 5 hours of warm up, I will consider you to have a basic level of skill in the Thunder Stance. Let’s break for lunch.

*****

To my utter annoyance, by the time I left lunch, the midget skeletons had infected the murloc with their strange idiocy, and there was an interlocking series of conga lines crossing most of the training ground. I considered ordering them to stop, but they seemed to stay away from my training, so I supposed it wasn’t such a bad thing…

Then I froze. In the middle of one of the Conga lines, litle black bones skittered along, waving his front bone arms in time with the murlocs and midget skeletons around him.

“Pft,” I laughed in spite of myself.

-Truly, black bones is our only adorable minion.

In a much improved mood, I returned to my training area, meeting Whipman instead of Ashni. I allowed other me to focus on the Water Stance training while I began using Lunar Affinity. Lunar mist condensed around me, and I manipulated it for a short while, marveling at the control I had over the glowing mist. Then, as I grew increasingly comfortable, I exerted my will, focusing it into a thin layer.

Chuckling at the staggering mana usage, I began to to form a mirror beneath my feet, reflecting my whole body. It took a ridiculous amount of effort, and every time I improved the level of detail of one portion of my reflection, the others would warp and change, growing out of proportion. There were three issues with maintaining the reflection.

The first was the energy had to be constant throughout the entire surface. Otherwise the mirror would unbalance and implode on itself. Second was that the surface of the mirror had to entirely flat. Bumps or slopes would warp the way light hit the surface, and make the reflection chubby or skinny. Finally, the surface had to be entirely still, or the mirror would ripple, like the surface of a pond.

Managing one was an effort of will. Managing two was maddening.

I didn’t even bother to try all three at once.

Completely annoyed, I shattered the mirror, exploding the condensed lunar energy with a burst of will and mana.

-Ugh!

Blinking, I stumbled forward, the sharp pain causing other me to grunt inwardly hitting me as well. My movements through Air Stance ceased, interrupted by the sharp pain.

Honestly, it was shocking. Was that from shattering the mirror? Even with all the imperfections….?

-Then if we can refine it…

I instantly summoned more lunar mist and condensed it, but it fizzled out, due to my mana pool running dry. I smiled wryly.

-Well, at least this isn’t a waste of time…

******

After we broke for dinner, I came outside….basically everyone, running around and dancing. There were now ring and rings of minions, taking up basically the entire area around the fort that formed the center of my path.

On the one hand, I was surprised there were so many murlocs. Where did they all live…?

But on the other, I noticed they were now encroaching on my training area.

Fury +1

I stepped forward, intent on reprimanding all of them.

-Hey, wait….

And just as I stepped forward, I began to sense what Other Me had noticed. A notification popped up.

You are currently within the area of a grand formation erected by a Bone Shaman. Health regeneration decreased by 20% while in the area of effect of the formation. Mana regeneration increased by 30% while within the area of effect of the formation.

Pausing, my eyes scanned through the dancing bodies of murlocs and skeletons, searching for the Bone Shaman. Even the ghosts were there, dancing, waving their ethereal arms. Finally I located him, near the edges, following a strange looping pattern.

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

-It’s not exactly a mediation skill…

-But it helps.

Satisfied, I sat down, determined to have a more fruitful night that the previous one.