Chapter 42

Consolidations

Lykan was in a daze as he flew back on the airship that seemed to rock on every air current. The rest of the students all looked on with different phases of horror as well. Then when they thought no one was looking they would all sneak peaks at Lykan only to see him staring dejectedly at the piles of scrap in his hands.

“Anything I can do?” Telka asked in the language of the high wood elves.

Lykan just shook his head. Normally she was the one he would always talk to, but not today. Today he had been shaken to his very core.

While he stared at the debris he took a moment to take in the changes that had come to his body. He half expected most of his work to be ruined, but was instead shocked by the changes.

Name Lykan Vita Race Human Class Wanderer Age 17 Attribute Base Plus Modifier Total Strength (7+6) 13 Awareness (8+6) 14 Mobility* (10+6) 16 Intelligence (8+12) 20 Power (8+12) 20 Skill Bse Plus Modifier Rating Universal Linguist (Maximum) Spear Mastery (Maximum) Sword Mastery (Maximum) Aerial Combat Beginner + (Cataclysmic-Early X2) Expert Bow Mastery Beginner + (Cataclysmic-Early) Adept Quick Step Sage + (Cataclysmic-Early) (Maximum) Unarmed Mastery Novice Qi Infusion Novice Universal Literacy (Maximum) Regeneration (Maximum) Meditation Sage + (Cataclysmic-Early) (Maximum) Qi Cultivation Novice Qi Resistance Novice Focus (Maximum) Aerial Movement Beginner + (Cataclysmic-Early X2) Expert Master Crafting Novice Magic Ability Base Plus Modifier Rating Energy Absorption (Maximum) Energy Sensing (Maximum) Energy Control Sage + (Cataclysmic - Early) (Maximum) Qi Absorption Novice Qi Sensing Novice Energy Alter (Maximum) Qi Control Novice Qi Alter Novice

Even with losing two attributes overall from the whole ordeal his attributes were surprisingly better than he had expected. Then he noticed that each of his attributes had increased by one level. In the case of his Mobility Attribute he now had reached the maximum for a human. Well the human maximum without any bonuses from the gods.

Then his skills and even his magical abilities all increased. He now had something called Qi? Though he didn’t quite know what that meant. In fact, three of his four new skills all dealt with the idea of Qi, while all four of his new Magical abilities centered around this foreign power source.

Thinking back, Lykan thought through all the different tomes of literature he read and could bring up perfectly thanks to his twenty in Intelligence. There were no mentions of a Qi, though there were stories of people who managed to push their bodies beyond the human limits with an ability to control a foreign energy. Though most of those stories had people who mysteriously died, or ascended to become divine beings.

Lykan was also surprised to see that of his two new attack skills, one was unarmed mastery. It was a sign, that he was meant to lose his sword. Or maybe it was his own body trying to cope with the sudden loss. As for now, unarmed combat seemed to be the best way forward, as he didn’t want to pick up another weapon. Even the bow he had felt almost empty in his hands.

Still he knew that if he stopped advancing his bow mastery skill, then any future skills that grew from that path would all be stuck at the Adept rank, the rank he was currently at. To only have skills that could get to the Adept rank, well Lykan didn’t know what to think of that. He knew that Skills that were able to be pursued to their end were amazing and that by breaking a branch, which is what it was often called when one quit a skill early to pursue the next skill would force a restart. Rather than generating two skills, Lykan would have to go back down to one skill, then one more, then finally two, all of which could not get past the Adept rank. Shaking his head he didn’t want that future for himself. That was the way to become a jack of all trades, but a master of none.

Better to be exceptional at a few, than competent at many. Or so Lykan thought to himself. Still he felt that once he finished the bow, he would be done with weapons for a while. Just the thought of holding any other weapon in his hands, other than his beloved sword felt wrong.

While he had the blade for a year at this point, it had become so much more than a weapon. Only now that it was gone and he could feel the impact of having the weapon ripped away from him did he understand its true value.

Part of him wanted to stop pushing on, to give up. The big gaping hole within his soul still hurt.

But there was a new hope. Almost as if the gods had smiled upon him, he was granted this new strange power that he knew nothing about. Qi?

What is Qi?

As he had this very thought the officers that were sent to watch and report on the students’ activities looked on with shock as well. Though their reason for shock was far more understandable. The officers that were watching over the students all had high level Scanning skills so they could monitor the progress of their students.

Their skill wasn’t the maximum, but very few people had the time or patience to get their skills to the maximum. Still for the vast majority of students this was not an issue. Even having the skill at the Expert rank was more than sufficient in most cases. Though looking at Lykan, officer Houghly wished she had spent more time getting her skill up to a higher level.

Name Lykan Vita Race Human Class Wanderer Age 17 Attribute Score Strength 10+ Awareness 10+ Mobility* 10+ Intelligence 10+ Power 10+ Skill Rating Universal Linguist + Spear Mastery + Sword Mastery + Aerial Combat Expert Bow Mastery Adept Quick Step + Unarmed Mastery Novice ??? Novice Universal Literacy + Regeneration + Meditation + ??? Novice ??? Novice Focus + Aerial Movement Expert Master Crafting Novice Magical Ability Rating Energy Absorption + Energy Sensing + Energy Control + ??? Novice ??? Novice Energy Alter + ??? Novice ??? Novice

Houghly’s Expert level scanning skill let her get most of what a person had. In Lykan’s case she was able to make out most of the details clearly. The pluses meant that the Attribute, Skill, or Ability was above her comprehension. The thing that she didn’t like was that after being forced into the veil of black fog where Lykan had his legendary spirit sword shatter he gained so many new skills and powers, all but one of which were unable to be understood. The only one that was able to be comprehended was Unarmed Mastery. Everything else was just seemed to make no sense to her. The only thing she could gather was that Lykan was a skill completionist. To put it simply a skill completionist were the rare few people who pushed their mind and body past the standard barriers, and forced themselves to complete skills they gained.

The signs of a skill completionist were easy to notice, once one knew what to look for. In the case of Lykan Vita he had completed two skills and two Magical Abilities. For most people this would result in two new skills and two new abilities, one for one. But in Lykan’s case, he got four new skills and four new abilities, two for every one completed. This meant beyond a doubt that Lykan was a completionist. It also meant that the Plus marks likely stood for Skills or abilities that had been maxed out.

Just looking at the young man before her, Houghly had so many questions. Everyone knew of Lykan’s work ethic, and his relentlessness to train. In the course of a year he had gone from barely being able to keep up with the sword saint, to being able to beat him in bouts of skill. Then recently he had moved on to be able to first defend against and then slowly overcome Shai’jan, the master of the Flying Sword Style. In all his accomplishments were incredible, though he was only able to make such progress due to his constantly pushing his body and mind forward.

Seeing him now, Houghly wondered if the loss of his sword was too much?

Houghly knew that it was some type of exceptional relic, and that many at the school thought that the sword was what caused such monumental changes to occur in the boy. But the Sword Saint and Shai’jan both argued against such claims.

Now she like everyone was left wondering what would happen to the boy, now that he lost his legendary sword. Though there was a slow change that began to overtake the boy the longer they flew back. Slowly, he began to sit back and relax his tense posture slightly.

Then he breathed back and began meditating while flying. Houghly looked on in shock as the only thing keeping the boy from flying away entirely were the passenger restraints that all people were encouraged to wear while in transit.

Seeing him meditating, the other students began to relax as well.

Slowly the somber atmosphere that had filled the ship began to dissipate and soon the students were conversing about what they saw and the harrowing mission. Everyone spoke, except for Lykan and the two elves that flanked him and looked at his floating form.

Seeing the two elves who watched him intently Houghly could only shake her head. You better watch out, or it is more than a sword you will be missing. Houghly thought as she looked at the way the two females continued to eye the floating male.