Book 02

Chapter 040

Joram woke up with a start. He quickly looked around, then groaned in pain.

He’d managed to get to the point where he could be out and about, and even do some light exercise. This, this has been anything but.

He pushed off the largest boulders first, careful to not start another rockslide as he worked. From what he could tell, whatever they’d hit him with had been strong, strong enough to blast him across the valley and part way into a cliff face. As he stood up, he pulled an outfit from his storage, used [Cleanse], and got dressed again.

In the distance he could see that he was too late, never mind the fact that the sun was already behind the mountains off to his left, er, west. From what he could see, the Clan Home was burnt to the ground, as was Brightside.

He took a deep breath, fearful of what he’d find when he checked his Network. Would they still be alive? Or would they all be gone? Or some gone while others remained?

He took stock of his physical condition first, for it he was in no condition to fight, then who could he help?

After a moment he gave a weak grin. The Adamantium Body Technique really lived up to its name; there wasn’t a scratch on him. But there were more than a few bruises. With another thought, [Mend Body] flowed through his system, immediately healing what little damage there was. He took another breath and manifested [Schism], getting his war potential back up to its maximum.

He was stalling, putting off what he needed to do next.

He took another, longer breath this time and tore off the band-aid, as it were, and checked his Network.

What he found was both a relief and a shock.

His mother was still there, but not his father. He took solace that his little sister was also still there, though.

Xixi was there, for he had made sure to get her to safety at least. Lysanthir was also there. But not Gran and Gramps.

Neither was Grammy.

He felt a lump forming in his throat and had to sit down again. He looked again at the distant Clan Home, a tear rolling down his cheek. Then another, then many more.

‘Joram?! Are you OK?’ Avi’s voice came through the Network straight into his mind.

‘Ah, yeah. I just…’ he paused then started up again. ‘What’s the situation?’

‘Well, it’s over now…’ Avi sent, then proceeded to recount what she’d done for the past twelve hours or so.

She started at the beginning, of how she’d immediately used [Schism] to maximize her efficiency in her search and rescue efforts. It was a tragic tale of being too late most of the time, not getting there quite fast enough.

She blamed herself for not getting to Aloralla fast enough to save her life, but Joram took heart in the fact that Avi had managed to at least save Xixi’s sisters.

All this time, Avi had been going around retrieving the bodies of the deceased. She hadn’t been able to find a census, so it was hard to get the actual numbers of the deceased, to know just how bad things were.

Aside from the twins, Avi had managed to save his mother and sister, confirming that his father hadn’t made it.

He took a moment to grieve that, and the others Avi confirmed deceased. For as strong as he was, he was still too weak. He thought that he’d been amazing, progressing so fast even with his setbacks.

She confirmed that Gran and Gramps had died, though they’d left eight times their number in dead behind.

Grammy, though, had been found in critical condition, her cultivation shattered, and body broken. Avi reported that someone strong enough to be able to take out Tatia Aneath was still vulnerable to projectiles going 1/10th the speed of light, protective shields or not.

Joram grinned at that. Well, at least Grammy wouldn’t have to stew over that too much. He didn’t know how to go about healing someone’s cultivation, but that suddenly became a priority.

‘The Library is gone,’ she continued. ‘They demolished it before leaving. I haven’t been able to get in there to… inspect the damage.’

He paused, taking that in. He knew, deep down, that the lives of everyone who’d lived here were much more important than books, encyclopedias, textbooks, manuals, records, and whatnot. At the same time, it built a fury in him. A slow-burning thing that would see those responsible perish for their sacrilege.

He’d studied history, to an extent, and every time that records showed the burning of libraries, the accumulated knowledge of a society or even an entire civilization, it hurt. It hurt that people could be so ignorant, so… evil as to destroy what countless others had fought to preserve over the years, decades, or centuries. That that same crime was repeated in this world hit him just as hard as losing most of his family.

Again, he knew that he was skirting the issue he wanted broached, to know what had happened…

‘I couldn’t find Tillia,’ Avi volunteered, probably knowing that he’d been avoiding the issue. ‘I found a half-melted, half-blown-out crater, lots of blood, but no Tillia.’

He thought for a moment before replying.

‘The blood was likely from the first person I killed,’ he sent, going over the short fight in his head. ‘I [Decerebrate]d a second attacker, but not before he used a talisman to call for help. They used some sort of array to hit me with some sort of super-condensed fire beam.’

‘That would explain the hole,’ Avi murmured.

‘And why it didn’t do much to me,’ he finished, then [Teleport]ed back to Tillia’s house. Or what was left of it.

Aside from scattered debris from several explosions, the remainder of the home was ashes and heaps of burnt-out wreckage.

Except for his brief visit to try and save Tillia, he’d not had a chance to visit her. Nor had he really been allowed to, per se. Not like that would have stopped him.

No, his own tendency for procrastination had been the root cause. He’d thought that he’d gotten over that long ago, but evidently not. He sighed, looked around again and then started walking back to the ruins of his home.

- - - - -

He passed through Brightside, pausing from time to time to inspect this or that.

Megami’s shop/smithy had been looted, the place trashed. He took a few minutes to nudge through this and that in the old forge, picking up anything that seemed useful. In one case, he transferred an entire forge to his Realm as it still seemed worth keeping. Enchanted materials and all that.

A few pieces of ore that were missed and added to the pile, then the slag heap out back that hadn’t been taken care of yet. He did a quick [Delve] to see if there were any hidden compartments that he’d missed, and was pleasantly surprised to find that he had indeed missed something.

Megami, it seems, had been quite cautious. There was a hidden door in the floor, concealed by a small yet amazingly efficient enchantment/array. He took a moment to commit it to memory before unceremoniously breaking it so that he could get to the hidden room-

And ducked as a hammer was thrown at his head with such force that it blew out the wall behind him, and the several behind that one.

“You won’t take me without a fight!” Megami yelled from where she stood at the base of the short stairway.

Joram peeked over the ledge, eyes wide. If that hammer had hit him, it likely would have done some serious harm.

“Umm, miss Megami?” Joram started, ready to jump back should another hammer make its way towards him. “They’re all gone now; it’s safe.”

“Who… are you?” Megami asked squinting up at him, suddenly reminding him of Hadvar with how she asked her question.

“Ah, it’s me, Joram,” he said, suddenly very aware of how different he now looked, especially since he wasn’t wearing the traditional clan attire. Well, or anything resembling clan attire that is.

“Isn’t Joram supposed to be, like, eight years old?” She asked him dubiously. “And isn’t he a cripple?”

Joram’s eyebrow twitched.

“I had a bit of a growth spurt after an accident with my cultivation got ironed out,” he said, trying very hard to ignore the “cripple” comment.

Megami eyed him a bit longer before obviously discounting him as a threat to her, then another thought occurred to her.

“Wait. How did you break the array? That thing should keep out anyone below tier 5!”

“Ah, well, I’m just good with arrays,” he said with a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his head with his left hand. “Anyways, the survivors are all gathering up the hill, by the remains of the Clan Home. If you want to come, feel free to do so,” he finished with a wave of his hand.

He’d been eager to meet her a few years ago, but with everything that had happened, well, he was a bit over it. Sure, she was a pretty fox beast-kin (the kind that really only had the ears and tail that was so popular in manga back home), but she was kind of rude.

Now, it was probably the stress of the current situation, but he was a firm believer in “don’t let the shit you’re going through affect how you treat others” kind of person.

“Ah, sorry,” Megami said, making a quick motion to her surroundings, the basement. “Could you help me gather a few things? Most of my most valuable stuff is kept down here, you see,” she finished, not quite looking him in the eye.

Maybe she has a bit of self awareness after all…? He thought, deciding that he would indeed help her.

“Sure, just let me know what to grab.”

Going down the steep flight of stairs, he was impressed with just how much room Megami had down there. The room had to be at least a hundred square metres with shelves, bins, and crates taking up most of the available floor space. There was a small area off to the side that looked like a sleeping/food prep area, but it was so small that it reminded him of cramped university dorm rooms.

Peeking into a bin here and there, Joram realized that Megami hadn’t been kidding when she had said that the most valuable stuff was down here.

There were completed pieces ranging from garden tools to armour to weapons.

There was also a considerable stockpile of crafting resources ranging from organic (beast parts) to inorganic. It was quite the collection for a “small town” blacksmith.

“Do you know anything of smithing?” Megami asked from beside him.

He looked over and realized that even though he wasn’t full-grown yet, that he was the same height as her.

“Yes, I’ve worked on a few things. Mostly mundane though,” he said, taking in her auburn colouring, though her hair was a bit redder than brown.

Megami’s eyes widened slightly at his claim, but he didn’t say anything else, so she spoke.

“I’ll mark the most important things to bring out, as I don’t think that we’ll be able to take most of this away.”

“It’s fine,” Joram said, waving a hand theatrically in front of the bin that he was inspecting, causing it to vanish.

Megami’s eyes nearly popped out of her face, then muttered something about rich kids that he chose to ignore. “Well, let me know if you’re running low on space so that I can be sure to get everything important.”

He just nodded and went about storing everything away in his realm, not bothering to take anything out of their containers to “save space” like most people did. However, this confused him somewhat, as having things stacked in crates was a great way to save space, not to mention how it kept everything organized.

Megami’s jaw dropped, then continued to lower until it was nearly touching her chest as he cleared out the room.

“Just how rich is your clan?!” She finally exclaimed after snapping her mouth closed and wiping away the drool.

“I’d say we’re destitute,” he replied with a deadpan expression, which sobered her up quickly.

“I, ah…” she started. “I haven’t been up yet….” She finished in almost a whisper, ears drooping, tail sagging.

She was the picture of a beloved family pet that had been scolded. And thinking about that, it threw him for a bit of a loop. In no universe was it OK for anyone to view another sapient species as a pet, or lesser, or any of that crap. But the conditioning from Earth regarding pets, namely the ones with fluffy ears and tails that begged to be played with because they were so cute and fluffy… well. To say the least: he was having a hard time not scooping her up and cuddling away the sadness in her.

*Ahem*

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, finishing up in the basement, having already stored away even the living space and all that it contained. “Let’s just head out and meet-up with everyone else.

Megami nodded, standing a little taller, her ears lifting just a bit higher as she nodded. So, he led the way upstairs and through the wreckage of Brightside as he watched Megami’s head swing back and forth as she took in the devastation and utter silence. There were no kids running through the streets, no vendors hawking their wares, no people stopped to gossip in the streets. Slowly, her ears and tail once again drooped down and she began to walk a bit closer to him, seemingly fearful of something happening.

As they made their way back up the wide mountain road to the remains of the Clan Home a rock fell, causing a clatter in the deathly-silence that enveloped their small part of the world, causing Megami to jump and grab his arm.

He was surprised at just how strong her grip was for such a slight frame, but really shouldn’t have been considering that she was an accomplished blacksmith and all. Through the touch, though, he could feel that she was only just into the Third Tier (well, 4th, if you consider the “Body Tempering” realm to be the First Tier like the Cultivators do), while her Mental Strength was well into the mid Fourth Tier, which greatly surprised him. Until, once again, he remembered that anyone in the non-mundane crafting fields would need to be proficient in Mental Strength to be considered passable.

Well, anyone who practiced Alchemy anyways.

Which led to more questions than he had energy to ask.

With that thought, he made a few mental notes to follow-up with those questions at a later time, when things weren’t so… up in the air.

That didn’t stop Megami though, as she turned to him with a shocked look on her face.

“Where’s your cultivation?! How is your arm so hard when I can’t sense any cultivation from you?” She asked, her words coming so fast that it was getting hard to understand her. “Wait, I can sense Mental Strength from you…” she trailed off, her eyes going unfocussed for a moment while she, presumedly, checked his Mental Strength. “How’re you so strong?!”

As she spoke, her grip on his arm kept tightening to the point that if he hadn’t practiced the Adamantium Body Technique, he was sure that she’d have snapped it right off.

“If I weren’t, I’d have lost my arm by now,” he said, not unkindly. To which she replied with a blush that was nearly as dark as her hair. “Like I said, I’ve been cultivating. I just happened to have a… fortuitous… incident that allowed me to progress so well,” he said by way of explanation, but also not explaining anything at all.

Megami seemed determined to show him what a fish out of water looked like, as her mouth opened and closed several times without a sound escaping from it. Eventually, she regained enough composure to squeak out her next question.

“Any way for me to replicate the same incident?”

Joram laughed, then began walking again. Megami hurried to catch up, still blushing furiously.

“No, there’s not chance of that,” he said when she caught up. “But I can see about getting you some more training.”

The questions didn’t stop there but continued until they reached the plateau-like area the Clan Home had rested upon, the sight widening Megami’s eyes and closing her mouth.

Avi had shared a few images while they’d conversed, but seeing the desolation in person was like getting punched in the stomach.

Where majestic buildings had once stood for thousands of years, there was now just ruins, rubble, and ash. Everywhere he looked he could see nothing except desolation. Even the side of the mountain where the Library had been was now collapsed, the remains of an avalanche covering where the modest doors had once been.

The only person in sight was Avi, standing there in what looked like Jedi robes. The ensemble was complete with what looked like a mithril handled lightsaber dangling from her hip. Though, the- what looked like a- Cerberus Harrier slung over her shoulder threw off the image a bit.

Megami’s grip on his arm tightened once again when she noticed Avi standing there, evidently not sure if she was a friend or foe.

After brief introductions, Avi opened a portal to Joram’s realm/soulspace.

“If you’d follow me miss Megami, I’ll show you were you can stay,” she said with a smile that made him think that she would be the most professional hotel clerk he’d ever meet.

Megami reluctantly followed Avi through the portal. It winked out a moment later as Avi sent him a message.

‘I’ll take care of everyone here. You should have a look to see what you can find, and salvage, of the Library.’

Joram sent along a mental nod as he made his way over to where the entryway to the Library was buried. It looked as though the mountain had partially collapsed, likely filling the insides of the Library with thousands, if not millions, of tonnes of rock.

He’d much rather check no his mother and the rest of his family than work on excavating and salvaging what was left of the Library, but he knew himself. He’d likely break down the moment he saw his mother. Just the thought of it nearly broke him, more than a few tears coming to his eyes as his jaw clenched and bottom lip trembled.

He’d not spent nearly as much time with his parents as he would have liked, and that sting, that pain, nearly dropped him right there. No more would he have a chance to get to know his father. Get to learn more of his quirks, likes, dislikes, or hear of the many amazing things he’d experienced and witnessed.

No more would he sit with this father, chatting about this or that. Learning. Just spending time with him.

Joram balled a fist and brought it down like a hammer on his thigh to bring himself out of that downward spiral. It worked, but the impact was such that the shockwave created by the impact disintegrated his clothing, once again leaving him naked.

Joram blushed furiously before summoning another set of clothing from his realm to cloth himself. He was very glad that he’d practiced getting dressed that way; having the clothes appear directly on him instead of having to manually get dressed.

He took a few breaths, then a few more to settle himself, then got to work.

Since I really don’t know how to properly use the new psijic energy, I’ll just go with what I know!

“[Modify Matter, Superior],” he quietly spoke, energy flowing out of him in waves. It had been a Psionic Power that he’d worked on with Altaea, a much improved version of a much lower-level power that he’d always thought of as one of the best Powers ever. Sure, there were many others that could do damage or other wondrous things, but as a crafter at heart, that Power had resonated in his soul. It was probably why he’d decided to be a [Shaper/Monk] instead of another combination.

The psionic energy flowed out of him and into the mountain, but left him with a sudden realization.

If what he was feeling was at all accurate, then his “Manifester Level” had vastly increased.

Did it have anything to do with how he’d been using the cultivation methods of Mental Strength?

Then he remembered that even though practitioners of Mental Strength could have ridiculous power output, they had very little finesse with that power.

But with how Altaea had taught him, how she had painstakingly ingrained the teachings of meticulousness and efficiency. Using the least amount of power for maximum output and effect.

Heck, as practice for that Altaea had even made him take the [Matter Agitation] Power and streamline its efficiency to the point where he’d made it a talent, the equivalent of a magical cantrip. It was a power that could start off warming the target, but would increase the agitation of its molecules, effectively raising the heat of the target, until it would get so hot that it could melt softer metals. Now, melting something like lead would take almost twenty seconds or so, but that was still crazy.

That said, with those teachings, he’d worked with Altaea and created [Modify Matter, Superior], which meant that he could affect a ridiculous amount of materials at one time. Which meant that the landslide in front of him began to… flow into another shape.

To an outside observer, it looked like hundreds of feet of stone had suddenly liquified and began flowing into a new shape. In this case, something that looked like a giant torii. It stood at least one hundred feet tall, each of its supporting pillars a good twelve feet in diameter, its majestic “roof” turning up slightly at the ends and wide enough to keep many people dry in the rain.

Joram stopped the Power and regarded his handiwork for a moment before more stone collapsed behind the torii. He squatted down, then activated [Delve] to its limit, giving him the entire structural layout of the mountain before him in moments.

He frowned, then passed off [Delve] to Kinkade. He then activated [Modify Matter, Superior] once again, but this time augmenting it to its limit. With the knowledge of the layout of the mountain, the Library, and the many structural weaknesses now found in the mountain, he got to work.

It took him almost an hour, and left him drenched in the sweat of exhaustion, but he’d managed to not only excavate the entirety of the Library, but had also repaired the damage done to its structure.

Joram lay there, under the massive torii, taking in deep breaths as he enjoyed the cool stone under his back and the view of the setting sun.

He was also procrastinating because he’d found things that disturbed him.

Of the hundreds of remains that he’d found, there were dozens that didn’t fit the genetic profile of the town. He’d separated the remains as best he could, but most could barely fill a thimble. After separating them, he’d encased each in a small bit of jade, the same kind he’d used to preserve natural treasures like fruit and herbs and such.

He didn’t know who most of them were, but he had identified Healer Reursa amongst the remains of what he called the “strangers”. Probably the invaders. He’d run the numbers later, probably pawning that off onto one of Altaea’s super-computers or something. He wasn’t an expert in forensics, so it would probably take a while to get any results.

At any rate, he was done for now, and somewhat pleased, even with everything that had happened and what he’d found.

The sections closest to what he’d now call “Ground Zero” had been hit the worst. Records there were nothing but carbon scoring on the walls that had then been blasted to bits.

But the further into the Library he looked, more and more documents, records, etc., had survived. That was probably what had taken him the longest to fix up. It was hard remaking shelving and such while making sure to not damage those records further than they had been.

It wasn’t like he and Avi hadn’t made copies of most of it, but it felt like it would be the height of disrespect to damage those records that had been loved by countless generations of his family any further than they had already been.

He sighed, looking up at the underside of the roof that was a good forty feet from front to back and almost one hundred feet wide.

It was a bit showy.

He grinned.

He’d have to remove any cultivation, alchemy, or crafting techniques that were considered “secret” by various powers out there, but keeping the genealogies, histories, and general education sections intact shouldn’t be a problem. Not to mention the conventional side of the Library that contained various poetry and fictional writings that the Clan had considered important enough to preserve.

Yes, the Library would undergo a change, that was certain.

The Clan would also undergo a great change of philosophy.

“Hmmm, a new Prime Directive. Primus Directive? Nah, the Latin sounds too… lame? Yeah, lame. I’ll just call it Prime Directive. I wonder what Grammy with think of it?”