Crag said, “It’s just him being a Forerunner and doing Forerunner stuff. Don’t be jealous Nevin.”

  The mage frowned, “I’m not jealous, but simply trying to understand the process so that it can be replicated. Normal flight only allows travel at twice your running speed, which for most mages isn’t all that much, but with his high Agility it’s even more impressive at three times.”

  Samvek said, “You’re correct in assuming that it’s him being a Forerunner, but there is more to it than that. Each of us has what has been called potentiality within. By this, I don’t mean genetic potential or anything like that. It is a byproduct of the system, or at least of the induction process. The newer a world is the more raw potentiality exists within the people of that world.”

  Nevin hit the flat of his palm against his forehead. “Of course. That explains why so many people want to travel to new dungeon worlds.”

  “That is a major reason. There are also untapped resources and the possibility of snagging a highly talented individual before they know their own worth. Well, Forerunners have significantly more potentiality than even a newly inducted world. It’s the systems way of ensuring the uninitiated has a fighting chance. So, it converts almost the same amount of potentiality and power of a new world, and compacts it into a few individuals.”

  “If that’s true, then why aren’t I already epic tier or beyond?” I asked.

  I could see how all three of the Galenians were not paying close attention when Samvek answered my question. “That comes down to the other aspects of why your spell evolved like it did. Intention and vision. You had to use some of both. Right now, you’re the biggest obstacle to your own rise in power. You think it has to take a certain amount of time or progress in a certain way and so it does.”

  That set off an eruption of questions from me and the rest of my team. Samvek weathered it all waiting for us to calm down. When he finally spoke, he said, “I can’t give you too much or I’ll stunt your own growth. You have to find your own vision and know what it is that you intend. Is it just to save your world or is there more to it?”

  I didn’t answer. He wasn’t really asking for one. He wanted to make me think. “So, you can’t tell me exactly how to evolve these skills or you might limit me. Is that what you’re saying?”

  “I’m already giving you guidance, but you have to form each evolution yourself. Your spells define who you are, but even more so your abilities. I started with skills because they’re the ones most understandable by non-inducted worlds. Now we’re moving to spells. You need to get all of your spells to at least uncommon, but rare would be better. The system won’t tell you this, but the more elevated your build is the better the outcome when you create a new class core.”

  “So we spend the next month practicing spells? What about those of us who don’t have spells?”

  Dora answered for him, “Don’t worry we have endurance based combat arts. They run off of stamina points rather than mana.”

  Nevin asked, “But if he has all this extra potentiality, then we’ll never keep up.”

  Crag said, “I don’t know. I’ve already grown more in the time I’ve spent fighting next to Silas than I did in years of training.”

  Samvek said, “And thus you see why Forerunners are sought out.”

  I looked at him for a moment. I pondered if I wanted to ask this question, but then went with it. “Is that why you sought me out?”

  His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything so I continued, “I mean you’ve got a rare class but given your ability and likely resources why isn’t it higher than that?”

  He squatted down and picked up a piece of broken gravestone. The claws on his left hand started to carve grooves into it. He was making some type of symbol, but I didn’t recognize it. After a long minute, he looked up at me, “I have my own mentor. He decides when I’m allowed to form an epic class core. As for my presence here, it is what I told you. The clan head personally assigned me this task. If I gain some benefit from being around you, that is entirely secondary.”

  I didn’t quite agree with him, but in the end, I’d accepted him because he could help me train. “So, just casting spells all day?”

  “No, you need to combine physical and mental. If you only work on one part of your build, you will develop an imbalance. Today each of you will work on your own. Find a target, make it a large tomb, and your goal is to use spells, abilities, and melee weapons to destroy it as completely as possible.”

  I pulled out my staff and looked at it. I had no idea how I was supposed to break stone with this. Skills and intention probably, but I worried that I’d break my staff. That didn’t seem to matter to Samvek as he soon had me standing in front of a tomb. One of the four walls was caved in, but the roof was still mostly intact. It was about ten feet tall, eight feet long, and six feet wide.

  “Today go through your forms and then using only spells and your skills, I want you to turn this into rubble.”

  As I ran through the forms and exercises he’d taught me with the staff, Samvek watched me closely. I had gotten the basics down, but he still gave me different tips. As I worked on the form, I thought about what I wanted out of this. I wanted to master the physical skills as a way of defending myself, but I also wanted to create a connection between my abilities and the weapon.

  For me that meant conjuring shields. I thought about the staff. It was the tool that enabled me to conjure shields. I couldn’t risk that… That was it! The shields weren’t actually one of my abilities. They were part of the staff. So I could use them and still follow his rules.

  With a small flex of my will and a bit of mana, I conjured the shield, but focused on binding it to the end of the staff. As it appeared, it threw all of my forms off. The shield had no weight, but did have air resistance, which made my motions much more awkward.

  Samvek made a low rumbling sound, which I’d come to associate with when he had a suggestion to make. I froze in the middle of my form in case he simply wanted to point something out.

  “I’ve been wondering how long it was going to take you to realize just what you had in those conjurations. Shields are amazing, but if you develop this ability, you won’t need many others to become a true power to reckon with.” Then he pulled the halberd which one of the drones had been wielding out of his bag. It had been dropped and Dora hadn’t found it when she went to look for it.

  “I know you’re getting close to the first skill threshold with your staff, but sometimes learning an adjacent weapon can really help and if this works like I think it will, then I might have a solution for you.”

  I dismissed the shield and put my staff away, but was uneasy. “I’m happy learning a new skill. Blunt weapons have helped advance my staff skills but, my entire style is built around that staff. I can’t really trade it out.”

  “That is an entirely different problem which we’ll discuss later. I would have already advised you that you needed to change your build but that boon of yours causes your staff to be a growth item. Have you checked to see what changes have occurred, if any?”

  I realized I hadn’t and immediately pulled the staff out again. Identify triggered immediately since it was an item I was familiar with.

  Staff of Blocking Quality: Uncommon

  Passive Effects:

  1) Add a moderate amount to blunt damage delivered by the wielder.

  2) Reduced blunt damage the wielder receives by a moderate amount for similar level force.

  Active Effects:

  1) Store Mana: 300

  2) Conjure Shield- for a base cost of 35 mana: a two-dimensional shield two feet by two feet will spring into existence to block incoming impacts. Provides extreme resistance to blunt damage, major resistance to slashing damage, moderate resistance to piercing or elemental damage types.

  I couldn’t believe I’d failed to check on the improvements prior to now. They weren’t massive, but still beneficial. The amount of mana I could store had increased from 200 to 300, while the cost of the shields had dropped from 40 to 35 mana. I was using it so often that I never even realized that. Oh, and I almost missed one other change. The resistance to piercing and elemental damage went from minimal to moderate.

  Once I told Samvek about the changes, he replied, “That matches with how many levels you’ve gained. The real changes won’t take place until you reach uncommon since the staff is already at that tier.”

  I nodded in understanding.

  “For now, though, put it away. I want you to work on gaining a skill for this halberd. If you can get it up to at least 50 this month while also evolving two more spells, then I’ll have a gift for you.”

  I took him up on the challenge. I quickly switched out Barbs of Slowing since I wouldn’t have any targets to cast them on and then put Physical Boost in its place. Then, to increase my mana regeneration, I switched out Boon-Bane for Magical Acceleration. That gave me an immediate twenty percent reduction to spell costs and doubled my mana acceleration all the way up to 412 per minute.

  With the halberd in hand, I had to start all over again. My boon thought it was close enough to a staff that it gave me the 20 skill level boost so at least I didn’t fall over my own weapon, but it was completely different. The way of fighting with it called for me to extend in ways I wouldn’t have with a staff and definitely felt more aggressive.

  After that, everything became a blur. The lack of an obvious day and night cycle and with Samvek keeping us from needing to post a guard at night, I was able to push myself harder than I had been yet. On the 29th day, I reached level 50 with halberds. I had already leveled more than one spell, in fact Physical Boost evolved twice from Basic all the way to Uncommon. It was strong enough now that I might have to consider keeping it on the roster more often.

  When I looked at the gains as Samvek was fishing around for the gift that he said he had for me, I was quite pleased.

  Skills:

  Running: 21

  Throwing: 10

  Jumping: 18

  Blunt Weapons: 109/89

  Staff Combat: 106/86

  Slashing Weapons: 48

  Polearms: 50

  Strength: +2, Endurance: +2

  Aerial Combat: 11

  Magical Acceleration didn’t reach Rare, but it did climb 69%. The three spells that evolved were Frost Burst, Physical Boost, and Healing Grace.

  The evolutions for Physical Boost were first an increase in the duration and the amount each stat was increased. Then, for the second evolution, I chose to make it affect allies too. They had to be close when I cast it, but I could empower Dora and Crag with the same spell. Without that, the cost was pretty steep.

  For Healing Grace I focused on the amount of healing restored since at our higher levels it didn’t amount to much. Then, for Frost Burst I focused on increasing the power of the debuffs and thus the lingering effects while also changing it into a cone shape to increase the damage while shrinking the area of effect.

  Mass Physical Boost- this spell will enhance your target’s Strength, Agility, Durability, and Vitality by 30 points each. Grade: Uncommon 6%. Duration: 10 minutes. Range: All allies within 15 feet of the caster at the time of casting. Mana Cost: 200.

  Lingering Grace- this spell will instantly heal 150 HP damage, remove any Common level ailments, and grant continued healing of 10 HP per second for 5 minutes. There is a chance to remove higher grade ailments. Grade: Uncommon 4%, Duration: 5 minutes. Range: 90 feet. Mana Cost: 120

  Persistent Frost Cone- this spell will send a burst of cold and jagged ice in a cone that hits 90 degrees out to a range of 60 feet. It has a significant chance to inflict the Chilled debuff and a small chance for the Frozen debuff. Grade: Uncommon 0%, Duration: Instantaneous. Range: 60’. Damage: Moderate. Mana Cost: 130.

  When I got done confirming my progress, I looked at Samvek. His huge hands were mostly covering whatever it was, but it looked like a long, slender crystal. Then I saw blue sparks dance out of whatever he was holding along his knuckles and I suddenly got very interested.

  Chapter 18- Lightning Round

  As Samvek moved his hands, I could see that it was indeed a crystal he was holding, but its shape was changing as though he was molding. The electrical arcs continued to increase in intensity and frequency as the crystal elongated and then thinned out.

  The light show he was putting on drew the rest of my team and soon all of us were watching him work. He manipulated the shape of the crystal till it took on an eighteen-inch long curved sword shape and then back again to become a needle tipped spear head and finally into a sort of axe head with a spear tip.

  It was then that I noticed the sweat running down his face. He made it look easy, but this was clearly a challenge even for Samvek. His voice was hoarse and strained as he said, “Give me your staff.”

  I hadn’t even realized I was holding my breath until that moment. I gasped and sucked in fresh air as I handed my weapon over to him. He pressed the end of the crystal against the staff and I noticed for the first time how there was a golden ring at the end of the crystal. The metal quickly expanded to form a tight seal around the end of my staff, capping it and locking the crystal onto the end.

  It was currently in the axe form and added about ten inches to the length of my staff that was six feet long. He then took a deep breath of his own and handed the weapon back to me. As I grasped it, he said, “You’ve proven worthy of this so far.”

  My Staff of Blocking had become an Electrified Polearm of Blocking. I immediately knew that I could shift the crystal into any of the three forms that he’d locked into it. It also added electrical damage to my attacks, which was obviously a bonus. But as awesome as this was, I was more thrilled by the next notification I got.

  Source of lightning mana is available. Do you wish to attune?

  Nevin asked, “How durable is that crystal? It looks like it might break.”

  Samvek was still recovering, but shook his head. “It’s harder than refined adamantium and more flexible than mithril. This crystal is a shard grown from the mother crystal of our clan. Since the founding of Rayden Clan, members with the lightning affinity have been both drawing from the crystal and infusing it with the might of our clan. It will never break as long as the Rayden Clan remains.”

  I smiled. “This is an amazing gift.”

  “And don’t forget that. You bear not only the name of the clan but also its honor. Not everyone you meet will recognize this crystal, but some will and will know, and it may affect how they deal with you. Normally, an honor like this is reserved for an inner clan member only, but as my disciple, I can bend the rules a bit. It was causing me pain to see you fighting with an ineffective weapon, yet your build is built around the shields.

  “You’re going to need to develop another way to generate those shields, but we’ll talk about that in a couple of days. For now, I want you to meditate and absorb some of the lightning mana. How much you attune to lightning is up to you, but I would recommend aiming for ten percent today. Then tomorrow you will finish clearing this plot.”

  The weight of his words and what he had given me wasn’t lost on me, but all I could think about was attuning to the lighting mana. I immediately sat down cross-legged and held the staff, or rather my new polearm over my lap. I ran my hand around the crystal without touching it. It felt alive and made the air buzz.

  There was that sensation of static electricity after walking across the carpet with socks on, but it didn’t hurt. It simply made the hair on my arms stand on end. I could feel the power within. It wanted to be expressed. It felt both ancient and brand new at the same time.

  I closed my eyes, concentrating on the crystal's presence, while blocking out the sound of my friends’ conversation. At my level of perception, I even had to block out the gentle beating of their hearts. A subtle vibration emanated from it, like the gentle hum of a distant storm. As I focused, the sensation intensified, the electric energy pulsing in sync with my own heartbeat.

  The first touch of lightning mana was like a spark jumping to my fingertips. It tingled, a prickling sensation that was both exhilarating and daunting. I could feel how hard the crystal was, unyielding, yet the receptacle of so much power. The mana was wild, untamed, crackling with raw power. It felt like catching a bolt of lightning in my hand, its energy vibrant and alive.

  I took a deep breath, steadying myself. The air tasted faintly metallic, tinged with the scent of ozone. It reminded me of the air before a thunderstorm, charged and heavy. I let my breath out slowly, trying to sync my own rhythm with the erratic pulses of the crystal.

  I tried to remember what I’d done when attuning to life mana. Currently, my body was sixty percent attuned to life mana. It empowered my healing spells and gave me a sense of well-being. This was nothing like that. It was like dancing along the edge of a razor. When I first tried to pull it in, I thought it would scorch me. The mana didn’t seem to want to accept me.

  I played around with it, making it dance along the back of my fingers and taking my time with it. It quickly became clear that I couldn’t just force this. It had to happen naturally. Just as I had to accept the lightning mana, so it too had to accept me.

  Gradually, I began the process of cycling the mana through my body. It was a delicate balance, like walking a tightrope. Each cycle was a careful, painstaking effort. The lightning mana surged through my veins, a river of crackling energy that threatened to overflow its banks at any moment.

  The sensation was unlike anything I'd experienced with life mana. Where life mana was a gentle, nurturing flow, lightning mana was a torrent of raw power. It jolted through me, leaving trails of heat in its wake. My skin tingled, hairs standing on end as if charged with static electricity.

  I felt the lightning mana clash with my life mana, two forces of nature vying for dominance within me. It was a storm raging inside my body, a battle of wills between the serene flow of life and the chaotic dance of lightning. I focused, trying to harmonize these opposing energies, to find a balance where they could coexist.