Tyrants of Earth - The Legend of Artigan

“It’s just so small. What can this even do?”

“Anything you want, all it needs is direction and a little encouragement.”

“I just don’t think it’s that useful when I’ve got a much bigger one to my right.”

“Do you judge a mage’s ability by the size of their core?”

“No I do not.” Ryan admitted. “But that is absolutely something I will start doing to make [Mages] insecure about their size.”

“Not quite the lesson I was trying to impart.”

“A good lesson nonetheless.” Ryan nodded sagely.

A light blue flame manifested itself in front of his chest. A flickering ember that seemed like it could go out by a strong gust of wind. The further he moved it away from his chest the more he felt like he was missing a part of himself.

It was as if the world was more muted. Disquietening thoughts scrawled at the edges of the mind.

Ryan hadn’t even known he could pull his aura outside of his body. The control [Aura Command] gave him was insane… and a little scary.

What would happen if I just threw this somewhere and abandoned it? Would I feel empty forever?

He shook his head, trying to banish the thought from his mind.

King Theskar took his time observing the blue aura and it was weirdly uncomfortable. It was nothing like when someone was facing down his fear Epic. That bright red aura was more like an armor or a mask, something to protect and hide himself with. This was a lot more personal. As if Theskar was observing his naked soul and assessing it.

Ryan shifted, remembering the King’s aura from yesterday. “Are you done? I think I’m the one getting insecurity issues.”

King Theskar however, seemed mesmerized. “I see hope, rebellion? No, freedom and something else. It’s hard to tell and there’s a lot here. It just needs direction and I believe we’ll see something extraordinary.”

Ryan unmanifested his aura, feeling it settle back into his chest. Instantly he felt better, like the world was just a little brighter. He shivered at the feeling.

“That sounds like concepts.”

“Concepts?”

Ryan was taken aback, surprised that the King didn’t seem to know what those were.

“Uhh, like classes but of a higher order? More vague? Honestly, I’m not sure I understand it myself, but they’re the building blocks of classes. The direction of these concepts turns into a class I think.”

“Interesting. I must admit, the concept of classes alone confuses me greatly. How does the Trial System simply bestow upon you something that you are not?”

“I think we’re supposed to grow into them. Unless of course, you it evolve it yourself.”

That wasn’t always true either. [Mages] in the fourth realm could form a mana core and still not end up with a different class.

Though it seemed that it always came back to concepts. The King’s true grand aura was less like a skill and was more like when the dragonslayers were taking down Pinkie. A declaration enforced into the world itself, concepts given direction, a class.

“So I’m trying to decide on a class for my aura, huh?”

“That is probably a bit more of a dangerous way to look at things. I would rather you attempt to learn the basics first.”

“Basics?”

“Auracraft. It is something all the Kings in Valmere learn to take advantage of. You know how to flare it and manifest it, even condense it but you have not seen the subtleties of aura—”

“Crystallize it too.” Ryan interrupted.

“Pardon?”

He raised his right hand and crystallized his aura. A red gem glittered in front of his hand, bobbing up and down, flickering in the light.

King Theskar frowned. “What is this? Pure solid aura?”

“Yeah. Don’t have that in your memories?”

The King’s eyes went blank, once more looking into his memories. He shook his head.

“Not as far as I can recall. What can this be used for?”

“It makes a mean barrier. I haven’t really tested the sword out yet but I haven’t noticed any difference when cutting through things. Oh wait, the aura sticks around longer when I stab it into furniture.”

It was what he had been doing to leave a mark in the nobles’ residences. His solid aura would stick there as a warning to all the nobles of the threat he maintained.

“You crystallize your aura and the only thing you’ve done with it is to create basic weaponry. I do not know whether I should be amazed or disappointed.” King Theskar shook his head, refusing to be more ruffled than this. “I will have to check my memories later but for now it doesn’t change the fact that you have skipped several fundamental steps in understanding the path of aura. I have noticed this when you don’t use your skill. There is a lacking subtlety, now come.”

King Theskar’s golden aura seemed to extend forward in multiple layers, attempting to find weaknesses and gaps in Ryan’s. An invisible tendril pushed at Ryan’s rapidly appearing boundary.

“Both of your auras have a brutal, dreadfully honest quality about them. While you have learned to use the truth as a weapon, in a battle of auras, that honesty only leaves you a blunt, brutish path. The true, much more insidious essence of auracraft, is in subtlety.”

Ryan stared at the lines of invisible aura coming at him and started shifting things up.

…

It did not work as well as the King might have hoped. Theskar sounded like he had expected this to be a journey, one where he could teach Ryan how to use the push and pull of aura. To use it to read others and their lies. The long journey of Valmere’s secret auracraft lasted… for about two hours.

The primary reason? Ryan technically had maxed out [Aura Control]. Theskar had seen his crude use of [Aura Command] and assumed that he couldn’t control it in a more subtle manner.

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“I… must admit that I’m at a loss. I didn’t expect you to have picked that up so quickly.”

“Don’t feel bad. That’s just Trial System enhancements for you. I learned [Aura Command] after [Aura Control]. Since it’s a precursor skill I can still use [Aura Control] whenever I need to at max level. I did pick up some nice tricks, so thank you for that.”

It wasn’t perfect, but Ryan was now able to push and prod with his aura to see someone’s intentions. As long as he did it subtly, it could even be a lie detector.

King Theskar allowed himself to close his eyes in exasperation just this once. Then he was ready to move on.

“Then other than that the only thing I can teach you is a path for your aura.”

“I think I’ve got a path for mine already. I already have a direction for it.”

“And what would that be?”

Ryan gave King Theskar a triumphant grin. “Adventurers.”

When the King realized Ryan was being serious he shook his head. “Even going through my memories, I have not met anyone quite as obsessed with adventurers as you. Nor do I think it’s the best path.”

“No, it’s the perfect path. Being an adventurer is what I want to be, it’s what resonates with me the most.”

“Do you have any idea what that kind of aura would even result in? How would that be useful in any sort of scenario?”

“No, but isn’t that great?”

The King insisted on a more unreasonable path. “For example the path of a liberating hero can provide you with unrelenting willpower in times of need. It could then combine with your arm to reinvigorate your allies and provide awe and fear—”

Ryan waved away the bad advice.

“Heroes invite villains, and we can’t have villains that can kill millions of people with a single skill.” Ryan dismissed it without even thinking about it.

The more he explained his position, the more he felt it was right. No he knew he was right.

“Adventurers? We’re just people with a job. We’re greedy, we’re silly and we have to compete to get people’s attention. You might look up to a hero and want to be like them. People look at adventurers, laugh and think they could do better.”

Something beat in his chest. Whether it was excitement or his aura, who could say? Ryan drew out his sky blue flame.

“That’s what it is. Relatable, no matter how strong we become. We don’t lose our touch with the rest of the world. We come and go, but we’re part of it, a part of civilization, not standing above it.”

The light blue flame flickered. It wasn’t any larger than before but it was starting to turn just a little deeper in color. He stared at it, not feeling the emptiness he had before. His eyes were entranced at his own aura.

“Gambling with our lives against the unknown, just to find something that nobody else might have found before. Hoping for a better future.”

The concepts within his aura began to whirl, the flame had found a path.

And the Trial System agreed.