Aetherios System: Whirlwind

Chapter 17

The Measure of Strength

Alex glared at his status screen angrily, his left eye twitching just slightly. He had been looking at it for a couple minutes now, and be still felt a burning frustration in his heart.

How? How? Dozens of items, thousands of Dungeon Points, and that’s it?

“I warned you, meat-boy. That final step form late-stage Adept to Magus, it is a large one.” Obby snickered in his mind.

The enchanted little rock had indeed warned him, but Alex didn’t realize the scope of what Obby was telling him. Not even one percent, maybe half a percent, that’s how much his [Aether Attuned Body] had gone up after spending two days eating an absorbing aether-rich treasures.

This is going to cost a fortune. He sighed before lying back on the floor, the cool marble tiles feeling like a blessing against his skin in the surrounding hot air.

“Don’t sulk on me now. You’ve pushed through worse than this, flesh-sack. So come on, get up and back to training. We can talk Glyphs as you do that punching thing you enjoy so much.”

He stayed there for a few more seconds before finally rising back to his feet. Obby was right, he had dealt with worse than just a small plateau on his path towards greater power. He could handle it. And punching some things was probably just what he needed.

Alex grunted loudly as his fists sank into the training dummy again and again. The impact boomed through the sandstone walls. Each strike tickled at the sound barrier, with a burst of pressure washing over the others in random intervals.

Around him, the squad was scattered across the courtyard as Garret ran drills with Henry, Devon fine-tuning his rifle glyphs beneath the shade of a lone tree, and Allie sitting cross-legged off by herself. As it was nearing sunset, dusk, it was perfect timing for her to cultivate. He form rippling with threads of light and shadow swirling around her palms as she refined her control. Even Kate and Selka had paired off to train together, the two women’s blades flashing in bright lines as they sparred.

Everything felt rather normal, or as normal as one could expect inside a giant Mage city while playing a game of “get the most points to please the throne”. Otherwise, though, the day was shaping up to be a rather relaxed one.

Then the air shifted.

Like the descent of a cold-front coming in from the mountain side, a pulse of cold authority washed over the courtyard. The others stopped their training instantly and looked about in confusion. They didn’t know what was happening, but their instincts told them something was off.

Alex, on the other hand, was senses that were more tuned, and he turned toward the courtyard gate.

Lady Xhiu entered through the gateway without a word.

She wore crimson and gold that day, her robes edged with woven sigils that flashed subtly with every motion of her hips and legs. Her long hair was pinned with silver clips, and though her expression was calm, her presence was anything but. Just as always, her presence radiated a palpable feeling of power.

The adepts bowed when she stepped into view.

Alex didn’t.

He wiped his hands on his shirt and stepped forward, the faintbu-bumpof his Wyrm-Heart matching the pulse of irritation in his chest. “Lady Xhiu,” he said respectfully.

Steely eyes landed on him. “Adept Pierce.”

He inclined his head just enough to be polite. “We didn’t expect another visit so soon. I take it this isn’t just a social call.”

Her lips curved faintly at he words, showing him that practiced smile that never quite reached her eyes. “No. But before I begin, I must congratulate you again for the success in the Forge dungeon. The Empire was… impressed.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed at her. “I’m sure they were. Especially with all the information they extracted from us afterward.”

A ripple passed through the squad as the two of them spoke. Even those who weren’t especially attuned to their aether sense, or well educated in politics, could see that Alex and the Lady were speaking in subtext. The tension in the air was almost physical, a smothering blanket that tried to wrap up everyone within earshot. Garret shifting uneasily, while Kate’s brow twitched upward slightly, and Devon lowered his tools with shaky hands.

Lady Xhiu tilted her head slightly, as if she were studying a curious insect. “Ah,” she said softly, “so you noticed.” Her tone was approving in that last line. Alex would even venture to say that she was pleased, even.

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He forced himself to keep his voice steady as he replied. “You knew that would happen, didn’t you? You knew what was down there.”

“Of course,” she replied without hesitation. “Well, I wasn’t certain, but I had a rather good idea. The Empire does not waste opportunity, Alexander. Knowledge is power, and power is currency. You should be proud you were deemed worthy of such an opportunity.”

The praise was smooth, and so utterly condescending it almost made his teeth itch.

Her gaze softened as she watched his reaction, “Most Adepts in your position would never have pieced that together. You’re sharper than you look. Like a young drake learning its first roar.”

The comparison hit him exactly as intended. Letting him know that she did, indeed, already have an idea of just what went down inside the Dungeon. But,even if she had general idea, Alex still doubted she understood the extent of it. She sure as hell didn’t know about the Soul-orb, as he had hidden that particular fact rather well, and if Lady Xhiu even thought they were in possession of such an item, she would have taken it already..

He swallowed the surge of anger that rose in his throat from her mocking and instead responded how she expected, begrudging respect.

“If we’re being studied like specimens, Lady Xhiu, I’d prefer to know why. And what you plan to do with that information. Getting a memory slate from each us could easily have been asked for.”

“Nothing you need concern yourself with,” she said, waving the question away. “Besides, if the Empire wished you harm, you would not still be standing in front me.” Before he could respond, she continued, her tone returning to its authoritative cadence. “Your irritation is understandable, Adept Pierce. But you mistake my intention for malice. I am here in part because of that data. Yet, it merely confirmed what I already knew.”

She turned, sweeping her gaze over the entire squad. “While you all possess remarkable potential, compared to true elites—the scions of Martial Sects and the heirs of ancient bloodlines—you are woefully under-trained and unequipped. You wield your gifts with brutish instinct instead of true refinement.”

Everyone looked at each other then back to her.

Lady Xhiu ignored their looks. “In the coming months, should your total merit points prove you worth the attempts, the trials for entry into the Inheritance will begin. You will be facing not simple Adepts, but the kind who were raised within Sect walls and lavish noble palaces, containing study halls and combat rooms. Those who have refined their cores since childhood, who have always been so far ahead of the power curve that have never known failure. If you wish to survive, much less win, you must be properly trained.”

She clapped her hands once, the sound echoing through the courtyard. Just after the gesture, the gate opened again.

One by one, figures entered enter the area. They were men and women of varied age and race, each radiating the unmistakable pressure of high-tier power. Alex watched them all in turn through his [Aether Sight].

There was a silver-haired woman in battle robes carrying a spear, her aether aura honed to a razor edge.

Next was a broad-shouldered orcish man in blacksmith leathers. His hands were scarred, and his eyes blazed with fire affinity. A pale human scholar whose robes shimmered with moving script as he walked. A lithe elven woman, air bending subtly around her every motion. And behind them, more, each one giving off the dense aether signature of peak late-stage Adept, a few brushing the threshold of Magus-tier.

Lady Xhiu smiled faintly. “These,” she said, “are your new mentors. I have taken the liberty of hiring them personally. You will each be assigned a mentor suited to your elemental attunement and martial path,” she continued. “You will train under them no less than once a week. You will obey their instruction completely. They will push you past your current limits, and when they are finished, they will give recommendations for equipment tailored to your growth.”

She let her gaze linger on each of them in turn once again.

“Do not waste this opportunity.”

Her words hung heavy in the air.

Devon was the first to break the silence. “So… we’re getting personal Magus-tier tutors? That’s… insane.”

“Insanely good,” Garret said quickly, already grinning.

Holly huffed. “I don’t know. Sounds like hell. Weekly lessons with demigods? We’ll be lucky to walk afterward.”

Alex didn’t say anything at all. He was still watching Lady Xhiu and studying her expression. She looked back at him, perfectly calm and composed.

“Is something wrong, Adept Pierce?”

He shook his head slowly. “No, my lady. I just—” his jaw flexed, “—appreciate your… investment.”

Her smile deepened by a fraction. “Is that so? Well then, see that it yields a return.”

And with that, she turned to leave, her robes whispering across the courtyard stones as the mentors followed behind her. They had all come in to be displayed and shown off, and then leave. Alex knew it was a power play by Lady Xhiu, to show off how much control she really had. But, Alex wasn’t wholly impressed. Unlike the other, he had been trained before. Sylvaris had seen to that, and Alex had no doubt he was stronger than any Magus he had yet to meet.

Still, he couldn’t deny that those three short days wasn’t enough for Sylvaris to truly give him the kind of lifelong training a scion of a royal house would get. Alex certainly didn’t get the dedicated time and resources those mages received since leaving the womb.

Having access to a personal mentor, he could learn a lot.

Garret whistled. “Well. Guess summer vacation’s canceled.”

Alex looked around at his friends. All of them looked to be taking the news differently. Some had worried expressions, others downright fearful. A couple were like Alex, and looked curious, or even smiling.

He couldn’t deny the spark of excitement he felt. Real training, real advancement, it was something he ached for. He perhaps really would be grateful to Lady Xhiu in the end. Though, that didn’t change the sting of her words.

Average.

He clenched his fists, feeling the start of burning ambition rekindling in chest. Even in that moment, he knew that his first meeting with his ‘mentor’ would be soon.

In fact, He’d start tomorrow.