Aetherios System: Whirlwind

Chapter 18

The air inside the training chamber was thick with circulating aether.

Alex had learned long ago that air conditioning in this world wasn’t like back on Earth. There wasn’t electricity and technology in the way he knew it, but magic gave the people an entirely different way to solve problems.

Problems like sweating through your clothes while living in a city built over a volcano.

The use of water aether enchantments to cool buildings was rather standard in Athrastas. He had even come across small cupboards that functioned like refrigerators. The main problem was the need for proficient enchanters, and aether crystals to power them. Both were in short supply in a society built around the inherently self-focused world of cultivation, and the production of combat capable mages.

The second problem, was the thick aether exhaust such enchantments created. While it wasn’t dangerous, it was something that people with strong aether senses had to deal with.

For the most part, Alex just ignored it as extra ambient aether that normally permeated the air.

Alex stood near the center of the vast stone hall alone, surrounded by walls that shone with layered enchantments, a couple cooling vents built in near the rather high ceiling. The space was enormous, easily the size of a football field, but not an inch of it was wasted. Each polished slab of stone was etched with complex patterns of reinforcement spells and glyphs.

A needed measure, as the area had to withstand the wear and tear of mages training inside it. Mages that could smash stone with their hands and blow up buildings made of far less sturdy material.

He exhaled slowly and rubbed the back of his neck, glancing toward the closed archway that served as the entrance at the far end of the room.

Whoever his “mentor” was, they were late.

He was trying not to think too much about it, but the tension in his body was obvious. Lady Xhiu’s words still echoed through his mind, her smug tone, the casual way she’d called him average. The fact that she’d handpicked this teacher meant she expected a lesson to be beaten into him, one way or another.

He smirked faintly. “Maybe she sent me a drill sergeant.”

Obby swirled in the air around him, projected into his vision. “Or a torturer, someone to really test your limits. Don’t worry, Ill be your cheer squad.” His illusion body waved its tentacle arms, two aetheric pom-poms forming at the end and jiggling about.

“Thank you, you’re always so comforting, Obby,” Alex muttered.

Before the sentient stone could respond, the door opened.

Alex turned, expecting some towering, broad-shouldered figure cloaked in immense power. Instead, a short woman, who was maybe barely five feet tall, walked through the archway.

She looked utterly unimpressed with the room, or with him. Her long gray hair was tied into a loose braid, and she wore robes of silver and green, trimmed in subtle light-thread embroidery that twinkled as she moved. Her ears were slightly pointed, not enough for full elven heritage, perhaps a half-elf just as Myrae was. But the aether pressure that rolled off her was unmistakable.

Despite her apparent size, she was strong. She wasn’t a Peak Adept. Not even recently ascended. No, Alex could feel it without even needing his [Aether Sight]. This woman was a true Magus Tier mage.

“Alexander Pierce,” she said without introduction. Her tone was sharp, and like a stern college professor addressing an unruly class. “You may address me as Master Sionna, or Lady Sionnadel. Nothing else.”

Alex frowned, suppressing a dry laugh. Of course... of course he’d get the take-no-shit mentor.

For a brief, fleeting moment, he wondered how Garret was doing with his own teacher. If the big guy had gotten someone like this woman—unyielding, humorless—it was going to be a massacre. Garret would get killed before the day ended.

“Alright,” Alex said, deciding compliance was safer than silence. “Master Sionna it is. Shorter name, easier on the lungs.”

The woman’s immediate expression didn’t change at his joke. But the corner of her mouth might’ve twitched upward, if but just a fraction.

“Efficiency? Good. I appreciate efficiency.” She crossed the floor toward him. “Then let us begin.”

Alex tilted his head slightly. “Uh, just like that? No introductions? No background lesson? You don’t even want to test—”

He didn’t finish the sentence. Because in the next instant, her hand had moved.

A pulse of force slammed into his chest before he even saw the gesture. He stumbled back several feet, boots skidding against the polished stone as the aether in the air reacted violently to the attack.

She hadn’t moved from where she stood, and she merely lowered her hand back to her side.

Her words followed a second later. “Consider that your introduction. If you can’t read a Magus’ intent before she acts, then you are unfit to spar with one. I was told you were an Elite, but you seem to be no more than mediocre.”

Alex caught his breath, his ribs aching faintly from the strike, but the flicker of excitement behind his eyes was unmistakable. A Magus, he was standing in front of a Magus. He didn’t know if she was stronger than Lady Xhiu, or weaker, but he was still itching to test himself against her. His Wyrm-heart seemed to feel the same, as he felt it twitch slightly in his soulspace, like a slumbering beast cracking a single eye to peak at an approaching intruder.

He knew that the woman was trying to antagonize him, get him to respond. Most likely it was her way of seeing his skills and power in an unrestrained way. Maybe she had already figured out just what kind of person Alex was, a maniac who would rise to any challenge set before him.

She was right.

“Alright then, Master Sionna,” he said with a roll of his shoulders. “Guess we’re starting with pain.”

“Always,” she said. “Pain is the language of improvement.”

Her silver-green robes shifted slightly as she raised a hand again, a shimmer of aether gathered around her fingers. “Show me the strength that made Lady Xhiu think you were worth saving from mediocrity.”

Alex’s smirk widened. “You’ll regret asking for that.”

And as he launched forward, the room filled with the violent crack of displaced air and the hum of raw aether surrounding his body.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He sprinted forward, momentum fueled by a pulse of aether through his limbs. The air parted before his palm as he gathered mana into a focused strike with [Aether Burst]. A cone of translucent force erupted outward containing pure, blunt kinetic energy aimed squarely at her chest.

Lady Sionna didn’t even change the position of her body. A flick of her wrist sent the burst aside, the attack shattering harmlessly against an invisible barrier that rippled like a water surface.

Alex followed up instantly, raising his other hand as he conjured a [Energy Spear] of compressed aether and sent it flying forward, slicing through the air fast enough to whistle.

Sionna stepped slightly left, letting it pass within inches of her robe. The lance struck the far wall and exploded into a spray of chaotic destruction.

“You hesitate,” she said mildly, as though discussing the weather. “You aim where I was.”

Alex gritted his teeth. “You’re welcome to not dodge.”

The woman actually smiled. “And miss this entertainment? Hardly.”

A pulse of light formed around Alex’s arms as clapped both his hand together casting [Aether Grasp].

Four tightly braided aether ropes sprung up around her feet, wrapping themselves around her legs and waist. For a moment, Alex felt he had to held fast, he could lunge forward and—

Then the restraints crumbled into sparks of light.

She hadn’t even moved. She merely looked at the four restraints, then aether in the air had rippled and the structure of his spell came apart, unmade by sheer will.

“That’s… not possible,” Alex muttered and jumped back in shock.

“Oh, it is.” She flicked a finger. “You’ll learn the difference between power and control soon enough.”

He barely had time to react before she was in front of him. One moment she’d been ten paces away, the next she was there, moving through the dense aether like it wasn’t even resistance.

Alex ducked back, summoning his [Projection Shield]—a rolling, circular barrier of blue aether that bent into shape as his wished. Her palm met it with a single tap and the whole shield collapsed inward like glass under pressure.

The shockwave sent him flying, crashing into the training hall floor onto his back.

Pain flared along his ribs again, but his instincts screamed louder than the pain. He pushed his internal aether flow through his channels, activating [Vita-Surge Cloak]. White and azure blue aether lines pulsed across his skin and an aura of aether surrounded his body as power and speed amplified his movements. He surged back to his feet.

“Alright,” he hissed, “no more playing around.”

Without having to even ask, Obby projected approach lines in his vision and highest parts of his opponent’s body.

He darted forward again, leaving streaks of light where his limbs moved. His strikes blurred together, too fast for even his own eyes to fully track. But every hit was met by air. She sidestepped, redirected, or simply wasn’t there when his fists arrived.

Then her open hand struck him squarely in the chest and the world went sideways.

He hit the ground hard. His Vita-Surge flickered out on impact, sending a jolt of backlash through him, almost all of which was absorbed and eaten by his Meridian imprints.

Lady Sionna looked down at him as she stood where she’d been the whole time, not even winded.

Alex pushed himself up on one elbow. His pride hurt worse than his body. “How, how are you—”

“You thought strength would bridge the gap,” she interrupted. “That’s the arrogance of every instinctual fighter.”

He looked up at her with a frown.

She sighed softly. “I am two hundred years old, boy. I’ve fought more battles than you’ve had breaths. You fight with instinct, impressively strong sure, even creative. But you lack proper battle experience and practice. Experience can’t be bypassed with raw power.” Her gaze softened slightly. “Though I’ll admit, you have more potential and talent than most.”

Alex winced, sitting up slowly. “Guess I should’ve expected that.”

“Guessing is not a combat skill,” she replied dryly. Then her eyes narrowed slightly, appraising him. “You’ve had at least some formal training. Your stance betrays it. In Terraxum, perhaps?”

Alex shook his head, brushing dust off his arms. “No. Learned from an elf in the forest.” He didn’t mention Sylvaris’ name. Some secrets weren’t his to reveal.

Her brows rose. “An elf, you say? Interesting. Few of our kin would take a human apprentice, let alone teach them well enough to leave an impression.”

She didn’t press further. Instead, she waved a hand. The air shimmered, and a table and two chairs materialized out of thin aether next to them.

She had a storage item, definitely.

“Come,” she said, her voice all command again. “Sit.”

Alex obeyed, still breathing hard but curious now. Her demeanor and tone was eerily familiar to Sylvaris in many ways. He didn’t know if it was an elf thing or not. She was only a half-elf, though. And Myrae’s personality seemed much different.

Sionna took the opposite chair, steepling her fingers. “Here is how this will go, Alexander Pierce. We will begin each session with a spar. I will measure your progress from week to week by how much longer you last.”

“So little faith in me,” Alex muttered.

“Then,” she continued as if he hadn’t spoken, “you will spend time on aether control and efficiency, practicing your precision, density, and manipulation. You’re current control is good, surprisingly so. But I can feel the lack of capacity, your aether pool is meager at best. But you still have bad habits, ones that are… wasteful.”

Alex grimaced but nodded. “Got it.”

“Finally, we will train with weapons. Even if you choose not to wield one, you will learn how to fight against them properly.”

Alex frowned. “That’s… what Kate does. She trains with all kinds of weapons, even though she only uses a rapier.”

“Exactly. You learn an enemy’s rhythm best by stepping into it. If you know how someone will fight, you will be surprised by how easy it is to defeat them.”

He nodded again, then added quietly, “I mostly use my fists because I haven’t found a weapon that suits me. And… I haven’t really had much practice with my new [Asura’s Armament] skill.”

Sionna squinted at him. “Asura’s… Armament?”

Alex hesitated, then brought up his Status Sheet, the pale-blue projection flickering into being between them. He turned it toward her, revealing the glowing text of his Martial Style section.

Her eyes flicked across it and widened.

“By the gods,” she muttered, standing abruptly. “You reckless, damned fool!” The table rattled as her hand slammed down. “Who in the Hells let you learn something like this?”

Alex sat back, startled. “What? What’s wrong with it?”

Her eyes flashed, aether burning like green fire. “You’re walking the path of theDemon Asura Style, boy? Do you even realize what that means?”

Alex sat frozen, heart hammering as the air around her began to vibrate and ripple with aether.

He suddenly got the impression that whatever this “training” was supposed to be… had just turned into something much, much bigger.