Chapter 89 - 87 — Rules
"W-what is this...?"
"I-it’s insane!"
"I can’t... I can’t even move!"
The trainees struggled against the crushing weight that had descended over the training grounds. As they lifted their gaze and saw Zephyrion, many of their hearts tightened.
The metal aura stretched several meters around him. It surged like a violent storm, yet carried a refined edge beneath it. Even from a distance, each of them could feel the immense force contained within it.
Garrick grinned.
"Incoming!"
Bolts shot from his grasp at even greater speed than before, each one tearing toward Zephyrion and leaving rippling circles in its wake.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
They slammed into the aura with explosive force, yet Zephyrion didn’t budge as his aura held them in place.
The trainees’ mouths fell open.
"Next!"
Garrick released a barrage of bolts that swallowed Zephyrion’s entire field of vision.
"What!?"
"That’s way too much!"
Gasps of shock rippled through the trainees. The number of bolts far exceeded what had been thrown at Kaiden and Fiona.
’He’s testing me.’
Zephyrion didn’t miss the wide grin on Garrick’s face. With this many bolts, dodging with slip steps alone was practically impossible. Even so, he still had something in reserve.
’Slip step.’
The first time Zephyrion had been shown the art, he had immediately seen a way to refine it.
The purpose of the art was to reduce the rigidity of metal users and allow flexibility in combat. It worked by letting the aura flow freely through the body, making it fluid, almost like water.
However, Zephyrion had realized he could alter the nature of the metal aura itself.
For instance, with mark four came the ability to increase density and weight, and he could directly influence the weight of the metal rune.
What followed was this.
The first bolt reached him, and he darted aside like an arrow, stopping on a dime. The second came, and he shifted again, halting just as abruptly. Then again, and again.
To every onlooker, Zephyrion became a flickering blur, weaving through the barrage with overwhelming speed.
"W-what the hell!?"
"T-that’s insane!"
"How is he moving like that!?"
"...damn it..."
Kaiden gritted his teeth. His speed could not even be compared with Zephyrion’s.
Meanwhile, as the trainees stared in disbelief, Garrick’s eyes gleamed.
’Did he...?’
His eyes slowly widened. Even from a distance, he could tell what Zephyrion had done. His movements were fluid, yet sharp and sudden.
He was adjusting the weight of his metal aura!
’This guy...’
Garrick couldn’t help but shake his head, his grin widening. The metal aura was a basic art for all metal ascendants, but it was still an art, an expression of self.
Once formed, at best, they were only meant to manipulate it around their bodies to serve specific purposes.
To alter its nature was to change the expression itself. The complexity of breaking down and deciphering the core of the rune art before modifying it was such that even Heralds struggled to achieve it.
The level of comprehension required was simply absurd. Yet here he was, watching a child do it without the slightest strain.
"Alright. Last one."
Garrick formed a wall of metal in the middle of the training grounds. At a glance, the trainees could tell it was thicker and denser than the ones used for Kaiden and Fiona.
A moment later, Zephyrion approached calmly and settled into a stance, eyes closing.
’It’s the same.’
Just like with slip steps, the same principle applied to pulse break. It involved condensing every shred of metal aura into a single point and striking out.
If he could push the weight of the aura to its limit at the very instant of impact...
The entire training ground fell into a deafening silence as Zephyrion exhaled. In the next instant, his eyes snapped open and he stepped forward.
The ground beneath him cratered for several meters, dust and debris blasting outward.
His arm shot forward with such speed that the air tore in its wake. As his fist came within inches of the metal, Zephyrion’s eyes gleamed, the weight surging at the final moment, sending concentric ripples through the air.
A deafening boom rang out the instant his fist struck. It sounded as though an explosion had gone off.
The resulting shockwave tore outward, slamming into the trainees and knocking many off their feet, while others struggled to remain standing.
The trainees’ eyes were wide as the haze slowly cleared.
"W-what the hell..."
Even Kaiden stood frozen, staring with wide eyes.
Zephyrion’s punch had torn straight through the metal, and continued on to carve a deep trench across the training grounds, ending in a massive dent in the distant wall.
A heavy silence settled over the grounds, broken only by Garrick’s booming laughter.
"Good... good... now that’s how it’s done!"
...
A few days passed after that. With preparations for the Choosing underway, Garrick pushed the trainees even harder, raising the intensity of their training.
By the end of each day, it became a common sight to see a group of youths dragging themselves through the estate like lifeless bodies.
Eventually, at the end of the sixth day of training, Garrick gathered the trainees before him.
"Alright, listen up. We’ve finally got details on this year’s Choosing. Lucky you, it’s a good one."
The trainees were both overwhelmed with anticipation and nervousness at the same time.
On one hand, they were glad that information about the Choosing was finally being released, but Garrick’s excitement made them uneasy. The man’s happiness never meant anything good.
"This time, you’re all going out on missions."
"Missions?"
"Again? We just did that..."
"Please don’t let it be Redmaws again..."
A chorus of whispers spread through the trainees as they exchanged wary glances. With how their last mission had gone, none of them were looking forward to another.
"Instructor, what kind of missions are we talking about?" Kaiden suddenly asked.
"Finally, someone with some sense. Unlike the rest of you."
Garrick’s cold gaze swept across them, silencing the trainees instantly.
"Listen carefully. I won’t repeat myself. You’ll be split into teams of five. Each team gets an instructor and a mission. The instructor doesn’t help you, unless you’re about to die. They’re there to watch. That’s it."
"How you handle pressure, how you carry yourselves, how you complete the mission, all of that gets graded. That’s what they’ll use to pick the ten Candidates representing this house. Any questions?"