Chapter 40: Eyebeams and the Ethics of Adventuring (1/2)

After finding out Jory had an unused courtyard behind his clinic, Rufus moved the daily training there. It was really just a walled-in dirt yard, but was sufficient for their needs. The day would begin with Gary, who would run with Jason to Jory’s clinic. After replenishing his stamina by draining the sickness from Jory’s patients, Jason was ready for more physical training.

The approach to physical training was startling in its familiarity. Farrah had left a set of barbells from her magical chest in Jory’s yard, covered with a tarp. Gary would alternate between strength training with weights and more agility-based training, leading Jason through all kinds of flexibility exercises.

While instructing Jason, the normally relaxed Gary became a harsh task-master, brooking not even the slightest amount of slack. As he watched Jason’s form during push-ups, sit-ups or lunges, he would lecture on the importance of training.

“When your speed attribute reaches bronze,” Gary said, “you will be faster than you ever were before. If you don’t know how to use that speed, that agility, those reflexes, then you will die to someone that does.”

Sometimes Gary would take Jason out of the clinic’s yard and into streets and alleys of Old City. He taught what Jason was startled to recognise as parkour. Climbing, roof running, acrobatics; in spite of his huge body, Gary was astoundingly proficient.

Jason voiced concern, given the generally busy state of Old City and his own lack of expertise. Gary insisted on a learn-by-doing approach, telling Jason what he did wrong as he did it. Jason voiced them again after he fell from a rooftop and had to pay for the crushed contents of a fruit cart.

“Sorry about that Herbert,” Jason said as he handed over the coins.

“I look at it this way,” the balding, paunchy fruit seller said. “I just sold a full cartload of fruit and it’s barely daylight. And please; call me Bert.”

“I’m not sure this is working out,” Jason told Gary.

“You don’t just start off good at difficult things,” Gary said. “You have to begin at bad and work your way up.”

“That I get,” Jason said. “I’m just not sure about the methodology. Maybe I should try somewhere less crowded until I’m better?”

“The ability to move with speed and confidence, always aware of your surroundings is essential to an adventurer,” Gary said. “Sometimes you have to run, sometimes you have to chase. You rarely get to choose when or where. You must always be ready always aware. Whatever you’re doing, wherever you’re doing it.”

Once Gary was done with him, Jason would replenish himself again with clinic patients. On the first day, Jason noticed Jory giving him a wary look.

“What?” Jason asked.

“I know you’re helping people and all,” Jory said, “but you’re literally feeding on the misery of others.”

“You want me to stop coming in?” Jason asked.

“Gods, no,” Jory said.

“Alright then,” Jason said. “I don’t suppose you want to help me stich a body together from dismembered corpses and animate it with lightning?”

“That would be disturbing,” Jory said, “if you didn’t so obviously know nothing about actual necromancy.”

Word of Jason’s free healing started getting around, so there were always people waiting each time he arrived. By the time he cleared out the patients, Rufus would arrive for more training.

The training with Rufus was the most tedious part of Jason’s day. Footwork and balance, footwork and balance. Sometimes it was moving around with a forced gait, feeling awkward and inefficient. Other times it was balancing in strange stances on pegs Jory let Rufus hammer into the dirt yard. Whenever Jason’s form was wrong, Rufus would sweep his legs out from under him, or kick him from what he was balancing on.

“You’re breaking your body line. Anyone with even rudimentary skills would put you on the ground in a moment.”

“It feels awkward to move like that,” Jason said.

“That is because you don’t walk, run, stand, lean or sit properly. When it stops feeling awkward, you will be ready to use a skill book.”

“So, I could just lie and we move onto the skill book?” Jason asked.

Rufus’ leg swept Jason’s out from under him with such force that Jason went horizontal in the air, followed by a savage downward chop smashing him into the ground. Rufus stood over him as Jason curled up in the dirt, choking and coughing.

“There will be a test,” Rufus said.

In the afternoons, Farrah would take over. This was the part of his training regimen Jason enjoyed the most. Gary and Rufus’ instruction was classic montage material, while Farrah’s training was something altogether different.

The spirit attribute, Jason learned, governed not just magic strength, but also perception. Farrah subjected Jason to an array of unusual, but often interesting and fun exercises. They would play memory games with cards, or she would make him taste-test things while blindfolded.

“I have no idea what you just put in my mouth,” Jason said, “but you need to tell me what it was. I want to try baking it in a pie.”

Some perception exercises trained practical observation and memory skills. One of the most common was watching people go past Jory’s clinic, with Jason memorising everything he could as fast as he could. He would then close his eyes as Farrah tested him. Other times she would have him read from the Magic Society’s monster records, collected on a magical tablet. She gave him only a short time to read, testing his comprehension afterwards.

The second aspect of Farrah’s training was meditation. Jason and his siblings had been spoon-fed meditation techniques by their mother, and while Jason had long-ago rejected them, it at least gave him a grounding to work with. Those techniques were quite different to what Farrah taught him, but there was enough commonality to pick things up quickly. She soon stopped guiding him, leaving him to take it up in his own time.

The final part of Farrah’s training was aura manipulation. He had gotten lucky, the stone Farrah gifted him awakening an aura ability.

Ability: [Hegemony] (Sin)

Aura (holy, unholy)Cost: None.Cooldown: None.Current rank: Iron 0 (00%)Effect (iron): Allies within the aura have increased resistance to afflictions, while enemies within the aura have their resistance to afflictions reduced. Enemy resistances are further reduced for each instance of [Sin] they are suffering from.

Jason was happy with the aura effect, which would make his abilities more reliable while protecting his allies from someone like him. He was also fascinated by it being both a holy and unholy ability at the same time. Sadly, he couldn’t think of a good way to passive-aggressively let Anisa hear about it. He knew she was in the city somewhere, but it was probably for the best they hadn’t run into each other.

As Farrah instructed Jason on the basics of aura use, he discovered that for training purposes, the specifics of his aura didn’t matter. The fundamental aspects of auras were all the same, which she introduced him to in the clinic yard as they sat on woven mats.

“By getting your hands on an aura power,” Farrah told him, ”you've gained the capacity to manipulate your aura. Like any other skill, it takes practice to do it right. Controlling your aura is important for many reasons, starting with the fact that as you get stronger, your aura will become increasingly energetic. Eventually, enough to be dangerous to the people around you. If you reach gold rank and can't control your aura properly, you can hurt normal people just by going near them.”

“So, if you hit gold rank and can’t control your aura,” Jason asked, “do you have to hide so you don’t hurt people just by walking down the street?”

“There are magic items you can use to suppress your aura,” Farrah said. “People in that situation are required to use them.”

“Do you get a lot of people who get to gold without any aura control?” Jason asked.

“No,” Farrah said. “Usually your chances of getting to gold start with a good foundation, which means aura powers and aura training. It does happen, though. I once saw the aftermath of a gold ranker who forgot to put on an aura suppressor before going to a market. People were passed out, bleeding out their ears.”

“That’s not good,” Jason said.

“No it isn’t,” Farrah said. “Which is why the training is important. There are other reasons, too. Anyone with a perception power will eventually be able to see auras clearly, so if yours isn’t under control, they’ll read you like you’re holding up signs. Not just your location, either. If you can’t restrain your aura, they’ll read your emotions, know when you lie.”

“Can you see my emotions right now?” Jason asked.

“No,” Farrah said, “but my perception power doesn’t improve my aura sense until silver rank. Neither does yours, by the way. I looked it up.”

“So, what does your perception power do?” Jason asked.

“It looks good,” Farrah said as her eyes turned into glowing embers. “It also lets me see through smoke and mist.”

“Nice,” Jason said. “Wait, what about my clothes-changing ability. That hides me in smoke. Can you see through that?”

“That’s an interesting question,” Farrah said, not answering it. “You know, if I ever get to diamond rank I can shoot fire out of my eyes.”

“That doesn’t answer my… wait, you’re going to get eyebeams? That’s awesome.”

“I know, right?” Farrah said. “There aren’t a lot of abilities where we know what happens at diamond rank. Rufus thinks that if I actually get there it will be overshadowed by what my other abilities can do.”

“Then Rufus sucks,” Jason said. “He thinks eyebeams won’t be useful? The intimidation factor alone would be amazing. Who’s going to meet your eyes when you can shoot heat-beams out of them?”