171 Pieces of a Puzzle (2/2)

Torix crossed his arms, ”I suppose It is quite the burden to bear.”

I nodded, ”Yeah, and I'm trying to think about how I'll handle it. Schema's rewards or not, a Fringe Walker helps a lot of people. With my build, I could clear out a dozen worlds a year. Think of that. That's helping trillions of people. It's fucking crazy.”

Torix scoffed, ”You sound pretty confident of that. You certain you could handle that kind of trial?”

I shook my head, ”Not like I am right now, but that's why I'm asking for the help. With time, I'll forge myself into something that'll strike fear in the eldritch. When I'm finished, they'll tell their children stories about the monster of monsters.”

I grinned, ”After all, I'm the Harbinger of Cataclysm, right?”

Torix rubbed his hands together, ”Who just so happens to be my disciple. Come, let's get you started with a few practical exercises to develop a few skills. You've got this old man'smetaphorical blood boiling with excitement.”

With our pep talks finished, we got to work. He gave me three exercises for controlling my thoughts. The first involved meditation. I already owned the skill, and it fused into Hunter of Many. I figured developing it further wasn't necessary anymore. It would improve by using the mythical ability.

The other two skills were different. The first one involved acceptance. The tactic worked like this. Eliminating all suffering was impossible. Shitty situations were going to happen. By preemptively preparing myself for difficulty, I strengthened my resolve to handle said difficulty.

It was just like going into a fight expecting to take a few hits. When I did that, I didn't break down after taking a wallop. I'd know the strikes were coming so I would be ready. This skill applied the same concept but to life instead of fights. I summed it up with a saying; it wasn't about weathering the storm.

It was about learning to laugh in the rain.

This took a bit trying to get into the right state of mind. After an hour of doing so, I gained the skill I needed.

New Skill Gained! Mental Preparation(lvl 1) - By readying yourself for harsh circumstances, you enhance your ability to withstand them. Increases mental resilience, tolerance, and improves judgment in stressful situations.

It was one of those skills that I never thought about but knew existed. After I discovered the skill, I trained the next exercise. It involved the willingness to hurt others. The best way I could put is in terms of fighting.

When I first started boxing, I didn't want to hurt my opponent. I wanted to win the fight, but I didn't want to break their face. After a few months, I learned that mentality was holding me back. Big surprise there.

I won't say going into a fight with murder on my mind is exactly helpful. It's more about knowing when to go all out. Having the ability to shift gears like that without hesitation was invaluable in conflict. By gaining an awareness of it and honing the talent, I gave myself an edge in any battle.

Once more, it took about an hour of practice, but I got a hold on the skill.

New Skill! Mental Adaptability(lvl 1) - Others react slowly, unable to adjust to sudden changes. You hone your thoughts, giving your mind flexibility. Enhances the shifting of thoughts, especially in stressful situations

As I reread my other skills, it gave me an idea of what Torix was going for. Meditation was about slowing my thoughts down. Mental Adaptability was about speeding my thoughts up. This let me adjust my mind for a given situation. Mental Adaptability allowed me to implement those skills faster.

It was a solid trifecta for building off of. With those skills gained, I walked downstairs for something to eat. I was starving. I train Thermomancy with a piece of orichalcum in my hand as I did.

Althea and Kessia were already up, both of them snacking on junk food. I waved a hand, ”What's up guys, er, gals?”

Althea stood up, a grin growing on her face. With her veil on, she ran over to me. I hugged her, picking her up off the ground and spinning her around. Kessiah rolled her eyes, ”I just ate breakfast. Can you both at least try not to make me vomit?”

I set Althea down, ”Had a long night out?”

Althea nodded, ”Yeah, Torix let me know you were busy with something. We went out and enjoyed ourselves.”

I looked around, ”Where's Caprika?”

Kessiah shrugged, ”She's off doing official imperial duties.”

I nodded, ”Alright, cool. I'm also going to need a favor from you guys.”

Althea drank some kind of juice. She set the glass down, ”Sure. What is it?”

I explained the silvers and the Skyburners. Kessiah raised her hands as I finished, ”Uh, yeah. You can count me out.”

I shrugged, ”yeah, it's a bit much to ask. You still in Althea?”

She smirked, ”Of course.”

We chatted like that, enjoying our breakfast. Not long after, we heard knocking on the door to our hotel room. I pointed at Kessiah and Althea, ”So, we're having this Speaker named Tohtella over. She's helping out with the mission.”

Kessiah stood up, ”I'll go get my veil and shit on.”

She walked out while I opened the door. Tohtella walked in, wearing the exact business wear as before. With a clipboard in hand and an obelisk floating beside her, she raised her free hand to me,

”It's good to see you again.”

I pointed into our room, ”Come on in.”

As Tohtella looked around, she raised her eyebrows, ”Hmm, it seems as though have quite a few resources at your disposal?”

I shrugged, ”Eh, sort of. Anyways, this is Althea. She's a very effective fighter, about as effective as I am.”

Tohtella walked up to Althea, looking her up and down, ”You seem...less intimidating than Daniel. It's a welcome change.”

Althea scratched the side of her head, ”Yeah, he kinda looks like he's ready to fight any second.” Althea leaned back into her chair, ”I like to take a more subtle approach.”

Tohtella nodded, ”Noted. Where is the wizard you mentioned?”

I flicked Torix's door with telekinesis. Torix shouted, ”Who is it?”

I shouted back, ”The guest is here, the one I told you about.”

Torix walked out of his office. He stepped down the stairs. Tohtella walked up, ”Are you the information specialist Daniel mentioned?”

Torix reached the bottom of the stairs, his hood pitch black from magic,

”Hmm, I suppose so. I'd rather think of myself as a wizard or warlock.”

Tohtella adjusted her glasses, ”Mages deal in information, don't they?”

Torix nodded, ”They do, but they work within a precise niche of it.”

Tohtella nodded, ”Then it's good to meet you...”

Torix opened a hand to her, ”You may call me Malthazar.”

Tohtella jotted notes on her clipboard, ”Malthazar. Now, do you all know the manner of business we're working with?”

Torix and I nodded. Althea wieghed her hand back and forth, ”Er, sort of.”

Tohtella nodded, ”Then I'll ensure that each of you is informed. Let me begin.”

Tohtella turned towards me, ”May I use your obelisk?”

I turned to our resident mage, ”Should I let her?”

Torix nodded, ”Give her access to the files regarding the Skyburners and whatnot. Simple.”

I fiddled with my status menu. After a few minutes, I restricted Tohtella's access to the necessary info. I handed it off to Tohtella. She gave me a curt nod, ”Thank you. Now-”

She opened an image of a Skyburner,

”I researched local legends and gathered first-hand accounts of gialgathens about these beasts. Their greatest strengths are threefold. Their jaw strength, their tipped tails, and their fiery breath. Avoid these three parts of them, and you avoid most of their toolset.”

I scoffed, ”Yeah. I figured that all out the hard way.”

Tohtella pointed at me, ”And you came out no worse for wear. We three, however, aren't allowed to learn the hard way, are we?”

They shook there head. Tohtella adjusted her clipboard, ”So then we avoid all contact with them. The plan of action against these monsters should involve a decoy. We will then pelt them from a range, preferably isolating them one by one.”

Tohtella raised a finger, ”If we wait until they Skyburners leave their base, we may ambush them. After doing so twice, we may assault the rest before their guard is up. If this info is correct, then we could kill four of the seven gialgathens. This makesthe fight far more likely in our favor.”

Torix cupped his chin, ”They have access to magic, don't they?”

Tohtella glanced through the footage, ”Yes, they will.”

She pointed at the old gialgathen, ”This is one of the general of Emagrotha's old army, Gaikhag Monothos. He's adept in many ancient magics.”

Torix sighed, ”Then they'll no doubt have some measure of protective incantations, correct? If we assume so, ambushing the first two will alert the others. If they escape, they may warn other camps like this. This will make further operations much more difficult.”

Torix stepped up to the image, ”If we instead launch an ambush under the veil of night, I believe we can assist the espens with escape while finishing them all off.”

Tohtella's eyes narrowed, ”The gialgathen's deaths take precedence.”

Torix raised a finger,

”Of course. The issue is that the espens may have information as well. Destroying them in the crossfire won't do us any good. I suggest we allow Daniel and Althea to handle the battle. We can focus on getting the espens out of the situation.”

Tohtella leaned back, ”Ahem, I understand that you're more than able to look after yourselves. Defeating seven gialgathens, Skyburners for that matter isn't feasible at your levels.”

Althea smirked, ”Levels can be deceiving.”

Tohtella shook her head, ”I can call in a strike force.”

They debated tactics as I cupped my chin, deep in thought. I killed the last Skyburner by smashing into it from above. That worked pretty damn well. If I escalated that tactic further, I could fall from higher up. If I accelerated myself enough, I'd land like a meteorite on the camp.

My health regeneration and damage resistance would stop me from disintegrating during re-entry. Using my Invincible tree, I'd take at most 70% of my health from the landing. I could use the overkill damage to blow up another Skyburner. Hell, I might even be able to charge a singularity too.

I raised my hands, interrupting the conversation, ”Wait, I just got a great idea.”

I pointed at Althea, ”You can slice off the head of the general by sneaking in with your camoflouge. We'll time it so that right after you do that, I'll slam into the camp from above.”

Tohtella shook her head, ”That's a rudimentary, simplistic plan, don't you think? We can do better than that.”

Torix shook his head, ”If there's one thing I learned from working with Daniel, it's that simple is often times best.”

I raised my hands,

”Here's what will happen. I'll fly way up over the camp. I'll time my descent in conjunction with you guys. When I land in the camp, I'll be like a bomb. Hell, I might kill two or three Skyburners with the impact alone.”

Tohtella scoffed, ”Would you mind informing me how you would survive atmospheric re-entry, the impact, or the horde of angry Skyburners right after?”

I raised a fist, ”I'm tough. Real tough.”