Episode 71: Cracks

Arson had felt he’d seen many beautiful places, but Adroit Academy was a marvel within itself. He didn’t know if the skyscrapers that formed the core buildings were flying around one another, or if they were on some sort of rotating platform. His question answered before he could form it fully within his mind when one of the large structures detached itself, and reattached itself to another cluster of buildings on the other side of the mountain face. “What is the purpose of moving such large structures,” asked Arson aloud, the question slipping out from a time spent alone within the trials of Endless where habits with a more mentally unhealthy set of attributes was commonplace. “”Scheduled interactions between different crafting centers and research teams,” said Adroit Academy’s headmaster. Arson managed barely not to flinch, as he could have sworn the woman had left him alone. Yet Arson found himself glad as her explanation continued, as he did have more questions. “For instance, that tower is a novice to adept blacksmithing tower, and is currently connected to a novice-adept LeatherWorking, and enchanting tower, this allows students to work on companion or team projects with corresponding crafts or knowledge bases.” Arson nodded, and tried to wrap his head around a place other than the library within Maelstrom's orphanage that shared knowledge rather than hoarded it. He grew even more excited at the premise, once again lost in the features of the school. Trains connected to the underbellies of bridges that linked massive arenas, workshops, and even large open landscapes used for war games and training exercises. Students could be seen holding rails that seemed designed to support individuals free hanging from the sides of the train-car bottoms. The more Arson looked around, the more he saw it. Only noticeable to his mind based on the puzzles he solved as a child. Buildings were now more alive than dead in his eyes, and underlining intention to be interacted with could be seen with every characteristic he picked apart mentally. “Is this entire place a climbing challenge?” Another question Arson assumed would go unanswered, was given a response. “There might be hope for you yet, only a few hundred students a season cycle are keen enough to catch that, gives me confidence in your basic training,” said the headmaster still at his side. It was in that moment that Arson knew something was wrong. He’d once again felt the woman had left, only for her to respond. How is she doing that, I don’t know if I feel comfortable roaming the halls of this place knowing she could pop up like that at any time? The problem was, Arson realized, even as he focused as hard as he could, he felt himself actively forget something in the very next moment, but not what he’d forgotten. One of his most sacred tools, had failed him somehow and he could feel it. Hmm… “Anastasia, I feel I have just forgotten something vital, and this may not be the first time it's happened, is there something I should be aware of, maybe something I asked you to remind me about?” Arson raised his watch, and Anastasia’s face spiraled into view. “Umm no… not that I can think of, you’ve just been talking with the headmaster about some sort of climbing challenge, maybe? And looked like you were about to sprint off in a random direction,” said Anastasia with a smile. Arson had been about to sprint off, but focused on the bit of Anastasia’s comment about him having been conversing with the headmaster. “I haven’t been talking with the headmaster,” responded Arson. “Yes, you have, she’s right there next to you little buddy, seems she’s doing something to make you not be able to detect her presence, or remember that she’s there, it's probably because they want to test you on this strange climbing thing,” said Anastasia,. “Well, that is problematic,” said the headmaster beside Arson. “Headmaster, you're still here, I’d thought you’d left,” said Arson with a glance away from the climbing challenge that had by that point almost fully consumed him mentally. The runic formations meant to push students to climb as far and heigh as they could, as fast as possible and with as much skill as they could display was devious in nature. The strength and weight of the formations used sometimes caused mortals and unskilled cultivators to jump to their deaths, to the point that an entire team of students had been created to catch the unprepared. And still bodies can be found dangling occasionally from the highest of places. It was easy to catch competitors who were skilled, and did their best to catch themselves. Their bodies durable, and able to take a hit or two on the way down, which gave safety teams more of a chance to intercede. It was harder to catch men and women that found themselves with the sudden urge to jump from their office balconies thousands of floors above the ground. Brittle frames often snapping like twigs dropped from tall trees, a task that should be given to a seldom few, taking the lives of hundreds of innocents each season cycle. Some wondered why the strength of the formations were left so strong, while others knew what fed the formations themselves. There was power in sacrifice, and with life, came the ability to grow. “Don’t mind me, child, I believe you were in the middle of something,” said the Headmaster, with a gesture toward the school once more. Arson looked away from the Headmaster with a nod, and forgot she was there. His run began immediately and his excitement grew further the moment he stepped onto the lawn of the school grounds and received a notification. *Climbing a mountain made for Olympians: climb to the apex for a title and reward. Fail to make it to the top, and lose the capability of flight, or use of any and all mana for a fortnight. Restrictions: Gravity, air, fire mana locked for the duration of trial. Any attempts at flight trigger an automatic failure.* Arson grinned, as his two secondary Living Hands, Jill and Jane lifted from his shoulders, and tendrils of light weaved themselves from the bases of their wrist. Rope made of light being formed where the radius and ulna bones would be in a forearm. With how restricted his mana already was the ropes were truly only 10 feet long, but after Arson managed to test whether or not his living hand constructs counted as flight if he swung from the ropes and received no failure notifications, he managed to form a plan to get as far up as he could. His scythe the last thing he pulled from his inventory. “Might as well record this for Lane,” said Arson. “Noted, but don’t get too crazy with the test either, the headmaster is watching you, I know this probably sounds crazy, but it's true, trust me,” said Anastasia in a hushed tone. Arson once again acknowledged something being wrong with his memory, and nodded, doing his best to keep the message in his mind. Even as he forgot what had just been said to him and took off as fast as he could. … Headmaster Max was surprised by the young man’s flexibility, and speed. His dash across the acres that Adroit Academy consisted of was impressive, even with the incredibly low amount of mana Max could sense him use. First came the shortest of the buildings on the campus, and she watched him use his scythe to latch onto the side of the rooftop after his fifteen foot vertical took him much of the way up the side of the first building. He was able to use much of his environment to get higher with a familiarity in his movements that made Max nod to herself as she flew higher in observation. “He must have gained that career criminal mark for more reasons than are immediately apparent,” said Max to herself. Arson had begun to wall-kick higher up between the closely positioned buildings within the first tier or halo of Adroit Academy. All buildings within this section held beginner students in many categories of crafting or branches of learning. Gasps could be heard from a rare few as Arson swung by, looping the end of his scythe into balcony railings, minor gutter systems, and even the random open window. “Ahh!” Max giggled as Arson screamed his apology back down toward a stunned student who’d been a breath away from sticking her head out the window when the blade of Arson’s weapon slid into view. Max was entertained by the young man’s skill, but still wondered why so little mana was being used. He barely infused it into his limbs and core whilst he moved, and still hadn’t used the two strange hand constructs that now dangled two ropes down his back as he darted across rooftops, soaring from building to building in a single leap. “He’s still smiling though, is this not a challenge for him, or is he just pushing himself,” asked Headmaster Max, speaking to the AI on Arson’s wrist casually by this point, Arson having had made it into the second Halo, and now moving through buildings designed for the novice ranked students within the school. “He’s a hellion, I’d call him a masochist when it comes to bodily improvement, but I think it's deeper than that, it's almost as if he believes nothing can truly harm him, even though I’ve seen him hurt as many times as you’ve blinked today,” said Anastasia. Arson didn’t stop moving, captured completely by the formation at this point, at first only glancing strangely at his wrist before he spoke up. “What are you—“ “The headmaster is watching you. Shush, I’m having a conversation,” said Anastasia. Arson shook his head, looked at the headmaster, which he should not have been able to do by that point in the test for multiple reasons. One, the formations made it so that it was harder to distract those running through the climbing challenge. While Max was also fully suppressing her aura and presence by that point, which made both the AI’s ability to talk to her and Arson’s casual look in her direction, a complete anomaly. She knew his eyes must be naturally much more capable of perceiving hidden elements around him. The multicolored backlight effect of his eyes alluded to that much, but how the AI was capable of interacting was something Max could not wrap her head around. Not even the scanners in the Trinity Towers can detect me, so how… “Is he ever going to use those hands on his shoulders,” asked Max. She felt as if the bodiless AI managed to shrug at her somehow and Max decided to stop talking when Arson looked at her again, now within the third Halo of Adroit Academy. The challenges became much more difficult within the third tier of 13. Arson could be seen slicing temporary pathways through waterfalls that fell atop glass-covered bridges below himself. By this point, murmurs could be heard by all who witnessed the young HonorBorn scion move undeterred by any hurdle in front of him. Max at first scoffed at those giving celebratory waves and yells of congratulation to Arson making it as high as he had so far, but then remembered how most shouldn’t even be able to notice his ascent. He made his way through the Adept tier in record time, and managed to pass almost a dozen others making their own way up and through the challenge. Just how far are you actually going to go, child… … It was by this point that Arson finally used one of his living constructs and Jill, was sent forward, to grab the handrail below an incoming train while it sped by. Arson grabbed the rope, and wished that Jack was accessible the moment he wrapped his grip around its end. The connection of power normally offered was not nearly as strong as he knew it would be if his oldest tool could be used. As his bond was strong enough with Jack that he knew where the construct was at all times even without the closed eye dominion being used. He was yanked upward as the train raced toward its next stop and Arson yelled in exhilaration while the wind whipped through his hair. “Arson, I know what the notification said, but you gotta fail this one buddy,” said Anastasia in a whisper. “What, why?” Arson had begun to move even faster than before. His seal flaring up as more and more mana was sucked into his systems forcibly, the unfamiliar burn making his palm flare to life with pain and a soft light. “Multiple reasons, there is obviously more to this test than meets the eye, buddy, and I don’t want you to unconsciously trigger some sort of tribulation just for running up the side of the mountain. Can you not feel the increase of power being drawn inward as we climb higher,” asked Anastasia. Arson had indeed felt a swelling of power, but had ignored it. He was honestly having the time of his life, the climb reminding him of a time when he was but a toddler still within the orphanage of Maelstrom. “If I can make it so that we can come back to finish this later, with a slight penalty, will you take it and trust me, something is wrong here, buddy,” said Anastasia. Her tone told Arson to listen and he gave her a nod in response to her still whispered words. “Don’t stop outright while I work, just start to show signs of difficulty and make it real, I don’t need long just enough time to work some magic, kiddo,” said Anastasia. Flashes of different runes could be seen flickering in the corner of his vision, which he ignored while he worked to give a strong performance. A grand spectacle that strangely went from completely captivating, to all of a sudden changing. The scene of a young Cultivator running without hinderance, disappointingly coming to a gradual decline, as Arson slowed just before he was about to rush into the fourth halo. The runes for rescue, and home, merged into what Arson assumed to be a hearth in front of his eyes and a new notification popped up in his vision and Arson was stunned by what he saw. “Anastasia, what in the sparks is this?” cursed Arson. Angered by what the simple fusion of runes had just made possible. “Umm, a save point, and before you get more mad, I did try this during the trials and it did not work,” yelled Anastasia. Arson believed what the AI was telling him, but he couldn’t believe the message no matter how many times he read it. Instanced: return to this exact location, to resume your trial. Penalty induced until completion, incapable of using mana to fly. A marker will be left in your vision to signify your return point in the form of a beacon of light. This pillar will only last a fortnight before it dissolves and your trial is forfeit. Must complete an additional four tiers minimum before this option can be granted again. “Well, that’s new…”