“Things turned out a lot more chaotic than expected,” the Master of Blades said, earning a slow nod from his apprentice.

  The two of them sat cross legged in the center of the master's private tutoring training room, but rather than begin their usual routine, the master had asked Nar to sit down for a moment, and silence had stretched for a few heartbeats.

  “Confluences are always messy affairs, but that herd of parnais hit us incredibly hard,” his master said, folding his arms. “Do you know anything about them?”

  “No, master. I think they are fish beasts, but that’s about it.”

  “Hmm,” the man said, folding his arms. “The Great Ax-Head Parnais are ship killers, to put it bluntly. Have you heard about the KSL?”

  “No, master.”

  “It’s another in an infinite amount of lists maintained by the Offices of the Nexus, but this one’s actually amongst the few worth remembering,” his master explained. “It stands for Kill on Sight List, and it comprises the most dangerous beasts and monsters one can find freely roaming the Outer Reaches of the Labyrinth. Delving ships are supposed to kill these creatures on sight, and without the need for permission or for paying any fees. If a crew is unable to do so, they must immediately report their findings and location for priority mobilization and termination by the Navy or anyone willing to take up the job. All comms costs are reimbursed and standings with the Office of Delving increased with such reports, and these jobs are paid, and crews are allowed to keep all of their harvesting profits on top of it… So you can tell just how much these beasts need to be put down before they grow into proper problems.”

  His master smiled at him. “Have you heard of the Offices of Delving and their standings yet?”

  “No, master. But I think I’ve heard of the Offices of the Delving Guilds?”

  His master shook his head with a half-smile. “Not the same thing, but don’t worry, you will learn more of them at some point. Suffice to say, finding any beasts or monsters that are in the KSL is both a blessing and a curse, depending on your level of combat capability… And the parnais are some of the worst you can find on that list. Of course, their aether infused ax-head skulls fetch quite the price, and if it weren’t for the casualties, the captain would’ve been skipping through the corridors in sing-song for a week…”

  The man scratched at his short, silver mustached chin, and considered Nar.

  “That aside, how did you find the whole thing?” he asked his apprentice. “Your gains, especially your new [Aura Infused Strikes] skill, are quite substantial… But what did you make of the battle itself?”

  Nar pursed his lips.

  “It wasn’t great,” he allowed himself to say. “The storm. The beasts. The aether. The jump belt… It was madness, but… What really bothered me was that I felt like I wasn’t enough.”

  “In what sense?” his master asked him.

  “Just… Everything,” Nar said, keeping his shoulders from shrugging. “The storm gliders moved a lot better than I did, even with all my movement attributes, and every time one of those pullies or raimel’s got close…”

  He sighed. “Master, is my path bad for close combat?”

  “Hmm, interesting question,” the Master of Blades conceded. “But let’s start with the easy part. Do you know who those delvers were?”

  “The storm gliders?”

  “That is, indeed, their name. And did you not glean any insight from such a name?” the master asked, a light smile tugging at the corners of his dark, golden mouth.

  “Eh… No, master. I’m sorry.”

  The master sighed and reached over to playfully chop down over his head.

  Ouch! Nar thought. That still hurt!

  “The ship has three lines of defense,” the master revealed. “The first line of defense are… Actually, have you gone to meet the gun crews yet?”

  “The Undeadz? I have.”

  “Ah, good! I wouldn’t want to spoil their fun! They love pranking you kids,” the master said, grinning. “But anyways, the gun crews are the first line of the Scimitar’s defense, and they will keep most big threats at bay, or outright terminate them before they can reach us. However, sometimes the enemy is too small, too numerous, or a pain to deal with just with the guns. For those occasions, we use the promenades, and the storm glider squads are the specialized delvers that take on that role.”

  “Specialized?” Nar asked.

  “You noticed how well they moved, didn’t you?”

  Nar nodded. “It was like they could ride the storm. Like they were one with the wind…”

  “And that’s where the name storm gliders comes from,” his master said. “Storm gliders are delvers equipped with special gear that helps them fly around the ship.”

  “Fly?” Nar asked, stunned. “Like, actual flying?”

  The master made a series of dramatic gestures with his hand. “Yes, actually flying. They have anti-gravity gear, propulsion gear, the works… Of course, they also all have air or gravity related affinities. It takes a lot of skill to ride an aether storm, especially for auramancers, and it is a task that becomes almost impossible without such an affinity.”

  “So, what I saw…”

  “Was a highly trained, highly professional, incredibly experienced and much higher leveled corp of delvers in action,” the master said, grinning. “Don’t even try to compare yourself to them, kid! Even I wouldn't be able to move like that out there!”

  Nar looked away from his laughing master, feeling his checks burn.

  Well, how was I supposed to know that? Nar thought. I swear, it's like they don’t like telling us anything!

  “What about the last line of defense, then?” Nar asked, wanting to stop his master’s laughter.

  “The third, you mean?” he asked. “That’s the HOUNDS, Hostile Operations Unit for Neutralization and Defense of Ships. They are Tsurmirel’s answer for keeping their aetherships safe against anything that somehow manages to get past both guns and the storm gliders, and they also get deployed for ground missions as needed. The HOUNDS are all at least level 100 delvers, and there’s a contingent of fifty of them aboard Tsurmirel. And before you ask, yes, they came up with the acronym first and then looked for something that fit it.”

  “Oh…”

  “But don’t let the HOUNDS hear you,” the master said, smirking. “They are proud of their name, and they have a short fuse. Even an apprentice won’t be spared a beating if caught mocking their name, their corp, or basically anything they stand for, really.”

  Nar gulped. “I’ll be careful.”

  “Please, do. Even with the COO keeping a tight rein on them, they are still a wild bunch… Incredibly capable, though,” the master said, rubbing his chin. “As for the last line of defense, if you can call it that… Well, that’s the rest of us, but things would have to be really bad for us to have to fight. Between the gun crews, the storm gliders and the HOUNDS, I don’t think I’ve ever actually had to get my hands dirty. Of course, I like joining in from time to time… Have to keep my skills from rusting too much, you know? Not like you apprentices provide me with any challenge, eh!”

  “Ugh…” Nar groaned, rolling his eyes at his master’s mirth. “What about the other thing? The close combat?”

  “Yes, as I said, that’s an interesting question,” his master conceded. “Instructor Koh will eventually teach you guys some close combat training. Grappling, throwing, locks and such, as well as incorporating your whole body into the fight, and specific sword techniques for such close ranges.”

  “Like you do,” Nar mused.

  His master loved to kick him, punch him, push him and generally deliver devastating corporal punishment with his own body, always keeping Nar on his toes on whether the next blow would come from his blade, or anything else at his disposal.

  “Exactly,” the master said. “You will never be on the level of someone whose path specializes in that sort of bare hand combat, but it should at least help you not be entirely hopeless in such a situation. The goal for a swordsman however, is to always regain the right distance once again, and as soon as possible. Never too far, never too close.”

  “But with things like the pullies…” Nar said.

  “Annoying little critters, weren’t they?” the Master of Blades said with a grimace. “I used to hate them as well, and those raimels… Crystal! But don’t dwell on it too much. Survivability is something that will come with time, especially for your path. So don’t fret, our plans for you are comprehensive across all areas. Of course, I can’t tell you anything about them yet!”

  “Right…” Nar said, snorting at his master's chuckle. “In the meantime, would better armor help?”

  His master chuckle bloomed into full, all out, peals of laughter. “It most definitely will! But it’s a bit early for you to be worrying about that! The basic combat kit gives you a 20% damage reduction across the spectrum of physical damage types, and it's sturdy enough for our purposes.”

  “The crew’s armor looks different than ours, though,” Nar said.

  His master grimaced, conceding the point.

  “Well, yes. But yours is cheaper,” the master said. “And good enough to get you started. At some point we’ll switch you over to proper, physical armor, but again, that’s not something for you to concern yourself with yet! If you’re worried about damage, just focus on not getting hit instead!”

  “Yes, master,” Nar said, bowing his head.

  “Moving on, then, before the night runs away on us,” the master said, and suddenly, Nar felt a shiver crawling down his spine.

  The master hadn’t moved, nor had his expression even changed… But Nar knew enough to know he was in trouble. He could feel it, taste it, in the air as it grew heavier, the room growing smaller as the wall enclosed in on him, the master seeming to grow to a gigantic stature before him…

  It was time to face the music.

  “I’m sorry, master,” he said, his tone low.

  “Oh, you know you’ve gone and done something you shouldn’t have?”

  “Yes…”

  The master sighed, and the oppressive sensation of his anger melted away. “Points for not making excuses I guess, even though you had a pretty compelling one in saving Jul’s life.”

  Nar looked up at his master in surprise, his eyebrows rising, his jaw dropping.

  “Best keep it to yourself, but yes… According to the report, by the time the closest storm glider noticed what was happening, it was when the surge of your aura drew their attention,” the master said, his silver eyes darkening. “The gliders were out there to watch out for you kids, but they’re not exactly specced as babysitters, and it's impossible to account for everything, and had you and Mul not intervened when you did, it would’ve been too late…”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Nar looked down at the aura-dampening padded floor, his eyes wide and his mouth still dangling ajar as the meaning behind the man’s words sunk in.

  I… Saved her?

  No one else had seen Jul… If not for him, by nothing else than sheer coincidence and luck, noticing what had happened, then Jul would’ve…

  He clenched his fists.

  “[Awareness] will help with that,” his master said, glancing down at his student’s trembling fists. “The more you have, the more in control you will be over the battlefield, and the less you will miss, so if you want to ensure the worst never happens, strive to boost that attribute.”

  “... yes, master.”

  “And given that you went beyond your [Mastery] because you had no other choice, I will let it slide this time,” the Master of Blades announced. “But don’t go over the limit again. It might have been easy for you to do so in the B-Nex, but out here… Well, you saw what happened, and next time you can end up blowing off your arm entirely. Or an eye. A lung. Your brains… Your heart. And while we have capable healers on board, healing is not a guarantee, so promise me you won’t do it again, Nar. This is for your own safety.”

  Nar clenched his jaw and kept his head down. His master sighed.

  “Fine… Should’ve expected that,” the master said. “I understand that at the end of the day, you will do anything to save your party, but relying on breaking past your [Mastery] is not the way to do it.”

  Nar grimaced. “Because of the risk?”

  “Not just because of that. It’s also incredibly unreliable,” his master explained. “At your level, it's impossible to predict what happens when you go past the limit, because you have little control over your aura. I know that you must be absolutely balking at what must effectively feel like a leash on your considerable aura, but you must understand that the blessing given to you during the Climb was significant. Without it, there would be no way for you to use your aura as you did before.”

  Nar nodded. He didn’t like the sound of what he was being told, but his master was spot on, and he couldn’t deny the animosity he harbored towards his weak [Mastery]. Though, likewise, he could not deny the truth in his master's words either.

  “Nar, you cannot count on this to save you again,” his master said, his tone firm, yet gentle. “This time it worked, but it might not work the next time, or the next one after, especially as your [Aura] continues to grow… And to be very honest with you, what you did was something you are not supposed to be able to do. Cen is… Well, her path is her path. But for you, without going into too much detail of the future, it’s paramount that you continue to increase your [Mastery]. Only through it will you reach the heights that you aspire to, and you cannot go around your [Mastery], or search for a shortcut! Not if you want to actually succeed at this hybrid path of yours.”

  “Yes, master,” Nar said, his stare downcast. “I’m sorry.”

  His master waved his apology away.

  “What’s done is done, and I’m not telling you not to do it when death is literally staring you in the eye, and you’ve exhausted all other options,” his master said. “What I want is for you to understand that it is a last resort when the alternative is death! The only thing you can count on is your training, your status, your attributes, your skills, your experience, your sword and your party. Forget about what you could do before! And don’t even think about what you will, or not, be capable of in the future! What matters is what you can do now! Don’t try to skirt around your shortcomings and weaknesses! Face them head on, and find answers and counters for them. That’s the way of the warrior! The other is the way of a coward, one who neither understands, nor acknowledges their lackings. And one who eventually gets killed by them. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, master,” Nar said, his cheeks and back of his neck burning hot from the shame of the righteous chastisement he knew he deserved. “I won’t try to go around it again, and I will focus on properly growing my [Mastery]. I swear.”

  “Good! Though, truth be said, you are already progressing quite fast, and working as hard as you can on that aspect, so don’t be too hard on yourself there. I just don’t want you to consider any shortcuts.”

  “Yes, master. I won’t.”

  “Then it is settled. But one more thing. As I said, you are not supposed to have been able to do what you did. We’re all grateful that you did it, especially the Master of Shadows, but all the same, it should’ve been impossible for you… And there is only one way I can think of that you managed to pull it off.”

  “My sword,” Nar whispered.

  His master sighed. “Indeed. May I see it?”

  “Of course!”

  Nar pulled out his sword and passed it over to his master, who once more, raised the weapon to his ear and listened with closed eyes.

  “Hmm,” he said, eventually. “It remains a gamble… But for now, you may keep it.”

  He handed the sword back, and Nar took it with a mix of relief and apprehension. He considered the iridescent, scarred blade, with its dominant purples, and he couldn’t deny voicing the question that he had been pondering ever since the confluence.

  “Master, is… Is my sword alive?” Nar asked, his voice but a whispered hush, as though he were indeed frightened by such a possibility. “It reached for my aura by itself… At-At least I don’t think I did it. My [Mastery] blocked me, and there was nothing else I could do! And then, it just reached into me…”

  His master regarded the purple blade over Nar’s knees. “And that is another very interesting question.”

  Nar grimaced. “You’re not going to tell me. Are you?”

  “No. It’s your sword, and it’s for you to figure it out,” his master said. “If it proves too much, say the word, and I will provide you with a replacement. But if you wish to keep it, you must control that hunger. Or risk it controlling you.”

  Nar nodded.

  “I… I will keep it, master,” he said, passing a hand along the smooth, disfigured blade. “This sword has seen me through everything… And the hunger, even with its dangers, has already saved me twice. Once in the den, helping me protect Mul, and now with Jul. So, I will keep it. For both myself and my party.”

  “Fair enough, and it is your choice to make. But beware, Nar. Many have fallen victim to powers they thought were their allies and under their control… Remember that.”

  “I will, master,” Nar said, bowing deeply.”

  “Good, and with that finally done,” the master said, a touch of a smile peaking on his lips. “What’s this I read about you trying to blow up a parnais? The first time you tried it, I mean.”

  “Ah… I just thought that if aether and aura don’t mix, that maybe I could use that to kill it,” Nar said, heat rising across him. “I guess I still don’t really understand how aura and aether work, right, master?”

  His master chuckled at the implication in Nar’s words. “It is not a stupid thing to try, to be fair. And there were several apprentices that tried the same as you did… Except they all failed without the aid of a hunger affinity sword with pathways carved into it, as crude as they are, to help them blow past their [Mastery] limitations. ”

  “Oh?” Nar asked, surprised.

  “What? Do you think you are the only one capable of coming up with ideas?” his master asked him.

  “What? No, of course not!” Nar said, blushing harder. “I never…”

  “I jest, my apprentice,” his master said. “But yes, twenty-six other apprentices tried to do the same. Mul included.”

  “Mul?”

  “Indeed. He probably thought it was a good idea, given that his hands were already inside the fish and all,” the master said, chuckling. “But you all failed as expected.”

  Nar nodded. “The fish pushed me out. The second one too… But, I don’t get it. I thought that once one of the forces is no longer under control, that the reaction will trigger.”

  “And you’re right when it comes to external, non-corporeal circumstances, in which case it will always trigger,” his master said.

  “So inside the body it's different?” Nar asked, a frown deeply etched upon his features. “Why?”

  “It’s a little early to tell you all the full story… But for now, just assume that as long as something else’s aura or aether is stronger, that this reaction will not occur, and even then, you need a lot more aura or aether to trigger it. A whole lot more,” the master explained. “And the parnais have a lot more aether at their disposal than you currently have aura due to your still low [Mastery], so there was no chance of it happening.”

  Nar nodded. “Right…”

  But the master saw through his confusion.

  “Essentially, what you know is correct, but only insofar as out of body clashes,” the Master of Blades explained. “Your controlled aura, even if passively cycling through your body, will wreck any unfortified object that has aether within it, be it tools, gear, weapons, machines, circuits… Anything. And the same goes for skills. Once aether or aura leaves the user’s control, and by that, I mean that there is no longer a will attached to it, the same reaction will occur. And while some may argue that skills are under the System’s control, that theory has been countered at every turn. Once you shoot a fireball, it's under no one’s control. Well… Exceptions and all that.”

  “So, an aura skill and an aether skill will react, because they’re no longer under control,” Nar pondered. “But I can touch an aethermancer without problem? Don’t they have aether inside them?”

  “Of course you can!” the master said. “Again, not to go into future learnings for now, but you may accept that aether and aura live within a separate reality, one between the physical and the soul. Only when manifested into reality do they start reacting. Though… Just in case, don’t go touching anyone with aura, not even other auramancers. That stuff may have worked in your Climb, but not out here…”

  “The blessing?” Nar asked, pursing his lips.

  “Yes. But answering your unspoken question, why then do auramancers and aethermancers stay socially separate?” the master said. “The reason for that is that there have been enough incidents that the two groups simply keep their distance from each other. Even when we go into battle “together”, we never mix and do our own thing separately, and of course, there’s the whole aethertech aspect of it, which is a pain to deal with… And our BN status adds to it as well, of course.”

  Nar rubbed his chin, feeling a headache coming at the heaviness of their conversation.

  “It’s complicated, but it can all be summed into two easy learnings: one, don’t try to blow up stuff with that reaction, and two, stay away from aethermancers in combat,” the master explained. “And for now, this is more than enough. The rest you will either learn from us when the time is right, or you will learn from experience.”

  “I see.”

  Setting the social stuff aside, the master’s words explained what had happened between him and the spider in that chasm at least. The two of them had kept their direct control over their respective energy sources, and there had been no adverse reaction from the two opposing forces because of that.

  And the bit of aether from that psaelis that got into me was tiny, and a lot weaker than my aura… Nar concluded. So I should just focus on damage going forward.

  “But why does it do that?” Nar asked. “The Master of Aura only told us that they don’t mix because aether comes from the Source, and aura comes from our souls.”

  “Now that is a question… And to be honest, the Master of Aura didn’t tell you because it’s a debate to which there is no defined answer,” the master said. “Sure, we can speculate, but nothing has ever come out as the correct answer. For all purposes, the Radiants created the Source, and then used It to create everything else, including our souls. Therefore, they should match exactly… But, if we ever knew why, it’s knowledge that has long been lost to us, and all we can do is stay away from aether, and those who use it, stay away from us auramancers. Simple as that.”

  Is that simple, though? Nar wondered.

  His master patted him on the shoulder. “It’s not that bad, honestly. Annoying? Yes. Isolating? Sometimes… But for those on the path to power and mastery, such concerns are meaningless.”

  “Yes, master,” Nar said, giving him a firm nod. Now there was something he could easily agree with.

  “All the same, though, don’t go try using aura directly like that again,” his master said. “No matter how tough or resilient the enemy is, skills are nearly always the way to go, and we train you in order to unlock new skills and to master them for a reason. The only direct way you should be using aura, is by cycling it across your body and weapon, but that’s it, you understand? Next time, try to figure out a better way to use your skills instead. Or your weapon… And how did you miss those massive gills? Do I need to start quizzing you in General Anatomy during our sparring? Cause I will!”

  “Uh… Please don’t, master,” Nar said, grimacing. Their sparring was already difficult and demanding enough, given everything Nar needed to pay attention and learn, and adding the infinity of questions on General Anatomy of beasts and monsters to it would only drive it into the realms of impossibility.

  “Then see that I don’t have too. Any more questions?”

  “One more,” Nar said. “I gained five points into my unknown attribute…”

  “You did?” his master asked.

  Nar stared at him.

  “What? I’ve got a hundred of you to look after!” his master grumbled. “Sometimes I skim through those gains, and I was too excited about your new [Aura Infused Strikes]… Ah, I see it. And yes, apologies. I did miss it… Wow, 5 points uh…”

  His master looked him over. “What in the Ever Encroaching Abyss did you do to earn those?”

  Nar could only shrug.

  “I’ll need to look over those reports again,” the Master of Blades said. “And I'll check with the Master of Aura as well, but this is most peculiar…”

  “Is it bad?”

  “No attribute is bad,” his master said. “This one’s just… Well, I still can’t tell you.”

  Great, Nar thought.

  “It’s for your own good,” his master said, correctly reading his thoughts. “Anyways, I heard the COO beat you unconscious.”

  Nar stared at him in shock.

  “It's not that big a ship,” the master said, chuckling. “Things go around… Especially when the COO is spotted carrying an unconscious apprentice at 4AM, and both of them reeking of alcohol…”

  Nar sighed. “Why’s everyone immediately thinking of that?”

  “Oh, I’m just poking some fun at you,” the master said, then his smile faded. “That would never happen anyways…”

  Nar frowned at the master's sudden change of tone and expression, but the master looked up at him again.

  “How… Are you doing, by the way?” he asked Nar. “In closed quarters such as this, all practicing and training side by side with the other kids… It’s difficult not to feel the losses of your fellow apprentices.”

  Nar’s throat tightened and he looked away.

  “I don’t know…” he said. “That was… It was bad.”

  “Hmm,” his master said, nodding. “Can’t argue with that. It’s one of the messiest confluences we’ve gone into, and to tell you the truth, we were lucky it ended with so few casualties.”

  He sighed.

  “Look, I’m sure this will put a damper on everyone’s spirits,” the master said. “And yes, as the captain said, delvers lead harsh lives, always staring death in the face and giving it the finger and all that, plus, we do risk your lives in the name of the excellence we are pursuing here… And while some fights are just… Worse…”

  He squeezed Nar’s shoulder.

  “... don’t give up just yet,” the master said. “And I don’t mean giving up on getting stronger to rescue your dad. I mean the delving. This life. The Endless Labyrinth and all of it! Wait until you go into a dungeon… Or a few of them. Then you’ll see what truly keeps us going and knowing that no other life could compare to ours.”

  “... yes, master.”

  As always, the Master of Blades had hit the nail right on the head. It was indeed the thought of his dad that kept Nar going, and that would keep him going and carry him through to the end, be it success or death that awaited him at the end of his path.

  However, giving up on the dream, on the delving, and the wonder and allure that it had evoked on him while stuck in that dark cubeplant and while Climbing through those stifling corridors… Now that was a different thing, and it remained to be seen which way things would go for him.

  For now, at least, he would give his master the benefit of the doubt, and see whatever it was that waited for him in his first dungeon as a delver.