Chapter 113: Trials of Aquila |
“Fight!” Shouted a woman from the floor above.
Xander moved first, charging. He slid along the stone floor without moving his legs, knees bent, and one round shield held in front of him. Morph had watched the man closely during the recent mission and was sure it was one of his primary shard abilities. It allowed Xander to move at high speeds in a straight line and stop at a moment’s notice without having to slow down or suffer whiplash. It wouldn’t surprise Morph if the man’s extraordinary strength was a product of it interacting with the shard responsible for his extraordinary Regeneration.
Then there was all the mystery behind his obsession with shields. El-Prime and the clones had investigated countless shards. Countless abilities focused on tools or weapons, which granted incredible bonuses when using them, but had detrimental effects if the user picked up anything else.
Steam exploded from Xander halfway between his starting point and Morph. The clone had learned that the metal torso bands and shoulder bands caused constant injuries. Xander likely focused his regeneration on the injuries to generate heat and vapor.
Understanding is the key to victory.
While waiting for the fight to begin, Morph hadn’t just increased his height and musculature, but also used excess biomass to make external and internal changes. Bone armor had grown over his trousers, concealing his clothing. As a result, Morph had no trouble creating an exact copy of himself using Shadow Illusion and Shadow Mimic. Meanwhile, he used his enhanced muscles to leap straight up into the air. Xander’s movement ability only seemed to propel him on and along surfaces, putting Morph out of reach.
It seemed the mysterious mountain warrior had predicted such a tactic. He launched two simultaneous attacks. First, the shield with sawteeth along the rim shot out of the steam cloud, spinning at blinding speeds as it flew at Morph. Meanwhile, Xander charged the illusion, swinging the sharpened edge of his second shield at the Shadow Illusion. He burst through it, and the copy dissolved into nothing.
Shadowsteel blades grew out of Morph’s primary arms while gauntlets formed around the secondary limbs. Once again, Shadow Mimic came into use, making the constructs look like bones dripping with fresh blood. El-Prime had suggested adding the secondary effect for authenticity. Morph swiped the spinning shield aside using the left gauntlet. Much to his surprise, the saw teeth bit into the Shadowsteel, tearing open a gouge. It failed to reach flesh, but the impact left a deep bruise. His bones rattled.
Morph didn’t have biomass to spare, and the mote of life-attuned magic that remained in him felt too vital to burn on something so trivial. Instead, he only repaired and reinforced the gauntlet. Constant practice with Shadow Mimic ensured that the shadows appeared as fleshy biomass as they manifested.
Storm Energy coursed through Morph’s body. His arcane supplies weren’t as extensive as those of the other clones—he wasn’t sure why. However, Biomancy’s bodily control improvements seemed also to affect mastery over all the arcane energy within his body. Morph separated the lightning and sound energy, using the first for enhanced Haste and channeling the rest into his arms.
As expected, Xander came at Lukas with a full-frontal assault, saw-shield raised to strike. The other protected his neck and torso, eyes peeking through the crescent cutout in the other round shield. Morph didn’t flee even when the saw teeth glowed and rotated around the shield’s edge at blinding speeds. Instead, he waited until Xander swung at him and dropped into a low crouch. The gauntleted arms came together, and open palms thrust forward, releasing an almost point-blank sonic blast.
It came as no surprise when Xander came to an immediate stop and brought both shields together, absorbing the bulk of the force. Steam burst from him straight after as regeneration kicked in to repair any damage he had suffered. It was what Morph had expected, and he swung both of his arm blades. They vibrated at high speeds as the remainder of the filtered sound magic flowed through them.
The first missed as a defensive blow came from the side, saw teeth ripped through muscle and bone, severing the forearm close to the elbow. Meanwhile, the second vibrating Shadowsteel blade didn’t just cleave through the second shield but also split the attached arm open from between the middle and ring finger all the way down to the elbow.
Morph leaped backward, creating distance and firing the remaining Shadowsteel blade at his opponent. Sound magic boomed outwards from it, throwing Xander off balance for the first time since the fight had begun. Meanwhile, the cut-off arm also exploded, creating a red mist. Shadow Clone and Shadow Mimic created another fake while Morph circled Xander, hoping to get behind him.
Steam filled the battlefield, obscuring his surroundings further. The delay suggested that Xander had initially intended to push on with another attack despite the injury. The haze didn’t just obscure vision. It also interfered with Morph’s enhanced olfactory senses. However, he wasn’t worried. His opponent had only one method of attack. Xander did that one thing exceptionally well, which helped him rise through the ranks, but he lacked versatility. Morph was counting on the shortcoming.
The books in Esther’s library suggested that warbeasts were chimeras grown from the cells of dozens of different animals and then further modified using alchemical brews that contained fluids from several others. The creatures often developed magical organs. However, several of them never reached maturity, ending up vestigial and never becoming potent enough to offer anything notable. Morph had only received three usable unique qualities from the warbeast’s bone fragment. It wasn’t a lot, but enough.
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First of all, there was the new armor plating that covered Morph’s lower body. It wasn’t as tough as bone bloating, but also not brittle. Creating it also demanded less biomass, and adjusting their density was much easier. He appreciated the flexibility over all else. Next came the unique muscle composition that allowed the warbeasts to carry their massive weight and maneuver with ease. It was dense and durable, but light, likely reducing the overall load on the giant bodies.
Finally, there was the only truly magical organ that Morph had learned to develop. It was a fist-sized growth that connected to the heart and lungs. He took a deep breath in, cycled air and magic through the organ, and then exhaled.
Crimson light coalesced just in front of Morph’s open mouth. It didn’t slow Xander. He continued charging, saw teeth glowing brighter and ready for more dismemberment. The energy exploded outwards, rippling as it dispersed and reacting as a wave as it washed over the shield.
“What in—” Xander came to a sudden stop. His shield fell from his arm, and his hands jumped to his ears. He staggered backward, eyes reddening and blood dripping from his nostrils. Morph didn’t let up; he accelerated however much he could in two long strides before striking with his two gauntleted arms.
“That’s enough!” A woman called from above.
Morph pulled back just in time, glad it was over. He didn’t wish to push further, as it would require him to use lethal force that Xander was unlikely to recover from. He was sure that the shieldbearer had similarly held back.
Height and width returned to normal as Morph retreated. He replaced his dismembered primary arms while he also reabsorbed the severed limbs on the ground. The excess biomass retreated into the shadows within his clothing. Morph also assimilated the dismembered limbs.
“By Freya’s saggy tits, why didn’t you use that on the mission?” Xander asked, unsurprisingly recovering at superhuman speeds.
“I copied it from one of the warbeasts’ corpses,” Morph answered, shrugging. “Biomancy requires trial and error, and a whole lot of practice. It took me forever to figure out how to isolate and grow the organ. Making it functional and a part of me was a whole other challenge.”
“Intriguing. I’m assuming you copied the arms from snowmen. What about the rest of your shard abilities?”
“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” Morph waited until Xander nodded before continuing. “Biomancy is in my body slot. The body modification is all thanks to it. My Heart ability gives me access to the sound attunement, and Soul is all about trickery and concealment.” Morph hoped the lie regarding the Soul Pillar would explain the illusions and his stealthiness. “You can’t exactly hunt cults without them, can you?”
“And your Mind Pillar?” Xander asked.
“It started off as an arcane detection ability. Now, it's instrumental to my understanding of my body, the modifications, control, and, of course, the development of the arcane organs. It's where I’m weakest.”
“The fact that you have all four pillars awakened and your Body ability is so versatile alone makes you desirable and incredible.” Xander slung the chainsaw shield over his back. He left the other one on the ground. “Well, I’m an open book. Believe it or not, my Body ability is Shieldsmith. It was originally just supposed to focus on the crafting of shields and granted passive physical benefits while wielding them. But it turned into more over the tiers.
“Heart is all about regeneration and body reinforcement. Mind grants the charging ability. It's my weakest and has a long way to go. Soul started off as Combat Master. Then, the Essence of Shield helped it harmonize with Shieldsmith. Resistances. Endurance. Stamina. Strength. It provides a lot as long as I use no weapons besides shields and my body.”
“That’s a lot more detail than I was expecting,” Morph stated. “Forgive me if I don’t go into—”
“Not at all.” Xander waved dismissively. “Protect your trade secrets with your life. Given the people you specialize in taking down, I understand you don’t want everything to be known. I happen to be a mentor to new guild members and guide them on their journeys of awakening and ascension.” He waved Morph along, heading toward the stone stairs that spiraled up to the overlooking balcony. “It helps to be an open book while in such a role.”
“I respect that. You’ve done a great job with Mira. She’s—”
“I don’t get why they stuck her with me. Public-facing quests are far from ideal for someone with her—” Xander paused, eyes focusing on the stairs as he climbed. It seemed he was looking for the appropriate word. “For someone with her condition. I get that the council wants her to get a diverse range of experience, and I’m one of the few they trust to keep her safe, but…” He sighed. “Never mind.”
“That was quite a show,” Ephram, Mira’s scribing teacher, said. Morph had spotted the man watching from the balcony but had failed to place him straight away. “It’s nice to meet you in person, finally. My apprentice has told me a lot about you.” They shook hands. “I’m Ephram. The research head of the council.”
Other senior guild members, radiating varying levels of power, nodded at Morph. None approached. They had delegated initiation duties to Ephram.
“Mira also told me about you. She credits all of her power and growth to your guidance.”
“It’s a shame what her former guardians did to her.” Ephram sighed, shaking his head. “I had to pay them a hefty sum for her freedom. Believe it or not, they considered Mira a failed project and intended to use her as a ritual sacrifice.”
“Beasts, the lot of them,” Morph stated. He didn’t expect Ephram to be a member of the Aquila. No part of his outfit displayed the guild’s rising eagle emblem. “I had the pleasure of watching her grow during the last mission. Sneak, I mean Lukas Zaun, made her more than just our fortification mage. We owe our victory over the Void Heart to her.”
“Ah, yes. Lukas Zaun.” Ephram’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. His jaw clenched for a moment, and he swallowed. “He’s given her confidence and the tools to enslave the black flame. That man is truly a credit to his guild.” Ephram held out an ornate wooden box. “Anyway. Given Xander’s report and your display below, we’d like to start you off as a provisional tier-three member of the Schwarzberg Aquila corps. That’s assuming you still want to be one of us, of course.”
“I wouldn’t be here wasting valuable magic and biomass putting on a show if I weren’t interested.” Morph put on his best smile as he accepted the box. Instead of putting the badge on straight away, he pocketed it. He wished to have El-Prime or Zwei analyze for secret enchantments first.
Ephram felt far from trustworthy. There clearly was more to the man than met the eye. Morph couldn’t help but wonder if he was part of the secret organization within or associated with the Aquila that dealt in children with arcane pasts. It was clear Ephram was furious about the help El-Prime had given Mira.
“I look forward to working with the guild,” Morph said. “Thank you. I hope to continue doing good for the city in your service.”
Ephram nodded, patting Xander’s shoulder before walking away. “We expect good things from your party. Keep it up.”
