The Pinnacle Warrior

Astrid underestimated how much time she had to enjoy her bath before Skandr was ready for her. In the end, she had nearly an hour of soaking in the permanently hot water before she needed to exit and dry herself off. Then, wearing new comfortable clothes courtesy of Vera, who apparently enjoyed making clothes as a hobby, she entered Skandr’s room.

When they first started staying at Michel’s inn, all of the rooms were the same, with a comfortable bed, a small table, and a few chairs. Comfortable, and about what could be expected of a pretty normal inn, but nothing personal to any individual or particularly noteworthy.

Over the weeks since the party had started coming to Neverwood and had mentioned that they would like to stay in some of the rooms frequently, Michel had given them free access to make small superficial changes as well as to request furniture from him. Apparently, on top of being a Golem Artisan by Class and an innkeeper by trade, he was a hobbyist furniture maker as well. When Skandr had requested a larger desk that occupied more space in the room than the bed, Michel had jumped at the opportunity as excited as Astrid had seen him doing anything.

Now, as Astrid walked into her Wizard friend’s room, he sat where he always was in the room—hunched over his desk with dozens of sheets of paper spread out everywhere. Of course, her entry didn’t come as a surprise to him, and he looked up and smiled as she stepped forward.

“Thank you,” he said. “I’m working on a spell equivalent of a burst Skill, and I wanted you to give your interpretation of the mana moving through your body to give you your boost. On top of that, since you were the first person to unlock a burst Skill out of the party, I just wanted a little bit of insight on what your thought process was on developing the Skill in the first place, and any other tidbits that you might have for me.”

“All right,” she said as she stepped over and sat down on his bed. Between the bed and the massive desk in the small room, there was only a small corridor of walking space that she had to walk sideways through until she could settle onto the bed. “Before we get started, how is this burst spell different from your equivalent of Lightning Reflexes?”

“Mostly in quality,” Skandr answered immediately. “The difference in what a burst Skill does and any buff is just the amount of a boost you receive.”

“So how is this spell going to be different from the spell you already have? Can’t you just give it more mana and make it better?”

“Not really,” he shook his head. “The form of the spell is too limited to give a boost of at least eighty percent to any one attribute. It needs to be heavily revised to do what I want it to.”

“But Benedict’s burst Skill only gives forty percent to all attributes,” Astrid argued back. “That’s still a burst Skill, even if the total percentage granted is 240% in total.”

“A buff granted is slightly different, even though we’re terming it a finishing Skill,” Skandr hedged. “And before you say it, I know, I’m trying to develop a spell similar to his Skill. But I’m trying to focus it on a few attributes instead of a holistic buff like he does.”

Astrid raised both hands in surrender at that. “So now I’ll answer your question. As for how the mana moves to work for Body Surge, it floods my body. Or, well, it fills my body more. As you know, our bodies are constantly filled with mana now at this level.”

“Where does the mana come from? It has to be from somewhere outside of yourself to be able to fill you more than you were already full, right?” Skandr asked, a pen in his hands as he looked at her expectantly.

Astrid pursed her lips and said, “I guess from around me. I haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to the origin of it.”

As soon as she said it, Astrid mentally activated Body Surge, though not with the need to throw herself at anything. Instead, she also flooded herself with Acumen-aligned mana to perceive what exactly was happening around her. The mana in the air, ambient and seemingly calm, rushed towards her, flooding her body and swelling inside until her Skill was fully activated. She started to say something, but realized the Skill had left a vacuum of mana around her, which the rest of the ambient mana slowly flowed towards over the next few seconds.

“Huh,” she said as she looked around herself.

“I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you haven’t paid attention until now, and it only took a brief moment of attention for you to realize it,” Skandr laughed. As Astrid turned to give him more attention, he continued, “I keep seeing an answer as to why, the higher tier somebody is, the more time they spend in the Dungeon.”

“There’s just not enough mana out here to sustain the Skills of a Steel tier, not without moving around or allowing the mana to move towards me,” she agreed. “So I’m willing to bet that, at the highest tiers, they have to consciously pull more mana into themselves to keep from depleting their own reserves.”

“That’s probably a pretty good assumption. So, tell me, what exactly does the Skill do to your body?”

The brief enlightenment Astrid had experienced was obviously inconsequential in Skandr’s eyes, as he’d already reconciled himself with that reality. Instead, he continued to press her for an answer about what exactly the mana did once it entered her body. In truth, she had very little to say about that, other than the fact that it made her stronger, faster, and tougher. Maybe it was something to do with the movement of the mana through her? She wasn’t sure, but Skandr continued to ask questions until he had gotten information that he found to be satisfactory.

After half an hour of questioning, he seemed to be satisfied with her answers, and the conversation slowly shifted away from something so technical, instead becoming a pair of friends just talking.

“Are you still sticking with a general utility Skill for your final slot?” Astrid asked, laying down on the bed and lacing her fingers behind her head.

“I want to lean into being as specialized as possible,” he shrugged. “If there is a Skill that will merge well with everything else, I want that. If not, something similar to Storm Companionship, or Mental Bastion will be most helpful for me.”

Astrid nodded, since it was a conversation they had in a dozen different ways in the past two weeks. In fact, it was the same thing that he had decided on the first day when they started to talk about different potential builds, and Astrid was the only one who had taken as long as she had to make her decision on what her final destination was going to be. She’d largely kept her struggle private, as, if she was honest with herself, she knew what her end result was going to be. She’d already been leaning into it, especially in the Dungeon proper. However, it was contrary to what she had always said that she was, so she’d taken a good long while to accept it.

“Do you have any spells that you’re excited about continuing to develop?” Astrid asked, turning away from her thoughts about herself.

“Always,” Skandr laughed. “But specifically, I’m looking at expanding the meaning of storm, in terms of my spellcasting. I realize that, while I have thought about generalization in spellcasting being a hallmark of a good Wizard, since the change from Mage to Wizard was so stark, I shouldn’t neglect or forget my origins.”

Astrid smiled listening to him, even though he had yet to even begin to answer her question. He often got like this, getting lost in his reasoning before he actually gave his answer. Just another endearing trait of his, she supposed.

“See, we’re talking about specialization in terms of our Skills,” he continued explaining, “but I can’t forget the specialization in my spells. Now, because my Skill has become Storm Wizardry instead of just Storm Magic, I thought that the next step was to gain the Wizardry Skill in Mithril and then Arch Wizardry. After all, that’s what most Wizards do.

“However, I spent so long thinking that starting as a Mage should be embarrassing. That it meant I would be weaker than people who started as Wizards. Maybe that could be considered the case if we are only talking in terms of pure breadth of experience in spellcasting. After all, my first couple of years with a Class couldn’t cast any spells, relying entirely on Skills. I never really thought about the impact that that would have on my inclinations and my understanding now. Do you think that anybody as a level 1 Wizard would get to know the ins and outs of how electricity and lightning work the way that I did as a Lightningmage?”

“Of course not.”

“Of course not!” he echoed. “I started with Mana Manipulation, Lightning Bolt, and Lightning Reflexes. The only real mana I knew how to experiment with was lightning-attributed mana, evidenced by the fact that my fourth Skill was Spellcraft: Lightning.”

He drifted off for a few seconds, and Astrid blinked, waiting as he stood there silently, before she finally asked, “So what was the point? You were saying something about specialization in storms?”

“Oh yeah,” he chuckled. “Basically, I was thinking that having a specialization was a limitation. Maybe some people would call it that, but I’m pretty much unlimited in my ability to create enchantments. My Wizardry, however, is focused on storms. I was somewhat disappointed by that when I evolved, just because I thought that meant I wouldn’t be able to do what I thought a Wizard should be capable of. They can control light and darkness, stone and sky, life and death. I was consigned, in my mind, to mediocrity at best.

“Instead, I am now realizing and better understanding the flexibility of mana, and what it means to be a storm. I haven’t told you yet, but I’m working with Muti. Under the basis of the mana storm, I’m understanding what a shadow storm can be, or just to lean into the mana storm that I’ve created before. I talked about how, in the volcano of the Trials, I might be able to make a lava storm. Instead of broadening the different spells that I cast at the cost of not diving deep into what the limitations of a particular type of affinity are, I now have an opportunity, and effectively an obligation, to explore what types of storms there are and then to see how far I can take that.”

His tirade died off as he looked at her with wide, excited eyes.

“Sounds like you have a good idea,” Astrid chuckled, glancing out the window and seeing that night had almost fallen. “I’m going to work with Liora tonight, so I’m gonna go eat some dinner before I get going. Do you wanna come with?”

Skandr seemed to think about it, glancing longingly out the door, but then looking down at a sheet of paper, the one he’d been taking notes on as she’d told him about how her Skill functioned.

“It’s probably better that I get this done sooner rather than later,” he said, sitting back down with a sigh.

“Your loss,” Astrid laughed. “Do you want me to bring something up for you before I go out?”

“No, it’s better that I be forced to come out of here before too long,” he shook his head with a wry chuckle. “I appreciate it though.”

Astrid shrugged and walked over to him, giving him a quick, encouraging hug. He looked up at her, surprised, but she wasn’t done. Summoning her experiences with Muti doing the same (even though her own intent was different), she bent down and pressed a nervous, too-quick kiss to Skandr’s head. She knew she’d come in too fast as she accidentally pressed his head all the way down to his shoulder.

“Good luck,” she said, nodding as she felt her face warm up from her cheeks all the way back to her neck. Without another word, she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

She mumbled all sorts of questions to herself, wondering why she had done that, why she’d been so aggressive with giving the kiss, and a dozen other questions. She barely tasted the food she threw into her mouth, so focused was she on getting out of the inn before Skandr might come down.

She barely looked at anybody or anything as she rushed through her preparations and then got out of the inn as fast as she could manage. Fortunately, Skandr had no reason to follow her out into the forest to her meeting with Liora, so she stopped hurrying quite so much as soon as she entered the darkness. For whatever reason, Liora preferred to meet with the members of the Wanderers away from the town. For now, the Champion only had a reason to be grateful for that, so she hurried along until she arrived where she had promised Liora to be.

As always, Liora was partially hidden from sight as Astrid approached. This time, she lay curled up beneath an outcropping of stone, carved out from the passage of water in storms gone by. Astrid knew that her teacher knew she was approaching long before Astrid noticed her, but Liora only stirred as Astrid drew near.

“As you are the only person visiting me today, you may request whatever instruction it is you wish,” the lindwurm said as she slithered out of her little den and sat comfortably.

“Today it’s entirely a discussion on build,” Astrid said as she settled onto a nearby boulder.

“Then you have made your decision?”

Liora had been very patient in waiting for Astrid to settle on any particular choice, though Astrid got the impression that, just like Astrid herself, Liora had long since known the direction Astrid would go.

“Yes,” Astrid said with a sigh. “My Skills and Class are just as much about being nearly impossible to kill as they are about being a finisher. I started off as a delver determined to be a finisher, and I’d like to think I’m a pretty good one. However, in the interest of making sure that I don’t die, I haven’t shied away from taking Skills that improve my longevity.”

Liora just nodded in response to that, waiting for Astrid to actually get to the point.

“Because of that, I think that the best option for me will either be a Skill focused on being a frontliner or an aura that might let me do the same. I don’t really need another finishing Skill when mine is doing the job wonderfully, and I definitely don’t need a second burst Skill that I’ll have to bounce between with Body Surge when I’m more than happy with the one I have.”

“So do you want a supportive aura, an offensive one, or a frontliner-centric aura?” Liora asked, crossing her hands. “I am not the person to ask about details regarding the development of an aura. However, I suspect that you are here to speak with me regarding potential auxiliary Skills that would assist you both in your longevity as well as your ability to destroy enemies quickly.”

Astrid smiled a little, nodding her head in acknowledgment of Liora’s words.

“If you know about a Skill that would help me with both, I certainly would appreciate it.”

“Of course I know about Skills that would help you with both,” Liora laughed. “There are simpler Skills, like those that would boost your attributes and have an additional, auxiliary effect, like Steady Load, Armor Mastery, Immovable Stance, and Wind Walk. You could also attempt to gain a Skill similar to many frontliners, like Protective Positioning, Brutal Riposte, Cleansing Counter, or even Defender’s Dirge, if you want a more uncommon pick. That would only be possible through working with Benedict, though. There are also the auras, and untold variations of Skills beyond that. So, what do you desire?”

“I’m thinking I start focusing on gaining one of three different types of Skill,” Astrid answered. “One a fortifying Skill, one a weapon or equipment Skill that’ll help me stand on the front lines, and the third an aura, depending on what Gabriel’s suggestions are. Then, depending on the offerings that come my way, make my decision accordingly. So, whatever training you have that you think might get me those types of Skills, I’ll take it.”

From the deepening shadows of night ahead of her, Astrid saw the draconic mouth widen in a fierce grin. “I can help you with that training.”

Despite having literally asked for it, Astrid felt a shiver run down her spine at the old woman-turned lindwurm’s excitement. That night, she got no rest, running, fighting, hiding, and protecting against a beast that she couldn’t budge any more than she could stop the sun’s rising or the movement of the moon.

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