28 How Far I'sve Come

Michael pulled a pistol out of the side of his jeans before unloading the clip straight at my face. Using my precognition, I raised my arms and diverted the bullets off my gauntlets. They slid past me, digging into the dirt. With an expert's precision, Michael pulled out another clip, reloaded it, and began firing again.

Over the gunfire, Kelsey shouted, "Get back. We'll fight it off."

The two other people ran to the back of the little quarry. Michael ran out of ammo. Before he could reload again, I shouted, "Fucking stop you dipshit. It's me, Daniel. You know, your friend?"

Michael's shoulders slumped as he raised an eyebrow. He mumbled a word or two before saying, "What the hell. No you're not."

"Remember that time when Kelsey put cockroaches into my toilet? Like, the fuck was that."

Michael dropped his gun before his jaw went slack. He said, "What in the flying fuck happened to you?"

"Man, I don't even know where to start. It's been crazy."

"Yeah, it's been crazy as hell for everyone since Schema came in." He turned and said, "Kelsey, can you believe this. It's actually Daniel."

Kelsey ran out of the tunnel, splotches of dirt on her. She wore a purple tank top, the same one she'd wear during the weekends when we all walked around the town. We always tried finding stuff to do, but we ended up hanging near here and playing whatever card game was popular.

Michael was wearing a set of football pads on his shoulders, and some strange visor that looked like an aiming aparatus. They both looked like they'd been through an apocalypse, though Kelsey lost at least 15 pounds. She wasn't near as fat anymore.

Putting her hands on her hips, she snapped, "What's with the super hero landing?"

I shrugged as I said, "What can I say. I'm stylish as shit."

Kelsey's arms dropped as she frowned and said, "Yeah...that's Daniel."

Michael turned towards me and said, "Where have you been?" He pointed at Kelsey and said, "Kelsey's parents died. We're hiding her grandparents from some bad company. Meanwhile you found a cool set of armor and fucking super powers."

I raised an eyebrow, "Wait...I'm wearing armor?"

"Yeah. It would look badass on pretty much anyone else."

I glanced at my hands. Sure enough, armor covered it. I said, "You're serious?

Michael spread out his arms, "Did you forget you're wearing it or something?"

I glanced at my arms, noticing armor, rivets, and spikes that I hadn't bothered to glance at. I touched my face, feeling the dense, solid armor coating it. At that point, I resolved to get myself a mirror. I couldn't tell what I looked like at all anymore. None of my current friends had even bothered to mention it. I suppose we all looked crazy though, especially compared with normal people.

I frowned as I peeled the armor back and said, "Sorry about that. I can't even feel it being on anymore. I guess it's safer that way."

Michael pursed his lips as he said, "Yeah, probably..."

Michael tilted back and forth on his feet, awkward and gangly. I stood nearly a foot taller than him now, with an ominous set of armor. Hell, he might've been afraid of me at that point. Breaking the ice, I pointed at the strange, glassy contraption on his face as I said, "What's that?"

Michael grabbed it, feeling it as he said, "Ah, this? It's something I bought from these new merchants that set themselves up in town. They trade dungeon cores for new guns or armor. I traded in a dungeon core for this piece of shit."

I raised an eyebrow as I said, "What do you mean?"

He jiggled it at the side of his face as Michael said, "I mean it just doesn't help much. It supposed to make aiming easier, but it doesn't help me aim myself. It just tries to aim for me."

Kelsey said, "That's how we got into this situation."

Michael snapped, "No. It's you that got us here."

"They cheated us. What was I supposed to do? We only had two dungeon cores. That's half of the town's money for nothing."

I raised my hands and said, "Calm down and explain."

They stared at me before Kelsey said, "You look...different."

I shrugged as I said, "So do you. You lost like 20 pounds right?"

She frowned as she said, "Yeah, we've been running a lot lately."

Michael picked up his dropped gun before saying, "Here's what happened. That merchant group, the steel legion, they traded in this garbage for the dungeon core. Before they could pocket the core, Kelsey ripped it from their hands. She and I ran away from there shop through a back alleyway. It was the dumbest possible thing she could have done."

Kelsey glanced at the ground as she said, "There's no way that thing is worth a dungeon core."

I said while raising an eyebrow, "That doesn't matter at all. You agreed to a deal then broke it. Of course they're going to be pissed. Kelsey, that was dumb as fuck."

She lowered her head before Michael said, "I know this is a little much, but can you help us out here?"

I frowned as I said, "You want me to fight against an alien race with advanced technology because Kelsey was being a brat? For real?"

Michael scratched the back of his head as he said, "When you put it like that, it does sound pretty dumb."

I tossed up my hands as I said, "Jesus guys. Alright, I'm your friend. I'll talk with some friends and see if I can't fix this."

Kelsey's eyes lit up as she said, "Really? You can fix this?"

I put my palm out towards her as I said, "I'm not risking my life for this. I'll help if it doesn't get me fucked over. Otherwise, you guys are on your own."

Kelsey said with a twinge of desperation in her voice, "Come on Daniel. Remember all those times we helped you after your dad...yenno..."

I rolled my eyes as I said, "Yeah, you didn't have to take a bullet to the chest."

Michael sighed before saying, "Yeah. I get you man. We're going to ah...I don't know. Probably get out of here. Go someplace far away."

A light grin slid onto my lips as I said, "I'll be doing the same here soon. Good luck out there."

Michael grinned as he said, "Yeah, you too. I'm sorry we had to meet like this."

I shrugged as I said, "Sorry I couldn't help out a little more."

Michael stared off into the distance as he said, "We'll figure it out. See you man."

With that settled, Kelsey, her grandparents, and Michael walked out of the quarry. As they walked out of the quarry, I shouted,

"What made you guys come here anyway?"

Michael shouted, "Kelsey just had a feeling about it."

I frowned at that. Either they were dumb as shit, or they were doing something I didn't know about. It was strange, just like the whole meeting. I couldn't help but think this was the last time I'd ever see them. That's what it sounded like when they left. I didn't know how to feel about it.

If I did rekindle old friendships, Yawm would break them to peices. Even if that somehow worked out, I had to gather a certain amount of ambient mana for Schema or else who knows what would happen. I could gather a dungeon core and have Torix send one of his minions to hand it off with a note or something. If I stuck around them, I'd only drag them into my own problems.

A part of me just wanted to throw caution to the wind, but I owed the two of them that much at least. In the end, it's better this way.

Regardless, after they left, Torix walked out of a shadow while Kessiah and Althea jumped out of a set of trees overlooking the quarry. Kessiah grinned as she said, "Did you ever check their statuses?"

I shook my head before she propped her weight onto her hip as she said, "That Kelsey girl, she put all her points into luck."

In an instant, things snapped into place. I understood what had happened as I said, "It wasn't that I was lucky finding them. It was that they were lucky finding me...Holy fuck."

Torix nodded before I busted into laughter. Kessiah said, "Yeah, I didn't think you'd noticed it earlier. If anything, I thought she was just trying to use you and Michael both."

Althea nodded as she said, "I didn't like her at all. I don't get why she acted like you were supposed to clean her mess up for her. She acts like a child, expecting other people to fix her fuckups."

Kessiah patted her back, a sharp grin on her face as she said, "I couldn't agree more. She has two feet. She should learn to stand on them."

I took a mental note about the wrath of a woman's judgement. They had a way of thinking a hell of a lot more about what people said than I ever did.

Torix interrupted my thoughts,

"I planted a tracking pack of mana on them, just enough to create a thin string between us. We don't want any unwanted bystanders as we create our fortress."

Kessiah said, "You already made a few minions for keeping check of the parameter then?"

"Of course. You set up a few cloaking devices nearby?"

"Duh. I'm not that rusty."

I slammed my palms together as I said, "Speaking of rust. I got a new skill I want to test." I cracked my knuckles as I said, "Mind sparring, Kessiah?"

She rubbed her hands together as she said, "What's the new toy called?"

"Boundless storm."

She sneered as she said, "Boundless storm?" She turned to Torix and said, "What the fuck is a boundless storm?"

I said, "It's this new mythical skill I unlocked. It's how I finished the obliterator tree."

Torix's fire eyes grew as Kessiah said, "Wait...It's a mythical skill? Are you serious?"

I opened my skill menu, showing them the skill before Kessiah ran up and hugged me, lifting me off the ground. I groaned as she said,

"I knew there was something special about you."

I grumbled, "Please stop crushing me."

Kessiah set me down as she said, "Ah, whoops. Sorry about that. I couldn't help it."

Torix nodded as he said with a smile, "You finished the obliterator tree with a mythical skill. Amazing."

I darted my glance between them both as I said, "Amazing? What's amazing about it?"

Torix rose a hand as he said, "It is truly difficult to develop a mythical skill, and they are exceptionally powerful. The method I use for summoning and controlling Moloth uses a mythical skill. The enhanced hardness and strength of Kessiah is a mythical skill."

Althea said, "I don't have one. All I have is a unique skill."

Torix nodded as he said, "Indeed, that's all you should have. Gaining a mythical skill so early...To be blunt, it's unheard of."

I raised an eyebrow as I said, "What about my armor? I didn't get this kind of reaction to that, yet it's unique as shit."

"True, but at the same time, it doesn't show that you can actually use it."

Kessiah chimed in, "Think about it like this. You were just beating things up with raw power before. That skill proves that you can use your abilities with a bit of skill."

Torix added, "In essence, the skill proves that you aren't just using a single skill at a time. You are tying them together, weaving them into something stronger than just the sum of their parts."

Kessiah shook her head as she said, "It's a damn shame. Most fighters only use one or two cores skills. It doesn't matter how many skills you have if you don't actually use them."

I cupped my chin in my hand as I said, "What can I say? I'm a total badass."

Kessiah giggled while Torix shook his head and said, "You have to ruin every good moment, don't you?"

I grinned as I said, "Only when you're around. Speaking of which, can you make me a mirror? After all what Michael and them said, I'm damn curious."

Torix snapped his fingers before water vapor condensed into a thin sheet of ice in front of me. Torix said,

"Try not to indulge your vanity for too long."

I glanced at the mirror and surprised myself with the change. If I had to describe my appearance with one word, I'd say I was hard. Hard hands that led up to hard arms that ended in a hard face and hard eyes. Ragged, dark hair, gray skin, and a face littered with several small scars, I looked like an ashen warrior. Hell, I would even say I was handsome, to someone who liked the look at least.

When I pulled my armor back onto my face, the metal warped without squealing. Long, jagged horns jutted from the top. Horns jutted from off my neck. The armor clinked around my joints to perfection, just I imagined they would. The red slit glowed an ominous crimson as I stood there as well. I couldn't blame Michael for shooting at me anymore. Hell, I might have shot myself.

Kessiah interrupted me, leaning onto my shoulder as she said, "Alright, let's see what this bad boy can do."

Kessiah and I went outside of the quarry towards the nearby forest. On the other hand, Torix set up shop inside the carved tunnel, mentioning how marble was perfect for carving. He estimated a two week deadline before we could leave. It sounded good to me.

We passed tall spires of wood with the forest floor covered in shade. Little spots of light leaked through the canopy. Pinecones and pine straw crushed underfoot as we walked into a dense cluster of trees. Kessiah said,

"It's best if we get you used to fighting in forests. Fringe worlds are often covered in them."

I nodded before cracking my neck. I rolled my shoulders before slamming my gauntlets together. The echoed a satisfying clunk as I grinned. Adrenaline built in my system as the anticipation of a good fight flooded me. I couldn't help but grin. It was exhilarating, like waiting for christmas morning.

Kessiah grinned in turn before she said, "Ready?"

I covered my face in armor as I said, "Always."

She dashed towards me, weaving between the trees. Chunks of earth flew out from behind her, roots tearing under her foot. When I charged towards her, I dodged between the trees as well. When we met in the middle, Kessiah kicked towards my feet. With a stroke of ingenuity, I jumped up and kicked off a tree beside, my other foot kicking towards her.

My foot collided into Kessiah's face. The tree I used as support splintered and shook but held. Kessiah passed by me, her weight pulling her further along. She grinned as she said,

"You're different. That's for sure."

She charged again before I shot out a stiff, left jab towards her nose. She ducked underneath it, but I had already stepped forward. I kicked off the ground, my knee whipping straight into her face as I brought my elbow down onto the back of her head. Like a guillotine, my elbow and knee smashed into the sides of her face.

She shot a vicious right hook towards my body, but I pulled my stomach back just enough so that her blow skidded across my armor. Using the impact of kneeing her, I pulled my foot back into the ground before turning on my heels and countering her missed right.

My hand landed right against her jaw, the metal ebbing a dull thwack as it clapped against bone. Thrown off balance, Kessiah stumbled backwards before glancing at me and saying,

"Like seriously, did it really matter this much?"

I clamped my hand as I said, "I don't really understand it exactly, but everything feels right."

She frowned as she said, "Well it's time to even the playing field a little bit."

She didn't dash towards me this time. She kept a slow, steady pace before reaching me. She swung with enough speed that I couldn't dodge cleanly anymore. Instead of using swinging strikes, Kessiah shot straight kicks and punches towards me.This made them much more difficult to deflect, but instead of backing away to avoid them, I would swing my own fists against hers.

My hands would slam into her incoming blows before bouncing off. I angled my strikes so that whenever they bounced off, they'd let me swing right back into another punch. This increased my hand's speed dramatically. After diverting a few of her strikes, I gained enough leeway for striking back.

All the bonuses from my skills culminated until I could swing once every ten seconds or so. As the fight stretched out, my aggression became more visceral. I'd flex my fists as they landed, making them connect harder. I'd tighten my core whenever deflecting her strikes. After a few minutes of going untouched, Kessiah said,

"Alright then, little guy. I'll kick up another gear."

Her blows grew heavier, some of them knocking me back. My feet would dig deep into the ground as I slid, piles of dirt building behind me. She shot a right hand straight towards my head, but I ducked down. Her fist cleaved through a tree, the wood fragmenting as she touched it.

It was like the wood was water to her, and she could swim through it. Ignoring any roots or branches, she tore through them as just deflecting her blows took all my strength. Even after swinging through a tree, her strikes would still hit like cannonballs against my arms and shoulders.

It was like her strength and speed were limitless. No matter how much better I moved and positioned myself, she could overwhelm me with speed. I didn't stop though. I ducked and dodged. I punched and pummeled. I kept fighting, relentless as a plague. I watched her every movement, taking in how she timed her strikes and made her movements. I adjust my own movements, taking advantage of the slight mistakes in her own style.

She swung ever so slightly to wide with her right hand. Her jab with her left was quick and stiff, but couldn't be made into another strike effectively. The way she timed her combinations maximized her momentum, but they made them much easier to dodge.

So I tucked in my own form. My strikes grew shorter and denser. My steps smaller and less committed. When I aimed to strike back, I'd plant my heels until the force of the blow landed. Then I'd go right back to moving light on my feet. This fluidity of motion combined with my timing during my deflections allowed me to maneuver around her brute strength.

It was ironic, honestly. When I boxed and fought people before, I'd be the person trying to crush someone with raw power. Now I was the little guy darting around and outplaying my opponent. Well, at least trying too.

Still, even with all these tactics and techniques, Kessiah slipped in a few blows. They would dent my armor, sinking deep into my gut. With all my pain resistance, I could ignore them for the most part. The main problem was my stamina. Fighting at such a high level for so long resulted in exhaustion. Exhaustion leads to mistakes. Mistakes lead to more pain and more exhaustion.

After an hour of this undertaking, Kessiah's oppressive fist slammed into my stomach. The armor around her strike bent and broke my ribs as I keeled over. She struck the side of my unguarded head. My body flung through the air, everything in sight spinning as I tumbled through branches. Blood seeped out of my armor as she walked towards me.

I laid there heaving for breath before she lifted a foot over my head. I pulled my legs up as her foot shot down. With a tilt of my head, her foot missed, scraping the side of my armor. As she did so, I shoved foot towards her chin with all my strength.

My heel clashed into her chin as her foot boomedon the ground beside me. My ears rang while the bones in my leg creaked at how hard my hit landed. It hit so hard, Kessiah actually stumbled backwards a few feet before spitting then wiping her mouth. She said,

"Hah, you actually did damage."

My hp bar was below 15% at this point. Just the sound of her stomp had busted my eardrums and left my head spinning. When I tried standing up, I stumbled sideways before falling back onto the ground. I couldn't think straight, let alone stand up. Kessiah walked over and sat beside me. She put a hand on my shoulder and said,

"Good fight."

I couldn't help but disagree. It wasn't a fight. It was a slaughter. With time, I wouldn't be the one being slaughtered though. At least, I hoped so.

After getting myself back together, I thanked Kessiah before moving back towards the quarry. Althea sat on top of a tree, looking out into the distance while fiddling with her biotic rifle. With a glowing tip on his finger, Torix singed marks into the marble with a constant flow of his finger. It was more like he was welding instead of writing.

I sat down onto the ground beside him. He didn't bother looking at me or asking where I'd been. Based on how disgustingly dirty I was, he'd no doubt assumed I got my ass kicked. He snapped his fingers, the dirt clearing off me before he turned to me and said,

"What question do you have now?"

I said, "I want to learn magic. Not the book kind, but actual spells."

Torix grinned as he said, "For someone with arcane blood, casting magic is more than just painful. It's excruciating. Are you sure?"

I shrugged as I said, "I can't beat Kessiah with just movement. I'm gonna need a little bit of an edge."

Torix's grin turned sinister as he said, "Hmmm...Let's see how many pounds of flesh you'll lose before you break."