Chapter 54: Treasure

Chapter 54: Treasure

DISCLAIMER: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryugii. This has been pulled from his Spacebattle publishment. Anyway on with the show...errr read.

Treasure

Instantly, I felt the knowledge and power contained in the book rush through me. Ideas so distinct they briefly seemed like memories bloomed in my mind, giving shape to new concepts as easily as if I'd studied for years. In that moment, I understood completely what I'd taken into myselfand it was such a rush to truly know something.

I exhaled slowly as windows appeared before me.

You've obtained the skill 'Sanctum.'

Sanctum (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:1000

One of the ancient techniques forged by Man to shield themselves from the darkness that sought to return them to the void, a skill for surrounding a volume of space with a barrier, preventing both entry and exit. The power of the barrier increases with skill level and INT; stronger barriers may be created at higher levels.

Range: 1000 cubic meters.

Additional 1000 MP used per hour.

"Interesting," I murmured to myself.

"You get what we need?" Cynosarges asked. I flexed my fingers slightly, frowning slight before I shook my head.

"Not quite," I said. "I'm not sure what it'll be able to do at higher levels, but for now it's just a barrier over an area."

"You can use it, though?" My grandmother asked, looking calm and unsurprised by the failed attempt.

"Yeah," I said. "If it's just a thousand MP an hour, it's nothing. At the very least, I should be able to cover important areas of the house, it's just"

I shook my head.

"I'll practice," I promised. "See if I can't level it up some, find out what it can do. What next?"

"Open the bag," My Grandmother commanded and I obliged, finding the books I'd expected. Some were unmarked, looking like their insides had been copied down by hand, but others looked like more modern copies. Without me having to ask, my grandmother explained. "I had Hugo and Enzo retrieve these; just a few books that stood out to me. I thought you might find them useful."

"Thank you, Grandmother," I said distractedly as I fished out the topmost bookimpressively titled 'Guardians of the Ziggurat', though some librarian has attached a note somewhat less impressively scrawled with 'Instruction Guide to Haven's Emergency Defense System #3' with several directions about where to put itand clicked the button prompt that appeared.

You've obtained the skill 'Safe Haven.'

Safe Haven (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:1000

One of the ancient techniques forged by Man to shield themselves from the darkness that sought to return them to the void, a skill to establish a degree of control over a volume of space to ward away evil. Criteria may be set with the activation of the skill which then effects those within accordingly. Degree of change increases with skill level and INT; additional status effects may be created at higher levels.

Increase or decrease the status of all within range by up to 10% according to pre-established criteria.

Range: 1000 cubic meters.

Additional 1000 MP used per hour.

I scratched my head, both intrigued and confused. It was as vague as always, but I thought I understood what it meant. So I could sort of say 'No Grimm allowed' and any that entered would be weakened? Or I could to the opposite and empower the defending soldiers? From what I received from the book, that seemed to be how it had been used, helping or hindering in battle, sort of like that one sort of card-law system thing from Grimm Nights IV.

I had to wonder how broad the criteria could be. Could I target based on loyalties? Gender? Species? And what type of status effects could it inflict at higher levels? Could I make something like those boss battles where you start poisoned or under some other status effect?

The possibilities were intriguing and demanded experimentationlater. For now, as interesting as it was, it still wasn't what I was looking for.

I pulled out another book, shaking my head at my grandmother's inquisitive glance, and glanced at the title that appeared in front of me. A guide for priests? Or perhaps medics? It seemed to be somewhere in between, which confused me brieflybut thinking about it, I vaguely recalled something about warrior priests in Mistral. Well, it had been a unit in a civilization building game, so I wasn't sure how that translated toanything founded in reality, butwell, whatever, I suppose. My grandmother would have known and she had it fetched for me, so I guess it didn't matter.

You've obtained the skill 'Temple.'

Temple (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:2500

One of the ancient techniques forged by Man to shield themselves from the darkness that sought to return them to the void, a skill to cast a benediction over a volume of space, blessing all within. Strength of effect increases with skill level and INT; additional beneficial effects may be created at higher levels.

Increase HP regeneration by 50% within area.

Increase MP regeneration by 50% within area.

Increase Stamina regeneration by 50% within area.

Range: 1000 cubic meters.

Additional 2500 MP used per hour.

I whistled.

"Find something?" Pyrrha's godfather asked again, raising an eyebrow at me.

"No, no," I said and then paused in consideration. "Well, I mean. Sort of? It's not what we're looking for, but it's still pretty impressive. Justkind of expensive. Not enough to be a problem or anything, but still"

I rummaged through the bag, glancing at the windows that appeared before me with a frown and then looked up at my grandmother.

"Are there any more books about defending areas, Grandmother?" I asked.

She sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"These were the ones I remembered," She said. "The protections on Haven, Sanctum, and Fortress. If those aren't enough to do itwell, I suppose dealing with this matter easily was too much to hope for. We'll have to keep searching."

I nodded, not really that off put. I hadn't expected much, given what we were trying to deal with, but what I'd gotten out of itI couldn't complain.

"Can you show us?" Cynosarges asked suddenly, drawing my attention before I could move onto the next book.

"Ummy new skills, you mean?" I checked to make sure and he nodded.

"I've never seen such a thing in action," He admitted. "Or, at least, not done by a person. So I'm kind of curious. Aren't you, Jeannie?"

She rolled her eyes but didn't deny it.

"There, see?" Cynosarges seemed to take that as a full agreement. "Do you have enough juice for it?"

I scratched my head and then nodded with a shrug.

"Yeah; they cost a lot, but with an hourly upkeep, it's really not that bad," I said. "Especially with the boost from Temple. I don't know how noticeable it'll be, but I should be able to limit it to this room, soyeah, it should be fine. Give me a sec."

I put down the bag and held out my hands, inhaling deeply. My Aura rose to my call, rising around me in an invisible storm as it pulsed outwards from me, leaving markings and patterns on the walls as the skill's shaped a foundation and a framework. Taken separately, each of the skills would have been the most complex working of Aura I'd ever performed, draining an enormous amount of power from me as it created something from the world around us, shaping simple space into something more.

It was difficult, perhaps even more so then I expected it to besimilar to awakening Aura's somehow, as if I was fighting against something. I wasn't sure how to describe it, wasn't even sure what I was thinking, but that's how I felt. Like

"Sanctum," I intoned, putting the thought aside for a moment. "Safe Haven. Temple."

The skills came together around the framework, like buildings but with energy patterns instead of supports and altered space instead of walls. And invisible. And intangible.

So really not like buildings at all, I guess.

"Before they abolished it, a teacher at Haven once taught his students the technique on a training trip up north," Cynosarges nodded. "To the forests and stuff, you know? My understanding is that the results were pretty hilarious up until someone began to light everything on fire."

I nodded quietly, vision shifting as my Clairvoyance reacted to the new technique. My Aura sight deepened, something slightly different branching off from itseeing Aura instead of seeing the Aura around what I saw, if that made any sense. The lifeless stone around me faded away, nearly formless lights suddenly shining through from all directions. It was still bright, still disorienting, potentially even a hindrance, but was none the less a tad easier to make sense of this way. I widened my perspective and my sight returned to 'normal.'

"What next?" I asked.

"The arm one," Cynosarges insisted. "Now that's one with history."

"A history of exploding arms?" I questioned skeptically.

"Is there a better type of history?" He asked with a smirk. "But even beyond that, I mean. It's even a Roma story!"

I lifted an eyebrow at that, glancing at my grandmother, who rolled her eyes and fetched the book.

"It's the story of Wolfram, whose mother was an Atlesian princess that had fled to escape a coup," She said blandly. "Wolfram grew up, decided he had a right to the thrones of both Kingdoms, things turned out badly for everyone involved."

"Your storytelling is as piss-poor as ever, Jeannie," Cynosarges rolled his eyes. "What she didn't mention is that things got pretty interesting there for a bit. In the end, it was Atlas that created that technique, if you'll believe it; Wolfram pushed them until they all but broke and then they really fought back. Say what you will about the boys up North and their desire to avoid battle, but they can fight when you push them into a corner."

"What's it do?" I asked, looking down at the book.

"Pretty much the same as when you use normal Aura to boost your strength, only more so," Pyrrha's Godfather answered with a shrug. "You gather your Aura up, reinforce and empower your muscles, whatever. Except the guys up in Atlas had been big on studying stuff even back then, and one of them figured out a way to push beyond the normal limits for that, sort of overcharging the body. Done properly, it gave soldiers an amazing boost in strength. Of course, if anything goes wrongwell, that power has to go somewhere. There are plenty of stories about Atlesian soldiers fighting until their arms literally explode and not without reason."

"Ouch," I said, absently touching my own shoulder.

"Ouch," He agreed with a bright smile. "But under the command of their general, Prince Hrafntyr, Atlas pushed Wolfram from their very doorstep back to the sea, and the General sacrificed his own arm to capture the Prince to hold him ransom."

"How'd that work out?" I asked, having a decent grasp of Mistral's history with that type of thing.

"Better than you might expect, thanks to Queen Lucia's love for her children," He answered with a knowing smile. "She held Mistral's forces back for nearly a year, despite the urgings of her advisors. Of course, then Prince Wolfram escaped and carved a path straight to the castle of Gladsheim, taking the life of the King in vengeance for his imprisonment and destroying much of the castle in the process. Of course his son then slayed Prince Wolfram and sent his head home in rage. Queen Lucia immediately called for war and she and her remaining children led the attack, which was when things really got cool, because her daughterand later her granddaughterboth had necromantic Semblances. And given the amount of bodies they had to work withwell, you can imagine, I'm sure. So on one hand, you had Queen Lucia and Princess Hilda leading a zombie army and on the other you had Prince Sormr at the head of Mistral's armies and heactually, if you brought this one, did you?"

The question was directed at my grandmother, who sighed but nodded at him, pulling out another book. The Alexandrian head laughed, clapping his massive hands before continuing.

"Well, Prince Sormr basically spent the entire time his brother was imprisoned working on a way to counter the technique that had defeated him, and he'd created that technique and passed it onto the warriors of ancient Mistral, though it wasn't commonly used even back then."

He paused, looking at me expectantly, and I obliged him with a sigh.

"Gee," I said. "And what's this one do?"

"Well, Atlas created an overclocked version of how Hunters normally increase their strength, so the Prince decided the best solution would be to make a similarly advanced defensive technique. In the end, what the skill basically did was turn people's skin into some sort of super-hard substance, making them vastly harder to hurtimagine flexible, organic diamond where your skin would be. When used, it evened the playing field against the Atlesian forces, and often turned the tide against them."

"But?"

"But," He said with a grin. "The skin only remains flexible while you're flowing a large amount of Aura through it. After you ran out, it would quickly harden, with two possible results. If you couldn't break out, you would basically be trapped in a statue until someone found you or, more likely, one of many, many things finally led to your death. If you were strong enough to escape, you could do that instead, ripping yourself out of your own skin in the process."

Even I had to wince at that set of options.

"As you can imagine, most of the people who used the technique did so only once," He continued. "It gave Mistral an edge in the conflict, though; while Sormr's technique had a much higher chance of killing the user, it generally did so after the battle, while Atlas's forces would destroy their own arms during the fighting. Prince Sormr, however, was different; he reportedly used the technique many times in order to avenger his brother; it's believed that Sormr wasn't his birth name, in fact, but that he renamed himself 'Serpent' because of how often he shed and regrew his skin."

"What happened to him?" I asked, honestly enthralled by the story.

"Well, just as he was seeking revenge for his brother's death, the King's children sought vengeance for their father. Wolfram's son fought and eventually slew the crippled Prince Hrafntyr, but Sormr fought the King's strongest son, Prince Donar, who'd mastered his older brother's technique. The two clashed in one of the largest battles of the war and"

"And they killed one another," Grandmother said impatiently. "And people sought revenge and killed more people, on and on and on until everything was on fire. You can buy him the books, documentaries, or even movies later, Cynosarges; if we could move this along? We have a schedule to keep."

"You're like a leech, you know that?" He said to her. "A hideous creature sucking the vitality from those with the misfortune of being latched ontolike joy and fun. You are, in fact, a fun-sucker."

She didn't even dignify that with a response, looking at me instead.

"On it," I murmured.

You've obtained the skill 'Sacrifice to the Wolf.'

Sacrifice to the Wolf (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:200

An ancient technique born from a willingness to sacrifice one's life and limb for their people, vastly enhancing one's strength at great personal risk.

Increase Strength by 100%.

Great external shock may break Sacrifice to the Wolf and inflict Aura Confusion.

Additional 200 MP used per minute.

You've obtained the skill 'Adamant Serpent's Skin.'

Adamant Serpent's Skin (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:200

An ancient protective technique crafted to pursue a goal, no matter the cost. Changes the structure of one's skin using Aura, transforming it into the incredibly durable organic material 'Adamant.' Warning: The malleability of the material is dependent upon the continuous application of Aura, without which it becomes completely rigid.

Skin transforms into the organic material 'Adamant.'

If Strength is less than 200, user is Petrified upon deactivation.

If Strength is greater than 200, Petrification may be resisted; user receives 1500 damage and gains the status effect 'Flayed' until HP rises above 25%.

Additional 200 MP used per minute.

Yikes, I thought. I mean, wow. The techniques were amazing, but

"Can you use them?" My grandmother asked. "Because of the way you described your body, I thought these techniques would be fine for you, but"

I hesitated before answering and then nodded firmly.

"Iyeah, I can use them," I said, mind already racing with the possibilities. If I meditated while petrified, could I undo it by reactivating the technique? If it was like that, it wasn't a big deal, beyond the need to heal myself. But still, the best thing to do would be to simply never turn it off, if I could train it enough. Sacrifice to the Wolves would need so testing to be sure, butat the very least, whatever happened, I could remove all status effects by sleeping, so "They'rewell, they're dangerous and I'll need to use them carefully. And train them up a lot, of course, as soon as I get a chance; hopefully, that'll minimize the risk. Butthese are amazing, Grandmother. Thank you for the presents, even if they areyou know."

"You're welcome, dear," She said, sounding a little sad. "Just be careful about using them for now; keep Dust Crystals on hand at all times. I'll want to supervise for now, too, just to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Of course," I nodded, glancing down. "Just two more?"

"For now," She replied, nodding at it. "Go on, now. I think you'll like these twoand they'll go a ways towards keeping your true skills a secret, given the displays you make."

I didn't need to be told twice.

You've obtained the skill 'Dust Weaver.'

You've obtained the skill 'Dust Eater.'

"Oh," I drew the word out as the knowledge took hold, smiling like a kid. "Thank you, Grandmother; I'll be sure to put both of these to good use."

She patted me on the head.

"I'm sure you will," She said. "Now then, I'll give you a chance to play with your new toys and then let's go kill monsters, okay?"