Chapter 137: Style Consultant

Bernard and Caspian took their time walking through UnderCity. The search for where he’d left his family's crypt was far more arduous than Bernard thought it would be, but had a high level of hope that a path to his sister’s library could be found there.

“What’s so special about this sparking library that even an ancient is interested in it?”

Bernard stopped his climb up the side of the destroyed building and looked back at Caspian. He didn’t know how exactly to answer the question, because even when he’d been in the library previously, the space’s depth was still beyond him.

“My sister tried to make a library that could support time travelers, and did it so well that the system itself improved the library in the end. It was given a rare Legacy, and if we can manage to find it, it should be as perfect as the day it was finished,” said Bernard. He continued his ascent, annoyed by the physical training he was being forced to endure.

“Any reason we aren’t allowed to use mana during this hunt? Seems ridiculous,” asked Caspian, moving on after receiving an answer to his previous question.

“Ancients training, they pass this secret from generation to generation... something about a refined body leading to a refined mind, which will bring enlightenment and blessings for a refined soul.”

“I wish I could refute that," said Caspian. The heir to the Coin empire had never been one for physical training, but after receiving the blood of a dragon within his bones, Caspian now felt more and more invigorated by the simplest of exercise.

“How long do you think this is going to take us?”

“A few days easy, maybe more, who knows.”

“You think we are going to be able to fight off the demons that are said to be down here, even without mana?” Caspian snickered before he responded, finally cresting the ruined building they climbed.

“A better question would be how have we been down here for so long, and haven’t already seen demons since we’ve been here,” Bernard said playfully. Caspian came up beside Bernard and looked around, only then coming to the realization that there wasn’t a demon in sight.

“Okay… explain Mr. Cryptic?”

“Two reasons, one is that the demons that were spread throughout UnderCity were all under my control, and any left down here won’t come near me in fear of being consumed,” muttered Bernard more frustrated by his confession than he was willing to let on.

“What do you mean "were" under your control as if they are no longer under your control?”

“I mean exactly that, the demons I do control are no longer the senseless beasts that hunt for me while I sleep, after one of my grand demons died the power was spread through the rest of my plague horde, so rather than come close and be killed by being absorbed by me, they keep their distance and keep my power growing through feasting.”

Caspian nodded, but then frowned. Bernard’s glance in his direction telling him that Caspian was about to ask a question he didn’t have the answer to. A question that bothered Bernard every day since he’d been awake.

“What about the demons you don’t control?”

…

Arson wasn’t in the best mood and needed something to get his mind off the problems he faced at the dump the previous day. How two young women were able to cause such havoc through his home, and escape unharmed made absolutely no sense to Arson.

He’d spoken to his mother, and she’d relayed that the technology used was foreign to the realm of Maelstrom, and that she would never have thought to need protection from such advanced tools.

The upgrades to the compound Arson was building had already begun that morning before Arson left for school. Xani was already waiting on him, but as he walked to their meeting place at the bottom of the climbing challenge, Rob called him through his Overlay and Arson stopped, taking a moment to give the young man his full attention.

“Hey boss, Unc wants more of my time, and is wondering if he can be billed?”

“No,” said Arson immediately, feeling his high levels of frustration growing over an absolute non issue, he took a deep breath.

“I don’t mind him needing your help, but he’s going to have to pay up front for your time. I know you have said you don’t mind, you're a new Cultivator and it's exciting I get it, but in all honesty, I made the Builders to help us all grow further into our passions for everything we are already involved in, so unless you are getting something out of this beyond a fleet of flying foxes, I don’t see why you should have to wait for compensation when you could be winning cooking awards and learning alchemy to improve all facets of your cooking skills.” Rob seemed ready to refute Arson in the beginning, but the more he talked the more Rob nodded in agreement.

“You sure? This is uncle Winter and I don’t mind giving him a break, and I will also say that I have been practicing an incredible amount of alchemy while down here, your mom gave me some pretty challenging recipes, and some are even making the process down here a lot easier to deal with?”

“How easy?”

Rob shifted his Overlay’s camera to show his perspective rather than his own face. The small box in the corner of Arson’s vision now displaying a pack of fox owls fending off demons.

Arson’s eyes widened at the creatures dive-bombing their contaminated brethren with potion bottles in their mouthes. A solution made from Rob's awakened blood splashing across the plague of monsters beneath them.

“Well, that is not what I expected to learn you were doing, probably going to raise the price for your contracted time to be honest,” said Arson with a laugh.

“Trust me, little bro, he can’t afford it. It’d be a waste of our time, if you want I can do it off the clock?”

‘Don’t insult me like that, no one in my circle will ever work for free…” Rob’s camera shifted back to show his face, revealing his smile, the young man shaking his head.

“Heard. Just let me know I’m fine either way.”

The pair finished, and Arson continued toward Xani, finding the young woman having an outright argument with Dashawn. The pair having a yelling match as if they were the only people around, receiving strange gazes by all who roamed past. Most likely as confused by the contents of the argument as Arson was as he approached.

“Please!”

“No, you bum, go away,” roared Xani.

“Look, I just need a little bit of help. I see the work you guys are doing, trust me, I promise you, I will make the best test dummy you could ever have!”

“No, means No. How many of those do you need to hear before you understand we have more than enough people already testing the improvements being made,” responded Xani, her red-faced frustration making Arson chuckle slightly.

Maybe you will know how it feels to be pestered by people with expectations…

Arson stayed out of sight of the pair, letting Xani handle this to the best of her ability. She was more than a capable leader already, in regards to those who were likeminded at least. So Arson wanted to see how she would handle the problems of an individual who wouldn’t take no for an answer in the same way that Xani herself often didn’t.

“I hear what you are saying, pretty lady, but I have to make it to the top of the mountain with your boss or he is going to leave me behind, and that is not an option at this point. My sect has commanded me to train with the best students here to overcome my limitations, and as of right now, that is your boss…” Dashawn’s admission must have struck an emotional cord inside Xani. The young woman’s facial features softened and she glanced away as if suddenly taken by deep thought, nodding slowly.

“I’m not making any promises here, but I’ll see if I can get you into the first test group, if not, the second or third will have to do, these spots were sold out the same morning we posted the preview for the renovations, and there is a list longer than the number of students actually attending this school trying to get in—“ Xani raised a single finger toward the young man before he could even try and argue any further, Dashawn closing his mouth as Xani continued.

“There are always many options to solve a problem, I recommend trying to challenge another student to a duel or whatever you battle-crazed idiots do to solve disputes in this place to gain a spot…” The young woman finished and Dashawn’s eyes went wide.

“Holy sparks, I never thought of that, thanks. Do you think your boss will mind if I follow him up?” Xani shrugged.

“He may, but he may not, do you have anything he needs or wants, otherwise I wouldn’t waste his time. Now shoo, shoo, I said shoo…. Be gone with you, shoo,” Each time Dashawn tried to continue talking, Xani fluffed the air in front of herself. Literal gusts of wind accompanying every shooing motion made by the young woman.

Arson waited for the young man to finally sigh and jog off, before he separated from a large group of students meandering about, and strolled over to Xani, approaching his friend from behind and starting their conversation as if she knew he was there the entire time.

“Anything I should be worried about there?”

“No,” responded Xani, not turning around, but instead heading toward their rented meeting room with Arson following as they continued to speak.

“You sure?”

“No, but he’s honestly like any other Cultivator I’ve met with a lot of potential, he’s going to push himself until he breaks trying to keep up with the rest of the monsters of his skill level.”

“Oh, I don’t know if I should take that personally or not,” Arson said with a chuckle.

“That’s entirely up to you, but if I’m being honest you have been a monster since infancy so I don’t know if you count…”

“Thanks... I guess?” Arson’s brow furrowed, but he pushed Dashawn to the back of his mind, until he remembered their first encounter.

“Actually, if he doesn’t manage to get a spot in the first test group, offer him one at the cost of a training session.”

“You want him to get trained by you, and you will give him a spot if he, what, manages to survive fighting you again?”

“Oh wow, I think you know me better than that Xani. His style of fighting has a component I think I need,” explained Arson. Xani nodding as they entered the room.

“Will do, as for now, I need you to confirm all the changes before we submit them to the school’s administration,” Xani said, pulling up the version of the climbing challenge they wanted to create on the large station table held within the conference room they’d rented.

“That defeats the purpose of me challenging it, don’t you think? It's probably for the best that I don’t see all the upgrades you added alongside my own,” said Arson. Xani rolled her eyes and crossed her arms at him.

“So what was the point of us coming here? You finally learning how to take things easy and just want to waste some time?”

“Ha ha, you're funny, I need you to sign the electronic paperwork that confirms you to be my managerial stand-in for this Keeper position.” Xani took a deep breath after she’d closed her eyes, exhaling with a long slow sigh.

“You're lucky, if it wasn’t for that brother of yours I’d never have done this, maybe something similar eventually, but getting called entitled by a little kid rubs me the wrong way. I’m not becoming a spoiled rich girl, am I?”

“You want me to answer that question honestly, don’t you?”

“Seriously, am I that bad?” Arson merely shrugged and nodded slowly no longer keeping eye contact.

“Whatever, dude! Get out of here, I hope that teacher beats the eyebrows off your face. Good luck…” Arson chuckled and exited.

It didn’t take him long to get to Professor Lee’s classroom. Although the scene once he arrived was more than a little bit shocking to Arson.

The entire classroom was on a platform that took up the majority of the room, standing around the professor at the center. A small circle around the instructor as she yelled insults. Arson assuming the objective for the lesson was teamwork, or maybe just exercise or practice of some sort.

Maybe they have to knock her from the circle?

“Come on, is this the result of an entire season of training? None of you have anything to offer!”

“Is she always this harsh,” Arson asked Vin, seeing the young man approach him from behind. His closed eye dominion sending him flashes of the young man’s clenched fists and readied stance.

“Yes.”

Vin stopped beside Arson and the two watched. The professor easily dodged, countered and pressed the students to their limits. After a while the platform was filled with students laid about. More people in the room unconscious than conscious.

It was then that the professor finally looked up and snapped her fingers once, pointing to Arson and Vin, gesturing toward all the students around herself.

“Get these students out of my ring and hurry it up, I’ve waited far too long for this opportunity to show you two the true power of my art,” said Professor Lee, closing her eyes and beginning a standing meditation. Steam rolling off her body with every deep breath she took.

Arson and Vin rushed to complete the task. Arson even using his Living Hand Constructs to gather more students at a time. The young men positioning the students back in their seats, creating an audience of sleeping bystanders, almost as if the entire class gathered to bear witness to the most boring spectacle of all time.

Arson put away his constructs, entering the ring in the same moment as Vin. The young man looked nervous, and Arson couldn’t help but smile with excitement.

“One day, I’m going to wipe that smile off your face,” Vin said, pointing at Arson as both young men took their stances in the ring.

“I’d like to see you try…” Vin cracked his knuckles and snorted before he sneered at Arson.

“Enough… there is no time for this! Make sure you are paying as close attention as possible at all times, as every movement is practiced and purposeful. I will not give this lesson more than once,” Professor Lee said, deciding to open her eyes. Arson listening to the woman, closed his own eyes, knowing his closed eye dominion was far more accurate a tool than his own two eyes were at any point.

Unluckily for Arson, not only did Vin take this as a sign of disrespect, but so did Professor Lee. She nodded to herself deciding that she would not only show her own protege a lesson of a lifetime, she would use the seemingly disrespectful scion, who also flanked her, to ascend beyond her own limits and fight at her true 100. Hold nothing back. Let her inner animal out, and let her strengths run free.

“Let's begin!”