Authors Note: For people who are reading this as a new chapter I changed Yale Brekk’s name to Devon Brekk because Yale and Zale were too similar. I honestly didn’t realize it at first because I was going to use the name Yale as a joke later in the story but the confusion isn’t worth the plant/payoff so I changed it. I will go back through past chapters over the next couple days and change his name in those as well so people reading from scratch don’t have to experience this.
Chapter 15
Zale woke up in his bedroom in pain. His whole body ached, his head especially. It was as if a woodpecker had decided to make a meal of his brain. He noticed a full pitcher of water and a glass next to his bed. His mouth was as dry as the fields during a drought. He guzzled down an entire glass and poured himself another. Only after he finished the second glass of water did he slowly inspect the rest of his body. He had burns almost everywhere. His feet were the worst, parts were even black and blistering. There was a medical salve that had been smeared all over them that was helping them heal and dulling the pain, but Zale still felt discomfort as he stood up and stretched his body.
The eel’s electricity had done its damage. He was stiff. He wondered how long he was unconscious for. If it had just been one night his burns wouldn’t be showing signs of healing. He imagined that he had been in far worse condition directly after he passed out. The last thing he remembered was controlling the electricity in his body in a very rudimentary way. Facing the eel, he had actually been able to direct and corral the currents as they entered his body keeping lethal amounts of electricity from his heart and brain. He had even heard a quick alert from his spirit gem before he passed out.
Remembering that his spirit gem had notified him of a level up moments before he passed out, his left hand darted for the gem located on the back of his right hand. The crystal surface was as smooth as ever and despite being only the size of a coin it reeked of power. His fingers traced the perimeter of the gem and he sought out that familiar mental connection with the spirit gem. His abilities were displayed directly into his mind’s eye.
Passive - Impulse Control:
Level Two
Able to sense and manipulate electrical currents within one’s body at will.
Current sensitivity to electrical currents: Average
Current ability to manipulate electrical currents: Crude
[Rank C]
Passive – Lightning Rod:
Level One
You attract lightning.
[Rank F]
He had leveled Impulse Control up. Before, there was no indicator at all about his ability to manipulate electrical currents, only an indication of his sensitivity. Not only had his sensitivity increased from low to average, but he had also gained a crude understanding of how to control and manipulate the electricity in his body. This was a major breakthrough for him. He wished the spirit gem used better language than “crude” to describe his aptitude, but he was still happy. To him, making an advancement in his actual elemental abilities was monumental. It had been almost two months since his awakening ceremony, and while he was only watching his peers advance over the last month or so because of his haphazard traveling, it was still extremely frustrating sticking to only physical training. Now however, it seemed like it was all worth it. He had made his first true step in becoming an Elemental Master.
As he continued to feel good about himself he ate some food that was left out for him. He would still need to go to the dining hall for more though. His stomach was rumbling almost as much as it was when he had first entered Delvers Ridge. As he ate he looked inward and tried to sense the electrical currents in his body. He had tried this hundreds of times since his awakening but he could never feel anything. This time was different. He could feel a very weak electrical web in his head. At first he couldn’t figure out what it was because it was like a soft glow in an otherwise dark cave. However, after scrutinizing it for almost an entire hour he realized he was looking at his own brain. It was like a very small thunderstorm was inside his head. He tried to touch it with his will the same way he had done with the eel’s electricity but he couldn’t, it was too weak. The eel’s electricity was bright and savage, making the small faint thunderstorm that made up his brain seem almost nonexistent. He had a feeling he wasn’t seeing everything yet, that he had just unlocked a single piece to a very intricate puzzle.
The door opened and a monk carrying more medical salve came in. He looked surprised to see that Zale was up, but a smile spread on his face as he put the salve down on the table.
“It’s good that you’re up. General Malchi and the Senior Abbot wanted me to wake you sooner but I told them it was lucky that you were even alive. Rest and recuperation was the best possible remedy for you. You had drained your physical and mental energies during that training session. As the Delvers Ridge Spirit Hall’s senior medical practitioner, I recommend not to repeat whatever it was that you did. General Malchi and the Senior Abbot refused to tell me the specifics, only that it was specialized training.”
Zale didn’t really know how to respond. The monk seemed generally concerned for his well-being and even annoyed that Malchi had even exposed him to something dangerous. The fact the monk was openly voicing his thoughts contradicting Malchi and the Senior Abbot showed that he was not just an average monk. He must have at least some standing to talk like that.
“How long was I asleep?” Zale asked.
The monk laughed. “Three days. I told them it would be at least five. Just because you have a strong body doesn’t mean you should test your limits with whatever it was they made you go through. Seriously, think about the consequences of what you do. We are only ever given one life. Make sure yours doesn’t end too early,” the monk lectured.
Zale had to hold in laughter of his own. If only the monk knew how ironic the whole thing was. Make sure his life didn’t end too early? The whole reason he put himself through the electrocution was to better prepare himself for the real threat to his life, Lightning Rod. Why else would he put himself through that pain? In fact, seeing the results he wouldn’t be against doing it again.
“Thank you for your help…”
“Wade,” the monk said.
“Senior Wade, I must thank you for treating my wounds and nursing me back to health over these last three days.”
Wade nodded his head in acknowledgment. “It is a doctor’s duty. Use that salve every day after you wash yourself. Go quick, I imagine your master will want to see you immediately when he finds out you have woken up,” Wade said as he hurried Zale along to the hot spring.
When Zale lowered himself into the hot spring it felt relaxing and torturous at the same time. On one end, he could physically feel his muscles relaxing and healing, as well as his inner energy circulate through his meridians faster. On the other side his burns well, burned. The hot water agitated the blisters and burnt skin to the point where they felt on fire. If it wasn’t for telling himself over and over again that despite the pain the water was actually good for his wounds he might have not been able to stand it. After quickly washing himself he was ready to leave so he could report to his master about his progress. He could soak another time. As he got up though, Devon came barging into the hot spring throwing the soap and brush on the ground in a fury.
As Devon jumped into the water Zale almost left right then. Although Devon had tried to befriend him, Zale just found that large doses of Devon could be hard to handle. He also didn’t want rumors to spread that he joined Devon in his peeping activities. Zale had a reputation to uphold. He wanted to go places. He didn’t need dirty rumors spreading before he even started. As Devon’s head surfaced from the water Zale couldn’t help himself.
“Is something wrong?”
Devon looked like he was going to explode. “It’s not anyone’s fault. I’m just angry I didn’t pass any of the guild tests.”
“Guild tests?”
Devon looked at Zale like he was an idiot. “Where have you been? They have been going on for the last two days. Today is the last day of testing.”
A light bulb went off in Zale’s head. That was why Malchi and the Senior Abbot had wanted Wade to wake him. The guild representatives were doing tests, and they had wanted him to participate. He had to get up to see his Master as soon as possible. As he dried himself off Devon noticed all the burns and blisters on Zale’s body.
“What the hell happened to you? I thought my master beat me good but you look like you were roasted alive.”
“I kind of was,” Zale responded as he ran out of the hot spring and back to his room.
The medical salve made his wounds feel much better, numbing the pain while speeding the recovery. He didn’t want to miss out on the guild testing. Besides Elemental Masters which were the undisputed peaks of the world, there were four other titles that stood out as being prestigious beyond anything else. These titles were associated with the highest leveled specialized craftsmen and tradesmen. The Artificers guild was the first and most well-known guild. They were people talented in working elemental energies into weapons and objects to create Spirit Artifacts. A Master Artificer would be sought after by the emperor himself to make a Spirit Artifact. They were respected by all and given more than enough compensation for their work to live happily.
The second guild was more of a collective than a guild, but was still lobbed together with the others because it was just as powerful and just as organized. Array Masters. Array masters used massive formations to draw upon the energy of the world itself to unleash devastation, or restoration on a scale only multiple Elemental Masters could achieve. Array Masters were heavily sought after by large organizations to put up defensive formations around their base of operations. The only weakness of an Array Master was that they were limited to their materials. A massive formation required massive time and costly rare resources to create. So while they could unleash the might of multiple Elemental Masters offensively, what enemy would give their adversary months of time to allow an Array Master to set up a formation. That was why defensive formations were much more common than offensive ones.
The third guild was the most mysterious one. The Tower of Sages. This guild trained all of their members in one location, the Tower. All sages cultivated mental energy to the point where they could move things with just their mind. Legendary sages from the ancient era were said to be able to lift mountains and change the course of rivers. All sages were branded by a senior sage during training to secrecy so their training method never left the tower. Sages were well known for sticking to themselves and staying out of worldly affairs so the general public knew very little about their beliefs and practices.
The last guild was far less powerful and prestigious as the other three but was still included as one of the four major guilds because of its long history and relationships with the other guilds. Glyph Masters. A Glyph Master used miniature formations and infused them with their own energy instead of the worlds. The key difference between an Array Master and a Glyph Master lay in the scale and energy sources required. From an outsider’s perspective a Glyph Master may seem like just a branch off of the more famous Array Master, however they couldn’t be more wrong. Fundamentally they were the complete opposite. Array Masters drew power from the earth and sky while relying on precious resources to hold create and maintain their formation. Glyph Masters could use anything to create a miniature formation or as they called them a glyph, and power them with their own spirit energy. Theoretically, there was nothing stopping a Glyph Master from creating a large scale glyph, but because they rely on their own energy a glyph that size could never be powered. On top of all of that, a Glyph Master would be hired by Artificers to brand glyphs into spirit artifacts to grant them their abilities. Glyph Masters were very adept at creating glyphs on the fly for all types of purposes, but because of their small power levels there only source of reliable income came in assisting in the creation of Spirit Artifacts. The only problem was that because the Artificer did the majority of the work, a Glyph Master would not get nearly the same amount in compensation.
Zale knew you could only be tested for a guild once. They were very strict, and only accepted disciples shortly after the awakening ceremony. If he could be accepted into a guild it would be very beneficial in doing well in the school tournament. All the guilds could help give him resources and knowledge that could assist him. The Artificers guild would possibly even gift him with a Spirit Artifact. It was an opportunity he couldn’t miss out on. He couldn’t believe he almost slept through it recovering from his electrocution. His whole body got the shivers as he thought about the eel again. He didn’t want to go back to that room but he knew he would have to sooner rather than later. It was still the most effective way to increase the level of Impulse Control, and it was nothing compared to what real lightning would be like. No matter what, he had to stay on track. He wouldn’t get angry like Devon had. Elemental Masters were still the peak. While getting into a guild would be nice for him, they weren’t the endgame. He had been given dual passives, and while he hadn’t decided if they were a blessing or a curse yet, he was dead set on finding out.