Soul of the Warrior

"Pretty convenient that you just happened to have that Training Brew lying around," Reivyn remarked to his father as they watched his friends fumble along with their Mana weaves. "Were you prepared for when they would come by or something?"

"It's not actually 'training brew,' as such," Refix said with a slight smile. He glanced at Reivyn. "It's just 'brew.' There are times for celebration, for your mother and I - and our people - and regular alcohol doesn't really do anything to people with as much Vitality as we have. This special mixture can give us the kind of buzz we would get in a normal party setting, and it doesn't have that much of a hangover after." He paused for a moment and smirked. "Relatively."

Reivyn watched with amusement as his friends were barely able to stand on their own two feet as they tried to follow Ameliyn's instructions to craft their Spells. They were quickly deteriorating in their ability to function properly, but Reivyn could tell that even their efforts at the beginning had already had an effect on their weaving while intoxicated. The level of inebriation they were displaying lead him to believe they wouldn't have been able to do anything if they had had to start in such a state.

They laughed and made slurred remarks to each other as they tried, and usually failed, to Manipulate their Mana. They might have better luck if they sat down, so as to avoid so much swaying and stumbling about, Reivyn chuckled to himself. But they're so far gone that the thought hasn't even occurred to them.

"If they got that drunk off of regular alcohol, they'd be bedridden for a day or two from the hangover," Refix continued. "A hangover is really just dehydration, and they only consumed a tiny amount of the drink. They're not going to be dehydrated, but they'll still suffer a minor backlash from the ingredients that mimic a hangover. Another upside to this type of drink, there's no memory loss or blackouts. They'll remember everything tomorrow when they sober up."

"Heh, I can't wait to see their faces when they remember what they're doing right now," Reivyn said. He turned to his father once more. "You said you were just going to get them a little tipsy, so why are they so drunk?"

"It's an initiation prank," Refix chuckled. "The very first time anyone ever trains in this method, it's customary to get them drunk instead of tipsy. It's harmless fun. There's no chance of poisoning or any lasting negative effects, and it gives us who've already been through it some entertainment and them a story to tell later. Some of the best stories are the ones that are embarrassing for the person at the time."

"Isn't it spoiled for me now, though?" Reivyn asked with a frown. Refix just laughed.

"Don't think you're going to escape your fate just because you know of it ahead of time," he chuckled. "You might know it's coming, but it won't matter once you've taken the drink."

"Thanks, I guess?" Reivyn replied. "Now that we're talking about it, what about Poison Resistance? Can you get that Skill from drinking alcohol or this brew?"

"Your head's in the right place, but you're not considering all of the factors," Refix replied. "The System takes into account intent when it hands out Skills, and for whatever reason, even though alcohol is technically a poison, if you drink it yourself you'll at best get Alcohol Tolerance instead of Poison Resistance. That being said, there's an odd quirk that if someone spikes your drink without you knowing, it's possible to get Poison Resistance that way.

"As to the drink we used, it won't give either of those Skills. It's not technically alcohol, and it's not poison. The backlash is magical in nature because of the ingredients used.

Laughter from Teilon and Kimberly distracted Reivyn from watching his friends for a moment. He looked over and saw that his sisters had accurately created a depiction of the three roommates' training session. Kailey had woven one with her typical colored flora, and Riley had carved a drunk-looking Tom. Teilon was encouraging them to add embellishments so he could show it to the boys at a later date, and Kimberly wasn't doing anything to dissuade them, laughing along.

The two girls were apparently taking turns between Weaving and Carving. Wood shavings and other materials lay strewn about from their creations. They're getting better and better at those Skills, Reivyn mused. I know that weaving has a direct application to magic, and so does visualization in the form of patterns. I wonder if other artistic expressions have a correlation to magic. Would my Piano Skill have some form of assistance, or maybe Rhythm? I can ask mom later.

"Having fun over there Teilon?" Refix called out to him. Teilon looked up with a big grin on his face and gave a thumbs up. "Well, don't worry about missing out. I seem to recall there are some training methods for fighting while intoxicated, too. One day soon, when you're a bit older, you'll get your chance to experience it as well."

Teilon's grin instantly faded away, and the blood drained from his face. He woodenly turned back to watch the antics of the twins, but he no longer encouraged them to add any additional details. Reivyn looked at his dad who just laughed. Refix winked at Reivyn before turning his attention back to his wife guiding the three inebriated youths.

"Mom, dad, I have something on my mind," Reivyn said. His friends had slowly but surely passed out from the effects of the drink, lying in various poses throughout the living room. Kimberly had been dragged off by the twins to their room for the evening, and Teilon was splayed out on the couch. Reivyn's parents had been getting ready to call it an evening, as well, and Reivyn had approached them before they went to their room.

"Sure, son, what is it?" Refix said. He tilted his head, indicating Reivyn to follow them to their room so they wouldn't wake anyone else in the house. The master bedroom was decently sized, and aside from the bed, armoire, and dressers, there was also room for a small seating area if Ameliyn and Refix wanted to have some private time together. Ameliyn took a seat with Refix standing behind her, and Reivyn sat opposite them.

"I don't really know how to bring it up, so I'll just jump into it," Reivyn said. He took a deep breath. "I killed someone today. It was the first time I've actually killed another person."

Ameliyn and Refix shared a look, concern and understanding on their faces.

"Ok, that's definitely a significant issue," Refix said. "In our line of work, it's almost inevitable that you would one day. Knowing that truth doesn't make it any easier to take a life, though. People aren't inherently designed to kill one another. Heh, we're not really even designed to kill other creatures, either. Even the System recognizes this. That's why Euphoria and Misery exist.

"So, how do you feel about it? Walk us through it."

"Well, that's the thing," Reivyn replied. "I don't really feel anything about it at all. Right after it happened, I had a physical reaction and almost threw up, but then after that," he shrugged. "Nothing."

"Hmm, that is unusual," Refix stroked his chin. Ameliyn reached out and held Reivyn's hand. "Not the physical reaction thing. That's perfectly normal. In fact, a physical reaction in the other direction after someone is steeped in combat and killing is also not unheard of. What happened exactly?"

"I know you've heard about the incident outside of the Dungeon, obviously. After we thought everything was settled, Lance's main bodyguard tried to sneak attack me with some throwing daggers. I acted subconsciously, and I killed him while reacting to the attacks. I didn't even know I killed him until it was all over."

"So you acted in self-defense, and you killed him in the process. Do you think he deserved it? From your subjective perspective."

"Probably?" Reivyn asked more than answered. "He was trying to kill me. And it was after everything was over, completely unprompted."

"If you had been cognizant of what you were doing, would you have killed him?" Refix continued to ask.

"I don't think so," Reivyn shook his head. "I probably would have just subdued him and let the authorities deal with him."

"Reivyn," Ameliyn squeezed his hand, "we know that you're a good person. The first thing you need to keep in mind is that even if you have ambiguous feelings about it, you're not a bad person. We love you."

"Thank you," Reivyn gave a small smile. "The main thing that's been bothering me isn't the fact that I killed someone who tried to kill me from behind. It's that I haven't really felt anything about it, one way or another."

"This is a complicated thing," Refix said. "Many people react differently to taking a life for the first time. Your reaction isn't unique. The fact that this actually bothers you is part of the manifestation of your emotions on the matter. Turmoil over not feeling guilty is perfectly normal. Do you think you can pinpoint why you don't feel guilty?"

"Hmmm," Reivyn considered the question for a while. He had been thinking about it a lot, but he hadn't put it to words, yet. "I think it's two-fold: I logically understand that I was justified in defending myself and that he gave up his right to life when he chose to take mine away from me. The other factor is my Dreams."

"Can you elaborate?" Refix nodded his head in understanding as he encouraged Reivyn to explore his feelings on the matter.

"Well..." Reivyn drew the word out as he contemplated. "90% of my Dreams are about normal things. In the Dreams, I have a wife and kids, and most of the Dreams revolve around that. 10% of the Dreams, though, are something else. It's terrifying combat. It's like nothing I've experienced in real life. The combat in my Dreams is very, very different.

"There are flashes of light and explosions. You hardly ever see the enemy, and death can come at any time. In the Dreams, I'm in a military unit, and we fight other people in many different settings. I've had Dreams of fighting in massive cities, deserts, jungles, forests... you name it. We have to constantly move forward, and people get killed or injured out of the blue.

"I've witnessed my Dream persona take other people's lives, and I've seen him hold his dying friends. And it's always fighting against other people. There are never any monsters or wild beasts."

"And you've had these Dreams for as long as you can remember?" Ameliyn asked, a mixture of emotions flickering across her face. Reivyn nodded his head with a somber expression. Ameliyn leaned forward as she dragged Reivyn into a hug. "I'm so sorry! I had no idea. Those are no Dreams for a child."

Reivyn hugged his mother back, and Refix reached down and squeezed his shoulder in silent comfort.

"Let me ask you this," Refix said after the moment had passed. "Did you feel anything for the people and friends that died in the Dreams?"

"Still do," Reivyn replied. "I don't have those Dreams nearly as often anymore, almost like they've run out, and I don't have the Dream dreams as often as I used to anymore. Sometimes I'll get a repeat of a Dream I already experienced, and occasionally I'll have a new one, but that hasn't happened in a while. In the Dreams, I always experience the full emotions the person I am in the Dream goes through. I'm not going to lie, it's mostly terror."

"I think I can see why you didn't feel that much from this situation," Refix said. "To you, this isn't really the first time you've taken a life. Even though it really is, you've already been through it, and from what you describe, you've been through it multiple times. You're reacting like a veteran of many life and death situations.

"You intellectually understand that taking a life is inherently wrong, but you've already developed the numbness to it that many soldiers have. It just hasn't had a chance to manifest, because this is the first time you've actually been in the situation."

"I think this sheds some light on why you're so brave," Ameliyn said with a smile. Reivyn gave his mother a surprised look. Refix chuckled at his reaction.

"Go back to your friends in Lord Ilpir's Retinue, and I'll bet a large portion of them will tell you they pissed their pants the first time they had to fight for real," Refix snorted. "From what you've described, you never had any issues like that." Reivyn nodded his head after a moment of thinking about his time conscripted.

"So I think we've resolved the problem," Ameliyn said. "It's not that you're a psycho or anything, it's just that you've already been through it, emotionally. If you still feel like there's something up with it that we haven't covered, you can always come talk to us about it at any time."

"Thank you," Reivyn said. "I think I was just too close to the problem, and you explaining it to me like that really helped. I do have one last question, though." Ameliyn and Refix smiled and indicated for him to continue with his question. "If the System recognizes that we're not really meant to be killing one another, and it implements Euphoria to help mitigate the emotional damage from combat with monsters and Misery to punish people killing innocents, then why are there Classes that mitigate Misery?"

"Who told you that?" Refix snorted.

"One of the squad-mates the first time I experienced Euphoria after killing a goblin," Reivyn answered.

"Well, that person didn't know the facts, and he was probably spouting off nonsense based on rumors," Refix continued. "Only heretical Classes will mitigate Misery. The other situation is psychopaths who don't really feel normal emotions anyway. No amount of emotional stress will affect someone who doesn't feel emotions."

"Oh, well that makes a lot of sense," Reivyn said. "Thank you again for listening to me." Reivyn got up, Ameliyn following him. He gave each of his parents a hug. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Refix said.

"Goodnight," Ameliyn said. "And remember, our door is always open."

"Ugh, my head is killing me," Trick complained. He was slouched over a bowl of porridge at the breakfast table, barely eating anything with his head in his other hand. The plan of leaving after dinner to retrieve their horses and head home had been thrown right out the window once the training had been proposed.

Tom, Vane, and Trick were suffering only a little bit of the after-effects, but it was still enough to cause them to have no appetite first thing in the morning. They slowly, mechanically shoveled the porridge into their mouths.

"Eat up," Refix said, quickly spooning his own food into his gullet. "I know it's hard right now, but the more nutrition you get in your system, the better your Vitality can work to purge the lingering impurities causing the backlash."

"I've noticed you haven't been your usual, ribbing self," Vane poked Teilon who was eating silently next to him. "I seem to remember a bunch of laughter coming from you last night at our expense."

"Dad just reminded him that he was going get a taste of the 'medicine' one day, as well," Reivyn replied. The three suffering friends shared a look at each other.

"You'll definitely have to invite us over," Tom said.

"Yeah, for moral support," Trick snickered. He immediately winced after his small laugh, though, and continued to try and get some food down.

The group of friends continued to eat in silence. There wasn't the usual banter found amongst the group. Kimberly was eating with Ameilyn and the twins, and Teilon was trying to be on his best behavior to mitigate any future teasing.

Reivyn sat and waited for his friends to finish their breakfast, and Refix got up to leave to "go to work."

"Dad, since you're not really employed by Mr. Einrin, what do you do every day?" Reivyn called out to his father as he was hugging his wife and daughters.

"Well, Einrin does run a legitimate business," Refix replied. "It's just that we're the employers and not the employees. I oversee some administrative tasks in the morning - always trust but verify, as the saying goes - and then I train with the Party. We have a broad focus of training, but it's mostly to shore up our Skills for pressing deeper into the Dungeon. We still haven't fully cleared it after all these years."

All of the other boys at the table snapped their heads up at the statement and stared at Refix.

"There's a Dungeon around here that you can't clear?" Teilon asked.

"Not exactly," Refix replied with a small smile. The other boys looked to be ready to ask more questions, but Refix held his hand up to forestall them. "One day. You're not ready."

"Well, if he says so, then we're not ready," Tom said, turning back to his almost finished meal.

"Ok, well I won't keep you any longer," Reivyn replied. Refix nodded his head in farewell and took his leave.

The group was almost done with their porridge when Kailey and Riley walked up to the table. Kimberly was standing behind them with a smile on her face. Kailey set a parchment down on the table.

"We have something for you," she said to the group.

"We thought it would help cheer you up," Riley said.

Tom picked the parchment up and stared at it for a second before passing it to Vane. He smiled at the twins.

"Thank you," he said. "I like it very much."

"This..." Vane passed it to Trick, at a loss for words.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Trick exclaimed loudly. He was momentarily surprised when he didn't automatically wince again from his own outburst.

"Let us see," Teilon said. "Turn it around."

Trick turned it around, and Reivyn finally got a good look at it. It was a picture done in some sort of colored pencil.

In the picture, the three friends were standing next to each other in different poses. Tom was standing to the left, a smile on his face as if he was looking at the person viewing the picture. A fireball was hovering over his hand. Vane was standing in the middle, his hands out to the side and looking up with a look of wonder on his face. There was an arch of water flowing over his head from his outstretched hands. Trick was on the right, and his eyes were closed with a look of concentration on his face. Despite the expression, he had a slight smirk. He was levitating off of the ground, his hands held out in front of himself, palms up. He was drawn in such a way that it looked like a gust of wind was whipping his hair and clothes.

Reivyn sat in stunned silence as he looked at the life-like drawing. It captured the magical essence of each of the boys perfectly. The twins had even managed to pierce the happy-go-lucky facade that Trick always put on.

"That is fantastic," Reivyn turned and praised the twin girls. They beamed at the compliment.

Reivyn turned back to the drawing, and something tickled his awareness.

"Do you mind?" Reivyn asked, reaching out for the parchment. Trick handed it over, and Reivyn inspected it with a critical eye. On a hunch, he infused a trickle of his Mana into the parchment. After looking at the result for a second, he burst out into laughter.

"What is it? What is it?" Teilon excitedly asked, leaning over to get a look as well. He looked up at the three boys and started laughing as well. Tom rolled his eyes and held his hand out.

"Well?" He asked. Reivyn handed it over to him, still laughing. The three boys leaned over to all view the picture before looking up at Kailey and Riley. The two girls stuck their tongues out and took off, laughing.

After Reivyn infused his Mana into the drawing, the picture morphed into something completely different. The three boys were no longer displaying their magical talents. Instead, Vane was bent over, a rainbow-colored liquid pouring out of his mouth as Tom was depicted swaying next to him, a glassy look in his eyes. Trick was leaning against Vane, and he was hiccuping bubbles.

The three boys couldn't help themselves, and they began to laugh as well. The Mana slowly drained out of the parchment, and it reverted back to normal.

"This is definitely a treasure," Tom said, wiping his eyes. "The only problem is that there's just one of them."

"We can keep it in the common area of our dorm room for now," Vane said. "We'll have to see about a repeat performance from the twins so we can each have one to take home."

"I'll even pay for such a masterpiece," Trick announced.

"Hear that girls?" Kimberly called to the still giggling girls. They lifted their heads up at being addressed. "You have your first paying customers. That means you have to do as good as, or better, a job as this one."

"Ok, Big Sis!" Kailey said.

"Money!" Riley shouted, pumping her fist into the air. Ameliyn rolled her eyes from where she was witnessing the antics from the side.

"I would say don't encourage them, but that actually sounds like a good idea," Reivyn chuckled. "How did you even think to use rainbow liquid like that?"

Kailey and Riley pointed their hands in unison at Teilon. Teilon held his hands up in front of himself.

"Hey, I didn't know they were going to use my suggestion like that!" He defended himself. All of the boys at the table just laughed.

"Alright, let's get going. I'll go with you guys to the Branch Stables, but then I'm going to head to the Academy. I think it's about time I checked out the School Credit Exchange.

Reivyn sat at a desk in one of the rooms near the Quartermaster office in the Administrative Building on campus. There was a small orb embedded in the top of the desk, and Reivyn was infusing his mana into it. The orb-infused mana produced a System page to pop up, and there was a list of resources and their cost that he could scroll through at his leisure.

There's the total School Credits Acquired, which is what one's grades are based on, Reivyn thought as he scrolled through the list, and then there are the School Credits Available, which can be used to exchange for resources. The only things I remember being mentioned were Experience Crystals and natural treasures that could help one focus on their weaves.

The pop-up list had the names of the resource as well as a short description of what they did.

I have the Lattice Skill that helps me with weaves, and I bet it can help with other mana constructs as well if I get it high enough, so I'm not interested in that resource. As for Experience Crystals, I definitely don't need any of those. The only thing it could be used for at this time is bolstering my Bloodline, but mom said they would help with that.

Reivyn scrolled through the list and found a couple of promising things. There were several different potions that could replenish Mana, Stamina, or Health, and they were fairly cheap. He also saw a couple of natural treasuries that could grant an epiphany to certain Skills, but they were extremely specific and couldn't be used for just any Skill. The description mentioned they were useful for helping to break through the Level 25, 50, and 75 thresholds. I bet there are treasures that help break through transcendence, but no way I'll find something like that in a Tier 1 kingdom. Even the ones available here mention that there are significant diminishing returns for Levels 50 and 75.

Reivyn continued to scroll, unable to make up his mind on what exactly he wanted to purchase.

His hand stopped scrolling as something caught his eye, finally.

Spark of Light Increases the speed of Leveling up Light Affinity Skills/Spells. Lasts for 10 minutes. School Credits: 10

In Stock: 317

Now that is interesting, Reivyn stroked his chin. There was a "Spark" for each of the basic Affinities, and there were several for Tier 2 Affinities, as well. The Spark of Light was the only one he saw for a Tier 3 Affinity, but there were a lot of them.

There are probably not a whole lot of students with the Light Affinity specialization, he realized. It only costs 10 School Credits, and I have about 700ish available. There's no quota of resources distributed to the students, but we do get School Credits based on our Rank each month. On top of that, the Academy isn't too stingy with their rewards for running the Dungeons, and there was a bonus for completing all of the main-line Dungeons in the Region.

If I spend all of my School Credits on this treasure, then I can grind my Lattice Skill much more quickly and efficiently. Then that Skill, in turn, can help me derive weaves and other Mana structures at an increased pace. The most important thing to note: there's no mention of diminishing returns.

If I can grind the Skill up to make it a General Class Skill, then not only would its utility be significantly enhanced, but I'll be able to keep it forever. I might even be able to turn it into a General Skill.

Reivyn's eyes lit up, and his enthusiasm for the treasure grew at an exponential rate as he further considered the possibilities.

Let's not be too hasty, though, Reivyn calmed himself down. Just because it doesn't mention diminishing returns, doesn't mean there aren't any. There might be other hidden pitfalls that I don't know about. I doubt there are very many other students who purchase any of these treasures in bulk. I'll buy 10 for now, and see how it goes. If everything works out as I hope, then I can buy more.

Reivyn selected the resource, and another pop-up notification asked for quantity and confirmation. He selected to purchase 10, and the System page told him to simply wait in place.

After several minutes of staring off into space imagining what his increased Skill Level could bring him, a third-year student assistant entered the small room with a knock at the door.

"Is this student Novice Reivyn?" The girl asked with a sweet smile. Reivyn nodded with a smile in return, and the girl handed him a small pouch. "Here's your order. 10 Sparks of Light, correct?" Reivyn nodded once more. "Good, once you've left the room with the purchase, it is non-refundable. If you change your mind, you can contact an assistant through the interface."

"Thank you," Reivyn said. "I believe I'll go ahead and take it."

"You're welcome, Novice," the girl inclined her head. "Have a nice day."

"You, too," Reivyn called out to her as she turned and left the small room.

Reivyn turned back to the interface and decided to scroll further to see what else was available. Nothing really caught his fancy, though he was intrigued by the fact that he noticed some other students had put up private tutoring lessons for School Credit exchange.

Hmm, that's interesting, Reivyn thought. I could have probably raked in a ton of School Credits this way if I required everyone to make an exchange in order to attend the study group. I'm not upset about it, though. I like the way it turned out.

He finished perusing the list, hefted his pouch of Sparks, and left the room with confidence.