Location: Wild region( former residential zone)
The geographical and subterranean nature of Atlas was something that always left scholars and archaeologists in awe. The fall of the old world meant humans had been unable to keep nature in check or rather maintain a false equilibrium.
It also didn't help that compared to the state of the world a couple millennium ago, there was another source which wildlife could tap into.....that was mana.
The same way the lifeblood of all magical techniques and skills flowed into and through humans, it also flowed throughout nature. As such, nature had become much more resilient, breathtaking and without a doubt, much more perilous.
Because of mana's integration into nature, random pockets of tropical growths were a common problem.
It was called wild sprout by experts. It was essentially a situation were mana spikes caused random plants to grow exponential and uncontrollably. There's even a documented case of a small town that was overrun because of it.
Two men stood atop a hill, currently overlooking the dense forest that apparently started as a small shrub before it suddenly grew uncontrollably to the point of overwhelming the residing population. Signs of the human settlement were still evident in some areas, albeit barely. The forest had integrated itself into other forests around to form one massive pocket of nature and wildlife.
Unfortunately, one of the merged grooves was a darkened patch of dead trees engulfed by mist where an intense battle was currently underway between two identical individuals and the forest inhabitants.
They're doing better than I expected", Seth spoke.
"What did you expect? they learnt from the best combat specialist on the continent", Cain bragged.
"You're still clinging to that self acclaimed title, I see"
"It won't be self acclaimed for too long. But seriously though, that kid picks up on patterns way too quickly. Even though I went easy through all our training sessions, he managed to piece the fundamentals of my combat style.
I don't know whether it's his bloodline or his own personal talent but that kid is going to become a monster in a few years".
"That's what worries me", Seth frowned.
"Shouldn't you and the rest of the house be celebrating the development of a new monstrous talent for your family?"
"It's more complicated than you think. As his teacher, I guess there are some things you should know. Rio's existence as a son from the direct bloodline of House Dacre is a close guarded secret."
"Because of the nature of his power?",
"Yes, but it goes beyond that, to the day of his birth, where my family prematurely celebrated its first set of twins since the war. By nightfall, that joy would turn sour",
"Wait a minute...fourteen years ago...isn't that..?",
"Yes, your guess is right. The cities were not the only places hit by the attacks that day. My sister-in-law mourned one of her twins that night.....at least that's what the world was made to believe",
"I find it hard to believe any human could invade your domain without the old man knowing", Cain claimed.
"His ability basically makes it impossible, yet that day it did not matter. Perhaps that's why he dotes on him so much, even more than his other grandchildren...a sense of guilt he feels due to his failure.",
"The important thing is that he survived and now has the privilege of being trained by one of the very best. I'm guessing the medium of assassination was poison, they probably misjudged the medical knowledge your house also possesses.",
"True, the House of war is not just a family of warmongers, we are also one of the frontrunners in medicine and trade. Besides, our title was given by our enemies...it just happened to suit us nicely.
But, I digress. Whoever targeted the child, did not underestimate us....it was an entirely new type of poison...one that was made to cripple sorcerers..."
"But you guys did find a cure, Rio wouldn't be alive otherwise", Cain injected.
"Well...yes... but you could have let me finish the story. Let's just say whatever entity has an interest in my nephew is very protective", Seth explained in a calm but serious tone.
"That's understandable...even I wouldn't want the only person to have an affinity to my power die at birth", Cain said calmly although his thoughts were not.
"That's why the elders of the family are concerned",
"It's also why the strongest war bishop is on babysitting duty. Whatever plans they cook up doesn't matter, he's under my care now",
"I guess that's true as well, but what are you trying to teach them here?",
"Real combat experience. There's only so much he can learn from training and the most important lessons can only be experienced.
First, his limitations, That child is, in the truest sense of the word, a prodigy." Cain turned to face Seth,
"But how many prodigies have we seen die helplessly? How many promising talents have we witnessed extinguish in this cruel world of ours despite their potential? What I want him to realise that the world will not be easy on him just because he's special. I want him to know fear".
"So that's why they currently fight a losing battle?", Seth raised a single eyebrow as he asked.
"He never bothered to ask what he'd be facing....just wanted an opportunity to test his abilities. His battle planning and strategy needs work. They're still too green, still too sheltered. This will change that.
Wraiths have only two critical weaknesses- Fire and Light, while high ranked mages or sorcerers at a certain level could also damage them, normal procedures entails capitalising on those weaknesses", Cain critiqued.
"One is a sound mage, while the other is a sorcerer of space and chaos. The odds are not in their favor. I give them two hours at best", Seth wagered.
"No, they are not. Rio could attempt to use the raw energy of chaos but he risks losing consciousness right after. I'd say about 45 minutes ", Cain replied.
"I wonder if he'll ever manage to reach the high standard of your former pupil ".
"Who knows", Cain replied as he peered through the fog encompassing the forest to observe the ongoing battle.
**********
Two individuals waged war against the denizens of the dead forest. Figures of black mist lunged at their invaders, baring bony claws and assaulting their minds with shrieks. Three of the apparitions were frozen in place, the bony fingers of one stopping a few centimeters from Rio's face.
"We're losing", he said bitterly.
"I know", Thomas spoke, quickly slashing through the frozen wraiths.
"They just keep coming. I don't remember anything about wraiths being immortal"
"They're not. I didn't even know we'd be facing anything like this", Thomas said as he sidestepped to dodge another attack, then raised his sword in one fluid motion...the creature disappeared. That was the problem though...the creature did not die, just vanished only to regroup with the rest of the apparitions swarming outside the five meter dome.
The boys realized their mistake soon after their battle had commenced. They had come into this forest, too confident in their abilities and basically came un-prepared.
"So, is this some kind of test?", Thomas asked dodging a projectile.
"That's new", Rio said looking at the rusty spear that was thrown. "If it is, we're already failing"
"True. We didn't even scout the surroundings or ask about the creatures of this place", Tomas sighed.
"Yeah, I kind of stopped listening after hearing that it's a low level dungeon. We got too cocky", Ro agreed.
"Well, we've learned a bit...now let's survive".
"We'll need a new plan as well. A battle of attrition does not favor us and those things have stopped moving in blindly. They are wary of my ability."
"Can you hit them with ghost?", Thomas asked.
"Maybe, but I'm already spending so much essence to maintain the distortion field. Adding that skill would tank my reserves".
"My reserves are burning as well and it's only been twenty-four minutes", Thomas squatting another spear away. Two of the nine metal orbs moved to intercept another one.
The rest circled the domain at deadly speeds, keeping the majority of the mist creatures at bay.
The battle raged on.
Thomas moved fluidly, slicing through any that breached the zone. His sword constantly vibrating as he moved, his skill giving him information with every swing, every step was precise and would be lethal...if not for the fact sound was ineffective against these apparitions of malice and mist.
Forty-two minutes had passed since the battle started.
Rio was losing soul essence rather quickly. It turned out that using distortion in tandem with his spatial zone and simultaneously controlling orbs drained a lot of essence. And he started losing even more when the projectile attack bypassed Thomas's defense. Four rusty spears flew past the swordsman and headed directly at his head.
"Tchh....there goes my chance to save essence", Rio complained as he focused on the incoming projectiles, which veered slightly off course...but just enough to miss him completely. However, a skeletal arm suddenly manifested behind him.
'This is getting a bit tedious', Rio thought as his figure blurred.
"These things have started learning how we fight", Thomas declared, he turned as Rio delivered a kick to the mist creative.
"That was supposed to be an ambush. They've figured out that the main thing hindering them is my domains' ability, so they tried to catch me off guard",
"But they don't fully understand it and that's why they failed", Thomas replied.
"Exactly. But that raises another problem....these things have started thinking", Rio said wearing an unsettled expression.
"So how do we go from here?", Thomas asked as he dodged another volley.
"I can control these orbs beyond five meters but my control becomes unstable. By ten more meters at most".
"You want to extend the domain?"
"No. The dead forest was about a mile wide when we looked from the hill. We covered about a quarter of that when we teleported into this spot and have been slowly moving back since this fight started", Rio explained.
"I don't have enough soul essence to keep distortion working and use blink to cover that distance but if we get close enough I can send one orb in advance and teleport us to it location just outside of this gloomy place".
"But it's still the worst case scenario. We don't have enough for a battle of attrition", Thomas cautioned.
"Not unless we reduce the range of our skills. If we reduced our techniques range by half, we could reserve some of our strength", Rio proposed.
"And bring those things dangerous close?".
"I'm open to another suggestion"
"Let's do it", Thomas agreed.
An hour and four minutes since the battle started.
'I'm losing focus', Thomas said as he fought. Their original plan crumbled just a few minutes after they started.
Letting the mist wraiths closer was a grave mistake, the several wounds the two boys bore were a testament to that. Thomas had a particularly nasty gash on his torso, perhaps it was the blood loss or the fact that he had begun to slow down.....a sense of dread slowly crept up on him.
'Is this another trick of theirs', he thought.
"It's not...I feel it too. Fear", Rio answered his thoughts perfectly in sync with Thomas.
"I'm..no.. we're afraid?', Thomas muttered. It certainly wasn't the first time, he'd felt fear. Over the past few years, he remembered fearing Reina's anger whenever he screwed up but that was a fear of punishment. That didn't come close to anything he felt at the moment.
The feeling of inevitability. The fear of making it out of this forsaken place in time. The thought of what would happen if they ran out of mana or essence. Thomas turned his gaze to observed Rio.
'He's already showing the signs of essence exhaustion', he thought noticing the pale nature of his skin. Setting his focus back to their advarseries, the flow of mana through his sword increased.
"I have an idea", He said. Can you guard your ears with essence?
"I can try. What are you trying to do?", Rio asked puzzled.
"Just trust me. When I give the signal, guard with as much soul essence your body can allow", Thomas instructed, Rio nodded in response.
"We're just under forty meters from the entrance. Whatever you want to do I suggest you get on with it.", Rio said with gritted teeth.
"Wait for it.... almost...",Thomas muttered, sheathing his sword and adjusting his posture, he moved to a quick draw sword stance.
"Now!", the signal was quick and the attack was even quicker. Thomas drew his sword in a wide horizontal arc, nothing happened....then an ear shattering shriek similar to the wraith's own enveloped everything.
Rio's distortion range faltered. Thomas turned to him, one of his ears were bleeding and he wore a dazed expression. He was affected by the last attack as well.
"At least they got the worst of it", Thomas said, satisfied by the effect of his attack on the mist creatures. He helped his counterpart up as they slowly walked away.
The creepy and oppressive aura of the dead forest was minimal at the edge. They soon vanished from their position to the orb Rio had sent earlier. They did it.
"Looks like you boys learnt a lot from this class. I expect nothing less from students of myself ", Cain said. The boys barely heard though as they passed out almost immediately.