(Arc 2 Complete!) Path of the Last Champion [Sci-Fantasy LitRPG, Party Dynamics, Earned Power]

The door sighed open at their approach, revealing a square mouth of pitch darkness.

"Prepare to be amazed!" Ves said, wiggling his eyebrows. "Lights!"

The entire ceiling turned into one giant light, and Gad's scaly brow rose as the true length of the room before her was revealed. It was more accurate to call it a training hall, as the thing was as big as the tanks hall, if not even bigger.

The greatest surprise revealed before her, however, was that massive space was filled to the brim with motionless figures of every shape and size, representing a dizzying array of beasts and monsters.

"Welcome to the most expensive training hall aboard the Scimitar," Instructor Ves said, opening his arms wide and beaming at her. "The Controllers Hall!"

"What?" Gad whispered, taking in the rows and rows of figures. "There's another Hall?"

Instructor Ves rubbed his nose with one finger. "Technically, I should've been called Master of Controllers, but, you know, there aren't exactly that many of us… Anyways, step right in! Come on! Come on!"

The door sighed closed behind them and Gad followed after the nileop, her eyes still taking in the endless procession of figures that spread before her towards the distant wall.

"Okay, here's good," the man said, stopping before the figure of a large beast, thick with realistic muscle and fur, and with long sharp claws protruding from its six paws. "Now, let's try something, ok? And don't worry! I'm not being mysterious on purpose. All will make sense, alright?"

Gad nodded, looking up at the towering beast, which was falling to their left and exposing its flank to the two of them.

"Now, you know about taunting and you know about aggro and threat generation and all that, correct?" the instructor asked her. "Just so we're on the same index, aggro is short for aggressiveness, or aggression, and in a fight, it means that whoever has the highest aggro of an enemy, will be the main focus of attacks from said enemy. This is usually the fighter in the party that the enemy considers the most threatening for a variety of reasons, usually, that reason being damage capacity and potential. If an enemy thinks party member "A" can deal significant damage to it, or outright kill it, it will focus its efforts on either eliminating that party member "A", or at least keeping itself safe from them. And this means that the rest of the party members will, in general, be somewhat safer, even if they are still targets of opportunity or happen to be in the way of attacks…"

Gad nodded with her obvious understanding, but she did not interrupt the man.

"And threat generation, usually through skills such as taunts, are a tank's way of ensuring that the heavy hitters of the party, who are a lot squishier than us, stay safe and can continue dishing out the damage without having to worry too much about getting wrecked," Instructor Ves continued. "With me so far?"

"Yes. That is exactly what I have experienced so far," Gad said. "Especially having to come to accept that I cannot stop every blow. Only the worst of it…"

"Precisely. Now, there are various ways of tanking, and one of them is the absolute defense that you probably thought tanks were, but the vast majority of tanking can be boiled down to damage control rather than prevention. A focus on what absolutely needs to be stopped or soaked, and what can be let through so that the party can function and you can focus on the worst of it," Ves said, raising a hand to feel the coarse looking fur of the best before them.

It was so realistic, Gad could've sworn she could still smell something wild and savage coming from the beast.

"For exercise number one, I want you to taunt this beast," he said, his eyes sliding back to hers. "But not with a skill."

Gad frowned at him. "Without a skill?"

"Yes… You must have felt something after your flow affinity awoke. A way to reach out from you… A way to draw the enemy in," he said, removing his hand from the beast's fur. "Anything like that?"

Gad didn't have to think hard to realize, and remember, exactly what her new instructor was hinting about. She had somehow taunted every monster and beast in that illatrian fight, but she hadn't known how…

"That! Exactly that!" he said. "Now try to remember how that felt. Try to visualize it… Imagine it! A flow of threat emanating from you and heading right at this beast."

Gad stared at him, her blank expression now betraying her dumbfoundedness rather than her usual stoicness, and Ves burst out laughing.

"Don't worry. It's your affinity! It'll come!" he said. "And don't think too much, either. Don't worry about aura, or attributes or skills, or anything like that."

He maneuvered around the beast, and positioned himself in front of it.

"Just think of me as one of your party members who is about to be mauled to death. And only you can stop it by taking over the…"

Something reached from within her. From her core? Her pathways? She wasn't sure, but it exuded from her, flowing from within her, and blanketed the motionless beast. Demanding. Controlling… And the beast whirled on the spot, its claws roaring towards her!

Her shield was in her hand out of reflex, and she hid behind it, ready to take the blow. But all that came for her was an excited clapping that made her peer behind the shield. The beast was still in its exact same position, except it now faced her instead of Instructor Ves, who clapped with thunderous joy.

"Bravo!" he said, slithering closer. "You did it! And in one go too! Wow!"

Gad's heart thundered in her chest as she lowered the shield, her all black eyes shifting between the nileop and the beast she was sure had been about to pounce on her.

"What is this thing?" she asked. "These things?"

"They are constructs built from real beasts and monsters," he explained. "Basically, they are very complicated machines that can perform a set of very simple instructions. For all intents and purposes, think of them as the real deal. You can aggro them. Injure them. Debuff them. The works…"

Gad looked down at the beast's powerful legs. "And they move too?"

"They do. Hence why this is the most expensive hall aboard the ship," Ves said. "Each and every of these constructs costs a small fortune… But the whole thing has already been paid for many, many times over by the apprentices that trained in this hall before you, and who then left to serve Tsurmirel in a very, very unique capacity."

He motioned for her to follow him, and he guided her back towards the wall, next to the door they had entered through. A low table appeared on the floor, and then a steaming pot atop a glowing red stone, with two small cups appearing atop the table as well. Ves gestured towards one of the sides of the table and a wide, flat pillow materialized from his inventory as well.

"Come, have a seat," he said, his snake features coiling upon themselves to provide him with comfortable seating. "And let's finally talk about why you're here. Lights, 30%, front to back gradient!"

As the lights dimmed overhead to a much less intense glare, dropping the back of the room into darkness once more, Gad sat opposite from instructor Ves, and thanked him mutely when he poured some tea for her and motioned for her to take it.

"At its basics, Gad, more than just damage control, tanking is a form of control. Period." he said, then brought the steaming cup to his alfin-like nose to inhale the steam wafting from the beverage. "Depending on the tank's path, the level of control will be more, or less pronounced, but it is, regardless, a form of control over the battlefield. It's not for nothing that we teach you apprentices that tanks are the pillars of their parties, without which they cannot exist, as more than just taking damage for those that can't, a tank controls the flow of battle. Who attacks who. Who moves where. Where is the fiercest battle? The party leader issues the commands, yes, but it's the tank that exerts the control."

Gad nodded, and took a sip of the hot liquid. A soothing, herbal aroma spread over her tongue, and as it traveled down to her stomach, she felt that sensation spread over her, like a warm embrace from within.

"Nice, isn't it?" the instructor asked. "It's made from aura leaves."

The tank looked dumbfounded at the cup, causing Ves to burst out laughing.

"Your first time seeing aura imbued anything, I'm guessing?" he said, smiling. "It is a Creation of aether out there, but there is plenty of aura to be found around too, never fear."

He beckoned for her to finish the cup and then poured fresh tea.

"Control and aura, these two are the keys to our conversation today, and your future," he said, as he poured more of the dark golden liquid. "Affinity is the flavor of the soul. Its shape. It's quality. It's essence… Or any other words we can think of to describe something that we still do not fully understand. But for our intents and purposes here today, Gad, your affinity is one of flow, manifesting through currents."

He placed the teapot back over the glowing stone that emanated warmth and considered the apprentice. "Currents can mean water, air or electricity. I don't think there was much electricity in that dungeon, which leaves air or water."

"Water," Gad rumbled straight away. "I was looking at a stream… There were these shining green flakes of something, passing in between three rocks that controlled the flow of the water. That's what triggered it."

"Hmm… A precise image," he said, rubbing his chin. "And a clear connection to water. However, your affinity manifests as currents, not water, but I'm guessing streams and rivers and so on, will be the flavor of your skills. And if you add in the flow nature of your affinity, as well as everything I've shown you and hinted at so far, you should be able to have some idea as to what sort of path yours is about to become…"

"A battlefield… Controller?"

"Exactly! One who controls the flow of battle by controlling the aggro of the enemy," Instructor Ven said, his eyes gleaming. "That construct… You made it face you. But given the particulars of your party, you could have instead directed it towards another of your party members. One you know can handle it, while you handle something else…"

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Gad eyed the beast, its claws glinting slightly under the soft white light above them.

Like Mul? Like Viy? She thought, thinking of the two-party members whose affinities were forcing their party formation and fights open. Or like Nar…

She grimaced at the pang in her heart as she thought of Nar, but pushed the thought aside for the moment.

"So… Like flows, like the current in the stream, I can direct the enemy wherever I want to?" she asked, turning to face the nileop. "And away from whatever I want it to?"

"Yes. That's exactly it," he said. "For now, that beast turned to you, as I'm guessing the little, innate control you have over your affinity allows you that much. But with training… With skills? The entire battlefield will be yours to control."

"And will I still be a tank?"

The man shook his head. "I think what you meant to say was whether or not you'll still fight at the frontlines, protecting your party physically."

"I… Yes. That is what I meant."

"In that case the answer is it depends," Ves said, joining the tips of his fingers together. "Just like with tanking, there are many ways of controlling the battlefield. From afar. From behind. From the front. From the midst of it… It all depends on the path, and the path depends on what you want to do."

"I want to protect my party," Gad said. "Maybe not completely, but at least…"

"Jul and the non-melee?" Ves asked her. "Since Mul, Viy and Nar are capable of, to varying degrees, holding their own ground or in the process of learning to?"

"Yes."

"Then that would mean a melee involved controller."

"Is that bad?"

"Bad? No! Why would it be?" he asked with a chuckle. "Just different pros and cons. From afar, it becomes easier to focus on the control of the flow of the battle, but you would lose your up-close and personal fighting capacity. While up-close, you keep and excel at those, though not to the level of a purer tank, and it will also be much harder to focus on the battle at large while keeping yourself and your party alive. Regardless, I already had a feeling you'd want to stay in the frontline and my training will be tailored to that."

Gad eyed the motionless constructs. There must be hundreds of them, if not thousands.

"And my affinity… My path, it calls for all of this?"

He grinned predatorily at her. "This and more, Gad. Because a true battlefield controller is more than just a rarity. It's a precious, and very crucial piece in the arsenal of any guild. Do you know why?"

She shook her head, though she had an idea.

"Because of raids, Gad," he said, leaning forward. "Leaders command raids. Tanks allow raids. Healers sustain raids. And DPS progress and finish raids. But its controllers who make or break raids, Gad! And that means that your path will only reach its true potential and heights amidst large scale conflicts. Raids with millions and millions of enemies and delvers clashing upon the battlefield! A battlefield that you will control!"

Gad blinked at the man, then she looked down at her cup. Her tea had gone lukewarm.

"I know this is a lot to take in at once," Instructor Ves said, reaching over to take her cup. "And this stuff is for the future, not for the now. But if you are to train under me, and use this Hall, you will need to accept that eventuality."

He made a little black container appear and poured her tea into it. Then, he poured her a fresh cup.

"The Hall of Controllers is not only the most expensive Hall on board, but it is also the most expensive to operate," he explained, sliding her cup back to her. "And in order to use it, your apprentice contract will need to be amended. Tsurmirel will require safeguards in order to ensure that its investment will yield the expected results in the long term."

Gad looked up from the now steaming cup.

"And by that, you mean…"

"A promise, bound by law, that you will join Tsurmirel's raid delvers in the future," Ves said, his tone unyielding. "And remain with the guild."

"Forever?"

"Not forever, but for a long enough time," he said. "On [Constitution] alone, tanks live long lives. And while good tanks are precious, good controllers are priceless, Gad. So it would be a long contract, yes. But you would be extremely, extremely well rewarded for it. And by that I do mean extremely, Gad. Grotesquely so. Especially as an elite delver controller. You would not regret it."

Gad inhaled slowly, and downed her tea before it grew cold again.

"And my party?" she asked.

Ves shrugged. "That depends on them. They certainly have the potential to become elite raid delvers. Some more than others… But at the end of the day, it all depends on their paths and their goals in life. Being a raid delver is already harsh enough, being an elite one, part of the spearhead driving forth the growth and ambitions of a guild such as ours… Now that is a different beast altogether."

Gad crossed her arms.

"You don't have to think about it right away," he said. "But do keep in mind that the use of this room will be necessary to reach your full potential, if this is the path you want for yourself, and that it comes tied in with making a compromise that you remain with Tsurmirel, and be the tip of one of its many spears."

He sighed.

"In the meantime, I can tell you a bit more of what your training will entail," he said. "Senses will be very important to you as a controller, and you can expect them to increase quickly from now on. Adding to that, it's a good thing you've unlocked [Smell] and gained such a big boost to your [Awareness] and, to a lesser extent, [Perception]. These will be crucial for your understanding of the battlefield. You have also unlocked all of the Mind attributes that exist, including [NPT], which will greatly boost your information processing capacity, as well as [Creativity] and [Shaping], which will aid you in commanding the flow of battle by means of your created currents, and your unlocked [Accuracy] will also help with that. Your low [Aura] and [Mastery], however, will limit the quantity and effectiveness of what you can achieve, and it's something that we'll need to work at with the utmost urgency."

Gad could only nod, still taken aback by the sudden turn of events and the path suddenly opened before her.

"Other than that, we urgently need to get your senses and [Awareness] back under control. Your affinity is, rightly so, treating the entire existence as a current around you, and its activating on its own, out of your control. We'll need to bring that back under your control, and get some skills to make it easier and more streamlined to make use of," he said. "These skills will also better enable you to protect your party, and I'm guessing that you have been feeling the strain in doing so as of late, haven't you?"

"I have…" she whispered. "And I did not gain any upgrades to my active skills from that dungeon."

Ves nodded sagely. "They will most likely be gone soon, Gad, replaced by new flow-based skills. And the change will be faster than you think, under my tutelage, in this hall, and with what's coming…"

She raised her eyes at him.

"We're going to be spending a little over a month in a special type of dungeon cluster," he said. "Don't worry, these won't be corrupted. And they will be perfect for everyone to test, practice and expand upon everything they have learned, and all the changes about to occur in everyone's paths. Then, after that, the guild has prepared something truly special to commemorate all the apprentices surviving those corrupted dungeons."

More like something to capitalize on it, Gad thought.

"And then… There's this."

A weapon materialized in his outstretched hand, and Gad stared at it in open astonishment.

"Is that for me?" she asked.

The weapon consisted of a long handle, from which a chain of linked metal protruded, eventually ending in a spiked mace head. It was as though someone had taken her mace, and quite literally extended it by means of a chain.

"This is a flail, Gad," instructor Ves revealed. "A weapon that requires significant skill and control to use, let alone master. Not only does it require superb control and precision, it also demands of you a respect and understanding of this weapon in order to fully control its timing, rhythm and momentum. Not only that, it requires a near perfect spatial awareness, footwork and positioning, as well as good understanding of the flow of combat. Not only does it demand a good deal of [Strength], [Endurance] and [Awareness], it also requires [Agility], [Dexterity], and [Speed], attributes on which you are currently lagging… But go on, have a feel."

Gad reached over and took the weapon from the instructor. The flail was heavier than her mace, but she couldn't tell whether that was due to the chain, a heavier head, or the fact the weapons they were being given were made of better, and thus potentially heavier materials.

Gad's brow rose as she read the weapon's description.

"It's not bad, is it?" Ves asked. "This a crushing weapon, with a little sprinkle of piercing damage added to it. Its purpose is to absolutely destroy whatever's in your way, but in a more focused way than say, a two-handed hammer. It will be great against powerfully armored foes, and the [Basic Pathways] built into it will give you a steady, if small, boost to your damage, something that is always welcome for a tank."

She nodded slowly, however…

"Why this weapon? I can tell that right now, I'm not suited for it," she said.

"Well, why do you think I chose it?" Ves asked, his eyes running the length of the chain.

Gad frowned. "It's a weapon that requires control and finesse. Patience. Practice. Timing and momentum… Just what you need to control the flow of the battlefield itself?"

"Exactly," Instructor Ves said, smiling. "And, yes, I know it might seem counterintuitive to add on such a tricky weapon to master given everything else we need to work on, but this is not actually the end-goal weapon I have in mind for you, Gad. The one I have my eyes set on will require that you prove to me, and the guild, that you are worthy of wielding, and that one will be very appropriate for your path… Understand that much is granted to controllers, Gad, but you need to show me, through the mastery of the flail first, that you have what it takes to one day wield that weapon. And on top of that…"

He raised his hand again, and this time, a shield materialized on his hand.

Gad took it and roved her eyes across its smooth surface.

The new shield in her hand was surprisingly light compared to her current, heavy chunk of a metal one. And quite a bit smaller.

She looked up at the instructor.

"You read the description… It strikes a good balance between the need to protect yourself and the need to be mobile," he explained. "Your path is not one of completely standing still, Gad. You need to move if you want to remain on top of things, and before you worry about your capacity to protect the party with your shield, remember that, for the most part, you should be in control of the enemy at all times! Siphoning it wherever you want… Be that someone capable of taking the heat, or to yourself."

She looked back down at the two new weapons in her hands.

"Take some time to think about it. Consult with your party," Instructor Ves told her. "And then tell me of your decision. There are other tanking paths you can take with your affinity, Gad, and you will not be forced down this one. However, this is the one that reaches your full potential and might, Gad. I urge you to not hide from it."

Gad exhaled softly.

A smaller shield. A difficult new weapon. And a path that offered to take her far, far from anything she had ever envisioned. Perhaps even from her own, new family.

Controller, she thought. It had a nice ring to it. A nice promise, and far more importantly, it would complement the current state of the party perfectly. It would enable her to protect them, albeit in a new way that she still did not fully understand yet, but more than that, it would be a way for her to prove to herself, once and for all, that she was not just some dumb trolley pusher, and it would open the way for a brand-new future for her.

"Think about it, Gad, and think well," Instructor Ves said, his eyes piercing through hers. "This is an incredibly rare opportunity, with immense rewards to back it up. And if you need a clearer vision of what we're aiming for… Lights, 100%, full Hall!"

Gad turned her face to look upon the endless rows of constructs… Then startled as with a mighty roar of a stampede, the constructs all turned to face them as one.

No. Not them… Gad looked back at Instructor Ves.

"To be a controller, is to be the master of the battlefield, Gad," he said, staring out at the thousands of figures that now silently faced directly towards him. "And that goes much beyond simple threat and aggro management… If you accept this offer, I will show you that, and open the way to heights you can't even begin to imagine."

He took the cold cup of tea before him and downed it.

"Ultimate tanking. Ultimate control," he said. "That's what's on the table before you, Gad. So take some time to think about it, and then let me know your decision. We have a lot of work before us."