The Games We Play

DISCLAIMER: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryugii. This has been pulled from his Spacebattle publishment. Anyway on with the show...errr read.

Treasure

Instantly, I felt the knowledge and power contained in the book rush through me. Ideas so distinct they briefly seemed like memories bloomed in my mind, giving shape to new concepts as easily as if I'd studied for years. In that moment, I understood completely what I'd taken into myself—and it was such a rush to truly know something.

I exhaled slowly as windows appeared before me.

You've obtained the skill 'Sanctum.'

Sanctum (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:1000

One of the ancient techniques forged by Man to shield themselves from the darkness that sought to return them to the void, a skill for surrounding a volume of space with a barrier, preventing both entry and exit. The power of the barrier increases with skill level and INT; stronger barriers may be created at higher levels.

Range: 1000 cubic meters.

Additional 1000 MP used per hour.

"Interesting," I murmured to myself.

"You get what we need?" Cynosarges asked. I flexed my fingers slightly, frowning slight before I shook my head.

"Not quite," I said. "I'm not sure what it'll be able to do at higher levels, but for now it's just a barrier over an area."

"You can use it, though?" My grandmother asked, looking calm and unsurprised by the failed attempt.

"Yeah," I said. "If it's just a thousand MP an hour, it's nothing. At the very least, I should be able to cover important areas of the house, it's just…"

I shook my head.

"I'll practice," I promised. "See if I can't level it up some, find out what it can do. What next?"

"Open the bag," My Grandmother commanded and I obliged, finding the books I'd expected. Some were unmarked, looking like their insides had been copied down by hand, but others looked like more modern copies. Without me having to ask, my grandmother explained. "I had Hugo and Enzo retrieve these; just a few books that stood out to me. I thought you might find them useful."

"Thank you, Grandmother," I said distractedly as I fished out the topmost book—impressively titled 'Guardians of the Ziggurat', though some librarian has attached a note somewhat less impressively scrawled with 'Instruction Guide to Haven's Emergency Defense System #3' with several directions about where to put it—and clicked the button prompt that appeared.

You've obtained the skill 'Safe Haven.'

Safe Haven (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:1000

One of the ancient techniques forged by Man to shield themselves from the darkness that sought to return them to the void, a skill to establish a degree of control over a volume of space to ward away evil. Criteria may be set with the activation of the skill which then effects those within accordingly. Degree of change increases with skill level and INT; additional status effects may be created at higher levels.

Increase or decrease the status of all within range by up to 10% according to pre-established criteria.

Range: 1000 cubic meters.

Additional 1000 MP used per hour.

I scratched my head, both intrigued and confused. It was as vague as always, but I thought I understood what it meant. So I could sort of say 'No Grimm allowed' and any that entered would be weakened? Or I could to the opposite and empower the defending soldiers? From what I received from the book, that seemed to be how it had been used, helping or hindering in battle, sort of like that one sort of card-law system thing from Grimm Nights IV.

I had to wonder how broad the criteria could be. Could I target based on loyalties? Gender? Species? And what type of status effects could it inflict at higher levels? Could I make something like those boss battles where you start poisoned or under some other status effect?

The possibilities were intriguing and demanded experimentation—later. For now, as interesting as it was, it still wasn't what I was looking for.

I pulled out another book, shaking my head at my grandmother's inquisitive glance, and glanced at the title that appeared in front of me. A guide for priests? Or perhaps medics? It seemed to be somewhere in between, which confused me briefly—but thinking about it, I vaguely recalled something about warrior priests in Mistral. Well, it had been a unit in a civilization building game, so I wasn't sure how that translated to…anything founded in reality, but…well, whatever, I suppose. My grandmother would have known and she had it fetched for me, so I guess it didn't matter.

You've obtained the skill 'Temple.'

Temple (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:2500

One of the ancient techniques forged by Man to shield themselves from the darkness that sought to return them to the void, a skill to cast a benediction over a volume of space, blessing all within. Strength of effect increases with skill level and INT; additional beneficial effects may be created at higher levels.

Increase HP regeneration by 50% within area.

Increase MP regeneration by 50% within area.

Increase Stamina regeneration by 50% within area.

Range: 1000 cubic meters.

Additional 2500 MP used per hour.

I whistled.

"Find something?" Pyrrha's godfather asked again, raising an eyebrow at me.

"No, no," I said and then paused in consideration. "Well, I mean. Sort of? It's not what we're looking for, but it's still pretty impressive. Just…kind of expensive. Not enough to be a problem or anything, but still…"

I rummaged through the bag, glancing at the windows that appeared before me with a frown and then looked up at my grandmother.

"Are there any more books about defending areas, Grandmother?" I asked.

She sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"These were the ones I remembered," She said. "The protections on Haven, Sanctum, and Fortress. If those aren't enough to do it…well, I suppose dealing with this matter easily was too much to hope for. We'll have to keep searching."

I nodded, not really that off put. I hadn't expected much, given what we were trying to deal with, but what I'd gotten out of it…I couldn't complain.

"Can you show us?" Cynosarges asked suddenly, drawing my attention before I could move onto the next book.

"Um…my new skills, you mean?" I checked to make sure and he nodded.

"I've never seen such a thing in action," He admitted. "Or, at least, not done by a person. So I'm kind of curious. Aren't you, Jeannie?"

She rolled her eyes but didn't deny it.

"There, see?" Cynosarges seemed to take that as a full agreement. "Do you have enough juice for it?"

I scratched my head and then nodded with a shrug.

"Yeah; they cost a lot, but with an hourly upkeep, it's really not that bad," I said. "Especially with the boost from Temple. I don't know how noticeable it'll be, but I should be able to limit it to this room, so…yeah, it should be fine. Give me a sec."

I put down the bag and held out my hands, inhaling deeply. My Aura rose to my call, rising around me in an invisible storm as it pulsed outwards from me, leaving markings and patterns on the walls as the skill's shaped a foundation and a framework. Taken separately, each of the skills would have been the most complex working of Aura I'd ever performed, draining an enormous amount of power from me as it created something from the world around us, shaping simple space into something more.

It was difficult, perhaps even more so then I expected it to be—similar to awakening Aura's somehow, as if I was fighting against something. I wasn't sure how to describe it, wasn't even sure what I was thinking, but that's how I felt. Like…

"Sanctum," I intoned, putting the thought aside for a moment. "Safe Haven. Temple."

The skills came together around the framework, like buildings but with energy patterns instead of supports and altered space instead of walls. And invisible. And intangible.

So really not like buildings at all, I guess.

"—Oho," Cynosarges suddenly said, flexing the fingers of a hand. I'd set Safe Haven to support life and between that and Temple…well, I wasn't sure how he felt, but I felt pretty great. "Not bad, kid; I could get used to this. Set it up around the hot tub, get massaged—it'd be pretty sweet. If only, right?"

He sighed, but I was only listening to him with half an ear, frowning as I looked over my handiwork. I'd done everything right, but…

It was inefficient, I thought. A mess, really. It was like I'd built three separate buildings in the exact same space—except, of course, not really at all like that—weaving beams, plumbing, wires, and walls around and throughout each to make everything work anyway. And it did work, even with all the layers tangling amongst one another like that, but it…God, just looking at it under the painful light of my Clairvoyance made me sure of one thing.

That this mess was gonna annoy the hell out of me if I left it like this.

"You want me to test how hard it is to break out of it, kid?" Pyrrha's Godfather asked, walking to the wall and reaching out to touch it, his hand stopping just short of stone as my barrier interceded. When I didn't reply immediately, eyes darting from point to point in the air, he turned his head to look at me. "Hey, Jeannie Jr., you want I should break it, yes or no?"

"Not yet," I said, since I didn't have the energy to erect it all again so soon. "Let me…"

I trailed off slowly, reaching into the air—not just with flesh or matter, but with the shining light of my soul. Under the somewhat muddled sight of my Clairvoyance, I tangled that light with the shining patterns all around me and got to work. I rerouted circuitry, removed or consolidated the redundancies, lowered walls here and there, shifting the invisible construct around me into a new shape. Where before it had been something disorderly, dozens of bits and pieces scattered and layered throughout one another, I refined it until it was something streamlined and orderly. Instead of three independent systems inhabiting the same space, I remodeled it until it was a single system, with three interconnected subsystems.

It took a while—I wasn't sure how long, but when I looked down, Cynosarges had pulled out a scroll and started playing game, for whatever that was worth—but I did it, and when the power settled into place around me, another window appeared.

A skill has been created through a special action! By combining many protective methods, the skill 'Sanctum Sanctorum' has been created.

Sanctum Sanctorum (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:5000

A new technique created by weaving together many ancient methods of protection, establishing control over a volume of space. Power increases with skill level and INT; additional effects may be created at higher levels. Effects based on the nature and level composite skills. Only possible for those with an affinity for manipulating mana.

Current:

Limit entry and exit.

Increase or decrease the status of all within range by 15% according to pre-established criteria.

Increase HP regeneration by 75% within area.

Increase MP regeneration by 75% within area.

Increase Stamina regeneration by 75% within area.

Range: 1000 cubic meters.

Additional 5000 MP used per hour.

Without me saying a word, Cynosarges and my grandmother looked up, probably noticing the sudden change as the effects on them rose in power and efficiency. I watched power flow around me in a dizzying display made of shades of bright white, pieces separating and converging and reinforcing the whole. It was…well, it was something.

"Done?" The Head of Alexandria asked, pausing his game. "What'd you do kid?"

"I…I put the pieces together," I said. "The different skills, they…work better now. I'm not sure this is the solution we were looking for, but I think it's…at least a step in the right direction? I'll work on it."

Cynosarges grunted and went back to shooting Nevermore at buildings, but my grandmother came to my side and knocked her knuckles against my arm.

"You'll figure it out in time," She said with certainty before giving me a half smile. "Now. Open the rest of your presents."

"Can do," I said, picking up the discarded bag.

"Oh, are we finally getting to the fun part?" The Alexandrian said, suddenly looking up with a smile. "Fucking took long enough."

I cast him an odd look as my grandmother sighed.

"What do you mean?" I asked after taking a moment to wonder whether I even wanted to know.

"Oh, nothing important," He said. "It's just, well, those things forgotten for a reason. Jeannie says most of that stuff won't be a problem for you, but I'll provide helpful commentary nonetheless."

He looked at my grandmother and raised an eyebrow, smile wide.

"Can we start with the one that blows your arms off if you do it wrong?"

"Um," I said, blinking rapidly. "What?"

"Ignore him," My grandmother said as she fished out a book from the bag. She glanced at its cover, nodded once to herself, and then held it out to me. "Here, this should be a good place to start."

"'The Sound of Souls,'" I answered, reading the title that appeared before me. "What's this do?"

"Ugh, boring," Cynosarges made a face. "I guess I can see a reason for it, given the circumstances, but really…"

"It's a detection ability, of sorts," Grandmother answered and the throbbing in my head must have shown on my face because she chuckled. "Sorry, dear, but I thought you might find this one a bit useful—to put it simply, it should allow you to sense the presence of other living beings."

"Sounds pretty cool," I said truthfully, if not with enormous enthusiasm. "Why'd they forget this one? Is there a problem with it or is it just too had to train or something?"

"The damn thing sucks," Cynosarges rolled his eyes before pausing. "Well, I guess the amount of time it takes to teach it doesn't help, but the real problem is with the technique. It lets you sense life, boy. Think about it."

I frowned for a moment, doing so, and then tilting my head slightly to the side.

"All life?" I asked.

"All life," He confirmed. "Humans, plants, animals—there was even an experiment that proved it would respond to sufficiently large groups of bacteria. Once you get the hang of it, you can separate the plants from the animals and even ignore small or simple creatures, but if you consider that Hunters generally operate in either large cities or in the wilderness, it's usually still too broad to provide useful information. Worse, the Grimm don't show up on it at all, since it works by doing this type of Aura echolocation thing."

"Ah," I said, frowning.

"Even so, it has its uses," Grandmother added after waiting for her friend to finish. "Even if all it usually tells you is whether or not things are there, that can provide a wealth of information in the right circumstances. Sometimes, simply sensing people where they aren't supposed to be can be invaluable; with Raven, it should be enough to serve as a last line of defense. Should you suddenly sense a new presence without them passing through the rest of your range…with her power, it could be as little as a split-second of warning, but perhaps it'll be enough."

"Assuming she doesn't appear directly above you and stab you through the chest by way of hello," Cynosarges muttered.

"Unless given reason to, an invasion of our house is unlikely to target him first," Grandmother shook her head. "There should be plenty of time for him to respond."

I understood the message, even without her spelling it out. Cynosarges' point was right; it wouldn't work against the first person Raven targeted…but like my grandmother said, I probably wouldn't be. If the barriers didn't work and Raven came for us, my grandmother would be the priority target and she'd almost certainly die—and she wanted me to sense it and run for my life. This wasn't a last line of defense, it was an escape route against an opponent neither of us could beat.

A one-man escape route.

I felt my jaw clench tight, but I said nothing as the book came apart. It wouldn't come to that. It wouldn't.

You've obtained the skill 'Detect Life.'

Detect Life (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:60

An ability to sense the presence of life around the user. Not effective on those without Aura.

Range: 300 meters.

Additional 60 MP used per minute.

I activated it immediately and became immediately aware of all the things around me, in as broad a way as the Alexandrian Head had described. Even in a place like Sanctum, there was life everywhere, if often small and unseen, and I felt it all around me like an army of strange creatures who I'd only just realized had been there all along. There were too many of them to count and I was on guard in an instant, reacting instinctively to the knowledge that I was completely surrounded—

Insects, my calm mind supplied, halting my body. Vermin and pests in the walls and floors, nothing more.

"It's always disorienting the first time," My grandmother assured me quietly as I let go of my sword, leaving it in its sheath. "You did well to recover so quickly. Most people scream."

"Before they abolished it, a teacher at Haven once taught his students the technique on a training trip up north," Cynosarges nodded. "To the forests and stuff, you know? My understanding is that the results were pretty hilarious up until someone began to light everything on fire."

I nodded quietly, vision shifting as my Clairvoyance reacted to the new technique. My Aura sight deepened, something slightly different branching off from it—seeing Aura instead of seeing the Aura around what I saw, if that made any sense. The lifeless stone around me faded away, nearly formless lights suddenly shining through from all directions. It was still bright, still disorienting, potentially even a hindrance, but was none the less a tad easier to make sense of this way. I widened my perspective and my sight returned to 'normal.'

"What next?" I asked.

"The arm one," Cynosarges insisted. "Now that's one with history."

"A history of exploding arms?" I questioned skeptically.

"Is there a better type of history?" He asked with a smirk. "But even beyond that, I mean. It's even a Roma story!"

I lifted an eyebrow at that, glancing at my grandmother, who rolled her eyes and fetched the book.

"It's the story of Wolfram, whose mother was an Atlesian princess that had fled to escape a coup," She said blandly. "Wolfram grew up, decided he had a right to the thrones of both Kingdoms, things turned out badly for everyone involved."

"Your storytelling is as piss-poor as ever, Jeannie," Cynosarges rolled his eyes. "What she didn't mention is that things got pretty interesting there for a bit. In the end, it was Atlas that created that technique, if you'll believe it; Wolfram pushed them until they all but broke and then they really fought back. Say what you will about the boys up North and their desire to avoid battle, but they can fight when you push them into a corner."

"What's it do?" I asked, looking down at the book.

"Pretty much the same as when you use normal Aura to boost your strength, only more so," Pyrrha's Godfather answered with a shrug. "You gather your Aura up, reinforce and empower your muscles, whatever. Except the guys up in Atlas had been big on studying stuff even back then, and one of them figured out a way to push beyond the normal limits for that, sort of overcharging the body. Done properly, it gave soldiers an amazing boost in strength. Of course, if anything goes wrong…well, that power has to go somewhere. There are plenty of stories about Atlesian soldiers fighting until their arms literally explode and not without reason."

"Ouch," I said, absently touching my own shoulder.

"Ouch," He agreed with a bright smile. "But under the command of their general, Prince Hrafntyr, Atlas pushed Wolfram from their very doorstep back to the sea, and the General sacrificed his own arm to capture the Prince to hold him ransom."

"How'd that work out?" I asked, having a decent grasp of Mistral's history with that type of thing.

"Better than you might expect, thanks to Queen Lucia's love for her children," He answered with a knowing smile. "She held Mistral's forces back for nearly a year, despite the urgings of her advisors. Of course, then Prince Wolfram escaped and carved a path straight to the castle of Gladsheim, taking the life of the King in vengeance for his imprisonment and destroying much of the castle in the process. Of course his son then slayed Prince Wolfram and sent his head home in rage. Queen Lucia immediately called for war and she and her remaining children led the attack, which was when things really got cool, because her daughter—and later her granddaughter—both had necromantic Semblances. And given the amount of bodies they had to work with…well, you can imagine, I'm sure. So on one hand, you had Queen Lucia and Princess Hilda leading a zombie army and on the other you had Prince Sormr at the head of Mistral's armies and he…actually, if you brought this one, did you…?"

The question was directed at my grandmother, who sighed but nodded at him, pulling out another book. The Alexandrian head laughed, clapping his massive hands before continuing.

"Well, Prince Sormr basically spent the entire time his brother was imprisoned working on a way to counter the technique that had defeated him, and he'd created that technique and passed it onto the warriors of ancient Mistral, though it wasn't commonly used even back then."

He paused, looking at me expectantly, and I obliged him with a sigh.

"Gee," I said. "And what's this one do?"

"Well, Atlas created an overclocked version of how Hunters normally increase their strength, so the Prince decided the best solution would be to make a similarly advanced defensive technique. In the end, what the skill basically did was turn people's skin into some sort of super-hard substance, making them vastly harder to hurt—imagine flexible, organic diamond where your skin would be. When used, it evened the playing field against the Atlesian forces, and often turned the tide against them."

"But…?"

"But," He said with a grin. "The skin only remains flexible while you're flowing a large amount of Aura through it. After you ran out, it would quickly harden, with two possible results. If you couldn't break out, you would basically be trapped in a statue until someone found you or, more likely, one of many, many things finally led to your death. If you were strong enough to escape, you could do that instead, ripping yourself out of your own skin in the process."

Even I had to wince at that set of options.

"As you can imagine, most of the people who used the technique did so only once," He continued. "It gave Mistral an edge in the conflict, though; while Sormr's technique had a much higher chance of killing the user, it generally did so after the battle, while Atlas's forces would destroy their own arms during the fighting. Prince Sormr, however, was different; he reportedly used the technique many times in order to avenger his brother; it's believed that Sormr wasn't his birth name, in fact, but that he renamed himself 'Serpent' because of how often he shed and regrew his skin."

"What happened to him?" I asked, honestly enthralled by the story.

"Well, just as he was seeking revenge for his brother's death, the King's children sought vengeance for their father. Wolfram's son fought and eventually slew the crippled Prince Hrafntyr, but Sormr fought the King's strongest son, Prince Donar, who'd mastered his older brother's technique. The two clashed in one of the largest battles of the war and—"

"And they killed one another," Grandmother said impatiently. "And people sought revenge and killed more people, on and on and on until everything was on fire. You can buy him the books, documentaries, or even movies later, Cynosarges; if we could move this along? We have a schedule to keep."

"You're like a leech, you know that?" He said to her. "A hideous creature sucking the vitality from those with the misfortune of being latched onto—like joy and fun. You are, in fact, a fun-sucker."

She didn't even dignify that with a response, looking at me instead.

"On it," I murmured.

You've obtained the skill 'Sacrifice to the Wolf.'

Sacrifice to the Wolf (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:200

An ancient technique born from a willingness to sacrifice one's life and limb for their people, vastly enhancing one's strength at great personal risk.

Increase Strength by 100%.

Great external shock may break Sacrifice to the Wolf and inflict Aura Confusion.

Additional 200 MP used per minute.

You've obtained the skill 'Adamant Serpent's Skin.'

Adamant Serpent's Skin (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:200

An ancient protective technique crafted to pursue a goal, no matter the cost. Changes the structure of one's skin using Aura, transforming it into the incredibly durable organic material 'Adamant.' Warning: The malleability of the material is dependent upon the continuous application of Aura, without which it becomes completely rigid.

Skin transforms into the organic material 'Adamant.'

If Strength is less than 200, user is Petrified upon deactivation.

If Strength is greater than 200, Petrification may be resisted; user receives 1500 damage and gains the status effect 'Flayed' until HP rises above 25%.

Additional 200 MP used per minute.

Yikes, I thought. I mean, wow. The techniques were amazing, but…

"Can you use them?" My grandmother asked. "Because of the way you described your body, I thought these techniques would be fine for you, but…"

I hesitated before answering and then nodded firmly.

"I…yeah, I can use them," I said, mind already racing with the possibilities. If I meditated while petrified, could I undo it by reactivating the technique? If it was like that, it wasn't a big deal, beyond the need to heal myself. But still, the best thing to do would be to simply never turn it off, if I could train it enough. Sacrifice to the Wolves would need so testing to be sure, but…at the very least, whatever happened, I could remove all status effects by sleeping, so… "They're…well, they're dangerous and I'll need to use them carefully. And train them up a lot, of course, as soon as I get a chance; hopefully, that'll minimize the risk. But…these are amazing, Grandmother. Thank you for the presents, even if they are…you know."

"You're welcome, dear," She said, sounding a little sad. "Just be careful about using them for now; keep Dust Crystals on hand at all times. I'll want to supervise for now, too, just to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Of course," I nodded, glancing down. "Just two more?"

"For now," She replied, nodding at it. "Go on, now. I think you'll like these two—and they'll go a ways towards keeping your true skills a secret, given the displays you make."

I didn't need to be told twice.

You've obtained the skill 'Dust Weaver.'

You've obtained the skill 'Dust Eater.'

"Oh," I drew the word out as the knowledge took hold, smiling like a kid. "Thank you, Grandmother; I'll be sure to put both of these to good use."

She patted me on the head.

"I'm sure you will," She said. "Now then, I'll give you a chance to play with your new toys and then let's go kill monsters, okay?"