System Change

”A portion of my strength?” Derek asked with narrowed eyes. ”And why is that?”

”Why? Well, I imagine it is for the same reason that the two of you have come to visit me today,” Hall Master Sheen said with a wide smile. ”Did you not determine that in order for our security measures to be lowered from Protocol 3, you would have to come forward and take credit for slaying the World Boss on the training planet?”

”You figured it out?” Derek asked. He’d told Tanya, and their father also knew. However, they hadn’t gone so in-depth with Hall Master Sheen—at least not when it came to the Amber Tyrant. Still, it wasn’t surprising at all. There was a reason the two of them worried about the hall master reporting it, after all.

”Of course, I did,” Hall Master Sheen said. ”I wouldn’t be much of an Ascendant if I couldn’t put that together with everything I already know about the two of you.”

”So then... me showing my strength?” Derek said. ”Why would I need to do that?”

”Why? Because there is a brat in the Warp Branch of the Loomis Clan who is going to throw a fit until you do once he learns about it all, and there’s no way to reduce the protocol without it being reported. Therefore, if I report it, you will be challenged by that brat, and the simplest way to deal with it all is to fight him,” the hall master explained.

”That’s pretty much the exact same thing that Alex told me,” Derek said. ”But also, I’ll get to choose the conditions of the fight, right?”

”If you wait for him to challenge you? Yes, that will all be up to you,” Hall Master Sheen confirmed. ”Of course, you could make a spectacle of it and go challenge him first, then reveal that you defeated the Amber Tyrant.”

”That way does seem like it would be more fun,” Derek said. ”But my skills are too lethal to challenge an heir like that to a normal fight. Besides, isn’t he from the same branch as you? You seem a little too jovial about me fighting and beating him.”

”Nothing heals the soul quite like watching a young brat get knocked down a peg or two,” the hall master explained. ”And I feel like if I’m going to make another push for a higher rank, I’ll need all the soul healing I can get.”

”So... you just want to see him get his ass kicked?” Derek asked.

”Yes,” the hall master answered bluntly.

”Could have just said that,” Derek replied.

”Where is the fun in that?” Sheen laughed. ”So, what is your decision?”

”Just report it, then we can have a little spar without any skills or something. We can let our stats do the talking,” Derek replied.

”If you insist,” the hall master said. He looked a little disappointed in how Derek wanted to do things, but he didn’t call him out on it. ”That brat has a lot of dexterity and strength—he is a physical fighter. I hope you know what you’re doing. You are losing your advantage by not using your spatial affinity.”

”Maybe so,” Derek said. ”But Spatial Rend is my least lethal skill in that regard, and it has anti-healing properties. My main spatial skill would be an instant kill if it isn’t dodged. I guess I could open a space and toss him inside and let him find his own way back...”

”Spatial Rend is a very good skill,” the hall master said. ”Do you mind showing me?”

”Showing you?”

”Yes,” the hall master said. ”Hit me with it. Here, in the arm.” He held his arm up.

”Uh... okay?” Derek said, not sure what the hall master was getting at. He held his hand like a blade, then slashed out. He didn’t hold anything back, and soon, a space opened in front of Sheen and cut into his arm. The slash left a pale mark, but it didn’t break the skin.

The hall master looked at the mark, then back at Derek. He frowned for a second, then looked at the mark as it slowly began to fade away. ”I see,” he finally said. ”Yes, it is a good idea that you do not use your spatial techniques to fight that brat—especially in front of any Ascendants that may watch.”

”Oh, yeah?” Derek frowned. ”Because of the lethality?”

”No, no, no,” the hall master said as he shook his head. He snapped his fingers, and a rush of soul thread shot out from him. It spun around the man and Derek before forming a sort of oval, transparent cocoon around the two of them—leaving Alex on the outside. To Alex’s eyes, it would have seemed as if the two had disappeared if not for his expertise in soul thread and the shimmer caused by the cocoon. ”It is only the two of us right now,” the hall master said. ”Nobody else in the entire clan can see or hear anything we say or do right now.”

”O...kay?” Derek muttered. ”And why?” he asked as he reached out and felt the transparent wall. He could still see everything on the outside, though.

”Because, Derek, you obviously do not have an affinity for space,” the hall master said. ”No, that isn’t correct. Your main affinity is not space, but one with some correlation.”

”And why do you say that?” Derek asked.

”Why? Because I assume that your affinity is over 60%. It may even be close to 70%. But that attack you hit me with, at your level, and with the lower estimated range of your intelligence and wisdom stats... I’d say you had an affinity of around 40% tops. Spatial Rend is a B-tier skill. It scales very well off of spatial affinity. If you had a spatial affinity of 60% or higher—even with my lower intelligence and wisdom estimates—it should have hit me much harder,” Sheen said. ”Therefore, you do not have spatial affinity as your main affinity.”

”Oh...” Derek muttered. ”Uh...”

”Tell me, what is it like?”

”What is what like?”

”What else? Having an affinity for the void,” Hall Master Sheen’s creepy smile widened even further. Derek took a step back, and his eyes widened. ”Oh, don’t worry,” the hall master said with a wave. ”Your secret is safe with me. I have no love for that evil bastard, and he has nothing that I want that would cause me to betray a friend, and I quite like you. Does the boy know?” He looked over toward Alex, who was standing outside the cocoon, examining it with a frown on his face.

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”He does,” Derek said. He wasn’t sure where he had gone wrong. He never would have thought someone could discern everything from a single attack. ”How did you know, though?”

”I have done a lot of battling in my life, Young Friend Derek,” the hall master said. ”I have fought dozens of great spatial affinity users. You learn a lot in fights. Spatial Rend is a very popular skill among spatial users. I wouldn’t even be able to count the number of times I’ve been hit by it. That alone wouldn’t make me too suspicious. But you are a Mythical user, very young, have the attention of an aloof Transcendent, have that deep purple shimmer to your hair and eyes, and now you come in, hesitating to have full combat...

”I wouldn’t be much of an Ascendant if I couldn’t discern that much,” the hall master continued. ”You need to be a little more careful, young friend. Especially around old fogey, battle-worn Ascendants like myself. We have a ton of experience, after all.”

”I’m starting to see that,” Derek said with a sigh. ”I had no clue someone could guess affinity like that.”

”Only because of all the other information I have,” Sheen said. ”Nobody would be able to tell mid-battle or anything like that. You especially wouldn’t have to worry about non-battle-oriented Ascendants or pretty much anyone below Ascendant. But there are two others in our clan who could put it together if given enough time. I’d advise you not to use your spatial attacks on any Ascendants for the time being. And do something about that hair of yours.”

”I tell people that I am half-Velari,” Derek said.

”Oh? That... is not a bad idea,” Sheen said.

”Dave told me to do it,” Derek replied.

”Smart,” the old man said with a nod. ”That explains the hair, the eyes, and the lack of horns.”

”Yeah,” Derek replied with a nod. ”I just wish I actually knew what one of them looked like.”

”You have never seen a Velari?” Sheen frowned. Then, he produced a crystal and handed it to Derek. ”Go ahead.”

Derek took the crystal and examined it. It was a memory crystal. Assuming all he had to do was inject some mana into it, that’s what he did. Suddenly, it was like he was transported into a movie scene. In front of him was a man with vibrant, deep purple hair and same-colored eyes. On his head was a pair of silvery-red horns about four inches long.

Obviously, the man was a full-blooded Velari. However, the scene was odd. The Velari was panting and not looking well. He was riddled with injuries. Soon, he held both of his hands out to his sides, and a flame appeared on each palm. Then more and more flames appeared until he had flames circling his entire body. The man moved his lips, but Derek couldn’t hear anything that was said.

Finally, he disappeared and reappeared directly in front of Derek. Even knowing it was just a memory, Derek flinched. However, just as the man made to unleash a devastating attack with his flames, there was a silver flash, and the flames all died out. Finally, with a look of shock forever etched onto his face, his head slid off his shoulders, and his arms fell to the ground before his body tumbled after. Then, the memory faded, and Derek was standing in front of Hall Master Sheen once again.

”That man’s name was Remi... something. I don’t remember his surname. I met him in my younger days, and needless to say, we did not hit it off,” Sheen explained as he took the crystal back. ”It was a good fight, though. He was the first person I met who was able to burn through my threads. We were pretty evenly matched aside from one important detail.”

”What... detail was that?” Derek asked, still playing the memory over and over in his mind.

”Mana capacity,” the hall master said and left it at that. ”Anyway, that is a Velari. As you can see, their horns change color based on affinity, but their hair and eyes stay the same.”

”Got it,” Derek said. ”Thanks for showing me.”

”It was no problem, young friend,” the hall master replied. ”May I ask a request of you?”

”What’s that?”

”Would you show me? Your void? Hit me with your best skill. I promise, nobody will feel or see anything,” the hall master asked.

”I... I guess,” Derek said. The thing was, the majority of Derek’s void skills were utility-based skills. He really only used Channel Void to enhance other attacks. Wait... this may be a chance, he thought. Hall Master Sheen already deduced everything else, why not hit him with that? With a mental shrug, Derek channeled the void into his hand, then concentrated on producing his draconic void flame.

Once the flame formed in his hand, he saw the hall master’s brows raise suddenly. He seemed almost impressed, but mostly curious.

”Here I go,” Derek said as he clenched his hand and his fist was covered in deep purple flame. Finally, he took a step closer to the hall master—they were on opposite sides of the counter—and swung. The fist hit the hall master’s forearm and the flame suddenly jumped from Derek to the old man.

The hall master shook his arm a few times, but the flame stayed. The man frowned. He patted it with his other hand to force it out, but instead, it multiplied and jumped. Now it was on both his forearm and his opposite hand. ”How interesting...” the man muttered as he stared at the flame.

Soon, he closed his eyes and let out a breath. As soon as he did, the flames disappeared. However, they didn’t just disappear, the disappeared inside the hall master. His eyes suddenly shot open, and a smirk appeared on his face. ”So very interesting,” he muttered, then tensed.

Finally, the flame came out of the man again. This time, it was all congregated in his own palm. He held it out to Derek. ”Would you like your flame back?” he asked.

”Uh... thanks?” Derek muttered as he reached out, took the flame, then dismissed it. ”What did you just do?” he asked.

”Oh, that? There isn’t much in my life that I haven’t come across. I thought it was void flame, which is already a nasty little skill to fight against. But that was different. It has some of the same properties, but is much easier to put out. This flame... the mana burn... it is something else. Does it have... draconic properties?” the hall master asked.

”Uh... yes?” Derek said.

”Interesting,” the hall master replied. ”I feel like you may have some very interesting tales, even for someone so young. I look forward to hearing them one day.”

”We’ll see,” Derek said. ”I have to work on surviving first.”

”That is very true. Again, you do not have to worry about your secrets with me, but do be careful in the future,” the hall master said.

”I’ll do my best,” Derek said. ”So, what do you think?”

”About?” Sheen asked.

”The Draconic Void Flame,” Derek said.

”It is one of the more potent mana debuffs that I have had the pleasure of feeling,” the hall master said. ”And that is with our level and class differences. I would hate to be a pure mage and have to face you and that flame. It would be crippling in the right circumstances,” he explained. ”Do be careful with it. It is a flame that wants to do nothing more than erase and devour.”

”I will,” Derek replied. ”And thank you for keeping my secrets.”

”Did the boy make an oath?” Sheen suddenly asked. ”To keep your secrets?”

”Yes, to an extent. I gave him multiple outs, so he isn’t bound forever,” Derek said.

”Good... on both fronts,” the hall master said with a nod.

”So... now what?” Derek asked.

”Now?” The hall master repeated. ”Now, we go report the World Boss, and you have a little spar with that brat once he challenges you. And you are correct. A skill-less battle would be for the best. Well, at least no active skills.”

”The only skill I have worth using if I don’t use spatial skills is Greater Meditation,” Derek said.

”You will be fine, win or lose,” the hall master said. ”I prefer you to win, though. But I will let it be known that your skills aren’t skills meant for spars, so nobody asks too many questions.”

”Thank you,” Derek said.

”It’s no problem.” With another snap of his fingers, the cocoon disappeared from around the two of them.

”What was that about?” Alex asked Derek, then caught himself and turned and bowed to the hall master. ”Please excuse my outburst.”

”You are fine, Young Alex,” the hall master said. ”There was a private matter I needed to discuss with your friend. Let’s leave it at that.”

”Of course,” Alex quickly said with another bow.

”Okay, kids,” the hall master suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind the two—close to the exit. ”Let’s go get this protocol over with.”