The Pinnacle Warrior

Brighid

Despite every instinct screaming at her that doing so was foolish, Brighid couldn’t hold herself back. She surged to her feet, feeling the gaze of the other parents, the Wanderers (except for the Barbarian that’d gone after her daughter), and most painfully, the Golden Fist. Leah Bladesinger, now an Arcanite tier delver who could destroy cities and regions alone, stared at her. Just as Brigid began to open her mouth, walls of wind appeared around her and the subject of her anger.

“It’s obvious what you’re trying to do,” Brighid said, fighting to keep her tone and posture as reasonable as she could manage, “but you need to explain what you mean. As it is, the woman that Astrid looks up to most in this entire world, more than any other creature in existence, just told her, to her perception, that she’s an idiot and a failure. So far as I can tell, you never took an opportunity to show her what she should do with these Skills! Then you get up on your high horse and tell her that she’s a waste? That’s a failure of a teacher, not giving her the drive that you’re trying to instill in her.”

Despite herself, Brighid felt her tone rising as she glowered at the shorter woman. Her shame at her negative reaction to her daughter when she’d seen her for the first time in so long, the anger at her daughter trusting her back to a person who would stab it if it gave her a single benefit, and so many other things boiled together into an anger that Brighid hated she’d passed on to her daughter. She stood huffing for another five seconds before Leah spoke.

“You’re not making a whole lot of sense,” Leah said. “I don’t think you understand what I’m trying to do at all.”

Brigid pursed her lips, her fingers itching to reach for her blade, or even just to slap the arrogant look off of the prissy bitch’s face. Not only was that impossible, but she was hoping to have an actual conversation instead of meaningless emotional venting. “So far as I can tell, the intent of what you said was to get Astrid to understand the flexibility of her Skills and to stop artificially limiting herself. She’s taken Skill selections that give her more flexibility in combat, and yet she’s acting like she’s still a Bronze tier Warrior. Honestly, I never expected her to get any magical Skills until at least Steel, going off of how much she’s always fallen into using her physicality to solve problems. Now, she has these new, incredibly potent Skills, and she’s not taking advantage of them.”

“So yes, you do understand what I’m saying, but not why we decided it was best to do it this way,” Leah answered.

After thinking about it for a couple seconds, Brighid had a small smile come to her face as she said something she hadn’t said in probably eight years. “No, I don’t understand why you couldn’t use your big girl words. Instead, like a child, you decided to hurt somebody to try to help them.”

Remembering the tears streaming down her beautiful daughter’s face wiped away the small smirk that had crept onto Bridget‘s own face and it was again replaced with a cold yet still burning rage.

“If your daughter, high Iron tier and stronger than I was as a low Steel tier, can’t grow from somebody telling her to start experimenting instead of staying comfortable, then I stand by my words: she’ll have settled for mediocrity among the elite instead of being one of if not the greatest delver that has ever existed. It’s nearly impossible to be offered a very rare Class when evolving to Iron. Very few people ever qualify for such a thing regardless of tier, and with her boon received in Bronze, every one of her Classes from here on out will be further optimized to make her the absolute best of anyone. She needs mental resilience to go alongside that.”

“She’s not even 21, she’s still a child!“ Bridget disagreed. “She’s built this party around herself and brought them all along to the same heights that she’s experiencing and she could use a little reassurance that she’s doing well instead of some public dressing down! You had her stand in front of her friends and allies, people who’re supposed to follow her lead, and you decided to call her stupid. That isn’t developing mental resilience, that’s bullying.”

“Then give her that reassurance, be her support, that’s what you seem to want to do,“ Leah answered. Throughout it all, she maintained an even tone of voice without seeming to get frustrated or unhappy, somehow sure of her stupid decision. “For my part, I don’t mind if she thinks I’m an arse, an ignorant bully, or worse, if that will make sure that she continues to build on this foundation. Even after being betrayed by people, she remains optimistic and too open to the opinions of people in places of power, but I’ve seen how much of an impact she can make already. My entire party has seen what she can do, and it wasn’t hard for us to realize that she looks up to me most of all.

“I have every confidence that she’s strong enough and has good friends who are more than enough to support her as she turns this embarrassment into an opportunity to prove me wrong. I’m looking forward to the day when she stands before me as an Adamantium tier delver who gains more per level than I do now as an Arcanite tier. That day, if she uses that hammer I’ve helped to forge even the tiniest bit to destroy what I am, I’ll thank her for it and beg her to turn that hammer on this broken world of ours. I pray for the day when she can change the state of the world, because so many things are broken. Hers can be a hammer of destruction or of construction, and I believe that starts now.

“Until then, she’ll need to rely on herself and her party to get stronger. She’s allowing herself to be dependent on the status quo and on others instead of growing stronger of her own volition. This should help push her to greater heights. Maybe I’m an arse, and maybe I’m wrong, but I think she’s strong enough to get through it and come out better and stronger and more capable of changing the world on the other side.”

Leah didn’t say anything more as the wind barrier that separated them from everybody else disappeared. Then, the rest of the Golden Fist stepped forward and their strange Dungeoneer stepped forward and laid her hands on each person’s shoulder before they all started glowing. Then, without a sound, all five people disappeared.

Some of the people nearby began to speak, to say something, but Brighid didn’t pay them any mind. Instead, she looked around and saw that all of the Wanderers had left, every one gone to comfort their leader.

Despite her heart aching for her daughter, Brighid allowed herself a small smile at that. At the very least, that little girl, eyes shining as bright as her scarlet hair, had found people who were worthy to stand beside her through the difficulties and dangers within the Dungeon. Meanwhile, Brighid would do whatever she could to help Astrid on that path, especially comforting her broken heart. After all, it was obvious the Golden Fist didn’t know much about teaching kids.

***

Astrid only allowed herself to cry for a couple of minutes, though she couldn’t deny there was a relief in allowing herself to release the pent-up emotions. It wasn’t a reserved cry, because as she got started, she quickly realized that allowing the emotions to cascade further was just additional relief that she couldn’t help but indulge in. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d really let herself cry like a little girl, and that was embarrassing, yet it also felt quite nice to have done so.

Once she was done, she looked up and met Muti’s eyes. The Barbarian nodded and offered a hand up, which Astrid took without hesitation.

“Will you explain something to me?” Muti asked, and as soon as Astrid nodded, Muti continued, “Why did those words offend you? To my understanding, the instructions you were given were not mean-spirited. She did not insult you, merely chastised you for your weakness. Among my people, that would be considered the gentlest of instruction, and not something to warrant any sadness.”

Astrid took a brief shuddering breath and, despite herself, couldn’t help but laugh a little. Years ago, she would’ve taken that as an insult, that Muti was saying it was nothing to cry over. Now, she had the benefit of some perspective and shrugged.

“One of the first things we ever really talked about,” Astrid said, “was the Golden Fist. Do you remember, while we were bathing with Klara?”

Muti noted. “You spoke of Leah’s strength while I respected Miriam’s. We grew heated for a moment before Klara mentioned that she had met them.”

“Yes, exactly that.” Astrid replied. “Leah has always been my ideal delver. I’ve always looked up to her. Now, I’ve met her and the rest of the Golden Fist, and it’s largely been a dream come true. I mean, being trained by them, and when we’re only Iron tier? That’s lucky beyond belief. Sure, being the only Human party, well,“ Astrid corrected herself, “Human and you, Muti. But we were the only Human party that emerged victorious in the Trials, and that shouldn’t be enough to receive a full week of training with some of the best delvers in the world.

“But we did! We’ve had a week to train under their guidance, and though it’s been hard and a bit miserable, it’s also amazing. They’ve taught me things I didn’t know about how mana works and how to use it in my body. What they’ve taught is going to be something I’ll always consider moving forward with how to use my mana to be more effective. And, at the end of it all, I get told that I am a disappointment. Instead of having what could be one of the best experiences of my life culminate in another word or moment to treasure, I get told I’m dumb.”

“That is not my understanding of what you were told,” Muti shook her head.“You were told that you have no excuse not to push yourself harder and be better than you are now. Now you only need to stretch yourself, your abilities, to better learn your Skills and become what they expect you to be. Through doing so, you can become stronger than them.”

Astrid pulled the sleeve of her shirt down over her knuckles and dabbed at her eyes. “I know. I don’t think that they would’ve spent so much time with me if they thought I was worthless, but I can still have my feelings hurt when somebody says something that’s unkind. I don’t always think ahead, but I’m not an idiot. I can be treated like an adult instead of a dull child.”

“You should not care for the opinions of others when you can see that they are malicious,” Muti answered. “If one gives advice, and it can be seen to be good, then it is your duty as the person who received advice to apply it and become stronger than the one who considered themselves superior to you. They were so arrogant to tell you how to improve, so improve and become able to destroy their arrogance.”

Despite everything, Astrid laughed a little at that as she pulled Muti into a firm embrace. “That is very much like you to say, Muti. I’m proud to call you a friend.”

“So, since she’s the first one to give advice, she’s the one who gets your appreciation?”

Astrid had known the rest of her party was there, and she shook her head as she pulled Benedict into a hug as well. The shorter man did flush, but other than that, he simply smiled and patted her on the back before pulling back. As her friends surrounded her and gave her support in their own ways, Astrid couldn’t help but scoff at her moments of weakness earlier. She had thought about how lonely she would be, but she had community and friends now that she wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else.

“Maybe it was childish,” Astrid admitted with some embarrassment that wasn’t simply from the words Leah had spoken, “but it was nice to have a little cry. Though, I don’t know if I want to talk to anybody from the Golden Fist anytime soon. Just seems… awkward.”

“They left several minutes ago,” Muti reported. “If you had been paying attention to the fluctuations of mana, surely you would have felt their departure as well. There are no others here who could have done whatever it was that they recently did, and their presences have all disappeared since that fluctuation.”

Astrid nodded and rolled her shoulders. For a brief time, she’d allowed herself to wallow, but now, she would act like an adult. And if sometimes she needed to be a little childish in the future, well, that was life.

“Tonight,“ Astrid said as she made sure all of the tears were wiped from her face, “we’ll get some rest. We’ve pushed pretty hard with stretching our understanding of mana manipulation this  past week, and tomorrow, we’ll start being more deliberate with our practice. Something that we all should keep in mind is how much we rely on Skandr for any arranged attacks.” After saying that, the party nodded around her, and she continued speaking.

“Muti, you need to find out what you can do for throwing weapons since you have that rolled into your equipment Skill. It’s best if you have something sharp, but we’ll have to talk with Greely tomorrow about what kinds of things we can even do here in the Verdant Sanctuary without offending our current hosts. If we can procure blades or spears or something for you, that’d be ideal. As for me, I’m thinking of looking into what different options I might have other than just throwing rocks, which, frankly, I haven’t been very good at doing either. Benedict, you mentioned you know how to use a sling?”

“Yeah, a little,“ he answered. “I could get you started on how to use one, though you’d definitely outclass me with even an hour or two practice. The greater question than that, though, would be finding a cord that’s tough enough to handle the force you would be exerting on it every time you threw something.”

“That’s something we can figure out after I decide if I’m going to commit myself to learning how to use the sling at all,” Astrid answered. “But thank you for being willing to teach me.”

He waved her off and the Wanderers ambled back towards the others who waited for them. As soon as Astrid could see the parents and siblings waiting for them, she felt a hot flush of embarrassment and wanted to hide her face. Instead of doing so, though, she stepped in front of everybody and bowed her head.

“Sorry for our acting that way in front of everybody. I should have a better handle on my emotions, and I’ve embarrassed myself and forced you all to witness an embarrassing moment. I can’t promise that nothing like that will happen again, but I do ask for your patience as I learn to be better.“

A small part of her wondered why she felt angry at apologizing, that she even had to in the first place, but she swiftly tamped down that irrational anger. Instead, she stood tall and then walked towards her cot.

“If you want to, you can go to bed, my light,” her father said. “But there is no shame in embarrassment and in feeling pain when receiving correction, whether or not it is intended to be to your benefit or not. If there is anything that you need from myself or your mother, let us know.”

Astrid sighed and gathered herself. Then, just as she was about to respond with forced stoicism, she met her father‘s kind eyes, and she melted a little. She sniffed a little as she shrugged and continued walking towards her bed, and her father wrapped his arm around her waist and said nothing for the steps they took forward. When she sat on one side of her bed and he began brushing her hair once again, she shrugged with a small shudder.

“I think she was just telling me to be better, that I should be better, and that I have a lot of potential,” she said as she brushed her hand under her nose, “and I don’t think that they would spend so much time training us if they thought I was worthless.”

Her father hummed what seemed to be in agreement as his fingers teased through the tangles of her hair. He said nothing more, waiting for her to continue.

“It’s just that… she didn’t say a single nice thing. I didn’t deserve any praise for anything I’ve done? I know it’s childish to want to have everybody be nice to me, but couldn’t she have said something I did well? Given me congratulations? Anything?”

Despite having resolved herself to not cry anymore, now that she was thinking about what the words she’d been corrected with ostensibly meant, she still found herself pretty quickly sniffling again. As she laid down, her father held her head in his lap and hummed a lullaby he’d sung her since she was a child. Before long, the oblivion of sleep took her and she slept dreamlessly. 

***

“So what exactly is the description of your two Skills?” Brighid asked the next morning after they’d broken their fast. “You’ve only had them both for a month, and you didn’t have time to learn what were all the limitations and capabilities of them. Share their descriptions.”

Gravity Surge (Iron): For a Moderate cost of mana and stamina, create one of three types of Gravity Surge. 1. In a five meter radius of the user, causes everything except for the user and what they are wielding to quadruple in weight. 2. At a location that the user decides within ten meters, causes everything except for the user and what they are wielding to be drawn to a location that the user decides within five meters of the selected location with thrice that of gravity. 3. In a ten meter radius of the user, causes everything except for the user and what they are wielding to double in weight. Duration of Gravity Surge is dependent upon the user’s Magical Potency.

Spectre Burst (Iron): For a Moderate cost of mana and a Minor cost of stamina, infuses a weapon of the Skill holder’s choice with deathly energy which will expand and burst upon contact with a foe. Scales with Power and Magical Potency.

“Very well,” Brighid nodded. “Are you willing to listen to my instructions?”

“Of course, Mother,” Astrid answered.

“Very well. Then, you need to realize the difference between a spell, an active Skill, and an ability bestowed by a Skill. These terms are often used interchangeably, but they are not.”

Astrid nodded once in acceptance, and her mother gestured for Muti to come closer. The Barbarian did so carefully, more than a little leery of being before the Spellblade. As Muti approached, Brighid explained, “Though the Class is called Spellblade, it should more accurately be called a Skillblade. I can’t cast spells like a Wizard or someone with the Spellcasting Skill. Instead, I have several Skills that bestow abilities on me. My two primary Skills have long been ‘Gale Control’ and ‘Flame Burst’. Though these seem to be active Skills, they’re actually Skill abilities. This was something I could have gone into more detail about when you were training as a girl, but I didn’t think it necessary to muddy the water at that time. 

“I also have some active Skills, but when you think of an active Skill, think of something like Muti’s Shadow Leap. There are variations you can make with it,” Brighid explained, looking at the five Wanderers who listened to her instructions, “but in the end, the Skill does one thing: it lets you spend mana to jump through a shadow to another place with a shadow. An active Skill. In your case, Astrid, the active aspect of Immortal Warrior’s Body is healing you, and offers no further variability. There’s not much more to it, and it has even less flexibility than Shadow Leap.”

The party all nodded in acceptance of the point, and Brighid continued, “Thus, both are considered active Skills. Spells, as you already know, are effects you can create or curate through the usage of a Skill. Skandr continues to learn more spells.”

The party nodded, and Brighid seemed relieved that she didn’t need to explain that in specifics. “Finally, abilities bestowed by a Skill. These are similar to spells, as the Skill’s existence allows you to do things, but instead of experimenting with sigils, incantations, and flows of mana, Skill-bestowed abilities can be changed through experimentation with the activation and use of the Skill.”

Astrid squinted, mostly understanding what her mother was saying, but before she could ask anything, her mother instead continued, “So, which category do you think Gravity Surge and Spectre Burst fall into?”

“They’re both active Skills,” Astrid answered, confident.

Her mother just shook her head in disagreement and said, “Think about it more, not just say what comes to mind, and come back to me with a more deliberate answer instead of your knee-jerk. For now, Greely seems to want to talk to you. You have thirty minutes, then you’d better have the right answer.”

With that, Brighid stepped back and Greely walked forward with a smile, and the question that Astrid had presented to him as soon as she woke up returned to him. She couldn’t help but ask, “Do you think it’ll work?”

“I’m nearly positive,” the old Druid answered. “Come try it out and we’ll see.”