Orphan [LitRPG Adventure] - Book One Complete!

Chapter Fifty-Three


A few minutes later, the four of them, minus Dar, had set up in the center of the tiled training area. With Sierra's help, Elena had retrieved two curious implements from the cabin: a violet candle on a silver candlestick and a rolled leather bundle.

"Sierra tells me she gave you some basic instruction, during your time away." Elena began. "Summarize what you know, and we may save some time."

Alarion contemplated the words before speaking. It had only been days since that conversation, but so much had happened that it felt like weeks or months.

"All Awakened have Affinities. Some more than others up to… four, I think?" At Elena's nod, he continued with a bit more boldness. "They're set up on four lines, three to a side, and the ones on each side oppose the ones on the other side."

"And what does an Affinity do?" she pressed.

"You're better at things you have an affinity for. And worse at things opposite that." Alarion briefly thought about his own words, then added, "I'm not sure what better means. Specifically."

"It is a general improvement," Elena explained. "Lower MP costs, better casting time, higher damage. All things being equal, a spell cast within your affinity will be better."

"And this is going to tell us what mine are?"

"That is exactly what this codex is for." Elena looked at Sierra, and with a single gesture, the girl unrolled the final item.

It was a square mat a few feet in width. Crafted from dark leather, it was inked with intricate lines, circles, words, and icons. Alarion instantly recognized it as the same general design Sierra had scrawled in her notebook, though this one was of a much higher quality.

"As Sierra told you, Affinities are divided by axis, each with its own name. The vertical axis is called Creation and covers Force, Life, Nature, Decay, Death, and Void. The horizontal is Primal and includes Emotion, Illusion, Time, Gravity, Enchantment, and Mind. The left diagonal is Esoteric and includes Sound, Moon, Water, Fire, Sun, and Sight. Finally, you have Arcane, which includes Body, Reality, Earth, Air, Dimension, and Spirit."

"They are also commonly known by another set of names," ZEKE said to Elena's clear dismay. "Creation, Challenge, Riddle, and Magic. After the four mothers."

"You do realize those names are frowned upon by the Houses?" Elena asked dryly.

"I'm only informing the young Master insofar as he may encounter the terms in the wild," ZEKE replied in a chipper tone, much to Elena's dismay. "Alarion, you see the space where all lines intersect? Place your hand there and pulse mana into the guide. It should do the rest."

The boy tilted his head. "Pulse my mana?"

"Did you directly bind any of your items?" When Alarion shook his head, ZEKE instead tapped the inside of his wrist, mirroring where Alarion normally stored his Shifting Greatsword. "Think of how you shift your greatsword, only more involved."

Alarion looked at the leather on the ground before him, then at the expectant faces surrounding him. A slight sense of stage fright gripped his stomach, but he pushed it away and knelt beside the item. He placed his hand at its center, closed his eyes, and pushed.

Nothing.

Learning to use his greatsword had been intuitive. The sword had an active hunger for mana, which meant that he didn't need to push mana into it, so much as to let it flow naturally on its own. When the sword had gained its second ability, the only change had been that there were two connections that he had to manage.

This was different. There was no pulling sensation. For all Alarion could tell, the dark leather before him was just that, regular leather scrawled over in silver ink.

"Ahh!" he grunted, his abdomen clenched, his arm tensed.

"No, no." ZEKE swatted at him with the back of one hand. "Channeling should never be a task more difficult than breathing. You need to relax and let it happen."

Alarion nodded and tried again.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

After a few seconds, he peeked out through one half-opened eyelid. The same faces looked down at him expectantly, and the young man winced. His body tensed once again as he tried to force the issue, which earned him another swipe from ZEKE and a sigh from Elena.

"It is fine, Alarion," she said in a voice that suggested anything but. "Provincial Awakened often struggle with such things. You do not have the depth of education or the familial background. We have other tools we can practice on first."

With that, the elegant dark-haired woman stooped to pluck the candlestick from the ground and offered it to Alarion.

"This is known as an everwick candle. They used to be used for household lighting, but these days they mostly serve as an excellent beginner training aid. The wick will light with even the slightest drop of MP. Not even a full point." She reached out and tapped the side with her finger, causing the candle to light and burn out in half a second. "All you have to do is relax. Focus on the silver in your hands, and flow your mana into the item."

Alarion looked at the candle with a frown. He'd felt a jolt through the silver when Elena touched it, but it felt inert without her. It was dull, lifeless metal, and he was being asked to bring it to life. "I'll try."

He leaned back on his ankles, his eyes fluttering closed again as he focused on the cool metal beneath his fingertips. Alarion felt the indentations where an artisan had stamped their worker's mark into its base, and the slight dent on its left side. He felt the repeating pattern that circled the lip, but no magic within it.

For minutes, they sat in silence, watching him. Every so often, he peeked through his lashes and saw as they studied him, or exchanged confused glances with one another.

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Something was wrong.

"I'm not sure I'm doing it right," he finally admitted.

"Take your time, Alarion." ZEKE insisted. "We are in no rush."

An hour later, the mood had shifted somewhat.

Frustration was in the air. None of them were angry at him, at least not openly, but they were confused and upset. As Alarion had learned, this was the lowest of bars. A primed item on an island suffused with ambient magical energy. They'd skipped down half a dozen steps to the easiest training aid imaginable to help him build confidence.

And still he'd failed.

He'd lit the candle only once, and that one by accident. The wick itself was even more sensitive than the candlestick. It had sapped his mana against his will and immediately burst into flames. It flared for several seconds, burning wildly until the wick crumbled to ash. Apparently, that was not supposed to happen. Indeed, ZEKE seemed perplexed that it had.

Fortunately, they had spares.

They spoke now in hushed, animated whispers. He might have heard them, had he strained his ears. But he didn't want to hear them. Watching ZEKE and Elena bicker with harsh gestures, some of which pointed back toward him, brought up foul memories he preferred to leave buried.

But they weren't the only ones losing their patience.

"What is taking so long?" Dar growled as he stormed into their conversation without an ounce of tact. The bearded man had a hand around his wrist, massaging it as he walked, his free hand opening and closing in careful, measured movements.

"The young master is… struggling," ZEKE answered quickly.

Dar looked to Alarion and squinted. "It is an Affinity test. Boy. Light the candle."

Alarion closed his eyes tightly, focused… and nothing happened.

"Is he…" The elder man was rolling his eyes as Alarion opened his. "A savant. That is what you said, machine? What kind of savant struggles to-"

"Husband," Elena said sharply.

"My bones ache being here, and this one can not find the magic to light an everwick? I'm surprised the damn thing isn't lighting itself just from the mana in the air."

"He lit one," Sierra snapped, surprising Alarion with her defense.

"Oh?" Dar shot Sierra a withering look, then turned to Alarion, "Show me."

Alarion glanced at Elena, and Dar immediately spoke again, his voice just shy of a shout. "Do not look at her. I am instructing you, not her. Light the candle."

With a frown, Alarion lifted his thumb and forefinger to the wick. He tapped it as though he were putting it out, and the candle immediately burst into an enormous, peaked flame double its own height. Alarion threw it away, ignoring the burn notifications and precipitous loss of MP as he focused on Dar.

The man's scowl had somehow deepened. He looked to ZEKE, then to Elena expectantly, but neither had anything to say. "None of you have any insight? Well, boy, you are not the only one getting a lesson today."

Dar paced toward Alarion, the leather Affinity map still lying on the ground before him. He picked it up and touched it, letting the boy watch as some of the lines began to glow silver. They illuminated Air and Decay, then dimmed as the man withdrew his hand.

"That is what should happen when you invest mana into this device. You cannot do this, but you can use your System-granted magic items and destroy an everwick. The question is, why?"

Alarion had no more answer now than an hour ago, but the question proved entirely rhetorical as the governor shoved an open palm into his face and said, "Gale Slash."

The attack struck him like nothing before. He was immediately blown off his feet and sent skipping across the stone tiles, then the harsh rocks beyond them. A stun warning flashed in his vision, a health warning coming alongside it as the raging wind cut deep gashes into his chest, arms, and legs.

When he finally rolled to a stop, he heard screaming. Elena was furious. ZEKE was marching toward the governor with an accusatory arm outstretched, but Dar's voice rose above all the others. "Why is he not naked?"

The absurdity of the question did nothing to quiet down the observers. Nor did it stop Alarion's counterattack.

The man had hurt him, and though Alarion had tempered some of his worst vices under ZEKE's tutelage, his rage at betrayal was not one of them. He sprinted the short distance between himself and the governor, taking to the air in a flying leap to close the last few steps.

The governor caught his descending fist with the sort of contempt one usually reserved for an annoying insect. Then he twisted his arm, wrenching Alarion's shoulder as he slammed him into the ground.

"No one is answering. Why is he not naked?!"

Alarion threw a few punches at Dar's elbow to dislodge him, but the strikes were fruitless. It was like punching a mountain.

Except this mountain hit back.

Dar grabbed Alarion's shirt with his free hand, lifted him from the ground, then slammed him back down again with enough force to crack the stone underneath. Alarion cried out in pain, and behind them, Elena was swearing up a storm that her husband was ignoring.

"Look, boy," Dar said. When Alarion tried to strike him, Dar slapped Alarion across the face. Not to hurt him, but to get his attention as he pointed. When Alarion still did not relent, the older man grabbed a handful of the boy's white hair and jerked his head to the side, forcing him to look at the path of destruction that the [Gale Slash] had left in its wake.

Tiles had been shredded, stone obliterated, the very earth itself torn up into a concave path that tracked the line of the attack. The damage was devastating and absolute. It was a wonder that he had survived it.

And it was impossible that his clothes should have.

"There it is," Dar said with a note of approval. He shot a warning look at ZEKE as the Steelborn approached to intercede, and gestured to the pathway of destruction. "That was stone and reinforced tile. This is silk and cotton. How did it survive my attack?"

"Because an Awakened physique isn't just tougher skin," Sierra answered, frightened but resolute. "Our bodies are naturally enhanced by the magic within them, and we extend that magic to things we hold or wear."

"Very good." Dar jerked Alarion's arm roughly to stop him from struggling, eliciting a stifled grunt of pain. "The same reason an Imperial Greatsword is an Awakened-only weapon. It is not just heavy, it is so heavy that it would snap under its own weight without reinforcement."

Elena's tone was seething. "What is your point, Dar?"

"My point is that he nearly blew up the everwick at a touch. It drained a lot of MP, did it not?"

Alarion clenched his jaw defiantly, then released a sharp yelp as Dar wrenched his arm again. "Yes!"

"And his clothes are barely damaged. Even with his vitality, that is unusual unless he has a deformity in his Mana Circuits. Which you do, right, boy? I understand it is not uncommon for Awakened who undergo starvation. Your body eats its fat and other energy stores, and when you get hungry, you cannibalize your potential."

You have recognized your flaw!

Splintered Mana Circuits

Description: Whether through birth defect, attack, or neglect, your Mana Circuits have been permanently damaged beyond repair. While they still function in part, your ability to project your mana and restrict its flow has been forever stripped away.

Requirements: None.

Type: Flaw, Passive.

Severity: Major

Effect: You are incapable of voluntarily externalizing your mana. You are unable to voluntarily use any skills, items, or spells that require MP to be channeled to an external source. Items, skills, or spells that automatically drain mana will drain the maximum amount possible on contact.

"Sad to see the genius child turn out to be somewhat of a dud, but there is nothing for it," Dar mused as he dragged Alarion the short distance to the leather codex. "This should still work. Give me your arm, do not make me take it."

Alarion forced his body to relax as Dar pushed his hand down onto the center of the Affinity map. At first, there was nothing. Then the man pushed harder, digging his knuckles into the back of Alarion's hand until it hurt. Silver light leaked from beneath their combined hands, flowing down four lines.

Time.

Sun.

Body.

Void.

"There. I do not match any of these, and since I will be sleeping alone tonight regardless, I will leave you in my wife's capable hands."

Dar stood, but Alarion did not. He lingered amid three all too familiar feelings. Pain. Despair.

And helplessness.

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