Ashborn Primordial

Chapter 74: Prana Rat Exterminator

You have acquitted yourself admirably, Apramor, the Kinjal proctor said. Your tactics befit your weapon choice and martial style, and you adapt to your enemy during combat. A crucial trait shared by all powerful warriors.

Vir gulped. But? Theres always a but

It is clear that you have training in some very exotic arts. But it is your Talents that shine the most. Leap and High Jump are common amongst Talent wielders, but I have yet to see anyone master Shadow Blend and Shadow Movement to such an extent. Indeed, I must wonder whether this is some new undiscovered Talent?

The proctor threw a pointed gaze at Vir, but then cleared his throat and continued. No matter. With this, I hereby declare the exam concluded.

What about my Rank? Vir asked.

Thats not how it works, Initiate, the helmed soldier replied. Balarian proctors bestow ranks, yes, but to keep the system as standardized and as impartial as possible, your rank must be reviewed by the Balarian Council in Kinjal. Only after they approve of the proctors assessment will your ranking be finalized.

There have been cases in the past where a proctor has failed to appreciate some aspects of a warriors performance, or overemphasized the value of a particular trait. The Balarian Council helps protect against such issues.

So, Im not going to know my rank for a while, then? Vir said. Hed been so excited to find out how powerful he was. You cant tell me now?

To gain my title as Balarian Proctor, I have gone through much training and rigor. Our system does not suffer those who betray it. However, considering your performance, I am willing to share your provisional rank now.

T-thanks, Vir replied. It sounded like the proctor was putting his reputation at risk by divulging this information.

But before I do, tell me, do you understand how the Balar scale operates?

I know it represents the strength of a Kin'jal Balarian Warrior. Balar ten means I'd be equal to the rank of ten warriors, right?

Yes, and no. Balar One is a standard baseline of Kin'jal Balarian warriors of old. These days, most Balarian Warriors boast a rank greater than one. Nevertheless, there is value in a standard unit of measure, as measuring nuanced traits such as combat potential is difficult, to say the least. The Balar Scale serves to give an approximation of someone's strength, but there have been many situations when a lower Balar warrior bests someone higher than them on the scale. Keep this in mind.

I will.

The proctor nodded. I rank you at

Vir gulped. Would he break the Balar Thirty Riyan had mentioned? Or Yuma save me. What if its less than thirty!?

Balar Sixty. Owing to your Talents, mobility, knowledge of tactics, and your special Talent, you possess the capacity to defeat sixty Kinjal Balarian Warriors ranked Balar One.

The helmed warrior whistled.

Virs eyes shot open. Sixty!? That was practically double what Riyan had said. Then again, Riyan never knew of the full extent of Dance of the Shadow Demon. Vir wondered whether it might actually be greater than sixty, since the proctor had no knowledge of Prana Vision.

Yesss! he roared, pumping his arms. Take that, Maiya!

Vir strode out of the arena with Neel, his official iron Initiate badge in hand, with a spring in his step. There really was nothing quite like external validation of his combat prowess; Balar 60 was likely far higher than even the knights whod attacked Brij.

If he ever came across them again, he wouldnt have to run or hide any longer. He could stand his ground. Neither knights, nor pirates, nor slavers would threaten him as they had in the past.

With excitement and haste, Vir returned to the Executor to accept his first mission.

You want me to kill sewer rats Vir said blankly, staring at the veiled Executor woman. Not the woman from his first visitsomeone else. Like all the other Executors, she treated him as if she knew him already.

Prana rats. They have been spilling out of the sewers and terrorizing local neighborhoods. While they are of no threat to someone of your capabilities, prana rats maim civilians regularly. You will be doing a public good, said the Executor with a sigh. Look, this is your first contract, Initiate. What did you expect?

I I dunno? Something a bit more dangerous?

Your Balar Rank is precisely why we have given you this contract. Most Initiates begin by running errands for civilians or acting as couriers. Now, do you accept, or do you decline?

I accept. How many do you need killed?

A thousand should suffice.

A thousand!?

Vir walked out of the Brotherhood Sanctum into the cool night, deflated and a little annoyed. The pay wasnt great, and hed honestly expected to be granted a more befitting contract after his exemplary performance.

But he supposed it was better than being an errand boy.

Why so glum, chum? a familiar voice said as Vir entered the Market plaza.

Wasnt expecting to see you so soon, Vir replied, turning to Amin, who stood with his hands clasped behind his head.

Yeaah, well I wanted to check in on my new friend. See how things are going, yknow?

Oh? Are we friends now?

Amin grinned, showing his yellowed and blackened teeth. Sure are! Cmon, why dont we head to a nicer spot?

Vir wanted some fresh air, so he didnt mind. Itd be a good opportunity to get some information from the urchin. Or pretend urchinwhatever he was.

Hed expected Amin to take him to a bar, or perhaps one of his hideouts. Instead, the boy led up to a building and up a flight of stairs to a flat third story rooftop.

Pretty great, isnt it? Amin said, gesturing to the myriad of Magic Lamps that glowed before them. The view, while not breathtaking, was magical in its own right.

Its beautiful, Vir replied. Is this your hangout spot?

One of them, yeah. Come here to get away from it all, yknow?

Not really. What do you do, usually?

Honestly? Just try to make enough to eat, man, the urchin replied, sitting down on the rooftop, crossing his legs.

Vir took a seat beside him.

Youre still going with that excuse? Even untrained, mejai dont have trouble finding food. And especially not secret agents. So whats your relationship to Riyan, anyway?

Oh, General Savar? Me and him go way back.

Vir somehow doubted it, given the boys age. But then again, there was something about Amins appearance that made it hard to place exactly how old he was. He couldve been four years Virs junior, or possibly even a year or two older.

Used to be pretty close, yknow? But weve drifted apart lately. He hasnt really been active in Daha all that much. I miss him.

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Now Vir really wanted to know what their relationship was like. Riyan had never once mentioned the boy, nor had he conveyed any affection while speaking of his contact. Then again, it was just like Riyan to hide his true feelings like that.

So anyway, whats your Balar Rank? You just turned in that Jatu and got tested, didnt you?

Howd you know?

I mean, what else would you be doing in the Sanctum at this hour? So cmon, tell me!

Whats your rank? Vir asked.

Thirty five, Amin said immediately, surprising Vir.

You sure? Lightning and Water affinities? I think youd be stronger than that.

Yeah, well. Couldnt really afford too many orbs for the test. Had to rent them, in fact. And besides, I only have Lesser affinities. Nothing to write home about.

Vir fell silent for a moment. It was true that the boy only had Lesser Water and Lightning affinities. If he was as poor as he kept claiming, then Vir could see how he might end up with such a rank.

Forty five, Vir lied.

Impressive, man! And youre a Talent wielder, too. Not bad at all!

Thanks, Vir said, pausing before springing his next question. Amin, what do you think of King Rayid?

It was an innocent enough question. He didnt feel comfortable divulging his mission to Amin just yetwhat if he was working for others as well as Riyan? But everyone was interested in the king.

Mediocre at best. He aint the worst king Hiranyas had, but that is a very low bar. Nations better off with a better ruler. I mean, just look at this city. The Warrens practically say it all.

Oh yeah? Who would you rather see on the throne?

Dunno. Prince Sans a decent guy. Hed do well, I think.

What about his sister? Princess Mina?

Weak. Spineless. Wouldnt be my first choice, thats for sure.

That was a take Vir certainly wasnt expecting. She seemed pretty regal during the procession, though?

Theyre all like that, the royals. They all wear different faces for different occasions. Heck, I do too. But dont believe everything you see.

Vir decided to change the topic. You know your way around the sewers pretty well, yeah? I know you said it was dangerous, but do you have a route to the District of Internal Affairs? Is there any way to get there underground?

There is, Amin said, hesitating. But its real dangerous, yknow? Youd have to go deep. Deeper than you ought to.

Would you mind showing me? I can pay you.

Sorry, man. I dont got a death wish. The monsters down there Balar 45? Youd be dead in no time. I wont go down there without a Balar 200, at least.

I see, Vir replied. He didnt want to push the boy. While Vir wanted to be done with Daha as soon as humanly possible, he couldnt afford to burn his bridges at this juncture.

Welp, Amin said with a nod. About time I head home. You should get some rest, too. Have fun being a Brotherhood drone. Those guys freak me out.

Vir waved as Amin left, leaving him alone.

Well, I suppose I should get this over with

And so, for the next several days, Virs life entailed rising at dusk to enter the sewers at night, descending into the wet tunnels that made him want to puke, slaughtering prana rats by the dozens. He returned to the surface only when he couldnt bear the stench any longer.

It was a small blessing that the Executor would judge his efforts based on the number of prana rat sightings aboveground, and not the number of corpses he brought back. He didnt know if he could handle the stench of dozens of rotting rat corpses polluting his rucksack.

His reward for enduring such torture? A single paltry silver.

It wasnt long ago that Vir wouldve salivated over an Imperium silver, but as his combat power had increased, so too had his standards. He blamed Riyan; the mans abode had spoiled Vir rotten.

As the Executor had said, killing prana rats wasnt difficult. Though they were about twice the size of a normal rat, they possessed no additional weapons apart from their larger claws and fangs, which Vir handled with ease.

Prana Vision revealed the shadow prana coursing through their necks as their primary vulnerability, and once hed gotten the hang of it, he didnt even need to rely on his Talents to take them outa single slash of his katar usually did the trick.

He didnt even need to chase them down. The foolish rodents were only too eager to attack him. Vir had soon tired of the novelty after dispatching a few dozen of them individually. The task was less like combat and more a chore, so he sought to up the ante wherever he could.

He fought left-handed. He entered narrow tunnels where his mobility was restricted, and he allowed them to surround himall to create enough of a challenge for him to improve his skills.

While they may only have been rats, a thousand enemies were a thousand enemies, and Vir wasnt going to waste this golden training opportunity.

The only one who really lost out on all of this was Neel. Vir refused to bring his precious friend down here, lest the bandy develop some incurable affliction from the insanitary detritus. To his four-legged friends chagrin, Neel had spent the last few days cooped up in his room.

Initially, some situations he got himself into devolved into chaos, forcing him to rely on the Dance to extricate himself. He wasnt afraid of succumbing to the rats attacksthat was unlikely, even when surrounded.

The real danger lay in the afflictions they carried within their maws. One bite could mean death, unless Vir sought a Brotherhood Life Affinity mejai. And, after his first bite, hed learned that their services were not cheap, nearly bankrupting him.

Ever since then, hed been far more cautious, only engaging when he knew he could win. It slowed his progress somewhat, but the alternative was far worse.

At least, that was how hed operated until now. Yesterday, hed located their primary nest. The source of the infestation. While the contract hadnt specified any extra reward for eliminating the entire prana rat colony, Vir was sure itd put him in the Brotherhoods good books, accelerating his goals.

It was his only hope at this point, as Amin had been oddly missing, and Vir had no way of contacting the boy.

With Prana Vision flaring, Vir turned the corner into a half-height tunnel that led into the prana rat lair.

Vir had already scouted all the entrances he could find, choosing this one since it was the least guarded. It was also the longest, forcing him through many twists and turns to reach the core of the compound.

Coming across his first prana rat guardian, he activated a micro Leap, dispatching the beast before it even knew what hit it.

He dispatched every rat along the way, barely even breaking stride to end their lives.

Would Reaper Ekanai be proud if he saw Vir reaping their lives? Or would the demon scowl and say he was wasting time? Either way, the voices in his head remained silent.

When Vir came across a tunnel leading to another entrance, he took it. It would lead him back away from the nest, but this was part of his plan. If he killed all the rats in the entrances, they couldnt ambush and outflank him.

His tactic workedright until he encountered a group of six. Vir lay into them, slicing their necks apart like a wraith, but he wasnt fast enough. Two prana rats shrieked, bolting down the entrance to their brethren.

Vir killed them before they made it even ten paces, but their cry had alerted the colony.

A cacophony of shrieks and squeaks signaled the impending horde. Vir sprinted through the tunnel directly at them.

After getting as close to the enemy as he could, Vir activated Dance of the Shadow Demon, sinking into the ground. The rats, suddenly missing their target, panicked.

This was Virs ace up his sleeve. Instead of exiting the shadow realm, Vir remained within it. Here, in this pitch-black tunnel, the entire space was his domain.

His katar extended from underneath a rat, killing it before retracting into the shadow. He did it again, and again. Dozens of times, before his time was up.

All of this was possible thanks to the discoveries hed made about his ability over the past few months. Ten counts was the maximum length Vir could remain within the shadow realmif he kept his entire body inside. During those ten counts, time outside would stand still.

However, the more of his body that protruded outside, the longer he could stay in. On the other hand, the less of his body that occupied the shadow realm, the faster time flowed outside. In this way, Vir could control both the flow of time and how much of himself he hid within the shadows.

Crucially, he could extend different parts of his body through different shadows at will. He didnt have an inkling how it all worked, but so long as a shadow was within range, Vir could poke his legs out of one and his arms out of another.

He did exactly this. With his legs protruding out of the original tunnel hed entered througha safe and empty tunnelhe attacked the beasts, allowing him to keep the ability active for a full thirty seconds.

When it ended, he reappeared in the first empty tunnel, and recharged the ability. Some seconds later, he reactivated Dance, repeating the process.

By the time hed sucked the ambient prana dry, not a single prana rat remained. Only corpses.

But Vir didnt let down his guard. When hed taken this contract, the first thing hed done was to consult the bestiary in Dahas library, which told him that prana rat colonies always coalesced around a rat king. These beasts were both bigger and more vicious than their lesser brethren, capable of uniting colonies under their banner.

These kings were no joke. Some even had Balar Ranks up to thirty. If Vir had encountered the king before eliminating the bulk of its colony, hed have been forced to flee.

He proceeded with an abundance of caution, peering as far as he could with Prana Vision.

One moment, there was nothing, and the next, a great rat twice Neels size came hurtling at him with the speed of an Acira. Vir dove to the side on instinct, narrowly avoiding a vicious chomp aimed at his neck.

The rats jaws snapped with so much force, the sound echoed through the tunnel.

Vir immediately let loose a chakri, slicing into the beasts flesh.

It might be fast, but its hide is pretty weak, Vir thought as he dodged another claw.

There was only one way to win this, and that was with Dance. Hed already exhausted the Ash prana in this area, but there was just enough for one more invocation. Hed have to make it count.

Vir threw a chakri, forcing the rat king back, buying time to charge Dance.

The prana rat king eyed him for a moment, then, seeing Vir standing still with no intent to attack, it lunged.

Not enough time! Vir thought.

The tunnel was too narrow to dodge, and Leap would take a full second to charge.

The rats maw opened, its saliva oozing from its gums. The beast craved Virs flesh, and at this rate, it would have its wish.

No choice!

He triggered Dance prematurely, sinking into the shadow realm.

He barely made it. The rats maw snapped shut, taking a tuft of Virs hair with it.

This time, Vir had no chance to choose his destination. Dance spit him out immediately

And he fell. He fell from a great height.

Disoriented, Vir struggled to gain his bearings, but then instinct and his endless hours of training kicked in. Prana Vision flared. The ground rushed closer, but Vir was ready.

Activating Light Step, he set a knee softly down onto the stone.

Vir stood up and looked around the great cavern he found himself in.

Where in all the realms am I?

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