Ogre Tyrant

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 69 – Affinity for Violence – Part One

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 69 - Affinity for Violence - Part One

While Pete and Suzy slept, Lash and I spent the night reading through translated cultivation manuals supplied by Gric and Sebet. Despite the size of the manuals, the written contents were best described as brief instructions or discussions of vague concepts. References to diagrams were uncommon yet tended to be straightforward and to the point.

I learned that the contents of the manuals had been greatly simplified as part of Gric and Sebet’s efforts in making them more accessible. Although, it came with a warning that some of the original concepts' meanings would be altered in the process. This made this particular edition of translated manuals useful as a basic introduction, but unreliable for guiding the long-term growth of the Techniques themselves.

Lash had made a considerable effort in becoming literate. However, her reading speed was still comparatively quite low.

Feeling a keen sense of anxiety over the unknown, I elected to read aloud to help ease her stress alongside my own.

Out of curiosity, Lash attempted one of the breathing Techniques. However, after half an hour of trying different Techniques, she was unsuccessful in generating a second Status sheet. Lash hadn’t triggered any alerts or errors either, so I was not overly upset by it.

“It didn’t work...” Lash observed bluntly, making no attempts at concealing the bitterness and anxiety in her voice.

I had reviewed the alerts and notifications before Lash had begun her attempts, and now strongly suspected that Pete’s second Status screen held the answer.

Pete was explicitly identified as a Demi Monarch.

Lash narrowed her eyes at me. “You know why,” she accused.

I slowly nodded, wanting to lower her expectations somewhat since I wasn’t certain. “I think it is because Pete is my son...”

Lash furrowed her brow as she puzzled through my admittedly poor choice of words. “Pete is your heir. That is why?” Lash asked somewhat warily.

“I think so...” I agreed. “And If I am right, Suzy is probably capable of the same.”

“You as well,” Lash commented, relaxing and releasing a deep sigh of relief.

“Probably...” I had no guarantees, but it was a relatively simple process to prove it one way or the other.

Lash stared at me expectantly.

Suppressing a sigh, I took a few moments to review the manuals laid on the table. Recalling that Pete had unlocked an Affinity for water, I decided to select a breathing Technique that referenced a strong association with water Affinity.

I didn’t know what the Affinity would do but was confident that it would be better to have it than not.

Awkwardly standing on my right foot and raising my left knee, I carefully extended my arms to either side. With my palms facing skyward and roughly level with my hips, I did my best to ignore my wavering sense of balance and focus on my breathing.

With each breath, I tried to push the other thoughts from my mind and envision the flowing of water.

Focusing on the ebb and flow of the ocean from my memories, I felt a deep sense of peace wash over me and through my very being.

Opening my eyes, I was startled to find Lash staring at me intently. Her face was less than an inch away from my own and her bright luminous amethyst eyes dazzled me with their intensity.

“You are awake!” Lash cried out with surprise, nearly slipping off her chair as she took an involuntary half-step backwards.

“Daddy!” Suzy cried out excitedly, abandoning her toys and splashing through the two-foot-high water covering the floor.

After stiffly lowering my left leg, I swept Suzy up into a tight hug, eliciting a series of squealing giggles and laughter.

Looking around the room, I found Pete sitting at the bottom of the bathing pool. Relieved to see that he was breathing, I released another deep sigh.

“He has been sitting for days...” Lash commented with understandable concern.

“Days?” I very nearly gave myself whiplash.

Lash nodded, her earlier surprise now firmly replaced by concern.

“Daddy sleep!” Suzy exclaimed eagerly, excited to be part of the conversation and draw attention back to herself.

“How...How many days has it been?” I asked, my throat suddenly feeling incredibly dry.

“Five days...” Lash replied, frowning slightly. “The books, they said waking could cause harm...” Her shoulders sagged and I became aware of the dark rings under her eyes.

I pulled Lash off the chair and drew her into a tight embrace. “I’m sorry...I…I didn’t mean to leave you all alone like that...”

I had no reason to doubt Lash’s words but couldn’t help myself from exercising my authority to confirm it for myself.

Five days...

“I’m sorry...” I repeated quietly. I could only imagine how worried I had made her after what had happened to Pete.

Thinking of Pete, my eyes were drawn toward the bathing pool.

Pete was no longer meditating at the bottom of the pool. Instead, he was stretching as if having woken from a long deep sleep.

“Pete is awake,” I relaxed my grip on Lash and angled her towards the bathing pool so she could see for herself.

Slipping out of my grasp, Lash rushed across the floor and dove into the bathing pool. Suzy wriggled free shortly after, pointing and laughing at the edge of the pool while Pete patiently accepted their mother’s pent-up worry and affection with an air of confusion and embarrassment.

Sitting on the edge of my bed and massaging my stiff joints, I decided to check and see whether the meditation had succeeded in creating a second Status page.

Bringing up the Status, my eyes were immediately drawn to the faint outline on the right side of the Status pane. Concentrating, I opened the second page and inspected its contents.

A momentary surge of static obstructed a portion of the topmost information but quickly resolved itself, allowing an unobstructed view of the second Status page.

[Tim - Lake Ogre-Mage {Monarch} ] [Chi: 10*/10* {Water, Earth, Thunder, Wood, Death, Space} ]

[Class: None.]
[Party: Tim’s Party] [Lash’s Mate]

[Bloodline: {Tyrant 3} +1 Willpower.] [Bloodline Progeny: Pete, Suzy.]

[Cultivation Inheritance: {Tyrant’s Body} ]

[Strength: 25* ]

[Agility: 10 ]

[Toughness: 29* ]

[Intelligence: 12 ]

[Willpower: 18* (19*) ]

[Presence: 8* ]

[ (Racial Ability: Eternal Tao {Rank 10}): Through meditation the Taoist becomes a receptacle for universal energy. Through shedding imperfections and gaining insight into the true nature of being, the Taoist gains mastery over existence. ]

[ (Racial Ability: Affinity of Water {Rank 3}): The soul of the Taoist is one with the waters of life and may draw upon its essence through meditation and a deeper understanding of the Tao. ]

[ (Racial Ability: Affinity of Earth {Rank 2}): The soul of the Taoist is one with the indomitable earth and may draw upon its essence through meditation and a deeper understanding of the Tao. ]

[ (Racial Ability: Affinity of Thunder {Rank 2}): The soul of the Taoist is one with the tumultuous thunder and may draw upon its essence through meditation and a deeper understanding of the Tao. ]

[ (Racial Ability: Affinity of Wood {Rank 1}): The soul of the Taoist is one with the seeds of nature and may draw upon its essence through meditation and a deeper understanding of the Tao. ]

[ (Racial Ability: Affinity of Death {Rank 0}): The soul of the Taoist is one with the inevitability of death and may draw upon its essence through meditation and a deeper understanding of the Tao. ]

[ (Racial Ability: Affinity of Space {Rank 9}): The soul of the Taoist is one with the ether of dimensions and may draw upon its essence through meditation and a deeper understanding of the Tao. ]

[Group Synergies: {Hide/Expand}]

Overcoming my initial surprise and curiosity, I grew somewhat concerned by the Racial Abilities at the bottom of the page.

Aren’t the descriptions incredibly repetitive? And why do I have so many Affinities when Pete only has one?

Bringing my authority to bear, I was further surprised to find that I was allowed a limited degree of insight in place of the headache I had otherwise expected.

The manuals had made vague references to various Affinities but made no concrete claims regarding what they were capable of. However, if the information uncovered by my obstructed authority could be trusted, individual Affinities could prove to be incredibly powerful.

Somewhat referenced by the description of the Affinities' respective and repetitive descriptions, an Affinity allowed a measure of direct control over its designated influence through the manipulation of Chi. How that was accomplished in a practical sense was not explained.

Where my authority failed, the cryptic instructions of the Technique manuals provided additional insight. Assuming key elements were preserved in the translation, and my understanding was correct, Chi could be reserved to fulfil several ongoing effects in the vicinity of the practitioner. Chi could also be expended similarly to MP.

From what I had personally witnessed while fighting the Divine Patriarch, Sword Affinity Chi could be reserved to sharpen and enhance the damage of a blade to the point that it ignored the magical and mundane properties of armour. Similarly, the Chi with Sword Affinity could be expended to make attacks at a distance.

I wasn’t certain how much of that potential was based on the Techniques themselves. Some of the Techniques were quite explicit in requiring certain Affinities to function, while others hinted at losing effectiveness without them.

Assuming ten Chi was probably a beginner level for Cultivators, I doubted I would be able to accomplish much of anything with it. Especially without a Technique to provide structure and generate the desired effect.

All the same, I concentrated on projecting the Chi inside of my body into the surrounding water and experimentally waved my hand.

To my immense surprise, large ripples followed the movement of my hand.

My surprise quickly gave way to cynicism as I realised that I may have accomplished the feat by using my authority unintentionally. After all, while within my domain, there was little I couldn’t do through an application of will.

Concentrating on the water, I was reasonably confident that I could sense the unique energy signature of the Chi. Relaxing my mind, I experimented with moving the water independently without moving my hand.

Sure enough, the water infused with my Chi moved under my remote direction and continued sending ripples across the greater surface of the water.

Continuing to manipulate the water, I raised my Status again and inspected it for a second time. Curiously enough, I found that a number had appeared alongside the water Affinity represented at the top of the page.

[Chi: 0*/10* {Water 10, Earth, Thunder, Wood, Death, Space} ]

Experimenting, I confirmed that the value would change in real time as I invested or withdrew my Chi from the water. I also learned that I could only send the Chi-infused water about ten feet away from myself before small amounts of Chi would begin to disperse into the surrounding area and decay into the native energy of the alternate system.

Through losing small amounts of Chi, I also learned that it naturally replenished on its own but at a rather slow rate. The majority of the replenishment was accomplished by drawing the energy back into my body by breathing. However, a very small amount was independently generated from within my body itself similarly to regenerating MP.

Recalling the special energy-rich crystals, potions and medicines that had been stored within the Divine Patriarch’s magic ring, I realised that the Cultivators’ system had a similar method for rapidly replenishing Chi to MP and HP. This also meant that my Iron Gut Racial Ability might also accelerate the conversion of resources into Chi.

Unfortunately, the Divine Patriarch’s former subjects had little food to spare, so it would be quite some time before I could properly test the theory.

Unless...

Exercising my authority, I assigned the larger segmented territory as a spawning location for the tri-horned rabbits.

Conjuring one of the male rabbits into my waiting hand, I crushed its neck between my thumb and forefinger and made my way over to the kitchen. Going through the motions, I reflected on how killing rabbits had once been a profoundly traumatising experience, and that butchering one would have been inconceivable.

Things had changed.

I had seen and done too much to consider such a mundane and practical necessity as anything else.

Using my authority to discard the offal and other unwanted remains, I skewered the meat and set it to cook over a small fire and a large bed of coals.

One of the unexpected perks of monstrous children was their innate understanding and respect for fire. Pete and Suzy were still as enamoured with fire as any other child would be, but demonstrated no interest whatsoever in ‘playing’ with it.

“Food?!” Suzy yelped excitedly, sniffing at the air as her eyes zeroed in on the rabbit. Drool began freely dribbling down her chin.

Realising my mistake, I began preparing a proper meal for the whole family. No matter how distracted she may have been, Lash wouldn’t have starved Suzy. But I could tell just by looking at the ravaged state of our pantry, that Suzy’s otherwise irreconcilable appetite hadn’t been managed as well as it could have been.

A combined effect of her rapid growth and manic degree of activity was influenced by the Iron Gut Ability, Suzy had a near inexhaustible appetite.

Setting a pot of water to boil on the coals, I lifted Suzy onto the simple stone counter so she could help me prepare meat and vegetables for a hearty stew. To tide Suzy over, and ensure more ingredients reached the cooking pot, I gave her a string of salami-like smoked sausages that had somehow survived her earlier predations.

“Mowr!” Suzy demanded, waving a chubby hand between the remaining pieces of meat on the chopping board and to the cooking pot.

“More?” I asked, making a show of raising an eyebrow in mock surprise. “More meat?”

“Mowr!” Suzy replied emphatically, nodding her head vigorously as she tore through another smoked sausage the size of a man’s arm.

“Maybe I should add some sausage then?” I asked, nodding toward the remaining links clutched tightly in Suzy’s other hand.

Suzy baulked and scrambled backwards across the counter. “Uh uh!” She refused, turning her back and jealously guarding her treasures.

Chuckling in amusement and shaking my head, I returned to cutting vegetables.

Leaving the stew to cook, I lifted Suzy off the counter and onto the edge of the dinner table.

Jealously guarding the final sausage, Suzy eyed me warily.

“You are a lot like your aunt Toofy aren’t you?” I asked rhetorically and tickled her dribbly chin.

“Hehe,” Suzy grinned happily and continued chewing away.

Returning to the kitchen, I rotated the skewered rabbit and did my best to ignore Suzy’s ravenous gaze.

Watching Pete and Suzy wolf down the better part of the giant pot of stew, I was reminded why raising children was meant to be a collaborative effort of the entire tribe.

Many families living within Sanctuary still participated in sharing huge communal meals. It was more fuel efficient and generally resulted in the best cooks preparing the food. At the same time, the remaining adults tended to the children or assisted with basic preparations.

With Pete and Suzy otherwise distracted, I followed through on my intended test. After deliberately depleting my Chi, I ate the roasted tri-horned rabbit and patiently waited to see the results.

More or less as I had expected, the rate of Chi recovery increased dramatically. However, the accelerated recovery was short lived and provided only a single point of Chi.

Given the low amount of internal energy possessed by the tri-horned rabbit, I assumed that something with higher internal energy would provide a greater level of Chi recovery. However, I doubted the duration likely wouldn’t increase, due to Iron Gut’s effects.

Watching the twins eat, I was startled when the stew began flowing out of Pete’s bowl and straight into his mouth.

Gulping down the mouthful of stew, Pete gave me a proud yet subdued smile.

Had he learned to move the water by watching me? Or had he figured it out on his own?

Pete repeated the trick several more times, even going so far as to feed his sister the final dregs out of the pot.

It came as little surprise that Suzy’s interest in Pete’s newly acquired trick had peaked.

“Play?!” Suzy demanded, grinning madly as she tugged at Pete's arm.

Pete awkwardly looked to Lash and I for guidance.

Despite her obvious hesitation, Lash nodded in approval. “You are certain I cannot?” She asked quietly.

“...” I had been about to reply out of hand but stopped upon realising I wasn’t actually sure.

I had assumed that Pete’s Demi-Monarch authority had been the requirement. However, there was no guarantee of that being the case. Just because it had been the trigger for the limited System overlap, didn’t mean that was the reach of the System overlap.

Technically, anyone vested with my authority ‘might’ qualify.

Summoning Gric or Sebet would see the matter settled soon enough, but Lash had brought another oversight to my attention.

I had yet to give her the limited authority that would allow her to freely traverse and manage our domain.

It took all of a second to correct the mistake.

“Maybe...” My belated reply caught Lash somewhat off guard. “My initial understanding may have been wrong,” I admitted bluntly as a partial explanation.

Her eyes were still partially unfocused, most likely from reading the notification of her increased authority. However, it didn’t stop Lash from quickly shifting her focus. “This will help?” She asked determinedly.

“It might,” I replied, taking care to manage her expectations. “I don’t know if the limited authority will be enough...”

Jaw tightening and brow set, Lash nodded to show she understood.

Lash was as familiar with the breathing Techniques as I was and wasted little time in leading the efforts in coaching Suzy. Once Suzy was settled, Lash assumed the same meditative stance alongside the twins.

Energy began circulating toward Pete almost immediately.

Despite her fidgeting, Suzy began taking in some of the same energy. Diverting increasingly greater portions as the minutes passed by.

Unfortunately, despite being surrounded by the energy and even briefly taking some of it into her body, Lash’s Status remained unchanged and she failed to convert any of the energy into internal energy.

According to what I had learned from the manuals, failing to convert the ambient energy into internal energy through a breathing Technique was a strong indicator that Lash would not be able to unlock the second System page.

Minutes turned to hours and Lash remained unchanged. Shortly before midnight, she reluctantly left the pool and joined me on our bed.

I did my best to console her, but Lash said little by way of reply and settled down to sleep while I kept watch on our children.

Just like Pete and myself, Suzy had acquired the Affinity for water. However, shortly after midnight, Suzy abandoned meditation and fell asleep. Although it was unclear whether it had been a deliberate choice or simply a result of remaining still for such a long period of time.

Summoning Sebet and Gric during the night, I learned that they had both attempted to unlock the second System, and that they had both failed.

Sebet shrugged with an air of indifference. “I beg the Great One’s pardon, but I had not held much hope for emulating the feat of a Monarch and their progeny.”

Gric narrowed his eyes warily at the Devil. “It is as she says,” he agreed with obvious reluctance. “There is no shame in failing to emulate the Tyrant’s greatness.”

I wasn’t so certain Lash would feel the same.

“I need to unlock a Class,” I explained, shifting the conversation toward a more productive subject. “Besides the Swordsman, I didn’t read any instructions on unlocking other Classes.”

“I have learned of others,” Sebet volunteered with only a hint of hesitation, “Although, the information pertaining to the methods involved in unlocking them is lacking at best.”

With the information no doubt taken from the minds of the imprisoned Swordsmen and Spearmen, I wasn’t overly optimistic.

“All the same, I would like to know my options,” I explained while mentally preparing myself for disappointment and frustration.

With Sebet clearly taking the lead, Gric made his way over to the pool and carefully lifted Suzy out of the water before transplanting her on the bed beside Lash.

Sebet sat herself down on one of the large stone chairs at the dinner table and took a few moments to gather her thoughts. “You are aware of the Daemonic Cultivator Class already, and as best as we have determined, it requires some form of Daemonic essence to be absorbed or be otherwise present in the body. Although I strongly suspect any form of Fiendish essence may suffice...” Sebet paused and made a strange face before shaking it off. “This alternate System doesn’t appear to recognise that there are fundamental differences...”

Gric snorted quietly in disapproval.

“Otherwise, there are references to Martial Experts and Martial Masters, which specialise in the pursuit of combat through advanced understanding of weaponry and martial pursuits. Bearing a striking resemblance to the Knight in many respects.” Sebet conjured a thick leather bound tome and distractedly flicked through its pages before evidently finding what she was looking for. “Yes, I have already Contracted a Knight to take several volunteers to test the theory.” She closed the book and it disappeared in a burst of heatless flames. “Of course, Mage-like Classes were claimed to exist as well. Strangely enough, it is these Classes that seemed to command the greatest degree of prestige. Which is odd considering the martial inclinations of those in the entrenched positions of power.”

“Classes like the Alchemist?” I guessed, realising that the Class had not been represented in manuals at all.

“Oh, most definitely!” Sebet agreed emphatically. “The Alchemists are at the centre of everything. Without them, everything would collapse!” She leaned forward and wore an eager smile, seemingly delighting in the discussion of this particular subject. “In their world, the Cultivators actively compete against one another in very nearly every pursuit. Subscribing to a fundamentally flawed interpretation of might making right,” Sebet snickered condescendingly. “The consumable items produced by Alchemists provide shortcuts in acquiring power through Cultivation, making conflict with an Alchemist an incredibly uncommon occurrence.”

“How did Jin unlock the Class if we don’t have instructions in the manuals?” I pressed. The background information was interesting, but not an immediate concern.

“He was apprenticed as a child,” Gric replied quietly. “Through coincidence, he happened to be visiting his home village when the territories changed hands.”

Sebet smiled and nodded slightly in agreement. “My investigation has revealed the same.”

“Are there others?” I asked, wondering whether it was good or bad fortune that had made Jin my subject.

Sebet slowly shook her head and absently tapped the surface of the table. “There are no others that we have found, and we have been quite thorough.”

“Fair enough,” I sighed and motioned for Sebet to continue. “What about these other Classes?”

“This is where the information becomes increasingly unreliable,” Sebet apologised, prematurely lowering my expectations. “Celestial-” She grimaced distastefully, “-Sorcerers, according to limited accounts, specialise in casting devastating Spells. Inscriptionists produce magic items and specialise in permanent enchantments that can cover many miles. They are responsible for creating the arrays and formations referenced in the recovered texts.”

“Any others?” I asked. I wasn’t overly impressed with the limited options thus far, but they were certainly better than nothing.

“There are claims of others...” Sebet replied with a noted lack of enthusiasm, “Such as the Divine Beast Master...But there is absolutely no evidence to support their existence beyond drunken hearsay.”

That was fair enough. With the villagers being as isolated as they were and relying heavily upon the contents of the imprisoned soldiers' memories for information, it was unrealistic to expect much more than this.

Without a Class, I couldn’t learn and properly benefit from the Techniques written within the manuals. Which meant that the benefits of the second system would be limited to whatever I could accomplish through the Affinities.

Despite knowing that rushing things was generally a bad idea, I also couldn’t help but focus on the limited difference afforded to each Class through their unique Class Abilities. Even if I chose the ‘wrong’ Class, it would still be capable of most of the same things as the others. Or so I assumed given what I knew of the Class Abilities thus far.

Briefly setting those thoughts aside, I retrieved one of the manuals from the table and flicked through the pages until arriving on one diagram in particular.

“Theoretically, this Array shouldn’t require any techniques, right?” I asked, leaving the question open for either of them to answer.

“The energy gathering Array?” Gric clarified, moving closer to take a better look at the diagram.

“There was no mention of a Technique being required,” Sebet confirmed, leaning forward with increased interest.

“It just states that a suitable amount of energy is required to initiate the Array’s effects,” Gric confirmed. “The villagers have already erected several Arrays in shared spaces. However, the energies within those territories has resulted in a limited effectiveness of the Arrays.”

“It will increase the concentration of the energy, but it will take time for the ambient energy to build to high enough levels to create truly worthwhile effects,” Sebet agreed.

“Hana has been experimenting with creating hybrid vegetation,” I explained for Sebet’s benefit.

Gric lived in The Grove and faintly nodded in acknowledgement, confirming that he had kept abreast of recent events.

“Really?” Sebet’s interest was piqued. “May I ask, has she met with much success?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted, “It has been a few days since then. But the initial experiment seemed promising.”

“I will investigate further!” Sebet decided with an expression of keen interest. I wasn’t sure what had given her cause for such an intense interest, but I trusted in her oaths and our standing Contract to keep her honest in pursuing my best interests.

“I can’t be certain, not yet at least, but I think sponsoring the growth of a handful of Cultivators will increase the rate at which the required energies within the territories will increase...” I couldn’t help but notice that Sebet’s interest had only intensified further.

“Cultivators can be used to generate more of the required energy?” Dark thoughts passed behind her eyes. “Yes...I can help with this...”

My thoughts briefly turned to the prisoners kept within her dungeons. Before I could feel tempted to feel sorry for them, I reminded myself of the crime they had committed.

There were others far more deserving of my pity.

If Sebet wanted to use them in a Matrix-esque battery farm, I wasn’t going to stop her.

Far better that some form of good comes from the destruction they had wrought.

“I will be returning to the Hurst Labyrinth soon...” It took me a few moments to realise that I had spoken aloud.

Sebet and Gric nodded attentively. I had declared my intentions in no uncertain terms before, so it made sense that they weren’t surprised.

“When I do, I will be taking on a more active role. I need to gain more combat experience. Training is fine up to a certain point, but I have begun hesitating again...” I looked down at my hands. I found that they were tightly balled into fists. “With everything, everyone, relying on me, I can’t afford to hesitate...”

With nothing further to discuss, I dismissed their projections.

I had thought he was still meditating, but as Pete climbed out of the bathing pool, he proved otherwise. Raising his arms, Pete opened and closed his hands in a silent request to be picked up.

Lifting Pete off the floor, I hugged him to my chest and made my way over to the bed.

Slipping free on his own, Pete crawled under the blanket and rested his head on Lash’s stomach. Within moments, he fell soundly asleep.

Looking down at my family, I was reminded of the first time I had laid eyes on my children. Reminded of the promises I had made to myself.

There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect them.

Resisting the urge to join my family, I left the cave and made my way over to the training grounds by the lake.

Summoning a generic Orc warrior, I gave it the silent command to attack me to the best of its ability.

Less than half my height, the Orc made it two steps before I dealt it a vicious backhand to the side of the head. As its skull tore apart, the Spell collapsed and the Orc disappeared.

Flexing my fingers and staring at the space where the Orc had disappeared, I felt nothing.

The Lesser Summons possessed no true will of their own and harboured no independent thoughts. They were little more than sophisticated puppets.

I Summoned an Aurochian and repeated the same order I had given to the Orc.

Far larger than the Orc, the minotaur-like Aurochian released a savage roar, lowered its head and charged.

Stepping to the side to avoid the Aurochian’s charge, I resisted the urge to initiate an immediate counterattack. With our shared Synergies and the Aurochian's high Toughness, it would only have left me open to a potential retributive strike.

Instead, I baited the Aurochian into making another charge. Only, this time, I didn’t dodge.

Catching the Aurochian by the shoulders, I threw him hard to the side.

Unable to arrest his momentum, the Aurochian slid across the muddy bank of the lake and into the shallows.

Stalking after him, I infused my Chi into the water and attempted to bind him.

Through brute strength alone, the Aurochian freed its limbs and began struggling to fight its way clear of the water.

Changing tactics, I directed the water away from the Aurochian’s limbs and into its nostrils.

Sensing the danger, the Aurochian desperately slapped at the water to keep it clear of his face. However, the more fiercely it fought, the more focus I could afford to direct the water.

Within seconds, the Chi-infused water had displaced the air in the Aurochian’s lungs and he began to drown.

Staggering onto dry land, the Aurochian desperately clawed at his throat. All the while, his chest heaved in an attempt to expel the fluid from his lungs.

The Aurochian's HP began to rapidly deteriorate, and within half a minute of struggling, he collapsed into unconsciousness.

Drawing the Chi back from the water, I cancelled the Lesser Summon.

I sincerely doubted that a Cultivator would ‘allow’ me to drown them similarly to the Lesser Summon. However, there was no guarantee that all of my future enemies would be Cultivators. So keeping the trick in my back pocket was probably a good idea.

Assuming my scale of control increased alongside the progression of the Affinity or available Chi, otherwise mundane bodies of water could be weaponised to considerable advantage.

Shifting my attention toward the packed earth of the training grounds, I infused a section with my Chi and willed it to move.

The dirt tumbled free from the ground and began rolling more or less according to how I directed. After some coaxing, I found I could even make it fly. Although it required considerably greater concentration to do so.

Further experimentation confirmed that I could do the same with water. However, the increase in required concentration was less than it had been with the dirt. I could only assume that it was due to my higher water Affinity.

The Wood Affinity was much the same but required a different way of thinking to keep the plants intact.

Using my authority to shape the spiked head of a mace from a large stone, I experimented with throwing and retrieving the spiked ball with my Chi.

I quickly learned that ‘throwing’ with Chi required considerably less concentration. Similarly, I could use the same low level of concentration to retrieve the spiked ball again.

Experimenting with the shape of the stone, I tried throwing axes, knives and spears. After hours of practice and depleting my available Chi, I felt somewhat conflicted over the results.

Accuracy with ranged attacks had been an issue for me for a long time. However, altering the trajectory mid-flight was nothing short of cheating. So long as I had Chi, and was throwing a stone projectile at a target within a certain range, I could correct the projectile’s course and ensure it would land where I intended.

Of course, hitting a moving target would likely require more concentration than adjusting to strike a stationary target. That was just a given. However, it did make me wonder what else was possible.

I spent three days practising and gradually gained a better understanding of the Chi manipulation’s limits. During this time my earth and water Affinities increased by two ranks. Curiously, Eternal Tao increased by a single rank as well, increasing my maximum Chi by a single point even though I hadn’t spent any time practising the breathing Technique.

During those three days, the Exalted Admiral issued a second Challenge. However, because it was not mandatory to accept it, I ignored it just like the first.

Zod’s Dungeon initiative was showing great promise, and I permitted him to expand it further. For the sake of efficiency, I granted him an entire territory to dedicate to his Dungeons.

As part of my preparations for the Hurst Labyrinth, I experimented with making stone weapons and armour, strengthening them with my blood and the Shape Stone Spell. All but invulnerable to the magic weapons I had on hand, I intended to test the armour’s limits while fighting within the Hurst Labyrinth.

Recruitment for the Subjugation force had begun in earnest and had caused a certain degree of unease amongst the established Factions. The primary source of this unease was due to the enlisted being moved into the Subjugation Faction for the duration of their service.

There was a considerable degree of soft influence that could be exerted within a Faction through Promotions and the like. Losing that influence was bad enough, but it was made many times worse by the fact that those belonging to different Factions were not bound to recognise the authority of those outside their Faction.

Of course, not all Factions were so concerned. A few had leapt at the opportunity with open arms.

The members of Rikit’s ever-expanding pack of Gnolls, the Blood Fur Faction, were one such Faction. Desperate to prove themselves, the males of the pack were signing up in droves.

Taking it a step further, the Flameheart Kobolds were volunteering in pre-formed platoons.

Somewhat unexpectedly, a small contingent of Dwergi had expressed a desire to enlist as well. And they were not alone.

As the mustering date drew closer, very nearly every Species within Sanctuary was represented amongst the ranks of the enlisted.

Of course, there was no shortage of Humans either. A minority of which I had requested explicitly from the border lords to serve as a temporary leadership corps. In addition to their regular duties, the senior and junior officers would be responsible for scouting the enlisted for potential officer candidates and grooming them for command.

Regardless of what I discovered at the peak of the Hurst Labyrinth, there was a genuine possibility that I would need a professional standing army in the near future.

***** Durkan ~ Tim’s Labyrinth ~ Subjugation Force basecamp *****

Standing shoulder to shoulder with the veteran warriors of the clan, Durkan felt an immense degree of pride burning within his chest. Not only had the Tyrant accepted them as his warriors, but they had also been afforded the special honour of serving as his honour guard and Bodyguards.

Clad in magical stone armour and tightly gripping the shaft of an equally magical stone spear, Durkan did his best to stand as tall as he was able so he would not dishonour the Tyrant and his gifts.

In his heart, Durkan knew that their appointment as the Tyrant’s Bodyguards was almost certainly out of the Tyrant’s affection for his mate, the Tyrantess. However, rather than feeling disheartened, Durkan burned with a desire to prove himself useful and worthy of the title of thunder warrior.

“You will be the tip of my spear,” the Tyrant rumbled, his intense gaze settling on Throk, their leader, as he addressed the greater group. “Seizing and securing the portal chamber is the highest priority, and will almost certainly carry the greatest dangers. So I entrust this task to you, my thunder warriors!”

Despite towering over the Humans and other Monsters in the war camp, Durkan’s head barely reached the Tyrant’s chest. Such was the Tyrant’s immense size.

With a swipe of his hand, the Tyrant tore a bloody rent in reality revealing a large stone chamber less than a dozen feet from where they were standing.

“Now go!” The Tyrant barked savagely, waving them toward the portal.

“Raaagh!” Throk’s roar was muffled by his helmet, but he charged forward with the vigour of an Orc half his considerably advanced age.

Joining his voice to the others, Durkan roared and advanced shoulder to shoulder with his fellow warriors.

Passing through the portal, Durkan felt a fleeting sense of weightlessness before his boots settled on solid ground again.

Just as the Tyrant had anticipated, the large stone chamber was swarming with human warriors.

Rushing forwards, Throk impaled the nearest human with his massive stone spear.

Before the human had a chance to realise what had happened, his body burst apart in an explosion of bloody gore as thunder roared from the head of Throk’s spear.

“For the Tyrant!!!” Throk roared, viciously kicking another human in the chest and sending him crashing into several of his fellows.

“FOR THE TYRANT!!!” As one, Durkan and his fellow thunder warriors charged.

Too dazed by the surprise attack to defend themselves, two dozen human warriors fell in rapid and bloody succession. Their screams echoed off of the stone walls and terrified those who remained.

“A BREACH!!!” A human near the far end of the chamber screamed while frantically hammering his fist on an immense iron-banded door. “THERE IS A BREACH!!!”

Another human pulled hard on a large lever halfway down the length of the chamber. Shortly after, a massive wall of crossed iron tipped with spikes began descending from the ceiling.

Realising that the wall of crossed iron would block their advance, Durkan dropped his mace and rushed ahead of his fellows. Ignoring the humans in his path, Durkan braced himself as best he could and caught the descending wall of crossed iron with both hands.

Despite Durkan’s immense strength, the immense weight of the wall of crossed iron was gradually forcing him to give ground.

Very nearly driven to his knees and with the spikes scraping against his armour, Durkan ignored the humans’ arrows and held firm.

All at once, his burden became lighter.

Looking to his left, Durkan took heart at the sight of his older brother, Durak, who was now lifting the wall of crossed iron alongside him.

“Together!” Durak grunted, heaving at the lowest bars of the wall of crossed iron with all his might.

“Together!” Durkan replied, redoubling his efforts.

With the path clear, their fellow warriors rushed past them and into the ragged ranks of the humans beyond.

“Our...glory!” Durak groaned, adjusting his stance to match Durkan’s and better carry the immense weight bearing down on them.

“Our glory!” Durkan agreed enthusiastically, his chest swelling with pride. Despite being left behind, Durkan knew his brother was right. Without them holding the path open, the attack would have stalled and possibly failed.

The terrified screams of the humans fell silent as those who had not fled were overrun and cut down.

“Forward!” A shrill cry from behind announced the arrival of the Kobolds. “Secure the prison! Yes! Go now!”

A tide of tiny scaly bodies surged past Durkan’s legs and down the length of the chamber. Breaking upon the immense door at the far end of the chamber, the Kobold horde drained into the smaller doorways on either side, eliciting a fresh wave of cries from the human survivors.

“A portcullis?” A gruff voice commented appraisingly from somewhere beneath Durkan’s knees. “It is good we were told to expect this!”

A chorus of muted yet equally gruff voices agreed.

The immense weight of the wall of crossed iron abruptly disappeared.

“You are free to move now!” The gruff voice announced, “The portcullis has been braced!”

While looking for the owner of the voice, Durkan was surprised to find that the wall of the chamber had swallowed a good portion of the crossed iron, seizing and holding it in place. Cautiously ducking out from under the crossed iron and its spikes, Durkan took the opportunity to take several deep breaths and shake some feeling back into his arms and shoulders.

“You did well stopping that portcullis!” The gruff voice declared approvingly, drawing Durkan’s eyes downward and toward a small cluster of stout armoured figures carrying thick staved stone spears. The lead figure bowed his helmeted head in appreciation before leading his fellows forward. “Hurry along! We have less than an hour to properly fortify this travesty of stonework!” He bellowed, waving his spear and causing the stone walls to run like water and toward the immense door at the far end of the chamber.

“Dwergi,” Durak explained somewhat breathlessly as he returned Durkan’s weapon. “Cave diggers, Stone Shapers...”

Durkan had heard the same rumours, but it was something else entirely to witness it for himself.

Taking care not to step on or knock down the smaller monsters around them, Durkan and his brother made their way forward to rejoin the other warriors.

“Sons of Sark and Nula! Glory is yours!” Throk declared, earning the immediate approval of the most senior warriors.

“Your glory!” The other warriors repeated, striking their chests as a sign of their respect.

“Your glory, brother!” Durak cheered.

Overwhelmed, Durkan humbly accepted the collective praise of his seniors in silence.

In the caverns and tunnels of their old home, using your body to delay a collapse and keep the path open for the clan’s retreat was one of the greatest sacrifices a warrior could make. Second only to blocking a tunnel with their body to stall the tide of a ravenous Bloodhunter horde.

It was how Durkan and Durak’s father had died, crushed beneath the stones of a home they had chosen to forget.

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