The clumsy clambering of soldiers emerging from their slumbers throughout the bunk bed infested barracks jolted me awake. By the lowlight and cold air blowing from the swinging exit door as soldiers shuffled out, I deduced it was incredibly early in morning. While I had to assume most of the soldiers got up on pylon defense days way earlier than I typically did, having to experience it first made me question why anyone even stuck around. Being crammed in with humans and giants alike after days of battle, just to wake up a couple hours later to repeat the cycle.
True, most of our soldiers were somewhere between class level 6-8, implying their efforts have certainly been rewarded along our relatively short yet eventful journey thus far. Still, seeing me roll out of bed less than an hour before a defense just to lead in our efforts outside the wall couldn't have felt fair by any definition. As much as I enjoy having rather ideal circumstances dropped onto my lap to excel, I'm not an idiot. Nor am I one to think myself better than anyone of my soldiers. They simply didn't have the same opportunities as I had, or were yet to find their own individual paths to growth.
Shit, I have to start getting up early now, don't I?
Resentment at my own morality protested my decision, trying desperately to tempt me with comforting promises of a warm pillow pressed against my cheek. There was no logical reason why I needed to be up with the rest of our little army, considering our obligations almost never aligned until come time to fight. Even then, I served either as leader of a special unit composed of our strongest warriors, or sent out alone to cause mayhem and seek out Pylon leaders.
Still, that didn't make me above being up and working when they were, albeit towards different goals via differing actions. If anything, my role obligated I work doubly hard to ensure they have strong leadership to fall back on, both in combat and as a blueprint to the effort being strong in this world required.
Jeez, I'm starting to sound like Korbin.
The rush of anger at the self comparison sent a burst of energy to my system like a shot of adrenaline. My body lurched up from the bunk, slinking my feet over the edge and leaping down to the floor. Most of the soldiers had already filed out the exit door heading for the settlement front gate. I caught a few surprised glares at the corners of my vision shuffling toward the exit, exclusively from the water druid warriors. It made sense, considering they were the soldiers who knew me longest, outside of their leadership.
It took a couple seconds for my eyes to adjust to the morning light glaring down as I exited the barracks. After a few unpleasant moments of squinting with my hand above my face, my vision finally cleared, and though I had to rub my eyes one more time looking around the settlement.
What was previously a few large buildings, one massive palace and open space had been completely renovated. Towering buildings covered most of what was previously open land, while the palace along with all the other preexisting structures tripled in size with Korbin's new patented 'Elysium' banner draped along each one. All of the buildings had been expanded, repainted, even moved to make room for a marketplace along with living quarters for civilians. All except for our soldiers' sleeping quarters, which instead had multiple much larger hanger style buildings surrounding it.
Clearly, Cassi had gotten busy spending Korbin's hard earned TP making this place more 'up to snuff' with the rest of our settlements. Only she had a lot of free space to work with, Korbin's Romanesque style buildings dwarfing the prior Porphynaen structures in numbers. My eyes continued scanning over the many improvements made within the Pylon walls, following the soldiers flow of traffic towards the gate with the rest of my senses.
My stride was halted abruptly as my head bounced off something metallic, letting out a loud 'thunk' as my head recoiled back. Rubbing my head I looked forward to see what building must have run into, only to see Cassi standing tall in her metal suit of armor, a devilish smirk on her face.
"Still waking up, soldier?" She asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.
"'Ha-ha', witty insult. Very original." I said back in a deadpan, still rubbing the crust from my eyes.
"Harsh, didn't know you were a grumpy morning person." Cassi retorted, placing a hand at her chest feigning offense.
"Sorry. Honestly yes, I very much am." I answered, recognizing my unwarranted attitude. I did choose to pull my lazy ass up out of bed, after all.
"Red flag much?" Cassi teased, laughing at her own joke. Someone had to.
"Besides the point, I was actually just admiring your handiwork. This place looks a million times better." I said, trying to change topics.
"Oh yeah, I had to get that all done this morning. Just wait until you see what I got outside the walls." Cassi said, her grin only widening as she cryptically hinted at her defenses.
"I take it we're going to be better equipped for flying be-"
"If anything gets 20 feet off the ground it'll be dessicated before the blast reaches its skin. Don't bring it up again." Cassi interrupted firmly. It wasn't my intention to strike a nerve, especially since I didn't enjoy watching the Harpyja slaughter our men either.
"Hey, that was a bad day for me too. I'm just covering our bases, it's too early for me to be a smart-ass anyways." I said, trying to defuse her quickly soured mood. Her eyebrow lifted again, along with her nefarious grin.
"..and what time do you get smarter? Bedtime?" She teased, finding her joy again in poking fun at me. To her credit, that one was pretty good, even getting a restrained chuckle out of me as I shook my head.
"Okay, fair enough. So, what exactly do you guys do before a defense this early if everything's set up then?" I asked, hoping to get my body moving to get warm. The morning breeze was biting my cheeks and funneling through my cowl down my spine, causing my teeth to chatter. Fucking hate the cold.
"Oh, almost nothing is set up. I had to plot battle strategies last night after getting a feel for the settlement. We have tree lines heading deep into the forest completely surrounding us. Meaning, we need to defend from all sides today." Cassi explained.
"Okay, but I assume you already finished those plans?" I asked, a tinge of doubt in my assumption given her short notice rising as I spoke. She quickly killed all said anxiety.
"Yeah, finished before bedtime." She answered. I sighed trying to restrain myself.
"Then what exactly do you have to do today?" I asked, frustrated now at her unwillingness to answer. Her face dropped at my question, as if I'd asked how to spell my own name.
"Tom, no one knows the plan. Only I do. I have to brief every soldier, from the water druids to our new ex Porphynae giants, on their roles today. I also have to be certain they know their jobs well enough to execute, some having to train on our new cannons to get a feel for it. Then there's you and our little special uni-"
"I get it, I get it. Please, you're making me anxious just talking about that shit." I said, not willing to hear her laundry list of responsibilities any longer. It all sounded so terribly monotonous, and being lethargic before a major battle just sounded…irresponsible.
"I know, you're not built for all that. That's why we need you to deal with slightly bigger problems than target practice." Cassi began, finally saying something of interest.
"And what exactly are those problems?" I asked, excited at my assignment not having to do with boring leader stuff.
"Two things. I'll start with the fun one. Multiple new Porphynae Giant recruits have been reporting reoccurring Gryphon attacks wiping out whole hunting parties since they got here. None of them have been able to kill a single one, leading the Gryphons population to only expand. None of them have been reported to attack during these Pylon defenses, implying they're intelligent enough to avoid dying senselessly." Cassi explained in great detail, my eyes flaring wide in excitement at the flying beasts description.
"So you want me to go take them out now? How far are they?" I asked while stretching my legs preparing for an early fight.
"Easy Tiger, you don't have time for a full hunt before the defense. That's your job after we win today, though it's vital in securing the confidence of our new recruits, as well as their safety when we leave here." Cassi said, pushing her palms downward in front of her gesturing to relax.
"Oh, that makes sense to me. Okay, well what's the second thing you need me to do?" I asked, hoping for a more immediate task. Cassi grinned at my question.
"Glad you asked, go wake up your unit for training. Phoebe and Becky are already up, you can meet them at the Palace courtyard." Cassi instructed, turning heels and heading toward our soldiers.
"Wait, where are they?" I asked, confused as to why they wouldn't be with the rest of the soldiers in the barracks.
"In home I bought for them after you went to bed. You know you just have to ask, considering those houses are going to be built anyways." Cassi said, genuinely offering.
"That's a good point actually, I hadn't even considered asking." I said, puzzled as to why I hadn't.
"Well, have fun training! Be sure to be at the gate by noon, see you Tom!" Cassi called from a distance having never slowed her pace toward the soldiers. It was a little eerie seeing her adopt a few of Korbin's traits, though it wasn't like they were terribly different to begin with. Both could be abrasive, love a good scheme, and don't mind the leadership role. The only difference so far outside of their classes and affinities had been in power and, more importantly, knowledge. While we hadn't sparred in some time, I was rather confident I would win more than not just off my knowledge of Flow alone. Especially fighting unarmed, where no extensions of oneself could mask your body's Flow.
Regardless, her growth had been more than impressive, already at level 8 having started a few levels behind me. In fairness, she'd had a plethora of opportunities to exercise both her class and profession throughout our conquest. Regret for not having asked if her profession changed from just being an 'Instructor' yet bounced around my head, though I'd have plenty of time to ask her later. For now, I have to find my friends' custom homes Cassi lended no instruction on finding for some non-negotiable training.
After an hour and half of straight up guessing what houses were who's, I finally gathered my squad of 5 powerfully lazy soldiers, including myself. Okay, Phoebe was already doing target practice when I'd arrived with the other 3, Derrick being the hardest to find. Apparently he was the last to ask for a custom home between him, Phoebe and the Serpents. Yes, the snakes had their own barn sized homes built of stone to sleep in. Truly, Cassi chose the strangest times to be nurturing.
"Well look what the eagle dragged in. I told you to be up at dawn, Becky." Phoebe said, reprimanding her slithery companion for sleeping in.
"You complain yet I'm the one sent out for your snake." I butted in, still annoyed at having to wake a sleeping boa the size of a building. She wasn't any less cranky than I was, only we can't speak. It took a few blocks of running away before Steve woke up from the building next to her, jumping in to chill her out.
"Boo-hoo, Tom had to do a job that didn't involve killing stuff." Phoebe said in a feigned crying voice, pushing her bottom lip out afterward.
"Have you done a single job other than killing stuff?" I shot back, recalling she was as much a selfish Beast-Tamer as I was.
"… touché, either way I'm not sorry."
"Fair enough."
"Can someone be sorry for waking me up so fucking early?" Derrick complained, rubbing his eyes. I was pretty sure his eyes were closed on the walk over, and I swore I heard him teleport as we passed the corner of a building.
"No Derrick, because you of all people should be here. You're the only one who hasn't lasted through an entire Pylon defense, you might still need the extra practice." I said, being admittedly blunt but honest. Sure, he'd leveled up a shit-ton since he showed up, but he was still behind. Especially considering many beasts I've fought were higher levels than I was. Especially that damned Wyvern.
"Oh yeah? Let's get warmed up with a spar then, since I need the training coach." Derrick shot back, dropping his halberd on the floor.
"Why'd you drop your weapon, tough guy?" I said, spinning my sheathed and connected twinblade around like a bo staff around my body into a ready stance. It always felt good to get back in touch with my roots anyhow.
"No. No injuring one another. Cassi was very clear we trained as a team while we had time before the defense." Phoebe yelled, stepping between us.
"And what does that entail exactly?" I asked, confused.
"Um…maybe we can combo our abilities off each other?" Phoebe proposed, clearly shooting in the dark. It wasn't her worst idea however.
"That doesn't sound bad, but I have no clue what any of your guys' skills do." Derrick said, looking mainly at the snakes.
"Steve can fly, and disable things with a bite." I explained, keeping it brief.
"And breathe water."
"And breathe w- wait what?" I said aloud, parroting Steve before what he added had registered.
"What do you mean 'breathe water'?" I asked him mentally.
"Big jet stream of water, from my mouth. What's not to get?" Steve said matter of factly.
"Since when?" I asked, confused at having yet to see him do such a thing.
"I told you I had a new skill when I evolved. Just never used it." Steve retorted, my mind searching desperately for an example in which that wouldn't have come in handy.
"…Tom?" Phoebe said, waving her hand in my face as I stared at Steve. My head recoiled back having a palm appear in front of me.
"I'm talking t-...nevermind. Steve can breathe water from his mouth too, what about Becky?" I asked Phoebe, trying to move this team practice shit going.
"Well, she has a passive ability that boosts her strength the more her body coils around things. Other than that her bites pretty damn fast, and her fangs are massive. Oh, and she's really resistant to fire damage." Phoebe quickly explained. It wasn't a long list of abilities, but Steve didn't have that deep of a 'bag' in terms of skills either.
"Not bad at all, I can see that working well with you since you shoot fire bombs or whatever." I said, seeing the utility in their pairing.
"Crude way to put it, considering I shoot all kinds of flaming arrows but, whatever." Phoebe said, passive aggressively.
"Okay snob, what's your skills then?" I retorted, not appreciating her attitude.
Phoebe all too quickly jumped at the question, explaining in great length her many archery skills. Most of them I hadn't really seen, such as Splintering Fire Arrow, Flaming Triple Shot, and Arrow Summoning. The one she'd mentioned I'd recalled seeing very well was a blend of both the Fire and Air affinities, 'Winds Of The Everflame'. She explained it as a charged ability, one that's power differed based on how long she charged it with mana.
Most of the time she just fired it without charging, creating the molotov effect I'd seen before. Of course, the one time she fully charged it, she nearly blew the Cobra's face clean off during the last Pylon defense. She also collapsed off the top of the settlement wall, according to her due to mana exhaustion immediately after firing.
"That move seems pretty fucking strong. Though it also sounds really dangerous to fuck around with charging up like that." I warned, understanding fully the dangers of mana exhaustion. I'd already seen one enemy fall due to neglecting their mana pool, recalling the blade throwing rogue we fought chasing the false King Nathaniel down.
"I'm not really planning on charging it up until I absolutely need to. It took me half a day to recover from the backlash on my body." She explained, flashing a massive burn at her neck and upper arm, assumingely just one big scar.
"Damn, I didn't think it fired back at you like that. I appreciate you doing that for us out there." I said, feeling a level of respect was earned for her sacrifice.
"It was for Becky mostly, but I'll take the compliment. And no, it didn't fire back. My body just couldn't handle the surge of fire mana coursing through my arms as it loosed. It was just…too much." Phoebe said, trailing off.
"We probably won't need that skill today. But, I wouldn't mind you using the uncharged version not in my path this time around. I'm not resistant to water, and you cut it close a few times already." I teased, hoping to get Phoebe's mind off of her injury. Her face surprisingly lit up at hearing the snide request.
"Why don't you just put them out, water-boy? You're our natural counter anyways." She said, giving me pause for a second.
"Wait, how do you know that?" I asked. It was common knowledge among those who understood their styles through way of elemental categorization that water usually beat fire. If both fighters are the same skill level, that is.
"Because firefighters existed, dummy." Phoebe shot back. Duh.
"Whatever, you're more right than you know. Who's the real loser?" I said, trying my best to save face, having overlooked the fact water fucking literally put out fire.
"I don't know what the fuck that means, but good for you I guess. What's your skills then, so I know not to 'interrupt' you big move." Phoebe asked. Derrick scoffed after she asked, making both Phoebe and I confused.
"What's so funny, Derrick?" Phoebe asked, provokingly.
"Have you seen this guy fight? He's got to have like 30 skills by now to do all the dumb shit he pulls off." Derrick said rather confidently.
"No, no not really. I do have a lot, I suppose." I replied nonchalantly. It was a weird compliment considering I'm pretty sure he didn't mean to give it.
"What's 'a lot' to you, Tom?" Derrick asked. Counting all of my skills, I started to see his point.
"…14."
"Fuckingbullshit." Derrick shot back. It was cool seeing him so passionate, I had to remember to wake him up early more often.
"Do you seriously have 14 skills, Tom? How is that even possible?" Phoebe asked, extremely curious.
"I got some skills at the tournament, and I just kept working on developing new ones." I explained, both Derrick and Phoebe's eyes shot wide as I spoke.
"What do you mean by 'developed', Tom?" Phoebe asked.
"Wait, are you two serious?" I said, laughing in disbelief. They both stared at me blankly.
"Derrick, did you not develop any skills from our training? What about the battles you've had?" I asked, confused as fuck at their lack of information.
"I chose a couple from leveling up, a few even popped up after I stopped getting options after level ups. I figure that's what you got sometimes." He said, looking a little embarrassed.
"Yeah, Elysium's most renown genius with runes but assumes that skills just 'happen', and you guys call me stupid." I said, causing both of them to launch into verbal assaults pointed at me in unison. We argued collectively for another 15 or so minutes, quickly losing the point to begin with as our tempers tapered.
"…sorry for calling you stupid." I eventually relented, everyone standing around in awkward silence. Besides Steve, who was snickering with Becky watching us bicker.
"It's fine."
"All good." They both responded.
"…so, about those comb-
"CAPTAIN TOM!" A soldier yelled, interrupting me as he ran towards us.
"What is it?" I asked as the soldier arrived.
"Cassi has requested you move your squad in position. A few gryphons were spotted outside the walls, and the general wants you to deal with them before the defense." The soldier replied. I hadn't realized how much time we ate up chasing down our group and arguing back and forth.
Shit, there goes training.