Part 2 - Brightnight

"And yet, like them, I cannot but wonder why aura and aether are so antithetical. A non-insignificant portion of ex-Climbers cling to the belief that aura is a punishment power source forced upon them for the Original Sin committed by their ancestors, and that aura was meant to strip them of their divine right as Children of the Crystal to wield aether. And as such, they come to understand that even forgiven, some measure of punishment is still due upon themselves.

This however, is a belief that the auramancy community of combat delvers vehemently rejects, and I can't help but agree with them. For if aura truly was just a punishment, how then could you explain all those O-Nexians (and even I-Nexians) who turned from aethermancy to embrace auramancy instead? How can you explain that using a punishment power source, that auramancers can too reach that pinnacle of might that are the ranks of the Named Few? And with a might that sometimes defies explanation…" - Notes for an upcoming publication by Student Kuon Feeir, KUO274021097334283LDX, Social Studies Tower, Year 3, The White Towers University (TWT-U7-GX75T9) - 28th of [ERROR], Year [ERROR]

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"Move your head, you fuckwit," Mul said in his customary suppressed tone. "I can't see anything."

"You never even want to look outside!" Tuk complained, moving his head a smidge away from the window. "You're always too scared to even open your eyes!"

"Who's scared of…"

Nar shook his head and tuned them out as Jul tried to pacify them both.

Excited conversation filled the second deck of the beetle flying them to the town beneath the Scimitar.

At his side, Cen was busy making sure that she had downloaded all the material she would be studying across the four months they were to spend inside the Brightnight while they still had access to the 2NET. On the row in front of them, Kur and Gad were discussing some last-minute tactics, while beside them, Jasphaer and Rel were animatedly chatting about poisons of all things, with Viy having elected to flip around and poke her head to check on the chaos unfolding on Nar's row.

A lot of excitement given where we're going, Nar thought. And for how long.

However, he himself couldn't deny the anticipation in his quickened heartbeat. The Brightnight was the next step on his journey to becoming a Named Few, and the harsh, brutal dungeon would hammer in all the lessons he'd had, and force him to either grow, or break.

Not only was he looking forward to earning the two passives he and Tys had both suffered to teach and learn, but the Master of Blades also expected him to return with his active skills and swordsmanship well practiced and ingrained into his body and mind. Plus, Nar also wanted to push his [Aura Blade] to the next stage, though he was slightly nervous about the fact that he was about to find a critical flaw in what he had come to think of as his most powerful skill.

As for the Master of Aura…

 

The fool with the swords and the girl have already given you plenty to do.

So, I'll be lenient…

Get your pathways to at least level 25, and give me some proper [Mastery] to work with, or don't bother showing up in front of me when you come back.

From the Master of Aura.

 

Nar shook his head, even as the others fully devolved into further chaos, forcing Cen to snap at them to quiet down. As always, the old master was impossible to read… She was always swinging between a concerned, loving and even playful grandmother, and a brutally demanding master that yielded nothing in her demands for the pursuit of excellence.

Whatever. I'll just have to get it done, he thought, grimacing at the long hours of painful aura practice awaiting him. Still, it's not like he hadn't already decided to continue carving his pathways with that condensed aura ball… It was more the skill level demanded of him that gave him reason to pause.

Level 25, uh?

He was currently sitting at level 9 for his [Pathways of the Champion] and level 8 for his [Mastery]. To make it all the way to level 25 would require a staggering 16 levels gained in his pathways, not to mention whatever it was that the Master of Aura found to be a "proper" [Mastery], especially given that his [Mastery] gains were supposed to slow down considerably going forward… He was meant to be gaining at least 30 whole levels in the Brightnight, effectively almost doubling his Aggregate Level of 39, so, at least, her request seemed possible at the very least, though gods knew how hard it was going to be.

"For fuck's sake! Why is it taking so long!" Cen muttered at his side. "And why didn't she tell me of this yesterday?"

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Nar grinned to himself. Another one with a surprise message from the Master of Aura.

He shook his head, leaving Cen to panic over her download speeds.

30 levels… Crystal. That's a lot, isn't it? he thought, cupping his chin. It hadn't been that long ago that he had exited the cubeplant into that yellow lit corridor, and he had accomplished much with those measly first attributes, not to mention that the boy that had exited the Gates had been almost unrecognizable to the one who had left. And now, there was the depth and breadth of what the Scimitar had taught him over the following months on top of that as well… And Brightnight was about to be another massive leap forward, and he couldn't help but be thrilled at what sort of growth he was about to undertake.

Even if not for his dad anymore, at least he would still fulfill his duty and ever-growing desire of ensuring a future for all of them.

A ping echoed above their heads, cutting down on the chaotic hubbub.

"Morning all, this is your captain speaking," a voice of unrecognizable gender spoke. "We'll be landing shortly. There was a bit of a fruit spill below apparently, so we're just waiting on ground control to let us know when we can land. In the meantime, I've been entrusted to pass on some last-minute additional details about your delve."

Mul exhaled in a half groan, half suppressed growl.

"What now?" Viy asked, her head still poking over to Tuk's seat.

Nar pursed his lips, reflecting their sentiment. The last time they had received such last-minute changes it had resulted in them ending up in a corrupted dungeon.

"Truth is, you will actually be completing this delve as a two-party effort. Not a single one," the voice said, mirth evident in their tone. "So, you have ten minutes to create a domain party with a party of your choosing, and once you do, the Scimitar will assign you to a two-person team of guides to go into the Brightnight with, instead of the original one. When the time's up, we'll disconnect the 2NET onboard and you will be assigned a random party. The countdown has already started."

"Quick! Get Row's party!" Tuk shouted, leaping to his feet to look over at Kur, almost headbutting Viy in his rush.

"Yeah, get them! Get them!" Mul and Viy both shouted.

"Sit down and calm down!" Kur snapped at them. "I'm already texting her!"

"What's a domain party?" Jul asked, rising to look over the proceedings.

"It's a party of parties," Gad answered, eyeing Kur's tablet as he typed his message. "You can only form them in domains. It gives us the same benefits that having a party does, location sharing and mental communication, and it also allows us to share buffs and debuffs, statuses and experience."

"It also creates a general domain party chat alongside each party's chats," Kur added, raising his voice to be heard in the rising chaos that took their deck, all the parties rushing to find a second one to pair with. "It's basically like having all of us become a single, bigger party."

"That's awesome!" Tuk said, grinning from ear to ear.

"It also means that our token requirements will go up, though. Right?" Jasphaer asked.

"Yes," Gad answered, as Kur tapped away on his tablet. "1000 tokens per person instead of 500. And like before, it will be a shared total."

"So, instead of 5000 tokens we now need 18,000 to exit… No! 20,000! We need to pay for the guides as well," Cen said. "And we have two more people than they do…"

"Row already said they don't mind that," Kur said. "More importantly, working together means that we'll be able to take on stronger beasts and split our tasks in a much more efficient way."

"So we might go after those rewards after all?" Jasphaer asked.

Nar's eyebrows shot up at mention of rewards, and they all waited with bated breaths for Kur's reply.

The party leader sighed and raised his eyes from his tablet to consider his excited party. "We'll see what they think about that. But… Yes, I think we will. We just need to decide if trying to make it up to the rare rewards is worth the risk or not."

Rare… Nar thought, leaning back on his seat. That would be really nice.

His champion skills were all of the rare rank, so any such skills he could gain would be a Crystal send.

Though even just a new uncommon skill would be good, he thought. My [Aura Blade] is uncommon and look how insane it is!

However, the domain guardian decided what rewards to hand out, and as such, he could end up with anything. And while he was sure whatever he earned would be helpful, in his mind, nothing was more valuable and useful than skills.

Unless I get something to upgrade my sword again, he thought idly. But speaking of chats, mine's still not working…

He had received a notification from the faculty that they were still looking into his issue, but that had been weeks ago, and he had been too busy, exhausted and in too much pain to do anything other than to push through his training and get through each day and night as they came.

Meh. Not going to need it in the Brightnight anyways. No 2NET in there, he thought, as gravity shifted under him, indicating that the ship was finally about to land. Hopefully it will be fixed when I get back. The party group chat they made always looks so fun…

"What's taking so long?" Mul grumbled in Kur's direction. "We're moving again."

"Kur, don't be an idiot. Just accept it!" Gad said.

"But…"

"Kur! Just do it!" Gad hissed in uncharacteristic anger. "It doesn't matter who's the domain leader. You'll both be leading us anyways!"

Kur groaned under his breath. "Fine… There. It's done. The party domain is set."

"We'll be landing soon. If you haven't gotten your domain party sorted, I advise you to hurry up! The connection will be cut in three minutes," the captain warned them.

What was that all about? Nar wondered, staring between Gad's spikes and Kur's pale blonde hair. Does he not want to lead the party domain?

That someone had to lead wasn't a shock. There must always be a clear leader in any delve, and he also wasn't surprised that Row had passed the responsibility over to Kur. Their Climb had been arguably a lot tougher than theirs, and Kur had proven himself again by getting them all through the heart of the corrupted cluster of dungeons. However, Kur's reticence in doing so, and Gad's anger, spoke of something deeper going on.

I really need to talk to him about it, he thought, as the ship bumped gently against the landing pad. Or maybe I should leave it for Gad to handle… She said she was dealing with it, and she'll be a lot better at it than I am. I'll just keep an eye on him for now, I guess.

He checked his party view and as expected, it now showed Row's party alongside theirs.

Nice, he thought. And it was a bit of a relief to know that they would have Row's party to bolster theirs for the next four months.

"We've landed and the doors are open," the captain said. "From now on, you are cut off from the 2NET. If you haven't found a party to pair with, talk to the crew below. Also, be advised that there is a rising tide across the area, so you might feel a few tingles while outside. That is all. Good luck and work hard, and we'll be here to pick you all back up in a few months."

Nar glanced around as the apprentices rose to exit the aethership.

I wonder how many of us are going to make it back, he thought, keeping his features neutral.

The warnings had been grave and repeatedly issued, and he had no doubts that for some of the apprentices, that jungle was going to be the end of their journeys.

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