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  I look over and see Rachel still swimming toward me in the river. Good, she is alive. She gets close to me and her hands glow green. I welcome the nasty itching sensation. It is the feeling of victory. I am still getting healed when I feel the familiar tugging sensation.

  Chapter 6

  When I get to my Whitespace, I am still laying on my back and I am still hurting. Everything is sore. I don’t think that Rachel’s healing completely did its job yet. I decide not even to bother standing and I open up my interface while laying on my back. The upper left of my vision has a plus symbol. I pull up the plus symbol and my ability lists pop up. I look at each of them individually.

  Energy Beam (Active): Create a beam of electromagnetic energy from your hands. Energy beam contains 10 units of power for up to 2 seconds. Siphon 2 units from your personal aether to add 1 units of power to your energy beam. Cooldown 9 seconds.

  Hardy (Passive): Your skin, ligaments, tendons and muscles temper and are more resilient. In addition, 0 units of force and 2 units of electromagnetic energy and 1 unit of plasma energy of every impact is redirected into your personal aether+.

  Plasma Bolts (Active): Create 1 bolt+ of Plasma out of your hands. The bolt contains 1 unit of power. Bolts gain their energy from your stamina, firing more than 15 bolts in 20 seconds will cause exhaustion. Expend 20 units of energy from your personal aether to remove exhaustion. Bolts can be mentally guided after fired. Cooldown 1 second.

  It is strange, Plasma Bolts and Hardy I can upgrade the green trait, but I can’t upgrade Energy Beam. I wonder if that is because I have already upgraded Energy Beam once. I sigh out loud. I could upgrade Hardy or Plasma Bolt. I still don’t know what to do with my personal aether, so I decide to skip it. I click to upgrade Plasma Bolts.

  Plasma Bolts (Active): Create 2 bolts of Plasma out of your hands. The bolt contains 1 unit of power. Bolts gain their energy from your stamina, firing more than 15 bolts in 20 seconds will cause exhaustion. Expend 20 units of energy from your personal aether to remove exhaustion. Bolts can be mentally guided after fired. Cooldown 1 second.

  I can fire plasma bolts faster now, that will be helpful. At least, it would have been if the gray skinned aliens weren’t practically immune to my plasma bolts. I’m sure Plasma Bolts won’t always be this weak.

  I struggle and stand up. I do not have any more notifications in my interface and therefore no good way of getting to my next destination. I walk over to the black panel and check out my currency. I have 935 honor points, and 120 Iron I Tokens and 340 credits. I decide to check out the Honor Exchange, if my calculations are correct then it should have refreshed.

  Welcome to the Honor Exchange.

  Experience Potion I - 125 honor points

  Array Unlock Scroll - 300 honor points

  Experience Potion II - 250 honor points

  Blue sigils x 40 - 1250 honor points

  Green sigil x 25 - 750 honor points

  Ulterian Multitool - 800 honor points

  Orange sigil x 8 - 950 honor points

  Credits x 500 - 100 honor points

  Everlasting Chalk - 65 honor points

  Gloves of Plant Growth - 450 honor points

  Red sigil x 5 - 375 honor points

  Dimensional Backpack - 10100 honor points

  Time to Replenishment 22:12:47

  Force Replenishment 100 honor points

  What will give me the edge in combat. I won’t mince words, I got lucky that those gray skinned aliens were too heavy to swim. If we had been on a different planet where there wasn’t water readily available to show me their weakness there is no way we would have won. I need an edge. Some way to get more powerful. After reviewing my choices, it seems to me that my best choice is to level up as quickly as I can. So, I purchase the experience potions both I and II. With the remaining 560 honor points I decide to purchase the red sigils. If I am able to upgrade my abilities sooner, it could give me the edge.

  You have obtained Experience Potion I. It has been stored in your inventory.

  You have obtained Experience Potion II. It has been stored in your inventory.

  You have obtained Red Sigils x 5. They have been stored in your inventory.

  I summon my experience potions from my inventory and drink them both in one gulp each. They still taste like milk.

  You have gained 1,000 experience.

  You have gained 500 experience.

  I open back up my interface and I am pleased to see that those extra sigils paid off. I have a plus symbol in the upper left. I open up my skill menu and click on the ability I want to upgrade. This was a no-brainer to me. I need to start thinking of survival as my primary mission. My primary mission tied with keeping Rachel alive.

  Hardy (Passive): Your skin, ligaments, tendons and muscles temper and are more resilient. In addition, 1 unit of force and 2 units of electromagnetic energy and 1 unit of plasma energy of every impact is redirected into your personal aether.

  Now every attack is going to have its force redirected into me personal aether. The rhino aliens really showed me what a monster I could become if I beefed up Hardy to a ridiculous degree. At least it appeared to be Hardy, there were no outward appearances of armor or other shielding abilities. If the rhinos had put all their red sigils into the red trait, I’m sure almost none of my massive damage was going to get through. If I can start pumping in my red sigils to Hardy, I could be the monstrous one in combat.

  Without being able to afford anything else, I decide to take some time and read the help section like I should have done to begin with.

  Personal Aether: Your personal aether is an extradimensional space that stores energy for later use. Many tools and abilities grant access to your personal aether. If your ability allows you to access your personal aether, you must focus to trigger the effect. It will not be triggered by default. Your current energy stored in your personal aether can be added to your interface by selecting the “Add personal aether” option.

  When the rhino was charging me, there at the end, did I manage to trigger my personal aether when I wanted to put as much power into my energy beam as I could? It felt like the inside of my body and soul were being ripped apart. Could that have been my personal aether at work? I focus on my interface and I think “Add personal aether.” The number seven appears in the bottom right corner of my vision. If this is my personal aether, then it didn’t have much in it.

  Trying to confirm my suspicions, I start to charge my energy beam. There are no targets around to test it out, but who would care if I shot at nothing. I reason that if I do manage to successfully tap into my aether, the seven should go down. I charge my energy beam up to level two and extend my hand. I close my eyes and I imagine how I felt when the rhino was charging. I felt fear. I felt scared. I felt desperate. My heartbeat starts to speed up in my ears. I focus on the fear pulling the desire for more. If I don’t get more, I will die. The image of the rhino crackling with white electricity cements itself in my mind. I fire the beam.

  A wave of soul wrenching agony fills me as I feel my whole-body tearing. The pain is extraordinary. For someone who just had their bones snapped like twigs, something being painful was saying something. The pain brought me to my knees and I gag, but I don’t vomit. After the nausea passes, I look at the gauge for my aether and smile. It now reads five. I successfully tapped into my aether.

  I focus on firing two more energy beams, both times tapping into my aether. Both times being brought to my knees. Right now, this can’t be a reliable resource since it brings so much pain. It can be a last desperate effort, but it can’t be my go-to. If tapping into my aether worked like my other abilities, I will have to practice doing it before it stops hurting. For that I need more energy in my aether, and for that, I need to get hit. Maybe I can have Rachel smack me with the flat end of her blade for a while to siphon some of that energy into my aether. There has to be a better way. After recovering from my last energy beam, I stand up and walk out the door and I find myself
back in Denver.

  Chapter 7

  This time, it is my turn to wait for Rachel to get back from her Whitespace. I wasn’t totally healed, so it is a little painful to sit, stand, move, or really do anything. I have to wait about an hour before Rachel shows up. Did Rachel have to wait this long for me?

  “Will! You will never guess. I leveled!” Rachel bounds down the stairs with a giant grin on her face. The way she raced down the stairs; I could tell just by a look that something is different.

  “What’s your new power?”

  “I wanted a passive this time around, so I got Dexterous. It increases my agility, speed, and balance. Honestly I feel like a whole new me.”

  “Did it combine with anything in Arrays?”

  “Actually, this is the best part, it combined with Scan. Objects scanned have their projected pathway imprinted on my mind. I can literally see what projectiles are going to do before they do it. It took a long time to get used to, but I used it in my trial and I was able to get top eighty five percent. I don’t think the trial was configured so that someone could see the obstacles before they even get close.”

  “Wow really that’s awesome, Rachel!”

  “I just feel more confident in my own skin now. It is like I was always meant to move like this.” She gives me a hug and I grunt in pain. “You’re hurt, aren’t you? I’m sorry, but the non-aggression zone means I can’t heal you right now. You will have to wait until we get back into the Gate.”

  I grimace at the accuracy of her words.

  “Let’s go get in line, one more battle!” Rachel’s enthusiasm is contagious and I agree to do one more battle. We head to the back of the line.

  “Did you unlock anything with your talents?” I ask Rachel.

  “You know it, big boy! I picked up the talent that will improve the efficiency of my heals. I was getting exhausted in a couple of those battles, now I will be able to heal more before I become exhausted.”

  “Nice, that is awesome! I do love me healing. Do you have any other surprises for me?”

  “Just this.” Rachel summons a small gemstone. The light dances inside of it making it appear like it is on fire. “When that gray skinned alien died underwater, I dove down and looted his body. He dropped this.” She hands over the gem to me.

  Gem of Firebrand: Affix this gem to a melee weapon. Affixed melee weapon now deals 0.25 units power of fire energy. This gem recharges using ambient Mana at a rate of 1 charge every 60 seconds. The power cell can hold 25 charges. Charges 25.

  “I was hoping to place it on my Eversharp blade and get me a fire-sword, but I wanted to run it by you first.”

  “Are you kidding me, of course you have to do that! You are going to be a serious powerhouse. I have a surprise for you.” I take out the Amulet of Reach and hand it over to her. Her eyes widen as the notification fills her mind. She immediately puts the amulet on. We walk in silence for the next ten minutes as she attunes the amulet.

  “Will, do you know what this does for me?”

  “I have a hunch.”

  “It gives my Heal reach. I now have an effective range of about five yards on my heals.”

  “Your heals? You didn’t want to use it for your echolocation? Expand your range?”

  “No way, having reach on my heals is way more effective. You’ll see in this next fight.” Rachel hugs me and starts to bounce from foot to foot in line. She is ready to go. I wish I could muster up the same enthusiasm, but I am still in pain from not getting fully healed from our last fight.

  It doesn’t take long, but we finally reach the front of the line. There is plenty of day-light left, so depending on how this turns out, it might not be our last fight of the day.

  Do you wish to participate in A Gate Wars match?

  A quick confirmation and the portal opens. Rachel doesn’t wait for me this time. Instead she jumps in first and I quickly follow her.

  Chapter 8

  The shifting stars coalesce into pinpoints and immediately get out shined by the blazing sun. This world is hot and bright. There was barren cracked soil around us and a single tree in the distance.

  I feel Rachel touch me and heal my wounds; I am now ready to fight. I extend my shield and I am about the hunker down when I see flying insect man creatures in the air. Not knowing what else to do I start to charge my energy beam and fire my plasma bolts.

  Two-red hot bolts crackle into existence on my palm. They fire out toward the flying aliens. A heart beat later they are joined by the artificial green of Rachel’s plasma gun. My plasma bolts hits two of the creatures squarely and they fall out of the air.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 8x2 blue sigils.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 6x2 red sigils.

  Your party has slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 5x2 purple sigils.

  The creatures were not the competitors. The notifications said they were monsters. That means the competitors are still out there. I look all around at ground level and I do not see anything. Rachel pushes me and points up in the sky. I see a swarm of the insect monsters headed our way. My eyes widen and my shield arm lowers slightly. We are in deep trouble. I raise my hand and fire off two more plasma bolts.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 4x2 green sigils.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 3x2 blue sigils.

  I fire again, guiding the red-hot bolts directly into the flying monsters. The heat of the sun causing me to sweat. Rachel fires her plasma gun.

  Your party has slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 4x2 orange sigils.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 3x2 green sigils.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 3x2 red sigils.

  The insect creatures are twenty yards away now. I fire more plasma bolts.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 7x2 purple sigils.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 4x2 orange sigils.

  Ten yards. More plasma bolts.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 3x2 blue sigils.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 8x2 green sigils.

  Your party has slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 5x2 green sigils.

  The swarm reaches us and Rachel’s body is obscured by bodies of flying insects. I see her blade smash into a creature and that is the last I saw of her. The swarm is too dense. They cover us with their claws and wings.

  Your party has slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 5x2 purple sigils.

  I let my energy beam lose directly into a throng of monster insects.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 2x2 orange sigils.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 6x2 purple sigils.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 3x2 purple sigils.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 5x2 green sigils.

  Your party has slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 3x2 green sigils.

  My energy beam chops through multiple insects. One of the insects bites me in the leg and I feel a sting of pain. I look down and its head is chomping onto my leg. I can see blood welling up. I fire a plasma bolt at its head.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 1x2 red sigils.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat
, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 7x2 purple sigils.

  Your party has slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 5x2 purple sigils.

  The creature’s head burns away under my plasma bolt and I see that the bite mark that stung so much has barely broken my skin. Finally, Hardy is doing something for me. I fire two more plasma bolts.

  Your party has slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 8x2 blue sigils.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 7x2 orange sigils.

  You have slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 5x2 blue sigils.

  Your party has slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 5x2 purple sigils.

  The horde is thinning and I can now see Rachel. She is dodging and swinging her blade at the creatures as they fly by her. They can’t seem to find my wife’s flesh. She is slashing them out of the air with her blade, little fiery explosions with every swing.

  Your party has slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 4x2 green sigils.

  Your party has slain a monster in honorable combat, you are awarded 25x2 experience, and 7x2 green sigils.

  I have three creatures biting me now. My energy beam still isn’t charged. I fire two plasma bolts and they strike the creature’s heads causing them to shrivel up and burn.