System Break

I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling. My legs ached despite the snail pace the others set but my core was almost full. I used qi stamina to replenish and then rolled off to inspect Gunt's meagre gear. 

There was another sword, then clothes, clothes, and more clothes. He had four belts and three pairs of shoes and I wasn't surprised; he was a superficial moron after all. There was one interesting item, it was an empty pouch but from the smell I was sure it was some sort of local drugs. There was a thin film of black which adhered to the lining of the pouch and I resisted the urge to taste it. For all I know he used poison. I wondered if it was all consumed or did someone confiscate it but then why would they leave the pouch.

There was a small, locked chest and when I shook it – it rattled with a singular item. My door key did not fit.

I stared at it. I could sneak out and explore, find out more about the city, I could practise my qi and question Waylander for more info. But if I was going to succeed surely I needed to be able to pick locks and here was one I could practise on staring me in the face.

I pointed my finger at the opening and imagined my qi flowing to my finger and into the lock itself. When you touch something with your finger you can feel it and it's the same with qi. I could feel things inside the lock, cogs, a plate, and flat sawtooth rods. I could feel the components, but it was much harder imagining the design in my mind.

I pushed and pulled with my qi until it finally clicked open. But I was far from happy because it was a simple lock, and it wasn't trapped. Haphazardly poking around wasn't going to cut it with something more complex.

I opened the small chest and sighed in disappointment. The brainiac had put a monster's tooth in his small chest. Maybe it was a jab at the leaders of the guild if they bothered to smash open the chest – they'd be disappointed too. I picked up the tooth and inspected it. It reminded me of a hellhound's tooth, but a fang is a fang. It could belong to almost anything. 

When I looked at the root there was a small incision and within the hole it looked black. Perhaps this was the source of the drug; maybe something more was going on here. 

I spent the rest of the night playing with locks. My door, the chest and I even logged out to study schematics of ancient and medieval locking mechanisms. I didn't have to know how to make one, but it was good to see an image and how they worked.

.

I kept my mouth shut as much as possible. My guildmates seemed to prefer me being quiet and it attracted less attention to me. I was in the novice group with nine others, and it wasn't surprising half of them were from the reset group.

It was early in the morning and the Teacher slurred less than he did in the afternoon.

"Today we talk about auras," he said, and he had my full attention. "At the end of the lesson we will manipulate but first it is time for some theory." He peered at us, "Your reservoirs cannot sustain much."

He pointed at the cushions and said, "Sit, sit." He then walked over to a table and took a swig from a tall glass. I doubted the clear liquid was water.

One of the Reds grumbled something about story time. 

Another whinged. "Why do we need to do this dumb training. We should just be killing stuff and levelling."

Waylander wasn't in this group, he was in one of the higher levels. There were five in all. And according to the schedule only the Red Queen and the Chancellor's adepts were in the top tiers.

The teacher's eyes squinted. "Without training how can you improve? Foolish child," he said derisively. "Listen well, if you come across a strong aura you will at least want to know why you are paralysed."

"There are three main aura categories. Charm, Fear and Sense; and within these categories are many things positive, negative, and defensive or neutral. The first aura you should learn is pressure but not everyone can do this, and this novice group is certainly not on the level to begin. Today is a theory lesson only."

"With a pressure aura your qi flows through your body and waves form outside. The pressure alone does nothing without something to push against. It can defend you against other auras, it can inform another qi user of your power and even intimidate them. Once there was a master whose pressure was so great others would fall to their knees with a feeling of being crushed."

"Pressure can be used offensively in this manner, but it is considered as a neutral in the sense category because its primarily used to defend yourself against the other two."

I was impressed with the old man's knowledge. I wasn't sure if all protectors knew this - if it was something Peppin and Kysandre studied but even so he was speaking as someone who had reached this level. He was speaking from experience.

"Then we have Charm. It is created using a wave pattern instead of simple waves and this pattern can do as its namesake. It can also be used to defend not only yourself from fear type auras but your friends. Every powerful Five will have at least one who is a master in auras. If not they would be a weak Five."

A guildmember raised his hand. "Five?"

The Teacher twisted his mouth in distaste. "Do you never pay attention? The Five are the protectors who defend the city or compete in a tournament etcetera. It is always five members."

He continued. "Last is the Fear category. As the name suggests it can make you run away, or simply feel uncomfortable. It is an aura which is just as useful out of combat. But that is not where it stops there are masters who can cause delusions or hallucinations with their aura. These are the ones to be truly feared."

"Who can do these auras in Loctris?" One asked.

The old man sobered slightly and glared. "I know of some, but it is like asking what weapon's does your city have for its defence. You are not trusted – this information is not for you."

He stood. "Time for practical. Line up at the table you will see spoons. I want to see you move a spoon. If you can bend a spoon I will stop drinking for a week."

I peered at the spoons and was sorely tempted but it would blow my cover faster than a whore taking payment in a brothel, so I just smiled. The old man's inebriated days were safe. 

I waited for him to walk behind me, and I spun the spoon a single time. Her peered at me and nodded and as soon as he moved on I stopped. I wanted to get into a more advanced class without blowing my cover.

"How did you do that Gunt?" my neighbour asked.

I blew at his spoon and used my qi to spin it and he laughed. He then proceeded to practise precise blowing rather than with his qi. And they said I was a moron.