Chapter 10: Training Montague

POV: Zac

"Do you think it was wise to tell them, Zac?" I heard Devin's voice echo in my mind as I looked up at my bed's ceiling.

"It didn't matter at that point. Continuing to hide would just make things more complicated. Plus, Lynoe's right." I put my hands behind my head with a sigh. They were going to find out eventually; things just happened a little faster than I had planned. If the Galdents weren't so incompetent, then I could use them as a buffer. What was taking them so long?

"Shit, I bet Quinn is running interference to give me more time. Crap." That was annoying. It seems that I was a little more convincing than I needed to be. If Quinn thought I needed more time to get ready for them, she must've had a low opinion of me.

"Well, that's just unlucky then." I shrugged.

"How's the translation of that Journal going, Devin?" I asked.

"Very slowly. I have learned Ruler's language, but it's not simply a problem of translation. It seems to be coded, and that code is constantly changing. I believe the journal has an artificial soul, a rather advanced one."

Well, now I wasn't going to sleep. I opened my eyes a little bit annoyed,

"How advanced?"

"At least as advanced as me, but this is only a working theory." I let out a deep breath. Devin was supposed to be the top of the line, illegally new. How is something 1000s of years old just as advanced as him?

"How long do you think it's going to take to crack it?"

"Hard to say, I'm constantly adapting to it, but it, in turn, adjusts to me. I've managed to translate three sentences so far." Devin responded with a twinge of disappointment in his voice. I laid back on the bed and closed my eyes. None of this matters right now because I wouldn't be able to do anything with this information anyway.

"Keep me updated, by the page."

"Would you like me to teach you the Ruler language?" Devin asked.

"No, teach it to Quinn and the others, but wait until you've figured out that journal." There was no point in him teaching me. From what I had come to understand, every language Quinn knew, I would know; there was no way all of the people I've talked to on this planet were speaking English. It was easier to have Quinn learn it and transfer it to me if that was the case. I forced myself to sleep. I was a bit excited to see how those three were going to train me.

"Alright, Zac, I want you to try and hit me!" Lynoe said with a smile on her face. She stood about 10ft away from me. We were standing in the outdoor door complex that Quinn and the rest decided to build in the massive front yard. There didn't seem to be a lot of equipment around. As in, I didn't see anything. It looked the same as before; I have no idea what could have taken them so long. The only difference I noticed was that we had a gate and wall at the property's edge.

"Excuse me?" I responded with a yawn. I was rudely awakened by her about 30 minutes ago and barely had time to get dressed, let alone get a bite to eat. Now the lunatic was shouting at me to hit her. Well, I'd be lying if I said it wouldn't feel good.

"Hit me. You know how to fight; I wanna see how you do it. So try and hit me." She said again, and shrugged my shoulders, and began to stretch out my body. As I stretched, I said,

"I wasn't taught how to fight per se, just how to kill."

"Even better. Try to kill me then." She responded as her eyes narrowed.

"Alright." I bounced on my toes, staring at Lynoe. As I jumped, I could feel that my body was more robust than before, and I felt lighter than I did back home. This is what the others back on earth must have felt after being injected with nanomachines. Looking back, I could only think that if that was the case, why were they so weak?

My breathing slowed as I continued to watch her,

"Ready whenever you are, Zac. Don't waste my-" She blinked, and at that moment, I made my move. Using my control over Gravity, I decreased my weight even more. In what felt like an instant, I covered the distance, coming in low on her left side. I surprised myself with my speed. Usually, I would have a knife or a dagger in this situation. I used the middle knuckle of my index and middle finger to jab at the left jugular with a rising uppercut.

Her eyes barely started to open, but everything around me became blurry. My uppercut never came out as I staggered to my right. When everything was clear again, I looked over to see that Lynoe had just backhanded me with her left hand. When did she hit me? I was sure her eyes were still closed.

"time." She finished her statement as she looked at me, still gathering myself on the ground.

"Again." She said to me with a smug look on her face. I slowly stood up as I prepared myself to go at her again.

"Ouch!..." I lamented as I sat in the living room, looking at Quinn.

"Lynoe, really did a number on you, huh?" She asked. That was one way to put it. It was two and a half hours of getting my ass kicked. She didn't offer any pointers, any hints, just 3 hours of a savage ass beating. Quinn didn't seem to care as she began her lessons.

"I won't bother, personally teaching you about basic history and etiquette of the Castle. I sent a file to Devin; everything you will need to know will be placed inside it. I will be quizzing you daily. So I expect at least 100 pages to be read per day."

I didn't know whether I wanted to yell or cry, but before I had the chance to argue with her ridiculous workload, she had already moved on.

"What I will be focused on is teaching you about AOS and all of its functions and intricacies. The first order of business is finding out what your BENTs are."

"Wait, I thought you already knew what my BENTs are?" I interrupted.

"I made assumptions, based on your constitution, and what I saw before we entered the Castle. Now it's time to confirm." Before I could question her further, she waved her hand in the air. An aquamarine glow illuminated in front of her, and several white orbs appeared ahead of her. They all were made of a type of material I couldn't begin to identify. There were dozens of them, about the size of golf balls, and they all had strange markings etched on their surfaces.

"Focus your Soul Source into the palm of your hands. The orbs will do the rest." She instructed. That was easy enough. I kept my right arm to my side as I lazily turned my right palm up and began to gather Soul Source in it. As soon as the Soul Source gathered into my palm, the orbs began to react. They began to light up in the aquamarine color raced towards my palm. One stopped above the center; the other began to orbit it like a planet around a sun. A 3rd took its place a little further away from the 2nd. Three more came and formed a ring around the others.

The other dozens of orbs floated around me, but none of them came as close as the six floating above my palms. Quinn looked at the six spheres inquisitively,

"Interesting. Zac, look this way and open your mouth." I wasn't paying much attention and did as I was asked. I then felt a sharp pain in my tongue.

"AH!! The hell was that?" I protested.

"I'll tell you later when you return from your session with Tuwinnie." She said dismissively.

"Okay, but what do these orbs mean? What are my BENTs?" I asked,

"I'll tell you after your session with Tuwinnie." She said without looking back at me as she walked out of the door, with the orbs trailing behind her before they vanished with a flash of green.

"Okay…" I said, confused, as my brain trailed off.

"Zac, focus! We are dealing with weapons now! I need your full attention." Moments after Quinn had left, Winnie came in and led me back outside into the field they called a training ground. She waved her hand, and a panel made of energy appeared in front of her. She swiftly tapped on this panel and then swiped her hands across it. The energy rushed into the ground, and several figures burst out of the land, forming 12 humanoid figures. Winnie snapped her fingers as her sleek firearm appeared in her hand.

"You were trained as an assassin back on your home planet, so I assume you know the basics of how to use a gun, correct?" She said to me with a cocky smile on her face.

"Yeah, point and click, not the hardest thing in the world," I responded as I snatched the gun away from her and began to channel Soul Source into the weapon. It seemed like everything in this world runs on this stuff. It was evident at this point that it was going to be the crux of my training with the three of them. As I focused on Soul Source, I could feel the gun coming to life. I pulled the trigger letting off 12 shoots, triple tapping 4 of the targets. I handed the weapon back to Winnie. She refused it, saying,

"I had that one made for you. Designed it after mine." She smirked, and then with another snap of her fingers, she pulled out her gun.

"Thanks…" I said, looking at the stylish gun in my hand. She made this pretty fast, and I wonder when she found the time. While I was in thought, the figures I shot recovered.

"Your shooting form is adequate, and your aim is exceptional, but I expected nothing else from a trained assassin. What this part of your training is really about is understanding AOS Weapons. You simply see a fancy gun; however, it can be so much more."

Winnie looked over at the targets for a moment, then looked at me. While staring at me, she aims her gun straight into the air. She pulled the trigger once, or at the very least, I could only perceive her pulling the trigger once; I saw 24 streams of aquamarine lights. I then looked over at the figures and saw all of their heads with two holes in them. My eyes widened as I focused my Soul Source on them.

As my eyes focused, faint trails of soul source came into view, highlighting the shots' path. Those lines not only went straight into the air, but they also weaved and twisted around each other, forming an intricate webbing; it was beautiful.

"How…" I had no way to explain how whatever these guns fired could move like that while being faster than the eye could see. Winnie looked at me with a smile and then said,

"Your understanding of this Castle is limited. You're clever and careful, but without knowledge, all that careful planning and schemes mean nothing." Winnie looked at me and then began to walk away.

"Take this time to familiarize yourself with that weapon. However, don't use those eyes of yours. Quinn will call you inside when she is ready for you." Winnie left me there in the yard, looking at these 12 targets; I stared at the gun in my hands.

"What the hell is going on?" They weren't teaching me anything; at least, that's what it felt like. I let out a sigh and focused Soul Source into the gun, trying to find anything that could help me understand what the hell I had just witnessed.

"Zac, I have your information ready," Quinn called out to me as I sat on the couch. I spent the last 2 hours firing at those targets, gaining next to no information about how Winnie pulled off what she did. I sighed and placed the gun on the coffee table in front of me, waiting for Quinn to give me her evaluation.

"Your BENT composition is quite interesting."

"How so?" I responded.

Quinn smiled at me and then said,

"Vector, Gravity, are your Spiritual BENTs, in that order. You also have a solid aptitude towards Bio, Optics, Vibrations, and Air." Quinn listed them off with a clear voice.

"Are those listed in order of my strongest affinity to my weakest?"

"The first three are; the last three are about even." She said again. Before I could ask another question, she went on to explain.

"The Darkness that's inside of you isn't a BENT, or it's not a currently known one, and I'm leaning towards the latter at the moment. That Darkness is something completely new."

"Is that why my composition is interesting?" I asked.

"No, it's interesting because we have an overlap. Your natural Spiritual BENTS are Vector, Gravity, and whatever that Darkness is; my Spiritual BENTs are Vector and Bio." She looked at me with a rare smile, and I looked at her with curiosity, as I didn't seem to get the exciting part.

"A Quqe that shares a BENT with their partner is a rare occurrence, added on to that that the Vector BENT is one of the rarest, this makes things very interesting."

"Why?"

"As I said before, having a BENT towards a certain field takes your understanding of that field to a whole new level. When you wear our masks, you gain access to our BENTs as if they were your own. When you take our masks off, that connection doesn't completely go away."

"I get it." An overlap would mean that even without having the mask on, my ability to understand Vector AOS would be better than others, even those who had BENTs in that field. Her explanation would also explain why I have an affinity with those other AOS schools; they must be Tuwinnie's Lynoe's BENTs. Optics, Vibrations, and Wind, huh? Interesting.

As I was gathering my thoughts, Quinn continued,

"We'll talk about your physical BENT later. First, let's go over the basics." She walked over towards me and then held out her palm. As she did, there was a whirl of Soul Source that I could feel. I focused on her palm, and the Soul Source invisible to the entire world came into view. Above her palm was a sphere the size of a large marble. Inside of it, Aquamarine and deep green energies were swirling.

"This is called a Soul Star. Inside of it is double the Soul Source presently in your body. Your first task is to create one and merge it with your soul." She gave me no other information and simply walked away.

"Umm… how?" I asked weakly because I was sure she wasn't going to give me an answer.

"Again!" Lynoe shouted at me as I picked myself up off the ground. The past two days went by in a blur. I was taught so much but learned nothing. They said a lot, outside of Lynoe, who mainly spoke with her fist. But it didn't feel like they were teaching me much of anything. Was this their way of getting back at me for lying?

"What are you waiting for? Attack!" She stood there with her eyes closed. I couldn't even touch a hair on her pretty little head, even then. No strategy I tried mattered. After depleting my Soul Source, I'd just ended up battered and bruised and exhausted. Although my control over Soul Source was getting better, it didn't amount to much.

"Again!" She shouted as another attempt failed, and Lynoe flipped me on my ass again.

"What the hell am I supposed to be doing?!"

"Attacking me." She responded plainly.

"Tsk!" I let out an annoyed grunt as I looked at the shooting targets in front of me. Winnie was standing there to the side, watching my struggle. I looked over at her waiting for her to say something, but she just smiled at me, allowing me to fail. Sucking at this wasn't the problem. I had no issue with failing. It was the fact that I could discern nothing from each failure that I had taken. I was just randomly taking stabs in the dark, hoping something would work out.

"What are you guys doing?"

"It'll make sense later." That is all Winnie said as she looked down at her gun, not paying attention to me? At the very least, they were pretending to have some method to their madness. I groaned and aimed once again.

"Focus, Zac. It shouldn't be difficult for someone like you to create a Soul Star." Quinn said with a dull voice as I sat in the living room, focusing on my palm. She was correct; it shouldn't be difficult; I could feel the Soul Source in the area like I was drowning in water; on top of that, I could see it clearly with these eyes. The problem was getting it to retain its shape.

"You wanna give me a pointer or 2?" I asked.

"No. My method may not be suitable for you. You're a Diver, someone from a different Castle. You feel Soul Source stronger than those from here, and you can even see Soul Source because of your heritage. The best method is for you to find your own." She responded.

"I see." I gave a flat reply.

If that was the way it was, I didn't want to make an easy method easy. I wanted to make a method that made me better than everyone else. With that thought in mind, I began to get a little excited. The three talked about how the Soul Source from my planet was low quality and had impurities. If that was the case, it meant that Soul Source could be filtered in a sense. I was having trouble forming a star because I was just trying to clump large amounts of energy into an orb, so let's make a container first.

I drew in the Soul Source and began to mold it. Instead of forming it into an orb, I created strains of them. I created more strains and began to weave them together, making a mesh-like surface. As the mesh orb began to take form, images of the pathing Winnie's Shot took on the first day of training came to mind. I chuckled a little bit,

"I get it," I mumbled to myself.

"Good, tell me, what do you get?" Quinn replied with a pleased voice.

"It's all willpower. Soul Source is an energy source for your willpower, and your will in turns moves it." I responded.

"Good… and making your container a filter. Very ambitious, I expect nothing less." She responded. I looked up at her in surprise as Soul Source was supposed to be invisible to the naked eye, at least at this phase. When I looked up at Quinn and saw that her blood-red eyes were glowing, her pupils were slit, like Dragons.

"The Hell?!"

"I told you, we have overlap, and I'll explain later. Focus!" She shouted at me as my sphere crumbled due to my lap in focus.

"Finally!" I let out a sigh of relief as I finally formed the Filter mesh and formed it into a sphere. Mesh was so tightly bound that it was difficult to see the meshed layer. It had taken me another two days to create this one sphere. After the sphere was formed, I quickly began to draw the Soul Source into the sphere hungrily. The Soul Source crashed into the surface and began to fill the sphere slowly. I was drawing the massive amount of Soul Source, yet only a bit of it dripped in at a time.

Unlike the Soul Star Quinn created that was green-ish Aquamarine, the energy entering my Soul Star was very light blue coloring. When the sphere was filled, it gave off a luster like a priceless diamond. I clenched my fist around the sphere and felt it embed itself into my very soul, and I could fill the newfound Soul Source coursing through me.

"Good, now create nine more, and then we'll start on AOS Systems," Quinn said as she didn't seem surprised or even interested by what I had just achieved. I let out a sigh nodding my head.

"Again!" Lynoe shouted at me as I picked myself off the ground. I was in much higher spirits during this ass whoopin because I could feel that I could go much longer than before. Having 10 Soul Stars, especially the one I created, I could use my BENTs as much as I want.

"What are you smiling about?" Lynoe asked me.

"I finally figured out how you're doing it, a Vibration System." I smiled.

"So you're learning about systems now? Took you long enough. So tell me, how do you think this System works?" She responded.

I focused Soul Source in my eyes and looked at Lynoe. When I did, I saw a system floating behind her like a massive halo crown; a good portion of it was concealed behind her. It was composed of symbols and images that were foreign to me but familiar at the same time. It looked like an alchemic circle with Soul Stars embedded into points in that circle. I learned from Quinn the real purpose of those Soul Stars. They were placed into AOS systems to power them. She also said when systems got to a certain level, the concentration of Soul Source would make the System visible to the naked eye.

The System that Lynoe was using was well past that point. I could spot at least 30 Soul Stars in this System at just this momentary glance, and there was no telling how many were obscured by her body. However, I couldn't see the massive System without using my eye's unique properties. Taking all that into account, I made a guess,

"That System lets you read the vibrations in the area, all of them. At the same time, it lets you decipher them, giving you an accurate account of everything around you. Nothing escapes your notice. Also, you've added a layer of Optics, using light to obscure the System."

Lynoe began to clap her hands lazily,

"Not bad. You managed to deduce about 20 -30% of what this System can do and my concealing method. Not bad at all." She smiled, then started to sway side to side and bobbed her head. She seemed to be dancing to a song that no one else could hear.

"Everything has a beat, a song, a Vibration! Once you get a hold of that rhythm, there's nothing you can't anticipate or manipulate. So tell me, Zac, how are you going to stop my rhythm?" She smiled at me. I smiled back as I finally understood what she was doing. She was, indeed, teaching me how to fight. Knowledge is power in this place. The one to figure out their opponents' Systems first would have the advantage. Before this, I felt hopeless, like I was punching away at the side of a mountain that was somehow faster than me. I had no answer for her then, and I didn't have one now. The difference was now I knew I could figure something out. I had hope.

"I hear you're doing well with your quizzes, Zac. I expected you to struggle." Winnie said.

I was doing well because I was cheating my ass off. Devin suggested that he download the information from the file she sent into Subconscious. With a mental command phrase, I could search my mind like an internet browser for the information. It was like I had an artificial photographic memory. According to Devin, Artificial Souls are shackled from doing stuff like that because of the possible implications. You know, like, a rogue Artificial Soul implanting subconscious commands to control their use.

I'm sure Devin wouldn't try something like that, haha...hahaha, right? Regardless, not having to read all that was worth it. BUT, Quinn must never know. I might die.

"I've always had a pretty good memory," I responded with an awkward smile while playing with the gun she had gifted me. I have a better understanding of this thing now, after learning about systems. This thing had elements of Vector and Wind carved into it. With just those two schools of thought alone, you can propel a projectile and control the path it takes without the fear of reducing power due to air resistance. Once I got that in my head, it was just a matter of using my Soul source through the weapon to make a track for the bullets to fly on. I still wasn't nearly on the level of what Winnie could pull off, but I was making progress.

"You also started learning systems. Have you thought of what your first one will be?" Winnie asked. This was easily the most laid-back session out of the 3; I had honestly expected it to be Lynoe's initially. After getting my ass kicked by Lynoe and then having knowledge crammed into my brain by Quinn, I came here to practice my aim and bounce ideas off Winnie. Like a study hall,

"She wants me to make my own System; I think self-made systems are harder to figure out than widely used ones. But I haven't decided yet."

"Self-created Systems are also rare these days. Most people rely on tech and just worry about having enough Soul Stars and knowing how to use said tech." Winnie responded.

"It's easier but also stiff and predictable." She continued, and I nodded in agreement. While I did have some tech ideas I wanted to run by Winnie, I had no intention of relying solely on them.

"A defensive System for a starter isn't a bad idea." She suggested.

"I agree, but I think the best defense is not to get hit in the first place." I joked.

"So, a movement system then." She tilted her head to the side and smiled.

"Movement, huh?" I stared down at the gun in my hand as the subtle details of an idea began to form.

"What do you have for me today, Zac?" Lynoe asked me as we walked to the training ground once again. Today Quinn and Winnie were following behind us. I had spent the last three days coming up with and creating my first System after getting inspiration from Winnie, and I was going to use it to smack Lynoe across her smug face.

"An ass whoopin!" I responded aggressively. She stood 5 meters in front of me. Quinn and Winnie stayed back to give us plenty of room to work with. Lynoe beckoned me to come at her, and I took a deep breath. I spread out my right hand and stared into it. I used my Soul Source to bring a System into being. The Soul Source curved and swirled over my palms like snakes as it formed into a circle filled with symbols and images, all of which made a hell of a lot more sense to me now.

Gravity to change my weight at will and to stabilize g-forces and inertia. Wind to reduce wind resistance. Vector, to increase my forward momentum. Finally, Vibrations cancel out the vibrations of my movement and eliminate all sound. Three Soul Stars came out of my body and embedded themselves into the System I had created. A System circle about a meter in Diameter emerged; it was visible to the naked eye.

"Woah! Only Adept Systems and up should be visible. So why does he only need 3 Stars, and why is it that color?!" I heard Winnie shout curiously. It was because my Star containers were at a higher level than usual. My Mesh Filter Container purifies the Soul Source I took in a way that was not naturally possible—allowing me to do far more with less.

Regardless, I still was not familiar enough with this System. So silently performing my System like Lynoe wasn't an option; I'd have to speak my System into existence, like an idiot.

"Assassination System: Coaster." The time it took me to perform this was too long, and I had to speak its name was even worse. Lynoe wanted for me; in a real fight, this would not be the case. However, today I would just be satisfied to test out the flaws. I focused on Lynoe as the System Circle merged itself with my body. My eyes flared as I used the same method I had with the gun, and set a track for my body to follow, a track for me to glide over. Then I would let the System send me on a ride.

The track formed at my will, my body lifted off the ground, and I quietly shot out from my position. I covered the distance faster than the human eye could perceive. I jabbed at Lynoe's jugular with my index and middle fingers' middle knuckles like my first attempt. I was not backhanded this time, but my blow did not connect; Lynoe gracefully dodged her head backward while her eyes were still closed.

"Beat Break." She mumbled.

My eyes widened with a realization. If I canceled out my vibrations, then I wouldn't make myself invisible to her. I'd make myself more obvious. She'd just paid attention to the dead space, the beat Break. I'm sure I wasn't the first person to think of this counter to her System, so obviously, she'd develop a counter of her own. I rode the tracks of my Coaster System, retreating from the area immediately before she could counter-attack. Lynoe still stood there grooving with her eyes closed as if nothing had happened.

I focused on her; I was going to hit her today, dammit. I only needed one opening. I gathered myself as I got an Idea. I charged forward again, closing the gap between us instantly. Once I was there, I made my attack, sending a punch to Lynoe's left temple. As Lynoe went to dodge, I shut my Assassin System down completely, feinting my attack. Since she mumbled Beat Break, I assumed it must be a layered system. She used it to see areas devoid of vibrations. If she had to speak it into existence, it meant that she hadn't used it often. She wasn't going to be able to switch back so fast. That should give me enough time to land a blow.

Using my innate control over Vector, I changed my trajectory. This sent my body into a spin around the back of Lynoe, ultimately ending with a roundhouse kick to her right temple. I saw her head turn towards the kick at the last moment and felt the blow connect. The power of my kick sent her into a tumble through the air. I wasn't going to let up the attack. My System re-engaged as I quickly closed the gap and sent a punch to the face of the spirling Lynoe. I increased the Gravity and increased the speed to give more power to my punch.

She crashed into the ground. Surprisingly, the ground wasn't damaged by her collision with it. Nor was there any sound from her hitting the ground. She just laid there for a moment before looking at me as I landed. A humming sound entered my ears as she was lifted off the ground by an invisible force. She was perfectly fine. She used vibrations to cushion her landing and even the blows. That kick and punch should have been more than enough to kill anyone else outright. Once she was on her feet, she pressed her thumb to her nose and blew out blood from her nostril. She then sucked her teeth and spat blood out of her mouth to the side. She smiled at me,

"Now it's getting fun. AGAIN!!!"

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