Unchained Potential (The Whispering Crystals: A LitRPG Series Book 4), page 5
“Ugh, couldn’t you have just let me train both Skills to level two before combining them?” I whine at Suri.
[That would’ve just made combining them harder,] Suri chimes mercilessly. [After all, you would still have had to learn how to do this first.]
I roll my eyes. “Well, Jacob’s in for a treat when he gets Decrease Momentum level 2 and starts trying to fuse his Skills, I can tell you that.”
Honestly though, the opposite swirls bit isn’t the problem. From what Suri taught me, getting these swirls of opposite types of Inertial Energy spinning in opposite directions will actually help stabilise both of them, and I’ve gotten quite used to focusing on two things simultaneously thanks to the second level of Distort Space.
The problem is the energies.
Specifically, I’m struggling with forming both of these types of energy simultaneously. I’ve always formed them separately, by concentrating my mind on their essences, which are polar opposites—a sense of unfettered freedom and acceleration for one, being stuck in molasses for the other.
Now I’m supposed to keep both of these opposing ideas in my mind at once, like a kind of Orwellian doublethink, which seems impossible.
Once again, I manage to set up one swirl, only to watch it crumble as I try to conjure the second type of energy.
I’m struck by a powerful urge to swear and break something, but suppress it. There’s no point in getting frustrated. Even if I’ve been at this for hours, and time is running out, and—
I take a deep breath, and try to refill my Focus Crystal.
Except, I can’t, because I’ve actually managed to run out of Qi.
I sag in defeat.
[You appear to be stuck,] Suri observes.
“No shit,” I snap, then sigh. “Sorry. That was uncalled for. It’s just very frustrating. I feel like what I’m trying to do is a paradox, like it shouldn’t be possible, and therefore my efforts are by definition wasted.”
[Well, then I can see why you wouldn’t succeed.]
I blink. Huh.
Right... Maybe that is the problem—or part of it, at least. Maybe it’s just like a math test; once you start considering the question might be wrong and therefore impossible to answer, you blind yourself to the solution.
And the questions on a math test are rarely wrong. Math teachers may not be infallible, but they’re usually damn good at math.
Clearly what I’m trying to do isn’t impossible, or it wouldn’t be in the Skilldream Shopping Window. I just haven’t figured out how to do it yet.
I’m silent for a minute as I go over the whole process again in my head. In the end, I have to conclude that, even knowing that, I still don’t see the answer.
[Perhaps it’d be best if you tackled it again later with a fresh mind,] Suri suggests.
I groan. “Ugh, you’re right. But this really sucks, you know?”
It really does. If I hadn’t combined the Skills, I could’ve easily had both of them at the second level now, because while my control is still sketchy and my range isn’t great, I definitely managed to project both types of Inertial Energy outward in such a way that it no longer affects me.
But since I don’t have the next level, I can currently only do so manually—so to speak—and not with the kind of speed and finesse that a combat situation generally requires.
Guess there’s nothing I can do about it, for now. It’s not like I can unmerge the Skills or take another Skilldream. I’ll just have to take my time to figure this one out.
How many Trial Points do I have left anyway?
“Status Window please.”
13 Trial Points, huh... yeah, not much I can do with that. Guess I’ll go see what Kaitlynn’s up to.
When I enter the living room, I find Kaitlynn in a combat stance, a look of utter concentration on her face. She’s holding one of her throwing knives and it’s glowing bright orange. As I watch, a bubble of Astreum forms around it.
“Haah!” she exclaims as the bubble suddenly elongates into a lance which curves off to the left until it strikes a wall.
She follows it up by throwing her still-glowing knife and hits roughly the same spot. To my surprise, it actually sinks partly into the wall and sticks there.
I clap politely. “Taking some inspiration from Bruce’s fighting style, I see?”
Kaitlynn looks over with a happy if somewhat sheepish grin. “Yeah... he was an ass, but using a weapon to channel Heat is just really practical.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” I say dryly. “I have the scars to prove it.”
She rolls her eye and places her hands on her sides as she turns to me. “No you don’t. You Regenerated those, remember?”
“What about my psychological scars?” I prompt with a pout.
“Aww, you poor baby,” she teases. “Want me to kiss and make ’em better?”
There’s a beat of silence, in which I may or may not glance down at her lips.
I clear my throat. “Ehm, anyway, I take it you succeeded with the third level of Heat Vision?”
“Yup,” Kaitlynn says, taking the change in subject in stride. “Check it out.”
Her brows furrow in concentration, and then her eye lights up orange. The glow doesn’t stop intensifying at the point it usually does, however, and instead continues getting stronger until I can feel it Heat up my face.
Looking behind me, I can tell from my shadow and the way the light falls on the wall that she’s actually projecting a cone of Heating light in my direction.
The glow fades away. “I’m a human flashlight!” Kaitlynn exclaims happily. “According to Kai, this is the highest level of the Skill, but I was right, it can evolve!”
“Sweet. What’s the evolution called?”
Kaitlynn cocks her head sideways and looks up. “Kai says it’s a medium-grade Skill called... Heated Glare? Seriously?”
I snort. “And I thought your naming sense was bad.”
“Hey! I resent that!”
“Duly noted.”
Kaitlynn studies me through narrowed eyes, but with a smile underneath. “Fine. Anyway, since I’ve got 29 Trial Points left and it’s a medium-grade Skill, I could afford half a Skilldream...”
I suck in a cheek. “Suri, time?”
[2 hours, 14 minutes, and 37 seconds left of your mandatory waiting period.]
I shake my head. “Too risky. Best save them. You should practise first anyway. Who knows, maybe you’ll get there entirely by yourself.”
She lets out a sigh. “Yeah, you’re probably right... Hey, how’d it go with your Skilldream? You haven’t said anything...” She trails off, no doubt at the sour look on my face. “Well, I’m sure you’ll get it soon.”
I nod. I’m sure I will, too. I just wanted to already have it now. I take a deep breath and try to let it go. Hanging onto my frustration won’t help us in the next Trial.
Kaitlynn coughs awkwardly. “So ehm, what do we do now?”
“Well, I think you have the right idea,” I say, gesturing at the throwing knife still stuck in the wall. “We practise. However, I think it’s about time you upgraded to a weapon with a bit more... reach. Especially now that you have Increase Momentum.”
I walk over to where my stuff is stashed, next to the loveseat-couch. “And as it happens, I have a spare spear,” I finish, tossing it at her, before picking up and spinning my shiny new crystal one.
She catches the long Greysteel weapon and gives it an appreciative look. “So... spar?”
I smirk, drop into a defensive stance, and gesture at her to ‘come at me.’
A flash of yellow—accompanied by a maniacal grin—sends Kaitlynn hurtling towards me.
Roughly an hour before the end of the mandatory waiting period, we’re forced to stop using our Qi and energy reserves, since we need them full when the Trial begins, which could happen at any time once the clock runs out.
We decide on taking physical rest as well, and to have another meal. I guess this is brunch, kind of.
Kaitlynn seems tense, but I assume it has to do with the upcoming Trial.
I actually feel pretty calm. We’re as well-prepared as we could be. Suri has even allowed me to retain my Espir after the last Skilldream.
“How do you think the rest is doing?” Kaitlynn asks.
I blink. “They’ll be all right, I’m sure.”
She lets out a sad, somewhat longing sigh.
“Dave’s probably got a whole teamwork strategy worked out,” I add. “While Alec’s probably just being his usual annoying self, without a care in the world. I hope the slacker at least finally gained Decrease Inertia, after I made him that artwork and everything...”
“Oh yeah? Did you get Lightning Manipulation yet?” Kaitlynn retorts teasingly.
I snort. “Shut up. That’s not the same; I’ve had other priorities.”
Honestly, I haven’t given it much of my attention. At its first level that Skill is at most useful in close combat, and it’s not like I can casually combine it with my far superior Inertia Manipulation.
Especially not before I learn how to form two types of energy simultaneously, damnit.
“Uh-huh,” she responds mockingly.
I give her a light shove, but it’s enough to send her tumbling off the loveseat with a shriek.
Whoops. Guess I don’t know my own Strength.
Naturally, she pounces on me to retaliate.
Even without Boost Physical, I’m still stronger than her, but I play along and let her overpower me for once.
I end up straddled, with my hands held above my head, and Kaitlynn grinning down at me.
Then she glances at my lips.
I become acutely aware of the warm weight of her thighs on mine, the scent of her hair, and the firm press of her fingers around my wrists.
Kaitlynn bites her bottom lip, then, with a groan, drops her forehead till it rests on mine.
“We, ehm, we should stay focused,” I whisper hoarsely.
After a moment, she nods slowly, her nose rubbing against mine. “Right. I guess I’ll... practise my throws some more.”
I miss her proximity the second she gets up. You have to stay strong, Emma. Things will be awkward enough as is if—when—we get back to Earth.
Once the clock runs out, there’s little for us to do but wait. We spar some more from time to time, but I’m too distracted to take it very seriously, and—the fact that we can both Regenerate notwithstanding—we’re too worried about hurting each other right before the Trial to go all out.
The tension is slowly driving me nuts, and I can tell Kaitlynn isn’t doing too well either.
This is torture.
It isn’t until almost three hours later, that the door leading onward finally rumbles open.
[Your Trial is ready,] Suri chimes. [You have 600 seconds to enter. Good luck, Emma.]
At first, it’s a relief that the wait is over. But soon a wave of new nerves over the unknown hazards we’re about to face swells.
I walk up to the door feeling fully prepared for anything, but when I see what’s behind it, I still freeze.
“Son of a bitch,” Kaitlynn swears next to me.
The sight in front of us immediately causes me to flashback to a distant past, in which I innocently slung hotdogs.
Because right there, suspended in an upright stone ring, hangs an awfully familiar, swirling, dark-blue portal.
CHAPTER 6
Baby it’s cold outside
Since there are still about ten minutes left before we absolutely have to enter the Trial, I take some time to study the unnatural phenomenon before us.
From behind the stand-alone stone ring, the portal looks like a pretty solid boundary of Spatial Energy—big surprise there—yet looking at it from the front, it provides the illusion that there’s a tunnel stretching out to infinity.
Though that may not actually be an illusion; I can’t entirely figure out how this portal works. It feels kind of like the outer ring contains more space than it should, like it’s bunched up the way it gets around an area where I use Distort Space to expand things, but way more intense.
It feels like the portal may be 2D space turned into 3D space, or something like that...
“Do you think it’s safe?” Kaitlynn asks.
I can’t help but snort. “I’d say, worst case scenario we end up in another Realm where we’re forced to undergo a series of deadly Trials. Oh, wait...”
She cracks a smile.
I take a deep breath and reach out to grab her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. “Let’s do this.”
Not like we have much of a choice, really.
She squeezes back, and we step in together.
The moment my foot enters the portal, I feel something akin to a suction force pulling on it, and in the blink of an eye, I’m fully inside. The first thing I notice after I enter the portal is how cool it is inside.
Woah, déjà vu.
This time, I have an explanation ready, however.
Spatial Energy—being Yin—is naturally quite cool. And when it’s gathered in such high density, that becomes clearly noticeable.
I don’t have much time to study the portal’s insides, however, as after what feels like a split second, Kaitlynn and I are already hanging in a seemingly endless expanse of blue sky, lit by an enormous blue moon.
Then gravity kicks in and forces us to land on the hard surface I thought was above us.
“Ow,” I croak, as I remain lying still for a moment.
Unlike last time I got portalled, it doesn’t seem to get any warmer after I arrive. As I reorient myself, I realise the light coming from the blue moon that takes up nearly 10% of the visible sky doesn’t seem to warm me up, but rather cools me down.
I let out a sigh. “Suri, what is that?”
[That is the Frost Star affectionately known as Big Bortha.]
“Of course it is,” I mumble. “Wait, a star? Really? But it has all those craters on the surface and stuff...”
[Star or moon is kind of a meaningless distinction in a Realm where heavenly bodies hang still and don’t orbit each other, don’t you think?]
I’m not sure I entirely agree with that, but before I can say as much, Kaitlynn’s face appears above me. “Whatcha doin’, slowpoke? We’re in a Trial, remember?”
Right. I quickly sit up and take in our surroundings.
We’ve been dumped on the lightly sloped surface of an enormous glacier, pockmarked with holes and crevices. At the bottom of the slope, an imposing, almost impossibly steep mountain rises up to tower over us.
As soon as I’m on my feet, a window pops up in front of me.
Risk begets opportunity... Well, that certainly echoes what Suri told me earlier. But I’m not sure if I should be taking on additional risks out here...
I gaze up at the distant mountaintop. In some places, the rock seems to form a sheer cliff. Back on Earth, this would no doubt take a highly experienced climber.
However, in a Realm like this, where gravity is wonky and people slowly gain what can only be called superpowers, it shouldn’t pose too much of a challenge.
Makes me wonder what else they have in store for us.
“Shall we get moving?” Kaitlynn asks, hopping from one foot to the other. “I’d like to get off this ice; it’s freezing out here.”
Right, that can’t be too pleasant for someone of the Heat subtype. Personally—thanks to my Cold Tolerance—I hardly feel the bite of the frost in the air, though I can still tell it’s there. In fact, I actually feel a kind of warm tingle on the inside.
I frown as an uneasy feeling springs forth in the back of my mind. I push it away, hoping I’m wrong. “You’re right, let’s get going.”
We set off towards the mountain, carefully picking our way over the glacier, using our spears to test the ice in front of us.
However, contrary to my expectations, the ice we’re walking on, though smooth, does not appear to be slippery in the slightest. I know that even in the Entropic Realm—ehm, back home, I mean—ice will lose its slipperiness once brought to a very low temperature, but I wouldn’t expect things to work similarly here.
Another thing I find odd is the wisps of what appears to be vapour that slowly drift over the surface.
Why would there be vapour on a glacier? Moreover, I thought we’d established there was no such thing as Hydrum vapour in this Realm...
Odd as they are, the wisps simply waft away as we pass through them.
My attention soon turns to the mysterious, almost perfectly hemispherical pits that appear in the glacier from time to time. As we’re unsure of their origin, we’ve avoided them so far, but we’ve come close enough to a few to look down into them.
They seem to have all formed around large blocks of stone that look like meteors, which makes me rather anxious.
I peer up, trying to make out if there’s a protective grid over this place as there usually is in Hubs and Trials, glancing down occasionally to check my footing. I don’t see anything, but it could just be higher up...
A sudden crackling sound makes my heart lurch into my throat. I stumble to a halt and turn towards the noise only to find Kaitlynn flailing to keep her balance, one of her feet stuck in a hole of sorts.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one distracted.
I snort and wait for her to pull her foot loose, but by the look on her face as she holds her leg, she clearly can’t.
On closer inspection, her foot appears encased in solid ice.
I blink in confusion. “Kait, what did you do?”
“I don’t know!” she wails. “Last time I looked down, there was just a bit of vapour there!” She whacks the ice next to her foot with the butt of her spear, but it hardly leaves a dent on the solid surface.
