《Nathan's Path》


 Ch 1

    Nathan was short and flabby man, his aura weaker than most of his peers, and was simply not intimidating. The man standing in his doorway, on the other hand, seemed to fill the small apartment without even entering it.


    ¡°I''m sorry to interrupt but are you Nathaniel Crest? I¡¯m here from the Northwood Bank, you seem to have overdrafted your account.¡±


    ¡°There''s no way I spent three thousand teras in a week you gotta be confused.¡± Nathan said anxiety washing over him. There really was no way he spent his pitiful life savings without knowing it. Even if all his bills had come at once he would have still had at least a grand in the bank.


    ¡°Well the medicines you purchased have been found to cause amnesia if you aren''t prepared for them¡± He sneered ¡±You probably took them thinking you could handle it, but if you really want you can call customer service and file a claim. If it is fraud you¡¯ll get your money back in a month guaranteed.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a month though! Without that money I can¡¯t pay my bills, my paycheck won''t come in for another two weeks¡± Nathan complained.


    ¡°Not my problem, I''m just the messenger. Its company policy to tell you personally if you have a sudden deficit.¡± He said while turning and sauntering off to a car parked by the street outside Nathan''s apartment. As he watched the man drive away Nathan closed the door before solemnly calling the bank. After an hour of pleading and arguing he got the bank worker to file a fraud claim and promise to contact the police. ¡®How am I going to pay my bills? I can¡¯t pick up anymore hours at the gas station and if I don¡¯t get enough cash I¡¯m gonna get evicted. Maybe¡­ I could call her but¡­¡¯ Shaking his head to clear his mind Nathan pulled out his phone and dialed his mother.


    Picking himself off the floor after an hour and a half of lecturing about how foolish he was to get his identity stolen Nathan had at least secured his rent for the month. He checked the time before carrying himself to the shower and then bed. No time to get any of the video gaming he wanted to after this debacle, he had work early tomorrow and he had been told off enough for being tired at work.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Waking up early to the blaring sound of his morning alarm Nathan got up and put on his uniform. A grey T-shirt and jeans weren''t the worst uniform, but the large badge he had to wear every day had made its job to be the bane of his life. Once he finished his morning preparations he set off to walk to work.¡¯I should probably try getting in shape¡¯ Nathan thought for the umpteenth time on his way to work. After giving it a bit more thought he started a light jog. Bumping past people on the busy sidewalks Nathan ran until his lungs spasmed and he fell to his knees sputtering. A few puffs of his inhaler later he was OK, for a sweaty out of shape man on the ground in the middle of the sidewalk. ¡®One day I¡¯ll cure my asthma.¡¯ He had seen several articles about training methods that would help but had never put forth a lot of effort for one. Perhaps it was time for a change.


    Arriving at work he noticed a suspicious lack of his manager. Sasha was many things but late had never been one of them. ¡°Hey Sasha you in here?¡¯ Nathan shouted. He glanced around the store but couldn¡¯t find any signs of her. A few moments later she strolled in from the back room.


    ¡°Ya I was just talking to the owner about salaries. Got some good news, your getting a raise.¡± She said giving him a wink and a thumbs up.


    ¡°Perfect timing as usual. I really needed the money¡±


    ¡°Mhm get to work before I take it back¡± She teased before walking back to work at her desk in the back. Nathan got to his post as chief cashier of the lone register. Quickly bored during a bit of down time he searched on his phone for couple training techniques for his lungs. He found an interesting article about the Steel Lung training method. One had to use their essence to coat their lungs while breathing in order to trap unrefined ather in the lungs. The ather would slowly build up to intolerable levels and his soul would be pressured by the lack of fuel coming in. But if he did it right he would release the essence into his lungs, strengthening them and then sending ather to his soul. The key was that some ather would also remain in his lungs and build up, slowly adding to the essence refinement. Nathan re-read the article a few times before attempting it. He calmed his breathing, added the coating of essence and used it to hold the raw energy flowing in from the air. It took several tries but with a little perseverance he managed to get it right. Until he didn¡¯t of course. Then he fell to the ground as the energies in his lungs went haywire, irritating his lungs and generally wreaking havoc in his chest. He got up to a concerned customer at the register. A few moments after she left Nathan gave it another try. And then a few more. By the time he was jogging back home he had managed to hold it for a few seconds. Which considering that he was effectively holding crude and refined soul fuel in his lungs and hoping they didn¡¯t explode was fairly decent for one day. There was no way he wasn''t going to try again. He had some modicum of success, which was far more than he had ever had with any other technique designed for lungs. And hope was a thing Nathan was willing to die for.

 Ch 2

    The rest of the month was a blur with a few exceptions. Like the stern lecture about training on company time from Sasha. Or the several calls from his mother. And the several times he collapsed struggling for a breath. Maybe it wasn''t so much of a blur as it was him trying to make it one. But he had noticed some improvement in that he could now do a full lap around the park without having a fit. He had also found a neat aura technique that was supposed to give you the grip strength to break someones wrist. The gist was that you formed your aura into two cylinders and then squeezed. The repetition would improve both your aura and your grip. It also had the bonus of being inconspicuous enough to do at work. Although a few customers had given him odd looks as he methodically squished aura cans.


    Nathan was half way through the work day when he received a phone call from the bank. Feeling warm hope rising in his chest, with equal anxiety and worry, he answered.


    ¡°Mr. Nathanial Crest?¡± Came a male voice through the cheap phone.


    ¡°Yes, Nathan is fine though¡±


    ¡°Well Mr. Nathan we have some good news about your fraud claim. After an investigation we discover the purchase to have been shipped to an apartment a few blocks from where you live. Unfortunately there will likely be a long case due to the nature of the elixirs purchased.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m going to get my money back right? I¡¯m having to mooch off my parents just to pay my bills.¡± Nathan really hoped he would have his money back. He would have enough to pay his bills but that money was built up over months of saving. Even with his recent raise from wage slave to slightly better paid wage slave, three thousand teras was a huge amount of cash for him.


    ¡°We will try to get your money back as soon as possible but we can¡¯t give you back your money until the case is settled. Also you may have to attend the trial, the information will be in an email¡± The man heartlessly responded. Nathan wrapped up the call with a few formalities and apologized to the line of people that had built up. A few minutes later he was back to squeezing his aura cans anxiously. After work, which he had gotten off late due to his co-worker showing up late, Nathan went to the park near his apartment to exercise.


    Showing up already sweaty due to the run, Nathan saw several people with similar ideas. One man was doing pull ups on a bar of condensed aura, another doing a strange dance-like exercise that mesmerised Nathan. Nathan quickly got to work though, doing push ups and sit ups until his arms felt like soggy noodles and his gut burned. It was incredible to think that weeks ago he couldn¡¯t even run without his asthma flaring, but now? Now he could exercise, maybe not without his lungs blazing but still. He could almost cry with the joy he felt as sweat poured off of him. After his physical exercise was done, Nathan started meditating. For a quiet minute he simply observed his spirits inner workings. Ather from the world around him flowed into his lungs and then to his soul at the center of his body. There it was refined into two separate parts. Nathan focused on the essence streaming from his soul into his body, the refined power that allowed an Enforcer to sprint faster than a car. Nathan simply watched it cycle through his body, some gradually being absorbed into his flesh and bones. As he watched he noticed that he had more essence than usual. Where a thin covering of essence would have been his norm, Nathan now had almost three times that in free essence. He searched for a possible reason as to why. Soon enough he found it, he watched with utter curiosity and fascination as essence slowly emerged from his fat. He had of course known that fat could store food but essence was absorbed when it entered flesh. ¡®Of course it is, so when I break down fat cells through exercise the essence gets released too! This means my amount of free essence is going to skyrocket while I work off this weight. I could definitely use this.¡¯ Nathan thought excitedly.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    After a few hours of meditation and practicing the Steel Lung technique he headed home in the dark. Once there he pulled out his phone and started searching for an affordable gym that he could head to. A bit of searching and found one for only five hundred teras a month that still provided private instruction and access to meditation rooms. He made plans to go check it out after work tomorrow, it was thankfully open 24 hours a day. Although Nathan would likely only get a few hours of instruction a day but it would definitely be worth it.


    Work the next day had been a bit of a bore, Sasha had a bit of a tiff with one noisy and rude customer but that was the most exciting thing to happen. Nathan all but sprinted to get to the gym, arriving looking like he was leaving the gym rather than just walking in


    ¡°Hello sir, how may I assist you today?¡± asked an absolutely ripped woman with an aura that was perfectly controlled. Nathan couldn¡¯t fathom how someone could still every bit of their aura at once.


    ¡°I would like to sign up for the fifth tier membership please.¡± He said politely, more than a little intimidated by the blond woman¡¯s biceps. She could kill him, Nathan was sure, with a simple punch.


    ¡°That¡¯s great just fill this out and you can head right in after you pay you first fee.¡± She said handing Nathan a clipboard with half a tree attached to it. It took him the better part of an hour to finish, thirty selfies for an ID, and over a dozen paper cuts, but Nathan resolved to make it worth his time. He handed the clipboard with over thirty pages of questions so meticulous that he was sure they could know anything about it him from it. The receptionist looked over the papers for all of a second before taking his card and motioning him in to the gym. Nathan stopped to ask for directions to the trainers before walking into his first day at the gym.

 Ch 3

    Nathan walked over to a kiosk to summon a trainer to help him figure out what to do with his free essence. A few moments later a sturdy looking man with sandy hair showed up.


    ¡°You Nathan? We got some work to do brother.¡± The trainer said looking Nathan up and down.


    ¡°Yes, and yes. I recently found something to help me with my asthma and I want to make up for lost time. I¡¯m looking to use the free essence from losing weight to get a good foundation in a body building technique.¡±


    ¡°Well we here at Tower of Training have several exclusive training techniques, even for fifth tier customers. Let¡¯s find one for you and get started big man¡± He casually said.


    It irked Nathan a bit that he kept referencing his weight, but honestly? Nathan came here to lose that weight, and he could choose to use the negativity towards his belly as motivation. And after looking at utterly ridiculous number of techniques in the library section of the gym Nathan couldn''t help getting a bit excited. The trainer, Dale, quickly went through numerous booklets before they found one that Nathan had to choose. It was literally perfect, you could pour any amount of essence into it so it would last him a lifetime, it improved his entire physique, and it had a simple practice method. But it was mostly because Nathan already had experience with it, to an extent. Dale was quick to try to convince him otherwise.


    ¡°The Steel Body technique is a very intensive regime. I wouldn¡¯t choose something so rigorous for your first body strengthening technique. Your weak lungs are going to be exhausted every time you try to use it bro.¡± He reasoned.


    ¡°I¡¯m already practicing the Steel Lung technique, which is literally the same thing as this right? So It¡¯s perfect for getting my weak lungs in shape.¡± Nathan countered.


    ¡°Listen, I¡¯ll teach you anything you want to learn. If your determined enough, then this really is the best choice. The problem lies in that you could easier benefits from something like the Rapid Empowerment technique. If you choose the Steel Body then you need to stick with it, or your just going to be wasting major benefits.¡±


    "Then I''ll ensure that I follow through on." Nathan said before gathering up a bubble of aura and compressing it till it was the size of a golf ball. Then he swore "I''m gonna use the Steel Body technique to train" and watched as the bubble burst.


    ¡°You have to have a clear end point for an aura oath to work¡± Dale reminded him.¡±And I doubt you really want to do that, but go ahead if you''re sure.¡± Nathan fidgeted awkwardly at his own foolishness before trying again.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°I will use the Steel Body technique and get a six pack.¡± Nathan revised. A six pack was a good goal, it would be difficult but he should be able to do it in a few months of hard work. Probably. Either way he had just dedicated a fifth of his aura to a promise in hopes of motivating himself. He idly observed as the bubble took up its place just off to the side of his soul. Besides, as long as he fulfilled the promise he would be well rewarded for his efforts. Aura promises were a tradition because of the valuable bonus the aura bubble provided when it burst.


    ¡°Well let¡¯s get started, since the Steel Body is a meditation technique do you want to save it for later? I think we should do some time working on bulking since you already have plenty of fat to convert to muscles. Im gonna get you strong.¡± He said before giving him a short tour of the gym area. The place was far better than Nathan had though, several new machines and everything was in mint condition. After the tour Dale very quickly set him a regimen to follow, mostly consisting of muscle building exercises and some cardio. Nathan guessed he had other people to work with. Nathan didn''t waste any time, and soon enough Dale came to get him for some meditation before leaving.


    ¡°You understand the Steel Lung right? This is basically that, but you have to scatter the ather throughout you body using your soul, holding it in with a sheath of essence. The raw ather breaks down and empowers in equal amounts, while the essence builds up and heals. True masters of the technique, like my super macho boss Gav which is short for Gavin, do this every time they take a breath.¡± Dale said in such a laid back way that it threw Nathan off. But he helped Nathan with the Steel Body technique for half an hour before leaving to his own devices.


    Getting back to his apartment after a long day, he walked into his TV  blaring and a man eating popcorn on his couch. The man looked vaguely similar to Nathan, if only in general features. They shared their fathers thick curls and swirling honey eye color, they both had their mothers naturally tan skin. Beyond that though? His brother was his opposite.


    ¡°Sup Nate, I needed a place to stay while im in town and you wouldn''t pick up so¡­¡± His taller, better looking brother trailed off.


    ¡°So you, a cop, broke into my apartment?¡±


    ¡°No, I just used the key mom gave me a year ago.¡±


    ¡°Mom gave you a key to my house? Why, when, how? You know what this is so like her.¡± Nathan grumbled. He was tired of his mother treating him like an irresponsible baby. It wasn''t his fault stuff never went his way.


    ¡°You look good man, you been working out?¡± Reggi completely brushed past his questions


    ¡°Some. Finally got past my asthma, but don''t tell mom that. I want to surprise her once I''m in shape. Anyway, why are you in town?¡±


    ¡°Got some work in the great city of Ria, and I¡¯m glad your past your noodle lung. You gonna get a real job soon?¡± Reggi joked. After that it was just catching up before Nathan told him he had to get some sleep for work. Before going to bed he idly wondered what kind of work an Enforce would have that would require them to go to a completely different city?

 Ch 4

    Nathan was bored at work as usual when a couple of sleaze looking guys walked in. One of them was definitely on something. Probably Blaze or another of the common power trip drugs. They walked around a bit before walking up to the register with a couple snacks and drinks.


    "You gonna give us a discount on these? Or we gonna have some problems." One of them oozed. Nathan gave the man a stank eye before checking his monitor. A second later he had a coupon printing out from his mini printer by the register.


    "Here you go, will that be all today?" Nathan couldn''t help but smile as he scanned their items. He had spited them and gave them exactly what they asked for. The men exchanged a glance before looking back at him.


    "No, we''re gonna need one more thing" the druggie said before pulling out a pistol. Nathan choked on his laughter as a sudden terror gripped him. He panicked and did the first thing he thought of. It worked exceedingly well, likely because he had been practicing it for the past few months. Latching onto the hand holding the gun he squeezed, and then pulled. Nathan had never hurt someone before, but as he crushed and pulled he watched as the druggies entire arm shifted.


    "Gyahhhh-" he was cut off as Nathan pulled him into the counter as hard as he could. His friend took a second to think before smashing his fist into Nathan''s face. Nathan desperately kept his grip on the gunman''s hand, even as he his pudgy face was assaulted. Then Sasha appeared from thin air the smash the gunman''s head into the floor. The gunman''s friend sprinted out the door in fear after realizing he was outmatched. He watched as the prone man''s aura seethed and stepped back. Aura could do terrible things if trained well. Nathan''s concern was not for nothing as moment later the air caught fire and the small gas station store was turned into an inferno.


    "Nathan get out" he heard a commanding voice call out as he scrambled to get out. He looked back to see Sasha protected by her aura calmly putting out the fire. ''She''s so serene even though we were just robbed. I mean she''s standing in a fire without a care.'' Nathan admired her, not for the first time. She was strong, smart, and always had control of a situation. He wasn''t infatuated, she was his boss, but he definitely didn''t see how she was single. The man seemed to be protected from the flames as well, given that he didn''t burn up before the police arrived. A few minutes later an Enforcer put out the remains of the fire and assisted the police in detaining the still struggling man. Nathan answered a few questions before going to talk to Sasha.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    "So that was kinda insane. And I mean you had like super speed, one minute they were taking me down then boom, you smashed one into the ground. I totally understand why the other dude ran."


    "Nah, that was nothing. You did great too, if it weren''t for you holding him down there was no way I could have taken him down so easily." She blatantly lied. The man''s aura couldn''t even touch her. She could have beaten them blind folded.


    "how long do you think it''ll be till this place opens again? I kinda have to work or the bank will take my first born." Nathan changed the subject.


    "I stopped a good bit of the fire damage, but it''s gonna be a week at least."


    "Dang it. I''m going to end up having to sell myself on the streets at this rate." Nathan joked. A few of the police gave him a look that said they didn''t find it nearly as funny as Sasha who was cackling at the thought of him working the corner. Though he saw the Enforcer holding back a grin.


    Nathan tool a second to check on the gunman before heading to the gym. The sickly, thin man has a massive bruise on his wrist where Nathan had grabbed him.


    "What''s the damage on that?" He idly asked one of the paramedics.


    "The bone has been shattered, significantly so. It''s a complicated surgery to fix it and I''m fairly sure he''s uninsured. Still it''s in far better condition than his head. He''s likely to have permanent damage" The young paramedic replied. That''s what Nathan thought about as he walked to the Tower of Training. He had ruined a man''s hand with his grip. Even though there was a bunch of ways to repair damaged like that, they were expensive. Insanely so. Rationalizing it by saying that the man would''ve done the same to him for twenty bucks he put it out of mind.

 Ch 5

    Arriving at the gym Nathan greeted the Jane, the receptionist, before walking in and using the kiosk to summon Dale. Nathan stood there for a bit before realizing he probably had another person since he was so early. After a couple of reps lifting weights Dale showed up.


    "Whatcha need my dude?" He said In his standard chill tone.


    "I want to change my routine a bit. I had a bit of an incident at work and I kinda want to learn some fighting styles or something." Nathan mumbled.


    "I got you man, what kind of skills do you have that you think we could base a style on?" He asked.


    Nathan thought for a spell before saying "I have a pretty good grip and my aura can take a hit I guess." Dale nodded and then took him to a different area of the gym. This one seemed to be a testing room judging by the strange equipment.


    "Give this a squeeze" He said, handing Nathan a weird tool. Nathan grabbed the handles and gripped it as hard as he could. He was a little surprised by the ease at which he pressed the handle bars together. Dale, however seemed much more surprised.


    "You said a ''bit'' of a grip!" He accused, already pulling out a cooler looking version. This one Nathan only managed to get to three quarters closed. That left his hands trembling in exertion, but the look on Dales face was worth every bit of effort.


    "I honestly don''t want to know what you''ve done to be able to have such strong hands. Do you strangle people for a living?" He said before explaining that the first one meant he had a grip of about a hundred pounds. The second was up to three hundred. Dale estimated his grip to about two hundred fifty pounds. Definitely capable of doing some damage, at least to someone without a capable strengthening technique.


    "Well Mr. Strangler, let''s test that aura shield" Nathan waited a bit for him to pull out some tool or contraption but he just stood there. Nathan shrugged before forming his aura into a shield. It felt odd to do but it still felt like it should retain it''s resistance that it had when he squeezed it. Dale threw a punch, and Nathan winced as the shield shuddered. It held but it had a visible depression already. Dale looked at it curiously before punching again. And again. It took a barrage of punches to finally pierce the shield, surprising Nathan but Dale seemed to have expected it.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "A soft shield huh, haven''t seen one of those before. Actually I think someone was looking to observe a soft shield. You mind? I''m sure they can help figure out a fighting style for you." He said. After seeing Nathan nod he walked off and called someone. About half an hour later a tall lanky man walked up to Nathan and Dale, who were discussing the benefits of a soft shield. He looked to Dale before asking "Is this the guy with the shield?"


    "Ya, my man here has a killer grip and a legit soft shield technique. Took over a dozen hits from me at full tilt" At that the tall man looked at Nathan as though trying to decipher some unknowable mystery. Nathan walked up and introduced himself.


    "Im Nathan, a pleasure to meet you."


    "My name is Jack, and trust me the pleasure is mine. If your shield is good enough it could be a serious benefit to me. May I observe it?" He asked with a far too polite quarter bow. It didn''t take much to figure out that the man was extremely powerful. Whether it was the way his aura literally suppressed the area around him, or the subtle intimidation that he emitted without doing anything. Nathan was quick to throw up his ''bubble'', still a little confused about a simple exercise off the internet had helped him so much. Jack looked at the translucent barrier and then flicked it. ''Thunk'' and the shield was deformed almost comically.


    "That is¡­ perfect. Yes, truly perfect. Nathan I wish to learn this technique. What will it cost." He said, so excited that he completely dropped his pretence of politeness. Nathan wasn''t really upset though, this was likely a point of enlightenment for the man. Nathan recalled when Reggie was determined to figure out how to truly ''run''. Nathan had poked fun, but it was ultimately his agility that had gotten him his position of Enforcer.


    "It''s pretty simple, I mean I don''t even own the technique. It''s a public technique. No need for repayment or anything." Nathan said respectfully before pulling up the article on his phone. Jack looked at it for several minutes with the intensity of a life and death situation. After he finished he glanced back at Nathan.


    "Demonstrate" he said, his gaze hiding the madness of someone who had finally found what they were seeking. As Nathan formed the various different he had practiced crushing Jack watched on. Occasionally asking for clarification about some minor details, he eventually nodded.


    "That''s plenty. Dale go prep a private instruction room."


    "Sure thing big man" Dale said before giving Nathan a wink and walking out. A short walk later he was standing in a calm room without anything except a small mat for meditation and an incense burner.


    "Nathan, as a reward for your instruction I will teach you a skill of my own. Look over this and choose" said Jack before handing him a small list.

 Ch 6

    Nathan glanced at the paper before asking ¡°What would you recommend for me?¡± The list was small, but contained the names of over fifty different skills and techniques. Nathan had no clue what the vast majority of them would even do. What exactly did the ¡®Doom Strike¡¯ entail? Not for the first time did Nathan lament the naming scheme of most techniques.


    ¡°There''s three on there that are suited to you specifically. It mainly depends on whether your looking to shore up weakness or built up your strengths. The Etherium Aura Creation technique will convert etherium into aura with far more efficiency and speed than the natural process. You could burn through all the excess you¡¯ve built up over your life in an afternoon of dedicated effort. The Steel Core will allow you to practice the Steel Body technique passively. Other than that it''s mostly a standard Core. Finally there''s the True Breath cultivation art. It harvests ather at over twelve times the natural rate. Combine that with an aura mining technique and you could produce enough tera crystals to live happily.¡± He explained. Nathan knew what he should take almost as soon as he said it. A cultivation art was still an incredibly rare thing, even in spite of the age of information making most varieties of techniques easily available. One that could increase your ather harvesting rate by twelve times was ridiculous. Plus he could likely find an aura technique capable of multiplying that even more. A bit of shorthand math told him that he could likely make more sitting at home with that combination than he did working at the Auto Fill. Nathan thought hard about it, as this was a literal once in a lifetime chance. Nathan thought it to be a bit of cosmic repayment for the three thousand teras he would never see again. Eventually he settled on asking two questions, one of vital importance, the other a mere curiosity.


    ¡°Do you think that I could ever be someone someday? With these techniques I could guarantee myself an easy life, but is that all I can aspire to? Also, you said these were your techniques, but there is literally no way you could know so many different moves and the sheet has over a dozen different cores.¡± Nathan blurted, scared of the possible answers to his first question. His heart sank when Jack laughed but he quickly voiced his thoughts.


    ¡°You already are someone, but if your curious about your potential i''ll go ahead and say that your already on par with most F tier arena fighters and some D rankers. As for your other question, I myself am an A rank fighter. My personal fighting style relies on having access to a wide variety of moves and energies that most opponents can¡¯t account for. You may know me as Myriad.¡±


    ¡°So your saying you passed up the opportunity to call yourself Jack of Attacks?¡± Nathan quipped. Jack merely smiled in response before resuming a quiet patience. Apparently he wasn''t getting much more out of him. So Nathan went back to thinking. The Steel Core was right out. The Steel Body technique might be agonizing, due to the fact he was injured every inch of his body and healing it until it couldn''t absorb any more energy or he ran out, but it wasn''t difficult to do. The benefit of the core was mitigated by the fact that he could simply do it himself. With that out he had two real options, a massive spike to his ather intake that could give him the fuel to empower himself far faster, or a technique which gave him a use for the lifetime stock pile of etherium he had in his soul and would finally give him an aura that wasn''t simply pushed away whenever someone stood too close to him. But what put the nail in the coffin was the simple nature of what Jack had said. He was already good enough to be an F tier fighter. That may not be much, but an F tier made a hundred bucks per fight regardless of win or lose. With a powerful defensive aura he could fight several times a day, and realistically he could likely out earn his current job fairly easily if he made it to the D ranks. Nodding to himself and hoping he wasn''t about to make a terrible mistake he asked for the Etherium Aura Creation technique. Jack gave him a brief smile before concentrating on his hand. Nathan opened his mouth to ask what he was doing when a small crystal formed in his palm. The man handed him the crystal and gave him a simple ¡°Goodbye¡± before going back to his meditation. Nathan caught up with Dale who explained how to use the skill shard before sprinting home at max speed. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Nathan came home to a furious brother, several cans on the floor crushed into scraps of metal, and a half eaten pizza on the table in front of his sofa. Of those the one that most interested Nathan currently was the pizza, it had all his favorite toppings(jalapenos, bell peppers, and every meat known to man and some unknown) and Nathan had not had pizza since starting his dieting and exercising. That and the fact that he didn''t eat lunch due to a robbing. Oh the robbery, that''s what Reggie was yelling about.


    ¡°Listen Reggie I''m sorry I didn''t call you after all that but get this okay, I''m heading to the gym and-¡±


    ¡°You could have been dead. I saw that there was no casualties but bodies get missed. You didn''t call, you didn''t come home after a traumatic event, you didn''t even eat considering the fact that you''re eyeing up my pizza like its made of gold.¡± He said, not quite accusingly but Nathan definitely picked up on a hint of unhappiness in his tone.


    ¡°I get it, but im hungry, stressed and want to learn a new technique that should give me a major jump in strength so I don''t ever have to deal with something like that ever again ok?¡± Nathan tried. Reggie seemed curious about what technique but after glancing at the crystal in his hand nodded. Apparently deciding that just accepting that Nathan was ok would be the best way forward he said ¡°Fine, you can have some pizza. If you can beat me at a match of Death Punk Tournament.¡±


    A few slices of pizza and hours of gaming with his brother, who was apparently going to get his own apartment in the city soon, Nathan went to his room and used the skill shard. It took a bit of processing the instant collage of memories but soon Nathan was capable of converting etherium into aura. What once was a slow and inefficient passive process suddenly became an active and quite efficient method of emptying his entire etherium reserves. As the sun rose in the morning Nathan flexed his aura into a small cylinder. Crushing with all his strength didn''t even leave a mark. Nathan walked into his living room and upon seeing Reggie still asleep cooked some breakfast. Soon enough Reggie awoke to the smell of a glorious breakfast made with only the cheapest ingredients.

 Ch 7

    ¡°So, we gonna talk about the fact that your aura is on fire?¡± Reggie asked. Which confused Nathan greatly. How was his aura on fire? Glancing around he didn''t see anything off about his aura.


    ¡°Whatta ya mean my auras on fire?¡±


    ¡°Look at it, it''s definitely way stronger but its all out of whack. Your going to have to reign it in and get control over it or your just going to be wasting energy.¡±


    ¡°How do I ¡®reign¡¯ my aura in?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, just look up some basic aura control exercises.¡± He grumbled while fumbling to make coffee.


    ¡°Alright i''ll do that today since I don''t have work. First though could you rate the durability of my aura. I''ve been thinking of trying to make some extra cash at an arena. Maybe try to get recruited by a battle sect¡± Nathan half joked. His brother looked up from his coffee and took a long look at the bubble of aura Nathan was projecting. He then ruthlessly obliterated the entire thing. Nathan collapsed to his knees in the most pain he had ever felt. It was completely different from a physical ache. He felt like something fundamental to his very existence had just been torn to shreds. His brother looked at him with little to no pity in his eyes. He didn¡¯t know what was more devastating, the wound or the fact that his brother had no sympathy for him.


    ¡°I would rate it to be a D rank defensive aura technique in terms of raw power, but closer to C rank in regards to capability to shrug off blunt damage. However you have literally no clue how to fight. You also don''t have nearly enough pain tolerance to fight. If having your aura destroyed is enough to send you to your knees you will never get past the F tiers. Are you serious about fighting? If so im more than willing to teach you, but this could be considered light training¡±


    Nathan took a moment to consider the agony he was in and the potential of having his brother teach him how to fight. It didn''t take long for him to decide. Steeling himself he picked himself up, then bowed to his elder sibling.


    ¡°Please instruct me¡± He pleaded. His brother stared at him with a mysterious intensity.


    ¡°Nathaniel Crest do you understand the depths of hell? Because you will wade through them to reach the heights of heaven.¡± He recited.


    ¡°I can''t claim to know the depths of hell, but I am willing to go through anything to change my destiny.¡± Nathan finished the cheesy movie quote still shivering in pain. His aura had begun reforming but the pain still lingered. Ultimately though, his aura would reform stronger than it had been when it was destroyed. The blessings of youth. After eating the breakfast buffet he had made, Reggie left for work and Nathan found himself with plenty of free time for the first time in forever. He checked his text messages, finding a message from Sasha about work. He would be getting paid time off while the building was repaired and cleaned, which would take a week and a half to get back up to code. After that he started doing some aura control exercises, but his aura still felt tender after Reggie had sliced it to pieces faster than Nathan could even observe.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Eventually he settled on doing some meditation and then some work on the Steel Body technique. He settled into a trance like rhythm of breathing in, burning his body with ather, then rushing his essence from the surface of his skin to every inch of his body shoving the ather into his soul where it was rapidly refined into more essence. And etherium which was now quite useful to him. Hours of doing nothing but strengthening his body later Nathan found himself adrift. It was a restful feeling as his consciousness floated through the endless expanses of his mind. Eventually he found himself observing his soul in this strange state of mind. He saw how ather was broken down and had its core components re-arranged into the two energies he was familiar with. He saw other small parts building up in small clumps where they simply took up space without contributing anything. Others flowed out with his essence and etherium, presumably flowing into his body and ather. He watched for what felt like a small eternity, pondering how to use those bits of ather or at least get rid of them.. Then he snapped awake, stood up in a frenzy and quickly fell back down into a pile of blankets and pillows he used as a meditation mat. He caught his breath and then calmed down. He had absolutely no clue what to do with that information. Were those impurities he had built up? He shrugged then headed to take a shower.


    A half hour later he stood in the steaming bathroom half dressed looking in the mirror. Loose fitting pants that used to be to small for him were barely kept up by a belt, and his gut had shrunk to the point that he almost couldn''t believe it. Just a few months had done so much for his physique. It would likely only be another before he got his aura back from the aura promise he had made about getting a six pack. It wouldn''t be nearly as much as it would have been before he got his aura creation technique, relatively, but it would still be a considerable boon. He took a moment to battle his long, thick, and mangy curls into submission. He did not win that battle. Grumbling to himself he checked the time. 5:00 PM. Reggie wouldn''t get back till six. He could go to the gym, but his body felt like he had run it through a meat grinder. Of course it was also that much stronger because of it. So Nathan took a short walk to the hair stylist down the street.


    Feeling much more confident about his looks after getting a nice haircut, and some new clothes that were a bit snug but would probably fit well after he shaved the last vestiges of his past self, Nathan headed home. The streets were still crowded, both with cars on the road, and people on the sidewalks. The city of Ria never truly slept. He was a few turns from his house, and Reggie should be back. He could get home and have plenty of time too-


    Quickly turning to see who had grabbed his shoulder, he felt several more hands reach out and begin ripping him into an alley. He tried to get out a scream but his mouth was covered before he even realized what was happening.

 Ch 8

    Reggie had a bad feeling in his gut as he walked up the stairs to his brothers apartment. Nathan had never been someone he would trust to stay safe given free time. His brothers capability to find trouble both astounded and amused him. And worried. Opening the door to find the lights off and no one else in the small apartment he took a moment to think about where his brother could be. He likely had not gone to the gym, his aura would still be sore so he would likely have spent the afternoon using that weird meditation body strengthening technique thing. From what his brother had told him, it left him sore and aching so he almost certainly wouldn''t have wanted to do anything physical after that. Reggie ruminated on it before deciding his brother had likely taken a shower after hours of sweating and had gone shopping after a long day of training.


    Given his brothers lack of a car he couldn¡¯t have gone far. Reggie started walking while calling his brother. After the first failed call he started jogging. By the time the third call wasn''t picked up he was sprinting. The malaise of worry and doubt had culminated into unfounded fear. But one thing everyone knew was that when you had to choose between reason and your gut, you had to consider your soul. A powerful soul could predict the future with stunning accuracy, what could prevent a lesser soul from performing a lesser deed? So the silver star Enforcer activated his personal technique, True Acceleration. It sped up every aspect of him, including his thoughts and even his soul. Within moments he felt the bundle of worry began pulling him in a general direction. He moved faster than the wind, navigating through alleyways as though he had grown up in them he soon found himself standing in one such alley staring at his brother. On the ground bleeding like a stuck pig, one arm bent the wrong way and both legs skewed in awkward directions.


    Reggie pulled out his pistol and within a breath had put a bullet in the knees of every person in the alley. Some of already injured ones, no doubt from his brothers resistance, fell over immediately while some stronger or healthier ones stayed up. Another bullet to the ones left upright and he moved on to his brother. There was no threats or words exchanged. There wasn''t time. Reggie picked up his brother and carried him to the hospital before the technique ran out. Finally time resumed its natural speed and Reggie trembled. ¡®I pushed myself way beyond my limits¡¯ He thought as his entire body trembled from essence starvation. Steadying his breathing, he slowly stood up and looked around the emergency room.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Soon enough a startled nurse walked up to him ¡°Please set him down here¡± she said while pointing to a gurney that she had brought out. Within moments he was being assured of his brothers swift recovery. Finding himself in a waiting room with no other way to pass the time he decided to bite the bullet and call his boss. And even worse, he would have to call his mother. Reggie felt a shiver down his spine. He could make platinum and that woman would question why he hadn''t done it sooner. At least his boss would only keep him on the phone for a few minutes before sending someone else to deal with it. And best to do it before any of the thugs got away. He checked the time before calling his boss. It had only been half a minute since he had shot the thugs in the alley. He had ran over thirty miles in half a minute. He had broken the sound barrier, or would have if it weren''t for the way his skill worked. That had to be gold worthy.


    ¡­


    Nathan woke up in agony to a short, plump woman with a kind air standing in front of his bed. Immediately shooting up in spite of all his muscles and quite a few bones he stared at her.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± He asked half dazed


    ¡°Because my fool son has the presence of mind to get robbed and mugged in the same week. Do you know how stupid you need to be for people to rob you twice? And back to back too. Not like there was a day off from beating up and robbing Nathan, that guys a chump. Honestly if it weren''t for your brother you probably would have died. What would I have done if you died? You would really leave me without any grandkids and your fool brother and sister as my legacy. You know she doesn''t talk to me and your brother can''t even keep a girl for more than a month. I can''t believe¡­¡± She lectured on and on. Nathan zoned out deciding it would be easier to let her get it out of her system before actually trying to talk to her. Nathan took this time to begin funneling the essence in his body to the various wounds. Within an hour, both due to experience and the large amount of essence from his IV, he had fixed most of the worst damage. A few of the worst cuts would scar for a few days before he got to them but it wasn''t a big deal. Glancing up he saw that his mother had finished her triade and was reading a magazine.


    ¡°So you want to explain why you came to see me in person for real?¡±

 Ch 9

    ¡°I''m here to discuss the contract we made when you moved to Ria.¡± His mother said, sending a dagger of anxiety straight to his gut. There was no way she would hold this against him. His mother wasn''t that cruel¡­


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious, I haven''t asked you for any help that Reggie wouldn''t if he were in my shoes. It¡¯s not fair either, I have friends here, I have a job and I got a gym membership. Look, i''m in super good shape for the first time. Ever¡±


    ¡°Sweetie, you can come back. And besides, if they were true friends they wouldn''t let a measly year ruin your relationship.¡± She said with the tone of a sweet little lady, but the words rang hollow in Nathans heart.


    ¡°Please, when did I even ask for help?¡± He argued.


    ¡°I''m not taking you home because you asked for help, im taking you home because you I have deemed you to be unsafe in this cruel city. Its because I love you.¡± She explained before handing him a bottle from her oversized purse. Nathan was like, 80% sure it had spatial formations in it. She never ran out of anything she kept in there. Taking a sip he discovered it to be an elixir with high density ather in it. Tangy, and helpful to his recovery.


    ¡°Look at me, I¡¯ve exercised so hard these past few months.¡± He said pulling up his shirt to reveal a thin gut that you could see three pairs of muscles through the skin. As though just realizing it the aura bubble in his chest burst, quickly being reabsorbed into his aura. A solid gain, increasing his aura by maybe a fourth its previous power. ¡°And my aura is way, way stronger.¡± He finished quite pleased with the timing.


    ¡°And imagine how much stronger you¡¯ll be when-¡± She was cut off by a rattle on the door, followed by a pretty female doctor.


    ¡°Nathan Crest?  I see your wounds are healing nicely, I just wanted to check on your soul defect before sending you on your way.¡± She said.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Oh, my asthma is doing great actually. The Steel Body technique has basically gotten rid of it. Haven''t had an attack in two months. Not even a little one.¡± He said pride building in his chest. He had come so far. And now his mom wanted to snatch him away.


    ¡°That''s great, I actually wanted to recommend it to you. So strange how that works sometimes. Anyways, if your doing fine and you feel well enough to walk we can get you out of here in an hour. Your insurance already covered everything.¡± The nice doctor said before checking some of the machines near Nathan and promptly leaving. His mother was staring at him oddly, so he quickly started back their previous conversation.


    ¡°I am a grown man, I have grown greatly in my independence and I will not move back home for a year.¡± He said with the utmost certainty. There was no quiver in his voice, and certainly no fear of his mother.


    ¡°You cured your asthma?¡± She said simply. And that threw him for a loop. Was that so much more impressive than his six pack?


    ¡°Ya, thanks to the people here in Ria¡± He half-lied. She thought for a moment. Then she let out a huge sigh.


    ¡°Nathan, if you really want to stay in the city where you have been robbed and beaten, living in a run down apartment and going to a cheap gym you can. I just want you to know what your going to be missing by not coming home and training.¡± She said before reaching into her purse. It took awhile for her to find what she was looking for, but soon enough she brought out a small box. Inside was a pamphlet about the company she worked at. She handed it to him and as he read over it he found himself sorely tempted. The elixirs and training manuals just listed on the front would be worth giving up a year of his life. But would it be worth losing the relationships he had built up. Nathan didn''t think so.


    ¡°Oh, one more thing. While you are back home I will be out a lot for work, so I¡¯ll be relying on a couple of people to give you combat training. Im sure you remember Tanya and Liz. Their top notch trainers who have great experience.¡± She tempted. Tanya was a six foot beauty and Liz was his childhood crush. Having them train him would be horrendous. Mainly because he was certain they would spar with him, and both of them would annihilate him while giggling. Nathan tried to argue some more but every time he opened his mouth, his mother had a new temptation at the ready. Scheming master of manipulation was a title his mother wore with pride. And Nathan had never been good at resisting his mothers demands.


    Eventually he was in a car headed to his hometown after getting his affairs in order. As he left the huge coastal city Nathan made another aura oath, once again dedicating a fifth of his aura to a promise. ¡®I will return and when I do, im going to conquer an arena.¡¯. A difficult task, but one he hoped he would have a chance of after this year of training. To ¡®Conquer¡¯ an arena one had to become the highest ranked fighter in it and challenge the current ¡®Champion¡¯. As they drove Nathan thought of all the awesome ways he was going to beat the champion. Eventually as the sun set, he drifted to sleep to the feeling of healed wounds and an ache in his soul. He was going to miss Ria.

 Ch 10

    Once he arrived in the small town of Celeste, one of the greatest places for researching the various energies of the world but lacked any real industry. The last time Nathan had been here his mother had been one of the head researchers, but now she was THE head researcher. And Nathan had no doubts as to if she was deserving of the title.


    Turning his gaze to his childhood home, Nathan saw that there had been some renovations. A new fountain, some pretty sculptures, and the trees seemed to be in better condition than ever. Once the car pulled in, the driver stepped out and began directing some other people to help carry in their luggage.


    ¡°Sweetie, I know you''re just itching to start training but Liz and Tanya won''t be ready till tomorrow. Take a day to rest and prepare. Starting tomorrow you will be training every day. Don''t worry though, I¡¯ll keep you well stocked on elixirs and such.¡± She said before directing him to his room. Nathan sat there for a bit thinking before setting up his game console. Reggie said he would get his own so they could play and keep in touch in the future. Playing games and wasting time till tomorrow came, Nathan rested uneasy thinking about his year training at home.


    Nathan was awoken by a screaming woman shouting directions. Incoherent thoughts running through a foggy mind led to him being brutally led through his morning routine. Eventually Tanya let up after he almost choked to death on a biscuit during a rushed breakfast on the way to a training hall. Once there he was led through a series of benchmark tests to see where his physical prowess stood. Then spirit and aura tests. Which led to a few confused looks and a hushed exchange.


    ¡°Nathan what''s up with your aura¡± Asked Liz, almost astounded.


    ¡°I used an etherium technique to make a bunch of aura, but other than that I don''t know anything special about my aura. Other than it was naturally quite weak.¡± He explained. He did not expect to see general outrage and utter shock at such a statement.


    ¡°Your saying someone had you use some of your etherium to produce aura?¡± Came the next question. This time from an infuriated Tanya.


    ¡°I mean they gave me the technique, I don''t know about ¡®had me do it¡¯ but I guess? And I used all my etherium so that I could finally have an aura worth something.¡± The fact that Liz walked away and picked up her phone finally keyed Nathan into the fact that this wasn¡¯t a good kind of surprise. That and the fact Tanya looked ready to strangle someone.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°Nathan, do you know how valuable etherium is? Only one percent of ather can be used to make etherium. Its the primary ingredient to make cores.¡±


    Nathan shrugged before saying ¡°I didn''t know it was the primary ingredient for cores, but is it really that useful. I can do everything a core can by myself.¡±


    ¡°First off, no, cores can allow you to produce insanely useful effects. Your brother Reggie uses a core to manipulate time and space to move super fast. Your mother uses a core to observe and manipulate energy on levels you couldn''t hope to understand. Secondly, aura can greatly improved with raw ather. Ather wraps around a strand of aura and forms a strong rope or chain like formation around it. All your technique has done is given you a lot more strands. Which is decent but with twenty-four years of etherium? You could have created an excellent core to give you an ability that you just can''t get with aura.¡± She explained. But she wouldn''t be right. Jack wouldn''t have just screwed him over right?


    ¡°I was given this technique by a high ranking fighter called Myriad, or Jack, in exchange for a soft shield aura technique. There''s no way he would have tricked me. He even offered up a cultivation art that could improve my ather intake by twelve times.¡± He tried, but it seemed as though he could only make her more and more upset.


    ¡°The worst a cultivation art can be, and still be called a cultivation art is a ten times increase. He offered you something barely above the worst possible art. If you had taken that, there really wouldn''t be any hope. You can''t change a cultivation art without serious soul damage. A lack of etherium can be fixed with elixirs but sould damage is much, much harder.¡± And Nathan crumbled. Again and again. Even when he thought he had gotten a treasure it only turned out to be poison. Eventually Liz came back with news, apparently from his mother.


    ¡°So, change of plan. Were going to train his aura to be the most powerful aura ever. Rather than stopping he will continue to convert etherium aura. What that means is that your aura will constantly have new threads and older stronger threads. One big problem pure aura users have is memory. And Nathan has a unique chance to create new strands of aura to teach new things. Soo, lets get on with it Tanya.¡± She said. Tanya nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment. Nathan didn''t really know what to make of it. The best aura? There was no way he would ever have the best anything.


    After that they headed over to a part of the facility that was meant for weight training. Nathan was quickly set up at a weight bench with significantly more than he had ever lifted. Almost immediately he was struggling. Liz seemed not to care as she got another weight out from the rack. Wasn''t he supposed to be training his-. Nathan lost all train of thought as a ten pound weight smashed into his gut, followed by an almost three hundred pound bar. As his ribs caved in he saw his two trainers simply shake their heads. Nathan groaned in agony as Tanya tilted a drink to his lips. He quickly used the essence from the elixir to heal his chest. Once capable of speech he glared at them.


    ¡°I still have wounds from being brutally beaten, and your just going to shatter my ribs like that?¡± He accused.


    ¡°You do not stop complaining. The elixirs you''ve taken healed them all. And this ones even better. Now this time your going to catch the weight with you aura. And i''m going to drop it on your balls. As motivation of course.¡± Said Liz. He tried to protest some more but was quickly quieted as Liz leaned in close to him.


    ¡°When your mother gave me the job of being your trainer she handed me a list. I cried reading that list, not because of what was written but because of the context. The punishments on that list are so appalling that even the least of them would drive me to practice to the bone. And the punishments are all for you if you slack off.¡±


    Nathan didn''t waste anymore time. He couldn''t afford to find out what was on that list.

 Ch 11

    Several hours of training later they stopped for lunch. A small fifteen minute break where Liz and Tanya ate gourmet take out from a high class restaurant nearby and Nathan stared at his ¡®meal¡¯ in agony. ¡®Is this even food, It says its got a thousand calories and super dense nutrients but¡­¡¯ Nathan contemplated the value of not starving to death from training, over the value of not drinking his ¡®shake¡¯. ¡®It can¡¯t be that bad if my own mother got it for me.¡¯. A cautious sip later, followed by a chugging of the strange fluid and Nathan felt brand new. His almost depleted body began healing in a different way than how it was healed by the Steel Body technique. He could literally feel the difference, the body strengthening technique healed in a way that felt like he was being stuffed full of energy, while this was comparable to a soothing relaxation as his reserves were refilled. He chalked the difference to something that was meant to improve and something meant to¡­ rest? Meh his descriptions were all right. He gave himself a nod before continuing the hellish training. Liz and Tanya both ate with a calm air while Nathan desperately tried to fly. Logically he could lift more than his body weight with his aura so he should be able to lift himself. But it just wouldn''t work.


    ¡°Yo, trainers, why can¡¯t I fly?¡±


    ¡°You have to able to push down on the air around you enough to fly which requires a way stronger aura than you currently have.¡± Liz explained while lifting herself, and her amazing looking burger into the air. Nathan felt a gentle breeze wafting from her. ¡°You can¡¯t push down on your aura, using your aura, to fly. You could hold yourself with your aura so long as you''re forming it into a solid and it¡¯s touching another stable object, but you wouldn''t be able to fly like that because it would drop you the moment you left the anchor behind.¡±


    He grumbled a bit about the unfairness of physics before they finished up and started the evening training. Which consisted of him forming various aura shields and them attacking him. The goal was for him to form them and alter them in response to the various types of attacks they used but the results were him bleeding and screaming as they threw everything from knives to lighting bolts at him. Tanya even used a bowling ball, which she claimed was a medicine ball, to break his knee cap while he was distracted by Liz emitting a stream of flames from her hand. Then they practiced some smaller, less lethal aura uses. Once they were finished, after a long day of training they presented him with a cookie.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Here''s your reward for a hard day of work¡± They smiled. Nathan looked dubiously at the cookie. It had huge gooey chocolate chunks and smelled like a little disk of heaven. It was a trap. It literally couldn''t not be a trap. Nathan shrugged and took a bite while waiting for the punishment. After a bit of waiting he decided to move things along.


    ¡°What¡¯s the catch.¡±


    ¡°Cookie was poisoned.¡± Was all he got before he realized exactly what the poison was. Oh god. Nathan sprinted looking a tap or a hose or something. He hacked up a cough, and fell on his butt seeing literal flames coming from his mouth.


    ¡°You get the antidote after running a hundred laps. The butler will give it to you. Goodnight, tomorrow it''s just you and Tanya. Said a brutally uncaring Liz. He could feel fire in his veins and the heat in his mouth had grown to an unbearable extreme.


    ¡°Ya, see you tomorrow Nathan. By the way, the poison only gets worse the longer its in your system. One man died after sneezing and catching his clothes on fire, but it can¡¯t kill you from the inside.¡± Went Tanya, also abandoning him to his fate. Not seeing an alternative he got running. A lean man came by and offered him a tonic after he finished his laps. After that horror he finally started home and got some sleep.


    The rest of the week was more or less the same with Liz and Tanya swapping days to torment him. But finally the weekend came and he got his day of rest. Today was a study day. He got up from his comfortable bed and looked at the list of books he had to read before his mother got home to quiz him like he was still being homeschooled. Aura Theory, Basic Ather Compositions, Complex Ather Entanglement, Aura String Manipulation Techniques and a few short excerpts of other titles. It was druggery but he got through almost all of it. He answered the questions his mother asked before it was finally his turn.


    ¡°So what is loose energy used for, how do I get the most out of the fact that I can make new aura strings, can auras think or is the intelligence theory wrong, and what does moon man eat.¡± He asked rapid fire.


    ¡°Loose energy is either regarded as impurities or unrefined ather, but that''s not completely right. It''s basically anything your soul can¡¯t or doesn''t know how to use. ¡®Moon man¡¯ lives on the moon specifically to avoid such contaminants, not in his soul but in his experiments. There are a few uses for it, but not that you need to worry about. Your new aura strings can be used to build complicated aura designs and learn new ¡®skills¡¯. But sweetie I cant just say that a theory is right or wrong, but personally I put quite a bit of stock in the aura intelligence theory. You might even be able to use that to your advantage given your going to have more aura than most people. Finally moon man doesn''t eat. He is an Eternal, he literally doesn''t need food. He gets most of his energy from the sun though. I guess that makes him a plant huh.¡± She finished with a giggle.

 Ch 12

    Nathan was exhausted. The constant training and exercising was wearing on him. It had only been a month and he already felt like he was going to die. Luckily he got a break tonight. No training, no reading, no questions, just peace. And it was for a good reason too.


    Nathan walked to the front of his current house, his childhood home, and took in the view. The many rooms and expansions, the artful color scheme of pastels mixed with vibrant contrasts. He didn¡¯t have long to wait as his mother soon stepped out of the house, a vibrant green dress wrapped around her and her typical bag replaced by a much more fashionable but less useful mini purse.


    ¡°Oh Nathan honey, Reggie is almost here so let''s wait inside.¡± She called.


    Nodding and taking a seat on a nearby couch, simply happy to have most of his family coming. It had been so long since he had seen his entire family in one place. His sister had all but discarded her family name, while his father¡­ He hadn''t been heard from in a long time, but it was presumed that he was still a general scumbag. Although it had been a number of years, maybe he was an extreme scumbag by now.


    His train of thought vanished when he heard a knock on the door. He went to open the door but his mom had rushed to the handle. ¡°Come in reggie were just about to leave to go celebrate.¡±


    ¡°Yeah we are! Hey Nathan, I see that your getting good training. Even though I offered better training. For free ya know.¡± He grumbled.


    ¡°You better shut up or Liz is gonna appear from the shadows to steal your kidneys.¡± Nathan warned from experience. The mildly disturbed look on his face was more than worth it. It quickly past as his stomach roared in eagerness for the coming dinner.


    ¡°Honestly, dear? I guess we better get going.¡±


    They loaded into the luxury car heading to the fanciest restaurant in town. Barbo¡¯s Tacos. He could hear his brother giggling beside him. He elbowed him gently with a questioning look.


    ¡°You remember the last time we went to Barbo¡¯s? We should totally do it again.¡± His brother suggested a terrible plan that was sure to get them kicked out. And Nathan was totally down for it. He gave Reggie a quick nod. Once they got to the restaurant it took great restraint not to laugh about their stupid plan. Soon enough they were ordering and¡­


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°Nathan, as it is your birthday I challenge you to a duel of inheritance!¡±


    ¡°Hah, as if you could ever beat me at anything.¡± He said while the poor waiter faltered.


    ¡°Mhm, we will have a true battle to see who is the strongest brother!¡± He all but yelled. At this point their mother was calmly placing her own order.


    ¡°You couldn''t possibly mean? A battle of spice! Your insane! We¡¯ll all die if something goes wrong.¡±


    ¡°Pahaha, waiter! My and my dearest brother will take an order of every hot pepper you have, but as an extra challenge put them in tacos with some devil chicken!¡± He said before continuing in a stage whisper, ¡°If one of us dies, ill give you a tip ten times what I was planning.¡± And the poor waiter swallowed nervously before fleeing to the kitchen. Nathan studiously avoided the glare of his mother. If you didn''t make eye contact she couldn''t attack. Reggie, his elder but not nearly as wise as him, foolishly glanced at her. While that battle raged, Nathan simply leaned back and prepared himself. Last time he ate something spicy he spewed literal flames, so he was well prepared for a lighter challenge.


    Soon enough the food came, their mother getting a small fajita and Nathan and Reggie each getting well over a dozen tacos set in front of them. Nathan looked up nervously to see his brother looking as confident as ever. Nervously reaching for the first taco he took a hesitant bite at the same time as Reggie. It burned like agony and it only the first. Nathan went for a second as Reggie blazed through the first three. There was no way he could win at this rate so he started cheating. He saw the look of shock on Reggies face as he levitated tacos to his mouth and chewed at speeds that risked everything, but he didn''t have time to think of anything as his brother also amped up the speed. But speed was not the deciding factor. A will of iron was as the last five tacos stood in front of both of them. Nathan felt bloated and disgusting, combined with the fact that his blood felt like it was made of cholesterol. He was certain his arteries were all but filled. And then there was the hellish fire burning every inch of his body. Reggie looked no better.


    ¡°Are you boys going to finish or are you both sissies.¡± Came a goading voice from their mother. Nathan didn''t take the time to be shocked, he just reached and ate.


    Oh he was going to die. He could feel death coming for him as he ate the second to last taco, grease and chicken both buried in the hottest peppers he had ever tasted. If he had to choose between this and the blazing cookie he would choose the cookie every time. Reggie collapsed but kept reaching for tacos. Nathan took a bite from the last taco. He couldn''t even feel it as he finished off the last taco.


    ¡°I, ugh, ur, oh god, I win¡± He tried. Reggie just groaned and didn''t sit back up. Nathan suddenly felt the heat from the last taco hit. He was already crying but now it felt like his tears themselves were fire. Why would they do this a second time? And why were they so much hotter than he remembered. It didn''t matter. He had won.


    ¡°So, uh do I get my tip¡± Asked a nervous teen. Reggie nodded pulled out his wallet and pulled out a ten.


    ¡°There you go, ten times what I planned¡± He said before collapsing again. The teen looked distraught.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him, he¡¯s a cheapskate.¡± He said alleviating the kids worries. He saw the brief bit of relief shattered as Nathan handed him a ten and five tera bill.


    ¡°Sweetie don''t mind them¡± She said before calculating a reasonable tip. Nathan watched as his mother pulled out a twenty and added it to the pile of bills in the middle. Which would be an ok tip if it weren''t for the fact that they had basically ruined everyone else''s dinner. The waiter nearly collapsed. She quickly giggled and put much more cash on the pile before paying with a card and high tailing it out of there. Nathan tried to stand, but found his legs to be unwilling. He eventually got some crutches set up with his aura, both using it for leverage off the ground and to help make his movements easier. He looked back at Reggie, lying in a pile of bits of tacos and tears. It was good to win.

 Ch 13

    Nathan woke up to a change of pace. He got dressed, suspicion filling him as he went through his morning routine. He slowly opened the door to leave his room before cautiously heading downstairs. He found his mother already sat at the table while the ever kind Jaques, his mother¡¯s butler, was setting down breakfast dishes. The aroma of pancakes and sausages tried to convince him that everything was okay. He had been training for six months and had become well accustomed to the fact that someone would wake him at some un-heavenly hour, typically violently. Except for the days when he studied, and he was gently informed that it was time to begin his day. So he sat down waiting to be informed of his misdeed or the latest development in his contractual training.


    ¡°Your combat training begins today hon. You better try hard or those girls are going to be gossiping about with all the other company trainers. Oh, and can you guess who called me yesterday¡­¡± His mother droned about her day. Nathan tried hard to stay interested, but he really wanted to know about the combat training. He was abused enough already, and if that wasn''t combat training he wasn''t sure he wanted to know what was. Eventually though he gave in and started eating breakfast. He assumed he would headover to meet up with whichever trainer was going to be beating him into the ground. He dug his fork into a fluffy pancake of utter goodness, buried in syrup and butter, before his aura kindly informed him that a fist was hurtling at him. Shooting out of his seat, or trying to anyways, he fumbled as his aura formed a defensive barrier. He relied on the fact that his aura was quite capable of defending him as he spun to see Lizs vibrant figure attacking him. She cut him a quick smile before using her aura to help break through his own. Nathan awkwardly tried to figure out if he was supposed to attack or if he was expected to hold her off while eating breakfast. He decided to ask was the best course of action.


    ¡°What exactly is my goal in this scenario? Am I supposed to attack you or eat breakfast or what?¡±


    ¡°Well, the main goal was to see how you react to an ambush and you aced it really. But know im kinda thrown off as I was supposed to smack you around a bit before letting you eat.¡± The redhead explained. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Seeing as Nathan has stopped your ambush quite wonderfully, how about you join us for breakfast. I already asked Jaques to make enough for four.¡± His mother said motioning to an empty seat at the table. That quickly simplified matters as the group quickly dug into the meal. Nathan enjoyed the feeling of having succeeded at a test, but also felt a strange emotion wash over him. For the first time in a long while he felt confident. In himself, in his body, and in his spirit. It felt like an odd heaviness was lifted, one he never really noticed. Nathan had come miles from where he had started and it showed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with some base rules: Standard duel etiquette, if your knocked out of the circle it¡¯s a loss, if I declare a fights over its over. Understand?¡± She asked once they arrived at the training center. After Nathan nodded his assent they walked into a ring that made up the majority of the center; much of the equipment moved out of the way to allow for a large ¡®arena¡¯. Nathan gave a quick bow as Liz announced the start of the duel and then flared his aura into a defensive form. It was no longer a simple soft shield, having gained many new aspects to allow for it to mitigate as many types of damage as possible with high efficiency. Its glossy, but transparent shell had earned it the title of Nullification Bubble Shield. Or as Nathan typically referred to it as, Null Shield. Liz collected her aura on her fists and began pounding his shield. It dented and deformed but Nathan could rely on it for at least a bit. While he had the defensive advantage he thought of a way to go on the offense. Nathan smiled as he figured out a wonderful way to throw her off. Nathan used his aura to emit a sudden blast of light, hoping to blind Liz. The trainer flinched at the intense brightness and Nathan rushed forward. With a quick punch aimed at her gut moved to attack. A hand caught his wrist and threw him forward, pulling him off his balance and landing him on the ground in a sprawl.


    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t rushed the attack and maintained a good stance you could have won.¡± Came the criticizing voice of his tormentor.


    ¡°Yeah, but how did you shake off the flash so fast? I thought that would work for sure.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t, but just because im blinded doesn''t mean my aura is. The same way you used yours to detect my ambush earlier, I used my mine to sense your punch.¡± And that really embarrassed Nathan. It was stupid to assume that his trainer wouldnt be able to do something she taught him to do. Or maybe Tanya had taught him that? It didn¡¯t really matter. The long and short of it was that he had lost. But he was definitely going to win next time.

 Ch 14

    Nathan woke up and got ready as fast as he possibly could, skipping routines that used to go through regularly to rush downstairs. His aura had been taking care of plaque buildup for awhile and it had been ages since he had truly needed a shower. That didn¡¯t mean he would give up those glorious reprieves. But right now he needed to eat and fight. Hopefully in that order, but who knew anymore? Nathan rushed to get to the training center to maximize his chances today. His mother chided him for his rudeness, but otherwise smiled happily about his eagerness. He arrived at the training center ready to fight as though his life depended on it. He stepped into a tight circle chalked into the floor with Tanya. A silent exchange of bows and combat erupted. Nathan used his aura to block the probing attacks of the tall and powerful fighter, while simultaneously moving it with him to attack. Pure defense was foolish, so Nathan had decided to make change his bubble like shield into a second skin. Nathan smacked a blow into the trainers aura disrupting it and allowing for a swift kick to catch her unguarded side. The pale woman winced and reformed her own aura while delivering a devastating hit to his shin, bypassing his aura through the use of a core technique. It wasn¡¯t perfect though, so Nathan didn¡¯t fall down due to a shattered bone, but it still felt like a sledgehammer hitting the delicate bone. He pushed through the pain and shoved her as hard as he could, aiming to push her out of the ring. She slid to the edge of the circle but didn¡¯t cross the boundary. Nathan used his aura to disorient in as many ways as possible while cautiously moving to end the fight. Tanya had experienced almost every method he had devised to throw his opponents off guard though, and blocked them out while preparing an attack of her own. A single finger hit Nathan on the chest, deceptively soft. He relied on his aura to stay standing as his body ceased supporting itself, not yet ready to admit defeat. It wasn¡¯t long however, before he fell down aura exhausted and body beaten.


    ¡°I see you still haven¡¯t figured out how to beat me without use of your body huh. I could stop using that attack if you want. Maybe I should let you win one so you can see how it feels?¡± She taunted and mocked. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Nathan knew she was just doing it to rile him up he would¡¯ve been mad. As it stood he was calm, cool, and collected.


    He sat up and meditated and recovered. Nathan used strands of aura to funnel even more ather into his body, the pervasive strings of energy gathering up small bits of the energy from the air and pulling it into him. Nathan thought for a moment about what would happen if he directly connected his aura to his soul. His studies on aura would lead him to believe that it would be impossible, due to the necessary integration would be far too complex for a person''s aura. But Nathans aura wasn¡¯t just dense, it was intelligent. He rarely had to actively think about using his aura to do most tasks. Deciding there was no harm in giving it a go he gather up some of his aura strands and tried to figure out how to connect to his soul. It was odd trying to figure out how to mesh two of his spiritual organs into a cohesive form, but Nathan was willing to experiment. He was almost fully recovered and ready for his next attempt to beat Tanya when he felt success. A single strand of aura reaching into his soul. After that Nathan didn¡¯t need to try to figure out how to fit other strands in. Nathan watched as aura strands attacked his soul like a predator that had finally located prey. His aura rapidly formed connections and ties with his soul, a strange sight as his normally perfectly clean, spherical soul was covered in tiny hair like strands of aura. It must have taken a bit of time as when he opened his eyes Tanya was staring at him concern in her eyes.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°What exactly did you just do?¡± She demanded.


    ¡°I connected my aura to my soul. I thought it might be beneficial.¡± Nathan said sheepishly. If he had just screwed up because of a whim he was going to be devastated. But it didn¡¯t feel like he had screwed up. Nathan went to feel his aura, and was stoked to feel the qualitative change that had taken place. His aura felt significantly stronger, but that was almost worthless compared to how complex it was now. The strands had been completely unwoven and re-woven into a completely new pattern. Before it had simply been a mess of strands that Nathan created and meshed in wherever they fit. Now though it looked almost alive, seemingly biological in nature. The many strands of aura had formed into bundles and connections in strange fashion that almost resemble neurons. And it was absolutely pumping ather into him, almost to the point that Nathan was unable to believe was possible. It was almost better than some elixirs he had taken before.


    ¡°Do you know what that means Nathan? Do you understand the significance of using something to change the way your soul absorbs ather? You just made a cultivation Art.¡± She said incredulously.


    ¡°Seriously? I mean it¡¯s pretty good for a cultivation Art, my ather accumulation rate is definitely more than ten times higher. I wonder if I can make it faster?¡± He mused. Then he attempted to put effort in ripping as much ather from the atmosphere as possible. He stopped abruptly, not due to stress on his aura or soul, but because Tanya suddenly looked sick.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t ever try to do that again.¡± She said, a tremble in her voice. ¡°it''s clearly very good at absorbing ather if it can literally deplete the air. I''m certain there''s some kind of downside though. I¡¯ll call your mother and ask her about it.¡±


    A few hours later and a lot of muttering from his mother, Nathan found himself in the middle of a highly secure research facility being examined by some of the greatest scientists in the nation. The consensus was that he had discovered a tier five cultivation art by accident. Which was ludicrous.


    ¡°How sure are you that no one has ever used their aura to cultivate before?¡±


    ¡°Not at all sweets, but im certain that you have done something never done before. Even if you haven¡¯t and someone out there has done it first, they didn¡¯t teach you so you may as well have been the first.¡±


    ¡°Mhm, what about the downsides? I''m sure someone here noticed some sort of flaw.¡± There were literally dozens of people working there, almost all of them having conducted some test or another on him while mumbling happily about seeing something cool and unexpected.


    ¡°You would be correct, if your aura is damaged your cultivation will slow dramatically. Also when it''s tired, you won¡¯t be able to cultivate as efficiently. The biggest drawback though would be the fact that your soul is automatically creating aura from etherium now, so you can¡¯t use any core techniques or etherium techniques. Ever.¡± A nearby scientist contributed.


    ¡°But it¡¯s really a tier five? I mean I know that nowhere near the highest tier but thats like Eternal grade right?¡±


    ¡°Your dead right. And if im honest, it''s probably only due to the limitations that it got a T five rating instead of a T six or seven.¡± Said the same scientist. Nathan''s mother nodded her agreement.


    ¡°It really is exceptional sweetie. And your soul and aura connection will supply us with a ton of material to study. This could have huge effects on the spiritual research field.¡±His mother said excitedly. After many, many more tests and plentiful praise and celebration Nathan arrived at home feeling odd about his new found power. He almost felt like he was lying about something, even though he hadn¡¯t come to any conclusions himself. Nathan laid down and went to bed early, turmoil fading as peaceful slumber took him.

 Ch 15

    The next day he woke and got ready for the next round of testing. Where yesterday had been to determine the nature of the binding of his aura and soul, while today¡¯s was to see how powerful his aura was now. And how intelligent. Nathan was ushered through facilities with machine he couldn''t fathom uses for. Others he could recognize due to the sheer quantity of books he had read under his mother''s guidance. Soon enough he was placed into a small room with an absolute lack of interior decoration. White tiles and flat sheer walls were the only thing to see in it. But soon enough he heard a voice telling him what he was to happen.


    ¡°In fifteen seconds we will begin flooding the room with ather of increasing density. Once you are no longer able to deplete the air in your aura we will stop. If for any reason you need us to stop, feel free to scream and flail. Beginning now.¡± Was all Nathan got before the room started filling with high density ather. Nathan sat down, got cozy, and started absorbing. Ten minutes in his ather felt a bit tired, his soul a little strained, and his body slightly full of essence and ather. An hour in Nathan was struggling to maintain consciousness but the ather just kept coming. As his vision faded he was relieved to feel the ather begin draining out of the room, presumably being channeled by some formation or enchantment. He woke up to several scientists nodding to themselves in a very odd manner and discussing the meaning of the results of his test. Nathan felt like absolute garbage, odd considering this was the most essence he had ever had in his life.


    ¡°Take this.¡± A scientist said handing him a tiny pill.¡±It helps with essence overload, and it increases your life essence. It uses a complex combinations of chemicals to break down and rebuild essence bonds in order to reform it into the superior life essence.¡± She further explained.


    Nathan popped the small pink pill into his mouth and swallowed it dry. A moment later he felt oddly empty as all the essence of his body was either converted or pushed out by the pill. He noticed that all the etherium he had gathered had been used to make new aura strings, building new connections and expanding outwards. His aura was already quite large, but given that it would only grow larger in time would mean he would have an exceptional area of influence. A bit later Nathan was informed someone wanted to shoot at him with a sniper rifle.


    ¡°No way am I letting someone shoot me.¡±


    ¡°Their not going to shoot you, their going to shoot a few inches in front of you to see if your aura can stop it.¡± He was assured. Nathan didn¡¯t quite believe him but stepped outside all the same. He barely got out of the building when his aura informed him that it had: detected a rubber bullet aimed at his shoulder, caught it in a shield, and was prepared for combat. It was a disorienting feeling to have his aura explain so much, especially that last part. Was it sentient in some manner, or merely a part of his own mind interwoven with the aura? His studies told him it could go either way, so had no conclusive evidence. That aside, Nathan turned to a stricken looking scientist and understood the situation. ¡®Someone had lied to that man, to get him to convince me that I wasn¡¯t going to be shot.¡¯Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°I''m so incredibly sorry, I had no clue. He must have missed, which is unusual i''m very sorry sir.¡±


    ¡°No, I understand it¡¯s fine. What''s the next test?¡±


    ¡°We have one more, all you need to do is have your aura do some math.¡± An incredibly odd sentence, but Nathan was glad to see it something simple. A few sheets of complex math later, Nathan was pleased to find that his aura was better at math than him. While slightly disappointed at his own ineptitude, he had an easy work around for the future. After finishing up there, he headed home and sat. Eventually getting bored he hopped on Eternal Battle Bros and was ruthlessly destroyed by some twelve year old with the mouth of a sailor and the dexterity of a seamstress. Grumbling to himself he found other ways to waste the day away in peace.


    Nathan found himself in a rut the next day. As his aura expertly helped him maneuver around the lighting fast attacks of Liz, Nathan felt the hollow feeling in his chest building up to a suffocating malaise. Eventually Liz decided she was done with him sulking and just dodging and gave the order. ¡°Stop.¡±


    ¡°What''s the matter?¡± Nathan asked.


    ¡°That''s what I should be asking, you could have won this fight Nathan. Your aura is far better at helping you make rapid adjustments, you know what im doing the moment I start and you haven''t used any of that to win. A couple days you would have cut off your hand to score a win against me.¡±


    ¡°I dunno, I just feel a bit out of it today, sorry.¡± Liz looked at him contemplatively for a second before saying simply.


    ¡°Follow me.¡± So Nathan followed her, leaving the training center and walking a winding series of streets until he found himself standing in front of a serene lake. The tranquil waters were clear and gorgeous, clearly showing off a vibrant ecosystem underneath its surface. Nathan found himself gazing into the water when Liz spoke up again.


    ¡°When I was being taught how to train people one of the biggest things my mentor drilled into me was the importance of goals. For some the goal to become powerful is achieved so long as they reach the level of strength they wanted. Others will never be completely satisfied until they have exhausted themselves trying to achieve a goal that was always moving away from them. But a few will find a most wonderful contentment in the journey of reaching their goals. And those people can often be crushed if they feel that they haven¡¯t truly achieved anything. Sometimes though it''s even worse to accomplish their goals without really trying, or putting the effort they deem necessary. They feel like the power wasn¡¯t earned, and shouldn¡¯t be had. If you feel like you don¡¯t deserve everything you have worked so hard for over this past year then your a fool. You earned your aura skills by working brutally hard. There are Eternals who have weaker auras than you, and it''s not because you got lucky it''s because you made the best of a bad situation and scrapped every bit of strength out it you could.¡± She told him, slowly and peacefully before ramping up in intensity until she stared at him as though she dared him to feel bad about himself. Which of course made him quite anxious and caused a downward cycle until they simply sat and enjoyed the wilderness.

 Ch 16

    Nathan felt a whole new heartache leaving his childhood home to return to the city that had beaten and abused him. But he was determined to make a place for himself on the coastal city. A long drive from the quaint town back to the city of his dreams. Nathan arrived at the city near an apartment his mother had helped him rent. Nathan could easily create his own money, being able to create tera crystals with an extreme capability. His ability to absorb ather was apparently rated on a national scale due to the sheer quantities he could pull in given the right conditions. Once his soul refined it all he had to do was compress the refined ather products into a small dense solid. He had tested and found that just absorbing the ather from average air allowed him to produce more teras in an hour than his old job paid in day. Nathan didn¡¯t resent Jack for giving him the aura creation technique anymore, how could he? It was the greatest technique he had ever received, even leading to a very high quality cultivation art.


    Nathan looked at his new apartment building, the quality difference clear. The fresh coat of paint, the clear signs of maintenance and cleaning obvious. Nathan found his way to his apartment following some hallway signs and began the short process of unpacking. His body size fluctuations had gotten rid of the majority of his wardrobe and most of his novelty items were small enough that setting them up on some shelves only took a few minutes. After getting everything in order he started looking to accomplish his first of many goals. Fighting in an arena, preferably somewhere medium sized as to avoid much stronger or weaker opponents. Finding nothing of interest on the internet, he decided to go for a walk.


    The streets of Ria were familiar but different. Not just the fact that some small shops had gone out of business and some new ones opened, but the way people walked and the alley ways seemed to have changed in a qualitative manner. The streets were crowded, but there was little bumping or pushing on the sidewalks. A stark difference from when Nathan had to fight through people to get to work on time. The alleys seemed strangely empty, lacking thugs to intimidate or homeless people begging for change. Maybe this is what Reggie had been working on? Some sort of city wide clean up? Why were people walking like decent humans, what happened to the alley people? Nathan shook the thoughts from his mind and continued searching for some type of arena event.


    Nathan looked up at opulent five story building that was holding a large scale one on one tournament for all levels in a week. It was a sleek and shiny building with artwork and expense carved into every inch of it. Nathan re-read the flyer a few times before deciding to bite the bullet and go ask the receptionist about it. He walked in, the inside surprising him in how it managed to look ever more expensive than the outside, and asked about the tournament.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°It¡¯s a week from today, lasts three days and you can expect to fight a minimum of five fights, but up to several times that if you manage to make it to the final fight. It''s an elimination style but the first five are a qualifier of sorts. Regardless if you lose one fight in the qualifier your still out, but you have an opportunity to take others out with you. No weapons, no debilitating techniques that last longer than 24 hours, if a ref calls you your out. Anything else, any questions?¡± The refined man asked after explaining the gist of the rules.


    ¡°Any prizes or cost of entry?¡±


    You don¡¯t have to pay to compete, but there is a variety of prizes based on how far you go. It¡¯s thanks to our wonderful sponsors the Scarlet Throne sect. If your interested in them I have a flyer here, and their definitely going to be looking for recruits at the tournament.¡±


    ¡°No thanks, I doubt any sect would accept me. Can¡¯t use most techniques that they teach anyways.¡± The receptionist seemed a bit puzzled but didn¡¯t ask. It saved Nathan some awkward explaining. A bit more searching later he ended up heading back to his apartment and relaxing. Going through the motions of sitting down in a comfy chair, he was halted by a knock on his door. Nathan briefly considered pretending not to be home before opening the door.


    ¡°Sup loser, we need to talk about some stuff and things.¡± His brother said, stepping into the apartment. Nathan watched as he walked in, pallid and subdued. Nathan understood stuff and things weren¡¯t going to be the happiest of conversation topics.


    ¡°Alright, you want me to make some tea before we talk?¡± Seeing the nod from his brother, Nathan headed to the kitchen. A brief spell later he sat down at his low table on a pillow and handed his brother a cup of steaming tea.


    ¡°So what did you want to talk about?¡±


    ¡°I have been offered an alternative promotion instead of becoming a gold Enforcer. It¡¯s a bit secretive but highly prestigious.¡± He said staring at the cup of tea.


    ¡°Sounds great, your gonna take it? Or does have strings attached?¡±


    ¡°No not really, the problem isn¡¯t strings attached but the rate of survival. Only 3% ever make it to retirement. That''s three out of a hundred.¡±


    ¡°I know how statistics work. And im not seeing a problem here. If this thing is as prestigious as you say it makes since it would have a low retirement rate. I imagine some become Eternals and simply stay in the system forever, and others get moved out of the division. But mostly your better than 97% of people. I have faith that you can do whatever you need to stay safe in your new field.¡± Nathan countered. His brother looked at him with what Nathan presumed to be gratitude and confidence. After that it was just happy chit-chatting and catching up between brothers. Once his brother left Nathan sat down and tried to ignore the worry that had settled in his lungs. ¡®I wonder what he¡¯s going to do with his new promotion.¡¯

 Ch 17

    Reggie was looking at some of the best killers in the nation of Mero. Professional assassins who took down the most powerful criminals. He gazed upon people who had spent far longer than him doing far more. He suppressed a twitch in his eyebrow as looked at the group. One of them was wearing a velvet robe like some sort of ancient sect leader. Others wore equally ridiculous clothing, a wizard hat and a man-kini taking the cake for weirdest looking outfit.


    ¡°So you think you have what it takes to be one of us huh! You better be ready to prove it. Were going into active combat in five.¡± Laughed a smaller man with the sharpest looking mustache he had ever seen. Not sharp as in good looking but the facial hair literally looked like it could cut someone. Reggie knew him to be the leader.


    ¡°No training or anything? I''m just going into combat with you just like that?¡± Reggie asked suddenly quite concerned about this whole thing again.


    ¡°You were recommended to us because of your ability. Your going to prove it if you want to stay with us. As for training¡­ we don¡¯t. We don''t really get much downtime. You would be surprised at the number of Eternals willing to commit crimes grave enough for us to be sent. Don¡¯t worry though, you learn fast when you have to fight someone far stronger than you on a daily basis.¡± He explained. Or didn¡¯t really. No training? No learning to work as a team? No wonder these people were so odd, they were probably all insane! Reggie glanced around the room again at the odd bunch. Then when they started heading to a massive armored car, he followed. He had dug this hole and now he had to lie in it. Hopefully only methaphorically.


    Reggie listened to the debriefing and after an all too short car ride leaped from the moving vehicle and opened fire on a man on the sidewalk. For some unheavenly reason, likely hazing, he was chosen to serve as a distraction. He unloaded an entire magazine from a LMG that fired hundreds of powerful rounds a second into the body of an average looking man. Given that he stopped all of them with his aura and looked simply displeased signaled that he had the right guy. Now all he had to do was not get killed by friendly fire or the angry Eternal criminal who he had just shot. Reggie took a glance at the two cores in his body, one small and in need of exercise and the other bloated in need of compressing. He could kill a whole bunch of birds with one exceptionally large stone.


    The ¡®stone¡¯ rushed forward at speeds Reggie couldn¡¯t track, at least until he activated his True Speed technique. Spinning the core to faster and faster speeds he steadied it when he reached a speed faster than the thug. Then he used his Short Range Repositioning technique to teleport behind the man. The Eternal wasn¡¯t slow though, even with Reggie blazing his core to unorthodox speeds, and turned around to throw a punch at his head. Reggie sped up briefly to move past the fist and unload another magazine into the man at point blank range. Unable to form up an aura shield fast enough, he simply took the bullets with his incredibly durable body. There was damage though, if only scrapes. Reggie teleported behind once more as a strange laser appeared. That would be the sniper Torm, which meant that Reggie was supposed to get the Eternal to step into the line so he could take the shot. Reggie watched as the criminal turned around, having sped up as well, and planted a foot into Reggie¡¯s poor ribs. He felt as bones shattered and his internals were displaced. Reggie watched as he moved his head right into the line of the snipers shot.  An invisible burst of energy left a perfect circle the size of Reggie¡¯s thumb in the Eternals head. He looked quite displeased with that and sped up to the point Reggie couldn¡¯t perceive him even though he was basically maxing out his core. Deciding being able to see the man trying to kill him was more important than potential core damage he spun the ball of woven and refined energy till it started melting and warping. Then he saw the man, slowly reaching to grab Reggie. A quick move let Reggie grab a third and final clip from the belt he had been given and reload his gun. He reached to reload the gun before realizing his hand was empty. He had dropped when he was kicked, apparently. A teleport and a bit of agony later he had the reloaded gun aimed at the Eternal. He didn¡¯t end up shooting as the man was brutally destroyed by a sudden explosion, Reggie looked around and found several team members standing nearby. He quickly dropped out of super speed, concerned for the state of his core.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    The previously bloated core was now almost smaller than his new core, but it was riddled with tears and broken strands of energy. It would repair itself in a few days of downtime and would likely be significantly stronger for it though. Reggie looked at the smiling faces of his new division and felt like it was worth it. The burly man-kini man walked up and clapped him on the back, healing Reggies physical wounds as though they had never been there. Reggie glanced around at the civilians, just now realizing what had taken place. Some looked around in terror, likely not even noticing the fight till it was over.


    ¡°Good work kid, you really surpassed expectations!¡± Came dagger mustached man¡¯s encouragement.


    ¡°Ya I thought for sure you were going to die!¡± Went the Wizard in a man-kini.


    ¡°Nah, I believe in you the whole time.¡± A woman prepared for an arctic battle any time blatantly lied.


    On and on he was congratulated and teased. Soon enough though they were back at the HQ discussing the mans long list of crimes. Primarily composed of trafficking and drug sale, but sprinkled with bouts of mass murder and tendency to burn down buildings that offended him. When Reggie asked how they had finally located him, he was informed of another division known as the Hounds.


    ¡°Now God Slayers, we have the most important part of every mission. Choosing what to eat!¡± And Reggie was not prepared for the intense fighting and arguments that followed that statement. Eventually though they settled on a classy upscale sushi restaurant. Arriving at the Sushi God¡¯s Temple, Reggie feasted with his new friends and teammates. Hours of laughing and boisterous eating later, they headed back to the HQ to call it a day. They were required to live in the high quality rooms inside the Enforcer headquarters so they could react to emergencies with maximum speed.


    They didn¡¯t even arrive before a blaring alarm went off in the mobile armory. A few sighs later and they were heading out of town. The man next to him passed him a pill to help prevent nausea from the meal and get him back in fighting strength before they were off to battle. Reggie glanced nervously at his cores and simply hoped someone else would help pull the weight he couldn¡¯t.

 Ch 18

    Nathan woke up in the middle of the night, aura screaming that he there was a problem. He laid still and pretended to be asleep while having his aura survey the apartment. It billowed out stretching far beyond what the average person¡¯s aura could. He found nothing unusual and after several long minutes of searching he shook it off as a false alarm. When he woke up in the morning he found that nothing was out of place, aside from some dirty dishes having been washed by his aura and some loose articles organized. ¡®I should probably make some cash so I have some spare funds.¡¯  Nathan sat down on a comfy pile of blankets, tossed every pillow he owned into the pile and then dived in wrapping himself in blankets and positioning himself as comfortable as possible. All that remained after that point was having his aura produce tera crystals. Nathan nearly drifted to sleep once more as the pile of perfectly measured rectangles of condensed energy grew. Rather than letting himself go back to sleep he decided to some training.


    Nathan spread his aura out as far as possible before whipping up a powerful air current. A whirlwind of wind moving air to swirl around him before sending the depleted air out of the apartment. Nathan felt as mass quantities of ather filled his body, slowly and steadily poisoning him. Once he felt like he was properly dying Nathan moved a torrent of essence from his skin inwards, flushing the ather to his soul where it belonged and strengthening his body. Rinse wash and repeat ad infinitum. Hours of self inflicted agony later he felt that he had gotten a good bit of training in. It had become exceptionally difficult to reach the maximum amount of training he could do with the Steel Body technique. As he got stronger, the more he could improve in one sitting increased, quite contradictory compared to most techniques. And it was a public technique which was astonishing. One day he would have to check out who had invented.


    A long morning of training behind him, he headed out to pick up some lunch. While he was munching on a fast food burger he considered going to some other arenas just for some regular fighting. So some more walking around checking out arenas later he found himself with a membership for the Glass Soul arena. He mopped up some of the casuals before kindly being redirected to a more intense section upstairs. Hours of fighting had become one of Nathan''s favorite past times. Walking out with little more than a few bruises and scrapes he felt confident and powerful. Logically he knew there were people who could wipe him from existence without even trying, but every once in a while he liked to get drunk on the power he now had. He thought back to Reggie telling about his awesome new job, and the terrors within.


    He couldn¡¯t imagine how he would fight someone on that level. From what he understood about Eternals, all of them had the ability to subvert natural laws. Even with his aura, he didn¡¯t have a plan for dealing with someone who could manipulate the world around him. In fact, given that the only thing his aura could do is manipulate the world around him, he would be at a massive disadvantage. Nathan let his thoughts run wild as he walked around the city looking through shops and checking out the scenery. Not too much had changed since he left, but it all felt new and familiar at the same time. ¡®Wonder what I should do next? Soonest tournament was that one at the¡­ Heavens Glory Stage? Something like that.¡¯


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Not finding any better way to spend his time he headed back to his apartment to get some training done. ¡®Huh¡¯ was the peak of higher consciousness response that he could figure out as he swerved to face the man behind him. A black hoodie cloaked a large figure, the sun being in just the wrong position making the features under the hood almost impossible to see. The world seemed to distort as he looked, and the man swaggered forward before brushing past Nathan without a care. It felt like a tsunami had just crashed over him. Complete and utter destruction of his self esteem came as he glanced at the figure a final time before bolting, fear at the power he had just sensed filling him.


    Nathan got home and sat down sweat from the sprint covering him. Not even a second later it was whisked away along with every other piece of evidence he had just ran for his life from someone who hadn¡¯t even noticed him. He had no clue if it was just his aura jumping at shadows or if that man was simply terrifying. He formed a couple of small cylinders out of his aura, squeezing over and over while trying to slow his breath. Gathering up his aura he once again started training before faltering. He would never be able to compare to that. He couldn¡¯t possibly be so strong that he could survive a fight with him. It was simply a gap too far to bridge.


    Rather than continue trying he headed to the kitchen, whipping up a batch of cookies to hopefully stop the shaking. A short binge later he was sat stuffed silly watching a child''s cartoon shame and regret souring the taste of cookies. A bead of sweat rolled down his face as he fidgeted and jittered. A knock at the door stole his breath before rational thinking reminded him that it was probably just Reggie come to talk.


    ¡°What¡¯s up man, how you liking the new job?¡± He asked the man who was very much not Reggie. A cold rage written on the mans face caused the negativity in his stomach to rise, suffocating him. As he choked on fear the man walked up to him, closing the space between them.


    ¡°Please take a seat.¡± Was all that was said, and Nathan hurried to obey. Finding a seat on his couch he watched as the man that felt like a monster to his aura locked his door and closed every blind in his house before standing across from Nathan.


    ¡°Now, I am sure you are mildly concerned at the fact that I have barged into your home and suppressed you. You should be. I do not plan on killing you however. I will merely be holding you hostage until your brother meets my demands. Once that is finished, I will let you go, and you will not be harmed. Now if you could be so kind as to call him.¡± Came an endearing tone that made him dizzy. Why was he afraid earlier? Clearly this man just needed to talk to his brother. Nodding to the gentleman he pulled out his phone to call Reggie.


    ¡°Whatta ya want ya dipstick! Nah im just playing, what¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Hey Reggie, can you come over? There is this really nice guy who wants to talk to you about some ¡®demands¡¯ or something.¡± He had apparently said something wrong as the gentleman gently snatched the phone from Nathan''s grasp.


    ¡°You have one hour to send me all the personal information of the God Slayers. Just send a text to this phone. Incase you need some motivation, every ten minutes I will be ripping a limb off your brother. After forty minutes I will begin taking non-vital organs. If you try to attack me, your brother will commit suicide. If I die, your brother will commit suicide. If I don''t repair the damage to his soul within a day, he will die. That is all. Have a nice hour.¡± Said the man before hanging up the phone and roaming Nathan''s apartment. His aura screeched at him about something but he couldn¡¯t quite figure out what it was complaining about. Eventually he simply decided it was nothing, right until the man came back and ripped his right arm off. Then he realized something was considerably off about this whole situation. He hadn¡¯t offered the kind man any tea!