Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Enlightenment For Teens

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Enlightenment For Teens

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When I first met Liara Lockwood, we were like oil and water. I didn’t like her because she was part- ljósálfar and she didn’t like me because I’d given her the evil eye when we met. Our shared animosity didn’t last, though. We got to know each other pretty well over a week. Even going so far as to trust each other with our lives. That may have seemed like a short time to build a bond for most normies, but for us adventurers who risked our lives daily, a week was more than enough shared struggles for two people to become friends. It was also more than enough time to tank a friendship too.

Liara barely acknowledged Dess’s chirpy greeting in her haste to walk away from us. She didn’t even look my way. At least that’s what I thought at first. But, as she passed me on her way down the steps, the she-elf said, “You’re injured again.”

She must have noticed the healing patch slapped to the spot just above my left eye.

“Will tried to solo the Grendel,” Dess whispered conspiratorially. “It must have gotten super mad at him too because it chased him up to the third floor.”

I noticed Liara’s eyebrow twitch upward at the mention of ‘solo’ and then get even higher after Dess mentioned the Grendel.

“It wasn’t intentional. I was minding my business when the bastard came after me all on his own,” I reasoned.

I decided not to mention that I’d met Grendel mere moments after my weird vision. It’s not like the current Liara would have believed me anyway.

“Well, you do have a talent for making people angry.” With that cold reply, Liara walked down the stairs and didn’t even glance back once afterward.

“Elves can hold super long grudges, Will,” Dess said.

“I noticed.” I shook my head. “Got any advice?”

Dess and I began moving toward the pavilion’s open doors when she suggested I offer Liara a gift penitent, which is the fancy realmsverse way of saying “give Liara what she wants.”

“I can’t do—”

“So, you little birdies want to be flyting ready, then turn up the beat cause’ it’s gettin’ heavy,” someone rhymed.

I quickly moved past the small entryway and then into this expansive space that reminded me of the interior of a cathedral; a large rectangular hall with stained glass windows and a vaulted ceiling covered in a mural depicting the scenes of long-ago adventures I’d only read about in books. Set up on the other side of the hall directly opposite the pavilion’s entrance was a stage complete with flashing lights and fog machines. A small crowd was gathered around this stage and they were all bobbing their heads to the flyting of… “By the All-Father, is that Doc Wolfy Wolf?!”

“I’m the flyting king and it ain’t a boast, train with me and you’ll learn the rhymes girls love the most!” the tall, lean dark elf in the silver cornrows rhymed to the cheers of dozens.

“Holy Hel, it is Doc Wolfy Wolf!” I couldn’t help bobbing my head to his sick beats either. “But what’s the ‘Maestro of Flyting’ doing in the Academy?”

“Didn’t you know that Doc Wolfy Wolf was an executive of the Masterpiece guild?” Dess asked.

“Everyone knows that,” I replied. “But what’s he doing here?”

“According to those banners on stage, he’s offering a three-day master class in flyting.” Dess pointed left and then right. “It’s what they’re all here for.”

On both sides of the Training Pavilion’s rectangular hall were booths of different varieties, with a famous person from a high-ranking guild manning each one.

To my left, right between an archery booth and a leatherworking stand, was an improvised smithy where a tan-skinned man in a red bandana and his two apprentices hammered away on an anvil. They paid no mind to the crowd of novices gathered around their smithy who were so obviously captivated by the smithing skills they displayed.

My eyes widened when I realized who the man in the red bandana was. “That’s Yojimbo Yoshiwara… one of the Bushin realm’s top bladesmiths… Should I sign up?”

“I hear he’s only here for the week, and his class is already full,” Dess chimed in.

I thought that was a shame as I would have loved to spend a skill point signing up for Master Yoshiwara’s class. However, there were a lot of good alternatives to choose from.

To my right, in a large booth that had been decked to look like a martial arts studio, a tall slanted-eyed man with a brown beard was signing autographs for a long line of novices. I recognized him instantly as I’d read his autobiography from cover to cover. He was Brick Law, martial arts master, gold-ranked adventurer, and Realmsflix action star who was also the great-grandson of the legendary ‘Dragon Warrior’ Bruce Law.

“Dess, how long do you think we’d have to stay in line for an autograph?” I asked.

“It’s already past lunch time so I think we wouldn’t be able to do anything else while we’re here, and we didn’t come here for autographs, Will,” she reminded me.

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Still, it didn’t hurt to explore the area more before we went about our business, right?

Next to Brick Law’s studio was a kitchen with a small café. Behind the kitchen counter, masterfully chopping up a slab of what I assumed was at least premium grade minotaur beef, was an orange-skinned infernal with horns wrapped around his carrot-top head like a crown.

“Dess-Dess, that’s Ramsey Flay,” I whispered.

“You’re such a super fanboy,” Dess giggled.

Even though she was teasing me, the fairy’s mouth was smacking her lips too as we both passed by the kitchen that smelled of delicious meat.

Dess was right though. There were plenty of famous people to gawk at, but the view that got my heart pumping was a second stage by the far-right end of this great hall. On that stage were five girls—all of them in a variety of skin tones ranging from a clear, watery substance to skin as craggy as a molten rock’s—dancing to the beat of a pop song that was on eternal repeat in my ‘Spotifeels’ playlist. It was the Elementals, my favorite pop group—and I would have joined the throng of screeching fans by their stage if Dess hadn’t held me back.

“Seriously, I feel like I’ve just gotten a glimpse of heaven,” I whispered in delight.

“That is what they all say when they first arrive here,” said a now-familiar low-rumbling voice.

I glanced over my shoulder and found a green-skinned half-giant looming over me.

“Welcome to my domain, Will.” Master Doomsday glanced between me and Dess with a pleased expression. “I assume you’re here for the next stage of your evolutionary journey as future adventurers.”

“Updating our stats and signing up for skill-sharing classes,” Dess agreed.

“Good. You’ll want to follow me then.” Master Doomsday motioned us over to a side door located back at the entryway. “Best to achieve enlightenment first before deciding on which special courses you’d like to try out.”

We followed Doomsday down the stairs and into a stone room that looked quite different from the renaissance design of the hall above but didn’t lose out to it in splendor. This new room resembled the interior of a magic temple; several arches and columns held up the low ceiling, with several square stone mats positioned at intervals along the smooth stone floor. Other novices were already seated on these mats in that familiar meditative lotus pose required to achieve enlightenment.

“Who are they?” I asked.

Some of the novices were being assisted by adults I hadn’t seen before. These adults all wore matching black robes I’d seen some of the masters wearing, although their clothes were shabbier compared to our instructors.

“They’re the assistant masters who help our masters in classes. AM for short or morning crew as most novices call them now,” Dess explained.

One of the morning crew—this pale-faced nymph with leaves clinging to her brown hair—had her hands pressed to the back of a human boy who was meditating on the mat closest to us. Pale blue light flared out of his back while she assisted him in achieving the enlightenment that Divah usually helped me out with after each new rise in level.

Dess raised her hand when a mat with an AM opened up. “My turn!” she said.

Another spot opened up soon afterward, although I also noticed that Master Doomsday was following me as I walked over to it.

“Why are you following me, sir?” I asked.

“Since this is your first time using our facility, I will be your guide,” he stated.

I suddenly preferred finding enlightenment on my own even though I knew that having a ‘regulator’ was important for teenagers like me who had yet to achieve the kind of complete body transformation that allowed adventurers to have full control of their bodies’ inner workings.

“I’ll rely on you then, master,” I sighed.

I pulled off my robe and cloak, piled them neatly on top of my stuff, and then sat in the lotus position to begin my meditation. However, Master Doomsday suggested that I take a look at my status first, something I’d never been able to do myself as this was my first time doing this while owning a status bar.

“Then you’ve never seen a quantified alternative of your status until you arrived in the Academy?” Master Doomsday asked.

“Divah usually just tells me if I’d improved or not,” I answered. “Mostly broad strokes like how I’m stronger and faster than before. Nothing as in-depth as what a status bar can show me because she thinks I’d just get distracted by details.”

Doomsday’s expression turned contemplative. “I’m not sure if she’s a genius teacher or just lazy.”

“Probably both,” I chuckled.

“Indeed,” he chuckled too.

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