Chapter 203: Chapter Two Hundred Four

The days wishes were used on attacks. I was able to get two from  Callie, though she had to rest after the first before giving the second.  It seemed that drawing out the attacks worked the same as just  executing them, and her full power blows weren't so easy to toss around.  Vitality seemed to have a lot to do with energy and recovery time, and I  made a note to remind her to keep up with that one.

Luckily  I had other roommates, and I was able to get two attacks from Cark and  one healing burst from Jessie in case of emergencies. Callie and Cark  put theirs into Might while Jessie put hers into Vitality. The points  this time had increased though, because I had FINALLY broken through  whatever barrier of stats kept my wishes limited to two points. Now I  could trade three points per wish, and that would be a huge boost to our  power going forward.

Unfortunately I wasn't willing to  burn five wishes on training, so I could only keep the attacks in  reserve for now. I was planning to up my stockpile since I could feel my  body wasn't at capacity yet, but I'd have to make sure not to waste all  my wishes on attacks. I still had to boost my own stats. My new combat  style would help make sure I didn't fall behind, but only if I kept up  with the progress I'd already been making. The extra stat point per wish  would help with that.

I wasn't surprised I'd gotten it  though, because I remembered the other candidate being able to do three  points already, and she'd been G ranked too. It occurred to me as I had  that thought that though my style of stat distribution increased  versatility, it wasn't necessarily the only way. It was possible other  candidates stuck to the stats they were born with and because of that  were only able to grant specific kinds of wishes, just at a greatly  enhanced pace. I even briefly considered that strategy, but dismissed  it. My power was too versatile to sacrifice that for some temporary  convenience.

The more wishes I could grant the more people  I had to draw from for skills and stats. With all that done for the day  though, we headed back down to the circus to check in at the pavilion.  We still had a mission to complete. We needed to figure out which  faction Melissa was colluding with and hopefully talk her out of it,  possibly roping her in on our own side.

When we arrived at  the pavilion, most of the members weren't there. Alden saw us come in  and grinned widely, waving us over. "Well if it isn't our four newest  recruits! Good to see your smiling faces." He glanced at me sideways.  "And creepy blank mask I suppose. Anyway what can I do for you kids  today? Not too busy around here right now so I'm free to chat if you  need something." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a bottle. "I  have refreshments. I always carry a few bottles of the good stuff on  me."

I rolled my eyes, but didn't turn him down. "Do you  have any black cherry?" He grinned and passed me a soda, while Callie  asked for a watermelon flavored variation. I popped the cap and took a  sip. "These must be expensive, can you afford to keep giving them away  for free? Also where are all the others? It was a lot more lively here  last time we came. I expected there to be crowds."

He lout  out a snort so loud it shook his beard. "Don't be daft boy, we have  lives. We don't all just sit around the pavilion all day waiting to  punch each other. As for the drinks they aren't cheap, but I make decent  money. Friendly wagers on the outcome of battles you know." He gave me a  wide and somewhat terrifying grin. "Of all the active pavilion members,  I'm the one with the most wind under his belt, but those damn fools  keep trying anyway."

I admit, I kind of wanted to fight  him after hearing that. It would be a great way to build up reputation  here. But I wasn't stupid, if Alden was at the top of the heap here he  was way too strong to beat in a sparring match. With all my new tricks I  might have been up  to fighting him if we went all out, but I liked the  guy, and I wasn't willing to do that. He'd been nothing but nice to us,  and even if that had been useful to make a good impression (which I  couldn't imagine it would be) I would never do it.

Benny  spoke up. "Well, can you tell us a bit about people close to our own  level? You've seen us fight, and since you're an experienced combatant  you might be able to suggest someone who can push our limits." He  sounded as intrigued by the possibility as I was.

Alden  guffawed at the question. "See, this is why I like you kids. That's the  proper pavilion spirit. Sure, come on over and sit down. I can give you a  few suggestions." He led us over to the seats off to one side of the  dirt ring, and when we sat down, Jessie and Benny both picked out  drinks.

Jessie sipper here chocolate soda (I hadn't known  that was a thing and I was kind of curious how it tasted) happily and  made a noise of appreciation. "This is so good!" She gave Alden a warm  smile. "If you need any healing in the future you can feel free to ask  me. I'm pretty good at patching people up, and you seem really nice!  Thanks again for how welcoming you were at the party the other day."

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It  was hard not to feel good when Jessie was smiling at you. Her cheer was  just infectious, and Alden obviously thought so too since he grinned  right back. "I'll keep it in mind lass. I don't get wounded much, but  it's always nice to have a decent healer on hand. They're usually damned  expensive to work with. Not that it ain't worth it, but the damned  Peace Lord snaps up most of them for his faction and their rates are  outright extortion. Luckily there are more than a few who joined up with  the other factions so his goons can't bully them too much."

Jessie's  eyes went wide. "The Peace Lord is that bad? He sounded like a pretty  nice guy, and Sanctuary Hall is in E district right? Do they have a  branch down here?" She avoided mentioning our meeting, which was smart,  but still set us up for lots of information. I was reminded how Jessie  used her cheerfulness and easy nature to draw out conversation and info  from plenty of people. I hadn't seen it in action personally much, but  it was an effective method from what she'd told us in the past.

This  time was no exception. Alden was happy to complain. "Oh, aye. He runs  that group like some kind of doctor street gang. Anyone who doesn't join  up is considered a 'misguided healer' and the members treat them with  contempt and make trouble for them under the guise of trying to be  helpful and educating others. Sanctuary Hall doesn't have branches  exactly, but it does have a presence through all the districts. It acts  like something of a healer's union, and since healers are everywhere so  are they. It's one of the things that make them so irritating. Everyone  still treats them well though, since they're needed. You'll even see  them around here at times, I'd avoid healing independently if you spot  them."

Callie looked disturbed. "Will Jessie have trouble  with them if she doesn't join a faction?" We'd basically decided to join  the Beast Lord Garden anyway, or at least I had. Melinda was nice  enough, and I trusted her to actually treat us fairly far more than I  did the Peace Lord, especially after hearing that. The Nothing was a  complicated issue I'd rather avoid. Callie wanted to do things on her  own, so she wasn't likely to be comfortable being forced to join up with  her uncle. With Melinda having two E rankers to hold down the fort I  wasn't worried about the strength of her faction either.

Alden  frowned thoughtfully. "Might be something happens, can't say for sure.  My advice is to make an effort to find someone to take you in. Being  free and unfettered is always best, but some powers are desirable enough  that having a tree to shelter under is basically a necessity. Healing  is a sought after gift, and if you don't have any backing there are some  folks who aren't against using force to make sure they have access to  it. The pavilion isn't something to sneer at, but that's only down here.  With your gift I'd bet you can get a low level position at least with  one of the big factions."

"Anyway,  we can talk about that later." He said with a dismissive wave. "For now  you wanted some input on who would be the most challenging fights. I  assume you'd like those challenges to within your ability to complete?" I  just nodded at him, sad he couldn't see the droll look through the  mask. "Well, that makes it a bit trickier. I know plenty of folks you  kids would struggle with, but if you want something relatively close I  can oblige."

He  paused for a minute. "Alright, well for the shadow girl I'd say your  best bet is Gust. He uses this odd form of wind manipulation that lets  him turn to air. Provides him good mobility to avoid attacks and get in  close. It'll be a rough fight, but it'll also be educational as hell.  You're going to need to do some quick thinking to pin him down and beat  him. Gust is a little power dependent though, so you have a decent shot  at pulling it out if you can counter him."

"As  for you." He turned to look at Benny. "Probably Mountaincrusher. He's  not actually earth based, his body turns into metal, but given your  versatility and the tricks I saw, your biggest weakness is putting down  people who can take a real beating. Mountaincrusher isn't too high up  the ladder here either, so you have a chance to turn things around, all  you need to do is stay on your toes and think."

Jessie  waved him off as he looked at her, clearly not interested, and he  nodded before turning to look at me. "Last but not least you should  fight Fang. He's strong, fast, and damn skilled, but his power is mostly  just increased regeneration from a Vitality multiplier. He's a good  dummy for training on if you can survive him, and I can tell your  biggest weakness is the lack of experience or foundation." He shrugged.  "They'll all be tough fights you might lose, but from my point of view  those are your best chances to grow, and that's really what we're all  looking for here."

I  nodded along as he spoke. I could tell he meant what he said, and I  couldn't deny those were pretty valid points. I'd been thinking about  that issue with my combat style to start with. Plus if we were walking  Vitality I had a boost from Jessie that would not only heal me up but  also give me an energy surge that would last quite a while during the  fight if I needed it, which should let me keep up. I mulled it over for a  bit before finally deciding to go for it. "So where do we sign up?"

A  broad grin split Alden's face. "Lad, I knew there was something I liked  about you. That's the kind of spirit I like to see!" He gestured over  to one side. "Right over there is a table you can use to sign up for  battles. Remember the names I gave you and just tell them you want to  engage in a sanctioned match." His grin took on a vicious tint.  "Remember to try your best. I'll be betting on your victory. Winner even  gets a share of the profits from whatever bets the pavilion pays out,  so work hard for both of us!" He clapped me on the shoulder and I  suddenly had the sinking feeling that this might not be as good an idea  as I'd though earlier. Oh well, too late to back out now.

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