Chương 7

His ride didn't stop at a Stark City Training Center, but at the Delver's Association Headquarters for a second time. At which point he quickly made his way inside, took the elevator to the 14 th floor, and picked up his final starter Skill Shard. It was a Shard he'd held off on picking up his first time here, since in the back of his mind he'd already been thinking of taking a non-default option. He'd wanted to check that it really was viable first. It was what was called a 'Utility Shard.'

Typically a mage picked up Staff Proficiency, or Wand Proficiency, or a few other less common Mage-Class proficiency Skills. They'd let you wield Mage-Class weaponry. This time he left HQ with something a little different. Swords Proficiency [Common] Gives the user innate proficiency in sword-fighting at a basic level, as well as innate compatibility with all swords-based Skills. He wasn't an expert in the sword. But from what he'd read, 'basic level' here was equivalent to expert-level in the pre-System world.

As in, you very much knew your way around a sword. He'd taken in the shard in the lobby. Instantly he'd felt the difference. He'd taken three steps, paused. Then he'd walked out of the door, kept walking—he was sure the way he walked had changed, very subtly, and at first he couldn't pinpoint why. Then he'd stilled, stepped into a fighting stance—at least, what in his head resembled a fighting stance—saw his reflection in the glass walls, and decided to put a pillar between himself and the building.

And then he threw a few strikes at the air. Shifted his weight a little, stepped back-and-forth. His jabs felt exactly as he'd expect. Which was to say—it was a fine try, but he was also sure if you caught him on video and showed it to someone who actually knew boxing it'd look amateurish. But his feet bounced back-and-forth very naturally. His body felt fluid. It's my balance, he realized. Is that it? He spent another thirty seconds just playing, feeling nimble; his body felt sure of itself.

Definitely his balance. And likely a host of other factors he couldn't name—and he was almost certain it was pure muscle memory. I mean—of course footwork is part of swordsmanship. He marveled at himself in a way that felt slightly vain. Another aspect of a Utility Skill was practice with a weapon would quickly build on its skills; with a year's training, he'd likely be on par with the best pre-System swordsmen who'd ever lived when it came to raw swords skill.

And in this world, as a swordsman, the simple ability to swordfight at a master level was still extremely important. It begged the question, of course— what could I do with an actual sword? He didn't have a sword on hand. But from what he'd read about where he was going, that was fine.

Stark City Training Center — Lake District was one of six 'TC's' in Stark City, and the nearest by public transit. Which he took, since he'd spent what felt like an absurd amount in rideshares the past few days. He was on shiny new light rail for half an hour. In that time, he spotted three Awakened—one on a digital ad in the train, advertising a credit card for a big bank; another two, also on ads—young, photogenic Duelists.

One wielding twin daggers trailing icy mist, in a cool pose; another a girl mid-battle-cry, thrusting a spear tipped with emerald energies. Advertising something called the 'Duelist's Cup Stark City,' which was set to take place in three months. He vaguely recognized the Duelists; when he searched up the names he realized he'd seen clips of them online, even after just a day's research. Two star Duelists for the 'Templar Guild,' with a few million followers apiece on Instagram.

Dueling seemed to be the public-facing side of these big Guilds, with star Duelists—even up-and-coming talents—acting as influencer-slash-celebrity types. That X1 video he'd seen, for instance—in retrospect that clearly hadn't been meant as an actual informational guide for other Awakened, it was for the public. In just a day he'd seen a fair number of videos along the lines of, 'XYZ duelist answers web's most-searched questions."

At a personal level there wasn't much that was less appealing to his mind than the prospect of having to do PR, and keep up a public persona, and in general try to be popular. Just the idea made him wince. And he was barely ever active on social media as it was. But luckily it seemed the destiny of just a small fraction of Awakened. Guilds' dueling rosters were typically 7-14 people deep; the rest delved rifts full-time.

It did seem the more talented and charismatic you were, the more likely you were to be placed on your Guild's public dueling roster. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. I'm not sure either of that applies to me. I mean, talented, maybe. I feel like I've been getting ahead of myself all weekend, he thought with some amusement. I mean, I haven't even been in a real fight yet. Who knows? Maybe I'll suck at it.

Of course he'd read up on this in prep, and it seemed quite a common experience—'beginner Awakened attempts first duel, realizes a real fight isn't anything like he's imagining, and is utterly demoralized." I guess it's impossible to know if you're actually cut out for this until you actually do it. And besides—I don't even know if I actually want to join a Guild yet. Definitely way ahead of myself.

On his way there, he also spent a little time 'cultivating'—that was, grasping the crystal with the golden strands in it and willing its light-strands into himself. The strands entered his soul; they seemed to dissolve against the surface of his mind, melting into pools of warm, lightening gold, then vanishing. They'd be 'banked' in his soul for now, but supposedly they'd provide the energy for the Leveling he hoped to do quite soon.

The train passed out of a tunnel, into the light—he was on his feet well before it'd rolled to a stop.' Next stop,' said the voice.

'Lake District. Exit on your left.' He was the first into the light.

Another twelve minutes of walking, and he was there. The place where he'd get to try his magic— finally. A tall, cylindrical building— the D. A. sure likes their glass and steel. There was a handful of people inside, in the lobby, chatting—a lobby that looked like it could've been in some sleek, modern hotel. A set of two elevators adorned the back wall. It was a little quieter inside than he'd expected. He walked past them to the front desk.

"I'm new here," was what he led with.

"I think I'm supposed to show you this?" His Class Card appeared in his hand. The receptionist, who was likely a summer intern in college—not unlike his position, actually—had been chatting to another receptionist at the counter.

"Yes! I'll take that, if you'd please—thank you. Arden, Alexander… yes —here you are. Let me just—and there you go. You're registered, just tap your Card when you enter. Is it your first time here?"

"Yes, it is," he said.

"First six months of TC use are free, as per DA policy. You have access to any of the six Delver's Association-affiliated TC's in the Stark City area. Alaska—" the guy nodded at the girl he'd been chatting with "—can give you a tour of the place, if you like."

"That won't be necessary," he assured them quickly.

"Just the V-stations is fine." He'd been thinking about what was coming for what felt like hours.

"Figured," said the guy with a smile; he and the girl exchanged a knowing look.

"Follow me?" said the girl. As they walked to the elevators, the rightmost elevator doors opened. Six people around Alex's age filed out, all wearing jackets with the same logo—a symbol of a cloud in a circle.

"It's so funny," one was saying.

"You should've seen it, in the final round one of them almost pissed himself."

"Is it true an Outworlder applied?" said another, with interest. That broke him out of his own little world, just a little— just how many of us are there?

"You have to let him in," said a third. Alex, the receptionist-girl—Alaska—and the six walked past each other.

"She's a her," one corrected.

"And yeah, of course, but we still have to make a show of examining her."

"Guilders," said Alaska, succinctly, at his wondering look.

"O2 Guild—you'll be seeing the name around."

"That's about Selections, I'm guessing?" he said. That was, Guild Selections. The twice-a-year opportunity to make a Guild's roster, and if you performed exceptionally, be placed on their fast-track for special talents. Presumably for that specific Guild—O2, apparently—it was currently underway.

"You're not supposed to talk about it if you're part of the examination," she said.

"You don't like them," he noticed.

"Guilders are all the same, especially new ones," she said, shrugging.

"They've been Awakened all of like half a year, and they think they own the place." Then, throwing him a glance—"No offense, by the way. If you were planning on joining a Guild."

"None taken, and I wasn't." For now, at least. Alaska pressed the up button. The elevator door opened, and a tall, pale-blonde girl walked out, still clad in light steels—"Excuse me," said the new girl. She walked through the lobby with quick strides; a fair fraction of those present seemed to instantly take notice, or at least clock her presence. In seconds she'd left the building.

"It's actually ridiculous," said one of the O2 guilders.

"She isn't even from here, and you have to compete in the same class."

"Is she doing it just to flex?"

"It's useless complaining about it," said one of the O2 Guilders—one with a white streak through his hair, who hadn't spoken so far. The other Guilders were all looking at him, and he was looking at her—where she'd gone, anyway. The Guilder shrugged.

"I'll just have to get better," he said.

"Then we'll see."

"Was that an Outworlder as well?" Alex asked curiously. It was a shot in the dark, but that girl seemed very clearly apart from everyone else there. Alaska gave him a funny look.

"That was Clarissa St. Clair." This didn't explain anything; and then he recalled—"As in—""Sister of Adrian St. Clair, yeah. The Duelist for Echelon." They walked into the elevator, and Alaska pressed a button for the 3 rd floor.

"I like her," said Alaska abruptly. She smiled.

"That's the thing about Guilders—again, no offense if this ends up applying to you—there's always someone with a bigger trust-fund." He felt like he was lacking a little context, but he felt like he had a grasp on the social dynamics there. Guilders, like preppy rich-kids, the independent Awakened—the rest of folks in the lobby? —like normal students, or something.

His only real frame of reference felt like the New York City public high school he'd attended a few years back—maybe not the most accurate model, but it was what he knew. Idly— Suppose it's probably worth paying at least a little attention to the social dynamics if I'll be moving in and out of all this. The door opened, revealing a hallway full of doors, leading to doors. He was instructed to tap his Class Card on one, and it opened. Inside there was a futuristic-looking white capsule of a pod.

It opened at his entry, revealing a seat inside made of a plush white fabric. A helmet lay overhead. Alaska quickly ran him through its instructions.

"It can be a little disorienting," she said.

"If you need any help, get anxious in the pod or something, literally anything at all, tap the call button and we'll be right over."

"I'll be fine, I think," he said, amused. She left him to his devices. He stepped in, and the surface of the pod closed over him. He settled in and placed the helmet on his head. Would you like to enter V-space? Y/N He willed yes without hesitation. Finally. He blinked. And then, just like that, he was somewhere different. A steel hallway which led into a wide-open space. He glanced around—he knew this was just v-space; this wasn't real, and he could exit this space with a flicker of will.

But it felt like he was here, entirely. He couldn't even feel the sensations of the cushions beneath him in the pod. It was like he'd cleanly swapped bodies with an exact virtual replica of himself. You could do IRL-magic—and there were facilities for it on higher floors, he'd gathered—but given the very real stakes of it, you'd only do that with quite a bit of experience. V-spaces, with their stations and simulation capacities, were the default for training purposes.

And for what he wanted to do—try out his new Skills, and if all went well, maybe get a level along the way—this space was perfect. Sounds echoed down the hallway—cries, skidding sounds, clashes of steel—sparks of lightning? A neutral voice announcing— WINNER—Shion044. With a deep breath, Alex walked into the brightness.