Chapter 7 - Silver Core

Authors Notes================

Enjoy. I feel like I release my chapters at such random times.

Blame my random schedule.

p.s. Apoc now chapter out tomorrow (finally)

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Book 4 – Chapter 7

Dale drew powerfully from his Dragon Sea and entered his Perfect Balance.

He felt the Draconic energy rush into his body, overflowing. However, not a single drop of that energy was released from his body, he kept it all self contained, flowing inside his veins. Normally, this would be an impossible feat for someone at the level Dale was currently at. Thanks to his Perfect Balance though, Dale was able to completely control the powerful Aura energy and keep it within his body.

Dale started to fuse the powerful energy with his Core, using the power to enhance his Perfect Balance.

Dale’s Perfect Balance technique used very little energy. The Perfect Balance technique drew its strength from Dale’s Core, and its power was proportional to the level of Dale’s Core. For Dale, his Steel Core lent his Perfect Balance a great deal of power.

Now though, Dale was pouring energy from his Dragon Sea into his Core, artificially raising his Core’s strength. Immediately Dale sensed his Perfect Balance changing, transforming, becoming more powerful. The globe of Aura he around him spread to encompass an enormous 50 meters. Everything within these 50 meters, every action, every particle of energy, Dale was abruptly aware of. As this torrent of information poured into his brain, Dale began to see the world in a new light.

Dale was currently dancing with a girl. Around him were seventeen other dancers, all dancing in pairs. Dale keenly felt all of them move, some stepping forward gracefully, others tripping on their feet or barely walking. Dale felt the five members of the band playing opposite of him, blaring loud music in a fast rhythm. He felt the presence of hundreds of people walking, making gestures, and moving around off the floor.

As his senses increased to the extreme, Dale became aware of something odd. He could sense, just barely, a well of energy in his soul. As he spread his awareness, Dale became aware of a small, pristine white well of power. He also became aware of a large empty space, a space that felt like it should contain a well of power as well, but was now empty. He decided to investigate the empty space later, focused on checking out this white well of energy.

Dale flew his senses into the well, trying to grab onto it and use it. However, to his dismay, Dale found that the energy seemed to flow around him, allowing him to sense it, but unable to access it.

All of this happened in an instant, the events occurring over less than a second’s time. Dale continued to dance forward, extremely graceful and fluid, his movements perfect. Several of the onlooker’s eyes latched on to Dale, watching him glide across the floor. The girl he was dancing with, Kelsey, stared at him in shock, a delighted smile coming to her face as she followed Dale’s lead. She spun around cutely, her green skirt flowing.

Dale was struck by inspiration suddenly, and took some of the Dragon Sea energy that he was pouring into his Core to power up his Perfect Balance and infused it into the white well of power he barely sensed resting in his soul.

What happened next was completely unexpected.

Immediately, for an extremely brief moment, the world around Dale began to slow as if he was compressing time. As soon as it happened, however, the world returned to normal, time resuming its ordinary pace.

However, when Dale looked around, he found that everything had changed. Everywhere he looked, he saw dozens of shadows moving around. These shadowy figures all looked different, like a veritable ménage of people. Dale thought he even recognized a few figures among the shadows.

Dale closely observed one of the shadows, watching it bump into another shadow. The first shadow seemed to turn around and apologize, shaking its head before walking off. Suddenly, an actual human, one of the male dancers Dale had seen earlier, walked exactly where the shadow had been. Dale watched in astonishment as the guy ran into another person, a girl that had just exited the floor. The guy dancer turned and apologized, shaking its head. He then continued on his way, walking off the floor.

Shock filled Dale’s mind as he realized what was happening. This ability, this power, it’s letting me see a few seconds into the future! He thought, his mind racing.

Before he could completely grasp the consequences of his new power, however, a sudden sense of enlightenment slammed into Dale. Thanks to his Perfect Balance being so heavily increased, Dale suddenly came to a higher level of understanding on his Core, becoming intimately aware of the Steel ball of energy in him.

That Steel ball of power, however, was transforming right now, a silvery sheen starting to cover it. He was forming his Silver Core! He thought, amazed. Wave after wave of power flowed into Dale as he continued dancing. Dale focused all of his attention on maintaining his rhythm and flowing his Dragon Sea energy into his Core. He knew that if he stopped halfway, his Core might shatter, ruined by an incomplete forming.

It must be said that when one forms his next level of Core, the time it takes to completely form is extremely brief. The only part of forming a Core that takes time is building up one’s energy and one’s understanding of their Core.

So, in what felt like an eternity but was, in reality, just a few seconds, Dale completely reformed his Steel core, forming a new and powerful Silver Core. Dale felt his soul vibrate slightly, physically feeling it strengthen.

His eyes flashed as the Core formation ceased, the energy around his soul settling down. A split second later, the energy in his Dragon Sea ran out, Dale’s Perfect Balance returning to normal.

The onlookers stared at Dale in awe. From their perspective, they had been watching a semi average dancer change into a magnificent dancer. A split second later after this transformation, a silvery sheen had flowed out of Dale, giving off waves of power and indicating that Dale had just formed a Silver Core.

“What?!”

“Someone just formed a Silver Core while dancing?!?”

“That’s amazing! Wow!”

“To see a Silver Core form with my own eyes, awesome!”

The audience broke out into discussion, all of them staring at Dale in awe. The girl Dale was dancing with, however, was even more shocked.

Kelsey whispered,

“Did you really just do that?”

Dale smiled, laughing. He felt the energy in his Core, sensing the enormous change. Where his Steel Core had been a small pond of energy, his newfound Silver Core was an enormous lake. Dale felt the tangible difference to his Perfect Balance as well. While his newfound Core didn’t reach the 50 meters that he reached when using his Dragon Sea, Dale found that his awareness had spread to an amazing 20 meters wide circle. Everything within that circle had fallen under his awareness.

“Yes, yes I did.” He smiled slightly, enjoying her shock. She was looking at him in a completely new light now. They smoothly danced around the floor, Dale maintaining his Perfect Balance till the end of the song.

As the song came to a close, Dale spun Kelsey and gracefully dipped her, setting her down next to him. Kelsey gave him a hug and blushed, thanking him for dancing. She also asked where he lived and he told her he was a student at the Taron Academy. She blushed again and ran back to her group of friends, waving at Dale. Dale walked back over to Jack.

Jack was staring at Dale with a huge grin on his face.

“You did alright boy, you did alright ahahahaha!” He clapped Dale on the back as he hopped off the floor, congratulating him.

“That was some amazing dancing out there. Now, the real question, did you break through to the Silver level? I know you were having trouble getting past the Steel level, and well…” He looked at Dale questioningly.

Dale nodded.

“Alright! Hahaha! Wooo!” Dale shook his head as Jack cheered for him, trying to hold back a smile. He decided to play it cool till he left.

Dale talked with Jack for a few minutes before saying goodbye, deciding to leave so he could consolidate his Core and get used to it. He also talked to a few of the other regulars, saying goodbye as well, and left the dance hall. He waved to Kelsey as he left, feeling quite good about himself.

Once he got outside, he started walking back towards the Taron Academy.

The Taron Academy was a single mile east of the City-State of Lev’s eastern wall. It wasn’t particularly dangerous to journey between the two great powers, and many students made it regularly. Dale quickly made his way through the city and arrived at the eastern gate, exiting. Once he walked out and was sure no one was around, he broke into a sprint, whooping.

“Woohoo! YESSSSSS ALRIIIIIGGHTTTTTT YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!” He screamed at the top of his lungs, flipping through the air as he drew energy from his new Silver Core. He laughed out loud, dancing around off the ground.

As Dale was hopping around laughing, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.

“My, you seem rather cheerful tonight Dale.”

Dale threw himself around, startled. He bowed,

“Instructor Guile.”

Instructor Guile had appeared wearing dark leather clothing and a black cape. He seemed to be holding something. He looked at Dale with a smile.

“Ah, you’ve broken through to the Silver Core stage I see. Not bad, not bad at all.” Instructor Guile gave Dale a piercing stare, as if he was searching his entire body and soul. Dale shivered. The Instructor seemed to think for a moment before saying,

“At your current stage of growth, I think you should considered attempting a small solo Expedition past the Red Gate.” The Instructor nodded, waving his hand at the imposing cave entrance that lay past the enormous Taron Academy area.

Dale looked at the Instructor in shock. A solo Expedition?! He thought, surprised. Expeditions at the Taron Academy were very similar to Expeditions in Dale’s home country of Morn. It usually involved a group of students exploring the area past the Red Gate. Several monstrous beasts could be found roaming the area, all of them at the Steel Core level or Silver Core level. Very few monstrous beasts at the Gold Core level lived in the area. The Taron Academy called this area the First Cave Stage, naming the more dangerous areas past it the Second and Third Cave Stages. Past the Third Cave Stage lay the entrance to the overworld, where powerful monstrous beasts ruled.

All student expeditions were forbidden from traveling past the First Cave Stage. However, just because they remained in the First Stage didn’t mean they were completely safe. Students still had to survive several weeks in the wild, fending off powerful monsters and ferocious beasts.

To successfully pass an Expedition was one of the requirements for graduation for all members of the Fighters School, and an optional undertaking for members of the Arcane Smiths and Leaders School. Therefore, while Dale didn’t have to take it, he had planned on taking one in the future. With a group, though, not alone.

Instructor Guile continued talking,

“When I was your age, I had already passed my first Expedition and had prepared to go on a second. I’ll let the teachers know that you will attempt one in the near future.” He smiled at Dale, not giving him any opportunity to argue,

“Make sure to properly prepare yourself. While I believe that your strength is more than enough, it never hurts to be prepared.”

Instructor Guile waved at Dale, dismissing him. Dale stared at the man in consternation. As the Instructor was about to leave, however, he turned back and said,

“You are on the right trail, Dale. I checked in on you and your research a few times. If you pass this expedition, I will have you moved up to the Inner Student rank.” He turned around again, walking towards the City-State of Lev.

Dale sputtered, trying to say something as he watched the Instructor walk off. He shook his head and turned around, still elated at his breakthrough. He pondered what the Instructor said, considering his words. To be able to move to the Inner Student rank would be a great deal of help for him and his research. The sooner he could move up student rankings, the faster he would grow in strength. He made up his mind to undertake an expedition as he returned to the Taron Academy, agreeing with what the Instructor had said.

Because he turned around, he missed seeing Instructor Guile shimmer as he walked towards Lev, putting on a black enamel mask.

One week later

Dale stood in the courtyard of the New Students Dorm for the Arcane Smithery School. He was carrying a large bag on his back, filled with supplies and the weapon and armor he had purchased when he was last in Delica.

Dale pulled out the mysterious sword he had bonded with, a weapon named Aarsasho. He set his pack down on the ground as he admired his sword.

It was long, straight claymore, covered in mysterious symbols. The hilt of the blade was shaped like a dragon, dyed a dark red as if covered in blood. The blade of the weapon itself was pure black, with the mysterious grey symbols faintly covering the sword as well as the hilt.

Dale had experimented with the blade slightly. He had found that it had the ability to change its weight, depending on the amount of energy he infused into the weapon. With his maximum Silver Core level of energy infused into the sword, the weapon grew to weigh an enormous 2 tons, or 4,000 pounds heavy. The odd thing about the weapon, however, was that while the physical mass and weight of the sword would vary, it would always remain the same weight to Dale. It felt like it weighed the same to him when he made the weapon weigh 4,000 pounds as when he made it weigh 10 pounds.

Thanks to this, he was able to wield the blade with enormous power, greatly powering his strikes. The downside of the sword, however, was that it required his full concentration, and even in his Dragon Sea powered Perfect Balance, he was unable to fully control the blade, and made mistakes. He made a mental note to be careful when using the weapon.

As for the armor he had purchased, the legendary Ancient Tortoise Shell Growth Armor, Dale had tried it on and found it to be very comfortable and sturdy, like a second skin. From his observations using his Perfect Balance, Dale knew that a small amount of energy was leeched from his Core when he wore the armor, strengthening the protective power of the garment.

As Dale admired his tools, a sharp voice suddenly yelled out,

“Well, glad you could finally make it. Coming inside?” Peter looked at Dale petulantly from the entrance of the dorm. Dale quickly packed the weapon and armor back into his pack.

Dale grabbed his pack and smiled, picking it up. He stepped towards the dorm entrance.

“Heyo Peter. I brought that armor and weapon I’ve been telling you about. I wanted you to take a look at it before I set off in a few days.” Dale walked inside the dorm and followed Peter in, walking down the hall towards Peters room. He heard several loud grunting noises as students practiced smithing in their own rooms.

The Arcane Smithery School was very different then that of the Fighters School or even the Leaders School. The students here were entirely focused on raising their skill and strength and had no time to argue or compete over stupid things. He looked in a few of the rooms they passed by, not seeing anyone of particular interest. They soon arrived at Peter’s room. Peter and Dale walked in, and Dale looked around. The room was similar to Dale’s own room, but more spacious. Off in the corner was a softly glowing anvil. Peter turned around and looked at Dale expectantly. Dale withdrew the unique weapon he had bought, showing it to Peter. He set the blade down on a nightstand that Peter had placed in the middle of his room. Peter bent over, taking a closer look at the weapon. His eyes traced the mysterious symbols set in the giant claymore. His face suddenly turned white and he yelped, turning back to face Dale. “Where did you get this?!”

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