The Pilot of Wrath

Chapter 23 – Charting the Uncharted

Matt was moving through some more woodlands, thankfully very open in terms of undergrowth. He had ventured outside the gates of the settlement again and was on his way to explore and level. Before leaving, he had talked with Franklin and Rohm, informing them of his plans. Franklin had suggested that he pass through the area marked for being rich in ores by the System. Rohm had begged him not to go alone and take some others with him.

In the end, they settled for Matt going alone and maybe passing through the potential mine location. Franklin seemed to understand but it took a demonstration of speed to mollify Rohm. Before leaving he had dumped all his random finds with the crafters. Plants, minerals, monster cores and everything else he had collected. All he kept was some of the venison they had harvested on the way to the city because, well, a man has to eat.

“Are we looking for anything specific?” Van asked once they had left the walls far behind.

“No but I do plan to have a looping route on our way back. If we can spot anything interesting, it will be good to report it.” Matt told his core. It was odd not having Tobias there. His friend had occupied the “copilot” seat for so long that it felt a little lonely without him.

It also felt a little boring. They hadn’t encountered anything dangerous so close to the city. Tobias would have called them trash mobs for providing next to nothing in resources or experience. It was relatively lucky that none seemed to be interested in getting close as he traveled.

The route Matt had picked was in the general direction of some tall hills or low mountains. They were still covered in trees to the altitude couldn’t be that great, but the peaks were viewable from the walls of the city. I gotta ask about the name of the city. I can’t keep calling it “the city” or “the settlement” all the time. Maybe it doesn’t have a name. huh, feel sorry for whoever gets that job.

The terrain was generally sloping uphill, but one wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at their immediate surroundings. Small hills and valleys were common in this part of the forest so there was a constant up and down. The only way Matt could tell was by getting a good look at a distance and by turning around and getting lucky with a clear line of sight toward the city. Kilometers fell away behind Matt as he moved toward his esoteric objective of good fights and a place to meditate.

After a few hours of travel Matt did find a few monsters that wanted to tango. Unsurprisingly, they were of the plant variety. Matt was starting to notice a trend with the types of monsters and their disposition. The 3 treeants all in the low 20’s for level were quickly dealt with via his tomahawk and mana blast. After a quick hop out to sift through the charred remains for valuable materials, Matt was back on the road.

Around midday Matt found a little clearing atop a small hill that would be perfect for his little experiment. He and Van quickly cleared the area, making sure there wasn’t anything lurking just inside the trees. After finding a whole lot of nothing, he settled down to try his meditation.

Matt planted himself right in the middle of the open area with Van taking up a watch position at the edge. The plan was for Matt to try his thing while Van made sure nothing attacked while he was distracted. Sitting and relaxing to the point that he could calm his body was the first part and arguably the hardest. Matt so badly wanted to go galivanting about, fighting and looting to get some levels but had to set some priorities. Eventually he was able to clear his mind to the point that he could feel that vapor like energy again. The vertigo was still there but not as severe as the first time he tried this, but it seemed the blue haze hadn’t dispersed.

Repeating his actions from last time, Matt relaxed into a focused state, pulling the energy in to him and condensing it. He had no idea what would happen, but it felt right, like it was something he was supposed to do. The haze grew more and more opaque as he went. The wall of blue becoming clearer and moving closer, no longer at the far edges of his senses.

Matt kept pulling at the energy which was now a tangible wall in his mind. The space around his metaphysical body slowly shrinking until there was nothing between him and the glowing blue mass. Acting on instinct, he suddenly clenched down on it. It responded. The walls surrounding him went from a slowly thinning mass to a solid sphere around his body.

He felt a system message nagging at him, but he ignored it. There was a feeling of something else guiding him, an instinct to continue the process. Like packing a snowball, Matt kept squeezing the energy around him. Applying constant, steady pressure, he compressed it until it wouldn’t get any denser. Feeling like this wasn’t the end, Matt applied as much force as he could muster and crushed the ball around him. The sphere and the hollow core surrounding Matt both collapsed and there was no longer anything separating him from the now roiling blue energy.

The sensation of pain flooded Matt’s mind, but it wasn’t the only thing flowing into him. Completely overriding the pain was power, a lot of power. It was raw, super-heated energy and gave Matt a taste of ozone, not that he could actually taste at the moment. This energy flooded through his actual body and worked its way from his skin through every muscle and bone heading for one place. That core that was between heart and spine, where Matt had felt all his energy come from previously.

The feeling was of that core swelling and expanding but never actually growing in size. Minutes turned to hours as the energy continued its march to his core. Finally, it slowed, then stopped before the mind-numbing pain receded. Matt returned to the meditative space and saw that it was no longer a black void with a blue mist. It was now a field of that roiling blue energy radiating out from him with the void on the outside.

Matt opened his actual eyes and returned to the real world. In the middle of what once was a small grassy meadow sat Matt but instead of grass he was sitting in a pile of ash and black glass. It was only a thin layer of glass judging by the cracks running through it. He immediately noticed that it was no longer mid-day, the sun having just set and the sky a deep purple with the moon rising behind him.

“Van, what the hell happened here?” Matt rasped. His voice was hoarse, and he was forced to take off his helmet and summon some water from his ring. HE turned to look at his mech and saw that its eyes were glowing a bright blue.

“I am not completely sure.” Van said as he took a few tentative steps toward Matt. “It started much the same as last time but got much more… intense.” He went on to explain how things progressed from his perspective. In the beginning Matt’s presence had flared and enveloped everything around him, including Van. Then it felt as if all the ambient mana was being drawn in, becoming densest around Matt.

Van said the mana remained the same for a while until it was suddenly compressed and disappeared into Matt. After the mana entered him, he began to emit that blue light from his helmets eye lenses. Then it burst out in a 15-meter radius, burning, and melting everything in its path except for Van and the mech. Shortly after, Matt awoke and there they were.

Matt couldn’t gain much more from the retelling, but he also has system messages nagging at him. Without further delay, he opened them.

Congratulations! You have achieved aura condensation.

Trait has evolved into: Condensed Aura Field.

Congratulations: Through the merging of your trait and affinity

you have achieved a state of advanced aura and affinity manifestation.

Trait has evolved into: Sovereign Aura Domain.

Sovereign Aua Domain:

You have complete control over your aura and its emissions. Detect the aura and intent of others in your domain. You now have complete control over your affinity within your domain and can nullify invasive mana. Dominate your surroundings with your will.

It didn’t escape Matt’s notice that he had upgraded his trait twice in a row. That might have had something to do with the horrible pain he had experienced. Alternately, the pain might have just been the cost of doing business with things like this.

“Matt, there is also the matter of your presence. It is extremely dense and ever present.” Van was looking at him now, crouched down to bring his face closer. “You might need to try to control it more before we return.”

Matt focused and noticed that his aura was rolling off him in waves. He focused and was able to fully retract it instantly. Van confirmed that it was no longer present, but I still feel like there was something going on. He would work on it later since he was exhausted and was in desperate need of sleep. It seemed that fate was not going to let that happen or at least a certain god was not going to let that happen.

” That was rather impressive, Matt.” Tori’s voice rang in Matt’s mind. “You managed to create a type of domain, and at such a low level. While it is part of your natural born trait, it is still very impressive.”

Matt responded back in his mind. “Thanks, I guess, I am not sure about what that means or how it works. Any chance the System will let you fill me in?”

Tori laughed before responding. “It is like a field that surrounds you. You will have absolute control over your mana’s affinity within that space and some influence over other’s mana. As an example: You could summon your plasma much easier and control it to a finer degree within the field. It would be much more potent than outside your field. If someone else was to try and use a spell or ability against you, its power could be greatly reduced or nullified completely depending on the power difference.

Matt listened close to the explanation but thought he saw a problem. “Wouldn’t that interfere with allies using abilities when they are near me? Like if a healer tried to cast a healing spell on me?”

“No, you would have to consciously block that ability and actively fight against it. There is a downside or what some might call a “feature” when it comes to domains, your presence. If you want to fix this, you will have to actively try to hide your presence. That shouldn’t be a problem with the trait you have but you might want to practice.”

“Tori, what do you mean by presence?”

Matt could feel her debating how to phrase the answer before she replied. “The people that are in your field will get a sense of your intent and will. They wont be able to pinpoint your location or even know it is coming from you specifically, should you be in a crowd. If your intent is to harm them, they will feel a danger subconsciously like when you get a bad feeling or have a shiver run down your spine. From my experience, the effects also depend on their alignment to you, allies versus enemies.”

Tori then said that was the limit of her time for the connection and wished him luck, promising to stay in touch. She also reminded him that he could perform the ritual from his end, and it would last longer. Matt tanked her for the help and then felt her presence fade from his mind. Is that presence what system natives feel when around higher leveled people or something else?

Tori was watching Matt as he climbed back into his construct, or “mech” as he called it. No doubt he was going to rest after his ordeal. Some sleep was definitely well deserved after what he went through. It had been an incredibly risky process that he had unknowingly undertaken. Most of the veiled race trained for decades or centuries to condense their aura traits. Tori assumed that’s where he had gotten it from, nothing else would explain it.

Having the nagging of a system message in her head, Tori opened the window. It was the typical warning from the System about sharing too much at this stage of the integration, or so it seemed. As she read it, something felt off. There was more…personality in the message. Most of these warnings just alerted that the connection would be forcibly terminated if any more was shared. This one cautioned her about limiting Matt’s growth by giving away too much detail on his race and trait.

Tori thought that was curious. It wasn’t the first time the system had to tailor a message for her, but it was the first time she had seen one customized in relation to an E grade. Still, she would be more careful, there were worse penalties that could be imposed for her initiating the information sharing.

The messages preceding that warning were also interesting and told a little more of the story. One was about Matt beginning the condensing process. The other two were about him evolving his trait. The double trait evolution was the biggest shock to Tori. Her getting notified of her prime doing something was normal, but to have seen back-to-back trait advancement was unexpected.

“Matt Shultz. What acts will you preform in this plain? What triumphs will you bring? What horrors will be wrought upon your enemies?” Tori mumbled under her breath before turning away to continue her meditation. She was putting more importance on the opening of the barriers than in previous generations of integrations. It was all because of one little mortal from one of her favorite worlds to play on.

Matt had woken late to his surprise. After the System, he had been filled with much more energy, needing less and less sleep over time. He then went ahead and absolutely stuffed his face with food. He didn’t feel hungry at all the night before despite not having an evening meal, so it made sense that he ate 4 times his usual amount.

After breakfast, Matt got back on the trail. He wanted to make it up the side of one of the major hills in the area to see if there was anything interesting at the top. He was planning on surveying the local area to the best of his ability before working his way back and stopping by the potential mine site. His wandering and general goal had led him to walking his way up a ravine. He briefly thought about backing out, taking a new route to avoid getting stuck but figured he had no time limit and could explore a little.

The ravine was relatively wide but with steep and rocky slopes leading up from a mostly flat bottom. It wound deeper into the hills, never keeping a straight line for more than 200 meters. Matt could get a general sense of the terrain through his threat detection field but that was due to the wildlife and vegetation giving returns more than the rocky walls. As he moved deeper in, he noticed the lack of creatures. Most times some small, low-level beasts were ever present but now, there was barely any.

Matt soon found the reason that most of the critters were either small birds or high up on the ridges to either side of him. At the very edge of his detection field, he saw a large contact and stopped moving. He waited and watched the sensor return, waiting for it to resolve into a more definite shape. Unfortunately, he would have no such luck. After nearly 15 minutes, the creature wasn’t moving, and the image wasn’t getting any clearer.

“Nothing to be done except to use the ole mark 1 eyeball.” Matt joked.

“I am not familiar with that designation.” Van said, clearly missing the joke.

Matt advanced slowly and briefly explained the meaning of his quip for Van to add to his ever-growing lexicon. He was now only a few hundred meters and a sharp curve away from the sensor contact. It had grown a little in clarity but not enough for him to be sure of what it was. Peaking the head of his mech around the bend, Matt laid eyes on his prey.

Granite Ursine Guardian. Level 40

That was a pretty fancy name for what Matt could only describe as a “giant ass stone bear” but figured it got the point across. The creature was laying across the floor of the ravine, taking up nearly a third of the flat bottom as it basked in the mid-day sun poking through the tree canopy. From tip to tail it was likely over 20 meters long and built like a… well, like a brick shit house. Instead of a furry coat, it was armored with what looked like flagstones, only small tufts of black fur showing in the gaps. Claws half as long as Matt was tall, tipped each paw and he could only guess at the teeth the creature had.

Matt ducked back into cover around the bend, keeping an eye on the guardian. “So how do you think we should do this?” He asked Van.

“Does it matter?” The mech replied with a little humor tinging his voice.

“And what exactly do you mean by that?”

“Every time we try to plan something it always goes sideways. You are very good at thinking quickly under stress.” Van said with a back handed compliment.

Matt barked a laugh. “So, what you’re saying I just make it up as I go along?” Van didn’t respond but Matt had the impression of chuckling from his bond with the core. Regardless of Van’s teasing, Matt readied his autocannon and peaked back around the corner. The bear hadn’t moved so he took aim at the creature’s head, hoping to end it with one imbued shot.

As Matt lined up his reticle, placing the chevron over the space between ear canal and eye socket, the bear’s eye snapped open and looked directly at him. Instinctually Matt pulled the trigger and sent an imbued round zipping down range. Before the round even impacted, a brown glow covered the bear, creating a barrier that Matt recognized as an ability from the mana. The round hit the barrier with a smack followed by a loud zing as it glanced off and impacted the hill behind with a hefty thwack.

“Huh.” Van said, disbelief and shock in his voice.

“Uh-oh.” Matt said as he saw the bear get to its feet, shaking its head with a low growl.

“Time to do that thing where you think really fast and make shit up.” Van mumbled into Matts mind.

Matt didn’t say anything in reply, just pinning to the trigger to the rear and putting shot after shot into the now standing bear. The imbued round hit the brown shield and after the 5th, they began to penetrate. The issue was, while the shield was now failing in that area, the stone was not. The bear then fell back to all fours and roared before charging. Matt emptied the rest of the magazine into the bears face before ducking behind the bend in the wall and reloading. This is going to be one hell of a fight. Matt thought as he slammed the new magazine in and readied for the bear to come around the bend.