Chapter 279 – 15

Learning for Learning's sake is the best kind of Learning. Be your best selves— I’ll catch you later!

The continued notes on the class door to Practical Magicware Effects on Planar Experiences showed that Marci’s arrival hadn’t disturbed the teachers' continued absence. Von Trell would probably assign her to that woman’s class again next quarter, but for now the break was good with how busy life was keeping Harmony.

Getting ready to fight alone for the tournament put a dangerous edge to delving Oorty’s Tomb, even when Randy showed up unbidden to every attempt she made. The porter was prepared to see that she didn’t end up as he did, and had lingering thoughts about the passing of his daughter. You couldn’t keep men from their savior complexes.  

Harmony’s defense class moved away from abominations and onto reapers, famous for their soul-damaging skills and lethal strikes. Their inclusion on the list had more to do with the fact that a global network of assassins recruited or killed every person who evolved into that class. You generally only figured out if a person was a reaper after they struck you and you survived. A fun class if you enjoyed getting stabbed by a knife designed to damage the container and soul so Flint Steelheart could see how tough yours was.

It took two stabs before Flint asked Harmony to withdraw her domain, which had the other students' ears perking up. Even then, the lack of serious damage earned a nod of approval from the man, which only increased after she ran over to fix another student's serious injury with [Mend] and [Renew Spirit]. The unsubtle glint in his eyes let her know he wanted her for his hunting team. Something wholly inappropriate for a necromancer.

No, Harmony spent this week ignoring other problems and focusing on a hypothesis turned success.

“Two more, you silly bear! Need to get you looking a little less tubby.” Tasha yelled.

Two of her enlarged metal ammunition balls were pushing down on Alex’s back as he did push-ups.

The goal was to exhaust him, and then heal him up and continue again, quickly building up new muscle and burning fat in the boy,  a purposeful reshaping that closely mirrored what Harmony had been doing for months out of necessity, first climbing Nae’s Garden and then in the Ascendant Games.  When authority had made her soul unstable and close to imploding, this kind of work probably helped save her life.

For the golden wearbear body-type, it was repairing some of the damage she’d done with her first attempt to align Alex with the monster inside of him. With the young bear who wanted uppies now on more friendly terms, this strengthening was making it a less unstable situation. His random bear-shifts had started to fade away, and transforming took him back to bigger heights, not quite the almost uncontrollable beast he was before, but definitely allowed him to shift up in size quicker.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join him in the workout, Tash? You only just got your body type, and the same methods could improve and stabilize it.” Harmony yelled over to her from the other end of the training room they were renting.

“This is what, the tenth time you’ve asked me?” Can’t you see I’m already perfect?” The redhead answered.

It irked Harmony that she was perfect through soul sight; she even had her [Heart] chew a little bit of fate for true sight, but as good as she looked, something was being hidden. Nothing was that stable, and she couldn’t sense the monsterification underneath from the potion she created when she’d put a chunk of herself into making it. Forcing Tasha’s body to build and repair muscle would open that perfection up to stress, and Harmony would get up close with her skills, touching the woman’s soul in order to unearth what the girl was hiding.

“Perfectly conceited. We all need to train to get better. That’s how evolution works.” Harmony called her out.

Tasha stuck out her tongue, hovered an extra foot in the air, and added extra force to her enlarged ammo, pressing Alex into the ground despite his strength.

“Hey!” He barked.

“Merely proving a point to the princess here. I appreciate the gift you gave me, Harmony, but that doesn’t mean you own me, miss su-primus.”  Tasha snapped back with a bit of bite

The shooter didn’t react well to being pushed. Harmony looked away. “Sorry. I have some lingering worries. But I will be here for you if you need me.”  She didn’t need to work to make the tone sound sincere, because it was.

“Well, I don’t,”  Tasha said, picking up her balls while returning them to a small size; they followed her out as she left the training room.

“Heal?” Alex moaned from his position.

Harmony made her way over, skills ready, and assessed him. With his ragged breathing and wincing, Tasha had fractured her friend's ribs with that move. Patching him up would take more time now. “What’s got into her?”

“She’s been bringing girls over less since the cocoon incident. Dating just as much, but a lot fewer visits and no overnights. Says she’s less approachable now, but she’s never had problems approaching women herself.”

“Is this just an issue of a lack of romance?”

Alex snorted at the word romance. “I think she remembers more of her transformation than she’s letting on. The burning. The changes. Her rooms are soundproofed, a blessing when she has girls over, but I wouldn’t be shocked if she’s having nightmares.”

Harmony held her tongue to keep from cursing with her default of “Ashes,” because it was too close to this. She was the one who helped put Tasha in this situation. Solving problems, yet breaking things at the same time, was a worrying bad habit.

“Maybe I should pressure her less?”

Alex chuckled as he stretched, clearly still feeling sore after all the repeated work to break him down and build him up. “That will make her feel abandoned; better to keep showing concern despite the facade she puts up”

“You really know her, don’t you?”

“You can’t make someone your childish rival and not try to get into her head. Not that she ever considered me hers. The valedictorian at our old school was kind of like su-primus here. Those insights are why I fought to be her friend. She likes fighting, even when she pushes back”, Alex advised.

“When did you get so smart?”

“Me? My head is filled with fluff and stuffing, as my gran used to say. But friendship, that, I know. That’s why I trusted my gut with you.”

Harmony’s eyebrow rose a little at that. From her memory, he hadn’t been thinking with his gut, instead with lower organs. He was right that neither was his brain.

Alex continued. “Shouldn’t your thoughts be on tonight anyway? The time of your quickening.”

What hadn’t been a thought before arriving at The Academy was suddenly a thing people paid attention to. This wouldn’t be the first time she’d gone months without gaining levels. Simple differences of age and culture. Here it was more of a point to get Cezna off Xera’s back. After the last boost to the defender's body, nothing had changed much with the girl.

“What happens will happen; my soul will solidify into its path, and accumulated experience will be applied. Everyone here gets a couple of levels. Except for that one poor boy who nearly drank himself to death after gaining none at quickening.”

“You know the exact time it will happen thanks to Von Trell, so we expect you to be at the party we’re throwing for you.”

“Says the man who winces when he moves. You’ll walk out of here wobbling as though your joints don’t move. I’ll be there.”

This was to be a real party. Not just her little crew. How Adric had come up with a hundred names of people to invite was a bit confusing.  One celebrating her too. Her pet prince promised it wouldn’t include those who only wanted to get in her good graces or wanted more than she could provide.  It would be hard not to show up, since it was at the newly refurbished ballroom downstairs from her new living quarters at Fairfax Manor.  Training Alex had kept her mind off the event.

She was to let the guests arrive before heading downstairs. That gave her time to decide what to wear. This wasn’t a su-primus show, so she doused the flaming blue hair and nails and took a more subdued approach to dressing up, letting herself show her age with only a hint of color implying that she used magic and makeup to age herself up, rather than trying to match her first-year peers. She'd arrive with the maturity some fifth years had. Red lips and matching nails to go with a dress selected more for comfortable conversations than showing off.  The real her that might seem like an illusion to some.

Adric would appreciate it, and Tun-Knee would recognize the return to how she looked during the Ascendant Games.

Harmony stepped into the ballroom half-expecting a big announcement. But found herself one guest among many already drinking and socializing.  Not that she was a stranger to any of these people or they to her.

“Harm!” Luce cried, giving her a little hug. “Be on the lookout for Mortician Mell; she’s going to ask you when you’ll get back to volunteering. It’ll be almost like she appreciates your labor.”

The fellow volunteer for the Healer’s Association was cheerful despite the fact that Harmony hadn’t shown up for a shift since the dungeon incident, being announced as su-primus and all that keyholder mess.

“Will do. Sorry I haven’t been around.”

“Wrecked gears happen. Thanks for inviting me to this little shindig.” Luce answered.

A few more pleasant exchanges with the healer trainee and Harmony moved on. Adric had pulled from all of her time here. Xera’s majordoma and two of the maids she felt more connected with moved around as guests. Beastkin she’d chatted with at The Watering Hole finally stepped into a more mixed crowd.  Spotting Randy, she almost wanted to grab her pet’s ears; that one connection was too close to the mysterious delver, but to cover that, Adric had pulled far and wide.  Dormmates from when she was in campus housing, chatted with students who tried to tutor her in math from Material Manipulation. Juliette, who tossed her about at The Gauntlet, danced with Tasha and the twins who’d been booted from Hexio's curse class.

How Adric knew these people only wished her the best was amazing. She could feel it in her authority. People whom she’d only had brief conversations with or socialized only in respect to a shared class or club meeting filled out a guest list of closer friends, but each was mostly happy to be involved.  Her eyes bugged out a little when three of the Maekus’s apes in suits stepped into view.  

Harmony gave Rango a little wave, which he returned.

There wasn’t time to catch up with everyone, but no one was offended if she didn’t approach them, and mostly they all talked curiously among each other, having never met.  

[Recall] reminded her the time was near. Glasses were slyly added to every hand.

That was when Adric stepped onto a table to speak to the crowd. “We’re here to celebrate Harmony White’s quickening. Revivalist, Eraser, the paths she chose firmly in place and ready to carry her forward to greater heights. A toast. The fun will begin in five, four, three, two…”

They really had managed to capture when this would happen to the second. Chronstasis actively focused on herself, while feeling the appreciation of the crowd. Authority surged, but in the same way she could sense she was a maid and a necromancer, she felt those graduate to their new forms. From serving as a maid to the servant that an eraser was, removing problems, fixing mistakes, overcoming obstacles, all for whatever person or goal she set herself to follow. From how a necromancer became more than shaping the dead, but one who revived all kinds of aspects from hurt to pride, and returning those lost to greatness. Revival made to better rather than only return. From Bea to even Marci and the potion she made for Tasha. Her experiences up until now locked into place.

“One!” Everyone cheered and drank at Adric's pronouncement, except for Harmony.

She was too busy staring at the notification before her, as she felt the new levels hit her.

​

Congratulations! You’ve earned the title:  Quick Starter

Your skills advance more slowly in exchange for more potency

Choose your profession’s second skill  -  Remove Presence - Secure Seal -  Timely Distraction

Choose your class’s second skill  -  Haunting - Contain Soul -  Return History