The Elemental Relics

Ali had a hard time convincing the man until Kamis arrived on the scene. He would later learn the bulky teenager was pivotal to saving many others in the escape and was recognized for his major contributions. Not only did Kamis save many of those fleeing from the ambushers but he also held the line until the reserves within the base were activated to drive off the attackers. Due to that, his word had more weight to it and Ali was allowed into the base. Ali was allowed to eat and wash up before he and Kamis were in a tent that could house eight people. They sat on their respective beds while the other six beds were empty. Ali was told the occupants were assigned for garrison duties.

“I heard what happened to Svenne,” said Ali. “I didn’t think we were saying farewell so soon. I doubt any of us expected that to happen.”

“Now it’s just the two of us,” said Kamis, followed by a sigh. “Umaru is here but he wants nothing to do with us. He doesn’t even recognize me anymore now that he has power and fame.”

“He’s here?”

Ali listened as Kamis described their former roommate’s exploits. The teenager had grown so powerful that his wide ranged lightning abilities were feared both by allies and foes. When Ali shared what he heard from the mercenaries, the bulky teenager verified that the monster they spoke of was Umaru.

“Umaru not only made himself known but he also made our training facility famous too. That’s why we were targeted. I can see why our enemies fear another monster joining our ranks and wanted to eliminate the threat before it had time to take root.”

The teenager learned that Umaru became so powerful due to the support he had. With his firepower, defense was his primary weakness that could be exploited. Therefore, proper support could resolve his weaknesses and allow him to make full use of his strength. According to Kamis, Umaru was able to unleash his abilities with impunity since none of the enemy could even lay a hair on him. Until the enemy found a way to harm or kill Umaru, the base was basically impenetrable to any enemy offensive.

“What happens now? What is this base used for?”

“The liberation army’s existence has been discovered and the Usnana government wishes to crush it.”

The original plan for Thomas and the liberation army was to lay low until they were strong enough to challenge the government. They had bases throughout the nation where they could gather intelligence on the local forces and train personnel for combat in the region. A leak somewhere resulted in the government cracking down on all the liberation army bases. Rumors claimed that Thomas was killed in action following an ambush by government forces. Currently, all liberation forces were fighting their own battles for survival as none of them could group up and their leader was supposedly killed.

“In essence,” said Kamis, “we are fully surrounded and may still die here. I had hoped that we'd be safe inside this base.”

“I see. What now?”

“Get some rest! We might not get any in the future once the government forces are ready for their offensive. There's suspicion that they may just starve us out in a siege if they hope to minimize their casualties.”

Ali nodded his head and laid down on his bed. Before he closed his eyes, he had one more thing to investigate.

Did I unlock a new ability recently?

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Yes. You have acquired a new ability recently.

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Is the ability tied to my talisman?

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Yes. You have unlocked a bonus ability from your talisman due to a specific condition being met. Your talisman has been upgraded to possess four rings now.

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Give me info on my new ability.

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Uploading information on the flame blast….

Information on the flame blast uploaded:

[

Ability: Flame Blast

Level: 1 ( 0 / 26 XP to Level Up)

Level Up Requirements: Inflict damage or kill foes of equal or higher level

Type: Attacking (Elemental)

Description:

Flames form from either fist and are shot out in a cone shape, inflicting damage to all those in its path. The radius of the cone is 3 meters with the origin at the fist.

Cost: 3 MP per use

Cooldown: 1 minute

Damage: 1 (+2)

]

Note: Abilities sharing similarities in their names like the blast in wind blast and flame blast have unique synergies when used together. Mastering such synergies may give the user additional advantages in combat.

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Sounds like it’s a good time to practice this with Tian then.

Ali couldn’t believe his good luck. His training with Tian in the summoner realm was beneficial when he needed to learn new skills. He and the air serpents could get a better feel of how to best utilize the abilities during combat. The downside was that, regardless how often he trained, he couldn’t gain XP for those abilities until he was in actual combat. For mastering things like synergies between abilities, the summoner realm was the perfect place due to the low risk of injury and a great sparring partner. If they were in a tight spot, the synergy could be the difference of life and death. Given that only he and Kamis are left, they had to work harder to stay alive in this cruel world.

“Kamis,” said Ali before he could stop himself, “do you blame yourself for Svenne’s death?”

When there was only silence in response to his question, Ali assumed Kamis had fallen asleep. He was about to close his eyes when he heard a barely audible yes from his companion. After a short internal debate, Ali chose to break the silence.

“I’m at fault too for getting separated,” said Ali. “Let’s stop pondering on the past and look to survive in the future. I….I don’t know if I can handle losing another friend.”

“We’ll….we will get through this together. Remember to always stick behind me!”

“Together! Remember to always keep up with me!"