Nar'teth stepped wearily from the entry porter to Riot 6.1's base, his weary muscles protesting even the weight of Skar-Khaz in its sheath at his back.
He all but fell onto one of the couches there. Teil-Khaz jerked his arm around as he shifted, until he mentally shut off the flow of his magic to the shield,
and it shimmered back into its jeweled bangle.
He ached. Reyshal had left on another surveying journey, leaving him behind again. She had cited his relative inexperience with his weaponry as her excuse for
leaving him behind again. So he hadn't thought much about using the brand new "Architect Entertainment" system to practice. After all, it was
just an illusion, right?
Apparently not, though. While he had spend a goodly while in the simulations, when he had exited, it had felt like a sledgehammer had hit all of his muscles at
once. An Empath hero near him had been able to help him to the side of the room and fortified him against the pain. The man had shaken his head at him, and
told him that it was a certain, open secret that you didn't actually come out of the system exactly the same as you went in. What you experienced had a
toll on your body, mind, and, the man had said, it was a safe bet that your security level had gone up as well.
Here and now, Nar'teth cursed, shaking his hands and arms free of the magical enhancements that he had purchased just a few weeks ago, that were already
drained of their power and now useless to him. Now he had to reequip himself, get used to a security level almost double what he had possessed before AE, and
find a gentler way to train his body into the skills he had learned inside the system.
He levered himself off the couch, and headed to the teleporter bay. Maybe clearing out a few spots of the Park would help him settle his body down. As he
passed by the message board, a new notice caught his eye.
"Destined Rival? Eternal Foe? Who would ask for those things from their own teammates?" Nar'teth shook his head over it. Then he had a thought.
"Or, there's..." He tore off a small piece of one of the other notices, wrote down the name on the announcement, and strode off to the bay.
He'd be sure to deliver his 'Random Dueling Challenge' to Astra Sabre in person. This would be a great way to hone his skills against someone who
wasn't trying to kill him off!
He all but fell onto one of the couches there. Teil-Khaz jerked his arm around as he shifted, until he mentally shut off the flow of his magic to the shield,
and it shimmered back into its jeweled bangle.
He ached. Reyshal had left on another surveying journey, leaving him behind again. She had cited his relative inexperience with his weaponry as her excuse for
leaving him behind again. So he hadn't thought much about using the brand new "Architect Entertainment" system to practice. After all, it was
just an illusion, right?
Apparently not, though. While he had spend a goodly while in the simulations, when he had exited, it had felt like a sledgehammer had hit all of his muscles at
once. An Empath hero near him had been able to help him to the side of the room and fortified him against the pain. The man had shaken his head at him, and
told him that it was a certain, open secret that you didn't actually come out of the system exactly the same as you went in. What you experienced had a
toll on your body, mind, and, the man had said, it was a safe bet that your security level had gone up as well.
Here and now, Nar'teth cursed, shaking his hands and arms free of the magical enhancements that he had purchased just a few weeks ago, that were already
drained of their power and now useless to him. Now he had to reequip himself, get used to a security level almost double what he had possessed before AE, and
find a gentler way to train his body into the skills he had learned inside the system.
He levered himself off the couch, and headed to the teleporter bay. Maybe clearing out a few spots of the Park would help him settle his body down. As he
passed by the message board, a new notice caught his eye.
"Destined Rival? Eternal Foe? Who would ask for those things from their own teammates?" Nar'teth shook his head over it. Then he had a thought.
"Or, there's..." He tore off a small piece of one of the other notices, wrote down the name on the announcement, and strode off to the bay.
He'd be sure to deliver his 'Random Dueling Challenge' to Astra Sabre in person. This would be a great way to hone his skills against someone who
wasn't trying to kill him off!