03:00 IST, Sixteenth day, First month, 3079 PV | Lokan System / Lokan III / Random Forest
I once again wake up to a wonderful cloud-like sensation. However, it appears that Ray has also fallen asleep. I stare up at her face, I notice tearstains running down her cheeks. I slowly reach up and try to brush them away. Unfortunately, she notices my movement and wakes up.
Ko:"Mornin' Ray. Are you doing okay?"
"Hmm, Morning' Ko, I'm doing fine now. Was just thinking about the crew and stuff. And our current situation."
"It's fine, we can rebound, we have each other right?"
"Yeah."
"Oi, don't you kiddos forget about me!" Initae says as she enters the shelter. "Ko, you doing fine?"
"Yeah, I seem to be pretty much recovered. Ray is really good at healing inae exhaustion I guess."
"Well, given that inae exhaustion is mostly a mental issue, having a reassuring presence tending to you would likely help boost recovery speed. Anyways, get up Ko, it's time for some combat training."
"Wait, combat training, what about our situation?"
"Well, currently we are trapped on a random planet in the middle of nowhere. The interplanar barriers will still be unstable for about four more days at my approximation. I can still detect the presence of hostiles in the system, they likely don't believe we are actually dead. So, yes. Combat training. By the way, Ray, you're getting some too, though not with inae obviously."
Ray:"Yipee! Combat training from Ms. Transcendent herself! Ko, get yourself up, it's time to get to work."
Ko:"Cant I just pilot a drone or something? Why do I gotta learn how to fight?"
Initae:"Seriously, has noone told you? Drones and AI are not allowed to be used in an offensive functionality. This is why we need pilots, in order to utilize the weaponry and offensive moment systems.
In addition, while ranged ground combat is still viable, the most powerful opponents will need to be engaged in close range, especially if they are wielders. You simply can't penetrate a sufficiently strong inae barrier or shield with conventional munitions. In addition, if you are fighting within a ship, you can't exactly be shooting highly damaging rounds willy nilly, so you gotta go into melee."
Ko:"Oh, that kinda makes sense. We haven't had any briefing on combat whatsoever. I guess the IEC figured they were handling security well enough."
"Well, that's why I'm here. Now, outside."
We exit the shelter, we appear to be in an artificial clearing, perhaps 150m in diameter in a very dense forest. The canopy is so thick that I cannot even see the sky. On all sides we are surrounded by trees that look very old, likely centuries old. There is also a wide variety of alien flora, and probably some fauna lurking not too far away.
Initae leads us to an open patch of land. She then proceeds to burn a circle into the ground. "Alright you two, into the circle. You'll be training against each other since you probably won't instantly kill each other. Now, watch this." Initae then proceeds to focus for a few moments, and then she changes.
She is now wearing a… maid uniform? In both of her hands she holds some very dangerous looking longswords, that appear to be made out of the pure inae. Surround her circles another 6 swords that are being controlled by inae. She looks like a complete psychopath.
Ray:"*extensive laughter*, you're in a maid outfit! Why are you a combat maid? *more laughter*"
Initae:"is there something wrong with it? I was simply perusing some of this media you call 'anime' . I saw that many strong beings wore equipment similar to this, therefore I copied it."
Ray and I break out into a fit of laughter. She does look kinda ridiculous in that maid outfit, but also kinda cool too. It's like she is right out of an anime, which makes sense.
Ko:"That is an outfit usually worn by domestic servants. In anime there is a common idea of 'combat maids' that are used as a satirical piece. They don't actually exist as far as I know."
Initae gives a little spin and the skirt gives a nice twirl. "Well, I kinda like it, and those combat maids are usually really strong right? So I see no issue with it. Anyways, these blades are made out of pure inae. Now its your turn Ko, make a blade for you and Ray. She should be able to wield it even if she cannot draw out pure inae's full abilities."
"Okie dokie, but one quick question. How do I form pure inae, or rather, what even is it?"
"Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that before, I just kinda gave you the pure inae and told you it'd glow if you fed it raw inae. Well, lemme explain. Pure inae is a corporeal form of inae, it takes a solid state. As you know, feeding raw inae into it makes it glow. But, that act of feeding raw inae into it can also be harnessed, you can control the light and use it to vastly improve the abilities of any material made with it.
Pure inae is also very useful as a building material as it won't naturally degrade and can bear great structural weight. Although, without reinforcement from inae, it is quite brittle to any meaningful attack.
As for how you create it. It's not easy by any means. It requires a wielder of at least great in all three affinities. Though, that shouldn't be an issue for you Ko, you've got more than enough power to create it.
Draw a blob of raw inae and shifter inae out in front of you into whatever form you wish it to take. Then, use the aura of your skier affinity to send a command to the inae to form into whatever you wish. You will also need to use the skier ability to manipulate the raw inae that you channel into it. You can also channel shifter inae into it, but don't attempt this as it is a very advanced technique and you might accidentally blow up this entire clearing."
I absorb this massive amount of information. Basically, pure inae is a quite versatile material that is great for making weapons, armor and basic structures. It can be improved by feeding it inae and controlling the resulting power.
Ray:"That seems quite complicated, did you get all of that Ko?"
Ko:"I think so, let me give it a try."
I start to channel the shifter inae and raw inae out of my palms into a roughly sticklike shape. Once I have enough that I think it should work, I start to expand my aura. I am struggling a bit, controlling all three types at such a high degree is quite difficult.
Initae:"Good progress Ko! Now just command the inae to form into a solid structure."
I try to command the inae gathered in front of me. But, as soon as I give the command, it instantaneously explodes. I am thrown back several dozen meters and hit a tree. Ouch.
Ray:"Ko! Are you okay?" She then rushes over to where I am. And tries to feel me for any injuries.
Ko:"Im fine, the kit mitigated most of the damage thankfully."
Initae:"Well, that was pretty good for your first try. I guess your prodigious nature only extends so far, most people take hundreds of attempts to get it right. So don't worry, this is completely normal."
"Why didn't you tell me it'd explode if I failed?"
"I wanted to see you go flying obviously. It's far more fun that way!"
"My my, what a cruel master you are."
"Hah, I think I have been far kinder than most."
"Well, let's give it another try."
We return to the circle and I give it another attempt. This time I only try to form a tiny sphere as opposed to an entire weapon. With a great deal of effort, I succeed. A tiny orb about two centimeters in diameter forms and falls into my palm.
Ray:"Woah, you just materialized that outa thin air! You're so cool, Ko!" This comment fills me with an immense sense of satisfaction.
Initae:"Well done, but you need to do it faster, larger and without hesitation. You can't be spending several seconds at the start of combat forming your weapons. Now, try to dissolve it using a skier command."
I suppose I still have a long way to go. I successfully dissolve the small sphere and begin training.
About six hours later, we are still going at it. I have just managed to materialize a small stick within about a seconds focus. Its progress, but not nearly enough compared to how fast Initae can do it.
Initae:"Youve made a lot of progress in such a short amount of time. I guess you shouldn't discount your prodigious nature so quickly. I think that's enough for today, we won't get much farther. Let's resume this tomorrow."
Initae then proceeds to sit in a corner of the clearing, doing some form of meditation. Ray and I head back into the shelter and eat some nice berries. We then settle in and go to sleep, I am quite tired from all the inae wielding.
19:00 IST, Sixteenth day, First month, 3079 PV | Lokan System / Lokan III / Random Forest
I wake up to a strange sight. It is Ray's face, right next to mine. I appear to have curled up next to her in my sleep. Strangely, her arm seems to have wrapped itself around me. I quickly react in shock, I practically teleport a few meters away.
Unfortunately, my hasty movement also wakes Ray up. She quickly notices my obvious shock. "Ko, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"
I can feel a strong blush rising onto my face. "No, I'm perfectly fine. I'm just going to go outside and get some fresh air." I then quickly stand and walk outside. It is quite dark, Lokan must've set at some point.
I wander over to the circle on the ground and sit down in the middle of it. Making good use of the alone time, I start to practice my pure inae synthesis. After about an hour of my practice, Ray appears out of the shelter and comes to sit down behind me, leaning against me. I think Initae is still in meditation over on the other side of the clearing, I can sense some inae but cannot see her.
I continue to practice, but I take the opportunity to lean back against Ray as well. No free support from me. After about ten minutes Ray speaks.
"Hey Ko, we will still be fine, right?"
"Of course we will, it's us after all. Luce lunae ad astra et ultra. So long as we are working together there is no way we will fail, we must succeed."
"Geez, you always say the most confident things. But, I guess you aren't wrong. We are the Moonlight Duo after all."
"Hey, look at this." We then turn around and face each other. In my palms I have a palm-sized crescent moon that I made.
"Wow, it's so pretty."
I then channel some raw inae into it and it starts to glow with its brilliant light. It bounces off the clearing around us and lights up our little world. "See, by the power of the moonlight we are unstoppable. Even if it's just the two of us left in an endless sea of enemies. So long as we are together, we will always triumph."
She reaches out for the symbol and picks it up. Im still channeling inae into it so it appears as though she has picked up a glowing piece of the moon itself. She then proceeds to pin it into her hair. "Well, then I guess I'll just be the stylish one. With my all-conquering looks and your brain we will win."
"You know, your brain is quite good too. It's very good with people, which I think is going to become ever more important."
"Yeah, that's how it's always been. You make the plans, I move the people in a way that they can be executed with perfect clarity. It's very nice, like we are two inseparable parts of the same team."
"Well, I guess you could say I am the moon and you are the light. Together we can accomplish anything."
"Case and point, Mr. Worthless Jerk."
"To you as well, Mrs. Genius Prodigy."
We proceed to sit there, talking for quite a while. I continue practicing my materialization skills. With Ray challenging me with various complicated things to make. From an intricately designed coin to a beautiful pyramid made out of tiny bricks.
We talk about many things. Reminiscing about our past and all the crazy things that have led us to this point in time. Sitting, stranded, on an alien planet quadrillions of kilometers from Earth. Under the light of a tiny fake moon. Just enjoying life as if we didn't just fall out of the sky and land here.
Somehow, I feel quite content. Even given the massive task and everything else. I feel like I'd be fine just sitting on this planet, chatting with Ray until the end of time. I would love to do just that, and nothing more.
After a few hours of practice, I manage to form the stick I originally tried, this time without exploding thankfully. "Woah, good job Ko! You're so talented. I bet it would've taken years for a typical person to get this far."
"Well, I'm sure I've still got a long way to go. It takes me several seconds to form one, let alone several while controlling them floating in the air as well as armor."
"Well, I will be here to give you ideas for the entire journey! You won't shake me off too easily!"
"Good to hear, with you next to me, I might just manage to vaporize a planet someday, like master."
"Hmm, can we maybe set a different goal? Vaporizing planets kinda seems a bit evil."
"Well, then how about terraforming a planet to host all sorts of new life! I'm sure that's somehow possible. We can even work on it together. Create a paradise for all, from anywhere to come to."
"That sounds like a great goal. It's a promise!"
She then sticks out her pinky in the universal symbol of an agreement. I interlock my own pinky and we shake on it. An unbreakable promise has been made.
With that, I am sure we can face anything that is to come. Including the harsh training that Initae is undoubtedly going to force upon us. So, bring it on.
End of Chapter 33
A/N: Dear reader, welcome back. Once again, the author returns. This chapter sure had some interesting stuff, further developing the system of inae! Also learning a bit about the nature of combat in the universe. Do stay tuned, much more is still to come!
As always, if you are enjoying this small story, be sure to favourite/follow/rate/share with a friend, it is always appreciated! Until the next one, dear reader.
Cathrix