When it began it was easy. Or at least it might have seemed easy if you were as good at Upjumping as Raven or Sen. The rocks fell fast from the start and only became faster. The onset of the jumping battle left little doubt that even though her skill might have been low, having obtained her skill only a short while before, this was an area in which Sen had talent in spades.

She jumped higher and higher, easily matching Arpeggio as he jumped in beside her and began ascending higher. Soon the rocks fell so fast it became a constant battle just to stay at the same level. Arepeggio looked as though he were enjoying himself even as Sen showed her first look of concentration. The rocks began disappearing mid-fall, leaving little room to recover if one were to be planning on using one of those ill-fated rocks in the near future. Soon the rocks began to have different colors. From what Amelia could discern certain colors evaporated almost instantly and didn’t allow for much push, while other rocks lasted longer. After initially drifting toward the floor Sen seemed to recognize the colors and soon she was jumping easily. Arpeggio, obviously familiar with the added condition, easily adjusted in the beginning. The rocks shifted in color at some point and even he began to fall toward the floor while he was learning the new pattern.

“Why do you get threatened by the higher class bosses in the game?” Amelia finally asked Aidan. She didn’t bother taking her eyes off the aerial battle but from the corner of her eye saw him turn toward her.

“What do you mean?” He asked lightly. There was a note of false innocence in his tone.

“Well, you freaked Vienne out twice but I was going to let it go. Then Arpeggio practically went ballistic on you…” Amelia pondered.

“Did Vienne do that? That was a long time ago.” There was a trace of frown in his words like he really didn’t remember.

“Fine. Be mysterious.” Amelia puffed out her cheeks. “Or you could tell me and maybe I’d forgive you for being a louse.”

“Being mysterious has a high price indeed.” Aidan agreed after a short time passed.

“So does being a louse.” Forsythe interjected.

Amelia turned slightly and grinned at the large man.

“Should we just wander off and do something else while we wait?” Aidan had a not-very-subtle way of trying to steer the conversation sometimes.

“You can go if you want. I’m going to watch.” Shade replied. Amelia and Forsythe started. For a fraction of a second both of them had forgotten that he was there. He was leaning on his spear.

“Let me give you something good Shade…” Aidan patted him on the shoulder, and reached into his side-pouch. He pulled out four stones. Amelia immediately recognized them as element stones. Low level stones that could be engraved in items to give small cosmetic effects to weapons. She saw a fire, wind, shadow, and a lightning stone. Aidan put them in Shade’s hand, smirking at his look of confusion.

“Thanks?” Shade rolled the stones around in his hand.

“No. Thank you. You’re going to test something for me. I know you will because I’m going to explain it to you and you’re going to do it because it’ll help you take care of Sen. So don’t thank me. Be irritated with me if you want. My only condition is you tell me how it goes.” Aidan patted him on the shoulder again. “It is my intent, giving you these stones, to give you the opportunity to become the greatest wizard in AA, ever, of all time, until someone, you know, is better than you after that.”

Shade stared down doubtfully at the stones. He had examined them quietly and was not impressed. He looked up at Aidan, who was waiting expectantly, and sighed. “Let’s hear the pitch then.”

“You heard our talk about profound magic, right? Well, in my opinion, there is no reason you can’t just skip levels of mastery. So what I want you to do, every time you cast a fire spell hold that stone in your hand. Shadow, lightning, wind, same thing. Every single time I want you to think about that stone in your hand as you cast your spells. I want you to envision the weight. The feel, the smell, even the sensation of casting the magic while holding that particular stone. I want you to do it so often and so frequently and so reliably that at some point you are going to have a very, very clear idea of the exact particulars of all those sensations even when you’re not casting magic or holding that stone.” Aidan spread his arms wide. “When you have a good feeling of what the stones feel like in your hand and you don’t need to look at them to know which is which -- I want you to… not use the stones. I want you to hold your hands out, get that clear picture of that stone and the spell and try to cast it without speaking it.”

“You’re trying to teach me profound magic when I’m still only a Novice?” Shade smirked. “I mean, I’ll do it, because it makes sense in a crazy person sort of way. Do you really think I’ll skip mastery levels though? It won’t help me level up my avatar, it’ll just be skill level.”

Aidan patted him on the shoulder again. “How terrifying would it be for there to be a level 50 to level 200 wizard whose mastery was at Profound? I don’t think there would be anything, or anyone, within 100 levels that could beat you. Wouldn’t you be a genius?”

Shade put the stones in his pocket after rolling them around in his hand for a moment. He looked away from Aidan and then continued to watch Sen’s ascension in her battle against Arpeggio. “I’ll think about it. Thank you.”

“That would be terrifying.” Forsythe couldn’t help himself. Aidan had talked and Amelia could see the barest hints of excitement in the big man’s form. Forsythe really wanted Shade to do it now. “I’ll give you and Sen ice cream if you manage it in a week.”

“A week?” Shade’s face scrunched into a pained look. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Too much time?” Forsythe was at a loss as he glanced back to Amelia. “4 days?”

“A week is fine!” Shade snapped irritably.

Amelia was starting to laugh when she sensed and heard the change in the falling rocks. There was sudden thunder that brought all their attention back to the aerial battle. The rocks had begun accelerating randomly and sporadically in their descent. Hammering into the floor with incredible force.

Sen was now struggling to quickly find foot-holds as well as propel herself upward in time. Arpeggio, for the first time, looked as if he were struggling too.

“You have done exceptionally well. It has already been fifteen minutes? It is true that you are a marvel of skill. With time you will gain complete mastery over this ability and sore effortlessly through the sky! You may descend whenever you are ready, and I will reward you.” Arpeggio praised.

“Look at that.” Aidan marveled. “He is worried he’ll lose.”

“I detect concern,” Forsythe’s gaze had sharpened as well.

“No wonder. Sen was only a beginner when she started. The longer this goes on the more incredible she will become. As long as she can keep up mentally it’s just going to get easier and easier.” Amelia grinned. “Still. If he said she’s done she can come down.”

“Don’t look down on Sen,” Shade said sullenly. “She isn’t that weak.”

Amelia started to give him a baffled look. When had any of them said anything about being weak? Okay, there was that slow comment but...

Almost as if they were in sync, the moment those words left Shade’s mouth Sen had looked over at Arpeggio for a fraction of a second, a cold look on her face. Anger was clearly chiseled in her cheeks. All this buildup and he was telling her she could give up. Instead of going down she started to go higher. The rocks were harder to navigate because they were appearing. Within moments she was fifty meters higher than Arpeggio and climbing. Almost reluctantly he began chasing her upward.

“You’re doing well too. I’ll come down if you go down first!” Sen shouted.

“Hahaha! Amusing. Amusing!” Arpeggio spread his arms out and started using them to propel himself upward and push rocks that were coming down out of his way, rapidly ascending and making her previous speed look slow in comparison. “I like you! You’re really amusing!”

Sen didn’t respond. She noticed he was gaining on her and looked upward, moving magnificently upward. They were well over a 100 meters in the air now, and that was the moment that Arpeggio’s attitude changed.

“But not everything will go the way you want. Though I will concede victory to you, you need a lesson!” Arpeggio leapt through the falling rocks, pushing and shoving them aside and struck out at her.

Aidan and Forsythe shouted as one and started rushing into the field. Despite their very sincere attempt to go to her aid they couldn’t get a start upward because the rocks were accelerating so fast at midway that trying to jump on top of one to get started into the air was basically impossible.

Shade and Amelia made no move at all. Amelia because she didn’t know what to do, and Shade because, well, he just didn’t look worried. A tight smile was starting to form at the edges of his mouth. “You really didn’t understand her at all.”

Sen saw him coming and leaped higher. He was coming, and the way he was moving made it very clear to her that he had every intention of swiping or pulling, perhaps even kicking her the 100 meters to the floor. When he was finally in range she paused, riding the rock she was on for a moment as if she were simply standing on a falling platform. She watched him with cold eyes as he neared and leaped a final time, far higher than any of her previous jumps from a single foothold.

“[Sky Wolf Impaling Kick].” She shouted, angling the heel of her boot toward his face. There was no real time to react and from the look of utter shock on his face her only reaction was a cold smile. The heel of her boot struck his forearms as he crossed them, and then they were both falling through the rocks.

Arpeggio did nothing but block. He looked as if that single kick would end his life if he took it insincerely. Sen put her entire weight and the force of her jump into the special skill and careened toward the ground while he blocked the whole way. Moments before they were both to hit the floor Sen lowered her arms and then her hips, and amazingly, leaped off his forearms, using Arpeggio as a foothold to upjump off of. Arpeggio crashed into the ground with a thunderous cacophony, and Sen landed effortlessly on the ground near him. All the rocks vanished, and for a moment there was silence as the beautiful man raised himself from the ground. A sly and infuriated grin on his face.

“[Aura].” Amelia immediately cast the special stat boost on the group, anticipating a battle. Aidan was already moving into the field now that the rocks had faded with Forsythe on his heels, saber drawn.

“I concede.” Arpeggio said suddenly. “That I might be found unworthy before a child. This is a glad day. I see you, child of Aspiria. I name you Skysoar.” He held out a hand toward her and a red line appeared, instead of gathering information it appeared to be originating from him. “Reap your reward and guard our world in all your endeavors. Do not shame me.”

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Special Local Announcement - Sen has achieved level 76.

She has been granted the special sub-class: Ascender; bonuses and special skills will be available while ascending, falling, or flying.

She has been granted the special title: Heavy Climber Specialist

She has been granted the special morale: Indomitable.

[Title Earned]: Skysoar

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Global Announcement - Special Sub-Class: Ascender is unlocked.

Results: Pre-requisites for special movement based combat class will be sent to training academies and martial teachers around all the continents.

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Sen wavered slightly, her face tilted upward in a look of absolute disbelief. “Uhh, I uhh, is 1500 fame a lot for one quest?”

“So-so.” Forsythe allowed, coming to a halt beside her and waving his hand. He looked pretty perturbed, indicating that he did indeed think it was a lot and just didn’t want to say it to her. It was a lot for twenty minutes of work with what he considered ‘low-risk’ at any rate.

Arpeggio vanished, and it wasn’t for a few minutes that the rocks began descending in their comparatively slow manner. The same manner that they had first fallen in before he had come.

Sen turned to Shade, excitement bubbling onto her face. “Did you see that? That was good, right? I’m good. Pretty much amazing. I mean you think so right? Wow.”

Shade smiled and moved toward her. He put his hand on her cheek and smiled down at her while she grabbed his wrist with her hand and closed her eyes as she put more pressure on her cheek. The rest of the group tried to ignore the fact they had been forgotten.