Chapter 11: Another day, another lesson

Not long after their conversation the three headed back to the nest to rest for the next day, before getting up early as the sun rose in the sky. Spectre and Apollo sparred, Spectre used his sword to hone his ability to manipulate it, Apollo's ability to react and fight back the sword itself. This helped to hone each of their skills.

On the other hand, Yuki began to plant different flowers he had been acquiring for some of the gold he made. He had bought wood, and crafted small gardens for each of the plants. Some didn't need much watering, other a lot.

This was easy to do: as a source of water was not far from the grove. He planted some aromatic plants in the nest, as well as plants that exuded a substance to the air that healed the body naturally which would help to hone their bodies while they slept in the future. As well as any Knicks or light bruises that occurs during the day. Outside he planted some vegetable seeds, and a small fruit tree in the middle of the roof. He smiled ever so lovingly to the tree. It was the same type their old fortress was made around.

The boys washed up with some water they stored in their rings. Before putting on fresh clothes, and walking towards the ladder and down to the street they helped the old woman tidy up her garden, and got a breakfast out of it. Pleasing quite well the lads as they started their day on a full stomach.

"See ya later!" "Bye man! "Bye bros!"

They each parted ways, going off to their teachers. Another day and another lesson to learn.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spectre approached the large forge building, and like last morning used his strength to nudge the door open. Although it took as long, his arms didn't feel as strained as he pulled, it still took some effort however.

"Boy! Do I have a thing for you to see heh heh..." Boss' grinning smile and bags under his eyes, obviously came from have staying up all night to forge and craft.

"Oh? Let me see, let me see!" Spectre ran over. A cloth covered rod was sitting on the erected earth table. Spectre eyed with it with deep curiosity.

"Behold!" Boss said with great pride, pulling away the cloth in a showy manner like an illusionist's trick. What appeared made Spectre's eyes widen.

"A spear??" He picked it up only to find it was light as a feather. He saw that the head hadn't been mounted to it yet, so it was still just the shaft.

"So…tell me, what is the hidden door to this weapon?" Boss asked.

Spectre began to look over it in contemplation before he noticed a button press in the middle of it. It was a short staff, with a woven handle. It had one side that sloped into a point like a javelin, on the other side of the long handle, was a second handle segmented off and just over a third in length to the large handle. At the top of it was a smooth edge but somehow like when he first gazed at it he knew that a spear head was to go here.

"The unlocking mechanism is in the handle, covered by the cloth with barely a small bulge to show so. But how can you equip a head if there isn't an indent at the end or cord?"

"First press the button, and then hold the end handle, thrust forward." Boss said with amusement.

"Hmm…" Spectre did as he was told and thrust out, the spear extended forth gaining a couple feet. Different spear segments were hidden in the small and large handle. Creating a segment between the small and large handle and two segments between the large handle and the pointed end.

"Wow…this is amazing Boss. You designed the segments to be just below the threshold of the main handle acting as a compartment space, the end has a solid inside for a weight for when you thrust it to pull out the mechanism to lock the segments into place. It as well has one towards the top, except the top is hollow and has a dense segment between the large handle and the small handle." Spectre concluded after weighing it in his hand.

"Boy don't go figuring it out like that too fast, makes me feel you already came up with it" Boss laughed.

"Hahaha I love it though! This is a well-made design and structure"

"Oh…now you're the teacher telling his student of what he made with pride?"

"Hahaha" Spectre laughed back, "Sorry boss…"

"No no, it's a good thing lad. I call it a grafting spear." Boss said with thought.

"Grafting? Isn't that like when you graft a patch to pants? How can you graft something to the spear?" Spectre asked obviously confused, trying to wrap his head around what that meant.

"Well this involves you Spectre, remember that Dagord you made? Try placing it at the end" Boss gave a direction to the smooth end above the small handle.

"Ohm…eh?" He pulled the Dagord from his waist. Placing it at the end, he found a pulling force that kept it at the end.

"You see… This is a type of support sticking, those that wield it can add on something of the affinity they use. If an earth user like myself were to do it, look" He took the spear from Spectre, placing his hand at the top. A deep green shine went into the small handle; the blade fell off into Spectre's awaiting hands.

Boss then placed it towards a stone block near him, smooth end touching it with a small amount of green light coming from it, the stone stuck to the end as he hefted it up turning the spear into a long handled hammer.

"Holy shit?....Oh sorry for cussing Boss" Spectre said looking down.

"No boy…Holy shit is right! Damn well better say that, it took me all night to come up with this!"

"Boss, this is amazing. Tell me how the magic functions to do that?"

"That…is today's lesson! There are such things as arrays, and in fact the furnaces around you actually utilize fire arrays. I'm no master, but I can tell you that arrays are something I have definitely studied in my many years. This specific array is one that draws in energy from the user, this is the basic way in which a magic weapon is utilized by drawing the energy type of the user into it. Then it turns that energy into an exo shape, or outer manipulation such as a fire user pumping his energy into a sword, the array then creates a path way for it so that when he swipes out a fire arc is created. If the craft is well made, it can even maximize or double the effect or power of it.

I've been studying a type of array that I've created, and with your transformative weapon idea it created a deep Epiphone for me. A transformative array! One that can utilize different energies, you could say it's a blank array, and when energy is poured into it. It becomes a utilization array of that type. This once creates an open ended force, and when the element affinity is pumped into the staff, an attraction is created between the spear and that element type. Such as this stone block, and for your metal affinity your blade" He said with deep wisdom.

"That...is amazing." The only words Spectre could think of to say as he drew in what Boss had said to him? This array type suited him very well as he had many affinities.

"Teach me it!"

"Hahaha you are a sure fire apprentice, alright I shall" He smiled, "Go grab some paper, and we shall begin with the basics. By the end of the day you should be able to learn about it, it is a basic level all-purpose array. It could be considered a level one jack of all trades, master of none array.

However, because of its diversity… it can be quite useful with those with different affinities…."

Boss continued to explain about the different properties and symbology behind arrays. That a circle is the foundation and points are the factor. The lines that connect the points relate to exo or indo.

Utilization of internal or external energies. Circles outside or connected to the main circle mean that there are items or things that are used as the basis of energy by the array such as crystals that supply it with energy, or ore stones, or whatever is needed per the array type.

Spectre listened to every word with reverence, noting word for word what he said on page after page. Before too long, he had a small book containing the profound knowledge his teacher was gifting him. From beginning to end, Boss was surprised to find that Spectre adeptly understood every word he said.

The more he learned, the more he would converge his thoughts to answer questions Boss would say. He did make mistakes coming to conclusions sometimes, but as Boss pointed out them, Spectre would contently pull in that knowledge and change to what he thought to create a final truth. With this speed within just several hours, Boss was watching as Spectre drew out with chalk on the earth table. He had grabbed 4 different ores, and then planted 4 sigils, and words connecting them like lines.

He put in activation energy which didn't need a pertinent affinity type. This started a chain reaction, which began to make the ores revolve around the circle until they turned to dust particles, they looked like a maelstrom of sand. Before too long the sand separated and came to the different 4 circles creating 4 ore piles of sand.

"Well done laddy! Not one mistake for the first level stone to sand spell, you picked it up fast boy. Now try the next spell I taught you…" Boss handed him phosphorous powder from a bag, which Spectre used in another circle. This time after he activated it, the phosphorous ignited and began to burn, the 4 ore piles of sand began to melt and turn hard into glass. The metal they contained, was drawn from the table into a 5th circle, the output circle. 4 little globular orbs of glass set down on the table as they cooled.

"And yet again…sand to glass and ore extraction too went perfectly. Although you could make some improvements in the energy control to a level in which it makes 4 perfect glass spheres. Well done, I am very proud of you!" Boss said as he patted Spectre's back with a laugh. Spectre replied with not a thank you but a smile.

"This is level one transmutation, the basic law is that which is, is what it stays. The meaning behind this is that equal amounts of something do create something else. Although the quantity is unchanged, and the amount put in is the amount that comes out… there are indeed such things as refining arrays that change the quality of what is within them. This does not mean that what seems to disappear is gone, it becomes gas or energy that dissipates once the array is unlocked. Which if not controlled properly can be explosive remember this and be meticulous with arrays. When you do not it can be volatile or dangerous." Boss said with a serious tone.

"I understand" Spectre said in return humbly.

"Now, to teach you about that…" Boss's voice trailed off as he touched the ground, he could feel a ripple of movement outside the door of the building.

"Boy…You are the best apprentice I've ever had. Take this..." He handed a booklet to Spectre as well as a bag from his inside jacket. "…do not make a sound…"

He thrust his hands to the ground, which opened up as Spectre fell into a small room made of stone. The grate that leads water from quenching was what actually leads to this room hidden in the floor. The levy the water was carried through, went through a deep ravine in the middle of the room to contain the water, and allow this secret room to be dry.

'Why…?' Spectre had lifted himself up off the floor when he heard the forge main door burst open and clang across the floor. Spectre held his breath as he listened.

"Hey buddy…Seems like one of your workers spilled his guts to us that you're the one who has what we have been looking for"

"I don't know what you're talking about" Boss said with a serious but strangely cold tone Spectre had never heard come from him before.

"Bull shit...We know you have the Lord Crystal. Ya know the one with the power to use different elements, even if it's the jack of all trades level and master of none. It's still our clans. You know the one…"

Spectre realized that this crystal may definitely be in Boss's possession, he peeked into the bag and saw the grafting spear sitting inside, except next to it was a rod with a line splitting it from top to bottom. It had to be a container.

"Even if I did have it, I know that your clan stole it from another clan. One in fact that I come from... even if I did have it, I would never give it to you, after possibly it be taken back from your clans thieving hands." Boss said in a deeper cold tone, filled with murderous intent.

"It's good you said that, because even as you feel pride for your clan, you are the only one who does."

"What does that mean…"

"It means we found every single one of the coward run aways hiding from us, and tortured all of them. None of them said anything, and none of them had the crystal on them…Either way, we still have to kill you and look to find out."

"You bastard! Fuck you! Fuck your whole Deathwood clan! You ugly thieving bastards, taking what other good hearted clans find in the danger lands for yourselves. You were thieves, and now your grave robbers! Fuck you!" Boss yelled with the intent to kill.

Spectre felt two pounding quakes on the ground as it rumbled, he looked through the holes in the floor to see if it was Boss. Stones were rising from the ground and shooting at the men with their faces covered. Pillars were erected while stones like meteorites were shooting at their bodies. The hooded man laughed an eerie laugh, "You fool…"

He pulled his sleeve as a black wood came out of the floor blocking the flying stones, and vines flew out from his sleeves in massive proportions blocking the pillars and larger stones. His subordinates shot arrows out, they began to surround boss who was losing energy fast. He couldn't stay on the defensive or the hooded man's plant manipulation would crush his earth as he was a higher level then him. He knew he would fail on the offensive as he was alone against many. Regardless…

"Never give up! Never let those that are evil win! Stand tall even to death, and fight with your true heart even unto it!" As if speaking to the heavens themselves Boss yelled, which reverberated the stone and the ground began to shake, the roof began to fall down landing on one of the men crushing him. Blood splattered the floor as guts flew in a splash.

Boss used all of the energy he had left, disregarding the arrows that began to penetrate his chest. Over 15 arrows stuck into him before he slowly succumbed to the blood loss. Kneeling to the ground he slumped with his head bowed and breathe shallow.

The hooded man laughed as he walked over unsheathing a Dark wood handled scimitar, a blade well known and claimed by the Deathwood clan.

"You fool…dying just like the rest of them." He drew the blade up.

Spectre covered his mouth as tears fell to the ground. Mixing with the sound of dripping blood hitting the floor above him, slowly flowing down the grate he was seeing through. The corners of bosses eyes looked at him and winked. Spectre looked at him, this was the closest person he had as a father figure. Boss started laughing, blood flowing from his mouth. He clapped his hands together, and the stone table as well as one adjacent to the room flew towards him, they met with the two men inbetween. The hooded man didn't have time to react as boss's head was lobbed off in a final act to kill that which wanted to kill him. The stones met and crushed them together. Boss's rolling head the only thing not pulverized by the stones collision.

"Damn that arrogant bastard…" One of the surviving hooded men bellowed. Spectre couldn't tell which person he was talking about.

Bosses head rolled down to the grate Spectre was looking through, blood from his eyes looking like tears as they streamed from his face, a sad but gallant smile still on his face.

He watched as the man who spoke before ran over and picked up Boss's head. "Let's go before the outer sect here finds out about this and informs the inner sect." The man whipped out the door in a flash with 5 of the remaining men alive. One of the men threw out lit fire sticks that started to set the place a flame as the thick pillars of wood that were the foundation began to burn. Obviously to cover up there tracks.

After they left, Spectre bellowed with fierce hatred in his eyes, tears streaming down his face as he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"I WILL AVENGE YOU!!!" He called out in anguish and anger.

He took his blade, and cut open the wooden grate. He crawled out and ran around the room and stored ores within his ring. Storing a small furnace as well as stowed away some tools for forging.

The very things he learned, and that Boss earned he would use to kill that whole clan. After he packed the spatial ring, he took out the metal disk he was given, and proceeded to leap onto it and manipulate it to levitate and move at the greatest speed he could muster south to Apollo. It was dusk at the moment.