99 || Vs The Apex! Results of Tara's Training!

"...Sigh. I really can't crack this by now?" Izel pulls back her focus from what she was working on. Her floating chair has turned into a floating desk after furthered the modifications with the knowledge and resources she gained from the academy. The three suns of her world were setting soon but here she was outside the gate placed just before school. This was the Boundary Gate similar found in Tara and Aelix's worlds as well.

Izel would spend the last few hours every day trying to break what the runes depict. Several notebooks are piled up on one side of the desk as Izel, and while having the Ancient Alphabet helped, it wasn't enough. Every third letter or third word was obscured or hazy no matter what ocular Skill or Spell Izel used. It was certainly frustrating to keep hitting a block for a reason she couldn't figure out. It's as she's about to call it a day that Pakeej sends a message:

[Meet me in the Room I think I found something interesting ;D]

That's enough for Izel to grin. Pakeej always seemed to find herself or those around her in trouble. This always called those around her to never run out of boredom even if they did get chewed out when they got caught. Izel doesn't exit immediately but instead gets her virtual body ready for the night. No point in waking up in front of a Gate she can't decode giving her morning annoyance.

***

Three weeks pass in Tara's Story, during which she's shown great progress in different fields thanks to the Sleepscape. With the Hundred Iron Arms resources, Tara was able to make a stable prototype of the Crystal Armament. Even the ones she saw as scraps earned her praise from the Forging and Weapon Masters of the sect because of their sturdiness and sharpness. She had broken down and remodeled her bracelets to store hidden daggers within them.

Thankfully new bracelets didn't lose their abilities or that of the Keys. The daggers weren't as ornate as Sun Claw or Moon Fang but because the two were fully integrated into her mind and soul spaces, their effects and Skills also carried over.

Between the Daggers Arts she was learning and An's training, Tara was able to successfully complete her first Retention Techniques <Lunar River Arts> and <Solar Coulee Arts>. It was only a single offensive strike and defensive move, but it was a step forward.

She even acquired a new Title, Technique Maker! The effects of either move would increase by 10 percent! The most exciting part was getting minor mastery in using her Nodes and their respective Clones. Thanks to the Sleepscape and each Clone focusing on a different area of study, they grew rapidly and solidly. Not only did she increase her understanding of pill refinement, Tara realized that she could summon her Clones to her side no matter the distance. While she didn't understand the property behind it, it was good to know.

Tara could now access the Node Creation Technique, and bestow them to other people. The Nodes steadily created their respective Wisps, which in turn passively touched the different Gates. With Tara actively focusing on her eyes, once the energy present was completely turned into Wisps, she'll have opened the Southern Gate.

A wonderful bonus Tara had discovered was when she used her lunar sense with a Mindful Dark Wisp. Her mental senses now expand to 150 meters in an instant, double of what it should be for a mid stage Vein Plating. Furthermore, the two fusing created the Insight Stat and a passive pressure ability called Somber Insight. Sadly there wasn't a description of what either did exactly, but Tara was certain it was powerful.

Amazingly, thanks to her Cluster Soma and Ordained Soul, she gained the ability to control her physical and spiritual pressures a bit more. The latter was harder to do but the former came naturally. When combined with a Gravity Body Wisp with her Impinge and Light Soul Wisp with Inure, that created the Instinct Stat and Intuition Stat. The passive pressure skills Fluctuating Instinct and Lambent Intuition were added to her Skills list as well, but with no details. Her physical senses only extend outwards to about 5 meters, half that of someone who just became a Sensory Expert. Her spiritual sense is harder to pinpoint an exact distance, since it was more of a vague feeling.

Actually, it's only when all three Stats are revealed that Tara finally notices the Soul Brand placed on her. She recognizes that energy signature from her natural sparring sessions with her grandfather, resting just above her between her abdomen and her navel.

An has a look of pride once the Mindful Dark asks about it, stating that it means she's closer to start utilizing mental pressure and eventually Intent. They would start those lessons the next day. This prompts Tara to end her session abruptly!

Tara downs a few Tempos before sitting cross-legged within her room. She's not worried about her Node Clones nor her Guardians for once. Something she discovered during the end of a recent session was that her Sleepscape can keep all of them, including her virtual body, active while she's offline! It was basically a passive growth!

At the moment, Tara probes where the Soul Brand should be. For some reason it's actually easier to sense within her natural body. That's because, she realizes, she recognizes that energy. It belongs to her grandfather Boying! He must have used a Retention Technique on her, most likely when she was born. But why does everyone keep addressing it as ancient, especially enough to worry Msiretsa?

It's then that Tara makes a connection to what was missing: her own spiritual energy. What truly catches Tara's surprise is that she can mimic the Twin Sphere and her Soul Realm circulation techniques. It seemed like using the Soul Brand as a conduit allowed her to tap into her own spirit.

Granted none of her three energies are a match for her virtual body, nor could she summon her aura yet if at all. After several cycles, however, Tara does sense her three energies tapping along where her 12 Gates should be!

Tara does think that she should attempt to open them naturally and see if there's any effect virtually. Though, it'd be safer to let her family know and monitor her just in case. With that Tara contacts her grandma Ahana and grandfather Boying. Both are shocked, one because she wasn't told such a technique had been used on Tara as well as herself, the other because he hadn't thought Tara would use his Energy Marking technique like this.

"I'm going to have to give you a monitor bracelet as you do this." Ahana says as she pulls out a bracelet, glaring at Boying. Despite all his strength and status, he has a nervous look in his eyes and a sheepish smile.

"I only did it because you're family! It's a protective measure, I can only sense general direction and if you're in danger. I didn't think it would allow her to tap into her spiritual energy this early!" He tries to argue.

"You should have at least told me! 20 years you've marked all of us and I find out because our only grandbaby is trying to experiment with an untested aspect." She counters, glowering harder.

My little Star, this will help you keep track of your three energies and any irregularities immediately. Both I and this idiot man will be notified the picosecond something goes amiss. For now, practice in moderation please."

Tara goes on to explain what happened starting with the setting of the Nodes, the Gates, and ending up with how her Clones had been divided in training.

"You created an Infant Power Locus so soon? Even three of them?" Boying blinks in surprise, not having expected such a thing from Tara so soon. He didn't even start forming one till the third campaign. They would often be an vestigial organ within the body, like Izel's Twin Metallic Cores. Power Locus harmonized a person's energies while being able to be turned into Retention Techniques with enough comprehension.

"First you have several virtual beings aware of the natural world, and now this." Ahana laughs helplessly, before noticing Boying flinch ever so slightly. Ahana narrows her eyes causing Boying to sweat. How her husband hands such a look often baffles him. "That is of course a certain old coot hasn't been hiding something else from me."

"...Certainly not today." He replies with some trepidation.

Ahana huffs, her nose flaring before she turns back to Tara and kissing her forehead. "I'm going to return to the control center and make sure everything is aligned. You two head to the holochamber. Be sure to turn on the damage counter, I want numbers to work with as she practices with this Wisp energy. None of that 'oh it feels powerful' crap!"

Tara went through her different energies. The basic physical, mind, and spirit energies did 20-30-50 damage. Her combined Wisps did 100-200-500 damage respectively. Finally, there was the Solar Ember Wisp which did a stunning 850 damage!

Tara also tested her Elemental Raiment and physical force concentration, 250 and 350 damage, and even fused them.

Because force concentration was an internal focus of energy it didn't clash with Tara's Light covered hand, but amplified it! The damage broke 1000! Even her grandfather was caught off guard by the display.

"You mentioned having a Skill or two you haven't tested yet?" Boying says, waving his hand to dispeling the damage counter dummy and also blocking the recording system. Ahana would understand that he was teaching Tara something new and even she wasn't privy to all his secrets.

Tara nods. "They're attached to a piece of jewelry I got, yeah. They seem really powerful so I want them to be my hidden cards in a fight."

"Alright then, show them to me! Attack with all you've got, don't worry about holding back!" Boying grins as he places his hands in his pockets. Tara hesitates for a moment but then considers just who her grandfather is. If he couldn't take an attack from some newbie like her, even with her foundation, he wouldn't be the strongest in the world.

A swirl of crimson red energy wrapped around Tara before forming a hooded cloak. The bottom edges looked like flames as only her eyes could be seen from within the shadowed area. Kicking off her left foot, Tara seemingly vanished--if she were before an average person! Boying catches her fist in his palm, dispersing the physical force she has in the attack with his own. The extra flame damage only registers as [Fire Extremity in place! Damage Absorbed!].

Tara twists her body to kick him, and for a moment the crimson cloak flashes amber orange. To both their surprise, Boying does take a small amount of damage, but it's here Tara learns what that previous status means.

Beyond Immunity, which occurs at 100% Resistance, is Extremity. The fire damage that would be ignored instead heals Boying! Tara is so caught off guard that she's thrown across the room without realizing it. Boying frowns inwardly because of his mixed feelings. Solar energy isn't something that should have gotten past his defenses like that.

Tara doesn't give him time to ponder more as she's recovered her footing. Rushing forward, this time there's a flicker of dark blue in her cloak as she taps into the Bedawing Angelic Sun Arrays energy! Unlike the previous strike, Tara does four times the damage. Even more shocking is Boying's Fire Extremity is completely ignored!