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  [colpse]Chapter One Hundred and Forty - Repetition is the Mother of All Learning

  I focused as I raised my hand and narrowed my eyes at the dummy standing across from me.

  First, the mana. A nice big blob of it formed in my cupped hand and began to warm up. It still took a few long seds for the mana to turn into Fire Aspect. I’d o work on that. If I was ever in a fight again and I wanted Fire Aspect mana, then I’d probably in a bit of a hurry.

  The first part was the trickiest. I’d figured out the mix of fire and ing magieeded to cast sticky fireballs, but not for making it easily. I always had to make fire mana first, and then i it full of ing mana. I couldn’t do it the other way around. Well, not without it kinda busting.

  The sed trickiest part was f not one, but three sets of three fireballs at the same time. They were lio each other is of three by a thin ‘wire’ of mana. It looked like er balloons tied end-on-end, eae no bigger than a lemon and glowing with the reddish-white mix of ing and fire aspect manas.

  I think having a bit of ing mana in the mix was helping with the trol over the ehing, otherwise there was no way I could get it all together without the plex spell bursting apart.

  It wasn’t that eadividual spell was plicated. I could still recall Severin, my first temporary teacher in the magical arts, expining to me that Fireball was just about the simplest spell there was.

  “Multi Deyed-Cast Sticky Fireball!” I called.

  Nine Fireballs rushed out, three tight groupings of three.

  The first set missed the dummy entirely, the sed had one Fireball smato the dummy’s head, and the third set had another hit. Those fireballs with the right mix of ing magi them lit up the dummy ahe fire on it for way longer.

  “Two out of nine!” I cheered as I bounced up and down.

  “You really don’t o shout so much,” Amaryllis said.

  I turned over to my friend who was sitting on a sort of lounge chair at the back of the training area. She had a tall gss of something with i it on a table o her, and a harpy book about puppetry on her p. Ahis one about nervous systems, of all things, was resting oable.

  “It makes the spell cooler,” I said.

  She sighed. “Whatever.”

  Turning back to the dummy, I felt a big bubble of pride grow in my tummy, all warm and fuzzy at the sight of the fire still lig away at the wooden struct.

  Fire and dummies were a match made in heaven.

  I gasped.

  “What is it?” Amaryllis asked.

  “I got a new skill!” I said even as the prompt opened before me.

  Ding! For repeating a Special A a suffit number of times you have unlocked the general skill: Matchmaking!

  I stared. “What?”

  Amaryllis went back to her book. “When you’re ready do tell me.”

  “I... I am fused.”

  “How unusual,” Amaryllis said without looking up.

  I pouted at her, but she couldn’t see it. So, instead, I popped open the new skill’s description.

  MatchmakingRank F - 00%The ability to spark a mat others

  I squi the description. “Amaryllis, I got a skill that doesn’t make sense.”

  She finally looked up. “Not Mana Manipution or something along those lines?”

  I shook my head. “I got Matchmaking. It says it’s meant to spark a mat others.”

  Now even Amaryllis looked stumped. “That’s... iing. I’ve heard of the skill. Some old stickybeaks who ’t mind their own business say that they have it. They try to get everyoched up with everyone else. Ask Rose about them some day, she loves to rant.”

  “I don’t want to be an old gossip,” I grumbled. “I just want to light things on fire.”

  She tapped a feather to her . “The situation with Rhawrexdee, the thing with Rose and Awen.. yes I see why you ended up with the skill. Now all you o do is grow out some grey feathers and stoop over a bit and you’ll fit right in with the old gossips.”

  “Amaryllis!” I protested. She cackled. “Don’t be so mean or I’ll use my new skill on you.”

  “Don’t you dare,” she said. “Or I’ll start using you to practice my puppeteering skills.”

  I stuck my to at her.

  Iy, my new skill didn’t sound that bad. If its Rank C was anything like Friendmaking, then it might be very handy.

  NameBroccoli Bunbsp; Ra (Riftwalker) First Cssamon Bun Bun First Css Level

  10? Sed CssWondernder Sed Css Level

  1? Age

  16?  Health

  135? Stamina

  145? Mana

  125?  Resilience

  45? Flexibility

  55? Magic

  25?  SkillsRank amon Bun Bun Skills ingA - 11% Way of the MystiE - 49% GardeningD - 24% AdorableD - 100% DangD - 90%  Wondernder Skills Tea MakingE - 93%  General Skills InsightC - 72% Makeshift on ProficyD - 100% ArcheologyF - 63% FriendmakingC - 29% MatchmakingF - 00%   amon Bun Bun Skill Points

  4? Wondernder Skill Points

  1? General Skill Points

  4?   First Css Skill Slots

  0? Sed Css Skill Slots

  0? General Skill Slots

  5?  I had a few points I could spend across the board. Not only that, I had a few skills that were ripe for rank-ups soon, and I had the points to spend. A bit more practid I’d be even strohan before!

  Acc to Amaryllis, people didn’t start taking you seriously unless you were deep into your sed tier, or even ihird. But at the rate I was going, that could take months.

  “We o adventure more,” I said.

  “World no. I think I’ve done more than enough to risk my life i few weeks, thank you very much.”

  “Ah, but what about our diplomatic mission? Wouldn’t it be easier if we were stronger?”

  Amaryllis paused. “It would be. How about you tih your Fireball training. I’m certain that a few hundred more hours of practice would allow you to reach basipetence.”

  I huffed at her, one of her own ‘I’m going to do it, but I find you silly’ huffs. Judging by the fused look that crossed her face, she kly what I meant.

  My multicast Fireball was still in its mana-blob state when the ch of gravel behind me had me looking over my shoulder to see Clemeepping into the training grounds. “Oh, don’t mind me,” she said.

  I nodded and refocused on my spell. I wasn’t getting faster by leaps and bounds, but I was managing to chip away a sed here and there as I got used to the cast. I was sure that with a few more days of practice I’d be able to cast the ehing in uen seds.

  This time, when the volley went off, only one of the balls hit the dummy, but it was right sma the middle of its wooden head, so I called it a victory.

  “Iing,” Clementine said. “A sort of scattershot approach. Probably good fe swarms of enemies with det evasion.”

  “I’m surprised you know that much,” Amaryllis said.

  “I might not be a batant, but I’m not a fool,” Clementine said. “Besides, you o know a thing or two if yoing to have a versation with some of the older folks at some gatherings. You wouldn’t believe how much they prattle on about who has the biggest spell.”

  “Are they all veterans?” I asked. Maybe they were like a club filled with Abraham Bristlees.

  “No. Only one in ten is past their sed tier. Most took decades to evehat far.” She shook her head. “They, and unfortunately, myself, are career politis and business birds. We’re ill-suited to fighting. Not that that would stop them from dreaming.”

  “Maybe one day I'll deign to escort you through a dungeon,” Amaryllis said. I’d never heard her sound so smug before.

  Clementine harrumphed. “I’d rather hire a professional, not someoill pying with dolls.”

  Amaryllis just grinned. “I have pns for these dolls. You’ll see.”

  “Oh, I’m certain,” Clementine said. “Now, I didn’t leave off my work to e and antagonize and mock you, Amaryllis, as amusing as that is.”

  Amaryllis sat up straighter. “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, nothing is wrong. It’s just that news of our little... mission for you and your friends has gotten out. Not to too many ears, but it did reae important people.”

  “Politics?” Amaryllis asked.

  Clementine nodded. “Politics,” she agreed. “They seem ambivalent about our little pn, thinking it quite... quaint and uo be needed. Still, they want to meet.”

  “Why would they think that?” I asked. The pn seemed pretty sound. If the diplomats couldn’t make it because of sabotage or something, then we’d pick up the torch. If they did make it, then we’d just be there to see how things went. It seemed... easy enough.

  “ Albatross has some history, and more importantly, we have a lot of money. But the ing Kingdom doesn’t run on gold, it runs on es and favours and old ties. Until a geion ago our was fairly small but well-respected. We had few rivals, generally minded our own business, and were just small enough to stay out of the bigger political games.”

  “Don’t you guys own the biggest shipyards now?” I asked.

  “We own them because the older a is, the slower it is to move,” Clementine said. “Tradition is as much a shackle as it is a tool. When our parents saw the opportunity to start building in airely new industry they were some of the first to move, and they pushed it hard. We had the first mover advantage and we’ve kept it. Now we’re one of the richest families around.”

  “That’s goht?” I asked.

  “It is for us. But some of the older s get jealous. It’s a good thing that we are a , and ohat was well-respected. I ’t imagine what would have happened if the shipyards would have opened under a less harpy’s trol. As it is, we’ve been bullied and threatened and coerced from the momearted to rise, but we had the es and the political clout to fend off most of that.”

  “That doesn’t sound very nice,” I said.

  “It’s politics. We’re still politically weak, but eically strong. It’s a strange position to be in, and the inverse of many other s. With new tracts ing in from the Royal Navy, that might well ge. s want their children to captain our ships, but they ’t do that without training that only rovide.”

  I nodded slowly. I could kinda see what was going on. “So now they want favours from you?”

  “Yes. It’s why they’re snooping so much. This mission you, Amaryllis, and Awen are going on might very well be far more important than they’re giving it credit.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  Clementine nodded. “You’re a Riftwalker.”

  I blinked and looked over to Amaryllis who blushed a bit. “I... might have let slip one hint too many in a letter bae.”

  “We’ve kept it between us,” Clementine said. “Myself, Rose, our parents. That’s all.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t get the e here.”

  “The World tends to throw Riftwalkers into all the most iing spots of trouble. Historically speaking, that is,” Clementine said. “I’m hoping that we udge things along. If the official diplomatic mission flops like a chi its first flight, then it will be up to Amaryllis, Awen and yourself to take up the mantle. Amaryllis who is a daughter of Albatross. It’s a lot of... political bragging rights, let’s call it.”

  I crossed my arms and thought about it for a moment, which Clementine seemed happy to let me do. “I’m not sure if I like being used like that, even if it’s food cause. I... I just want to go on adventures and have fun.”

  Clementine nodded slowly. “That’s fair. It’s why we don’t mind pensating you for your troubles.”

  I had the impression there was more than just that going on. “,” I said.

  ***