The Wanderer's Rebirth: Other Paths

The rest of that afternoon saw Joram setting up targets are various ranges, blowing them to confetti, repairing them, and then starting the whole process over again. He only eventually stopped when the light got too bad for him to see that far away, which then saw him collecting his targets before retreating into his house for the night.

He had varied his practice between stationary shooting to shooting on the run. He really didn’t have anything at the moment that would allow him to shoot at moving targets- like a skeet launcher- but he supposed that the goblins would show up sooner or later again, so that’s when that practice would finally be had.

He’d also practiced shooting as fast as he could, but had found that to be pretty hard if he wanted to stay anywhere near accurate. Sure, it might come in handy if something was literally on top of him…. But overall, not terribly useful.

Once inside, he got back to his “inside” projects. He felt that he’d hit a bit of a wall when it came to working out and building his muscles, so instead he decided to practice with the powers that he’d already manifested, minus [Energy Ball], as that wasn’t a good inside activity.

So, he allocated an hour each for the powers that he really needed to work on, namely: [Astral Construct], [Biofeedback], [Ectoplasmic Creation], [Force Screen], and [Inertial Armour], in that order.

Two were Metacreation powers, which would prove useful as they’d each help expand his understanding of the discipline and its underlying principles. Two more were force-based powers, so they also went together well. While the last one, [Biofeedback] was something that he found to be easier to handle, once again probably due to the incredible control he had over his body. But all would be crucial in keeping him alive.

By the following morning, he’d tossed the one hour limit for each power and had gone back to put in another hour of practice on each power. He knew that continuous work without rest was the route to failure, so he stopped himself there and proceeded to his daily meditation that restored his body, mind, and power reserves. But really, the first two were the important ones, as his psionic reserves regenerated constantly anyways.

When he felt refreshed, he noticed that less than four hours had passed.

“Not too shabby,” he said, stretching out on his bed.

‘You’re doing very well,’ Avi agreed, giving him some rare praise that made his head roll to the side so that he could look at her directly.

“Really?” he asked, surprised as could be.

‘Yes, well,’ Avi said, turning to look towards the door. ‘It is probably thanks to the System granting you a rate of regeneration for your psionic power,’ she finished, sounding less-than convincing. Well, to him at least. He really was starting to get used to having the stunning woman around him all the time, which meant that he was starting to be able to pick up on her social cues.

“Either way, thank you,” he said with a smile, then got up and headed back into the living room to look at his less-than sturdy front door.

“I wonder if I can just wall-up the door and make a roof-access to use instead?” he mused, rubbing his bearded chin in thought.

‘You could, but that would likely inconvenience your guests,’ Avi replied, back to her stoic self.

Joram nodded at that, but then once again considered adding an exterior set of stairs to the side of the place. Which would mean that he’d need another door, or most likely a gate, at the top of said stairs. Then he’d need to build walls and another solid door for egress into and out of the house.

He sighed, thinking of all the work that that would be. But didn’t discard the idea. Because if he was able to make sure that his ground level was secure, then any attacking goblins, or whatever, would have to come up to him. Not only that, but he’d have a height advantage while they’d be stymied trying to get to him on a narrow path.

“Well, let’s do that then,” he muttered to himself before forming his short-ranged mindbolt… his “shotgun”.

With that done, he manifested [Biofeedback], once again pumping as much power as he could into it, giving him considerable damage reduction should anything get past his already running [Inertial Armour]. He thought about using [Force Screen], but thought it would be overkill even if there was an ambush waiting for him.

With that last thought in mind, he peeked out the peephole and tried to see what he could. Which wasn’t much, all things considered. At least it was something, though. So, he unbarred the door, unlocked it, the opened it a hair to peek out, all the while bracing just in case they decided to just try and rush him.

Fresh air steamed in along with some morning light, brightening his living room once again. The usual sounds of the forest greeted him, so he didn’t think that there were any goblins waiting for him. Gritting his teeth, he pulled the door open further, keeping his eyes peeled all the while.

A spear to the chest could really cause paranoia to take root in that very same chest, after all.

Nearly two minutes later, he decided that it was clear, so he opened the door the rest of the way and stepped outside to get a better look.

All clear.

Joram heaved a sigh of relief before heading to the closest rock formation that he could see. It had come up when one of the gigantic sequoia-like trees had grown beside it, lifting it as the trees’ roots had grown to be larger around than he was tall. Which made things a bit easier for him, all told.

Looking at the rock, he found that it was the same stuff that Altaea had gathered and left for him. Which turnout out to be a good thing, considering just how strong the stuff was. Unfortunately, it was also very dense, which meant that it would take many trips….

Joram grinned, then manifested [Astra Construct], once more putting as many power points as he could into it so that he could maximize the number of helpers he’d get.

Several seconds later, some reasonably human-looking- albeit silver- constructs were ready to go.

Seeing as how they were constructs, and thus wouldn’t tire out, he didn’t form a line, but instead just had them individually take their load and drop it off beside the house before returning back to him.

Once the easier rocks on the surface had been carried away, it got a bit harder. But, once again, he had free labour, so it still wasn’t as bad as it could have been. However, he soon found that the rocks were getting larger, to the point that he’d call them boulders.

“Gonna have to break them into smaller pieces,” he muttered as Avi appeared beside him.

‘That would be wise,’ she said, nodding.

“I just don’t have anything to do that with,” he said, thinking that he might have to make a sledgehammer and some spikes, though he wasn’t sure if he could make that kind of steel yet.

‘Have you already forgotten your choices from yesterday?’ she asked, giving him a disapproving look.

He was about to snap back at her when a couple of things stopped him. One, he really didn’t want to be the kind of person who snapped at people, even though it might be warranted. Two, he needed all the help that he could get, and alienating the one person who was there specifically to help him was just plain stupid. And three, he really had forgotten about that.

Telekinetic Edge would help him sheer through the boulders much faster than a sledgehammer and spikes would. Not only that, but it might allow for more accurate breaks. Well, that last one was more than a stretch, as he certainly was not an expert in the field of rock smashing.

“Ah, safety first,” he said, thinking of just how many shards of stone might make their way into his eyes if he didn’t do something to protect his face.

Grinning, he manifested [Ectoplasmic Creation], concentrating on making a clear visor that would protect his face. Which, because he was a geek, turned out to look like an acrylic replica of a Mandalorian’s helmet. No stormtroopers for him, nope. Those guys would die if someone sneezed at them, so no need to jynx things.

Personal protection equipment in place- really just supplementing his [Inertial Armour] because [Biofeedback] had run out- he got to work.

First, because of the damage potential that the short-ranged mindbolt form offered, he formed his shotgun again and took careful aim at the boulder. He wanted to break the thing off in relatively uniform slabs, so accuracy would be very important.

Then he just about laughed at himself before manifesting [Ectoplasmic Creation] once again, this time creating a tripod on which to steady his shotgun. N7-90? Crusader 90? He’d think of a good name later. For now, it was blasting time.

He took careful aim, using the tripod to not only steady himself, but to help keep his shots in line with one another.

It was still weird to feel the recoil of the shot but not have any of the crazy noise that would normally accompany such a strong force. On the other hand, the stone tried to make up for it. Each shot would cause a resounding cracking noise, much like if he’d hit it with a sledgehammer, though slightly higher pitch, if that made sense.

Whatever caused it, each shot managed to do considerable damage to the boulder, soon drilling a hole a good fifteen centimetres deep. That was when he decided to start a new hole, then another, and another. Soon, he had a nice straight line of holes running up the boulder’s side, but no breaks.

Thinking about it, he remembered that the continuous pressure of imbedded spikes was what had caused the rocks to break in those videos he’d watched ages ago.

“Well, I don’t have the right kind of metal for that,” he said, frowning at his hard work.

‘No, but you do have water, and can freeze it,’ Avi said, quickly becoming his favourite person… AI. Person?

“Thanks,” he said with a grin before heading back inside to fill up a bucket with water.

Once he was outside again, he looked at the holes he’d made and sighed. He’d made them up the side of the boulder. Meaning, that water wouldn’t pool in the horizontal holes. With another sigh, he went back to the boulder and climbed on top of it.

It wasn’t he best place to try and….

He wondered if Charged Shot would be of any use. Considering that it was basically an explosive round, it might work….

So, he hopped right back down and went back to the tripod, shifted it back a bit, then formed his N7-90 and took careful aim before puling the trigger.

The first shot exploded on the surface of the boulder, his aim a bit off. Taking deep breaths, he once again took his time aiming before pulling the trigger. This time his aim was true, and the shot exploded inside of the boulder, spraying bits of stone everywhere.

After the dust settled, he found that the explosion had only managed to widen the hole a bit, but nothing else.

With yet another sigh, he climbed back on top of the boulder and got to work.

It took another twenty minutes before he was comfortable with the number of holes he’d made. So down he went again. Water bucket in hand, he quickly scrambled to the top of the boulder once more and carefully started filling the holes with water.

A minute later, he was back near his front door and concentrating on [Energy Ball], trying to get the same feeling he’d had the other day, but not quite getting it.

Frustrated, he kicked at the loose soil and glared at the boulder sitting just ten or so metres away. His astral constructs were currently all standing at the side of the house where he’d had them stack the stones they’d brought over.

“How did I manage to do it…?” he asked himself, racking his brain.

Once again, Avi came to his rescue. He briefly wondered if it wasn’t the psionic repository in his brain that was the cheat, but if it was instead her.

‘Use [Autohypnosis] to go back and feel what you felt before,’ she said, once again earning herself many points in his book.

Nodding at her with a smile of thanks, he did just that after heading back inside, locking up, and sitting in his comfy chair.

The Skill wasn’t something he’d played around with yet, but nevertheless came to mind when he thought about it. The similarities between it and [Meditation] weren’t lost on him, but the differences between the two surely warranted them being two separate skills that nevertheless synergized very well together.

So, while he meditated, he called up [Autohypnosis] and was surprised at how easily it came to him. Memories that fluttered past had just detail in them that he soon became distracted. Memories of his youth, playing with friends he’d long forgotten, came with such vivid clarity that he got lost in them.

- - -

“Come on,” Tim said, drawing me towards the open balcony of the derelict apartment building at the end of the street they lived on. “I saw it in a movie once. You just need to get a running start, then jump over the railing and roll when you hit the ground,” he said, full of youthful naivete and invincibility.

“Are you sure,” I asked, looking down at the drop that was probably taller than both of us combined. “It’s pretty far.”

“Bah, we’ll be fine,” Tim said, brushing off his concerns like they were nothing. “I’ll even go first. I’ll jump from there, you jump from there so that you don’t land on me,” he said, pointing at two sections of the balcony.

“OK, sure,” I said, feeling confident due to how much confidence was coming off my best friend.

So, we quickly made out way to the hallway before counting down. Tim took off like a rocket, then two seconds later I followed.

When I saw Tim go over the railing, I couldn’t help but feel even more excited, because we were doing this! Then I got to the railing and did that side-vault I’d seen done on TV and flew over the edge. My stomach didn’t much like the feeling of free-falling, but then it was over faster than I thought it would be.

My feet hit ground and I curled into a ball like I’d seen and rolled with it. I’m not sure how many times I rolled, but then I was back on my feet, chasing Tim along the grassy side of the building…

- - -

Joram opened his eyes, in shock over just how clear that memory had been. He could remember the slightly rotting floor and the peeling wallpaper, as well as the musty scent of the building, not to mention the slight give of the grassy earth that had probably saved him a broken ankle….

Shaking his head, he closed his eyes again as he tried to focus on the feeling when he’d manifested [Energy Ball].

Ice, frost, quiet, stillness, heat death, he thought and felt, the feeling of epiphany coming once more to him. Once the feeling was fully upon him, he focussed on the memory of how the power had come together, how it had seemed to just slide into place.

Then the reviewed what he knew of the Discipline of Kineticists. He was surprised just how much actual science was in there, given its origins in what he’d call a Fantasy World. Which actually made things much easier for him, as he had a relatively solid base in the “hard sciences” already.

Once the was comfortable with what he’d reviewed, he opened his eyes and smiled at Avi.

“Thanks again for being there for me,” he said, feeling genuine gratitude towards the woman.

‘That’s what I’m here for,’ she said with a slight eyeroll, though he caught a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Now feeling more confident than ever, he once again got up and made his way to the door. Four minutes later, he was once again outside and checking the water-filled holes in the boulder to make sure that they’d stayed full.

Sure enough, they were good, but the day was quickly fading, much to his shock.

“Must’ve spent more time on that than I thought,” he spoke out loud, getting used to pretty much talking to himself at this point.

On his way back, he noticed that the astral constructs were still there and had to wonder how that came to be. So, he pulled up his character sheet to see what was up.

Name

Joram

Path(s):

None

Race:

High Elan

HP:

32/32

ST:

26/26

PP:

42/61

MP:

0/0

STR: 14

Mod: +9

Path Level(s)

-

HP Regen:

1/min

ST Regen:

1/min

PP Regen:

6/min

MP Regen:

N/A

SPD: 9

Mod: +4

Unarmed:

Dmg: 10-11

Knife:

Dmg: 10-13

Katana:

Dmg: 10-18

CON: 9

Mod: +4

Defense:

13

Mindbolt Damage Values:

L: 10-16

M: 10-17

S: 19-28

Range:

70m, 40m, 12m

Mindbolt:

Crit: 20%, x2

INT: 10

Mod: +5

DR:

3/PP Spent

SPR: 13

Mod: +8

Resistances:

Cold:

5

CHA: 7

Mod: 2

Weaknesses:

???: ??

Mod: ??

Carrying Capacity:

Light:

212 kg

Medium:

424 kg

Heavy:

636 kg

Push/Drag:

1,060 kg

He was still in awe of just how strong he’d gotten, especially with his listed carrying capacities. He was also surprised to see that his new ability had made it onto his character sheet. Heck, event the distances were given along with his absurdly high chance of scoring a critical hit!

And, once again, he was stumped as to what the “???” represented. A couple of his Titles had even given him an increase to the attribute- if its placement really meant that it was an attribute. He wasn’t sure, but so far couldn’t tell what it might affect.

*Shrug*

Then he was back on topic, and saw that he was nineteen power points down from his maximum. Do I have to dismiss the constructs before they’ll disappear? Does the System hold what I’ve spent on [Astral Construct] in reserve to keep them around?

All good questions, and he supposed that his last thought on it was correct. He’d noticed that his constructs had stayed around longer than they should have before… but hadn’t investigated, he supposed.

Well, now that he was sure that the constructs would stay around until he dismissed them, that made security that much easier.

Smiling, he brought up [Energy Ball] and manifested it on the boulder, but centred the power a bit up and away from the tree’s roots so as not to harm it unduly.

A moment later, he heard a very satisfying crack!