I will not be shipping Enzo with anyone. Just to put that out there.
Chapter 9: A Semblance of Normalcy
When I found Altan, he was lying on a flat on a bench underneath a sun tarp, loudly complaining to Aoi about his arms and legs suffering from muscle pains.
"The agony?! Why?!"
Name: Altan Esplanade
Level: 12
Age: 12
Affiliation: Kingdom of Hasiera
AP: 180/180
HP: 101/101
Stats
Details
Equipment
'It seems that he leveled up again.' Noting that Altan's level is 12 instead of 11 the last time I saw him.
"Whining about it won't do you any good," Aoi said with an amused grin. His black hair was tied back and sparkled a bit in the sun due to some of his sweat clinging to his hair. "So, why not ask a nurse instead?"
Name: Aoi Yasunori
Level: 23
Age: 16
Affiliation: Kingdom of Hasiera
AP: 1958/1958
HP: 120/120
Stats
Details
Equipment
The soft-looking eastern teenager ignored Altan's follow-up response and instead notch his arrow, drawing on the bowstring of his longbow to his chin. His eyes were sharply focused on his target, particularly the bullseye that is meters away. Breathing softly through his nostril, Aoi held his stance for a brief second, feeling the cool air gracing his sweat-soaked skin before letting loose his arrow.
FWIII!
The arrow rips through the air with a brief distinct whistle, meeting its mark with a faint thud.
Bullseye.
"Nice shot." I complemented Aoi as he lowers his longbow.
"Thank you." Aoi turns to me and bows politely. "Enzo-sama, was it?"
"Just Enzo is fine. No need for formalities." I return his greeting with a courtesy bow of my own. "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you as well. I'm Yasunori Aoi. Yasunori is my family's name and Aoi is my given name by traditional naming conventions." He fumbles a bit on his introduction, looking sheepish. "Please call me Aoi."
"Understood. I also had a few acquaintances and friends who follow the same naming conventions." I turn towards Altan, "And how are you Altan?"
"My arms… My legs… Why?" The red-haired boy whimpers.
"That's either lactic acid or your body is repairing itself. Maybe it's both." I have some knowledge in personal health and biology after my mountain biking accident. The constant soreness I had suffered was very unpleasant. "In any case, it's normal for everyone when starting intensive workouts."
"Try keeping your Aura up." Aoi suggests, "If you're very good at controlling your Aura, have it around your arms. That should speed up your recovery."
Altan groans and did what Aoi suggested. A dull blue-green Aura flickers around his body before stabilizing.
Outside of being a shield that protects your body, Aura also provides a small regeneration bonus. It won't grow back your arm or organs, but it can stop bleedings and minor cuts. I can easily see Aura being used to speed up the repair of a person's muscle fibers.
"Feeling better?" I ask the young boy.
"Not really… Is this going to happen every time now?"
"No, only for those who never experienced intensive workout. If you're physically active, you shouldn't suffer from any muscle soreness or lactic acid build-ups. Just don't take it too far, otherwise, you'll damage your body."
"Yay." Altan flatly cheers.
"Speaking about Aura," I turn my attention back to Aoi, "can I ask about your semblance?"
"What do you want to know about it?"
"I plan on teaching the new trainees how to fight the Creatures of Grimm without putting too much risk on their lives. I've seen how you're able to bring your paintings to life and was wondering if you can do something similar for something bigger, like a Grimm or a person."
"Wait, you want – Ow, ow!" Altan painfully sat up, grimacing as his sore muscles protest against his action. "You want Aoi to paint some Grimm and make us fight them?"
"It's a possible idea that came to my mind." I shrug with one shoulder, "People get confident once they get a feel of their weapon and sparring. All of that can be thrown out the window when they fight a Grimm."
Aoi nods thoughtfully, "It is one thing to fight a person without the intent to truly hurt them. It's another to fight a Grimm."
"Exactly."
"Oh. So, can you paint and Grimm and make it attack something?" Altan inquiries about Aoi's semblance.
Uncertainty crosses over Aoi's face.
"I can't say for certain. The closest thing I'd done is made two birds fly into an Ursa's eyes." He muses for a moment before continuing. "I've also never painted anything larger than a dog before."
"I would assume it would take a while as well?"
Aoi shakes his head, "With my semblance, it'll take a bit longer, but not that much longer."
"Can you explain to me how exactly your semblance works?"
"My Aura can flow through my paintbrush and the paint it's dipped in, letting me control things like paint color."
[Insight on Aoi Yasunori has increased by +5]
"I see. You use your Aura to speed up your painting process." I thought back to how quickly Aoi was able to paint a small, colorful and detailed bird within seconds. "I know a lot of artists and designers who would like something like that."
Aoi snorts and then grins, "I can imagine."
"In any case, would you be willing to try?"
A sliver of interest glinted in Aoi's eyes, indicating that he is interested in exploring what more his semblance can do.
"All of the paintings I bring to life are not very durable and are not good in combat… But I've never truly tested their durability." Aoi balance on the sole of his feet left and right, slowly getting lost in his thoughts. "If I added paint or more Aura; does that make it stronger? Hmmm."
"Are you still with us?" Altan asks with a look of confusion, snapping Aoi out of his thoughts.
"Yes, I am." Aoi rubs the back of his neck, "I just realized how little I know about my semblance. The limits of it. Mostly because I don't like to waste paint." He undoes the protective glove and armguard to wipe the sweat off his arm. "But to answer Enzo's question, yes. I am interested in seeing what more I can do with my semblance."
"Since we're talking about semblances…" Altan drawls on his trailing sentence, "What exactly is a semblance? Like, I get it's some sort of magic from your soul or Aura, but what is it really?"
The boy asked a good question and I'm not sure if my answer is correct in this Remnant. From what I know, a semblance is just that. A semblance of magic. A remnant or fragment of magical power that managed to remain within mankind.
"I'm not sure what exactly a semblance is in a technical term. If I were to do my best to explain it in my own words…" I hummed to myself as Aoi and I took a seat at a nearby bench. "Ugh. I don't know what to say really."
I'm not sure how a person naturally develops a semblance here, but back in Remnant: Online, semblances can manifest themselves in times of danger. In some cases, it's something you were born with.
But here's the thing, that's for NPCs only. For us, players, we choose what semblance we want to manifest and it's one of the most creative thought processes within the game. At level 10, you can begin developing your semblance. It's hard to describe the process due to its freeform nature and the simplest way I can describe it is that we create our semblance by picturing it in our minds, though there are a lot of initial limitations. Semblances add a unique flavor to Remnant: Online and can be really profound further on as you evolve your semblance.
In a game where magic is almost nonexistent, we make use of Dust crystals to wield the powers of the elements like all those fantasy games. Want to be something like a stereotypical robed mage? Find a suitable cloth and a staff and infused Dust crystals into them, then use it to unleash hurricanes and blizzards onto your enemies. Seeking to be some sort of elemental knight? Get armor and your weapon of choice and start fusing it with whatever Dust you so desire. Next to that is our semblances. It's the most personalized feature that's for a player's playstyle, and developing a semblance often takes time for those who had a particular playstyle in mind.
Remnant: Online doesn't have classes. We have equipment and semblances to define us, which makes everyone very unique. Even those that have similar semblances often have a different method that proceeds to the same effects.
That's what makes Remnant: Online so great.
"Our instructor told us that a semblance is the manifestation of our soul." Aoi gave his answer. "I believe there's some truth to that. I had a hobby for painting, just like my grandmother and that is how I unintentionally discovered my semblance."
"Huh. I wonder what my semblance would be then." Altan said thoughtfully and shoots me a glance. "Do you have a semblance?"
'I knew he was going to ask me that question.' I smiled inwardly.
"My semblance lets me suppress someone's abilities, like their semblance. In other words, I can disable someone from using their semblance for a while."
Aoi blinks while Altan looked stunned.
"That's so cool!" Altan gasps. Eyes widening with awe. "That means you're invincible against everyone!"
"Not really. I sometimes have trouble even with my opponent's semblance disabled, and I don't like to rely on it too much." I humbly reply and glance up at the white clouds floating in the bright blue sky. "From where I'm from, there are many people who have similar semblances like mines. I like to rely on my ability to fight since it's the only thing I can rely on if I can't use my semblance."
Originally my semblance could only shut down a single person's semblance for a short duration. It has evolved a lot due to my investments in my wisdom (WIS) stat till the point where I can temporarily neuter Dust from activating. At full power, I can suppress a person's Aura if their resistance (RES) stat is low enough, though that costs Aura and puts my semblance on a cooldown.
"Your place sounds even more scary now."
"What's it like from where you're from?" Aoi asks, "I believe Altan mentioned something about it a few days ago. Avalon-Estria?"
"It's rather peaceful." I hesitated for a moment, wondering how I should explain the surroundings territories Avalon-Estria controls. "At least it's peaceful in the territories controlled by us and our neighbors. The only danger is from the aquatic Grimm that sprout up on Avalon's shores. They're often massive, but not much of a problem since our navy and coastal defenses are more than enough to take care of it."
Before Avalon and Estria merged, the former controlled a lot of coastal territories and needed something akin to a naval force to fight off Grimm and other alliances. Meanwhile, Estria is deeper inland and has a good portion of mountainous terrains so we specialized in aerial and ground combat/defense.
"I heard stories from the elders about sea monsters. They're..." Aoi grips his bow firmly, then loosens his grip. "Forget what I was about to say. Sorry for making us go off-topic. Let's resume talking about semblances?"
"Yeah, so uh… I'm guessing semblances only have one thing it can do? Aoi can make his painting come to life and your semblance can stop a semblance from working." Altan nods at each of us respectively, "But what about Dylan? He can use multiple semblances!"
[Insight on Dylan Skygem has increased by +9]
'Really now? Dylan? I didn't know he had such a semblance.'
I recall the young teenage boy back at the library/archive and is currently a trainee under my charge. Shy, quiet, slightly shorter than average, silky light black hair that covers his dazzling blue eyes.
'This might be a game-changer…'
"Dylan's semblance is random and he doesn't have any control over what kind of semblance he gets every time he uses it." Aoi corrected his friend, "He doesn't even know what it is until he uses it, and the last time he accidentally used it, he had no control over it. That's why he doesn't like to use it."
[Insight on Dylan Skygem has increased by +13]
[Dylan Skygem's semblance has been revealed]
'Wow. That's a pure RNG semblance.'
That kinda reminds me of a Pokemon move called Metronome. If Dylan's semblance is called Metronome, I'm going to flip out. If not, I want to name his semblance Metronome. It's too good of an opportunity to pass up since no players can have a semblance like that due to technical limitations.
"Interesting, so Dylan's semblance becomes another random semblance."
"Okay, so his semblance has one function then." Altan shuffles on his bench and hung his head back. "What happened last time anyway?"
Aoi looks hesitant. He's not the type to spread rumors or delve into personal things without permission.
"I suppose I can summarize what happened since he'll be training with you and is under Enzo's care." He sighs and inspects his bow as he begins to talk. "From what I know, something startled Dylan when he was walking and accidentally used his semblance." Placing his longbow into his bow holster along with his arrows, Aoi then leans back and crosses his arms. "Some sort of electric semblance this time. His body wouldn't stop making lightning. I don't know much, but I heard that someone was electrocuted and a patch of grass was completely burned up."
'Yikes.' It really sucks to be unable to control yourself. 'I can see why Dylan wouldn't want to use his semblance.'
"Is that person okay?" I asked.
Aoi nods, "Yes. That person's Aura protected them."
"That's good... If that's the case, I think I should meet with Dylan someday and see to what extent his semblance can be utilized. If he's willing." I thought out loud, "My semblance can stop him from going out of control should things goes wrong."
[You gained 300 Reputation with Aoi Yasunori]
[You gained 610 Reputation with Altan Esplanade]
"I think he'll appreciate that. Though Dylan isn't exactly open to anyone."
"Other than Agnes." Piped up Altan.
"Other than Agnes." Aoi agrees with a lopsided smile. "If Dylan is hard to find or talk to, Agnes is the person you should ask for help."
That isn't much of a surprise since the conversation I overheard between those two at the library implies they're either very good friends, or they're much intimate than that.
"I'm guessing Agnes and Dylan are very close?"
"It's painfully obvious." Altan grins, despite himself.
I let out a snort at Altan's pun, "Well, let's leave those two alone for now then. Since we're talking about semblances, do you want to hear some of the unusual ones I've encountered?"
The two eager nod and inch closer.
'I just realized just how there's no shortage of unusual semblances out there.'
"Ah jeez. There's a lot of them actually." I scratch my head before settling on one. "There was a guy I've met who had a semblance that gave him varying degrees of toughness depending on the music being played. He can take the most powerful attack without a scratch to his Aura if the rhythm of the music is right."
That player is HearDatZound from the alliance called the Music Cartels. They mostly use acoustic weapons to go hand to hand with their conventional weapons. We only clash with them in organized private battles and skirmishes, but they occasionally join our side.
"No way! Really?"
"That sounds very powerful…"
"He calls it Armored Melody. It can him invincible, but it's not reliable. There's a certain rhythm, a pattern that determines how tough his defense will be. You'll have to listen to his music and strike at a certain music beat. The music also needs to be played out loud for his semblance to activate. Another music can overwrite his rhythm if it's loud and close enough. And if the noises get very overwhelming, then his semblance stops working."
It's one of the unusual and somewhat creative semblances I've seen.
"How does it work? The rhythm part." Asked Aoi.
"I'm not exactly sure on the finer details and depending on the music, the conditions change. In a nutshell, it's something like this. See if you can see the clink in the rhythm."
I turn my body towards the backrest of my bench and lift my hands to drum up a beat to give them a very basic understanding of how Armored Melody worked.
BappapadumDUM! BappapadumDUM!
Altan tilts his head, "Is it during the loud DUM part, or the pause in-between?"
"Good catch. It can actually be both. It depends on the music he plays."
I don't know the why's or how's. There's some sort of Musicology at play here, and I know HearDatZound minor in music or something related to Fine Arts.
"Then how are you supposed to win against someone like that if you don't know that?"
"You're not supposed to know every weakness of your enemies. If you have the knowledge, use it and share it. If you have the means, use it. If not, try to survive with the best of your abilities." I point my thumb at my chest to emphasize my next point. "I have the means to bypass his semblance and used it to win. If I didn't, I would try to see if there's any weakness I can exploit. When all else goes wrong, I will retreat."
[Field Tactics II partially imparted]
"You fought against him?"
"It was a sparring match." All organized private battles are essentially mock battles with nothing on the line, for the most part.
"Oh."
We talked for several more minutes before sitting in silence, enjoying the faint breeze billowing through the outdoor shooting range. There were a handful of people left in the shooting range, all of them firing tactical-looking crossbows at their targets. They were using a repeating crossbow of sorts with a reload mechanism akin to lever action. Very interesting.
[Insight on the {Kingdom of Hasiera} Weaponry has increased by +4]
I remember going over the weaponry of the militia uses. They have firearms, but they mainly use repeating crossbows to conserve Dust. Plus, the crossbow bolts can be retrieved and reused after killing a Grimm, whereas a spent bullet and casing will need to be reprocessed. I should go over to the armory again. Since the trainees will be using weapons from the armory, I will need to see what their current options are.
"Today's a boring day. Minus my sore muscle." Altan yawns and carefully rubs his eyes.
"The past few days had been eventful," Aoi admits. "We should enjoy these normal days every so often."
"Normal day, huh? I suppose we could call it a semblance of normalcy."
What can I say? I can't pass up that opportunity to make a pun.
Minor updates on previous chapter and a reference chapter for the skills/abilities used so far very soon.
