Everyone's breath hitched. Talio stared, shocked, not by the man's death, but by how he could barely track her movements.
"She's Adeptus rank, at least," Talio whispered to himself.
Quick interruption. Even though I'm supposed to be eating some snacks I'll quickly explain the tiers in order, well most of it at least:*
I – Initiatus -Has just begun their journey, barely capable of manipulating Vis Mundana.
II – Progressor -Has developed moderate control over one or two fundamental aspects.
III – Adeptus -A balanced wielder of Vis Mundana, possessing notable skill but not yet refined.
IV – Dominus - Has reached high mastery in at least two aspects, beginning to show immense power.
V – Magister -A rare mortal, capable of shaping the world through refined energy manipulation.
VI – Transcendense- At the edge of Pure Transformation, only a step away from becoming a Pure Being.
VII – Pura Essentia -Pure Being-Has surpassed normal mortality.
Then there are tiers for the aspects of Vis Mundana I've mentioned before which are:
Imperium (Control) – Mastery over Vis Mundana Manipulation
Inceptio (Initiate) – Basic energy manipulation, unstable abilities.
Disciplina (Disciplined) – Gains fundamental control.
Dominium (Command) – Energy responds efficiently.
Harmonia (Harmony) – Perfect synchronization with the environment.
Praestantia (Excellence) – Energy moves instinctively.
Regnum (Sovereignty) – Can control multiple forms of energy at once.
Absolutum (Absolute) – ???
Quantitas (Quantity) – The Total Vis Mundana stores in the body
Gutta (Drop) – Minimal energy reserves.
Rivus (Stream) – Slightly improved stamina.
Flumen (River) – Moderately sustainable energy reserves.
Mare (Sea) – Can wield energy for extended periods.
Tempestas (Storm) – Near-boundless energy, requiring strong control.
Abyssus (Abyss) – Feels endless, but reckless overuse leads to collapse.
Infinitum (Infinite) – ???
Qualitas (Quality) – The quality of the Vis Mundana inside the body
Crassus (Crude) – Energy is inefficient and wasteful.
Modicus (Moderate) – Energy use stabilizes.
Efficiens (Efficient) – Minimal energy loss.
Acutus (Sharp) – Highly refined techniques.
Puritas (Pure) – Perfect control over energy's form.
Divinus (Divine) – Energy transcends normal constraints.
Veritas (True) – ???
Well that's all you need to know for now... Just know that this path only truly begins— you know what never mind. Let the story speak for itself and.... back to Talio.
He now observed everyone around him in a new light. If his guard hadn't been up before, it was now as high as it could possibly go.
'Anyone could be a threat right now... I doubt I could take on an Adeptus if push came to shove.'
He thought back to the fight with the infected bald man and shivered. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he realized the Blonde was looking in his direction or at least, in what he assumed was his direction.
The Blonde made a lazy gesture to the woman, something that seemed to say:
"She's all yours, buddy."
He then walked off to the other side of the cavern with his group, leaving a deafening silence to settle over Talio's. Everyone stood a few paces away from the woman with the bow.
Feeling drained from all the "socializing," Talio clasped his hands together, hoping to get their attention.
"Alright, seeing as how we're hopefully going to be allies for the foreseeable future, let's introduce ourselves. My name's Talio."
'This really isn't my forte. Well it was worth a try.'
He forced a smile that fooled no one. An awkward silence hung over the group until the ginger spat on the floor and grunted:
"My name's Gerald."
The others seemed a bit more willing to speak now, much to Talio's annoyance.
A bubbly voice followed.
"My name's Ariana, you can call me Ari for short!"
She looked quite ordinary, with long brown hair and matching eyes. Then she tugged her friend by the arm.
"This is my friend, she's a bit shy, but really nice. Her name is Lexi."
A girl with short black hair hid behind Ari's arm, and Talio couldn't help but sigh.
'Do I really have another twins situation on my hands?'
He glanced toward the fourth person, whose face was concealed by a mask. Etched across the nasal area was an image of an open book with missing pages, wrapped tightly by drawn chains that looked as though they were strangling it. The masked figure met Talio's gaze, or what passed for it, without a word.
Finally, Talio feeling creeped out by the mask looked toward the woman who'd just killed a man and asked,
"What about you?"
She gave him a fleeting glance before replying flatly,
"You don't need to know."
Talio inhaled deeply, then unsheathed his sword and aimed it at her. The others froze, jaws dropped, understandably so, given he was facing someone an entire rank above him, with no clue what her ability was.
"For fuck's sake, I'm starting to get tired of this bullshit. Why are you acting as if we're your enemies? Aren't you here because your group died? So—"
A wave of bloodlust slammed into him, thick and suffocating. Talio merely raised an eyebrow.
'She's inexperienced… this is the best she can muster? Pathetic.'
The ability to emit true killing intent was forged through experience, not raw strength. So even though she was stronger than him, Talio was sure he had more experience.
With anger trembling in her voice, she said,
"You'd better choose your next words wisely."
'I swear I'm the one with a sword to your throat… whatever, at least I've confirmed one thing.'
"Alright, I'll just say this—your anger's directed at the wrong person."
He sheathed his sword, pretending he had everything under control, when in truth, if things went south, he knew he'd be facing more than just one problem.
He stepped a few meters away from the group, trying to piece together a plan. His gaze drifted toward the Blonde across the cavern. Their eyes met, or so he thought and something clicked in Talio's head, curling his lips into a small, knowing smile.
He returned to the group, who looked at him with confusion. Not that he cared he couldn't even read their expressions anyway.
Plastering on his most amicable grin, which made him look more like a conman than a comrade, he suggested,
"Well, since we're all suspicious of each other, why don't we recount our experiences?"
The bubbly girl called Ariana perked up instantly.
"Ooo, that sounds interesting! Let me go first!"
She paused, eyes glinting as she looked fondly at her shy friend.
"Hmm... our party started off normal, five people as usual. But there was one guy, who somewhat weird. His name? Honestly, I forgot. He constantly cutted himself, leaving small slits on his wrists. We didn't want to pry, but we asked him to stop. He said he needs the money for his mother's medication. Poor guy... he was terrified. I think he doubted he'd make it out alive."
The ginger snorted.
"Quite selfish, if you ask me. Sounds like he just came here to die without guilt."
Talio scowled.
"First off, nobody asked you. Second, don't judge someone until you've been in their shoes."
Gerald turned beet red, but Talio ignored him and gestured for Ariana to continue.
"Our party was doing fine for a while, killed monsters, gathering loot... until one of us died fighting a horde of spiders. After that, the boy started acting... strange. He stopped cutting himself and began muttering nonsense under his breath. Then one day, he 'accidentally' cut one of our remaining members. That's when things got bad. The guy he cut... eventually turned. Probably..."
"What do you mean, probably?"
"Well, we left right after he did it. I just... felt something was off."
Talio looked up at the stalactites above, deep in thought.
'Something's not adding up. It may have been an actual accident but she ran away immediately without investigating especially since people would rather stick close together then separate. Also the way she speaks is confusing... she mixes up her tenses and skips words as if she knows how to speak but not how to string it together.'
A thin smile tugged at his lips, which didn't go unnoticed.
Gerald, looking furious, barked,
"Why the hell are you smiling like that, you maniac?"
Instead of answering, Talio threw the question back.
"Why don't you share your story next?"
"I'm not telling scum like you anything."
Expecting that, Talio sighed, stood, and began walking off.
"You can all keep chatting without me since I'm clearly not wanted here."
He cast one last glance at the group—his eyes lingering on the masked man. An uneasy chill crawled down his spine, but he forced himself to ignore it.
He walked toward the woman, who murdered someone in cold blood, still polishing her bow and arrows and sat beside her. The others stared like he'd lost his mind.
He leaned slightly closer and whispered a simple question.
"Care to tell me a bit about yourself?"