Frostbound

Chapter 258 - Crude Applications

Even though we boarded early and most things were already strapped down, it still took us a good chunk of time to finally shove off and begin moving.

It wasn't long, barely an hour or so, but it gave everyone time to grow accustomed to the boat and walking around. Looking at Abigail and her ability to instantly be fine, I revised that statement. It gave time to those who needed it.

Jonathan was still visibly uncomfortable, but there was nothing I could do about that. I was getting there but it was still odd to have the give under my feet when I walked, but I was making do.

Most of my strength came from my legs when I swung and having that taken away took some adjusting.

I wasn't sure if what I felt was real or not, but it was like I was heavier. The boat we were on was large, large enough to store hundreds of crates of materials as well as house nearly a hundred people, yet it felt like my steps caused it to rock back and forth.

When comparing my weight to the boats, it wasn't something that should be happening and it made me nervous. Are my feet pushing off too hard?

Even adding the armor I wore and my hammer, it wasn't enough to cause such a disturbance.

Nothing we knew said we would get heavier as we leveled.

"Raise the anchor!" The call went out and I didn't get any more time to think about it.

The rush when creating the boats forced the shipyards to focus on certain things above others. The main thing they had to do was make sure the hull was strong enough so it wouldn't sink when attacked.

We were set to try and not let that happen, but they had to reinforce the hulls anyway, just in case. In doing so, there were certain things that were left out of the finished product.

Masts and sails being one of them.

Since our destination was downstream, the boat surviving the journey was deemed more important than putting sails on it. Water mages could boost our speed, but other than that, we were dependent on the current.

Oh, and there were oars, but that much was obvious.

Honestly, the thing was closer to one giant canoe than it was to a boat, but I wasn't going to complain.

After pushing off, the River brought us up to speed pretty quickly. There were smaller bursts that caused us to lurch forward that I guessed came from Water mages but I couldn't see them from where I was.

The first few hundred feet had already been cleared before we were set to leave which made it smooth sailing for the beginning but we were quickly approaching the area that hadn't been cleared yet.

Which meant it was time to start... being deterring?

Bah, specifics didn't matter.

I was on the far right while Marcus stood in the middle and Austin took up the left. Our three vessels had over a dozen following behind and we had to make sure nothing too strong decided we were a tasty snack.

Stepping up to the front... bow? Stern? The front portion, I readied myself for anything that could hinder our travel.

Marcus and Austin did the same and as we passed over into uncharted territory, I could feel the other two ramping up.

Auras were... weird. I still didn't know enough about them. How they worked was shrouded in mystery as I always had a bigger fish to fry.

Still, I could feel the other two loosen their hold, and I did the same. Marcus's being closer made his easier to feel. Feel wasn't even the right word, but nothing else came close to the sensation.

His felt heavy. Like a tremendous weight was only waiting to be unleashed. Like it was holding back a large wave that could come crashing down any second.

The strength of it surprised me. Having a good hold on your aura was still something people were working through. I had a decent control over mine, but some still leaked out.

Marcus had a better hold than I did as I never expected his to be so large.

There was also something... noble about it. It wasn't a large portion and felt more like a light tint compared to the overall impression, but it was unmistakable now that I could feel it all without him shielding it.

I'd felt Austin's many times before. It was hard to keep a handle on it when fighting which let me get a good grasp of his before now.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Not to be left out, I loosened my grip and felt as it expanded out. Letting it out felt like a weight leaving my shoulders and I let out a breath in relaxation.

It felt good.

Maybe this is why letting go while fighting feels so good. Not as stuffy.

"Your touch is as crude as ever." A voice whispered in my ear. A voice I knew well.

Quickly turning my head, I saw Gabriel smirking at me. "It's not often I get to be the better one. Let me savior this for a moment."

"Oh, shove off. How are you doing that?" I said. The people around me took on confused looks but I ignored them.

"Hearing is a lot harder than speaking but I'm guessing you asked how I was doing this?"

I nodded since it didn't seem like he could hear me.

"That, my dear brother, is because of skill. It's what I've been trying to teach you."

The bastard was saying it was a skill issue. Jackass.

"I've been busy," I said, even though I doubted he could pick up on it.

"I know that you've had your hands full. I'm just jerking your chain."

I narrowed my gaze at his response.

He shrugged, "I said hearing is hard, not that I couldn't do it and you only said three words."

I gave him a look, Well?

"I'll start with what auras are. Or, at least, what I think they are. It's been a bit of a roller coaster figuring that out." Gabriel waved his hand back and forth, "It doesn't matter."

"The way I see it, and the only way that makes any logical sense, is that they are a part of your body. Not in the physical sense, but in a deeper sense. I first thought it was because of magic, but that theory didn't pan out.

"Mana does a lot of things, but even without a strong mana pool or magical abilities, people can still have a strong aura which disproved that idea. You did a great deal with that. The opposite is also true, though. Strong magic and a weak body can still produce a powerful aura.

"So, if it isn't magical and it isn't physical, then it had to be option number three. Spiritual."

Gabriel was literally pacing back and forth on the boat over like it was some lecture he was giving. Which was close to the truth, as I had no way to talk back which let him go on unnecessary tangents.

A part of me wanted to go over there and have this conversation normally but I didn't. I'd let him have his fun.

"Which also turned out to be wrong. Even people without Spirit Anchors had auras. Myself included. In the end, I figured it was something deeper, more intrinsic to who you are."

I wasn't sure what was more intrinsic than physical, magical, or spiritual, but then again, I wasn't the expert.

"See, auras increase as you level and gain power. If you upgrade your Law, your aura gets stronger. If you refine your body, your aura gets stronger. If you form your Spirit Anchor, your aura gets stronger.

"But it doesn't stop there. If you add stat points, your aura gets stronger. Gain a skill. Upgrade a skill. Win a fight.

"Everything."

"It took a lot of testing, but I finally found out that auras were more than just those three; physical, magical, spiritual. They are a reflection of everything." Even through... however he was speaking, his tone was noticeably excited.

"Now, that's where my experiments end and the rest is merely my assumption, but I think they're a representation of the soul. We were told our soul holds all the essence we've accumulated and that certain experiences can result in our soul growing.

"Nothing we've seen can interact, impact, injure, or in any way touch upon it. For all we know, that's the realm of gods, but they have to do something more. So, I feel that my theory has merit!"

He ended his rant and turned to face me with a smile.

Slowly, very slowly, I mouthed, "That explained nothing."

"Oh, sorry, I got carried away. Think of it like Gravity.

"Everything in the world has its own gravity, no matter how big or small. Larger objects that have more mass have a larger gravity while smaller objects have a smaller gravity.

"Auras, like gravity, are something everyone has, just some are too weak to be felt. Like how we were in the beginning. It was only after gaining some levels and becoming stronger that you started feeling it, right?"

I nodded.

"And then, as you grew and got stronger, your aura did too?"

I nodded again and said, "How does this help me speak through it?"

"Hold on, I'm getting there." He huffed. "So, if it's an intrinsic part of you, and grows as you do, that means you should have the ability to control it! Even you have the ability to manipulate your aura, if a bit crudely. Pulling it in, letting it out, pressing it down on people. All I'm doing is taking that a step further."

I thought back to that one time I expanded out and yelled through it. I technically didn't use it to speak, but used it to strengthen my voice so it could be heard.

Which was close enough.

To give it a shot, instead of empowering my voice with it, I had it carry what I said. "Like this?"

I still voiced the words, but it was quite enough that no one heard. If someone was looking, they'd see my mouth move but wouldn't hear anything.

"Close." Gabriel said, "All you did was transport the sound from one place to another. What I'm doing is using it to speak directly into your ear."

How was that even possible?

"This would be a lot easier if you could hear through your aura but you can't. Then, I wouldn't even have to say anything I could just send it to you through the connection."

"How do you use it to speak? It has no vocal cords."

"Ah, you're thinking too literally." He said, "Stop trying to use logic, nothing about how this works is logical. Imagine it like it's a part of your body. Even though it's far away, project what you want to say through it."

I focused in on the portion of my aura surrounding him. It was an odd exercise to imagine, but I'd seen weirder.

Imagining what he said, I projected, "Testing? Testing?"

Gabriel cringed and covered his ears and Austin looked over at me. Even from over here, I could hear my own voice.

"Not so forceful!" Gabriel said, "Damn near blew out my eardrums. Try whispering. Scratch that. Imagine whispering, then take it down a notch."

"Like this?" I said, he didn't cringe this time and I wasn't able to hear myself.

"Better." He said, "But it could still use some work."

Gabriel's smile turned nearly sadistic, "Guess what?"

For some reason, I felt a creeping dread.

"We have five days together and you have no excuses. By the time we arrive, I'll whip you into shape."