Frostbound

Chapter 266 - Peopleologist

Austin

Austin and Hal stood and watched as Chris and Abigail made their way back toward the obelisk and the meeting they were set to attend. After giving everyone a few hours to discuss the new information, there was another gathering of the top dogs to plan.

"It's some bullshit." Austin muttered, "That's what that is."

"Bullshit?" Hal glanced at him, "Did you even want to go?"

Austin kicked the grass, "No, god no, but it would've been nice to be asked."

Hal didn't respond as he knew that Austin didn't actually want to go. The silence didn't last long though. It never did with Austin.

"What do you think they're going to decide on?" Austin questioned.

"I don't know." Hal said honestly, "The best choice would be to disregard Faction lines and group everyone into more of an army-like structure. Shields with shields and bows with bows."

Austin audibly laughed at that.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Hal pushed his shoulder, "I don't think that'll happen either."

"I'm just glad there haven't been any fights between the leaders yet," Austin said.

"Eh, there's still time," Hal said. "How many brawls did you see when you went exploring?"

Austin shrugged "A few. But that's to be expected with a crowd of this size. Less than I expected, honestly"

"The calm before the storm," Hal commented, "Everyone's probably too busy worrying about the giant alien pillar with the ticking timer."

Both took a second to look at the obelisk after it was mentioned.

"You know, this could be our last days." Austin started suggestively, "And there's awfully plenty of fish in the nearby sea if you catch my meaning." He even added an eyebrow wag at the end.

"Speak for yourself. I stand hundreds of yards away from any fighting. With the big man out front, I doubt any of them will even reach the backline." Hal joked, "You, on the other hand, get up and personal with a sharp stick."

"Oh, come on Hal. You're not getting any younger." Austin jabbed.

Hal visibly grimaced, "Oh god. The words sounded like my mother but they were coming out of you're mouth." Hal shivered a bit thinking about it. "And that argument doesn't work anymore. I'm barely thirty and with my Vitality, I'll live for almost 300 years. Longer after I evolve."

"Oh, the 'there's always time' argument. How long have you been riding that one." Austin snarked. Hal had stood by that argument for as long as the question was asked.

"Just because you say it sarcastically doesn't make it untrue."

"Fine, fine, I'll leave it alone." Austin shook his head, "I've been striking out lately anyways."

Hal chuckled, "You? Striking out? Who'd have thought."

"Now that's just hurtful." Austin said, "But, I'll have you know, it wasn't because of me!"

Hal looked at him suspiciously.

"Or because of anything I said or did!" Austin added quickly.

"Okay, I'll bite. If not for that, why have you been striking out." Hal caved and asked the question Austin obviously wanted him to.

"Great question, my padawan. I'll tell you." He nodded sagely, "I noticed the change while traveling through the world with only a backpack and my own two feet–"

"Ah, Jesus, I take it back." Hal interrupted.

"Nope! It's too late now. You asked and I shall answer." Austin said, "Now, where was I? Oh, yes, traveling around and seeing the sights. The opportunities were thin at first, but then I chanced upon Marcus and the plight of his people."

Hal sorely regretted asking.

"Being the magnanimous and chivalrous man I am, I stopped to aid them against their foe. I–"

"Can we maybe skip ahead? I already know this part."

"If you keep interrupting it will only take longer, but fine, I'll skip ahead." Austin said, "So, there I was in a rebuilding city. The fights were being handled and our offensive had stalled. With little else to do but rest and recover, where else was a man to go but a tavern? They didn't have much but it was better than sitting alone. They also didn't have any beer which was mightily unfortunate. Still, I made do and the opportunities presented themselves."

"But as time went on, I noticed a change from how it used to be. It took a while to pinpoint what it was, but once I figured it out, it all made sense."

Hal was surprised Austin was getting to the point so quickly.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"With the onset of the System and levels, there was tangible power for the first time. And with power came a change in the subconscious. A self-confidence that had been missing appeared. Without petty insecurities and a growing self-assurance, I noticed an increase in the number of strikeouts."

Hal smiled, "So you're saying with an increased inner confidence, fewer women wanted to sleep with you."

Austin's face soured, "Well when you put it like that, it sounds bad."

"And since when did you become a psychologist."

"I don't need to be a psychologist when I'm already a peopleologist."

Hal pointedly ignored the bait and did not ask what a peopleologist was. He suspected it was going to be another lengthy and completely absurd explanation.

"I would've thought that the fact you are scoring less would upset you but it doesn't seem like it does." Hal pointed out.

Austin smiled widely, "It would if it wasn't so damn hot."

"Nope, not touching that." Hal immediately said.

"What can I say? Confidence is attractive." Austin said, "It also has the added benefit of making them less clingy."

"Oh, heaven forbid you actually settle down," Hal said sarcastically.

Austin gasped like the very thought was painful. Settling down would eventually be in the cards but not for a while. There was still so much to see and experience. Finding a wife and having children could wait until then.

It wouldn't be bad to have a companion to explore with though.

Going at it alone had its own nuance but it got lonely quick. Austin guessed the feeling would diminish as he aged but for now, it was still something that dragged on him when he was alone for long enough.

For some reason, thinking of exploring alone brought up Rachel in his head. She'd gone off in search of a place to forge her core and it'd been months since anyone had last seen her.

"Hal, where's your mother?" Austin asked.

"Oh, didn't like that." Hal's face scrunched up. "Jumping from women you sleep with directly to my mom upsets me."

"That's not what I mean." Austin defended, "It's just that I expected to see her here. Plus, we're not technically related. Not by blood at least."

"Stop. Not another word." Hal clenched his fists.

The odds that Hal would be able to actually hit him were slim but Austin stopped pushing.

"Hal that's gross. She's my Aunt and like... twice my age. I'm just ruffling you up." Austin said to calm the man down which seemed to work based on the unclenched fists.

Hal took a few breaths, "I don't know, actually. I thought we'd see her by now."

"Is the stone still intact?" Austin asked.

The only way to communicate over long distances they had found so far relied on paired stones. It was severely limited and could only be used once, but they were better than nothing.

If a stone broke, it meant the person was in trouble.

Everyone who left carried a few with them that meant different things and were marked accordingly. One was meant to signal the City was under attack and to come back urgently.

Another meant come back but wasn't urgent. Another was if the person was in trouble and needed help. That was about as sophisticated as they could get with such a system.

Hal shook his head, "It's still fine."

"Then there's nothing to worry about. She still has a couple of days." Austin said cheerfully.

Rachel

Rachel sat surrounded by people on all sides attempting to meditate but it was fruitless. It was hard to get into the right state of mind while surrounded by so many people. Especially people she didn't know all that well.

The Eternal Flame Faction had been great and most were welcoming, but there were always a few bad apples in any group.

She hadn't had to fight any of them outside a few spars luckily. They strictly controlled access to the resource she needed and that was one of the only reasons she played along.

Rachel wished she had the sturdy power of Chris so she didn't have to deal with their ordeals and could just power through the obstacles but she didn't. Instead, she had to play along and do what was asked of her.

Still, it wasn't all bad and she made some new friends.

The new burning strength inside of her also helped. It felt like an ever-burning red-hot coal now sat at her core constantly giving off heat and power.

A raging bonfire inside her chest at all times.

The forging process wasn't too harsh. Most of the pain came from internalizing that much fire mana and of such potency but being singed wasn't that bad.

Playing with fire tended to burn if one wasn't careful and she'd experimented enough to grow used to the sensation.

Fire sprouted from her fingers and danced around as she waved her hand to and fro.

The ease was like nothing else. She practiced with her mana daily and she was proud of her ability to manipulate it but after forging her Core, it was like nothing else.

It was so... intuitive.

Vanessa was the only one who could compare in terms of pure skill and it was nice to have someone close to her ability. It was different than temperature sparring with Chris.

Playing against her own element was more exciting and it was much harder.

Ice and fire were natural opposites and it didn't take any large amount of skill to have them battle against one another. Just introducing the two mana types to each other would have them naturally clash.

Fire versus fire had an intricacy that fascinated her.

Rachel idly wondered when her family was going to show up. They were cutting it close with how much time was left. There was no doubt in her mind that they wouldn't come. This was too important not to.

"Rachel!" A voice pulled her out of her musings. "You said you were from Frostheim, right?"

Michael came walking over from his meeting with Vanessa. He wasn't quite the second in command but he was high up in the command structure. The Eternal Flame Faction wasn't structured the same as Frostheim.

It wasn't ruled by one large family. Vanessa was its clear leader, but the positions under her were less clear. It didn't help that they fluctuated depending on power.

It was a bit odd when she first met them but it made sense in the long term. With levels and personal power being one of the main things people sought it made sense that it was how rank was established.

Only it was so much different than home.

Abigail wouldn't suddenly be dethroned if someone out-leveled her.

"Yes, that's right." Rachel said, "Are they here?"

It was hard to keep the hope out of her voice. While it was nice to get out of the stuffy North and explore, she missed her family.

Rachel knew her boy would be among them and she was dying to see him. Brayden didn't care for violence after what happened to Kyle and most likely stayed home but she knew Hal would be along for the ride.

Hal, like Rachel, leaned into combat rather than away from it after what happened.

"Vanessa just got back from the leader's meeting and said a Christopher covered in fur from Frostheim was there," Michael said.

It was funny to hear him described that way. "What else did she say about him?" Rachel prodded with a smile.

"Not much. Most of the conversation was on what we were going to do but she did note that he seemed powerful. She also said something about him bugged her." Michal shared freely.

Rachel knew the feeling but had long gotten over it. It was based on their affinities being polar opposites.

Rachel stood quickly, "Do you know where they're camped?"

"Um, I think they're still next to the River in the North. They made quite the entrance coming in on boats."

Boats?

The boats comment was new but she'd figure it out after talking with them.

She brightened excitedly. She had so much to tell them.