Chapter 120

PRACTICE UNDER FIRE

Alexander stepped through the gateway.

The air hit him first. Thinner than The Nexus, sharp in his lungs. Cold enough to raise goosebumps but short of freezing. Wind rushed past, carrying the scent of pine and stone.

He stood on a ledge jutting from the mountainside. Below, several hundred meters down a steep slope dotted with scrub and loose rock, a dense forest spread into the distance. Above, the mountain continued upward, gray stone and patches of dark earth climbing toward peaks that caught the last rays of dusk.

And there, perhaps fifty meters out and above the ledge, a man floated in the air.

The cultivator stood on a sword. Actually stood, arms folded behind his back, sky-blue robes rippling gently in the wind. Late thirties by appearance, though Alexander knew better than to trust that with cultivators. His expression was calm. Almost bored. Watching them emerge from the gateway with the patience of someone who had all the time in the world.

The others had already fanned out around him. Hjordis to his left, massive sword resting on her shoulders. Julia slightly ahead, ice already forming in crystalline patterns along her forearms. Maximilian stood to the right, attention fixed on the cultivator.

The red dragon loomed behind them, positioned clear of the gateway.

“Why isn’t he attacking?” Julia asked, her voice tight.

“Because we can retreat through the portal at any time,” Maximilian said. “He gains nothing by forcing us back immediately.”

Hjordis shifted her weight. “My aura is bouncing off many people behind us.”

Alexander reached out with Electrokinesis, extending his awareness past the gateway. Bioelectrical signatures lit up in his mind.

He counted them methodically. “Thirty-two. Behind the gateway.”

Maximilian glanced at him. “Some versions of Electrokinesis can gauge relative power. Can yours?”

“Three of them read roughly equal to the cultivator I fought in the solo challenge,” he confirmed. Then paused, evaluating the remaining signatures. “The rest are weak. Maybe half the strength.”

“Do not discount them as a threat.”

Alexander raised an eyebrow. “Is he always like this?”

He could hear the smile in Julia’s voice. “Always.”

Hjordis looked between them. “Last chance. Anyone want to pull out?”

Silence answered her.

She nodded once.

Then the cultivator spoke. His voice carried easily across the distance despite the wind. The words were unfamiliar, flowing together in a melodic cadence of the cultivator’s dialect.

Droney translated. Alexander sent a command through their bond, and Droney transmitted it out loud for the others.

“There were five last time, and they were not my equal. You can still flee.”

Hjordis planted one foot on a boulder and leaned forward. Her voice rang out across the gap, raw with controlled fury.

“Those you killed were not warriors! They did not deserve to die at your hands! But mine will avenge them!”

The cultivator’s expression didn’t change. He simply watched her, waiting.

Julia glanced at Hjordis. “Fire and Ice?”

Hjordis nodded.

Alexander looked at Maximilian, confused. The Dragon Lord’s attention remained fixed on the cultivator ahead.

“We’ll handle the others,” Maximilian said quietly. “Then join you.”

Hjordis’s wings burst outward in an explosion of flame. She launched from the boulder with enough force to crack the rock. Wind and debris blasted backward. Alexander raised an arm to shield his eyes as dust washed over him.

Julia shot forward an instant later, her smaller form almost hidden behind Hjordis’s blazing approach.

They closed the distance rapidly. Hjordis’s sword came around in a massive overhead swing, fire trailing from the blade. The cultivator tracked her movement with minimal adjustment to his stance.

At the last possible moment, Hjordis veered ninety degrees.

Julia rocketed past, fist drawn back and wreathed in ice. The cultivator’s hand snapped up. He caught her punch with his palm. The impact sent a visible shockwave rippling through the air.

Then he yanked her upward with a sharp motion and snapped her downward with a second. Julia hurtled past the ledge and disappeared from view, crashing somewhere below.

“Stronger and faster than anyone I’ve fought,” Alexander said.

Maximilian nodded.

Hjordis had already reversed course. She swept back toward the cultivator, blade spinning as flames intensified along its length.

Alexander reached out with Metallokinesis. The borrowed turrets and reinforced barriers rose as one large clump, metal responding as his power flowed through them. Droney managed the other drones, spreading them out in formation around him.

He lifted into the air himself. The feeling of freedom, of flying, still sparked joy in him. Even here.

Beside him, chains materialized beneath Maximilian’s feet. They rose like a platform, carrying him up level with the dragon’s back. He stepped onto the massive creature without hesitation, standing easily on its scales as it shifted beneath him.

Alexander watched as small barriers appeared, locking the man’s feet into position on the dragon’s back.

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The dragon launched itself from the ledge. Wings snapped open and beat downward with enough force to shake loose rock. It dropped briefly, then caught the air and began to climb. Powerful strokes carried it in a wide arc, circling back toward the gateway.

Alexander rose higher, gaining altitude until he cleared the gateway’s frame. He rotated slowly, letting his power carry him through the turn.

The mountainside behind the gateway revealed itself in sections as he rotated. Cultivators scattered across the slope. Some stood alone on outcroppings. Others clustered in small groups on wider sections of the path that wound up the mountain.

The dusk light caught their robes. Most wore simple gray or brown, practical garments that blended with the stone. But three stood out in sky-blue that matched their leader’s. They were positioned higher on the slope, watching.

The dragon pulled alongside him, rising and falling with each wingbeat. The rhythm of its flight contrasted with his own smooth hover. Maximilian stood on its back with perfect balance, arms crossed as he surveyed the enemy force.

“Knowing you use barriers to look cool ruins the illusion,” Alexander said loudly, over the beating of wings.

Maximilian chuckled.

One of the three cultivators in blue robes moved. He stepped forward, then jumped. A sword materialized beneath his feet mid-leap. He rose on it smoothly, taking point position ahead of the others.

The other two followed moments later. They flanked him, their own flying swords carrying them upward in a loose triangle formation.

Below them, the regular cultivators began to stir. Most remained grounded, but a few rose awkwardly on their own weapons. Their flight looked uncertain compared to the elites’ smooth ascension.

“I want to practice infusing things with power. Can you handle the three?” Alexander asked. He kept his tone conversational despite the circumstances. “Will Julia and Hjordis be able to hold out against the leader?”

Maximilian glanced back toward where Hjordis and the cultivator were engaged. The clash of metal rang across the distance. Flames carved bright arcs through the dimming light.

“Julia can take multiple hits from my father,” Maximilian said. “So she’ll be fine.” He paused. “And Hjordis is both an exceptional warrior and actress. She’s angry, but completely in control.”

His attention returned to the three rising cultivators.

“Just don’t take too long.”

Maximilian leaned forward. The dragon surged ahead, wings beating with increased intensity as it accelerated toward the three elite cultivators.

The two flanking cultivators immediately began to spread out, attempting to create distance. Massive barriers materialized on either side of them, blocking their escape routes. Both cultivators slammed into the translucent walls hard enough that Alexander heard the impact carry across the distance.

The dragon’s head rose. Fire built in its throat, visible through the gaps between scales. Still flying forward, the massive head snapped down. Flame erupted in a torrent between the two barriers, engulfing all three cultivators in the inferno.

The lead cultivator’s hands moved. A shield snapped into existence, glowing faintly as it deflected the worst of the flames. The other two rushed forward, adding their own power to reinforce it. The combined barrier held against the dragon’s breath.

Alexander turned his attention back to the regular cultivators. Five were already airborne, flying toward him on conjured swords. Their approach was direct, weapons drawn. Below, scattered across the mountainside, others were drawing weapons of their own. Swords materialized in hands. Spears extended from sleeves. Some cultivators moved into what looked like coordinated positions, hands forming intricate signs.

He glanced up at the floating mass of barriers and turrets hovering above him. His control over so many individual objects simultaneously was terrible. The mental effort required to manipulate each piece separately would leave him vulnerable.

Alexander raised his hands like a conductor preparing an orchestra. He made a splitting motion. The clump separated cleanly into two groups. Eight thick composite barriers peeled left. Three heavy turrets drifted right.

His left hand shifted, guiding the barriers downward and forward. They arranged themselves into a loose wall, angled to face the mountainside below. Gaps between each barrier allowed him to see through while providing coverage. Qi blasts reached him moments later. Sword slashes that launched cutting arcs through the air. Palm strikes that sent spheres of energy forward. Spear thrusts that produced lances of light. All of them slammed into the barriers with sharp cracks and bursts of dissipating power.

His right hand lifted, palm up. The three turrets rose above the barrier line, rotating slowly as their targeting systems activated. Barrels tracked across the mountainside, searching for targets.

Droney and the other drones shot through the gaps in the barriers. Their shield-blades extended with synchronized mechanical clicks. The drones spread out in formation, accelerating toward the five cultivators flying on swords.

The cultivators responded immediately. Weapons came up to meet the incoming drones. Metal clashed against metal. One cultivator’s sword carved through a drone’s chassis, sending it spiraling downward in pieces. Another drone’s shield-blade caught a spear thrust and deflected it wide before ramming into the cultivator’s chest. Droney blitzed past a third, turning to slam into the back of his head before continuing toward the next target.

Alexander ignored the dogfight developing in front of him. He focused on the turrets instead, reaching out with Technopathy.

The connection was there. He could feel the weapons’ systems, could interface with their targeting protocols and fire control. He pushed harder, trying to force more of his power into them. Trying to fill them completely.

It immediately felt wrong. Like he was just commanding them normally, but overloading the connection without actually changing anything fundamental. He was doing it incorrectly.

Movement on the mountainside caught his attention. Light spread across the ground beneath a group of cultivators. A circle expanded outward from their position, growing larger with each passing second. Symbols filled the interior, intricate patterns that rotated slowly. The entire formation glowed blue and yellow, pulsing with building power.

Ten cultivators stood within the array, hands moving through coordinated sequences.

Alexander redirected the turrets with a thought. Their barrels swung downward, tracking toward the array formation. He gave the firing command.

Energy blasts erupted from all three weapons. Rapid pulses of concentrated power rained down on the cultivators. Most threw themselves aside, scrambling for cover. Several raised shields overhead, catching the attacks on barriers that flared bright with each impact.

One cultivator was too slow. A blast caught him center mass. He dropped without a sound.

Another took a hit to the shoulder. He stumbled, clutching the wound as he fell behind a boulder.

The array’s light flickered and died. The remaining cultivators scattered properly now. Some ducked behind rock outcroppings. Others paired up, combining their shields to create stronger overhead protection.

Alexander kept the turrets firing, sweeping across the mountainside in wide arcs. The weapons’ targeting systems handled the specifics while he maintained their positions.

Behind him, something exploded with enough force to shake the air. He didn’t look back. Maximilian could handle himself.

Alexander couldn’t waste the opportunity to figure out Willpower-infusing. Not now that he knew it was common knowledge among superheroes, and after seeing how it might be applied. Every advantage mattered.

Alexander spent a heartbeat considering the problem. Hjordis had explained the principle clearly. Fill the object with power, then withdraw while maintaining ownership. He’d tried pushing Technopathy into the turrets and failed because he was approaching it like enhanced command instead of actual infusion. But she’d demonstrated it by channeling power down her arm.

Hyperawareness screamed a warning.

A qi blast threaded through the gap between two barriers, angled perfectly to reach him. He tracked its path. A sphere of condensed energy, maybe the size of a fist, moving fast. One second, maybe less.

He lifted his left hand and made a decision.

Electrokinesis flared. Instead of just charging the capacitors like normal, he let the power spill into the gauntlet itself. Current flooded it. The metal sparked as electricity arced across its surface. It was electrocuting him where his skin contacted the interior, though his resistance made it feel like barely a tickle.

The qi bolt closed the distance.

Alexander leaned slightly and backhanded it.

His gauntlet connected with the sphere. The impact jarred his arm, but the bolt deflected cleanly. It shot past his shoulder and exploded behind him with a sharp crack.

He stared at his gauntlet. Electricity still danced across its surface, small arcs jumping between plates. The metal itself felt different under his awareness. More present. Almost like an extension of himself.

A grin pulled at his mouth despite the chaos around him. He was onto something.