Wind

"Just keep people away in case they're morons and think it's dangerous, though I suspect they will all be too impressed and shocked to think about coming here. Also, make sure the camera is recording the sky at a very big angle," Rune said as he entered a perception-blocking bubble of cosmic mist he created a moment earlier.

"Mmh."

He heard the traditional grumbling of Arik that served as an affirmation behind him. Maybe he had his own suspicion concerning what was happening, but it didn't matter.

Before starting, he made sure he didn't forget anything.

'No one is still undergoing a deep dive… Check. The color forcing effect is still present on all my orbs… Check. Nobody is suspecting anything… Check, check, check!'

Clenching his fist, Rune felt the thrill of the situation.

The start of a firework with hundreds of handmade fireworks' loads was at his mind's reach, it wasn't far from representing the apex of his pyrotechnician expertise, he could see what he prepared and had the power to start it any moment he wanted.

'No announcement, no emotional speech, just… Start the music.'

(Just the Way You Are - Bruno Mars - https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=HBzyuCda2RI&feature=share)

From 3 speakers, music started to sound in site 41. It came from a relatively known singer who was said to be one of the most versatile artists of his generation.

Anyone who wasn't completely focused on one task was able to feel that in at least one point in their perception sphere, weird sound waves were appearing.

The piece that was being broadcasted had been remixed amateurishly to have its opening sequence extended, but with the help of a dedicated musical app, it wasn't audible easily.

At the same time, from the center of the site that everyone was able to reach with their perception, beams of light, trails from small orbs, flew up until they reached 100 meters, the most conventional height for traditional small load fireworks.

After reaching this height, they silently vanished before 10 meters wide spheres of the most intense and pure colors Rune was able to make appeared.

'Doubled 15 seconds of chill and relaxing mood-making, multiple intensely colorful and silent explosions appear in the sky that even those who deactivated their perception's ability to see colors cannot help but see… Something is happening. That's what they need to think.'

Now that everyone at least gave a glance at what was happening, 4 orbs were launched from the invisible center.

Ground fireworks, an innovation that would have been considered "too dangerous" for average people prior to the advent of the Ether Law.

Those 4 orbs flew up a bit before they went off and their color intensity increased drastically, following that they drew a slow spiral around the center where Rune was.

As they started to spiral, another 4 orbs ascended, vanished, and exploded silently. Those were the first complex-looking fireworks, a few sparks here and there, multiple colors mixed like water and oil, giving way to clouds that lasted only long enough for the next wave to explode.

'Crescendo classic, first sequence finished by a show of intensity…'

50 seconds in, as the music's chorus started, he launched the first out of the three apex fireworks he made.

A big rainbow trail appeared, it flew much higher than 100 meters and was followed by tens of smaller orbs, it reached higher and higher, stopping only at 500 meters.

And then it exploded.

If someone had still been focused on his task, they would have instantly snapped back to reality.

A 150 meters wide orb of rainbow appeared, overshadowing everything as it kept expanding, eventually swallowing the smaller explosions that took place below.

Tens of orbs flew up, completing the first sequence and making the expectations higher as it told everyone it wasn't over.

A show of complexity started for a few dozens of seconds, showing the spectators what it was possible to do with energy in the field of fireworks.

2 minutes after it started, the second chorus started.

'Second sequence, show of technicity…'

A not-orb was launched, it was more of a cube, but as for its inner workings…

Same as the first one, it left behind a rainbow trail and ascended much higher than its escorts, which exploded on the way, highlighting its peculiar existence.

When it vanished, an explosion that sent different 3D shapes flying in all directions started.

All those shapes left behind their own trails, and next the biggest of those shapes exploded themselves, freeing more 3D shapes that flew everywhere.

It didn't end there as all those shapes started to fall towards the ground, until they really hit it, and then bounced one time before exploding for the last time.

After this sequence ended, there was only a very short break, but it was fully utilized to show that fireworks were only limited by one's imagination.

Star-shaped, sword-shaped, tree-shaped, hat-shaped, Rune made everything that passed through his mind into fireworks.

2 minutes and 55 seconds in, the ending sequence started.

It was more relaxed, slightly different, and it was being reflected in the fireworks as they all shifted towards a uniform violet-pink-ish tint.

Also, the explosions started to produce the loved-hated explosion sounds that had always been linked to fireworks before.

At the same time, the volume of the music increased drastically to compensate.

With the very short ending sequence, all the fireworks were very condensed in terms of time and more and more orbs started to fly up, exploding in different shapes, mixing, interfering, all at different altitudes.

'Final sequence, show of tenacity…'

In the sky that looked to be filled completely with explosions, a single orb immediately gathered the attention, it wasn't big or different. It looked just like the first few firework orbs launched that left behind a sphere of intense and pure colored spheres that had long faded.

The trail it left behind didn't disappear, it acted like fairy dust and flew everywhere, radiating an intent as if it wanted to blind the world but just didn't have the power to do it.

It ascended, and continued ascending, 100 meters, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1 kilometer high…

The final bouquet reached its climax as no parcels of the sky in a 3 square kilometers radius from the ground to 300 meters high were unoccupied by a firework's explosions. The sound was cacophonous, filling the entire site 41 in sound waves that even made the ground vibrate in turn.

It continued going further, as if its energy was infinite, until finally, at 3 kilometers high, it vanished.

The music ended there, making everyone perplexed as to what the ending was.

And then the opening sequence sounded again as a cloud of pink fairy dust finally made its existence known, slowly descending and covering 5 square kilometers under their weirdness.

The opening sequence kept playing in a loop, but slowly diminishing in volume, announcing the approaching end.

The fireworks stopped, Rune having run out, the cloud reached the ground, if one extended their arms, they could touch this fairy dust as it was slowly dissipating, returning to the ether.

The music ended.

Rune exited his bubble of cosmic mist and let it scatter behind him, he had no use for it anymore.

He looked at Arik who was doing something to the camera and acted like what he did was completely inconsequential.

"It felt good. Now I can return to intent tinkering with complete peace of mind, firework is really a good hobby to have. Anything to say about it? Relatively bad, wasn't it? I could have done so much better, you know?"

"It was good enough, it'll make for a good video ending," as usual, Arik was either following him in his acting or being himself, the line was thin and there was not always a right answer.

"Sure."

As he wondered if he had something else to say, a very thrilling subject came to his mind, "About the AREC ranks… Do you have something more than what's readily available online?"

"No," he instantly replied without any emotion, nearly dismissing Rune.

"Ok, later then."

With truly nothing coming to his mind, he walked away and had the pleasure to observe the reactions of the people who saw his cute little firework show.

Some were excitedly discussing it, some had already put it as a thing from the past, others were experimenting with their energy, trying to copy him.

'Let's start by writing, I have a lot to say about it…'

…

Overall, Rune felt he perfectly scratched his firework itch.

He didn't have a date for the next time he wanted to repeat such a project, but he wanted to at least progress a bit before doing it again.

'Oh, her eyes, her eyes. Make the stars look like they're not shinin'. Her hair, her hair. Falls perfectly without her tryin'.'

After having used this music, he came to love it even more than before to the point that he hummed it internally as he tinkered, ignoring everything as he moved his head to the beats.

He was so absorbed by his work that he didn't react until Arik and Astryde entered within 10 meters of him.

"Yeah? We're going?" He asked the most likely subject they should have come for, and he struck just right.

"We're going," Astryde nodded as she positively replied.

Dismissing his experimental cosmic mist spheres, Rune stood up and appeared ready to depart just from that.

Taking the lead, he brought up the map, "Where to next?"

"Site 58, at the extremity of the east settle sites."

He found it, created a waypoint, found his orientation again by rotating over himself, then started to walk in the right direction, "I would say 2 weeks, I personally don't need to slow down to gain levels. You?"

"2 weeks is enough," Arik said.

"Same," Astryde added to the flow.

"Looks like our adventure's difficulty will step up soon, then."

"For our greatest pleasure," Astryde noted, she seemed a bit different seeing how open she was as she admitted that, causing Rune to be a bit surprised.

"Yup," he agreed, "For our greatest pleasure."

Predicting a slightly awkward moment, he increased his music's volume and switched to a more dynamic playlist.

Leaving site 41 like that led to the same feeling of freedom Rune loved so much, it was only slightly diminished compared to the first time as he expected it to happen again.

'Last stop incoming, and then we'll really be entering the unknown. There is nothing that can give more freedom than doing that, and doing it seriously.'

"None of you have a time limit or something like that, right? It didn't change?" He already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it again.

They didn't answer.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Rune," Arik called him, with a very rare serious undertone, "Why are you shining?"

"Cause I'm too-"

*Ding* Cohesion: Specialized Endless Adaptation reached Tier 1 Level 6

"-pure…?"

He didn't even think and stopped running.

For no reason, the viral video of an environmental event that nearly killed hundreds of patrollers and truly killed a few tens flashed in his mind.

All his energy armor had changed color, from its natural transparent white it had become tinted with a very pale green.

'What's happening?'

In his mind, it wasn't wariness or emergency that took over, it was confusion.

For his endless adaptation to gain a level, it needed to be used, it was so logical he implicitly knew what was happening, the signs of its activation were the pale green covering his armor.

But if an environmental event was currently touching him, why weren't Arik or Astryde feeling it too?

With his perception he tried to see something, but he saw nothing, he tried to send something, but nothing, he tried anything he could with his perception.

But nothing.

'Either I can predict an environmental event, so we'll soon be hit, or something is passing by that is identified as a residue of an environmental event.'

However, his knowledge of how the environment struck told him it was impossible for precursor signs to exist. If his endless adaptation mastery was able to do that… He would be able to change the whole world. Nobody can predict when the environment would strike, it was a law that never changed.

'I would bet my money on the latter.'

To try and know what was "hitting" him, he brought up his endless adaptation mastery window.

Cohesion: Specialized Endless Adaptation

Specialized Slotted Mastery (Tier 1)

A secondary specialization made from the fusion of the adaptation, self, isolation, and rejection effects. It has been specially designed to be able to grow as long as one's cohesion fights against environments that restrict its user.

Based on a very precise set of rules, with time, this mastery can adapt one's cohesion to resist any given environment, in any form.

Adaptations:

Erosion Ether Adaptation: 0%

Wind Ether Adaptation: 0%

'Wind ether adaptation? So there's wind now? Let's try that first.'

Having a way to verify or clear up the situation, he got a wind-speed measuring tool from his personal ether pocket dimension.

Wielding the ball-shaped tool, he waited for it to give him a result on its digital screen under the curious eyes of his 2 friends.

The result came out a few seconds later.

'90 meters per second… I don't think it's normal, but it's also not really alarming?'

"You don't feel there's something wrong with the wind, right?"

"Is there?" Astryde asked in turn, not sure about what Rune was asking of her.

Arik remained silent, probably trying to feel if there was something wrong, but he shook his head a moment later, "Nope."

"The… Pale green tint is due to my growth mastery, the one I told you about before. It means that currently, something that has the potential to restrict me and has an environmental origin is hitting me, so us by extension."

Arik and Astryde then proceeded to act like curious kids and waved their arms around, trying to get a feel for something different.

As for Rune, he checked the guide and used the "wind environmental event tier 4" keywords to search for what he wanted, clicking on the first search result that was linked to the "Environment Events" section of the guide.

'Pushing power, cutting power, disorientation power…'

His energy armor was still covered in a faint layer of pale green, and now with the additional info that as long as this layer kept existing, something was passing by them, Arik and Astryde didn't take long before they opened their own guide.

Yet, when even after more than ten minutes of experimentation that ended with far-fetched plans that involved untoldable things, Rune decided to let it go.

'I'll just add an entry named 'Mystery Wind', a good name to tell others about it.'

"Let's go?" He asked.

Keeping his wind-speed measuring tool in hand as the group went on their way again, they quickly left the security perimeter of site 41, entering the wild and dangerous but mapped bone region.

Then they encountered their first monster.

'It doesn't care about the wind… So is it really that my endless adaptation is hyper-sensitive? I didn't gain another level after all this time too…'

Not wanting to have his train of thoughts interrupted, he didn't take a step forward and only started to release cosmic mist, leaving the charging monster to his 2 companions.

'The problem is that I don't know the range, what if this wave of wind traveled tens of thousands of kilometers? It's not like I have a dilution quotient of environmental ether available in the guide, do I? If I had to guess, I would logically bet more of my money on the event having taken place not that far from here, it would explain why all the wind that is hitting me now is recognized as a threat…'

Developing his theories took time, enough time for another monster to enter his perception and start fighting with Arik, but the initial observations were so paradoxically vague and precise at the same time that he easily established a few rules that were objectively true no matter the point of view.

'Well, time to stop thinking about that.'

A third monster had entered his perception sphere.

His cosmic mist bubble was ready and operational, Astryde having already gone inside once to get a surprise advantage.

He turned on his bait, a spiritual light that instantly blindingly burned the monster's perception appeared at the center of his bubble, causing all sorts of reactions the entire group had long learned and knew how to exploit.

To make sure the third monster didn't decide to go to one of his friends, Rune annoyed it with an inexpensive and inoffensive energy beam, forcing it to charge towards him.

The group had long learned to never underestimate the bone monsters. They told each other the same advice about how unexpected anything could happen that they all became sick of it, though at least now, no one became stunned or frozen from surprise anymore.

That's why when the third monster accelerated using a momentum boost to the point that it reached the bait in less than a second from 5 kilometers away, Rune only felt relieved at finding what the monster was good at before he started using the perception-loss shock to his advantage.

His exploration immortal fighting style wasn't fixed, it was alive. His strength had kept growing and now, with a total additional efficiency of 634%, his maximum potential strength became 73 400, a number that allowed him to recover some of his more direct confrontation moves.

Not striking as the opening move, he reached for the unprotected side and locked 2 limbs as his target.

In reaction, the monster instinctively tried to first wave its limbs, and second turn around, but to its dismay, it changed nothing and that's when Rune started dishing damage when he saw an opportunity.

The perception-loss shock, as he smartly called it, was an advantage he knew to exploit like his comic mist intent. The two were intricately linked and he loved them both equally.

The monster struggled around for a few seconds before it wanted to retreat a bit.

It was however too late for it as it had already unveiled its ability to use its momentum in a boosted form, and Rune made sure to firmly anchor his feet to the ground when he saw signs.

Still under the perception-loss shock, the assault of something it couldn't see, and now with an additional failed retreat, it nearly reached its berserk state and activated its own regeneration boosts.

That's when Rune reached for its 4… Or 5 supporting limbs and began to hit them.

Its armor held strong, but it was easy to see its energy armor wasn't a core part of its fighting style, it was keeping its energy for something, and he suspected this use was linked to the only reason it hadn't yet activated its last measures or went berserk.

Worrying about something potentially lethal and holding back to evade more easily was nonetheless not the way to go.

An adequate strength meant that as long as Rune was willing to sacrifice a bit of his close to full armor, he could continue to steadily lower the monster's tolerance, lowering its instinct threshold to its limit.

And that was not even talking about the possibility of this monster having only the boosted momentum specialization, rendering irrelevant all the wariness he maintained.

Anyway, using 100% of his strength had always been something Rune loved to do, and it didn't change even after years of adventuring.

Three minutes later, under the constant stream of damage, the bone monster's energy armor broke and its health started to be impacted.

Another three minutes later, Rune could do nothing as the monster exploded with its energy and showed its proficiency in a surprising burst of gravity element, breaking the stalemate the very instant it used it as Rune ended up flattened on the ground.

It wasn't normal gravity element. Such a burst use was something he experienced before with another monster, a unique one at that, and looked further into with the help of the guide.

It was simply a universal secondary specialization, giving one the ability to overcharge the linked primary specialization, copying one aspect of what one who reached beyond could do naturally with basic efficiency.

Its weakness was logical.

It was costly.