Ebb and Flow

Fate and Samantha were so low because there were many Mages present with Skills that enhanced their physical prowess passively in various ways and allowed them to push themselves further, such as Cait and Ashla.

Physical activities like this, where active Skills were banned from use, were the norm at this point in their training.

At the same time, Fate, Samantha, and Venden were so high because of their insatiable desire to improve.

All three had had moments in their lives where they were forced to endure horrors that their own weaknesses prevented them from escaping from.

All three refused to become victims again, and this inspired them to push themselves to the point the instructors gave them the five G Points with nearly every exercise.

They brushed past other Mages with weaker Physical Skills on the leaderboard, slowly but surely gaining ground.

Venden was the exception. Not only did he push himself far harder than others because of the loss of his hand, but those around his rank were swiftly overtaken in both strength and skill.

By the fourth week, Venden had soared from 43rd to 25th, where he was roadblocked for the same reasons as Fate and Venden.

Pethren started near the bottom of the leaderboard, but pushed himself just as hard as everyone else, and under the Grevenich family, that was just as, if not more important than his actual talent.

But one would be wise not to judge him by his poor leaderboard score. Pethren's parents had exaggerated his skill, but not his potential. He improved rapidly, accruing G Point after G Point at a rate faster than the others at his level.

Within a month he was as skilled in hand-to-hand combat as Cait was, and within another week Cait had to rely on her superior reflexes and strength to come out on top when dueling him.

This, in turn, kindled Cait's fighting spirit, and the two's martial prowess rocketed upward at an almost equal rate. The weaker one was always improving faster than the stronger one, until the victor and the loser were swapped, along with their rate of improvement.

When the eighth week came along, Cait had advanced to 4th place from 5th with 2680 G Points, Ashla had moved to 10th with 2050 G Points, and Pethren had shot up to 32nd with a score of 1375 G Points.

Venden had broken through to 20th with 1790 G Points, and Fate and Samantha had jumped to 12th and 15th with 2015 G Points and 1985 G Points, respectively.

All of them had an extra 350 or so G Points for exceeding expectations, give or take a few multiples of five. Pethren gained a staggering 700 G Points from this rule, proof that his resolve had paid off.

That same week, the leaderboards' mechanics changed.

Instead of focusing on physical might, their training would turn toward their Facets, the most important part of their repertoire.

They'd continue to receive daily physical training sessions and tutoring on their weapons of choice, as well as G Points for their efforts, but they wouldn't encompass the entire day as they had before.

Now, G Points were also given out based on the progression of one's Stage. Everyone was given G Points to start with based on where they already were in the Journeyman Stage, which they were all in.

They received 10 points for every percentage point they currently had. Fate at 44%, who had the third-highest progress among the students behind Venden at 50%, and another student he didn't know who was at 53%, gained 440 G Points.

This brought him to 7th place, and shifted the others around as well. Cait fell back down to 4th place after earning 240 G Points.

Ashla earned 220 G Points, bringing her to 9th place, Pethren dropped to 35th after receiving 150 G Points, Venden leaped to 8th place after a buff of 500 G Points, and Samantha went to 11th place after receiving 230 G Points.

From this point on, they'd earn 15 G points for every percent through the Journeyman Stage they increased by from that point on, so the lead those like Fate gained from this was temporary if they couldn't keep up.

The few Familiars under the Grevenich – Kravoss, Pospo, Gevum, and three others – weren't part of this leaderboard, but they still received G Points for their efforts.

Fate took a deep breath in, expelling it in a thin stream before taking another.

He had said before that he would search for his own revelations instead of waiting for them to fall into his lap. This was what he was doing now, except he also had the guidance of a Master. That Master being his instructor, Freyn Grevenich.

Freyn didn't share a Facet with any of his students. In fact, he only shared a Category with one. He and Ashla both had Facets of the Element Category.

Freyn was a Fire Master, with a Skill of a rare Realm for the Elemental Facets, the Mental Realm.

Using his Skill, he could kindle a mental "fire" in someone's mind, bestowing one of two effects.

First, he could burn away any and all excess thoughts, giving those with this "flame" a hyper-intense focus. Second, he could have this flame burn away all important thoughts, leaving the victim with a mind of jumbled, useless thoughts.

The first was what was important in this case. With his mind now as sharp as a razor and focused into a thin line, Fate could shut out all unnecessary thoughts and focus solely on himself and his Facet.

His fellow students under Freyn's tutelage were experiencing the same benefits, as were Kravoss and Pospo, who were trying to examine their Blood Skills.

What the four students were attempting to do now was something the Royal Mage Academy wouldn't have taught them until the fourth and final year: Facet Meditation.

This very technique was the reason for the explosive rise through the leaderboard of those students who had been fourth-years before the aesh had attacked, and why Fate and his fellows under Freyn fell further behind each day.