There are no more dwarves, here. --70.2 Seconds Post-Integration.
"Is everyone available for our study group?" the text read.
Study group? Tonight?
"Sorry to use you as a calander, SIMP, but did I plan a study session for tonight?"
SIMP scoffed. "Yes, you did young man."
He groaned. Wonderful. Now he had one more thing to do.
Clark sent off an affirmation text inviting Theo and Hera to his dorm for the study session. As he waited for their eventual coming over, he made for himself a cup of black tea for the caffeine and a protein heavy meal. If he was going to study and heat his head up with knowledge, then he needed a little something in his corner.
The group came over and the study started right away, neither of his co-workers minding him eating as they reviewed the contents of the dwarven books they've been reading from the library.
"Our general review is done," Hera said about twenty minutes after the study session began. "So, Theo, could you start on a summary of your dwarven book?"
"Sure. Give me a moment to find the darn book in this bag of mine..." Theo shuffled inside his backpack for a bit until he pulled out History of the Dwarven People: The Facts by the Augustford Institute.
"Last time we gathered, you spoke about the first couple of chapters. Could you summarize those chapters before diving into the new content?"
"So... yeah, the first chapter was just an overview of Dwarven Creation Myth and history. It talked about the exploits of the first dwarves crafted in the holy Labatories of the Mad God. How they rebelled and launched a revolution. Chapter two detailed how that revolution forced dwarves into exile from away from the Celestial Lands. Specifically, how they settled in distinct underground regions. One of which, I read, was in the province where Augustford Central is!"
"I don't remember that from our last session. This is a recent discovery, then?" Hera asked.
"Yeah. I must've missed that detail the first time around. I was reading the book last night, though, and found the info in a footnote. I guess I will be reading the footnotes from now one, huh?" Theo laughed.
"That's good to know, Theo. That means there is at least a historical precedent for why a dwarven pod is here. I guess that means we now need to establish the motive for why a dwarven construct is in the tower and what it was used for... anyways, please continue, Theo," Clark said.
"So, I read last night the third chapter for the second time. This chapter was pretty boring, honestly. It went on and on about the hardships the dwarves faced away from the Celestial Lands. I was sad to see my own clan was mentioned as contributing to those hardships. That sucked. But that was also way before my time, so why feel bad about it?"
"Still. What a thing to discover and so off-hand as well!" Clark whistled, darkly impressed by the suddenness of Theo discovering a bit of his history despite having lived among them for most of his teenaged life.
"Yeah. I will have to talk with a Clan Elder about this some time..."
With the mood shifted to a somber attitude, Hera picked up the conversation and resumed the discussion. "History difficulties aside, as well as the explicit nature of the material, what kind of hardships did the dwarves face, Theo?"
"Oh. Well, stuff like they couldn't settle in most cities and towns because people thought they were ghosts or demons or just flat-out abominations. Weird to think about now, right, since Dwarven tech is so prized, but back then, when some peasant who had never so much as a can opener had come face-to-face with an android-robot-contraption? That must've been insane! I would've probably believed a bunch of crap, too, if some zealot came along and ranted about how unnatural them dwarves are, you know? Guess that's why my Clan doesn't have the best history with them. Shet..."
"Discrimination, then. Being a mechanized Life Form in a time of purely biological Kinds must've been hard indeed. I wonder, then, what the next chapter will bring us."
The group chit-chatted for a while about Theo's material. When they had finished going through the information with the fine comb which was their minds, the group moved to Hera's material, The Sociopolitical Idea of Dwarven Power by Jessica Leggins.
"Hera. Summarize, please. As Theo did," Clark initiated.
"Absolutely. As I said last time, this book is difficult to read. And I say that as someone who has taken private tutoring at a well-funded church academy! Leggings uses complex sentences, long words, and SO MUCH jargon. Like, it's unreal, you guys. After much frustration and re-reading, and the help of an encyclopedia set, as well as a thesaurus, I acclimated to her prose."
Clark wondered how he would do if he tried to read the book. His skills had improved a lot since the conclusion of the first reading and writing Betterment course. Had it improved that much, though, where he could tackle a text so demanding, that even someone classically educated like Hera had trouble? He doubted it.
Hera continued unabated as he evaluated: "The first chapter is an introduction to the philosophical underpinnings of Dwarven concepts of 'Power.' Accordingly, it doesn't say too much about Dwarven political power itself, choosing instead to explore those philosophies which Dwarven organizing opposed. The opposite of these underpinnings, which is to say, the formulations which found themselves expressed in Dwarven sociality, is the topic of the second chapter. Here, Leggings talks about how dwarven revolutionaries fought the top-down repression they faced from the local monarchies with an autonomous, yet collectivized, approach due to their unique Species ability to non-verbally communicate."
"Sounds... hard..." Theo quipped. "Thank you for reading this for us, Hera. I couldn't ever wrap my head around that kind of material."
Clark joined Theo in thanking Hera for tackling the hardest book they found.
Hera blushed but accepted their thanks all the same. "Back to the book: yeah, most of the chapter actually focuses on how dwarves used this non-verbal communication in their organizing philosophies. How a pacifist approach differed from a violent approach, for example. And how the two were sometimes used as part of wider strategies to destabilize hostile regimes. I wish Leggings went further into how Dwarven power evolved, but I guess maybe she is getting to that? Chapter three is much the same as two, except the focal point moves from communication to 'ontology,' their unique metalloid bodies. I do find this stuff fascinating, but there isn't anything yet about dwarven pods or how those pods might factor into why a pod is at Augustford. I will keep at it, though, and let you know what I find."
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With he being the only party member that hadn't shared, and with him actually having the easiest text, Clark hurried himself through the material, Dwarves and You: A Basic Social Guide by Ear Manny. "I think we all already know the basics. Dwarves are self-aware, sapient, sentient machines capable of self-replication and their origins are murky. Ummm, what else is there to say?" Clark tried to hide how tired he was, but it was hard doing when he was so tired! He paused and waited for questions. He would've liked there to be none, but of course that wasn't going to happen, not with his quick rundown.
Hera and Theo, both asked him a flurry of questions. To answer them, he had to retread his literary tracks, to his body's tiresome dismay. "Hera: your question was about their lifespans. Dwarves, if I am remembering what I read correctly, are immortal... or maybe not? Their souls lie within unbreakable gems and those gems form community -- which answers your question, Theo, on how dwarves live. Wait, I don't think the soul gem communities are the only way they live..."
Both his work mates seemed pleased with such answers. Hera was particularly energetic about his responses. "So," she said, "Dwarves are soul-creatures. I always figured they were but always lacked confirmation. That is fascinating. I suspect they are the earliest such Soul creatures around, too, yeah?" By now, she was speaking more to herself than to him. All he could do was shrug.
Clark went over a few more details about Dwarven folk then ended it for the night. "I wish I could say more, but I haven't had a bunch of time lately to read my library rental. I will do better, I promise. You both have kept up with your readings well. I am jealous!"
"Meh, we have more free time than you." Theo shrugged, now. "Once your second Betterment class ends, I will hold you to a higher standard, mister leader!"
"I agree. For now, nothing to worry about," Hera agreed and the night soon after ended.
Clark got as much rest as he could manage before his League training. Which was only so much, but what could he do? Beg the Gods of Sleep for aid? Already he had done so and found nothing by way of their reply.
So, he had splashed some cold water on his face, grabbed a coffee to go, and rushed off to the League's underground training stadium moments after he woke up. He chugged the coffee while on the run, so by the time he entered the stadium, he was rearing to go.
He, Hera, and a few other new recruits in their session organized themselves once they saw their trainer approach. Their trainer was a man he hadn't seen before. Part of him thought Ballroom would be his trainer, but he guessed that didn't make much sense since Ballroom was a bureaucrat.
"My name is Salsa Crop," the man announced. "I will be your League-certified trainer from here on out. I will assume all of you have a chance to read through the League pamphlet by now--" A terroristic jolt shot through his spine when Clark realized he hadn't read the pamphlet. "But if you haven't, then I will now summarize the basics: that is, until you complete this basic training, you cannot have mandatory shifts. Once you pass this training, you are on your own. Questions?"
None of the assembled raised their hands.
Salsa continued: "Good. Now, on to the training. As new recruits, you are at the bottom of the ladder. You are ranked Z! That means you are the lowest of the low. You can do little more than a baby. If you want to be of use to this organization, then you need to put on the big-boy, big-girl pants and get good. Today's lesson will help you get good. It's all about how to swing a stick. A volunteer?"
As one, every of the new recruits stepped back. Clark was the only one out of step and so it appeared as if he had stepped forward to volunteer.
"Very good. Clark! Up and center."
Clark stifled a groan and walked up to volunteer. He might have been shy, sure, but receiving some hands-on practice from the instructor would only serve to help him. The joke, then, was on the slackers who forced him to volunteer.
Salsa gave him a stick. "That stick represents a blade. A sword, or maybe it represents a mace. It represents a physical weapon blessed with magic. It represents something which can kill a monster. Nothing other than this stick can kill a monster that has spawned from the store's plague rot."
Salsa gave him the stick. "Now, Clark. A few practice swings, please."
One - two - one - two. His swings were simple. He had lots of prior self-defense experience. Whether that experience would be up to Salsa's snuff remained to be seen.
"Not bad, Clark. Your style is rough around the edges, but it is workable." Salsa's tone was gentle, which was unexpected from a drill instructor. "You're putting too much force behind each swing. I take it you're more accustomed to using blunt weapons?"
"Yeah, actually." Now that he thought about it, whenever he had to defend himself from slimes in the store, the 'weapon' he used invariably was some blunted piece of junk he 'magified' using a Dandy. He remembered when he and Theo relied on the baseball bat to pound their way through the monster infestation in the lost sector.
"With a blade -- not this stick, obviously -- remember it is the opposite: you need to trust your blade's edge to do the hard work for you. With a blade with a good sharpness and the proper amount of magic, you should only have to swing, slice, stab with the least effort possible for the enemy you face. That will change depending on the enemy you face. Stronger foes will demand more effort, despite your blade, but again, as a general rule, your sword should be doing the heavy lifting," Salsa explained then took him through a few more exercises. "Everyone! Pair up and prepare for mock dueling! I hope you lot were paying attention!"
He and Hera paired off as dueling partners once they received their dummy swords made of wood. They whacked at each other for nearly twenty minutes, each taking care to focus on their stance and swinging style instead of trying to 'win' the duel. Hera's style was slow, defensive, whereas his own was nimble, quick. When they broke off, Clark felt his defensive and offensive capabilities had been 'bettered' by the tutorial and mock duel.
Ready for more, but wishing there would be a break for snacks, Clark turned his attention to Salsa.
"Class is nearly over. I dare to say you lot are better than half-bad. Not bad... not bad at all. Because you all show such promise, let's see how you do with a practical demonstration." Salsa pressed a button on his device, opening iron-barred gates throughout the stadium.
At first, no one knew what Salsa had done. Slow minutes later, however, Salsa's grin having not slowed any, and sluggish slimes bubbled from the opened stadium gates. A few of the recruits gasped, one whispered, "Monsters? On day one!" as if it was the most incredulous thing in the world. Clark moved to take action position.
Salsa raised his voice. "Each of you will be tasked with destroying a single Slime. Use the Dandy provided and bless your mock sword. Clark! You will probably need to use some force -- same for the rest of ya! These aren't real blades, after all."
Clark grinned. Full circle, the lesson had come.
Confidentially, he stepped toward his slowly coming slime. Having already blessed his dummy sword, he didn't need to take some steps back in fear and fumble with his Dandy like most of the new recruits, who clearly hadn't any combat skills. Close to the slime, he allowed the slime to lunge itself at him before dodging the monster's blow with an uneventful sidestep. Behind the monster now, Clark took both hands on the dummy sword and forcefully stabbed the slime, destroying it in one blow.
"Ten seconds -- Clark finishes first!" Then, moments later, "Twelve seconds -- Hera finishes second..." and so on for every recruit.
The mock battle should not have taken long, but because of the inexperience of the other recruits, the engagement took over an hour. Recruits fumbled with their blades, dropped their swords out of fear and anxiety, temporarily broke down in fear, allowing the slimes to pummel them again and again, and then did the same with their dandies. Clark wanted to be mean and call these recruits 'pathetic.' Although it was the truth, he knew he shouldn't be so hard on them as they had lived very different lives from him, both in the store and outside of it.
Mock battle done, the recruits re-assembled in their lecture formations. Salsa stood before them grinning from ear-to-ear. "Not bad! You all did adequately, some more so," Salsa's gaze briefly lingered on Hera and him. "That will be all for today. I am pleased to report all of you have passed!"
A whooping cheer went up among the younger, more male part of the recruits, while those recruits who were older, more reserved, simply clapped.
Moments later, a System notification popped up: [Congratulations! You've Received a League Rank Promotion! Promoted from N/A to Z!].
Clark smiled, feeling for the first time in a while, that magnificent feeling of forward progression! Not wanting to stop with League activities, what Salsa said next perked his attention.
"One final thing before I release all of you!" Salsa yelled, struggling to be heard over the celebratory din. "There is another training session in a few hours. I wouldn't recommend any of you skipping it! You can't begin mandatory shifts for the league until you reach at least Rank X!"
Ever Have Study Sessions with Your Co-Workers?
