Chapter 584: An Electrifying Dinner

"When do we stop?" Kai asked.

The question hung over the wasteland, and to their credit, the elites seemed to consider it seriously. They were all a bit worn down from training, nursing injuries and headaches. Kai was now extremely confident fighting with phases, but the elites were getting better at ganging up on him, so the sparring was still rough.

"We don't," Sheiri answered first. "We can rest a little between incursions, but there's always another one. Even if we were gaining ground, I don't see it ending."

"Sorry, I didn't mean that in a philosophical way." Kai chuckled awkwardly. "I just mean how we prepare before this incursion. It's easier to plan for a specific date and I'm not sure how to make the most of this extra time."

"You're doing plenty." Talndim spoke up, since he'd been a vocal regular ever since Omilaena had helped him get to D-rank. "Too many people consider these late incursions a sort of vacation."

"I couldn't. We have more time now, yes, but less for the next one."

Kai hadn't planned that as a statement, it was just his current thoughts, but several of the elites nodded in agreement. They needed to have long time frames, given the difficulties of their work, and that was one of the things that had always appealed to him. In the end, Sheiri was the one who spoke up again.

"We're split, actually," she said. "Some believe that you'll get a premonition, so we'll have forewarning. Others say we should plan in case you don't. But either way, we just have to stay prepared at all times, doing more cycling of training. Don't relax... but you can't maintain focus this long either, so take rest if it comes your way."

He grunted in acceptance. So much for hoping that they had some magic solution to such an abstract problem.

Continued training was the easy part: Kai kept up his routine of exercising and cultivating - actually cultivating more than before, aiming for another breakthrough. Elites started coming solo and he would try to fight them with only his human abilities, one-on-on. They were some of the most skilled, cleverest, most inventive opponents he'd ever faced, and Kai hadn't been pushed like that in some time.

At this stage, however, he was seeking incremental power mostly because he was hungry for it. Any meaningful improvement to his performance in the incursion would come from qualitative advancements, and there he wasn't coming up with as much. So when they received an unexpected invitation from the Elemental Nations, he wasn't opposed.

"Dinner with the 'Lord and Lady of Mistral'," Omilaena read off the card. "That's Inafay and Orotaisin, right? There are a lot of people calling themselves 'of Mistral' but maybe they have special right to the name."

"Does that mean they're married?" Zae Zin Nim asked. "We should accept and ask them."

"Well! When did you become so interested in couples' dinners?"

"Since meeting with Tusquo and Quinta. On Cloudspire, the sexes always separate into different events, but I approve of this."

"In that case..." Omilaena turned to Kai and clasped her hands before her chest in mock desperation. "Surely we can take a little time off? I promise the incursion won't happen if we stop gritting our teeth for an hour or two."

"I'm not going to object," Kai said as he got up from his cultivation. Even without what the elites had just said to him, he wanted to see Inafay and Orotaisin again.

"Who are you and what have you done with Kai?"

"Hey, we need to mentally refresh ourselves so that we can face the incursion at our peak."

Omilaena rolled her eyes while Zae Zin Nim nodded in agreement. In any case, they accepted the invitation, and given their use of teleportation, they'd getf to the Elemental Nations in a flash. The only delay was minor negotiations with the elites, who agreed so long as they offered some of their usual assistance and morale while there.

Kai agreed, not thinking much of it, but that actually proved to involve a small amount of touring. They met with a few local hunters, distributing encouragement, qi, or injections as appropriate, and though it didn't make a huge difference in strength, Kai was glad to have toured all four Frontier nations before the incursion began.

It didn't seem like the Elemental Nations needed the help, anyway. In addition to their usual strong warriors, they had their house in order, extra defenses built, and their alliances strong. They would be fine so long as Krysal and Irun didn't collapse and lead to monsters flooding from three sides.

When the official directed them to their dinner, it seemed like they were just pointing to a storm cloud. Their direction didn't change, however, so they shrugged and flew to investigate. Kai lifted into the air, with Omilaena on one arm for support, and Zae Zin Nim placing a hand on his other arm apparently just for symbolic reasons.

Once they got higher and closer, they spotted it: a disc floating in the middle of the storm. It was dark blue and painted with storm clouds that were, demonstrably, rather realistic. Occasionally a bolt of lightning struck it, always being channeled through the metal in an arc around the side.

In the center stood a table, chairs... and Inafay and Orotaisin, the former waving cheerfully. When Kai and his wives landed, the couple was already coming to greet them.

"So glad you could make it!" Inafay beamed as she approached, clasping hands with both Omilaena and Zae Zin Nim. Since that was happening, Kai exchanged a handshake with Orotaisin.

"You have improved," Zae Zin Nim remarked, which reminded Kai to inspect their souls.

<

Name: Inafay Corinin

Total Power: 626

Windcutter Class: 99 (109)

Windborn: Twiceswept (141)

Qi Condensation 90% (17)

Physique Level: D-2 (210)

Soul Level: 7 (49)

Highwinds Essence (+100)

>

<

Name: Orotaisin of Mistral

Total Power: 782

Windborn: Thriceswept (342)

Physique Level: D-3 (215)

Body Refinement 8% (101)

Soul Level: 7 (49)

Highwinds Essence (+75)

>

With Inafay at 626 Power and Orotaisin at 782, they were quite the power couple... but what drew Kai's attention was that Inafay was at the very peak of her Class. She had been on her way before, but apparently the final level had been unbreakable... except that Inafay had a gleam in her eyes.

"This is actually a secret ceremony to reach my Advanced Class," she told them in a stage whisper. "Don't worry, we'll actually have dinner too. All you need to do is help with the mana."

For once, they were going to get to watch a breakthrough that didn't require them doing all the work. While Inafay knelt down near the center of the disc, meditating to prepare, Orotaisin remained near and spoke in a low voice.

"This is a traditional Wind Union method," he explained. "With the addition of mana, it should be enough for her Class, but should also lay the groundwork for future developments."

"Absorbing a storm along with the mana, huh?" Omilaena observed the storm and nodded appreciatively. "That could work. Really mixing together all the elements of her soul."

"The process will also saturate the food, which may offer benefits to us. Truthfully, we do not expect it to make much difference for you, but Inafay wanted to invite you and I agreed."

They didn't have much more time to talk because Inafay appeared ready, though she was unusually somber. Orotaisin handed each of them a large bowl filled with liquid mana, even more intense than would be used for a mana pool to awaken a Class. Except this time, they weren't going to put the mana in a pool.

This time, Inafay would become the pool.

Once all four of them surrounded her, Inafay gave the signal. Orotaisin began, emptying out his bowl over her head. Inafay's entire body shivered as she was hit with a shocking intensity of mana, but she gripped her knees tightly and nodded again. Next came Omilaena, then Zae Zin Nim, each time the mana intensifying.

A whirlwind burst around Inafay now, intense enough that weaker people would have been torn apart. Yet beyond the Class mana, Kai could feel that chakra and qi were stirring within her... when Inafay opened her eyes, they crackled with lightning.

It was his turn, so Kai emptied the last bowl over Inafay's head. The mana splashed off her this time, almost as if it would be lost in the air, but it was caught up in the whirlwind. Inafay sucked it all back into herself and her body lit up from within, as if she was a cloud filled with lightning.

She reached out, her hand unsteady... and Orotaisin gripped it firmly. He seemed to push upward and Inafay shot into the sky, trailing lightning behind her. Even though Kai had grown used to such explosions, the column of lightning actually blinded him briefly.

When he could see again, he didn't see Inafay, but he heard her cackling overhead. She streaked through the air, faster than before, exploding with new power. While she enjoyed her advancement, Kai checked her soul.

<

Name: Inafay Corinin

Total Power: 822

Advanced Windcutter Class: 1 (303)

Windborn: Twiceswept (143)

Qi Condensation 90% (17)

Physique Level: D-2 (210)

Soul Level: 7 (49)

Highwinds Essence (+100)

>

"Very good." Zae Zin Nim nodded approvingly.

"I'll have to take a sample," Omilaena said, "but I suppose a formal dinner isn't the time."

Inafay returned to them, colliding against Orotaisin and kissing him with explosive force. He endured the storm of lightning around her, drinking it in, then finally pulled back. Even after they parted, Inafay remained close, arm at his side as she danced between her feet.

"I'd love to use this," she said, "but I'm also ravenous. I'm beginning to think that the idea of a meal after breaking through isn't just a celebration thing."

So they sat down to eat, relaxing into comfortable conversation despite not having seen each other in some time. It was good to talk to other warriors, and Inafay and Orotaisin were especially fun because they were among the few who could discuss the subjects at a high level. Kai would have been glad to spend time with them even if they were weak, but he joined in congratulating them both and especially Inafay.

Of course they discussed the incursion, but it was kept to the margins as they shared more casual conversations. When it did come up, Inafay was one of the few who talked about the years after in practical terms. They were considering when to get married and when to have children as well as when to train with the elite and where they might live next. There was a constant question of pursuing Orotaisin's position as the Seat of Mistral or returning to Goralia with Inafay.

Normally Kai would have been left out of such mundane conversations, yet somehow he had things to say here. They could talk about going back to Cloudspire to deal with the Brightwind Sect, which wasn't just a name to the other couple now. Omilaena brought up the possibility of Rosemount and in particular its elemental chakra. And beyond that, in this company Kai could express his desire to explore the Blood Current or Lostwreck without getting looks of shock.

The meal itself was delicious, and it crackled with the power of the storm, but that was secondary compared to enjoying the company.

When the conversation did turn serious, Kai was the one responsible, somehow getting on the subject of his qualitative improvements. Normally he would have apologized, but here they shifted easily to practical matters.

"I have more essence," he explained, "but I'm not sure what to develop. I feel like I have a fairly rounded set of skills... what am I missing?"

Inafay raised a finger and said, "Underkill."

"What?" Kai narrowed his eyes as he considered what that could mean.

"You have impressive skills, but they all tend to be overwhelming. When you aren't fighting the big ones, the incursion will be a lot of monsters absurdly weaker than you. Using huge attacks to kill swaths of them can get draining, even if all the monsters are harmless."

"I have Manticore's Spine for more targeted attacks."

"Still overkill for a single monster," Orotaisin argued. "You have stamina, but everyone needs to worry about attrition during incursions. In the Elemental Nations it's common for the strongest to do restraint training, or they'll waste energy blowing away weak monsters."

"Huh." Kai considered the argument, and as soon as he shifted his thinking, a new idea came to him. He was actually already most of the way there, he just needed a little more. Even if the incursion was around the corner, he could manage this.

There was time for one more hunt.

(Cognosticon here. As mentioned, there will be a hiatus next week. There will be a bonus $25 chapter on Wednesday but normal chapters will resume the Monday after.)