There is nothing like signing myself up for more torture to make me wonder what is wrong with me. Yes, I want to get stronger, but surely there is another way, an easier, less painful way. I could probably get my wives to spar with me in the soulscape to train, why didn’t I think of that sooner?
Not only would that be a more pleasant way to train, but the girls would get the skills as well. Hopefully, they will never need them, but it would be better for them to have them. Not to mention that it would be good for the kids to have them as well, they might actually need them.
As beasts, they are far more likely to end up in a soulscape battle than my wives are. Although, I suppose it is possible that the demons might target my wives and attack them through the soulscape. Either way, I am going to have to teach all of them how to fight in the soulscape.
*DING*
Congratulations! Skill Mental Attack has progressed to level 4!
Mental Attack
Level: 4
Wis +8
You are adept at launching mental attacks.
Congratulations! Skill Mental Defense has progressed to level 7!
Mental Defense
Level: 7
Wis +21
You are adept at defending your soul.
Everburn says “What happened? For a minute there you actually used your defenses and attacks in sync!”
“Oh, I was just thinking that I need to teach my wives and kids how to use soul attacks and defenses.”
Everburn says “Wait, your skills improved because you got distracted? That is the opposite of what should have happened! That makes no sense!”
“Um, I guess so?”
Everburn says “What led to you thinking about teaching your wives and kids?”
“It started with me realizing that I could have sparred with my wives to train instead of being tormented by you.”
Everburn says “Raising your skills inside a soulscape would be much more difficult. It would take longer, but it is possible. Do you want me to stop training you and leave you to train yourself?”
“No. I will train with them, but I can’t guarantee that I will have enough time to level my skills. It is better to train here as long as I can, for as long as you are willing to train me.”
Everburn says “In that case, let’s get back to work!”
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That is all the warning I get before a massive swarm of attacks come flying at me. It takes every attack I can throw out and every defense I can raise to stop all of the attacks. Everburn gives me just enough time to catch a breath before he launches the second wave.
*DING*
Congratulations! Skill Mental Attack has progressed to level 5!
Mental Attack
Level: 5
Wis +10
You are adept at launching mental attacks.
Everburn keeps throwing swarm after swarm of attacks at me, not giving me any time to rest. The first hint I have that something is wrong is when I block a swarm and there isn’t another behind it. I heave gasps of air for a minute and then everything catches up to me and I collapse.
Everburn says “You lasted longer than last time. Did you decide to add your extra points to your wisdom?”
“Yes, I did, but I didn’t notice any difference.”
Everburn says “You aren’t experienced enough to be able to tell, but I am. You lasted about ten minutes longer than last time. You would have lasted longer, but I’m guessing that you added the point half-way through?”
“Yeah, about that.”
Everburn says “Alright. Are you going to join me in my soulscape for more training while you recover? Or are you going to create your own?”
“I will create my own and check in with my wives and kids. The sooner I teach them the skills, the sooner they can start practicing with each other.”
Everburn says “Just remember to restrain your attacks when you are teaching them. They will all have level one souls.”
“Is there a way that I could help them level up their souls without them going into the hallway?”
Everburn says “There are a number of resources that you can buy in the city that grant experience. You could buy them and pass them to your wives and kids to get them a few levels. Even that is going to cost you a lot based on how many mates and kids you have. Also, have you considered what is going to happen when your mates get pregnant? How are you going to survive if more than one gets pregnant at the same time?”
“Considering the amount of time I have already spent with some of them, I am guessing that I am sterile. Otherwise there would have already been at least one pregnancy.”
Everburn says “I didn’t consider that. With no spirit of your own, you probably can’t create life. That may be fixed if you fix your spirit, keep that in mind.”
“I didn’t consider that. Thanks for the warning.”
Everburn says “You’re welcome. You’re going to need all the help you can get with six mates.”
“They aren’t dragons, it won’t be as bad as you think.”
Everburn says “I think you underestimate them, but I will leave it at that. You can just be surprised. Go on, go teach them. I will be waiting for you to return once you have recovered your soul power.”
“Alright. Sounds good.”
Once I have permission, I quickly create a soulscape and invite my wives and the avatars. It is obvious from their excitement that they have missed me and the first few hours pass quickly. Once we have all gotten reacquainted, I summon my kids and spend some time with them.
After the kids settle down, I gather everyone and teach them about soul attacks and defenses. It is my soulscape, so they can’t just create things with their imagination unless I let them. Because of that, it takes a bit of work before they are able to create their first defense.
Not too surprisingly, Lin is the first one to succeed in creating a defense and get the skill. It isn’t anything impressive, but it is enough for her to get the skill and is a good start. I have her practice while I go through and give each one individual help until everyone has the skill.
Next I have everyone create a defense and throw really weakened attacks at all of them. Even weakening my attacks as much as I can, only a couple of them manage to stop the first attack. However, none of them manage to keep their defenses up through a second attack.
We repeat that for a while until I am sure that all of them understand it, then I have them create multiple defenses. To practice defending, I send a constant stream of attacks at each of them. Each time one of their defenses falls, they have to create another one behind it.
