An Unlikely Friend. part 1

Chapter 21: Odoki

Nero

“No, no, no. You need to focus and strike it like it’s a giant bat trying to nip your ears off,” Saraf says sitting next to the fireball generator. “It should come off of your styk faster than it started.”

“But shouldn't I be adding to its Aether as well? How am I supposed to do that when my styk is empty?” Natina asks waving the piece of wood in front of her and wearing a pair of clear safety glasses.

“Yes, but you can’t jump over a pair of donkeys if you don’t clear the first one first. Odoki is a very delicate skill and any Aether in your styk can cause it to overload if you aren’t practiced. It takes time to control how much and how fast you transfer Aether through Odoki. Just like deflecting Aether it’ll take time and practice. Trust me, this is the best way. I've had many of my styks blow up on me because I tried to rush this. We need to practice small first, adding energy purely through the physical contact.”

Is that what happened to my broomstick when it exploded? Nero continues to pedal the bike. “Why does the stick explode?”

“Odoki puts a lot of strain on your styk. If you have a lot of Aether built up and you attempt this with poor control, all the energy will try to empty instantly. This can exceed the Aethersotto of your styk, which will cause it to overload and explode. Same goes if you try to do this to an attack more powerful than you can deal with. Your styk won’t be able to handle the stress. A true master can modulate exactly how much energy releases from their styk.”

“Why would you risk this?” Nero asks.

“This is the fastest way to drain energy from your styk. So you would use Odoki if your styk is almost maxed out, or if you simply want to go on the offensive to change up the tempo of the battle, potentially giving you an edge. It’s also much faster than trying to deflect or block an attack, so if you’re desperate, this will help speed up your defense.”

“If you are adding Aether to the attack, what happens to the cast?”

Saraf raises his eyebrows and smiles. “That’s a very good question. To think I used to make fun of your feeble brain… When you deflect an attack, nothing happens to the cast, but if you perform Odoki the cast of the attack will change to that of your styk. Though your styk doesn’t actually absorb the attacking Aether, they become one for just a moment.” Saraf turns back to Natina and places his hand on the fireball generator. “Remember, there are two important aspects to this Odo form. First you need to swing at the Aether and make contact, which can be challenging in itself and second, you need to focus on driving your stick through the Aether. For especially powerful attacks, it may feel like you’re hitting something as hard as Grebson’s head but just keep your styk moving forward. This is a good mental trick to keeping your styk strong. Are you ready?”

Natina nods weakly and Saraf hits the button. A fireball grows at the tip of the generator slowly, when it finally reaches the size of an apple, it detaches, oscillating in shape like a droplet of water that just dripped from a faucet with swirling colors of orange and red twisting in on each other. Natina curls her lip and swings with her whole body. The blob of fire brightens as she makes contact and flares to a yellow before it zips off at Nero. Nero dives from the bike as it explodes against the wall. The momentum from Natina's swing causes her to spin around in a circle before she catches herself. Grebson chuckles.

Saraf looks at the giant scorch mark on his wall and shakes his head. “Nice hit slugger. You didn't need to murder it. You nearly took off Nero's head!”

Nero dusts himself off. “That was awesome!”

Natina smiles at him. “Thanks.”

“Could I try Saraf?” Nero asks quietly.