Ame Perdue

Chapter Seventeen

He had given me a brief run-down of how powers worked while we walked, using his powers to the others from overhearing. Neither of them knew that I wasn't born in this world, that my ideas were more basic in theory than common fact. Milo took the opportunity to refresh my knowledge, clarifying things that had previously been murky. According to him, there were different levels of creatures.

Shapeshifters were the first level and the ones of the least power. That category included creatures like werewolves, vampires, mermaids, any creature that could turn into something else. They lacked the elementist powers that many of the other creatures held. Their difference from humans was mostly in their physical aspect. They only had the powers that every creature in this world possessed from birth, the ability to heal themselves quickly and teleportation. There were other powers scattered depending on the species, but overall they were mostly powerless.

The second level was the elementist. Those were creatures like Kam, ones that were the personification of the element they wielded. Their powers came directly from the earth, wind, fire, water, or metal. Each of them wielded one specific element based on what they were. Wind spirits, like Kam, that control the air or dwarfs that represented the earth. They were considered of middle power, above the shapeshifters only because they were able to summon their elements.

Acilia was part of a different category, one that was neither elementist nor shapeshifters. Creatures like her were few and far between, enough where there wasn't a name for their level. She was a mix between an elementist and a shapeshifter. She wielded the fire that she was born in, her body crafted in flames. She was fire, like an elementist. But she was also a dragon, able to summon on the form with the ease of a shapeshifter. She was something outside of the category, and as Milo explained, one of the few remaining. According to them, those creatures were hunting into near extinction in the beginning of the world.

The highest level of power was those that could invoke magic. Creatures such as warlocks and gods that lived with the power of the universe inside of them. They could manipulate the ways of the world to carry out the tasks that they needed done. It explained why Milo was able to see easily send Acilia to the core of the earth, his magic was twice as powerful as her element. It was why Milo had to be the one to track Aaron, he was the only one with the power to do so.

Milo figured that I would fall into the magic category if I could figure out my powers. Being able to mimic the abilities at will would make me easily as powerful as anyone that I came across. I had grimaced at the thought. The only good thing about figuring out how they worked would be that I would know how to keep myself from ever using them.

"Guns don't exist in this world," Milo told me as he flipped to his feet. He leaned on his sword as he regraded me, "Even if you did use one, these worlds don't have long-ranged battles. It's close combat and regardless of how powerful of a gun you have, it won't be powerful enough to keep everyone away from you. Someone will overtake you and you will be more likely to survive if you know how to stab them when they do."

"Machine guns work wonders," I told him flatly. He gestured for me to get back in position as I picked up my fallen sword. The first thing that Milo had shown me was the proper way to hold it. The first time that he had ordered me into position, I had ignored him out of spite. His response was to lunge at me, not partially caring that the action sent us both flying into the stream. After that, I took care to be ready when he was.

Milo moved toward me rapidly, swinging his sword just fast enough for my eyes to track. I swiftly dodged the blow, before aiming one of my own at him. I was expecting him to block it easily, which he did, but the movement gave me the opportunity to kick out at his upper shin. I grunted when his sword slammed into my side; I hadn't even seen him move the weapon, "Even a machine gun won't do you much good against a creature that can't die."