From the look on his face, he knew it. He was reading my power, I figured.
“You didn’t even feel the effort of the blast, did you?” he asked.
“No,” I admitted. “There was no… weight to it, if that makes sense?”
“It certainly does. You’re releasing—effortlessly—at the level of two intermediate necromancers.”
“Really? Two?”
“Yes. It’s the ‘without any effort’part you should be proud of. Most would put a massive thrust of force behind a first blast like this, especially one intended to blow an opponent away in a rush of power.”
I smiled to myself.Wow.
“Give me more. Escalate.”
I pushed harder.
The push of it wasn’t the part I particularly needed to pay attention to. It was doing it without first pulling back, snuffing out my stream, then just delivering another blast like wouldnormally be the case. Maintaining the stream while escalating was a whole other thing, the control and precision to keep aiming, too, was a task in itself.
“Hmm,” he mused. “Is this what you hit Ruxnoth with when you defended Ambrose?”
“No.”
“Less?”
I shook my head. “More.”
He looked surprised, because he knew I didn’t like violence as a rule, or hurting people. Anyone.
“You panicked.” A statement, not a question.
“He was hurting him. Severely. It was just me there. I had… I mean, I thought I had no choice.”
“You didn’t. You did what was needed. And even though it was violence and hurt you delivered, it was actually the right thing for the situation.”
“I know,” I admitted. And I had to believe that now. If I was going to protect them all, I absolutely had to believe it so deeply.
“Show me what you hit him with.Go.”
My power crackled a little as I called forth more. It rushed down my stream and hit the shield, the stream thickening in the process.
Dad’s eyes widened, a smile spreading over his face.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re hitting with the force of five now.”
“I’m… really?”
“Six.”
Oops.I must’ve increased it accidentally at his feedback.
Of course he clocked it right away, and told me, “Careful. But keep going. More.”
“Dad, what if—”
“Don’t worry about hurting me.”
