《Call of the Abyss》 Prologue An endless black expanse. Not dark. Darkness implies the presence, or even the existence, of light. No, this void is completely empty of all. Of everything. Nothing exists here. In fact, there is no ¡°here.¡± This is not a location. It is nothing. Except, it is also everything. Everything exists here. This place is utter absence and also unbridled potential. Such contradictory notions are par for the course¡ªhere and not here. Fortunately, it is completely empty, for what a frightening thing it would be if it were not. Within that absence¡­no, without that absence, there is a bubble. This bubble is not visible. Again, there is no light for visibility to exist conceptually. But it is there. A tiny, infinitesimally small point in a completely barren void. No, not in the void. Outside of it. Existing both within and without, surrounded by absence yet completely separated from it. A right angle at a right angle at a right angle at a right angle from the absence that is separate from and also surrounds it. Within the veil of that bubble, a field of stars. Or, what looks like stars. Points of light so small and glistening with light. They seem incredibly far away. As though they exist on the surface of the soap bubble that contains them. Perhaps as if someone took a needle and somehow poked little holes in the bubble, and each hole leads to a dimension of pure, radiant light. Within the exact center of this sphere of stars rests a small solar system. Although, ¡°system¡± is perhaps generous. This system contains three things only. A ¡°sun,¡± a planet, and a hole. This ¡°sun,¡± for what else could it be, gives out a glorious, pure, white light in all directions. This light has all the hallmarks familiar to stars, but it contains something else. Something more. The light has a certain, metaphorical weight to it. A significance that regular light lacks. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. This sun¡¯s light washes over a blue and green planet, slowly rotating about itself. It spins lethargically, completely unaware of the infinite nothing just beyond a hair-thin film of soap that separates the space from the cavernous maw of absence¡ªas though in casual disregard for the relentless nothing constantly clawing at the veil. The sun¡¯s light washes across the planet and continues on its way in all directions. However, the end journey for the light does not seem to be the veil, the outer film of the bubble. All the light converges on what appears like a tear in the fabric of reality itself. The light swirls around this tear, spinning in a violent frenzy before inevitably falling into the inky black. Observers familiar with what other systems look like might compare this void to a black hole. They might also note some strangeness in this system¡¯s construction¡ªfor instance, that the sun, planet, and void appear to be perfectly aligned, like they are politely waiting in line, or they might note that while the planet spins, nothing resembling an orbit can be detected from any of the celestial bodies. These oddities quickly pass by, though, as within this little, spinning planet, a young girl is about to wake up to a special day. A day she has been preparing for many years¡ªthe day when she will perform a special ritual that brings her her first, real friend. Book 1 Chapter 1 Julia awoke with a start, not from a bad dream or sudden noise. She was already excited before she was fully conscious¡ªtoday was the day! She threw the covers off and all but ran to the bathroom, knocking into an end table on her way¡ªwhoops. That¡¯s why Braden didn¡¯t like it when she ran in the house. But who cares!? He¡¯s not here right now, and today is her day. Her birthday. The day she finally gets a friend. She hastily splashed water on her face from the ever-full basin before throwing a dress over her head. She didn¡¯t care for dresses under most circumstances. Too hard to move in. Too loose and likely to get caught on sticks and bushes and basically everything nature created. Today was a special day, though. She wanted to make a good impression on her new friend. Braden always said she looked pretty in dresses, but who cares about looking pretty? He said that looking good can be a weapon on its own, but he wore the same raggedy robe every single day! So, how effective could that weapon be? Anyway, she didn¡¯t have time to think about such things. Her yellow dress with light blue flowers would have to be good enough. She tied her just-past-shoulder-length blonde hair up with a white ribbon and made a halfhearted attempt to scrub her teeth with the same chewed-up twig she used yesterday, before racing out the door. Friends didn¡¯t care how your breath smelled, right? She made it to the front porch before the scratchy wooden boards informed her she¡¯d forgotten her shoes. After a quick jog back to get a pair of white sandals, she rushed back outside towards the town gate. Or, well, the equivalent of the town gate. Rockyknoll wasn¡¯t really large enough to have anything like a wall and gate. What residents called the ¡®gate¡¯ was nothing more than a hole in the wooden stakes that formed a rough palisade There were a couple boards on the ground to cover the ditch that went around the outer edge of the palisade that one could walk over. Not exactly luxurious, but the residents of Rockyknoll didn¡¯t care to have a great deal of travelers anyway. They liked the handful of traders that made regular trips to and from the closest city, Striton, and that¡¯s it. Julia was reminded of this every single time she was outside and saw the suspicious, bordering on disdainful, looks that the people around her¡ªno! No thinking about things like that! Today is a good day. A special day. She¡¯ll not let some malcontent rubberneckers bring her down! She reached the gate just as the sun crested the horizon. Unfortunately, because Striton lay to the east, the gate faced directly into the early-morning light. Squinting and holding her hand in front of her, she sneaked behind a stake in the wall and positioned it directly between her and the sun. There. Now she can watch the road without the sun shining directly in her eyes. At least, she can until the sun rises above the stake in front of her, but Braden should be arriving well before that. A few days ago, Braden had to leave. Again. Her guardian is an adventurer, and an apparently high-ranked one at that. He¡¯s frequently called to the city to handle this-or-that for them. Sometimes there are also jobs closer to town posted at the city that no one wants to take, so they get mailed to him. He told Julia before he left that there was no way he was going to miss her tenth birthday, though, so she knew he would be back today. And then, the ritual. Her new friend. Just as she was beginning to drift into a daydream about how her new friend would play and spend time with her, she spotted a silhouette on the horizon. A figure in a dark blue robe, just shy of dragging the ground, approached at what appeared to be a leisurely walking pace. However, knowing it was Braden, for who else could it be in such an old, familiar robe, she knew that the gait and the pace would be deceptive. As a higher-Level person (though, what level specifically, he never said), Braden¡¯s steps would carry much farther and be much faster than hers. And, sure enough, what appeared to her like a pleasant walking speed ended up eating ground almost mysteriously as she watched. It was distracting in a way her brain almost found uncomfortable. Watching a single step like she might take somehow consume many of her strides at once triggered something in her mind that evoked a sense of¡­wrongness. She had asked Braden about why it made her so uncomfortable once. He said something about your brain seeing something it¡¯s not used to triggering¡­what was it he called it? Something about nervous¡­sympathy system? She didn¡¯t know what a system for nervous sympathy was. Something about your brain instinctively knowing that someone that can move like that could be a potential threat. Or something. He said he wasn¡¯t completely sure about it either and was just guessing, so whatever. It was just weird-looking. That she knew for sure. Getting lost in her own thoughts again, she was startled to find that Braden was so close that she could see his stupid, ear-to-ear grin now. That was not the smile of someone that was happy to be home. It was the face he made when he was up to mischief. Usually at her expense. Last time she had seen a grin like that, it was when she had asked what would happen if she pressed the water spray button on the magic toilet when she wasn¡¯t sitting down on it. He got that big smile and told her to go ahead and try it¡­and she was rewarded with a soaking of toilet water. Braden was always adamant about not telling anyone about all the magic devices their house had. She had begun to suspect that it was so that no one else around town could warn her about the pranks he could play with them. Not that anyone around town would tell her anything, since that would require talking to her¡ªstop thinking about that! ¡°Enjoy the taste of bugs, old man? Is that why you¡¯re smiling like that? Like to use your teeth to catch them as you walk?¡± She called. He was still quite a ways away, but if he was close enough to hear her shout. His pace would mean he¡¯d be here in just a minute or two. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I never pass up extra protein if I can help it. A growing girl like you should be taking notes rather than chiding.¡± He sounded annoyingly smug. She didn¡¯t know why, but she didn¡¯t like it. Probably because her past experiences with that grin were not positive. When she cupped her hands around her mouth to shout what was sure to be a scathing retort, she noticed the guard at the gate giving her the stink eye. ¡°Just walk out there to ¡®im if yer wantin¡¯ a conversation. I ain¡¯t paid enough to defend the gate from nothin¡¯ all day and listen to people scream at each other first thing ¡®n the mornin¡¯. My first cup a ale ain¡¯t even half gone yet. That means it¡¯s too early for whatever this business is.¡± Giving the guard a sheepish nod, she walked out past the wall. Somehow, in the seconds that exchange took, Braden had closed the distance so much that she could fully see him now. She was surprised to see his long, raven-black hair down. Usually he wore it up in a bun or tail if he were out on the road. His build was what she would describe as¡­average. She knew that under that robe, he had tightly coiled muscles that could bend steel, but he certainly didn¡¯t have the warrior build. His Classes had clearly focused on magic. He had maybe put a few points here and there into Strength, but people that invested heavily into Strength typically started showing it pretty early on, and although she didn¡¯t know his specific level, it had to be high. Maybe even above 50. That would actually explain being strong without the muscles to back it up. Level thresholds tended to bestow a certain amount of across-the-board Attribute increases once reached. For a person to have a level above 50 and a body that you could throw a rock in a crowd and hit an exact match to, though? That practically screamed ¡®mage.¡¯ His trimmed beard (barely above what you¡¯d call stubble) was pristine, as always. He cared an almost concerning amount about his beard. He¡¯d have no problem letting his fingernails grow long enough that they¡¯d probably hurt when he made a fist, but that beard never got a single bit too long or short. ¡°The sweet spot is difficult to maintain and easy to lose,¡± as he liked to say. His staff/walking stick clacked the ground as he walked, as ever. Nothing more than a thin pole of wood whose tree of origin she had trouble identifying, he never went anywhere without it. It was something of a curiosity for Julia. She knew that many casters used a focus, like a staff or a wand or something, to boost the power of their spells. Braden was a caster, so was his staff also a spell focus? It didn¡¯t look like it. In fact, it looked far more like a quarterstaff than anything. Foci typically had some kind of crystal or other artifact embedded in them. Actually, that was the one thing that didn¡¯t change between foci. The shape of the focus would change, but there would always be something to focus the mana through, be it a crystal, a piece of a monster, or some other magical material. Braden¡¯s staff didn¡¯t seem to have that. It was, as far as she could tell, just a polished pole of solid wood. True, the color was a rich amber with a freshly-polished sheen, but she had seen similar things in the furniture at some of the carpentry shops around town, so how special could it be? Regardless, Braden was, in every sense, average. The one thing about him that wasn¡¯t was his piercing, violet eyes. They very nearly glowed. Actually, there were times she recalled seeing them literally glow, but it wasn¡¯t often. She was unsure what the glowing conditions were. Something to do with magic, probably. Admittedly, she seldom saw him casting more than the most basic of spells, which he only did when he was teaching her. The eyes¡¯ piercing quality came from the way they looked at you, though. Or, rather, through you. It was like he could see all the way through you, out your back, and behind you in a way that was hard to describe. She had asked him about this once as well, but the second he started in about his ¡°wisdom as an elder¡± or whatever, she immediately tuned it out. He couldn¡¯t be more than 35, anyway. People with high Constitution would appear young for much of their lives, but again, Braden was clearly a caster. He very likely did not have a great many points in Constitution. Despite her thorough inspection of his person, nothing seemed out of place. No tatters in his robe or scuffs on his staff. Not even his hair was messed up. If he had come across any trouble, it didn¡¯t do enough damage to him to show. She was glad he made it back safe and sound. She knew it was silly to worry about someone high enough within the Adventurer Guild to be called in from a town over, but she couldn¡¯t help worrying. She found herself picking up speed as she approached and was soon running at full-tilt. Braden stopped and his mischievous grin softened to a pleasant smile. She launched herself off her feet and plowed into his chest, wrapping her arms and legs around his middle. She exhaled softly in slight disappointment when he didn¡¯t fall over backwards. She had just hit six in Strength a few days ago, but she was sure she could muster up enough force to knock him down if she put her whole body in it. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten a bit stronger, haven¡¯t you? I don¡¯t recall having to plant my feet to catch you,¡± Braden said as he began to walk towards the gate patting her back. ¡°I wasn¡¯t even trying. You¡¯d have fallen over if I were.¡± ¡°Oh, so not trying is just a trend this morning, then? I thought maybe your morning breath was because you¡¯d forgotten about that herbal paste I mixed up specifically for this purpose, but it¡¯s good to know you did remember it and simply decided not to try very hard¡± Braden said with a wry smile. ¡°...no, I did brush. I definitely tried. Things just ended up this way,¡± Julia said with a sniff. She¡¯d have her nose turned up at him if she weren¡¯t still draped across him like an ill-fitting towel. ¡°That makes it worse for you, doesn¡¯t it? Forgetting is forgetting. It happens all the time, but what you¡¯re claiming is you¡­what¡­are bad at brushing your teeth? That¡¯s¡­well, I say this with all the love in the world, Jules, it¡¯s a little pathetic. It¡¯s not a complicated task. That said, I¡¯ll love you just the same even knowing you¡¯re incapable of a task as simple as brushing your teeth,¡± he chuckled. She lifted her head from his chest and squinted at him. He pointedly looked straight ahead without acknowledging her disapproving stare. ¡°You can¡¯t talk to me like that. It¡¯s my birthday, so what I say goes.¡± She had him this time. There¡¯s no defying a birthday girl. ¡°I was just going off what you said yourself, but point taken. It¡¯s the spirit of what¡¯s said rather than the specific words that matter. I brought a gift for you back from the city, but unfortunately, I won¡¯t be able to give it to you if I¡¯m constantly being repelled by your stink-breath. How about we go home, and I¡¯ll give you your gift once you use the paste?¡± ¡°Fine, but I¡¯m riding like this the whole way there. A birthday girl doesn¡¯t have to walk if she doesn¡¯t want to,¡± she said with satisfaction. Just one more push since he decided he was going to be snarky on her birthday of all days. ¡°Agreed,¡± he said while chuckling. Chapter 2 Triumphantly exiting the bathroom with her breath smelling vaguely of lavender, Julia made her way to the kitchen. Braden had gotten out a pan to start cooking breakfast, but what caught her attention was the box sitting on the table. It was made of bright, glossy wood and bore what she assumed was the name of the store from which it came. As far as she could remember, she¡¯d never been to Striton before, so the name didn¡¯t mean much to her. The box was about as long as her forearm, but she had no clue what might be inside. ¡°You can open it if you want. You¡¯ve brushed your teeth, so that¡¯s the bargain fulfilled,¡± Braden said in an amused tone without turning around. Well, she wasn¡¯t going to argue. She picked the box up and opened it to find a hairbrush made of the same polished wood as the box. It was¡­she wasn¡¯t sure how to describe it, but it was different from the combs she and Braden used. This one had hundreds¡ªmaybe thousands¡ªof individual bristles that looked a bit like hair. Although, they were much stiffer to the touch than any hair she¡¯d ever felt. On the back of the brush, she could see some carved runes. ?????????? ¡®Durability,¡¯ if she read it correctly. She was decent with her runes from Braden¡¯s instruction, despite never focusing too much on enchanting. So, a hairbrush with a durability enchantment. Undoubtedly expensive. Any enchantment, even one so basic as durability, was worth the price of a year or two of comfortable living in Rockyknoll. She couldn¡¯t help feeling a little baffled, though. Braden knew her really well, so he definitely knew she didn¡¯t particularly care that much about how her hair looked¡­ Something of what she was feeling must¡¯ve shown on her face, as Braden, who had turned around to see her open it, began chuckling. ¡°First of all, it¡¯s a hairbrush that¡¯s made for a different purpose than the combs we use. Combs are for detangling the hair¡ªor getting sticks, leaves, and other detritus out, in your case. This brush is meant to help spread the natural oils from your scalp down through the rest of your hair. The bristles are actually hair from the Rock-Spined Boar.¡± Julia was surprised to hear that the bristles of this brush were made from the hair of a monster. The Rock-Spined Boar was considered a beginner-level monster in the Adventurer Guild, but any monster parts would be expensive due to the danger (however minimal) from retrieving them. Other than the hard spines sticking out from its back, the Rock-Spined Boar is otherwise the same as the non-monster counterpart. It¡¯s definitely dangerous, but since its only tactic is to charge head first towards its target, trusting that its spines will deter an attack from behind, it¡¯s considered relatively easy to take down. She still couldn¡¯t figure out why Braden had gotten it for her¡ªespecially after spending what was obviously a lot of coin on it. ¡°Second,¡± Braden continued, ¡°The reason you need this is because I expect you¡¯ll be spending a great deal of time outdoors when we perform the ritual today. As such, you¡¯ll be wanting to spend as little time inside as possible. If you use this brush to help even out the oil levels in your hair, you don¡¯t need to wash it as much. I would love to tell you about how good for your hair it¡¯ll be and how great you¡¯ll look with shining, golden locks, but I know you¡¯re not really interested in that. Healthier hair will, I guess, just be a side-benefit for you,¡± he said with a smile. Julia found she was also smiling while thinking about not having to wash her hair as much. What he had given her was not just permission to spend all her waking moments playing with her new friend, but also a tool to facilitate it. Julia had to wash her hair almost daily as it was due to how much sweating she did in her daily life. Not to mention all the detritus (as Braden called it) that got caught in her hair. Not having to wash it would dramatically cut down on her total bathing time. ¡°Thanks, Braden,¡± she said with sincerity. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Now, I also brought back a new bottle of maple syrup from Striton, so let¡¯s plate these pancakes up and eat. The sooner we eat, the sooner we can get on with it¡­that said, don¡¯t rush and choke. We both know the real gift is the magic we¡¯ll be doing today, after all.¡± Julia took the warning to heart and ate as fast as she could while drinking almost an entire pitcher of water. Hard to choke when it¡¯s more water than food, right? After cleaning up the dishes, Braden led them to the basement. The house was not large. Braden didn¡¯t like unused space, so there was only exactly as much space as they needed. The front door opened into a quaint living room on the right with a comfortable couch and chair facing a stone fireplace that was the centerpiece, despite it rarely dropping below a light chill at night. To the left was the kitchen, which had plenty of counter space as well as a small table with two chairs pushed against it. At the back of the kitchen was a little hallway that had a backdoor leading outside, a staircase leading to the second story, and a staircase leading down to the basement. Most people in town called an underground storage space a cellar. She was unsure why she and Braden called theirs a basement, but she also didn¡¯t care that much. The second story was an A-frame with two bedrooms (one for each of them) and a bathroom between them. The bathroom had a tub with a spigot above it that Braden had enchanted to spit water out like rain. Julia was aware that when most people around town talked about bathing, they meant literally taking a bath. Braden said he was, ¡°more of a shower guy,¡± so this overhead spigot is what they used. Although, there was a faucet just barely above the bathtub that could fill the tub so it could be used in the traditional way as well. Following Braden down the stairs, Julia tried her best to focus on the thought of her new friend rather than thinking about how many bugs there likely were down there. She didn¡¯t much care for the basement. She wasn¡¯t afraid of the dark or anything. She just didn¡¯t like the idea of creepy-crawlies right above her and in falling-on-her-head range. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°So, you¡¯ve got the requisite Attributes now?¡± Braden inquired as they walked down the stairs. Julia knew she did, but she liked seeing the results of all her hard work, so she called up her status screen.
Name: Julia Age: 10 Class: None Subclass: None Strength: 6 Dexterity: 5 Constitution: 7 Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 8 Resilience: 7
She felt a surge of pride looking over her stats. True, most kids would get all their Attributes to 10 around age 16 just by growing naturally, but she had hit 10 in Intelligence six years early! And there were several Attributes that were not far behind. The only Attribute slightly lagging behind was Dexterity. She knew it was because it¡¯s the Attribute she liked working the least. Strength was easy. Just pick heavy things up and put them down¡ªaccording to Braden. Constitution was also easy since she ran all the way into the woods almost every day to find rocks to use for strength training. Not to mention her strength training itself also contributed to raising her Constitution. The mental Attributes? Well, that was also easy. She loved to read, and Braden had books aplenty. In fact, her daily routine was to run into the woods, train her strength, then find a cool branch to climb to and sit on while she read. Her favorites were stories of brave adventurers or heroes, but she would read anything she could find¡ªincluding the dry stuff, like wildlife manuals. She would even meditate in the way that Braden had taught her, which seemed to help with both Wisdom and Resilience. Dexterity was harder just because it was a little more complicated. She did her stretches after her run and strength training, but stretches alone didn¡¯t raise it that much. Dexterity was about more than just your flexibility. You had to find ways to be, as the name would suggest, dexterous, which was harder than just picking up heavy rocks. Braden had given her a few routines to do (calisthenics, he called them), which she liked reasonably well. The issue was that they were always longer and more involved than any other training. Except maybe the meditation, but she found that fit in her current routine nicely as a rest period between the physical exertion and the reading in a tree. ¡°Int at 10, Wis at 8, and Res at 7,¡± she declared proudly. ¡°Wow. I¡¯m truly impressed, Julia. Not many kids would have Attributes like that at your age. You¡¯ve worked hard, I can tell. I¡¯m proud of you.¡± Julia glowed with the praise but was suddenly embarrassed for some reason. ¡°Thanks,¡± she murmured with a small smile. Braden turned towards her as they arrived in the center of the basement. ¡°Alright. Here is the sapphire powder. I bought it in Striton so that we don¡¯t have to use any of our normal supply. Draw it out just like you practiced. I¡¯m here if you need any help. Much better to ask for help and get it right than guess and get it wrong.¡± Julia resisted rolling her eyes. He said the same thing every time they practiced the ritual! What a worrywart. ¡°Ok,¡± she said as she took the pouch and stuck her fingers in. She had prepared for this ritual for over a year. In fact, her level 2 in Runes was almost exclusively from learning the runes necessary for this specific ritual. Bending over, she began letting the dust fall as she traced out the pattern. She could draw it with her left hand while blindfolded at this point. ??? ?? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ????-?????????? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ? ???? ??? ???? ???? ? ???? ??????? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? With my mana as the source By my will-determined course Bring the creature I need With these gems I feed Protect without from within Send it back should this prematurely end Julia knew rituals didn¡¯t need to be so verbose, nor did they need to rhyme. According to Braden, being specific was very important to beginners, as giving exact directions to the magic can help alleviate issues you¡¯d run into if your visualization and intent weren¡¯t coherent enough. The rhyme-scheme was just fun for Julia. Braden let her write the whole thing herself, only making minor alterations where he thought necessary. This particular ritual needed the runes to be written in a circle, but it would be tremendously wasteful to use enough sapphire dust to encircle the amount of space they needed entirely with runes. So, instead, she would write the six individual lines in a rough circle. There would be empty space between each line, but as long as they were all aligned in a mostly-circular pattern with roughly the same amount of empty space between each line, it would be fine. With the runes drawn out and a spot check with approval from Braden, Julia sat down just outside the circle. She touched a finger to the dust and began to channel her mana. Chapter 3 Julia recalled the lessons Braden had given her on meditation. The first thing he taught her was to find the origin of her mana. ¡°Cast your senses inward and feel the mana inside of you. It¡¯s sourced from the food you eat, so start there. Imagine where your stomach is and start looking for your mana.¡± It was like a small cloud nestled between her heart and stomach. Braden had taught her to refer to that area as her core. The little, wispy cloud in her core pulsed regularly. It was not in sync with her heart, nor did it ¡®beat¡¯ per se¡ªpulsing was the best way she could describe it. It felt as if it expanded and contracted ever so slightly in a steady rhythm, much like the gentle movement of clouds. From there, Braden had her guide small chunks of that cloud away from her core, sending them around her body. ¡°Now, take just a small tendril from that cloud and move it through your body. Take it from your core all around your body. Introduce it to every part of your body so that both it and the mana can become familiar with each other.¡± He explained it was generally easier for people to imagine mana as traveling through ¡°veins¡± similar to blood. Many theorized that there were, in fact, many tiny veins carrying mana around the body. Braden said that was nonsense, though, so she didn¡¯t think too hard about it. As she passed mana through her body, she discovered that just its presence in her flesh made her skin tougher, her muscles stronger, and her bones denser. This was called mana reinforcement. Apparently, even the more strength-focused classes used mana reinforcement to strengthen their bodies further. Braden called it an essential skill to possess at levels above 50. Once she could reinforce her body, she was guided to sense the mana outside of it. ¡°Now, take a thread of the mana in your core and push it to your extremities. Push it all the way out to your fingertips, and then keep going. Don¡¯t push too hard¡ªyou¡¯re trying to coax it out, not force it. Once it¡¯s out, feel it in the air around you. Try to feel the mana surrounding the thread you just pushed out. It will probably be easiest to sense the mana that is actively trying to merge with your thread. Mana likes to merge. It likes to combine with itself regardless of the intent or alignment of individual mana sources. Feel the mana that¡¯s trying to combine with yours right now.¡± This process had taken months of work. Braden said it was not an intuitive process by any means, and being able to do it at such a young age was nothing short of prodigious. The praise was nice, but Julia couldn¡¯t help but think she must be slow when she thought about how long she had practiced every single day for months before she even felt a small breath of mana outside herself. Sure, it might not sound like much time¡ªin the grand scheme of things¡ªbut she tried it every single day! For months! Apparently, being able to sense and manipulate the mana outside of your own body was one of the keys to powerful spell casting as well as a way to somewhat work around the limits of your own body. Using external mana to fuel a spell would obviously leave your own internal mana untouched, which could then be used for other things, like body reinforcement. Braden said there were many risks when manipulating external mana as well, but that was a more advanced topic than she was ready for right now. Returning to the present¡ªas she channeled her own mana through her body in preparation to inject it into the ritual circle, she heard Braden advising her. ¡°The key to this ritual is to connect with the mana outside your body, and then trace it to its source. We talked about this before, but the source of all mana is the sun. We don¡¯t need to complicate things with additional information right now, so don¡¯t think too hard about the implications of that. Just know that what you¡¯re looking for right now can be found through the sun.¡± She could be imagining it, but Julia could swear she could feel a¡­connection, of some kind, from the mana to the sun. She felt she intuitively knew the sun¡¯s position in the sky despite being underground¡ªor perhaps it was just Braden¡¯s words affecting her mind. Regardless, she focused on that connection, whether real or not, and began pumping her mana out through her finger and into the sapphire dust. The dust began to glow a vibrant blue as she started the incantation. It wasn¡¯t complicated; she was simply saying the words that the runes spelled out. Also not a necessary component of rituals, but Braden claimed it, once again, helped focus the mind on the desired effect of the ritual. In magic, intent was king. If you don¡¯t have a firm grasp on what you intend the magic to do, it can be¡­destructive. ¡°Good, you¡¯re doing great. Now, keep doing what you¡¯re doing, but also think about what it is you¡¯re seeking. What do you desire? A companion? A pet? A friend? A comrade-at-arms? Feed your want, your need, to the ritual, and it will handle the rest.¡± What did she want? That was easy. She wanted a friend¡ªsomeone who would be there for her no matter what, someone who wouldn¡¯t abandon her once they discovered that everyone in town hated her, someone to go on adventures with, to play with, and to stand by her through thick and thin. Someone who wouldn¡¯t play mean pranks on her and would get mad at the people who did. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Her need, combined with the incantation and mana, seemed to push the ritual over a tipping point. The sapphire dust began to shine so brightly she started considering closing her eyes. Before she could react, the active portion of the ritual ended. Her mana stopped being pulled from her, the circle stopped glowing, and the sapphire dust rose off the ground into a ring that began orbiting around¡­oh, curious. When did that get there? On the ground was¡­well, she could only describe it as a furry ball. She instinctively started to reach for it before Braden¡¯s voice cut her off with insistence. ¡°Don¡¯t move! The ritual is not over. You¡¯ve completed the summons, but until either a pact is made or the creature is returned from whence it came, the ritual is still ongoing. If you enter the circle, you forfeit the protections worked into the runes. Remember the wording of the runes? Only that which is without is protected from what is within. You¡¯d be putting yourself in danger by placing any part of yourself into the circle.¡± Of course, she knew that. They had gone over this ritual many times, even practiced it a few times with chalk runes and without injecting any actual mana. Something was off. She knew better than to do something so risky for no reason. As the thought was occurring to her, she realized that she was sweating and breathing heavily. Somehow, the ritual had drained her almost completely of mana. She felt she had just a drop or two left. That would be why Braden wouldn¡¯t let her attempt it until she reached certain Attribute thresholds, then. No wonder she wasn¡¯t in her right mind. Mana had an intimate connection with the mind. In fact, one¡¯s total mana pool was almost directly determined by a combination of the Intelligence and Wisdom Attributes. Just as she was wondering what to do next, the little ball of fur uncurled itself. Julia almost squealed from how cute it was, all sweating and exhaustion forgotten. In the center of the circle appeared a¡­tube-like creature that Julia hadn¡¯t seen before. It reminded her somewhat of the squirrels she saw in the woods, but this creature was slightly longer. It had long whiskers and fur that was snow white except for its little feet, which were black like charcoal. It looked up at her and wrinkled its nose, as if sniffing in her direction. ¡°Well done, Julia! That¡¯s a Black-Footed Mirage Ferret. I¡¯m familiar with ferrets, but this one seems to be magical. It has some affinity with illusion magic. What a wonderful companion you¡¯ve summoned. The only thing left is to see if it wants a pact. This shouldn¡¯t be a complicated affair with an animal, magical or not. Just speak the words while channeling your mana to your mouth.¡± Julia summoned the remaining dregs of her mana and moved it to her mouth as she spoke. ¡°Would you make a pact with me? To stay in this plane and be my companion until death forces us apart?¡± Braden had told her very early in their mana training how important it was to speak carefully and precisely when intoning with mana. Apparently, words spoken with mana carried more weight than regular speech. He said it was less of a concern with an animal that lacked critical thinking, but even then, it was better to be safe than sorry. The ferret bobbed its head up and down and ran in a little circle. Julia didn¡¯t know what that meant, but as soon as it finished running, she felt a rushing sensation as¡­something flooded into her. She drew a sharp breath, realizing that some of the mana stored in the sapphire dust was rushing back into her¡ªbut this was not the same mana she had poured in initially. It carried a different intent. As it rushed into her core, she heard a ping and a system window popped up in front of her.
Black-Footed Mirage Ferret has accepted your pact. Companion information added to Status. Summoning Magic unlocked! Monster Taming Magic unlocked! Spell: Ritual Summoning added to spells under the Summoning Magic category. Spell: Pact added to spells under the Monster Taming Magic category. Black-Footed Mirage Ferret lacks a name. Please provide a name for your new companion.
When she finished reading the pop-ups, Julia realized her mouth was wide open. She quickly closed it, hoping against hope that he hadn¡¯t noticed. Braden was staring at her with a huge smile. Great¡ªthere would be teasing about her slack-jawed expression in the near future. Her attention was pulled back to the ritual circle, as the orbiting cloud of sapphire dust was beginning to sizzle and pop. As she watched, the dust seemed to just¡­pop out of existence. It made the noise and just¡­disappeared. Strange. Once it was gone, the ferret immediately ran up to her, climbed up her leg, and perched on her shoulder. It happened so fast that she couldn¡¯t even react. This creature was quick! She started smiling and giggling while petting her new friend on her shoulder. ¡°Seems like it was a success, then. The ferret accepted your pact. You should have a prompt to name it, correct?¡± She nodded without looking at him, still engrossed in petting her new friend. ¡°Good. Think carefully about it. As far as I know, there¡¯s no time limit, so you can take as long as you like. The name is permanent once given, though. So, once your choice is made, there¡¯s no going back.¡± Julia only had to think for a second before she entered a name into the prompt.
Name accepted. Black-footed mirage ferret name set to Trixy.
Chapter 4 Julia brought the pickaxe down with a loud clang. Having drifted off in thought over the last couple of hours, Julia was surprised when the slab of rock she had been working on suddenly slid off the cliff face and crashed to the ground¡ªbriefly drowning out the quarrymen¡¯s singing. Her own pick had been swinging to the beat just moments ago. The workers at the quarry sang to break up the monotony of the constant work. Or she assumed that was why. The quarry she was working in was situated in a crevice too small to be considered a canyon, but it was impressive nonetheless. It almost looked like a titanic sword strike had cleaved the ground in twain. Workers had been shaving bits off the ravine¡¯s walls for many years, and it had widened considerably as a result. This was the Rockyknoll stone quarry¡ªa large cleft in the ground that was now stepped with years of layered-quarrying. Julia vaguely knew that the stone was one of the town¡¯s main exports, but she couldn¡¯t recall what kind of stone it was¡ªlimestone, maybe? She didn¡¯t care, honestly. The workers here were as tough as the rocks they mined and just as friendly. Julia found that she liked working here despite the complete lack of friendly conversation. At least here, the silence was due to hard work rather than any personal dislike Sure, the workers might go back to giving her sour looks the instant they set foot outside of the quarry, but here there were no individual grievances or nasty looks. There were just people working hard and, usually, some singing. Julia was working at the quarry because of a favor Braden had done for the owner Well, ¡°working¡± wasn¡¯t really the right way to describe it. Her Strength was up to 12 now, but it still couldn¡¯t compare with the people who worked here for a living every day. They looked like they were made of the same rocks they broke. Still, that they would let an 11-year-old child hang around and break rocks that were small enough was a small source of pride for her. There were no watchers or guardians hovering over her to make sure she didn¡¯t hurt herself. Everyone knew she was at least capable and competent enough to look after herself in a somewhat dangerous work environment. She was here working because of something Braden had mentioned during one of their magic lessons a few months ago. She recalled seeing him use an Earth Magic spell¡ªcalled Mold Rock¡ªto create a beautiful little earthen replica of their house. He did things like that when he saw her practicing hard. He probably thought he was breaking up the monotony and bringing some levity to her training, but it ended up being discouraging. The best she could do with her own version of the spell was make rocks vibrate a little. She had asked Braden how he could use the same spell to such great effect. ¡°Well, the most obvious answer is practice. I¡¯ve had many more years to use Earth Magic than you¡­but that¡¯s not the whole story. I want to stress that practice is, without a doubt, a huge component of magic competency. However, I don¡¯t want to do you a disservice by making you think that if you bang your head against magic long enough, it¡¯ll eventually do exactly what you want. There¡¯s more to it than that. The not-so-obvious component is understanding. If you attempt to replicate something you¡¯ve witnessed out in nature with magic, it¡¯s going to be difficult and mana-intensive because you likely don¡¯t understand how it happened. Sure, more mana can solve many problems, but humans are, unfortunately, limited by the amount they can hold in their own bodies. Thus, if you try to create an effect without even a cursory understanding of what¡¯s happening, your spell will either drain far more mana than necessary or fail completely when you run out.¡± ¡°What about using the mana outside your body? Didn¡¯t you say that mages could use that to work around their limited capacities?¡± Julia inquired. ¡°Well, yes. To a certain extent. That¡¯s still a topic that¡¯s beyond you at the moment, but I will tell you some of the risks of that method now so that you¡¯re not tempted to try it on your own without me there to guide you. The mana outside of your body is volatile. Now, that doesn¡¯t particularly matter if you¡¯re, say, trying to create a huge fireball or a lightning strike or whatever. But, if you¡¯re trying to shape a rain-repellent sphere to set up camp under, you¡¯re likely going to wake up soaked. The environmental mana is constantly trying to exert its own intent and will on the mana you shape. It can¡¯t do this with the mana inside your body because your body itself insulates your internal mana from the external. Mana you¡¯ve pushed out into the environment, though, is now separated from your will, and it only has the initial intent you bestowed upon it. Thus, when it encounters environmental mana, the original intent begins to wear away, leaving only the environmental mana¡¯s intent. In the example of the rain-repellent sphere, environmental mana is constantly saying there should not be a non-physical barrier preventing rain from entering a space. And, while you¡¯re sleeping, you¡¯re not exerting your will and intent over the magic, so it begins wearing away.¡± ¡°Ok, so you¡¯re saying that¡­um¡­magical effects that you want to be executed quickly are easier to use with environmental mana because there¡¯s less time for the natural mana in the environment to corrode the intent and will away?¡± Julia questioned. ¡°Correct. This is why we carve runes into objects to enchant them. The runes themselves act as a physical manifestation of intent for the mana flowing through them. There is actually a less-permanent form of enchanting called conduit enchanting that can be done quickly and without runes. This involves just passing mana from your body into an object. Very simple. It¡¯s useful for effects you¡¯re only going to need for a few minutes. The downside to this technique, besides its impermanence, is the damage it can do to objects and materials. Foreign mana of any kind invading an object can destabilize its structure and cause it to break faster than normal, or even outright. Still, conduit enchanting is common among adventurers. Particularly among archers. It¡¯s much cheaper and more flexible to buy simple arrows and enchant them on the fly than it is to buy arrows with prescribed enchantments carved in them. Granted, conduit enchanting effectively makes those arrows one-time-use, but it¡¯s still dramatically cheaper than buying fully-enchanted arrows.¡± ¡°That¡¯s interesting, but weren¡¯t we talking about why your spells are more effective and intricate than mine? You were also explaining why you can¡¯t always substitute external mana for your own in spells¡± Julia said with slight exasperation. ¡°Oh, yes. Sorry. You¡¯ll be prone to rambling when you get to my age, too,¡± Braden chuckled. She rolled her eyes and motioned with her hand for him to get on with it. ¡°Well, to summarize the second point, environmental mana is volatile and, as such, isn¡¯t always a good option for every spell in existence. The rain example I gave was mild. There are situations where external will and intent can blow your own spell up in your face. Now, for the first point...Ok, so, as I said before, understanding is key. Your intent is directed by your understanding. The reason it takes so much more mana to create magic without understanding, or even why it¡¯s possible at all, is that you¡¯re leaving all of the ¡®how¡¯ of the magic up to the Will of the World.¡± ¡°The Will of the World?¡± she wondered. ¡°Yes. Well, that¡¯s what I call it, at least. I¡¯m not sure if different people or cultures have different names for it. Functionally, it¡¯s the will and intent behind that environmental mana I mentioned. Its directives are what make the world work the way it does¡ªthe rules and laws that govern this reality. Any time you use magic, you are telling the Will of the World to make something happen that it hasn¡¯t planned for. And, if you don¡¯t tell it exactly how to create the effect you want, it¡¯s going to use its own interpretation. Imagine trying to recreate a lightning strike but not understanding the mechanism behind it. If you just pump mana out to try and make it happen, the Will of the World might try to summon an entire thunderstorm, with your mana fueling it, to create the lightning bolt. That would be tremendously wasteful, obviously. But, that¡¯s how lightning forms in nature, so that¡¯s very likely what the Will of the World will try without more specific directions.¡± ¡°So, the reason I¡¯m having trouble making more than a shaky rock while you can create an exact, miniature replica of our house is¡­what¡­because you understand rocks more than I do?¡± Julia asked dubiously. ¡°Yes, exactly. I know that¡¯s hard to believe, but think about what you actually know about rocks. You¡¯ll likely discover that it¡¯s not much. And that¡¯s not meant as an insult. The vast majority of people have only a passing understanding of the world around them because it¡¯s all that¡¯s necessary for their daily lives. You don¡¯t really need to understand what a rock is, what it¡¯s made of, or how it was formed to bake a really good cake, right? So, if you¡¯re a baker, why would you try to learn? You, though, need to learn these things if you want to make grand workings with magic someday. This isn¡¯t universally applicable, but the greatest piece of advice I have for you right now is this: if you want to do something with magic efficiently, first figure out how to do it without magic at all.¡± Julia snapped out of her musing and looked at the rock her pick had just sheared off the cliff face. That was what she was doing here. Trying to understand more about¡­rocks. Braden had suggested this specifically for Earth Magic because, ¡°The Earth is all around us at almost all times. You won¡¯t always have water available, effects with air can be obscure, and fire is destructive and dangerous when not controlled properly. Earth, by contrast, is abundant almost anywhere, makes it very obvious when it¡¯s being manipulated, and is somewhat the opposite of fire¡ªyou actually have to be pretty capable before you can make it dangerous,¡± he¡¯d explained Julia had initially been skeptical that working at a quarry all day would increase her understanding of Earth Magic, but there were benefits to it even if she learned nothing. She had started here four months ago with a Strength of 9, and it was already up to 11! Not just Strength, either¡ªher Constitution had risen to 10, and even her Dexterity had increased to 9! It sounds like great progress when she reads it out like that, but if she stopped and thought about it, it made sense. When she first got here, she couldn¡¯t even lift the pick to her chest. She largely had to pull it up as high as she could and let it fall on its own to hit the smallest rocks she could find. And that was with the smallest pick they had! Somehow, the pick was heavier than all the rocks she had ever found to lift in the woods. Now, she could lift it above her head and add a little extra pull on the downswing for some extra rock-crushing oomph. Although, she still shivered thinking about what the regular quarrymen could do with those picks. She felt like they could level an entire mountain in a day. Some were even using large hammers and nails to break enormous rocks straight in half. Still, she was proud of her progress. Especially since her stint in the quarry was coming to an end. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Braden had imposed some strict requirements before she arrived. First, she would stop once her Strength reached 12. Apparently, there was a range where children stopped building muscle, and training past that point was counterproductive since the risk of injury increased. Braden was guessing 12 was that limit for Julia. Something about not having the proper hormones for muscle building until post-puberty. She thought that wasn¡¯t very fair. It¡¯s her body! Why wouldn¡¯t it just build muscle if she told it to?! The second requirement was that she would never let anyone at the quarry rope her into doing anything for them. Not just crushing quarried stone¡ªhe even forbade things like bringing them water or towels. He had grumbled about ¡°child labor,¡± but Julia didn¡¯t care much what he said because that worked well for her intentions. She was there to learn about rocks, not to actually work! They weren¡¯t paying her, so they couldn¡¯t complain about what she did or didn¡¯t do. Not that they would, since that would require actually speaking with her. She was starting to see results from just watching rocks break, despite her initial skepticism. Braden would sometimes ask her what she was thinking about while she worked that day and help her try to work through things in her mind, but he liked to let her come to her own conclusions most of the time. ¡°Things tend to stick in your mind better when you discover them on your own,¡± he¡¯d said. A week-or-so ago, she¡¯d had a sudden epiphany: pickaxes are great for breaking up rocks! It seemed immediately obvious once the realization hit her. Obviously, they¡¯re very good at breaking rocks, else the quarrymen wouldn¡¯t be using them. But, the larger implication was that if she wanted to break rocks with her magic, she could do what a pickaxe does! Braden had praised her for that discovery. ¡°That¡¯s a wonderful observation! It¡¯s a great first step to take with any magic. Remember what I said? Figure out how to do things without magic. How do we manipulate stone without magic? We use various tools. If you want to dig up the earth, use a shovel. If you want to break large rocks down to smaller ones, use a pickaxe. If you want to crush a rock into finer bits, use a hammer. Emulating existing tools is a wonderful way to immediately enhance your magic. Just spear your mana into a rock like you would with a pick and watch it crack.¡± As she was reliving the satisfaction of her discovery, the system made itself known.
Strength: +1 Training: +1
She smiled in satisfaction and made her way over to the equipment shack. She set her pickaxe down on the equipment-return table and sat in a nearby chair to catch her breath and examine her gains.
Name: Julia Age: 11 Class: None Subclass: None Companions: Trixy Strength: 12 Dexterity: 9 Constitution: 10 Intelligence: 13 Wisdom: 12 Resilience: 10
Earth Magic Wind Magic Water Magic Fire Magic Summoning Magic Monster Taming Magic
Mold Stone Breeze Draw Water Spark Ritual Summoning Pact
Runes 3 Ritual Casting 2 Meditation 4 Training 5 Mana Manipulation 4 Mana Sense 3 Manasight 2
Julia was supremely satisfied with her progress. It was well known that the system would award one¡¯s first Class selection once all attribute values hit 10 or above. Braden claimed it was due to mental and physical maturity¡ªtypically occurring once someone went through puberty. The natural changes to the body and mind over the course of one¡¯s childhood would bring those values up to the Class requisite. However, there were cases of children acquiring classes before finishing, or even entering, puberty. Braden staunchly refused to speak much about those cases, for some reason. Regardless, she was on her way to achieving it. She wasn¡¯t the only one who had grown over the past year, though. She started her walk home and focused on the ¡°Companion¡± section of her Status. It expanded under her attention.
Name: Trixy Age: 1 Species: Black-Footed Mirage Ferret Evolution Progress: 2%
Illusion Magic
Invisibility Create Illusion
Dash 4 Danger Sense 4 Mana Manipulation 3
Julia winced a little when she saw the low evolution progress on Trixy¡¯s status sheet. Braden had explained that summoned creatures persisted on their companion¡¯s mana. In other words, Trixy didn¡¯t need to eat to live; she took a small chunk of Julia¡¯s natural mana regeneration to keep herself anchored to this plane. Trixy did, however, need to consume the mana of other monsters to increase her evolution progress and evolve. For a creature like Trixy, this would be done by feeding on them. There were creatures that could just¡­suck the mana out of a creature without killing it, but Trixy was a ferret. She had mouth parts for eating and a digestive tract, so that was how she had to absorb another creature¡¯s mana. Julia just didn¡¯t have the heart for it, though. She had found Trixy eating a little bird she had hunted and killed while Julia was meditating. Julia wasn¡¯t sure how long she cried over the poor thing¡¯s mangled remains before telling Trixy not to attack anything again. According to Braden, summoned creatures, if they weren¡¯t intelligent enough already, used some of the mana invested into the ritual to boost their cognitive abilities. So, although Trixy wouldn¡¯t be talking anytime soon, she could understand basic instructions. She had been such a good girl and hadn¡¯t attacked anything since, but Julia knew her hesitation was holding Trixy back. But, how could she let such small, cute creatures die just to make her companion stronger? There¡¯s no way that¡¯s a good thing! Right? She had asked Braden about other ways to make her companion evolve. ¡°Well¡­what you need is monster mana for Trixy to eat. Theoretically, that doesn¡¯t mean she has to do the killing. You could just buy edible monster parts and feed them to her. However, there are a few things to consider with this method. First, it¡¯s obviously going to be expensive. Monster materials are always pricier than their non-magic counterparts because of the danger inherent to acquiring them¡ªnot to mention the cost for fresh, edible monster parts. Despite being a magic animal, Trixy still can¡¯t eat rotten meat. That leads to the second consideration. Mana begins dissipating from flesh at the moment of death. Certain body parts will retain mana for longer periods, but eventually they all lose it. Monster parts are essentially on a timer the instant the monster dies, so you¡¯d be paying a premium to get parts that still have residual mana. But, even then, no matter what you do, the materials won¡¯t be fresh. Even the freshest piece of monster meat you can buy will give Trixy less mana than if she killed it herself and ate it immediately. The third consideration, and this is something I want you to think long and hard about, is that you¡¯d still be feeding her flesh from an animal¡ªalbeit a magical one¡ªthat was slain. In other words, you¡¯re just using a middleman to hide the killing from yourself. Whether someone else kills for you or Trixy does it herself, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that another creature will die to feed her mana. I believe that¡¯s the main reason you¡¯re asking, right? You don¡¯t like the idea of her killing things?¡± he asked. This was an issue that she was still struggling with a year later. Buying monster parts, even if she could afford it, would still be contributing to ending a creature¡¯s life. But, the monster would have already been dead since she would have, presumably, acquired the parts from a market or something. So, did she really contribute to its death? Why shouldn¡¯t she take advantage of the parts if they¡¯re already there and available? Except, isn¡¯t that why they¡¯re available? Because there are people like her willing to buy them? Even after a year of thinking, she couldn¡¯t come up with an answer. Braden was usually annoyingly vague about things like this. He liked her to think and come up with her own answers to these kinds of questions. He would answer any question she asked honestly and even give his own, personal opinion about matters if she asked, but he ultimately wanted her to decide on what she felt was right. He had a whole lot of nothing helpful to say when she asked about this specific issue, as expected. ¡°Hmm¡­well, in terms of whether it¡¯s ethical to kill creatures to make Trixy stronger¡­I mean, that¡¯s how it is in the wild already. If Trixy were born in a forest somewhere, that¡¯s how she would be doing things right now. You could also argue that all of civilization is an attempt to overcome the crueler aspects of nature, though. If survival of the fittest ruled all of humanity, there would likely be no civilization. At least, not to the extent it currently exists. So, shouldn¡¯t we try to rise above our more brutal beginnings? That¡¯s a tough one. For you personally, though, I guess the question is really more about what you want to do. If you want to be a baker and live in town for your whole life, it could be considered wasteful¡ªmaybe even unethical¡ªto have your companion hunting and killing creatures when it isn¡¯t necessary for either her survival or yours. On the other hand, if you want to be an adventurer, having a strong companion to watch your back could be extremely valuable¡ªeven life-saving someday¡ªso it would make sense to make her as strong as you can. My personal opinion is that there¡¯s no right answer to this question, but you also have plenty of time to consider it and come to your own decision. Even if you wanted to be an adventurer, the guild won¡¯t take you until you¡¯re 18-years-old, even if you¡¯ve had your class for years by that point. Not unless you¡¯re bound to an existing adventurer as an apprentice, anyway. So, you¡¯ve got plenty of time to consider it.¡± Unhelpful, as usual. So lost in consideration of this issue was she that when she bounced off something in front of her and fell on her butt, she was momentarily confused about what had happened. ¡°Oi, watch where yer going!¡± bellowed a voice above her. Chapter 5 Julia looked up, coming out of the daze that falling while deep in thought had caused. There was a man looming over her. She didn¡¯t recognize him, but she would guess he was involved in the butchering trade from all the blood on his clothes. ¡°Can¡¯t ya see I¡¯ve got a heavy load, here? What if I¡¯d dropped this sack? Guts everywhere, kid. Not pretty.¡± He was carrying a large, brown sack on his shoulder that looked¡­wet. The good news is he doesn¡¯t seem to have recognized her. He¡¯s not overly hostile¡ªjust annoyed at being inconvenienced. She could still get out of this without much troub¡ªblood. Blood on his clothes. And¡­guts. Guts? Spilling out of dead bodies. Fire burning her family¡¯s cart. Licking at her clothes and exposed skin. Her family, running from the overturned cart. The sounds of their horses¡¯ death throes. She told herself it¡¯s just pigs¡¯ blood. The guy just said he was carrying guts. He¡¯s a butcher or something. ¡°Hey, kid. You alright? You hit your head when you¡ª¡± She didn¡¯t know when she started running, but she was in a full sprint now. ¡°Take her! Take her and run! The town¡¯s not far from here! I love you both! Go!¡± Her father, yelling at her and Mother to run¡ªdrawing the sword at his waist. He doesn¡¯t know how to use it. He¡¯s a merchant. He has guards to do the fighting. The guards are dead. Their bodies, back by the cart. Killed when it overturned and in the assault that followed. She was running. She heard sounds of fighting behind her. No, not fighting. Dying. Her father yelling and monsters growling. The growling that was right on their heels, now fading in the distance. The screaming. Oh, gods, the screaming. It was her father, she knew. He was suffering. She wanted to look back, but her mother was pulling her hand so hard she would trip if she didn¡¯t watch where she was going. Julia threw the door to the house open and, almost operating completely on instinct, sprinted to her room to sit on the floor with her back to the wall. Mother is slowing down. Her ankle is swollen. She got hurt when the cart flipped on its side. ¡°Julia, baby. I need you to run. I need you to run as fast as you possibly can. Get to town. Get help. I¡¯ll catch up with you. Momma will catch up with you.¡± ¡°Momma, I don¡¯t wanna leave¡ª¡± ¡°NO, Julia. GO! I will catch up with you! Go, fast!¡± Mother pushed her, and Julia ran as fast as her stubby legs could carry her. She could hear her mother¡¯s footsteps fading behind her. ¡°Julia,¡± a voice called. She sprinted until she thought her lungs would explode. She was heaving and panting, but still she ran. ¡°Jules,¡± she heard the voice again. She made it to a bridge over a small stream. Yes! She knew this bridge! The town wasn¡¯t far. A man with a walking stick was walking towards the bridge from the direction of the town. He looked at her in confusion, but then she heard the scream from behind her¡ª ¡°JULIA!¡± Julia jumped and thumped the back of her head against the wall she was leaning on. ¡°Julia, sweetheart, look at me,¡± said a gentle voice. She looked toward the origin of the voice. It was Braden. His face was very close to hers. He looked so calm. How could he be so calm? She felt like she couldn¡¯t breathe. She was breathing so hard and fast, but still it wasn¡¯t enough. The blood¡ª ¡°Julia, look at my eyes. What color are they?¡± Odd question. They¡¯re obviously violet, like always. ¡°Here, give me your hand.¡± Braden put her hand in a small satchel full of¡­dirt? No, too fine. Sand. Must be sand. ¡°Run it through your fingers. Is it smooth and fine sand? Coarse? Is there anything else inside, or is it just the sand?¡± coaxed Braden. Julia felt around the little bag for a second or two. Just sand, as far as she could tell. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Here, smell it,¡± Braden said as he lifted the drawstring opening to her face. She recoiled a little. It didn¡¯t smell bad, necessarily. It had that earthy smell, but it got all caught in her nose. It felt icky when she inhaled. It made her want to cough. ¡°Sorry. Probably no need for smelling it. Let me just¡ªwhoops. I spilled a little. Can¡¯t really see it against the wood floor. Blends in. Can you run your hand along the wood beside you? Point out spots where the sand landed?¡± She got up to her knees and ran her hands along the floor beside where she was sitting. She could feel the sand scratching at her palm and pointed to it. ¡°Thanks,¡± Braden said with a small smile. He made a gesture with his hand, and the sand just flowed back into the bag. Earth magic, she knew. ¡°If you could do that, did you really need me to find where the sand had fallen?¡± Julia asked skeptically. Braden chuckled. ¡°No. Could¡¯ve just grabbed it with magic without knowing its exact location. Feel better? Your breathing has slowed down to a more normal speed.¡± Julia realized suddenly that, as he said, she was no longer breathing fast or hard. She was inhaling normally, and air seemed to come with it. Perhaps a little faster than normal, but the important thing was that she could breathe. Contrary to just a minute ago, where it seemed like no matter how much air she gulped, she couldn¡¯t get enough. ¡°Yeah¡­I¡­I don¡¯t know what was happening,¡± Julia said uneasily. ¡°I see. Well, back in¡­uh¡­well, a place that¡¯s very far away, that would be called a panic attack. Panic attacks are usually caused by worrying about things in the past or the future. What we did, engaging your senses to feel, smell, and see, was called grounding. If you¡¯re panicked about things in the past or future, we just need to firmly anchor you in the present. And there¡¯s scarcely anything more present than your five primary senses. Fortunately, we seem to have caught it early, so you came out of it relatively quickly. Hyperventilating, that¡¯s the really fast breathing, can make you lightheaded enough to pass out eventually. The good news is that, although they¡¯re frightening and disorienting, panic attacks very rarely cause injuries. I say this to, hopefully, comfort you with the knowledge you¡¯re not in danger rather than minimize how scary the experience is.¡± He held out his hands, and she crawled over to him and hugged him around the middle. He picked her up, walked over to the bed, and sat down. He positioned her on his lap and started rubbing her back. They sat there comfortably for what felt to Julia like an hour. It was probably closer to ten minutes, though. At this point, Trixy came bounding into the room. Julia wasn¡¯t allowed to take Trixy with her to the quarry since it was very likely a dangerous place for a little ferret. Trixy must¡¯ve been entertaining herself outside in the yard until this point. She bounced up onto the bed and, perhaps sensing the mood, curled up in Julia¡¯s arms. Julia smiled while she petted her. There was something calming about petting Trixy that she didn¡¯t quite understand but was grateful for. ¡°Would you be willing to tell me what triggered this? You don¡¯t have to if you don¡¯t want to. And, if you are willing, take your time. We¡¯re not in a rush.¡± She thought about Braden¡¯s request for a minute or two. She wasn¡¯t too keen on revisiting any of the things she had just experienced. In fact, her memories of the last hour-or-so were pretty hazy. She figured he wouldn¡¯t ask for no reason, though. ¡°I was walking home from the quarry and was lost in thought. I-I wasn¡¯t paying enough attention. I bumped into a man and fell on my back. When I looked up, his apron was covered in blood. He said he had guts in the sack on his shoulder that would make a mess if they spilled. It made me¡­it made me think about¡­that day¡­all the blood¡­¡± ¡°I see. A butcher, most likely?¡± Braden interrupted. ¡°Probably,¡± Julia agreed. After a half-minute of silence, Julia looked up at Braden. Not an easy task, sitting on his lap like she was. ¡°What did I do wrong?¡± she asked. ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything wrong, you sweet, sweet girl. Sometimes things like this just happen. What you went through was¡­terrible. Not something a child as young as you were at the time, or even someone your current age, can handle. Actually, most adults wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the things you saw and went through, either. Such traumatic events will find ways to keep popping up throughout the rest of your life. Often at the most inopportune times. This was just the perfect storm, from what I can see. You were already contemplative, so you were likely already considering related issues. Thinking about feeding mana to Trixy again? That¡¯s pretty blood-and-violence-adjacent already. Then, you bumped into someone covered in blood, which also triggered your social anxiety even without factoring the blood in. These were pretty much perfect circumstances to trigger your trauma. Back in¡­in that place I mentioned before¡ªthe one that knows about things like panic attacks¡ªthere are people whose entire jobs are helping people deal with this kinda stuff. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know much about these things beyond what I¡¯ve already demonstrated like the grounding technique, and that was honestly a guess based on some things I read a long time ago. I¡¯ll help as best as I can, but I don¡¯t really know what to do or what will be the most effective way to help you. I think we just have to take things one day at a time. I¡¯ll help however I can, though. I¡¯m always here for you. Anything you need or want to talk about. I¡¯m always here. Even if it¡¯s the only thing I can do for you.¡± Hearing that there was something even Braden didn¡¯t know how to fix was a shock to her. He always knew how to do everything. Anything she ever had a question about, he always had an answer. This was new ground for her. She also found it strangely¡­comforting? It was strange to think the things he described would be comforting for her, but for some reason, the fact that it was something that even Braden didn¡¯t know how to handle made her feel better¡ªmade her feel like she was justified for feeling helpless to that attack since even he didn¡¯t know much about it or how to handle it. It was also comforting to know he didn¡¯t think less of her for sprinting through town, likely with tears streaming down her face. She couldn¡¯t remember it clearly, but there¡¯s no way she wasn¡¯t crying her eyes out at the time. She was almost glad she couldn¡¯t remember something that would likely be embarrassing. ¡°Ok. Thanks,¡± she said. ¡°Of course,¡± Braden said with a smile. Chapter 6 ¡°I¡¯m not going to explain everything. To be perfectly honest, I don¡¯t know everything myself. I wasn¡¯t a physicist or anything¡ªjust took a couple classes. The gist is that when a lightning bolt strikes, it is energy moving from a concentration of one type of charge to the other. I think the most common is from a negative charge in the clouds to a positive charge on the ground. Not completely sure on that, though. The main thing is that what you see as a lightning bolt is energy transferring between the concentration of those charges. So, if you were going to generate your own lightning, you would first begin by gathering a concentration of like-charges. However, do not attempt to do so yet. We¡¯ll get there, but lightning is dangerous stuff, so I¡¯m going to explain the entire process to you before we actually attempt anything.¡± Braden was explaining all this to Julia while sitting in a cross-legged position. He had positioned Julia in the same cross-legged posture¡ªbut not the comfortable kind with feet tucked under. Instead, he insisted they sit in a bizarre, uncomfortable way, with their feet resting on top of their legs. He called it the ¡®Lotus¡¯ position. She had never heard of a lotus before, and when Braden explained that it was a flower, she became even more confused. She thought about asking what a physicist was, but if it was anything like a lotus, she had a feeling it would just further confuse her. ¡°Before I continue explaining how to create a bolt, let¡¯s go over a safety measure first. This safety measure is going to be a spell, actually. I call it Faraday¡¯s Cage. It¡¯s named after the guy that created it. Remember how I told you to figure out how to do something without magic first? This guy actually did it. A true genius. Fortunately, we can do even more than what he designed with magic. It actually feels like cheating in many ways¡­¡± At Julia¡¯s impatient look, Braden cleared his throat and continued. ¡°Anyway, the Faraday¡¯s Cage spell will make you functionally immune to both lightning and light magic used offensively against you. It¡¯s extremely important because lightning and light both move much faster than any human¡ªeven with high stats¡ªcan process and react to. Just having the spell active should give you tremendous peace of mind. Also, it will make it much safer to test your own offensive lightning spells. Now, first let¡¯s¡­¡± Julia followed Braden¡¯s instructions, trying to replicate the spell. They were in the woods west of town and about an hour¡¯s walk away. Apparently, there was really no getting around how loud lightning bolts were, so they went far away to avoid raising a ruckus. Trixy was also not present, obviously, so that she didn¡¯t get hit by any stray bolts. Julia was close to her twelfth birthday, and she had expressed disappointment with her current repertoire of four spells. Well, technically six, but the other two both came from the summoning ritual, so they weren¡¯t exactly spells she could use frequently. Braden had offered to teach a new aspect of magic to her and a spell to go along with it. She could choose whatever she wanted, even. That, of course, made the choice obvious. It didn¡¯t get any cooler than lightning magic. After an hour or two of working on the spell, Julia was rewarded with a notification.
Lightning Magic unlocked! Spell: Faraday¡¯s Cage added to Spells under the Lightning Magic category.
¡°I got it!¡± Julia exclaimed. ¡°Excellent work! That was quick to pick up such a complicated subject and spell. Well done, truly. Now that the System has added the spell to your status, we can start actually using it.¡± ¡°Actually using it? I was already using it, wasn¡¯t I? I had to be for the System to acknowledge my mastery of it,¡± Julia said, slightly flummoxed. ¡°Yes, you were using the spell. You just weren¡¯t using it at its full potential. The way you were using it would leave some pretty significant vulnerabilities. That¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s what I was teaching you. We need the System to do some heavy-lifting for us here. When the System casts the spell for you, instead of making it cast just like you would manually, focus on ensuring complete and total coverage of your entire body as well as maximum light mitigation. You may have noticed the spell has the word ¡®cage¡¯ in it. That is not a coincidence. You can¡¯t see it, but it really is like a cage stretched over the surface area of your body. As such, it has gaping holes in between the ¡®bars¡¯ of the cage. A lightning bolt or beam of light striking in those gaps would hit you like the cage wasn¡¯t even there. If you focus on the things I said when having the System cast the spell for you, it will close those gaps in the cage and also increase the frequency of light it will protect you from. There are still some intense forms of light that could blast through it, but if you were facing an opponent that could summon light powerful enough to make it through the cage, you¡¯d have no chance anyway. You might also be wondering what these words I¡¯m saying¡ªlike frequency¡ªare. This is a benefit of using the System to cast spells. You don¡¯t really need to worry about those words since it will handle the casting for you. I¡¯m generally not in favor of using the System as a crutch for ignorance, but in this specific case, it¡¯s fine. You won¡¯t need to know more about this subject right this second. We can discuss it more later in your studies. You can just eat the extra cost to have the System make up for your lack of understanding. Perfectly acceptable in this case¡ªsince the System will be guided by your existing spell blueprint¡ªand pretty efficient as well considering how long it would take to teach the physics of electromagnetism, which I myself am not even that well-educated on.¡± ¡°Ok, well¡­I¡¯ve got my safety spell and I know how to cast it. I think it¡¯s time to shoot some lightning,¡± Julia declared with anticipation. The lessons for creating lightning weren¡¯t much more difficult than the Faraday¡¯s Cage had been. The concepts overlapped significantly. Build up opposing charges, ¡®point¡¯ them at each other, and ¡®connect¡¯ them with the spell. After about another hour of practice, the System pinged her again. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Spell: Lightning Bolt added to Spells under the Lightning Magic section.
Intelligence: +1
Another hour-or-so of spell casting and many scarred trees later, Julia and Braden were headed back through the woods towards town. Julia was satisfied with her progress that day. She now had an actual, offensive spell! Sure, Spark could make some sparks that might sting if they got on exposed skin, but it was mostly a spell Braden taught her for its ease of learning. It also had the utility of being able to light a fire if she needed to. Her wind spell¡­well¡­it was all in the name. Hard for a spell called ¡®Breeze¡¯ to be damaging. But now, she could deal some damage! If she needed to, of course. The woods around town were actually pretty safe, generally. They were patrolled regularly by rangers and woodsmen from the town for hunting and timber. Actually, some rangers dying in the attack her family suffered was likely the main reason so many in town disliked her presence. True, her family were regular traders in this town and were already on their way to it, but the townsfolk likely saw it more as they led the monsters here in their attempt to flee and got some of the townspeople killed. Putting that thought aside, Julia had to get some sleep tonight so she could exercise tomorrow. She had quite a ways to go if she was going to hit Dex 10 by her twelfth birthday. It had been almost a year since her work in the quarry, and it hadn¡¯t moved once! Not a single point! She had some new routines that she and Braden had brainstormed together to try, so she needed to get enough rest tonight. Tomorrow was to be a day of work!
Julia wiped the sweat from her forehead before wiping her hands on her pants. She was on her way home from a rather successful bout of hopping between trees and over stones. This was something she and Braden had come up with to help her Dex out. Incorporating more motion into her otherwise-stationary calisthenics routines. As she cleared the treeline and could just make out the palisade in the distance, she heard the sounds of a commotion ahead. She crested the hill in front of her and could see the commotion originated directly in front of her in the valley between the hill she was on top of and the hill leading up to the town. There was a gaggle of¡­kids? Teenagers? They looked to be a little older than she, so teenagers. They were all huddled in a circle around something and making motions and exclamations towards the center of the circle. There were probably ten to fifteen of them. She didn¡¯t specifically count, but it was several. Oh, man. They hadn¡¯t noticed her, so maybe she could just sneak around? Her palms started to sweat despite having just wiped them. Braden described her discomfort around the locals as social anxiety. She wasn¡¯t so sure about that. She felt like she could get along well with people who weren¡¯t already looking at her like they were trying to will her out of existence. While she was frozen and deliberating what to do, one of the kids looked up and pointed at her. All the kids suddenly looked at her, and one boy (the leader of the group?) stepped forward. She was still a ways away but within shouting distance. ¡°Well, if it ain¡¯t the curse herself!¡± the boy called. He was tall for his age. Blonde hair hung down in his eyes in a way that seemed to bother him by how often he shook it out of his face. He had blue overalls worn over a simple white linen shirt. Overalls were pretty much the hallmark of a woodcutter, so this boy was likely the child of one. ¡°Curse? I-I¡¯m s-sorry. I don¡¯t know what y-you mean,¡± Julia stuttered as she tentatively made her way towards them. There was no getting around it now that they had called out to her. She¡¯d just have to make up a decent excuse to leave quickly. Julia wished Trixy was with her. Trixy could¡¯ve just made them both invisible at the first sign of voices, and then they could¡¯ve just slipped right on by. Alas, Trixy had run off home ahead of Julia while she was resting. ¡°Don¡¯t ya know yer own title? Yer the curse! Ma daddy knows all about ya. Ya led all the monsters here an¡¯ got some a our folk killed. Daddy says all the trouble in the village starts and ends with ya.¡± Julia withered at the words. They almost felt like physical things that were out to harm her. See? It¡¯s not social anxiety to avoid people who talk to her like that, right? ¡°D-did you need something from me? If not, I¡¯ll be heading home now,¡± Julia murmured as she started to slowly sidle away towards home. ¡°Need? Well, I guess not. We¡¯ll just go back to punishin¡¯ this here cursed beast,¡± the boy said nonchalantly. He turned around and directed a kick towards the inside of the circle. Cursed beast? What could that be? Julia got up on her tiptoes to see into the circle¡­ It was Trixy. Trixy was the ¡°cursed beast¡± in the middle of the circle of kids. The kids were throwing rocks and kicking towards her whenever her evasive maneuvers brought her close to the circle¡¯s edge. Julia could see that she had blood in her fur. It was easy to spot since all but her paws were completely white. Blood was in her neck fur right under her mouth as well as on her back towards her hind legs. ¡°What is going on here?¡± Julia asked quietly. The leader(?) turned around and beamed at her. ¡°Like I said, we¡¯re punishin¡¯ the cursed beast. Need a teach it who''s boss afore it gets big and strong. Let it know that if it¡¯s gon¡¯ live in the town, it¡¯s gon¡¯ play by our rules.¡± ¡°That is my summoned companion. She obeys me absolutely. She¡¯s no danger to the town¡­but you already know that, don¡¯t you? That¡¯s why you call her the ¡®cursed beast,¡¯ which is a reference to me,¡± Julia said. She felt a boiling rage building inside her. Her mind flashed briefly to her new lightning spell¡­but no, Braden had specifically said not to use that spell on anything or anyone she wasn¡¯t prepared to kill. ¡°Obviously, we know that. We wouldn¡¯t a had to punish this beast if it weren¡¯t yers, now would we?¡± the boy said with a sneer. ¡°Now, how¡¯s about ya¡ª¡± WHAM Julia clobbered the idiot in the face with a wicked right hook. She didn¡¯t know a whole lot about fighting, but Braden had included some very short lessons about a sport called ¡®boxing¡¯ as a method to increase her Dex. It showed its use today. A well-executed hook, if she were to judge it herself. The boy staggered back and flopped down on his butt. He rubbed his cheek where the punch had landed a bewildered look. She hadn¡¯t put her all into the strike, but her Strength was not to be underestimated. Especially against kids around her own age. She was prepared for a counterattack, but the boy instead started sniffling, which quickly devolved into a full-on crying fit. Julia was shocked, but before she could devote much attention to her shock, she saw motion in her peripherals. She spun around to face the nearest member of the circle, but instead of being attacked like she was expecting, the kids were all running away. Another boy was quickly leading the boy she¡¯d hit away towards the town, having apparently helped him up when her back was turned. Julia stared in shock for a second. These little wimps really couldn¡¯t take it nearly as well as they dished it. She was appalled that the lead boy could speak so viciously about abusing others and yet wither completely when the situation reversed. Trixy ran over to her and jumped into her arms. Inspecting for injuries, Julia noticed that the blood on Trixy¡¯s neck fur had likely come from her mouth, while the blood on her back was from some kind of nasty scrape. It looked like the skin and fur just¡­disappeared right there. ¡°Oh, Trixy. I¡¯m so sorry. You couldn¡¯t defend yourself because I asked you not to attack anything, right? Let¡¯s change that. From now on, don¡¯t attack anything, but do defend yourself if necessary. I can¡¯t have anything happening to you. I love you so much.¡± Trixy just rubbed her head under Julia¡¯s chin. The ferret was clearly worn out. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry home and have Braden look at you. I¡¯m sure he can do something for those wounds.¡± With those words, Julia turned towards the house and jogged home. Chapter 7 ¡°So, they all just¡­left? You thumped the leader a single time, and they immediately fled?¡± Braden was holding Trixy up, seemingly investigating every inch of her small, furred body. Trixy, for her part, was completely oblivious¡ªsleeping as if she were dead¡ªshe literally looked like a corpse. Or, well, Julia had never seen a dead ferret, but she assumed this is what it would look like. She flopped around as Braden moved her to inspect her wounds¡ªcompletely limp. This might have been worrying for Julia had she not already felt the ferret go to sleep in her arms as they were running back to the house. And Braden assured her that she was still breathing at a regular cadence. She was just exhausted, understandably. ¡°Yeah. To be honest, I think I got pretty lucky. I was prepared for the entire group to attack me, but they all ran. Could¡¯ve been pretty bad otherwise.¡± Julia cast her eyes downward and waited for the scolding she was sure was coming. Sure, Trixy was being attacked, but she had still assaulted someone. No way she wasn¡¯t going to at least get a lecture for it. Julia never interacted much with the townsfolk, and as a result, she had never had any overt conflicts with them. So, this was a relatively new situation for her. Still, she wasn¡¯t sure why, but she was positive there would be some kind of reprimand. But as she watched, Braden continued inspecting Trixy¡ªsearching for less obvious injuries or signs of internal damage. ¡°Well, the good news is that these injuries are all skin deep. There¡¯s some bruising to her abdomen, but nothing serious. She seems to have bitten her tongue somehow, which is where all the blood near her mouth came from. Possibly from a stray kick connecting with her head? ¡°The bad news is that, although it¡¯s nothing that¡¯s going to do any kind of lasting damage, this wound on her back is pretty much unmistakably an abrasive one rather than any kind of piercing or cutting. Did you say they were throwing rocks at her?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes. They seemed to be making a game out of hitting her with rocks. They would aim a halfhearted kick at her if she neared the edge of their circle, but I think that was more to keep her corralled than actually harm her,¡± Julia found it a little difficult to say such things calmly. She quickly clamped down on the boiling emotions that were rising in her throat again at the memory. ¡°Well, that¡¯s in-line with this wound, then. Looks like a rock hit her in the back. It was a glancing blow, so it didn¡¯t do any internal damage, thankfully. Unfortunately, the rock must¡¯ve been pretty heavy. Looks like it hit her back and dragged her skin off with it¡ªjust sheared the skin straight off. ¡°Now, as I said, this is nothing that won¡¯t heal. The reason I say it¡¯s bad news is that this kind of wound hurts. Not just when it happens. The healing process won¡¯t be pleasant. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for this specific wound, I would suggest we let her rest and heal naturally. However, I¡¯ll just heal her with magic this time so she doesn¡¯t have to deal with this nasty recovery. The wound is right between her back legs, so any movement at all would constantly reopen it. It would be, at best, annoying for her for a week or two.¡± Julia was heartbroken to hear how the wound had happened, but something Braden said didn¡¯t make sense to her. ¡°Why would you let the wounds heal on their own instead of using magic in the first place?¡± Julia couldn¡¯t think of a reason anyone would want their wounds to linger if they had the option to be healed immediately. ¡°Well, first of all, watch how I¡¯m going to heal Trixy. Then, I¡¯ll explain.¡± As he said this, Braden held his hand against Trixy¡¯s back. His hand glowed subtly, and when Julia sharpened her Mana Sense and Sight to it, she felt and saw the mana trickling out of his hand. However, rather than infusing her entire body, like Julia was expecting, the mana seemed to stream across her skin until it found her mouth, where it entered. The inside of her mouth glowed a tiny bit and then stopped. The same thing happened with Trixy¡¯s abdomen¡ªwhere Braden said there was bruising¡ªand her back. Her back glowed significantly brighter than anywhere else. Once the glowing stopped, Braden handed Trixy over to Julia, who took her in her arms and cradled her against her chest like a newborn. ¡°Now, you saw how I used my mana, correct? You likely noticed that rather than just pumping my mana into her body, I targeted the wounds specifically. This is a slightly more advanced healing technique. Or, well, it¡¯s advanced in the sense that it might not seem obvious to do when you first start using healing magic. ¡°Shoving your mana into someone¡¯s body works, but it¡¯s extremely inefficient and dangerous. When you use that kind of healing magic, all you¡¯re really doing is infusing one specific intent into the mana¡ª¡¯heal¡¯¡ªand then jamming it into the patient¡¯s body. One of the problems with doing that to someone¡¯s entire body is that a human body is extremely complex. ¡°At any one moment, a body might have hundreds, even thousands, of different things it¡¯s working to heal. The food you eat, the activity you do, even the furniture you sit in can deal micro-damage to the body that it has to heal. If you just flood someone¡¯s whole body with mana with the intent to ¡®heal,¡¯ the body is going to divide that mana up for use on all the wounds it¡¯s trying to heal, which means less mana going to the specific wound you were trying to heal in the first place. ¡°The second reason that method isn¡¯t recommended is that flooding someone else¡¯s body with your own mana is generally a bad, dangerous idea. Mana inside a body is saturated with that person¡¯s will and intent¡ªif you dump your mana into their body, their own mana can interfere with yours. In the best case, it prevents your mana from doing its job; in the worst, it actively combats it, potentially causing major internal injuries. ¡°Now, that¡¯s not as much of an issue when a patient is awake and conscious. Chances are that if they¡¯re awake, they¡¯ve given you permission to use your mana to heal them. So, their subconscious will be accepting of your mana and not interfere. ¡°If they¡¯re unconscious, their subconscious is left directionless, and it will likely just fall back on taking a defensive posture no matter your intentions. It will most likely consider your mana a foreign invasion and try to disrupt or combat it¡± Julia puzzled through that information dump for a while. It was a lot to absorb. She started to get a little flustered as she realized something, though. ¡°Wait¡­but, Trixy was unconscious when you¡ª¡± ¡°Yes, she was,¡± Braden interrupted, ¡°but fortunately, her mana levels were already pretty low. She was likely using Mana Reinforcement to make her body stronger and faster, dodging rocks and whatnot. ¡°Plus, not to blow too much smoke up my own butt, but I¡¯m pretty good at controlling my mana. There was almost no chance I was going to mess up badly enough to do any kind of extra damage to her just by healing some surface wounds. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Julia. I wouldn¡¯t have done something risky to your companion when her life wasn¡¯t already in jeopardy.¡± Julia exhaled heavily, her concerns vanishing just like the sudden weight that had set down on her chest. ¡°So, she¡¯s going to be alright, then?¡± Julia inquired. ¡°Yup. She¡¯ll probably be sleepy for a day or two. She¡¯ll also probably use a little more of your mana than normal. Even though I used my own mana to heal her, it¡¯s still her body doing all the actual healing. My mana just stimulated it and covered a portion of the extra cost for healing much faster than normal. ¡°Whenever someone has wounds to recover from, they¡¯ll end up using more energy than they would normally, which will mean needing to eat, drink, and rest more. Eating for Trixy just means siphoning a little extra mana from you, though.¡± Satisfied, Julia carefully set Trixy down on her little floor cushion. There was one in both the kitchen and living room so that Trixy could sit comfortably with them no matter where they were. ¡°Thanks, Braden. Thanks for healing her¡­are you¡­not mad?¡± Julia asked hesitatingly. ¡°Hmm? What would I be mad about? As I said, I was never going to put Trixy in danger. There was functionally zero risk for me to heal wounds like these, conscious or not.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°No, not about the healing¡­about how I¡­you know¡­handled things. How I¡­assaulted someone¡­¡± Julia was kicking herself as she said it. The logical part of her brain told her that Braden seemed to have either forgotten to chastise her or hadn¡¯t intended to in the first place, so why would she draw his attention back to it? The other part, the more curious and emotional side, wanted to know why he hadn''t said anything and what his opinion on the matter was. ¡°Oh, I see. Hmm, well, first of all, I think ¡®assault¡¯ is a bit strong for one punch. I¡¯m guessing you held back, didn¡¯t want to injure him too badly?¡± Julia nodded. ¡°Right. Personally, I don¡¯t think one punch among children is that big a deal. Especially in defense of your companion. Now, had you just walloped the boy out of nowhere and for no reason, then we would be having some words, but I¡¯m not going to criticize you for protecting your friend. I do have some advice for you, though, if you want to hear it.¡± ¡°Yes, please,¡± Julia said. She was somewhat surprised that there wasn¡¯t going to be a scolding. Although, thinking about it, Braden never really scolded her. The only time he even raised his voice was to get her attention, like when she had almost reached into the summoning circle. She wasn¡¯t sure why she felt certain this matter was going to be what caused him to start scolding when he hadn¡¯t the entire time she¡¯d known him, now that she was thinking about it. ¡°Ok, well. Before we get to that, I can tell from what you¡¯ve said and the way you¡¯re acting that you expected to come home and get a lecture from me, yes? Yet, you still came home and told me the honest truth about what happened and your part in it.¡± He crouched down so that their faces were level, and they were looking into each other¡¯s eyes. He put his hand on her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m really proud of you for that, Julia. I¡¯m always here for you, and there¡¯s nothing we can¡¯t do or overcome if we put our two heads together. We¡¯re an unbeatable pair, you and I. ¡°The only condition for that is that we¡¯re always honest with each other. We can¡¯t help each other if we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. So, I¡¯m proud of you for coming back here and telling me everything, despite thinking it was going to get you in trouble.¡± Julia looked down towards the floor. For some reason, she felt it difficult to look Braden in the eyes right then, despite the warm feeling she had in her gut. ¡°Thanks,¡± she said softly. Braden smiled and stood back up. ¡°As for advice: always consider your desired outcome.¡± ¡°Outcome?¡± Julia asked, turning her eyes back up towards him. ¡°Yes. In other words, when you¡¯re in a situation like that, think about what actions to take based on how you want to exit the situation rather than what you¡¯re feeling at the moment. ¡°For example, what you did makes sense and is a perfectly understandable reaction to your dear friend being threatened. However, like you said before, you definitely were risking having to fight the entire group of kids, all likely at least a year-or-two older than you when you punched their leader. ¡°Not only that, but we haven¡¯t reached the end of this specific path you¡¯ve chosen, yet. Or, I think it¡¯s very likely we haven¡¯t. So, what you did was risky, and it also planted seeds for trouble in the future. ¡°Again, I¡¯m not saying what you did was the wrong move or even wrong in general. It was an understandable¡ªand justified¡ªreaction. I would simply advise that you try to keep your calm in situations like that and think about how you would like things to end. ¡°Try not to let your emotions carry you away with them. Feel them. Acknowledge them. Then, let them pass. Your emotions exist for a reason. They¡¯re trying to tell you something. So, let them speak to you. Let them tell you their messages, and then use that information as part of your decision-making. Just don¡¯t let them make the decisions for you.¡± Julia contemplated silently for a while. Braden was also silently fixing up the table that was disorderly after the kerfuffle with Trixy. He let her think things through without interrupting. After a while, Julia looked up at him. ¡°What would you have done? I keep thinking about it, but I can¡¯t think of anything else I could have done other than to run away and leave Trixy to their cruelty, or use lightning¡­but that would¡¯ve been¡­lethal.¡± Braden nodded and smiled at her. ¡°Good work, by the way, resisting the urge to use that spell. You¡¯re right. It would¡¯ve absolutely killed at least the boy you struck with it, even with the relatively-small amount of mana you have right now. But, likely, it would¡¯ve jumped between at least a few other kids and killed them as well. ¡°Resisting the urge to use power, especially power that you¡¯ve recently acquired, is wonderful work and sets a good precedent. ¡°There¡¯s a saying that if you spend your life hitting things with a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. In other words, if you start lowering the standards required to use lethal force against someone, before you know it, you¡¯re killing people for looking at you funny.¡± Julia shook her head. She thought there was no way anyone could ever become that depraved¡ªespecially in her situation. The entire town looked at her funny. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m just talking about hypotheticals. Clearly, you¡¯ve already got a firm grasp on your impulse control. That you can resist the urge to use the power you have at eleven-years¡ª¡± ¡°Eleven-and-three-quarters,¡± Julia corrected. ¡°...at eleven-and-three-quarters-years-old, is a great sign for how you¡¯ll perform as an adult¡­actually, if there¡¯s any criticism, it should probably be directed at me for teaching an eleven-year-old such a lethal spell¡­good Lord¡­I gave an eleven-year-old a gun.¡± Braden suddenly went white as a sheet, the end of that sentence trailing off quietly. ¡°Eleven-and-three-quarters. And you¡¯re starting to ramble again. ¡®What was it you would recommend doing in that situation?¡¯ was the original question,¡± Julia said with exasperation. Despite her exasperated tone, Braden looked thankful for the distraction for some reason. ¡°Right. Well, I would say the best outcome would have been to talk your way out of it. Obviously, based on how the boy was speaking to you, that was pretty much out of the question from the get-go, though. ¡°I think the next best outcome would be to get out of that situation without making it any worse. To do that, I think the best way would be to muscle your way into their circle and reunite with Trixy. You are pretty far ahead of kids your age in terms of stats, so I think it wouldn¡¯t have been difficult to shove your way past any of the kids that might¡¯ve tried to block you. ¡°Once you got into the circle, you could¡¯ve scooped up Trixy and had her use the last little bit of her mana to make you both invisible. Then, you could have sprinted back here. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t be able to follow you, and they already know Trixy has special powers, so nothing would¡¯ve changed in their eyes after seeing it in action. They might have even given up on future bullying once they saw Trixy demonstrate her powers¡­actually, why didn¡¯t she just turn invisible and escape?¡± Julia looked down in shame at the question. ¡°I¡­asked her not to attack anyone after I saw her kill and eat a bird a couple years ago¡­she probably interpreted using her magic against people, even if it was just to hide herself, as an attack.¡± Julia was so ashamed that she had, even indirectly, created this situation for her companion. ¡°I see. That doesn¡¯t make a whole lot of sense to me, but she¡¯s also still an animal. Even with mana slightly boosting her cognition, she can only understand basic instructions. ¡°Perhaps this was a strange alignment of unfortunate circumstances. A combination of her lack of complex thought/understanding, lack of combat experience, and desire to fulfill your commands completely led to her not realizing that cloaking herself isn''t the same as attacking. ¡°Don¡¯t be so down on yourself, Julia. You did cripple her ability to defend herself, but don¡¯t forget that it wasn¡¯t some wild beast in the forest that was attacking her. ¡°These were people from the town that she, ostensibly, shouldn¡¯t need to defend herself against. Don¡¯t accept blame for those kids¡¯ horrible actions. You didn¡¯t make them attack Trixy. They did that on their own, so they can accept the blame on their own, too.¡± Julia nodded, slightly vindicated. She didn¡¯t realize she had been holding herself accountable for the kids¡¯ actions, but she clearly had. Still, like Braden said, the responsibility for Trixy¡¯s inability to defend herself rested solely on Julia¡¯s shoulders. She was still angry at herself for that, but she also didn¡¯t force anyone to attack Trixy. Thus, it didn¡¯t make much sense to beat herself up over it. ¡°Wait, you said before that the actions I took will likely plant the seeds for future conflict? What do you mean?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Well, think about it for a second. You don¡¯t think all those kids ran home screaming and crying and just¡­forgot about everything, right? They surely went home and told their parents, or their parents noticed their frantic behavior and questioned them. ¡°Especially the kid you hit. Even if he didn¡¯t intend to tell his parents, they¡¯d notice a bruise or something and ask about it. I know you held back, but there¡¯s no way he took a punch and isn¡¯t even a little red or something from it.¡± Julia paled at the thought. What was she going to do? Kids around her own age were one thing, but adults?! What could she do about adults!? They¡¯re also the ones that really hated her. The kids didn¡¯t really have anything against her beyond what they heard from their parents. They weren¡¯t much older than she was when the attack happened, after all. But the adults? They were there. They remembered. Noticing her distress, Braden walked over and put his hand on her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Julia. I¡¯m saying this so you understand the point I was trying to make about the consequences of actions and aiming for the ideal outcome. This would be a tough situation if you were alone, but you¡¯re not. ¡°I¡¯m here for you. The kids likely escalated to their adults, so you can escalate to your adult, which is me. I¡¯ll handle things from here.¡± No sooner did the words exit his mouth than an angry banging was heard on the front door. Chapter 8 ¡°Hey, Braden! I know yer in there. We need t¡¯ have a chat!¡± Julia heard the shouting and knew immediately it was about her. Who else could it be but one of those kids¡¯ parents? No one in her entire life here in Rockyknoll had ever come knocking besides messengers delivering letters. Julia¡¯s heart sank. Braden looked down at her, patted her on the head, and started toward the door. ¡°Coming, coming. You can stop banging on the door. This house isn¡¯t so large that you need to smash the door down just to get my attention.¡± When he got to the door and opened it, Julia could see a large man on the porch. He had short-cropped blonde hair and a blonde beard that covered his face and tapered down to a point at his mid-chest. The most telling thing about him was the blue overalls he wore over his light-beige, linen shirt. A woodcutter, most likely. And, judging by the hair color, the father of the boy she¡¯d hit. ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t Mr. Sherwood. What can I do for you?¡± Braden seemed to know this man, which was surprising to Julia. Although, now that she was thinking about it, Rockyknoll was a town of no more than 500 people. It wasn¡¯t actually strange to know¡ªor at least be aware of¡ªnearly all the residents. It was just that she didn¡¯t know anyone. ¡°I think ya probably know, Braden. I see ¡®er in there behind ya. Since we both know the situation, I think apologies¡¯re in order, hmm?¡± Braden looked back at Julia and smiled at her. ¡°An excellent idea, I think. Julia, would you come over here, please?¡± Julia¡¯s heart was thumping in her chest. What could she do? This guy wanted an apology? From her!? No way. She didn¡¯t know what Braden¡¯s plan was, but there was no way she was apologizing for saving her friend. She walked over to them slowly. She was angry and scared, and she could feel the tears threatening to fall. She forced them down, though¡ªkeeping them in her eyes. Braden always said crying was a natural bodily function and not something to be embarrassed about. However, she was not going to give these people the satisfaction of knowing they were affecting her. She stopped and stood slightly behind Braden, one hand holding onto the back of his robe. Braden put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed her a little closer to him. ¡°There. Julia is here and ready to receive your boy¡¯s apology,¡± Braden said with a smile. The man, Mr. Sherwood, stared at Braden in confusion for a moment. ¡°An apology¡­from ma boy? Are ya outta yer mind!? D¡¯ya even know what happened? Did she fib to ya and ya took it fer truth!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fully aware of the situation, Dave. Not only that, but I¡¯d wager I know more about it than you. So, why don¡¯t I recount it the way I believe it to have happened, and you can make any corrections to the story afterwards?¡± Dave stood there with clearly mounting anger, but he didn¡¯t say anything to the contrary, so Braden began recounting the story exactly as Julia had told it to him. When he got to the end where, chronologically, Julia had arrived at their home with an injured and unconscious Trixy in her arms, he started on a different thread. ¡°Now, I personally treated Trixy¡¯s injuries, and they corroborate Julia¡¯s story. I¡¯ve healed a great many wounds over the many years I¡¯ve lived and adventured. I know what wounds from a host of different sources look like. ¡°What¡¯s more, did you hear the way Julia described your son¡¯s words? The accent? Julia doesn¡¯t speak that way¡ªwith that accent. She takes much of her speech from her parents and me. And, let me remind you, she is eleven-years-old. I think it unlikely an eleven-year-old would make a detail like that specific accent up to sell her story, don¡¯t you? ¡°Now, are there any corrections you¡¯d like to make?¡± Braden finished. Dave¡¯s face had been getting redder throughout the story, and now Julia could see a vein pulsing in his forehead. ¡°Ma boy was attacked by th¡¯ creature. Told me so hisself. Couple a his friends said it were true. And then, when yer¡­girl came upon the kids deliverin¡¯ retribution, she plum hit ma boy straight in his face!¡± Braden sighed. Julia didn¡¯t know how she could tell, but she felt the sigh was more insulting to Dave than any words would have been. ¡°Dave. These are kids. Do you really believe they wouldn¡¯t say whatever they could to get out of trouble? I don¡¯t think you do. What¡¯s more, I don¡¯t think you believed them from the start. You know why? ¡°The day Julia bound Trixy, I went around the entire town spreading the word. I went to the mayor. I went to shopkeepers. I went to the crier. I even went to old Marthanna and Janiera who sit out on their porches all day gossiping. I went to everyone imaginable to spread the word of the pact. ¡°I told everyone that Trixy is bound to Julia. She¡¯s bound by a pact¡ªthe world itself enforces it¡ªto obey Julia¡¯s commands. Trixy is not a danger to anyone in town. I said all this almost two years ago. So, I know word got around to you. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°The reason I know for sure¡ªrather than just suspect¡ªis that your boy said it himself, right? He called Trixy a ¡®cursed beast¡¯ right after calling Julia herself a ¡®curse.¡¯ Clearly, he learned that from you, and you know that Julia and Trixy are joined by more than just an animal kinship.¡± Dave was positively livid, now, but before he could get even a word in, Braden continued. ¡°Your boy is actually pretty lucky. You see, Julia here has such a sweet, kind soul. She doesn¡¯t like violence. She dislikes it so much that when she saw Trixy eating a small bird, she ordered her not to attack anyone or anything ever again. ¡°In other words, the reason the only wound your son has is from Julia¡¯s fist is thanks to that order. Trixy couldn¡¯t defend herself because of it. That order has been rescinded, though. If your son does something foolish like this again¡­well, I would just make sure he doesn¡¯t. Trixy might look like a small ferret, but she can use magic.¡± Dave stomped up to Braden so that their faces were so close they could probably smell each other¡¯s breath. ¡°Are ya threatenin¡¯ ma boy, Braden? Are ya really gonna sink yer reputation with this town over that¡­disaster behind ya?¡± Dave asked quietly¡ªthe low volume belying the loathing in his words. Julia didn¡¯t even have a chance to be offended by the insult. She was distracted by the feeling of the ambient temperature declining precipitously. Braden smiled at Dave, but Julia thought the smile was one of the scariest things she¡¯d ever seen. Never mind whether it reached his eyes or not. It looked like it warped his entire face. ¡°The girl behind me is my daughter, Dave. But, I see. I was foolish to think your son would apologize. Like father, like son, they say. ¡°I can¡¯t see a tiny man like you ever having the guts to apologize for something you¡¯ve done wrong. Thus, I can¡¯t expect it from your son, whom you¡¯ve likely already taught all your cowardice and spite. ¡°I¡¯ll have to punish you myself. Only that will get the lesson through your thick skull.¡± Dave, who was now fuming openly, took a step back from Braden. His red face receded just a bit as his anger morphed into confusion and¡­was that fear? ¡°You¡¯ll regret threatenin¡¯ me like this, Braden. I don¡¯t know what kinda strange adventurin¡¯ powers ya got, but ya can¡¯t expect t¡¯ live an easy life in this community if ya treat us like this.¡± Braden laughed, but there was no mirth in it. ¡°Us? The punishment is for you, Daveth. Although, I¡¯m not against teaching anyone else that needs to learn.¡± Braden sent a pointed glance at the crowd of parents several steps behind Dave. Likely the parents of the other children, but they seemed to have elected Dave (Daveth?) as their representative, so they were staying a ways back and letting him handle things. At Braden¡¯s cold stare and mirthless smile, the group took a step back. ¡°Yer outta yer mind, Braden. I see there ain¡¯t no chance of a apology from the likes a ya. Just remember that if ma boy come tell me about a similar problem in the future, I¡¯ll be takin¡¯ it to th¡¯ mayor.¡± Dave delivered his threat, turned around to leave, and lifted his leg to take a step forward. Instead of beginning his walk, though, his leg sank into the ground. Sank was the best descriptor¡ªas to Julia¡¯s eyes, it was as if he had just failed to walk on water. The ground, acting like a fluid, swallowed his leg up to the knee before he caught himself. ¡°What in th¡¯ Gods above¡­¡± Dave gasped, bewildered. He was now leaning forward somewhat like Julia did when she was getting ready to sprint her hardest. His forward leg was locked into the ground up to his knee, and he was leaning over it with his hands on the ground. He seemed to be trying to use them to push off the ground and yank his leg out, but it wasn¡¯t budging. ¡°What was it you said, Daveth? Something about how I treat the community? You¡¯re clearly such a community guy yourself. I can see it. Lots of people around love and care about you because you treat them well, right?¡± Braden spoke in a tone so cold, Julia thought that there might be frost on the grass. As he spoke, Dave started to slowly sink into the ground. It was less like water now and more like really thick mud. He was sinking steadily, but much slower than when his leg had first gone in. He was up to his mid-thigh on his first leg, now, while his hands¡ªpreviously trying to push off the ground¡ªwere sunk halfway to his elbows. His other foot was mid-shin-deep. ¡°Since you¡¯ve obviously treated others so well, and they care about you so much, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t be here long before they come to dig you out. It¡¯ll be a community effort! What a wonderful time to bond with everyone you¡¯ve done right by.¡± Dave started sinking faster now. His elbows quickly submerged, followed by his knee. Then his midsection went under, at the same time most of his other leg was swallowed. Faster and faster the ground began to consume him. ¡°What in the bleedin¡¯ Gods¡¯ is this!? Help! ¡®e¡¯s killin¡¯ me! ¡®e¡¯s lost ¡®is Gods-cursed mind! ¡®e¡¯s¡ª¡± Dave¡¯s exclamations were cut off as his mouth went under. It was there that he finally stopped sinking. Only his head was above ground now. His nose was so close to the dirt that some of the blades of grass were bent around it. But, he had stopped sinking. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about the mayor, either. I¡¯ll go explain the situation to him right now. Julia, will you go grab Trixy and walk with me?¡± Braden asked, the former chill gone from his voice. Julia snapped out of her daze and ran into the house to get Trixy. She was obviously still asleep, so Julia picked her up and gently cradled her in her arms. When she exited the house again, Braden was there waiting for her. He was very obviously ignoring the muffled grunts and muted shouts from a head submerged in the ground. He extended his hand to her with a smile¡ªthe first genuine one she had seen since Dave arrived¡ªand they began walking toward the center of town. The gaggle of other parents parted out of their way, still stunned into complete silence. Once the adults were out of hearing-range, Julia looked up at Braden. ¡°Is he going to¡­you know¡­¡± she said quietly and with some hesitation. ¡°Is he gonna die? No. Obviously, I¡¯m not just going to take a life for something like this. He can breathe through his nose just fine. Plus, I made sure the dirt around his body wasn¡¯t compacted too tightly. ¡°Honestly, with Strength like his, he could probably just wiggle around for an hour and free himself. He¡¯ll be gone by the time we get back, and I¡¯ll fill the hole in the front yard.¡± Julia was relieved. She didn¡¯t like that man or his son, but she also didn¡¯t want him to die. Especially not because of her. ¡°What about the thing you were telling me about in the house? The thing about acting based on the outcome you want. What outcome were you wanting? ¡°It seems like he¡¯s probably right. No matter what you or I say, there were dozens of people watching that are definitely going to change the story and ruin whatever reputation you have here. Or, that¡¯s what it seems like to me,¡± Julia said. Braden was quiet for a moment before he suddenly asked, ¡°Julia, what do you think about moving to the city?¡± Julia stopped walking so quickly she almost tripped. Chapter 9 ¡°Move?¡± Julia questioned. ¡°To the city? You mean Striton?¡± ¡°Yeah. Well, to back up a little¡ªI didn¡¯t really think about what outcome I wanted. I was mad that he called you names and acted impulsively,¡± Braden said as he made a shrugging motion that seemed to suggest a ¡®whoops.¡¯ ¡°You made an impulsive decision? What about all that stuff you just lectured me about? Impulse control and-and aiming for the outcome you want?¡± Julia was a little shocked that Braden could not only act somewhat childishly but even bluntly admit it. ¡°Hey, impulse control, emotional intelligence, mastering oneself¡­these are all lifelong goals. They are things you have to work on your entire life. And¡ªas with all things of that nature¡ªsometimes you stumble. ¡°I¡¯m no exception. I appreciate that you have a high opinion of me, but the reality is that I¡¯m just like you. I¡¯m older and more experienced, but it doesn¡¯t mean we don¡¯t share the same struggles.¡± Braden smiled at her and squeezed her hand¡ªprobably thinking it was reassuring. ¡°...I appreciate what you¡¯re trying to say, but you just sank a man into the ground like it was water. We¡¯re not the same,¡± Julia deadpanned. Braden laughed so loudly that others in the area turned to look. ¡°That¡¯s just time and experience. Eventually, the ground will be like water to you, too. ¡°Anyway, I acted impulsively, and the consequences are likely going to be just as you surmised. Living here will become difficult. Not that we¡¯ll be threatened or anything like that. There are almost infinite ways to make someone¡¯s life difficult without physically harming them, though. ¡°To that end, I think it¡¯ll just be better if we live in the city,¡± he concluded. Julia thought about it while they walked. It¡¯s not like she was particularly attached to Rockyknoll. It¡¯s just where she ended up. When Braden found her at the bridge outside of town¡ªrunning for her life at the tender age of four¡ªhe took her in as his adopted daughter once it became clear that her parents¡­didn¡¯t make it. Her parents didn¡¯t even live in Rockyknoll. They were just traders headed in that direction to do business. She lived here now because it was where Braden lived, and she had no other family. She supposed she didn¡¯t particularly care about the location¡ªas long as she, Braden, and Trixy were together¡ªher new family. That did bring up a question, though. ¡°Is this not your home? You live here, so I assume you¡­I don¡¯t know¡­want to be here? Are you fine just leaving?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Ah, I see what you mean. This isn¡¯t really what I would call ¡®my home,¡¯ no. I mean, my home is wherever our family is, which is here at the moment, but I¡¯m not tethered to Rockyknoll itself. I¡¯m here mostly for work¡ªI¡¯ve been working on a long-term quest with the Guild, and this was a convenient base. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be inconvenient to change my base to Striton, though. My investigation is currently occupying this entire forest, so it¡¯s not like it really matters where specifically I¡¯m based in it. The edge is just as convenient as deep within for my purposes,¡± he mused. Huh¡­That made sense. Braden was gone at least once or twice a month. She thought he was just busy with constant Guild requests, but apparently it was just the one. Although, she definitely recalled Guild letters being delivered to their house, so maybe he did also take the occasional quest from Striton in addition to his long-term job. ¡°Well, I just want to be wherever you are. You¡¯ve seen what the townspeople think of me. I¡¯m not going to be sad to leave this place behind,¡± Julia stated matter-of-factly. Braden acquired a melancholy look as he next spoke. ¡°I also owe you an apology, Julia. Somehow, I¡¯ve overlooked how everyone in town has been treating you. I always thought you had a little social anxiety, and that¡¯s why you avoided everyone. ¡°But even if that were true, I was too wrapped up in my own problems to try to help you. Come to find out, it¡¯s way worse than what I thought¡ªyou were actively being harassed. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Julia was taken aback. She wasn¡¯t expecting¡ªnor did she particularly want¡ªthis apology. ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize. You didn¡¯t know because I didn¡¯t say anything. I felt bad about bothering you with¡­things like this. Things that everyone else seemed to be able to do just fine. ¡°Everyone in town has no problem walking up to a stranger and talking to them. I¡¯ve always been the only one who has trouble with it. I didn¡¯t want to bother you with something like that¡­I might¡¯ve been a bit embarrassed about being so bad at something everyone else does without even thinking.¡± Julia had just talked herself into being sad, but Braden was shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s not your responsibility to be conscious of me. You¡¯ve been through so much, Julia. You have higher mental stats than most your age, but that¡¯s not everything. The trauma you¡¯ve experienced has aged you quickly. It¡¯s forced you to mature faster than most kids. Sometimes, even I forget how young you are. ¡°But, you are still a kid. It¡¯s a parent¡¯s responsibility to be conscious of their child¡¯s environment and feelings¡ªnot the other way around. ¡°I¡¯m like the parents who have no idea their child is being horribly bullied in school¡­stupid,¡± Braden huffed at himself and whispered in a voice he probably thought was quiet enough that Julia couldn¡¯t hear it. After admonishing himself for something Julia didn¡¯t fully understand, Braden turned back towards her. ¡°Also, rest assured. You¡¯re not weird or slow for having trouble interacting with others. First of all, you¡¯re at a huge disadvantage in the fact that others here are predisposed to not liking you. ¡°Not to mention the kids around town grew up their entire lives talking and playing with each other. They picked social skills up naturally that way, so they are ahead of you just by living their normal lives. ¡°But even besides those things, interacting with others is a skill that you can learn and improve. In fact, while social interaction is a skill, there are also actual Skills related to it. Usually they come from classes like Politician or Noble or whatever¡ªsome kind of Class that requires interacting with people a lot. Generic merchant Classes often have them as well,¡± Braden finished. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Julia was only a little comforted. It was good to know it was something she could train to be better at, but hearing that other kids grew up learning those skills naturally made her realize how far behind she was¡ªclose to twelve years. Noticing her downtrodden spirit, Braden squeezed her hand a little. ¡°Don¡¯t be so hard on yourself, Julia. Sure, other kids can talk to each other easier than you, but how many other eleven-and-three-quarters-year-olds have you seen throwing lightning bolts around?¡± Now that made Julia smile. Maybe it wasn¡¯t so bad that she didn¡¯t have much practice socializing since she was good at other things.
The meeting with the mayor was quicker than Julia was expecting. Probably due to all the preparation Braden had done by informing everyone around town about Trixy. Julia hadn¡¯t known he did all that. The mayor was looking pretty stressed through most of it, but at Braden¡¯s casual mention that they¡¯d likely be moving soon, he seemed to shift into a different person entirely. He suddenly became easy going and friendly, which Julia thought was a strange and sudden transition. They made their way home¡ªBraden paused to fill in the empty hole in the yard¡ªand they set about packing. They weren¡¯t going to leave right away. It would take a few months, but Braden thought it would be a good idea to start packing things away that they scarcely used already. Life continued this way for a few weeks. Julia continued her daily routine¡ªever pushing to get her Dex to 10. Trixy recovered in only a day and was back to being a little arrow darting around the house. She was practically impossible to corral considering she could turn invisible at will, so both Braden and Julia simply moved most fragile items out of her reach. Braden posed a question to Julia one afternoon. He asked her to think about what weapon she¡¯d like to practice with. When she asked why a mage would need to use a weapon, his answer had surprised her. ¡°Well, training with a weapon will undoubtedly push your Dex over the edge, but the main thing is to be prepared. Sure, as a mage, you¡¯ll ideally defeat your opponents before they can get close to you. ¡°However, in the event they do get close, you need to be able to survive at least one or two of their strikes. You need to be able to survive in close-combat long enough to find an opportunity to put more distance between you. This could mean anything from knowing how to parry a sword all the way to being able to use a shield.¡± When asked about his weapon of choice, Braden merely smiled and tapped his staff against the ground. So it is a quarterstaff!?
It was finally the day before Julia¡¯s twelfth birthday. Braden would be leaving for the city soon. He had to secure a place to live there before they could actually move, so he would likely be gone a week or two. He had put the trip off until after her birthday, but it couldn¡¯t wait any longer than that. They were already starting to notice that the townsfolk scurried away from them if they ever got close. Traders in the town square were being curt, although not outright rude. Clearly, word of Dave¡¯s ordeal was already beginning to spread. Right now it was just a bad aura that they were picking up from people, but it wouldn¡¯t be long until things started escalating. Maybe a message that was supposed to arrive would go missing mysteriously. Maybe traders at the market would suddenly have higher prices, or even outright refuse their business. Regardless, the time to leave was now, so Braden was busy giving Julia a spar. They would do as much as possible today, rest tomorrow while celebrating Julia¡¯s birthday, and then Braden would head to Striton the following day to make the final preparations. He would then come back to pick Julia up, and they would officially be gone from Rockyknoll. Julia blocked a strike from Braden¡¯s staff over her head. Her hand rattled and stung from the vibrations. Apparently, it would be both worse and better with a metal sword¡ªdepending on what kind of sword and grip, but Julia was using a wooden practice sword at the moment. ¡°I already taught a child Lightning Magic. I¡¯m not also giving her a deadly armament before she¡¯s even hit puberty,¡± was Braden¡¯s response to her request for a real sword to practice with. She didn¡¯t see how a sword would be worse than lightning magic, but apparently it was about ¡®not making the same mistake twice.¡¯ ¡°A solid block, and you even used the flat of the blade. Well done. That¡¯ll keep the edge sharp longer than blocking with the blade. ¡°However, don¡¯t just sit there after you block. The opponent¡¯s weapon is now in contact with yours, and you¡¯ve halted their momentum. You need to follow up with something. It would be even better if you redirect their momentum instead of stopping it completely, but we¡¯ll get there.¡± Braden moved forward and made a stab towards her middle with the end of his staff. He was moving painfully slow, she knew. He could move much faster than this just walking, so he must be incredibly quick if he were in a real fight. Still, she didn¡¯t let his holding back bring her down. She had just started this training a week ago. She had plenty of time to work up to his level. Besides, the first week of training wasn¡¯t even sparring. It was just swinging the sword over and over again. Julia¡ªthinking about what Braden had just said about redirecting momentum instead of stopping it dead¡ªflowed to the side as the strike passed by her middle. She moved quickly into Braden¡¯s guard now that his weapon was extended, grabbed the staff with her left hand to keep it outward, and swung an overhead strike with her sword-arm, intending to hit his head. Braden smiled and grabbed her sword wrist with his free hand. Now they were in each other¡¯s guard¡ªboth hands occupied¡ªand staring at each other. ¡°That¡¯s quite the gambit you just made, Julia. It¡¯s a solid move, but you just gambled that either you would be able to strike me before I could defend, or that you are better than me at grappling. A bold move for a prospective ranged combatant. ¡°If you¡¯re going to put yourself in someone else¡¯s guard for a strike you are not 100% sure will land, you need to at least be sure that you are a stronger grappler. Otherwise, you¡¯ve effectively handed yourself over to your opponent with nice wrapping paper and a bow on your head.¡± As Braden said this, he flicked his staff to dislodge her hand and send her spinning with its momentum as he released her sword hand. She ended up on her butt with her sword clattering beside her. ¡°It was a nice move, though. Realistically, if you¡¯re ever fighting someone your own age, that move would probably work fine. Chances are pretty good that you¡¯re going to be stronger than the vast majority of kids your age.¡± The system also seemed to have decided it was a nice move, as a message appeared before her.
Dexterity: +1
Status threshold reached. Congratulations! You have qualified for your first class selection. View options now? Yes/No
Julia froze. She stared wide-eyed at the notification. She selected ¡°No,¡± and the notification shrank to the bottom corner of her vision. This was not something to be decided in the middle of the forest. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You look like you¡¯ve just seen a Dave,¡± Braden joked. ¡°I¡­I got my class selection,¡± Julia stammered, still barely believing it herself. Before she had time to process any further, Braden wrapped her up in a hug and spun her around. ¡°Congratulations, Julia! You¡¯ve worked so hard for this!¡± Julia was smiling, clearly happy, but she also identified some nervousness inside her chest. She¡¯d been training for this day for so long, and now it was here. She couldn¡¯t help but feel some twisting in her stomach. ¡°Let¡¯s go back before you do anything. The forest is pretty safe here, but no need to take unnecessary risks,¡± Braden reasoned. They started back home. Chapter 10 Julia sat down on the couch¡ªor fell into it, more like. She had both the urge to look at her class options and pretend they didn¡¯t exist. She was nervous, obviously. Braden walked over with a glass of water and Trixy in his arms. He set the water down on the coffee table in front of Julia and placed Trixy in her lap before sitting down on the couch next to her. ¡°I know it might seem daunting, but remember that most people are only offered the standard, Apprentice-level classes. So, at the very least, you will have those options. Nothing you do or have done will put you behind anyone else. At the very worst, you¡¯ll be at the same starting line. And that¡¯s the worst-case scenario.¡± Julia nodded while she petted Trixy with one hand and drank with the other. That did reassure her a bit, but her nervousness wasn¡¯t exclusively due to her desire for a good class. This was the culmination of everything she had worked for over many years. There was no way to completely settle the tightly bundled nerves other than to get on with it. She took a deep breath and opened her notification before she lost the will.
View Class options? Yes/No
Professional Class Options: Apprentice Combat Class Options: Fledgling Scout Novice Basic Elementalist Shock Mage Hybrid Class Options: Seeker
Julia stared in wide-eyed wonder at the list of Classes before her. She knew several of these already. Braden had explained that most people were offered the basic Classes at Level 1. For the Professional Classes¡ªClasses that were specialized for some kind of profession outside of combat¡ªthat meant the Apprentice class. Apprentice would give bonuses to experience earned doing professional work and studying under someone with at least a Journeyman-level Professional class. It was the de facto class selection for most everyone not planning on being a combatant at Level 1. It would give a bonus to learning any Skills related to a Profession, so it was¡ªby far¡ªthe most common Class out there. It would also give a single Attribute point (automatically assigned to Constitution) each level, as well as a free Attribute point that could be assigned at will. Fledgling, Scout, and Novice were the same as Apprentice¡ªjust the combat-equivalents. Fledgling was a physically focused combat Class that boosted experience gained by training and fighting with Strength-based weapons. It gave a single Attribute point in Strength as well as one free point per level. Scout was similar to Fledgling, just with a focus on Dexterity-based weapons and its assigned Attribute point in Dexterity. There wasn¡¯t a distinct divide in weapon categories. Braden said it wasn¡¯t as cut-and-dry as one weapon being a Strength weapon while another was Dex. There was some overlap. For example, a one-handed sword could be used as either Str or Dex depending on how it was wielded. Braden even said his staff utilized both stats when he fought with it physically. Novice was the magic-focused of the basic Classes. Its Attribute point was assigned to Intelligence, and the Class offered a boost to experience earned towards anything magic-related. Interestingly, this seemed to include things like Runes and Enchanting, despite those two being considered Skills of the Professional archetype. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. As a result, you would sometimes see people with a Professional class like Enchanter who started out as a Novice rather than an Apprentice. Magic of all types¡ªnot just runes¡ªwas still valuable in enchanting, after all. Julia was surprised to see two Uncommon Classes offered. She knew it was possible but exceedingly rare for Classes to be offered beyond the basic ones, especially ones with advanced Rarity. She was unfamiliar with the two, so she concentrated on them to expand their details.
Basic Elementalist: You have begun to comprehend the four basic elements. Though your current knowledge is shallow, you cannot walk without taking that first step. As a Basic Elementalist, you take your first step towards bending the four, primary elements to your will. Walk carefully, for you tread in Nature¡¯s domain. +1 to Wisdom per level +1 to Intelligence per level +2 free Attribute points per level
That¡¯s¡­pretty ominous. She was surprised to see something as analytical and cold as the System being so¡­expressive? She couldn¡¯t find the right word for it, but it definitely didn¡¯t read like the usual, dry explanations for the things on her Status page. And what was with that warning? ¡°...you tread in Nature¡¯s domain.¡± Was that a threat¡ªfrom the System? Or was it a warning to avoid letting power go to her head? She had no idea, but it was uncomfortable to consider. She decided she¡¯d ask Braden after examining the other two classes.
Shock Mage: You have comprehended one of the more destructive aspects of nature. Learning to harness it, you increase your mastery over it as well as your safety from it. Lightning is not for the faint of heart, as it is just as likely to kill you as your enemies. However, the path to great power is never without risk. +1 to Wisdom per level +1 to Intelligence per level +2 free Attribute points per level
Julia liked the sound of this one. The threat was more clear-cut in this description. Braden had warned her plenty¡ªand she had seen firsthand¡ªhow destructive lightning could be. Would it be as dangerous to her as the System claimed, though? She already knew the Faraday¡¯s Cage spell thanks to Braden, so lightning shouldn¡¯t be able to harm her. She even had it active most of the day at Braden¡¯s instruction. He claimed that it would train her mental stats as well as always ensure she was prepared. ¡°Hard to prepare for something you can¡¯t even see coming, so the key is to just always be prepared,¡± he¡¯d said. Regardless, she had another class to look at before thinking harder about that one. And, boy, was it a doozy. She¡¯d never heard of anyone being offered a Rare class at level 1! And a hybrid class? She had only even heard Braden mention those a couple of times in passing, always followed by something like, ¡°We don¡¯t need to complicate things by talking about those, yet. You won¡¯t have to worry about them for a while, anyway.¡± Well, now she¡¯s worrying about it.
Seeker: What are you seeking? You are not sure, but you know that the best way to take advantage of it when you find it is to be prepared. To that end, you have strengthened your foundation with a wide diversity of focuses. Physical combat, magical arts, and even Professional Skills are all part of your preparation. You continue to mold your foundation to take advantage of any and all opportunities that come your way. Great things come to those willing to patiently pursue them. With the Higher Being instructing you at your side, reach for the highest heights, Seeker. +1 to Wisdom per level +1 to Intelligence per level +1 to Constitution per level +3 free Attribute points per level
Julia released the breath she hadn¡¯t realized she was holding while reading the description. What a Class! Six Attribute points per level is outrageous! That said, she noticed a lack of transparency on what the class actually did. It was well known what the basic classes did. They provided boosts to experience in learning relevant skills. Julia could also infer that the two Uncommon classes likely did as well. Perhaps with a larger boost to learning those Classes¡¯ relevant skills since they¡¯re more specialized. But what did Seeker do? The description was vague and mysterious. Talking about her ¡®foundation¡¯ and¡­actually, who is this ¡°Higher Being¡± that¡¯s supposed to be beside her? ¡°Braden, I¡¯ve looked through my classes and have a few questions.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Braden looked over from where he was¡ªapparently¡ªlooking out the window, lost in thought. ¡°Oh, sure. Why don¡¯t we start with you just reading them all out to me, then we can go through their descriptions. Once we know what we¡¯re working with, you can start with your questions. I should be able to better answer them that way.¡± Chapter 11 Julia looked on in amusement as Braden¡¯s mouth opened and closed like a fish. She hadn¡¯t seen too many fish in her life¡ªjust a few in the nearby stream occasionally¡ªbut they always did that stupid ¡®glub glub¡¯ motion with their mouths¡ªjust like Braden right now. ¡°That¡­that piece of shit sold me out!¡± Braden exclaimed once he recollected himself. Julia snickered at his betrayed tone. ¡°I take it that this ¡®Higher Being¡¯¡ªthe ¡®piece of shit¡¯ is talking about¡ªis you?¡± Braden looked like he was about to comment on her use of profanity, but (wisely) thought better of it. He deflated a little and sank back into the couch cushions, sighing. ¡°I¡¯ve only heard the System use that phrase a few times. I think it¡¯s referring to individuals with a level of at least 75¡ªor the equivalent. It¡¯s not really about the number, I don¡¯t think. It¡¯s more about the weight of one¡¯s existence.¡± ¡°What does how heavy someone is have to do with anything?¡± Julia inquired. ¡°When you reach a high level like that, the actions you take in the world bear more metaphorical weight¡ªmore gravitas. Every action you take has greater consequences on the world around you. I think that¡¯s what this ¡®Higher Being¡¯ business is about.¡± Julia nodded. That made some sense. Someone that strong would surely¡ªwait. ¡°You¡¯re level 75!? You¡¯re a Grandmaster!? You!?¡± Julia practically shouted. She was briefly stunned. No wonder the Guild was always asking him to do things. ¡°Hey, that stings a little! I am something like a Grandmaster or equivalent. Yes¡ªme¡­among other things,¡± Braden said, trailing off as though he meant to whisper the last part unintelligibly. ¡°So, I was offered this class because you were instructing me? Isn¡¯t that what the description implied?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Whoa, don¡¯t discount the work you¡¯ve put in. I just taught you things I thought would be useful or you¡¯d like. I wasn¡¯t trying to like¡­raise you into a weapon or anything. If you showed no interest in magic, I wouldn¡¯t have tried to teach you. If you showed no interest in Adventuring, I wouldn¡¯t have decided you should learn to use a weapon. ¡°This class was offered to you because¡ªas the description said¡ªyou have a diverse foundation without a firm goal in mind to make use of it. the foundation you have consists of everything you¡¯ve asked me to teach you or shown interest in learning. It¡¯s all you, Julia. All I did was respond to your will. ¡°Honestly, I think that bit about a ¡®Higher being¡¯ instructing you was just added for flavor to your specific situation. It¡¯s not unheard of for System descriptions to be tailored to an individual. I doubt it had anything to do with the Class itself. ¡°I¡¯m reasonably sure that if all it took to acquire a Rare starter Class was anyone at level 75 or equivalent teaching someone young, I would have heard about it before. Our situation is uncommon, but certainly not unique. You can surely imagine that there are parents over Level 75 that teach their own kids.¡± Julia basked in the praise for a brief moment before it brought another of her questions forward. ¡°That word¡ªyou and the System both used it. What does it mean, this ¡®foundation?¡¯ ¡°I don¡¯t think it carries some lofty meaning within the System like Strength or Class does. It¡¯s just a sort of catch-all term for your skillset. Well, your skillset and your Skillset. ¡°For example, I would say you have an excellent magic foundation based on the different aspects of magic you can use, as well as your mana Skills. See what I mean? Foundation just means the base on which you¡¯re going to build in the future. ¡°The System sometimes latches onto a term like that and starts running with it. If you begin seeing references to the ¡®house¡¯ you¡¯re building on your ¡®foundation¡¯ later, it¡¯s just the System continuing the metaphor,¡± he explained. That made some sense. It was a new side of the System that Julia hadn¡¯t seen, but she¡¯d also never had a Class before, so there were likely many sides of the System she hadn¡¯t seen. ¡°Ok, well¡­what do you think about the Classes? Actually, do you know anything about Seeker¡ªlike whether it provides boosted experience to any specific Skills or anything?¡± Julia asked. ¡°I¡¯ve not heard of Seeker before, no. I¡¯ve only heard of a few instances of Rare Classes being offered at Level 1, so it¡¯s not too surprising that I¡¯ve not heard of this specific one. ¡°If I had to guess, I would wager that rather than any specific Skills, it gives a small boost to experience gained in all Skills. The class doesn¡¯t even seem to discriminate between Combat and Profession Skills, so I would guess that literally every single Skill gets a small boost. ¡°It almost certainly wouldn¡¯t be as large a boost as Fledgling would give to physical Combat Skills or the boost that Shock Mage would give to Lightning-based Skills. However, boosting every single Skill is a pretty big deal¡ªespecially at low Levels¡ªeven if the boost isn¡¯t as large as the more specialized ones. ¡°The first Level in a Skill is one of the most difficult to acquire because you¡¯re trying to acquire the Skill itself. Having a boost just to get a Skill onto your Status sheet would be tremendously beneficial, I think. After all, once you have it, you have it. ¡°There can be benefits to having Skills even if you don¡¯t use them much. Remember what happened to your Physical Training Skill once you started working on magic?¡± Braden inquired. ¡°Yeah. I got the Mind Training Skill and they fused automatically into the general Training Skill. You said it was better because it incorporated both Physical and Mind Training Skills into one. It boosted the Mind Training Skill¡¯s level up since it merged with my Physical Training Skill, which was already at a higher level,¡± Julia replied. ¡°Exactly. Just having a Skill can open possibilities like that in the future, even if you¡¯re not expecting it. The worst that will happen from having many Skills is your Status screen will become a little cumbersome, but you can just reorganize it so it¡¯s easier to read.¡± Julia nodded along, a decision forming in her mind. ¡°So, Seeker is the best bet, then. It would help me in pretty much everything I¡¯m going to do up to Level 25,¡± she reasoned. ¡°Definitely. Even if it didn¡¯t give any actual benefits, I would argue it¡¯s still a no-brainer. Your first Class will be active for 25 Levels, meaning that you have 25 instances of gaining Attributes. Common Classes will assign 1 Attribute Point automatically and grant 1 AP to allocate at will. This means a Common Class will have gained a total of 50 APs by Level 25. ¡°You, however, will gain a total of 150 just from picking a Rare Class. Even without any other benefits, that alone is worth choosing. ¡°Individual APs make a much more significant difference in the early Levels compared to the higher ones. The difference between 400 and 450 isn¡¯t that large, but the difference between 50 and 100? That¡¯s extreme. A Strength of 50 will be roughly half as strong as a Strength of 100. It¡¯s just math. ¡°The choice is yours, obviously, but I would strongly encourage you to take Seeker.¡± Julia nodded in agreement. She had already been tentatively ready to accept it, but with Braden¡¯s encouragement, she was now completely sure. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Accept Seeker as your Main Class? Yes/No
Accepted. Stand by. Applying Class change.
Julia flinched as a warm feeling washed through her. It felt similar to when she drank a warm drink on a chilly night. The feeling started in her core and radiated outward all the way to her fingertips.
Class: Seeker applied successfully! Level: +1 Wisdom: +1 Intelligence: +1 Constitution: +1 3 Attribute points available for assignment.
¡°Eep!¡± Julia yipped as the warm, pleasant feeling suddenly sharpened to a slight jolt. It was similar to the feeling of getting zapped by static electricity¡ªonly across her whole body and inside it. It was most prominent in her head, though. Ouch. ¡°Ah, that¡¯ll be the Attributes from your first Level being applied. Your Stats are relatively low right now, so gaining an extra AP feels more significant than it will later. ¡°For example, if you gain 1 point in Strength when you have a total of 10, you just increased your muscular strength by 10%. That will feel 10 times as strong as if you gained 1 Strength when your total is 100. ¡°In other words, that feeling will get less and less noticeable until you eventually stop feeling it completely, so don¡¯t worry too much about it,¡± Braden reassured. That was a relief for Julia. It wasn¡¯t the worst pain she¡¯d ever felt, by any means, but it certainly wasn¡¯t comfortable. As she was settling from the sudden jolt, she got one last System message.
Class: Seeker has revealed Class Skill: Truesight Skill: Truesight acquired! Skill: Manasight has been incorporated into Skill: Truesight Skill: Truesight increased to Level 2!
Julia had forgotten that Classes generally offered Skills at significant Level milestones. She activated Truesight to try it out. The world around her lit up like the sun had suddenly come out from behind the clouds. Now that she had it, it was strange that she could see at all when not using the Skill. The world was so vibrant. She could see the slight haze of air mana around her as well as the stew of different mana aspects that she was familiar with. These occurred wherever mana aspects mixed and merged, which was most places. Julia looked down at Trixy in her lap and gasped. Trixy was glowing! She was giving off a white light like the sun itself! She looked at herself and was surprised to see she was glowing, too! Hers was a green glow compared to Trixy¡¯s white. The biggest surprise was that when she looked over at Braden, he just¡­wasn¡¯t there. He was, of course; she could see him with her normal vision, but it was like he simply didn¡¯t exist to all her other sight. ¡°...what?¡± Braden asked when he noticed Julia staring. ¡°Why are you not there? I can see you with my eyes, but none of my other sight,¡± she said, bewildered. ¡°Oh, you got some kind of advanced sight Skill from your class? That¡¯s an excellent first Skill. ¡°I only appear to the senses I want to. I could make myself invisible to your eyes as well, but that would be a bit inconvenient for us,¡± Braden explained. ¡°Can you teach me to do that? To disappear?¡± Julia asked hopefully. The potential for disappearing from others¡¯ sight was extremely appealing to her. Not because of social anxiety, though¡ªdefinitely not. ¡°Hmm. Not yet, no. I could maybe teach you how to make yourself invisible to normal sight. It¡¯s possible with magic that Trixy uses, but also with¡ªrelatively¡ªsimple light magic. However, disappearing from something like Manasight would be difficult at your current Level. Let alone more advanced sight Skills. ¡°You¡¯ll get there, though. You just got your first class, so don¡¯t be discouraged that you can¡¯t suddenly learn all of a Grandmaster¡¯s Skills immediately,¡± Braden chuckled. ¡°Now, I think I¡¯ll go get started on dinner. Unless you have other questions?¡± he asked. He got up and headed toward the kitchen once Julia shook her head. She spent some time just staring at things with her new vision and getting used to it. She couldn¡¯t keep it going forever since it seemed to use her mana actively. It wasn¡¯t excessive, but it was enough to overcome her natural mana regeneration. She would be actively losing mana while it was engaged. She shut it off and decided to check all her gains before heading into the kitchen. She called up her Status and reconfigured it slightly to show the things that changed since she gained her class as well using a few abbreviations.
Name: Julia Age: 11 Class: Seeker Subclass: None Companions: Trixy Str: 12 Dex: 10 Con: 12 (+1) Int: 16 (+1) Wis: 14 (+1) Res: 11 Unassigned Attribute Points: 3
Earth Magic Wind Magic Water Magic Fire Magic
Mold Stone Breeze Draw Water Spark
Lightning Magic Summoning Magic Monster Tamer Magic
Faraday¡¯s Cage Lightning Bolt Ritual Summoning Pact
Runes 4 Ritual Casting 2 Meditation 5 Training 7 Mana Manipulation 5 Mana Sense 5 Truesight: 2 (+1)
Chapter 12 The next day was Julia¡¯s twelfth birthday and the first full day of having her Class, so it was a big one. Braden made a breakfast cake for her when she awoke. He called it a ¡°lemon pound cake.¡± It was delicious. It was almost too sweet, but the lemon added a little sourness that offset the sweetness just right. Apparently, it was tough to make, or perhaps the ingredients just weren¡¯t readily available around here. He kept pulling things out of a bag she¡¯d never seen before. Whenever he grabbed a new ingredient, he¡¯d boast about how difficult it was to acquire. Julia thought he was probably just full of hot air. One of the ingredients he bragged about was sugar that he ground into a powder. Why would anyone ever need to do that to sugar when it¡¯s already been processed? She didn¡¯t expect to have cake for breakfast, but you wouldn¡¯t find her complaining. He paired it with a side of bacon, which was a little confusing to Julia. He rambled quite a lot about the combination of sweet and savory during breakfast. She tuned most of it out to focus on the yummy cake. And, as much as she wouldn¡¯t admit it¡ªlest his head get overfull of the hot air and burst¡ªthe bacon was a nice pairing. After breakfast was cleaned up, Braden gave her a birthday gift. At first glance, it was a rather plain bracelet made of carved wooden beads connected by thread. It was lovely, of course, but Julia couldn¡¯t help feeling slightly disappointed. She¡¯d never been one for jewelry. What was the point of it if she constantly had to take it all off every day during her training? However, when she was inspecting the carved beads, she noticed the thread wasn¡¯t actually thread. It was metal. A wire. And¡ªif she looked really closely¡ªshe could see tiny inscriptions along the metal. They glowed faintly, but they were so fine that she couldn¡¯t even see them unless she pulled the beads apart as far as they¡¯d go and held it right up to her face. ¡°It¡¯s mithril, in case you were wondering,¡± Braden said rather smugly. ¡°I enchanted it myself. The beads are there to hide the mithril and enchantments. Dimensional storage is rather expensive, after all. Wouldn¡¯t want ne¡¯er-do-wells in the city targeting you because of it.¡± ¡°Dimensional storage!? This bracelet has a subspace inside it!?¡± Julia exclaimed. Dimensional storage¡ªas Braden said¡ªwas an expensive enchantment. Not just because of how complicated it was, nor due to the precious materials it required. It was outrageously expensive because very few had any kind of magic that could create a separate subspace. Let alone one that was stable enough to tote around with you and store your precious things. Of course, now that she knew he was a Grandmaster, she wasn¡¯t as surprised as she would have been otherwise. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Braden walked over to the doorway and motioned toward practically the entire room. ¡°It¡¯s about this big, floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall.¡± ¡°It¡¯s as big as the entire kitchen!?¡± Julia was flabbergasted. How could such a huge space exist inside this tiny, thin wire? ¡°Yes. It¡¯s the maximum size I could make with that tiny piece of mithril. If I used more mithril¡ªperhaps made a locket or something instead¡ªI could have made it bigger. However, a locket of pure mithril¡ªon anyone, let alone a twelve-year-old girl¡ªwould be begging to be stolen. ¡°Could have made it bigger if I¡¯d used Orichalcum instead of mithril, but good luck getting your hands on that at all. Mithril has a lower magic retention and absorption rate than Orichalcum, so it can¡¯t support as large a subspace. The size of the subspace would require more mana than it can passively absorb from the environment, and the space would collapse,¡± Braden explained. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Julia was listening, barely. She was still staring in shock at the bracelet. This thing was¡ªwithout a doubt¡ªmore expensive than their entire house and everything in it. ¡°Why don¡¯t you put it on, and I¡¯ll show you how to use it,¡± Braden said through a smile, seeing her fascination. She slid it over her left wrist, noticing that when it settled against her skin, it tightened just a bit¡ªenough to be snug but not tight. ¡°It has a size-adjustment enchantment as well?¡± ¡°Yup. Durability, too. It¡¯s as strong as I was able to make it considering the material and the amount of mana the actual subspace requires. I wouldn¡¯t try to block a sword with it, but dropping it certainly isn¡¯t going to do much. ¡°Should probably also mention that it¡¯s the mithril wire that¡¯s enchanted for durability¡ªnot the carved wooden beads. I just bought those from a little stand at the market near the gate in Striton. Should be pretty easy to replace if you need to. ¡°The vendor was a wonderful lady named Ethellia. When I mentioned the beads were for a gift I was making for my daughter, she gave me half of them for free. She has lots of neat little carved trinkets. I think she makes them herself.¡± Julia was excited. Not just about her bracelet¡ªwhich she was excited about¡ªbut also the prospect of meeting people who didn¡¯t already hate her just for existing. ¡°Here,¡± Braden handed her an apple. She grabbed it with her left hand. ¡°Now, focus on the bracelet. It¡¯s difficult to explain, but if you¡¯ve done it once, you¡¯ll never forget. Just kind of¡­shift your attention down towards the bracelet.¡± Julia did so. It was a strange sensation. It was like there was a magnet on her wrist that¡ªonce focused on¡ªyanked her attention down to it. She felt a pulling sensation from the bracelet when she focused on it like this. She could tell that she could point that pull wherever she needed, so she shifted it to the apple. Pop¡ªit disappeared. ¡°Great job! Not too complicated, right? Now, if you focus on the bracelet, you should feel several sensations. You should also have a vague idea of what they¡¯re for based on how they feel. It always helps me, personally, to visualize all those sensations as ¡®threads.¡¯ ¡°Then, when you need to¡ªfor example¡ªcheck what¡¯s stored in your bracelet, you can just focus on that function and the appropriate ¡®thread¡¯ will become obvious to you.¡± Somehow, despite the thread thing making no actual sense to her, it did help. Visualizing the threads made each function of the bracelet stand out distinctly from one another. She could see the threads for storing things, taking them out, and checking the bracelet¡¯s contents. There were also¡­sub-threads? If she followed the thread to check the contents of the bracelet, there was another thread behind it to check on the state of the apple that was currently stored. ¡°Do things¡­uh¡­rot in there? Should I take this apple out immediately?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Well, no, they don¡¯t¡ªand you should keep that a secret. Time is essentially frozen in that subspace, so nothing in it will age. Even hot food will come out just as hot as it went in. ¡°There are some limitations, though. Anything with mana and intent will interfere with the intent of the bracelet and won¡¯t be able to enter the subspace. This means living things can¡¯t enter. Even if they consented to it, their mana is inherently saturated with their own will and intent. It would interfere with the magic. ¡°Fortunately, recently-deceased things won¡¯t. This means monster parts¡ªeven if they¡¯re fresh¡ªcan go in. Intent begins to dissipate immediately after death and much faster than the mana itself. Whatever intent remains will be too weak to interfere with the bracelet since there will be no consciousness reinforcing¡ª¡± Braden stopped talking as Julia wrapped her arms around his middle. Her head was just up to his abdomen, so her arms were wrapped around his waist like a belt. ¡°Thanks. I love it,¡± Julia said in muffled satisfaction, her face buried in Braden¡¯s robe. ¡°Of course. Happy birthday, Jules. There¡¯s more, though. If you bring that apple back out, I¡¯ll give you some pointers towards learning a new aspect of magic. It¡¯s complicated, so you likely won¡¯t get it immediately. It¡¯ll be something you can work on while I¡¯m in the city.¡± ¡°Kay!¡± Julia said happily as the apple appeared back in her hand. She handed it to Braden and followed him to the living room. ¡°What I¡¯m going to tell you about is a concept called gravity,¡± he said as the apple floated up off his hand. Chapter 13 Julia spent the rest of her birthday switching between magic practice and playing around with her bracelet. She had begun storing most of her things in it¡ªeven things that she used every day. She could take them out easily at will, so there wasn¡¯t really a reason not to. Why go looking for something when she could just pull it out from the subspace? Gravity Magic was difficult for her. It both was and wasn¡¯t difficult conceptually. On one hand, throwing something up and preventing it from falling back down was a simple visualization. On the other, how she could prevent it from coming back down completely eluded her. Braden had only briefly explained that gravity was keeping everything anchored to the ground. He said that anything that went up had to come back down unless it had some kind of power source constantly keeping it up. Just like how if he stopped supplying mana to the apple hovering above his hand, it would immediately fall back down. However, he didn¡¯t explain much beyond that. He said it was a complicated subject that she wasn¡¯t quite ready for, but he wanted her to begin thinking about it so that she was receptive to the lesson eventually. Julia wasn¡¯t sure why he would just mention something amazing like this and then not explain further. Was he just teasing her!? This is not to say that she couldn¡¯t make it work. She couldn¡¯t make the apple float, but she could get a coin to float above her palm. Briefly. The mana cost was exorbitant just for a few seconds of making the tiny coin float. Braden said it was because she didn¡¯t understand how to make it happen¡ªthus, she was almost entirely relying on the World to figure out how, and she was just supplying the mana. The day passed quickly for her, and suddenly it was dinner time. Braden pulled some kind of meat out of what she now realized was a storage bag¡ªa bag that had a storage enchantment. Where he was keeping the bag, and why he hadn¡¯t ever used or even mentioned it before, she wasn¡¯t sure. He said the meat came from the flank of a Reckless Charger, which was apparently some kind of large bull monster native to the plains west of Striton. It was hunted regularly by adventurers both because its meat was highly desired by restaurants around the city and to keep the population controlled. They become enraged very easily, which means they can pose a threat to travelers and villages if the population isn¡¯t kept thin and away from roads and population centers. The meat was delicious. It wasn¡¯t gamey like one might expect from a wild animal, and it had just the right fat-to-meat ratio to make it almost melt in your mouth. Braden only lightly seasoned it with salt and garlic, and it was still one of the best meals she¡¯d ever had. He said the salt came from the sea, too. The sea! She¡¯d love to see that some day. Early the next morning, Braden headed off towards the city. Julia walked with him to the gate as the sun began to peek over the horizon. She was going out to the woods to do her weapon training, so they walked all the way to the edge of the woods before splitting off. Julia walked a ways into the woods with Trixy draped across her neck like a scarf. She was still sleeping, which always surprised Braden. He was sure ferrets were ¡®crepuscular,¡¯ which meant they were more active at dawn and dusk. Yet, since she was first summoned, Trixy had been a late riser. Julia did her usual routine. It wasn¡¯t too different from what her routine had been consistently throughout her life. The main difference was that Julia had consolidated the dedicated Strength and Dexterity training times into one larger training session for sword work. It tended to work both stats well enough, and Julia was still stuck at the Strength value Braden had warned she¡¯d likely stay at until puberty, so there was no real point focusing on Strength too much. After the weapon training came her usual magic practice. She was still trying to make floating things easier. It wasn¡¯t working. She tried for a couple hours with no progress before switching to meditation. It was something she enjoyed. She had learned over the years that there are different types of meditation. Braden had warned her before he taught her anything to stop immediately if she started experiencing things like having regular, negative thoughts or otherwise-unusual thoughts/feelings after beginning meditation and to talk to him if she did. Apparently, there were possible negative effects from meditation, but like Braden liked to say, ¡°If there are no risks, it doesn¡¯t work.¡± The meditation she was doing right now wasn¡¯t about introspection or being present or spiritual or anything. It was about absorbing mana from the environment. A person¡¯s internal mana is replenished/absorbed through the food they eat, just like pretty much anything the body uses as fuel. However, there are ways to absorb mana directly. Just as you can force your own mana outside of your body, you can pull outside mana into it. There are risks to this, though. Braden had warned her and made her promise not to attempt it unless he was there to supervise her the first several times. Since she was well-practiced at it, he had given her the go-ahead to practice on her own. The first dangerous aspect was that one had to purge the will¡ªthe Will of the World¡ªfrom the external mana before incorporating it into one¡¯s own mana store. Braden had already explained the dangers of mana with different wills clashing within the body when he explained the basic healing technique to her, so she was well-aware of the danger. The key was in the visualization. Her process was to pull the mana through a ¡®will filter¡¯ as it entered her body. Once it came out the other side, it would be fully saturated with a will and intent she assigned it. In her case, she told it to ¡®merge¡¯ with the rest of her mana. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Braden had pitched this visualization to her by having her hold a rag between her two hands as he poured a small cup of dirty water on top of it. The water that made it through the rag was clear. He called this process filtering¡ªalthough, he did warn that passing dirty water through one thin rag doesn¡¯t make it safe to drink. Still, the demonstration was helpful. The other aspect that made absorbing external mana difficult was the aspect alignment. Air mana was very different from the un-aspected, neutral mana that the digestive system processed food into. The solution to this issue was to have System-recognized compatibility with an aspect. Of course, compatibility was not an inborn quality. It just means that the System had recognized one¡¯s familiarity with that aspect of mana enough to list it in one¡¯s Status. Once achieved, the System handles a certain amount of the conversion from neutral to aspected mana. The body gradually becomes used to the aspects as they are used. After all, building spells internally is much easier than projecting them outwardly, so this is one of the first things an aspiring mage learns. Thus, if one has used Air Magic before, their body is likely already very familiar with that aspect of mana. Still, it had to be a measured process. Julia kept the pace of absorption to a steady stream. If she absorbed too quickly, the incoming mana would outpace her core¡¯s rate of conversion from air to neutral. That could be dangerous. Just as mana clashing within one¡¯s body was dangerous with the potential to be deadly, so too would aspected mana rampaging around in one¡¯s core. Though Julia was quite adept at absorbing mana at this point, she was bottle-necked by her core¡¯s conversion rate. It wasn¡¯t slow by any means. She could drain her entire core practicing spells and refill it to full through meditation in just over an hour. Still, it would improve once she hit her first milestone: Level 25. Each Level milestone brought with it qualitative changes to one¡¯s body. The System improved the body in preparation for planting a new, more advanced Class in it. One of these changes was a higher quality mana core. This would improve all aspects of mana manipulation. From the body¡¯s ability to move mana throughout it to its fine control to its conversion rate, all were improved. And improvements happened at each milestone. It was no surprise that people who made it to Grandmaster or higher frequently lived for hundreds of years. There was great disparity in how one looked (aesthetically) through those years, but all lived exceptionally long lives. Warriors often looked younger and remained spry in their old age simply due to (typically) higher investment in Constitution. Casters tended to focus less on the body Attributes and¡ªas a result¡ªshowed their age more. This led to a stereotypical ¡®Old Wizard¡¯ look among older casters, despite there being a great variety of caster Classes that don¡¯t have ¡®Wizard¡¯ in the name. With her mana refilled, Julia called Trixy over from where she had been chasing squirrels around and headed home. Trixy hadn¡¯t attacked since Julia gave the order forbidding it, but she still liked to play with some of the animals in the woods. As they cleared the treeline, Julia noted that she had ended up farther east than she had expected. They weren¡¯t too far from the western gate, but she was infrequently this far from it in her daily routine. They walked by a few farms that existed between the palisade and the treeline. These farms were stepped against the knoll to provide a level surface for both the crops and animals. Julia thought it created a neat effect of making the roads connecting the farms look as though carved through the knoll itself. She knew it was actually the opposite, though. Dirt from the ditch in front of the palisade was piled here to create the stepped effect. She began to hear shouting. It didn¡¯t sound pained or angry, but Julia still wasn¡¯t interested in any confrontations¡ªnot when they were so close to leaving permanently. She gave the signal she and Trixy had worked on: two winks of her left eye in quick succession to mean, ¡°Make us both invisible¡ªquickly and quietly,¡± or thereabouts. Now-invisible, they walked over to where she heard the commotion to discover a very familiar group of teenagers. She couldn¡¯t remember every single face from the incident, but she recognized many of the kids from the group that had bullied Trixy. The Sherwood boy was there and¡ªlike last time¡ªappeared to be leading the group. The kids were¡­beating on two chicken corpses. They were definitely dead, no question about it. Julia felt sickened, but the feeling was muted by her confusion. This was absolutely brutal. The chickens had a foot missing here, an eye was lying over there, and feathers and blood covered the ground. These kids absolutely brutalized these poor birds, and they were still not satisfied, judging by how they took turns stomping on what remained. They had blood on their hands, on their clothes, and some even had it on their faces, but they were completely unbothered by it. Julia knew these kids to be capable of cruelty, she¡¯d seen it first-hand, but this was¡­beyond what she could have imagined. Maybe it was that distinct sensation of wrongness that made her think of her new Skill, and she activated Truesight. What she expected to see were green silhouettes, just like when she looked down at herself. She did see them, but there was something else, too. A sort of¡­wispy quality to their outlines, like they weren¡¯t all there. Or, maybe that their exact positions weren¡¯t completely clear? It seemed like they were made of a very solid fog that shifted this way and that slightly every second. Disturbed and unsure of what she was seeing, she made a mental note about the strangeness of their auras and started towards home at a brisk jog. She didn¡¯t want to linger there any longer than she had to. Not to mention Trixy could only keep them both out of sight for a few minutes at a time. Trixy could make herself invisible for almost an hour, but making her and an entire other human invisible really taxed her. As they ran through the gate¡ªvisible now so that the guard who saw them leave this morning would know they returned¡ªJulia hadn¡¯t deactivated her Truesight. She wasn¡¯t thinking about it after seeing the horrible, strange situation outside the gate. The streets were busy, being well-into the afternoon. She saw what she expected. Green outlines of people hustling here and there. What she wasn¡¯t expecting was how many of those wispy, not-quite-there outlines were also present. It was perhaps one out of every seven people she saw that had those features. There was a commonality among them, too. The wispy people were undoubtedly more aggressive than the normal-looking people. She saw one bump into another person and immediately shout at them. Another was sitting on a porch giving an absolutely frigid look to anyone walking by that was unfortunate enough to meet his eyes. Julia was truly disturbed, now. She didn¡¯t know what this was or what it meant, but something was not right. She walked home as fast as she could without drawing attention to herself. If normal townspeople were provoking shouting and glares, she did not want to know how one of those¡­others would react to her. Closing the door behind her, she locked all the locks, closed all the blinds, and even closed and locked all the shutters. Braden would be back in a week¡ªtwo, at the latest. She just had to lie low, and not draw any attention until then. He¡¯d know what to do. Chapter 14 ¡°Come on out, girlie! We just wan¡¯ a word with ya!¡± SMASH Julia was frantically packing things into her bracelet. She had her entire room packed away¡ªexcept for the furniture¡ªand now she was working on the essentials from the rest of the house. She grabbed the storage bag that Braden had left for her and tied it around her waist. It had all the food she would need while he was gone. SMASH Trixy was draped around her neck, anxiously gripping the shoulder seam on her shirt. Julia had already grabbed Trixy¡¯s various beds, cushions, and toys. She started packing kitchenware¡ªcups, pots, pans, silverware¡ªanything she could find. CRACK The front door split near the middle, splinters of wood flying into the entryway. Looks like this was all she¡¯d be able to pack. Two days had passed since Julia noticed the presence of the ¡®others,¡¯ as she had taken to calling them. She had remained inside the entire time, not wanting to risk venturing out and drawing their ire. She had no idea what the situation was out there, and she had deemed any attempt to go out and gather information too risky. She had occasionally heard shouting or the noise from a scuffle, but it always faded away. There was never any noise around the house. It was always off in the street or farther into town. Until now, that is. Dave was back, and he was crazier than ever. There were at least a few people with him. She only knew because whenever he jeered and shouted at her, it was accompanied by other voices piling on. They had shown up completely out of the blue. She nearly jumped out of her skin when an axe-wielding Dave struck the front door. The good news was that Braden seemed to have installed wards of some kind. They must be triggered by the doors being locked or something. The axe had long-since broken, and Dave was now pounding on the door with his bare fists. Of course, the instant Julia heard the first of the axe¡¯s impacts, she knew she had to leave. She was hoping the wards would be strong enough to keep them out while she packed the whole house up, but it seems that wasn¡¯t the case. Dave was possessed of unnatural Strength. At least, she suspected it was unnatural. Even if his woodcutter class gave him decent stats, she didn¡¯t think anyone should be able to blast through a warded door with their bare fists¡ªespecially without even a combat Class as their main. Julia headed toward the back window and opened the shutters a crack¡ªplanning to jump out and escape. CRASH A bloodied hand smashed through the glass and forced the shutters open further. THUMP¡ªTHUMP¡ªTHUMP Julia slammed the shutters over and over on the arm until it retracted enough for her to force them closed again. She locked them immediately. It seemed these were warded as well since the ensuing pounding didn¡¯t destroy them outright. But, looking at the state of the front door, she knew that wouldn¡¯t last. Julia was in a tight spot. Tears formed in her eyes, but she didn¡¯t have time for that! She willed a long kitchen knife out of her bracelet and into her right hand as she took off up the stairs. If downstairs wasn¡¯t an option, she¡¯d have to take a chance jumping off the roof. When she reached the top of the stairs, she heard the door smash off its hinges and impact the far wall of the entryway. ¡°Where ya at!? It¡¯ll be right quick if ya come on out! I swear on the name a Davith Sherwood, I¡¯ll send ya out without sufferin¡¯!¡± She sprinted over to her bedroom window and opened it. As she climbed out, she made a snap decision. She focused her attention to her bed, now just a feather mattress with no sheets, and used her Spark spell to ignite the mattress. The loose feathers went up in a blaze almost immediately. They may force her from her home, but she would make damn sure they¡¯d get nothing out of it. Of course, she didn¡¯t have a clue what was going on. She didn¡¯t know if their goal was to rob them, but no need to risk it. She took measured steps across the roof, trying to be as quiet as possible. She knew there were others around. She hoped they¡¯d all rushed into the house when the door came down. That would give her a chance to run, but she wasn¡¯t going to be foolishly hopeful. Looking at Trixy, she winked twice, and they faded from view. She maneuvered to the edge of the roof that hung over the porch just to the right of the sidewalk. Looking out, Julia estimated there to be a crowd of about 30 people¡ªall radiating a strange aura that she confirmed with a brief activation of Truesight. She lowered herself over the edge of the roof to hang down as far as she could. She let herself fall and then collapsed with the momentum onto the grass. Although muffled, the impact still made a small swishing sound. Fortunately, everyone was distracted by the smoke now billowing out of the upstairs windows. Good. Maybe the smoke will be a warning to anyone that¡¯s still sane in the area. She took off across the yard and vaulted over the fence before heading down the street. Once they were far enough away that all they could hear were muted shouts, Trixy undid the invisibility, panting heavily. She¡¯d likely used most of her mana in their escape. Julia switched to stealthier movement now that the spell was gone. She hugged walls and clung to shadows as much as she could as she moved. Fortunately, it was late in the evening, so the shadows were only growing longer. She had no real idea of what to do or where to go. The only thing she could think to do was head for the mayor¡¯s house. Even if he didn¡¯t know what was going on, he¡¯d likely know what to do better than her. He¡¯d have a plan. She peeked around a corner and saw absolute chaos. Townsfolk were being dragged out of homes and shops by the dozens. Some came with resignation, others were kicking and screaming, and still others were lying in pools of blood. Clearly, they resisted a little too much. The strangest thing was that they were sitting their prisoners down in the square and¡ªafter seeming to just sit there for a second¡ªthe prisoners got up and started helping the crazy ones drag more villagers out. It was like the act of sitting down instantly drove them crazy. Julia couldn¡¯t understand what was happening, and she also had no idea how she was going to get by the huge crowd in the square. Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind and spun. A middle-aged woman with brown hair pulled into a tight bun grabbed her shoulders. She had a simple, grey dress underneath an apron that probably used to be white but was now a dark brown. From blood or dirt or both, she wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°Well, what do we have here!? A cute little snack coming to join the initiation? No need to hide in the shadows, little one. He¡¯ll welcome you just the same as us!¡± the woman exclaimed, as though inviting Julia to a party. Julia was too stunned to respond. She froze in abject terror¡ªthinking about being taken to the square and becoming one of them. Trixy was more composed and immediately bit one of the hands holding Julia¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Ow! You little rat! He doesn¡¯t have any use for nasty creatures like you!¡± she bellowed. Still holding Julia¡¯s shoulder with one hand, she reached towards Trixy to grab her. This finally forced Julia out of her shock. She used the knife¡ªstill in her hand¡ªto cut a deep gouge across the arm still holding her shoulder. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°AAAAHHH!¡± the crazed woman screeched. Julia clapped her hands over her ears; the sound was like a banshee¡¯s wail. ¡°How dare you!? You would stand in the way of The Plan!?¡± The woman, eyes now slightly bloodshot, threw a straight punch as she said this. Julia just barely had time to slide to the side as the punch flew past her. Julia barely even heard the impact. She glanced behind her to see that the punch hadn¡¯t blown a huge hole in the wall like she¡¯d expected. It had simply passed through it like it wasn¡¯t there. There was no gaping hole with damaged bricks spilling across the ground¡ªjust a fist-shaped hole in the brick, as though the fist turned the brick and mortar in its path to dust. The crazed lady cocked her fist back again with a manic smile. A strand of drool started dripping down the corner of her mouth, and her eyes seemed to be growing increasingly more bloodshot with every second. Julia was positive she wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge another strike like that now that the woman had gauged her speed. Just as the thought that she might actually die here occurred to her, an arrowhead came squelching out the front of the woman¡¯s throat. Her eyes went wide, and she made a horrible gurgling noise while clutching at her throat. ¡°Julia! This way!¡± a man on a chestnut-colored horse called to her. He was riding directly through the square. Running over any of the crazies that got in his way. Julia didn¡¯t know who he was, but she wasn¡¯t about to question help when she had just seen her life flash before her eyes. She took off at a full-sprint in his direction. She heard thumping behind her and glanced back. She almost tripped over her own feet when she saw the crazed woman sprinting after her with the arrow still poking out of her neck. Worse still, she was gaining fast. ¡°Here! Grab my hand!¡± the man shouted as he neared. He leaned to the side and extended his arm. She grabbed it and was hauled onto the back of the horse. ¡°Hold on tight!¡± he cautioned before kicking the arrow-in-her-neck lady in the face as they blasted past her. ¡°I was headed for the mayor¡¯s house! He might know what¡¯s going on!¡± Julia shouted over the wind and shouts. ¡°No chance! We¡¯re getting out of here and headed for the city! Braden is there, and he¡¯d never forgive me if anything happened to you!¡± her mysterious rescuer replied. ¡°You know Braden?! Who are you? Why are you here?¡± Julia asked. Not that she wasn¡¯t grateful, but what was with this coincidence? ¡°Name¡¯s Lothier, adventurer of Striton. Braden hired me to come back here and look after you while he¡¯s away in the city. This is not what he said the job would be, though! He said I might have to threaten some townsfolk if they tried bullying you while he was away! I did not sign up for¡­this!¡± Julia thought that it was a reasonable reaction. She had no idea what was going on, either. Still, she was grateful for Braden¡¯s over-cautious nature. If he hadn¡¯t been such a worrywart and hired Lothier, she¡¯d be dead. She¡¯d probably still tease him about it, though. Lothier had the look of a Scout, or probably a more advanced class than that. He had dark leather armor pieces covering most of his critical body parts with a black tunic and pants underneath. He wore a black facemask that went up over his nose and had the hood of his tunic up. The only real personal detail she could make out was his hazel eyes. ¡°Thank you for your help, Lothier! I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, either. Things started devolving a couple days ago, but this kind of violence is a surprise to me, too.¡± Julia didn¡¯t have to yell quite as loudly now that the shouts and screams had faded behind them. They passed through the gate and she noted that there was no guard present. ¡°Hey, you got any riding experience, Julia?¡± Lothier asked. ¡°None,¡± Julia answered truthfully. ¡°Well, now¡¯s as good a time as any. I¡¯m gonna move you in front of me. Just hold the reins and make gentle corrections left or right to keep Apple here on the road,¡± he said. ¡°Apple? That¡¯s the horse¡¯s name? Wait, why do I need to steer!? I actually can¡¯t even think of a worse time to learn than right now!¡¯ Julia exclaimed. ¡°We¡¯ve got trouble behind us. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with these people, but they¡¯re gaining on a horse at full gallop. I¡¯m going to need to use my bow.¡± Lothier said with sudden serenity. Julia figured this was the calm-under-pressure that Braden always mentioned adventurers needed. She noticed the short, wooden bow on his back with a quiver of arrows. In all the commotion, she had completely forgotten that it was he that had shot the lady through the throat. Lothier picked Julia up and set her down in front of him. She picked up the reins with sweaty palms while Lothier stood up and¡ªwith tremendous grace¡ªspun around to sit with his back to Julia. He drew his bow and began to fire. Julia looked back to see how his aim was and flinched when she saw Dave leading the pack of 10-15 that were chasing them. He looked nothing like she remembered. His mouth was open in a vicious snarl, as though he were soundlessly screaming, drool streamed out both sides. His eyes were so bloodshot they looked yellowish brown, and his fists were in complete tatters¡ªlikely from pulverizing her warded front door. She noticed the edges of his clothes were singed black, which gave her a small sense of satisfaction. Only now that twilight had settled did she notice that all their pursuers¡¯ irises were glowing a fiery red. Lothier was lining his shots up carefully. He seemed to have learned from his experience with the lady that could somehow pursue them with an arrow through her throat. He was taking shots to keep them from chasing. His arrows punched through heads and kneecaps and feet. Whatever he could aim at easiest. Still, the chase was frantic, so he missed about two of every three shots. The crazies that got hit in the head collapsed without so much as a twitch, like puppets with their strings suddenly cut. The ones that took arrows to their knees also went down, but with much more struggling. They didn¡¯t even flinch at the arrows embedded in them. They either got up and continued limping in pursuit, or they crawled. Julia was disturbed that the crawlers didn¡¯t even flinch when their stricken knees made contact with the ground. The lady had screamed when Julia slashed her, though, so they must feel pain. Although, she also ran after them with an arrow in her throat, so maybe this¡ªwhatever this was¡ªdulled their sense of pain as it progressed. The woman had looked much worse after Julia sliced her. ¡°Alright. Good work keeping us on the path. I¡¯m going to switch back now,¡± Lothier said. ¡°What? Why!? There are still at least seven of them back there!¡± Julia yelled over her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m down to five arrows. Gotta save those for if they get close enough that I¡¯ve got no chance of missing. If I hit all five shots, I think I can manage with only two of them left. Hopefully it doesn¡¯t come to that. Hopefully they didn¡¯t get unlimited stamina to go with their monstrous Strength, and they tire out before Apple does,¡± he said with more resignation than the hope he seemed to be attempting to evoke. He swapped places with Julia and spurred Apple on as they made it into the treeline. Julia wasn¡¯t hopeful. She had seen Dave smashing the door with his bare fists. She¡¯d seen what remained of those same fists, and still he pursued. No, she didn¡¯t think they were going to stop. Even if their bodies got tired, based on how they handled pain, they wouldn¡¯t stop until they physically could not run anymore and collapsed. Julia was trying to figure out how they were going to escape when she suddenly realized she could help. She wasn¡¯t helpless, she had just felt like it up to this point. If she hadn¡¯t frozen when that lady grabbed her, she might have been able to do more then, too¡­perhaps, if she hadn¡¯t just run when her parents¡ªno! This wasn¡¯t the time. She was strong, and she had worked for it. As the fear faded away and Julia embraced her own strength¡ªthe strength she had worked for years to acquire¡ªa calm settled over her. ¡°I¡¯m going to try some magic, Lothier. Please keep going no matter what happens. I¡¯ll have to cast a spell on you to protect you from it,¡± Julia said, her voice calm. ¡°Sure. Just don¡¯t overdo it. It doesn¡¯t do me any good to survive here just for Braden to kill me if I get back to Striton with you injured,¡± he chuckled. Julia smiled and then focused on her Lightning Magic. She first cast Faraday¡¯s Cage on herself, Trixy, Apple, and Lothier. This took a quarter of her mana outright and was draining her quickly. She had to make this one spell count. She customized her Lightning Bolt recipe to focus on power and reach. However, when she tried to target one of the pursuers, she found it untenable. The spell kept locking onto them and then¡­slipping out of her grasp. That was the only feeling she could ascribe to it. It was like she was trying to grab a slippery worm. She was running out of time. What could she do? Was it the hazy aura that was preventing her from targeting them? Maybe it was the fact that both she and they were running frantically? She could cast the spell blindly, but lightning was such a concentrated blast. She¡¯d very likely miss completely. She looked at the ground they were passing over and had a sudden realization. If she couldn¡¯t target them, she¡¯d have to target something they couldn¡¯t avoid. She focused her spell on the ground directly beneath her and then anchored it there. As they galloped away, she kept her focus on it. It got more difficult as the distance grew, but soon, Dave took a step into that exact spot. She poured all her remaining mana¡ªjust over half¡ªinto the spell and released it. She heard a deafening crack, but her head suddenly felt like it split open. She felt a light snap in her nose and blood came rushing out of both nostrils. She was vaguely aware of System notifications appearing in front of her, but her world was spinning upside down, so she couldn¡¯t pay much attention. Julia¡¯s last thought was that she needed to fall backwards into Lothier, rather than falling forward and off the back of the horse. She felt herself lean back, and then she knew no more. Chapter 15 Julia had strange dreams. In some, she was running for her life from a screaming monster that she couldn¡¯t see. It was always just behind enough to be cloaked in shadows, but she could hear the snarling and screaming from just inside those writhing shadows. In others, she wandered through a dark forest alone. For some reason, she was barefoot, and the grass she walked over was wet. It squelched with every step. She would pass by bodies as she walked. Some were torn and mutilated. Others had skin charred black and cracked. There were a few times she almost woke up. Once, she thought she could hear voices. However, the light filtering through her eyelids was too bright. It sent a stabbing pain directly into her skull. She let herself fall back into¡­well, not peaceful oblivion¡ªthanks to her dreams¡ªbut a less painful one. She had no sense of time as she wandered from one horrible landscape to the next, but she felt like she spent multiple lifetimes in her wandering. Maybe it was just a few minutes¡ªknowing the nature of dreams. Regardless, she finally felt herself slowly rising above the groggy worlds of darkness and death. The first thing that she noticed was the quiet. She¡¯d been in a world of screams and bestial growls for what felt like her whole life now, so the sudden quiet was almost more unnerving. She quickly realized it wasn¡¯t total silence, though. She could hear the sounds of a light bustle. Muted conversations, dishware clinking, and footsteps were present around her. She opened her eyes¡ªand immediately closed them again. It was so bright! She had become so accustomed to the world of darkness¡ªthough she was already beginning to forget it¡ªthat the light felt blinding. She squinted her eyes open just a tiny bit this time to let them adjust. She noticed that, although it was bright, she wasn¡¯t staring directly at the sun like she¡¯d expected. She was instead looking at a bright, wooden ceiling. It looked polished and pristine, which she thought was odd. Who polished ceilings? Opening her eyes more and glancing around, she saw the window that was the source of the blinding light. It was overlooking a bustling street¡ªalthough she could only see the far side of it. She seemed to be one level above the street. People ambled by, oblivious to her gaze. ¡°Well, look who¡¯s returned from her beauty sleep!¡± Julia started at the voice¡ªnot loud, but unexpected. Especially so close to her. She looked to the side opposite the window to find Braden there, smiling at her. She also noticed that he was holding her hand that was sticking out of the covers. Now that she was thinking about it, she began to feel her body as well as see it. She was lying in a bed that was a bit large for her. She had a blanket to the side, but the only thing covering her was a thin sheet. She had been changed into a white gown that both clung to her and billowed off of her in exactly the right way to be maximally uncomfortable. ¡°How do you feel? I¡¯m guessing that your head is better, since you¡¯ve awakened? Ratia and I both suspected you were unconscious largely because your body wanted to protect you from the pain of your first mana exhaustion migraine. And, anyone that¡¯s had even a regular migraine before would likely confirm that your body made the right call.¡± Julia thought about his words for a second. She was starting to recall things. She knew she had dumped all her remaining mana into a single spell. She knew she had felt her nose bleed. She remembered leaning back to avoid falling off the horse¡­but why had she been on a horse in the first place? ¡°My he¡ª¡± Julia¡¯s attempt at words immediately devolved into a coughing fit. Only after attempting to speak did she realize her mouth and throat felt drier than a desert. Braden handed her a cup of water that was on the bedside table next to her. She drank greedily before sucking it down the wrong pipe and having another, slightly different coughing fit. ¡°Sorry. Probably should have warned you not to drink it so fast,¡± Braden apologized. When she¡¯d collected herself and finished the water, she looked over at him. ¡°My head feels fine. I feel fine in general. Although, my memory is a little hazy. I remember dumping all my mana into a spell, but not why I was doing it. I also remember my nose bleeding a lot, but then I felt like my head broke open and I passed out.¡± ¡°Ah, well. First of all, your nose did bleed a great deal. I almost had a heart attack when I saw you with that much blood on you. Before Lothier could even explain what happened, I yanked you out of his arms and rushed you up to Ratia¡¯s clinic to take a look at you. ¡°Turns out you were fine. Just a bout of mana exhaustion¡­and I wasted both hers and Lothier¡¯s time, apparently,¡± Braden mimed as though mocking the person that told him that. ¡°Between you and I, Ratia was happy to finally meet you, so don¡¯t let her get away with any of that crotchety old lady routine when she comes to check on you later,¡± Braden whispered conspiratorially. Julia was only half-listening by that point. Lothier¡¯s name had triggered a cascade of memories for her. She remembered the axe on the front door, the crazed woman punching through brick like it wasn¡¯t there, Lothier shooting their pursuers while she tried to keep Apple on the road, and¡ªfinally¡ªher desperate spell. As she remembered everything, she finally took notice of the blinking in the lower-left corner of her vision. There was a System notification that she had either subconsciously minimized, or it had done so automatically when she lost consciousness. ¡°Before you look at any notifications, here,¡± Braden set an empty bucket down on the bed beside her. ¡°You¡¯re probably going to need this. And you¡¯re definitely going to need this. Bite down on it.¡± He handed her a block of wood. There was pretty much only one reason he would suggest she bite on a block of wood¡­she was suddenly not as curious about the notifications. It wasn¡¯t something she could put off forever, though, so she put the wood in her mouth and bit down on it as she shifted her attention to the notification. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Experience earned. Level: +1 Level: +1 ¡­ Level: +1
Intelligence: +14 Wisdom: +14 Constitution: +14 42 Attribute points available for assignment.
¡°Uh oh,¡± Julia whispered around the wood, suddenly realizing exactly what she was in for. An excruciating pain overtook her. It felt like liquid fire was being poured into her veins. The burning started in her core and radiated out towards her extremities. She felt like her bones were grinding against each other, and her head. She imagined it must be the level of pain that her body had rendered her unconscious to avoid before, but there was no escaping this one. After a couple seconds, the pain faded. A few more seconds and it was gone completely. She felt fine. Actually, she felt better than fine. She felt better than she ever had in her life, as though the horrendous pain she¡¯d just experienced hadn¡¯t happened. It was like a phantom had passed through her and left no trace once it was gone. ¡°F-f-fourteen levels!?¡± Julia exclaimed to no one so much as herself. She looked over toward Braden for an explanation. He looked back at her with a complicated mixture of emotions on his face. Pride and happiness at her growth, undoubtedly, but there was also trepidation and¡­sadness? ¡°Look at the logs, Jules. You¡¯ll see why,¡± he said quietly. Suddenly nervous, Julia focused on seeing the details of her level-ups.
Da???v???i?et???h She???r???wo???o???d??? defeated. Experience awarded. J???e???s???up T???r???i???s???ster??? defeated. Experience awarded. Sh???e???r???i???ss???a??? Shr???e???v???l???i???n??? defeated. Experience awarded. ¡­
Julia swiped the log away with sweaty, shaking hands. She didn¡¯t know what the weird distortions in the window were, but she knew without a doubt that she had killed people. ¡°Defeated¡± didn¡¯t necessarily mean killed, so there was a chance the 7 notifications about defeating people meant just disabling them or something¡­but Julia knew in her heart. There was no way every single one of them survived that lightning bolt. She had stripped the bark off trees and even knocked them down accidentally when practicing with the spell. That was with 10% of her mana invested, max. This Bolt¡­she had thrown over 50% of her total mana into it. Granted it struck the ground before transferring to their bodies, but there was just no way that didn¡¯t kill at least one person. Julia suddenly realized she was breathing heavily and shaking, but those sensations were sent to the back of her mind as she grabbed the empty bucket beside her and heaved. Her stomach seemed to be empty, so she just dry heaved for a few minutes before leaning back down onto her pillow¡ªoh. It was Braden she was leaning against, not the pillow. He had sat down in the bed behind her at some point. She had been vaguely aware of him holding her hair out of her face as she heaved, but her thoughts were disordered and chaotic. The only thing she could think about was the face of the people she had likely killed. She held her hands up in front of her and saw them shaking uncontrollably. She didn¡¯t really know what to do with them at the moment, but she felt like she couldn¡¯t put them down for some reason. Braden wrapped his arms around her and pulled her hands into her chest as he squeezed her in a hug. He rested his head atop hers and held her while her tears fell. This was a strange moment for Julia. She knew she should¡ªand did¡ªfeel horrible about killing other human beings. Her body seemed to recognize it as well, but her mind was¡­distant. It was like she¡ªthe part of her that she would consider her above everything else¡ªwas deep inside her head, watching what her body was doing on its own. It was as if the conscious part of her was a passive observer, watching her body being wracked by sobs while replaying the scenes of the flight from Rockyknoll¡ªand her spell¡ªover and over. She quickly ran out of energy to have such a fit. She hadn¡¯t realized how hungry she was until whatever energy she had mustered from waking up ran out. She was lying back against Braden while he wiped her face with a rag. Her stomach made its needs known, which made Braden chuckle. He put down the rag and fished some bread and jerky out from his bag. ¡°Here. Start with the bread. See how your stomach handles it. Then move on to the jerky if you can keep the bread down. We can get better food once your stomach has settled. I¡¯m not surprised you¡¯re so hungry. You were out for about a day and a half.¡± ¡°A day and a half? So, this is the day after our escape?¡± Julia asked while nibbling on the bread. She wanted to scarf it down but remembered her debacle with the water earlier. ¡°Correct. The trip to Striton usually takes about two full days of walking. It¡¯s about a single day, maybe a little more, on horseback¡ªassuming a leisurely ride. The way Lothier drove Apple, though, you guys made it to the gate even quicker. He pushed through the entire night and the next day and made it to the city maybe an hour or two before midnight. ¡°He brought you straight to the Guild and reported the situation to the Guild Master. It was a pretty chaotic ordeal. The Guild keeps a skeleton crew on the night shift for Adventurers who make it back to the city very late and for emergencies. They had to call the Guild Master in for the report, which is how I was notified. I also dragged Ratia in,¡± he said with a chuckle. ¡°The Guild employs skeletons?¡± Julia asked with a shudder, only half-joking. ¡°Huh? Oh, no. It¡¯s an expression. A skeleton crew means just the ¡®bare bones¡¯ of what¡¯s necessary to run the place. So, one receptionist¡ªwho likely spends most of the night shift organizing the disaster left by the day crew¡ªsomeone to man the bar, and a cleaning crew.¡± Julia finished her bread during the explanation and moved on to the jerky. It wasn¡¯t the greatest meal, but it did the job. She finished the jerky in silence, and Braden stayed quiet as well¡ªcontent to let her contemplate. And she did have a lot to think about. Just as she was beginning her questions, she heard a gentle knock on the door. Chapter 16 ¡°That¡¯ll be Ratia wanting to check on you. Is it alright if I go let her in? I can ask her to give us more time, if you want. She¡¯s the Guild physician, though, so she does oversee patients here¡ªincluding you,¡± Braden explained. Julia nodded. She did want to ask questions, but she also now recognized this was a private room in what was likely the medical ward of the Guild. There was a large basin along the side of the wall; she could see a large bathroom attached to the main room with handrails built into the wall; and there were various vials and jars in the cupboards. All exactly what she imagined a medical room would have. She didn¡¯t want to hold the healer up any more than she already had by being here. Braden went over and opened the door. The woman who stepped through was¡­not what Julia had expected. Braden had said something about a ¡®crotchety old woman¡¯ before, but the woman that appeared couldn¡¯t be more than 35. She had light, blonde hair pulled neatly into a tail towards the top of her head. Her black-rimmed glasses partially hid deep green eyes. She had freckles flecked across her nose and cheeks and paler skin than Julia was used to. Everyone in Rockyknoll was deeply tanned from all the time spent under the sun. Ratia seemed to never set foot outside, judging by her complexion. She wore a sky-blue blouse over a pair of beige, linen pants. Her demeanor suggested all-business as she walked over to Julia with a small smile. ¡°Hello, Julia. I¡¯m Ratia, the Guild physician. It¡¯s good to see you awake and aware¡­are you alright? Your eyes are a little puffier and redder than I would expect from someone who slept for over 30 hours,¡± she questioned while looking Julia over top-to-bottom. ¡°She was just looking at her notifications,¡± Braden said quietly and somberly. Ratia looked at Julia then glanced at the bucket¡ªnow sitting on the floor beside the bed. She seemed to nod as if that explained everything. She walked over to Julia and sat down on the bed beside her before putting her hand on her shoulder. ¡°I see. Don¡¯t worry, dear. This is something everyone goes through. No adventurer worth their salt hasn¡¯t. It¡¯ll pass, and things will get easier,¡± Ratia assured. ¡°Sorry, what exactly are you talking about?¡± Julia asked. ¡°We call it the slaying sickness around here,¡± Ratia explained. ¡°The first time anyone kills another sapient being, there¡¯s almost always a visceral, bodily reaction. Anxiety, confusion, lightheadedness, fainting, nausea and vomiting¡ªall are possible symptoms.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Julia said softly. ¡°What do you mean adventurers almost always go through it?¡± ¡°Well, as you probably know, adventurers accept jobs for just about anything. Some of the most common jobs in a city like this are guarding merchant caravans. Do that long enough, and you¡¯ll eventually have to face bandits that try to rob the caravan. ¡°There are different types of bandits out there. Some just want the merchandise and will let the merchants leave with their lives. Others want to slaughter everyone. Ultimately, in the heat of battle, it doesn¡¯t matter. If they are attacking you, you have to assume your life''s on the line¡ªwhich means it¡¯s either you or them. ¡°Bandits are just one example, though. There are all manner of people out there that will try to kill you¡ªas an adventurer¡ªfor one reason or another. Any adventurer that makes it up to Steel rank has almost certainly had to kill someone,¡± Ratia lectured. Julia was a little surprised. She didn¡¯t know what she wanted to do in the future, but being an adventurer was a top contender. Having to kill people might¡­change things for her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Jules. Killing people is not common among adventurers. It¡¯s not what the Guild exists for. True, it comes up sometimes, but that¡¯s just from the nature of certain jobs. You can pick and choose which jobs you take. You can, for example, avoid guarding carriages between cities if you want to avoid having to kill bandits. ¡°The only time the Guild forces jobs on you is in extreme circumstances, like emergencies. We¡¯re not mercenaries. We can¡¯t be drafted into fighting wars, and we can¡¯t be forced to take a contract except in those special circumstances I mentioned. ¡°If someone ever tries to force you into a job, you can just take it to Guild leadership. They¡¯ll handle it. That¡¯s one of the main benefits of membership with the Guild¡ªhaving a huge organization backing you up. ¡°Also, chances are good that if there¡¯s ever a circumstance where the Guild mandates that adventurers participate in a job, there¡¯s already a threat nearby that would put you in danger regardless of whether or not you participated. ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you to become comfortable with taking lives. It¡¯s a weighty thing that shouldn¡¯t ever be easy. However, I do want you to consider your goals. You¡¯ve made great progress with magic. Your first Class is Rare. You¡¯ve just gained fourteen levels at once in it, too. Unless you¡¯re planning to stop now, you¡¯re going to keep learning and growing more powerful. ¡°The more powerful you become, the more people will try to kill you. It¡¯s not for any one specific reason, either. It¡¯s simply the reality that the powerful attract those that covet their power and want to take advantage of it. ¡°What I want you to consider is whether or not you want to have the Guild at your back when you become powerful enough to start being a target,¡± Braden concluded with Ratia nodding along. Julia was thoughtful about their words, but then she realized what Braden had just revealed and became nervous. He¡¯d just said she had a Rare class! After he specifically told her it would be wise to keep it a secret! Braden noticed her distressed look and chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve known Ratia longer than you¡¯ve been alive. I won¡¯t say that everyone in the Guild is trustworthy. I won¡¯t even go as far as to say most are. However, Ratia is.¡± Ratia smiled and nodded. ¡°I would never reveal personal information about one of my patients,¡± she said rather professionally. ¡°That¡¯s a relief,¡± Julia sighed. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, can I just ask my questions now? I was going to save them for later when we were alone,¡± she said toward Braden. ¡°Of course. Ratia might even be able to answer some better than I, so it¡¯s a good idea.¡± At Ratia¡¯s nod, Julia asked, ¡°Why did I receive experience from killing¡ªor, ¡®defeating¡¯¡ªthose people? I thought the System didn¡¯t grant experience for people killing other people.¡± Braden became serious all of a sudden. ¡°I will answer this one. It¡¯s because they¡­hmm¡­I guess they weren¡¯t people by the time you defeated them. It depends on your interpretation, but according to the System, they weren¡¯t any longer¡­probably¡± Julia was even more confused now. Before she could ask further, Braden held up his hand and continued, ¡°That explanation is going to take a second. Are there any shorter questions you have before I explain further?¡± Julia thought for a second before nodding. ¡°When I realized I had killed someone, and my body started having¡­uh¡­that fit. I had a strange experience where I felt like I was watching someone else control my body. It felt like the part of me that I could control¡­sank? To the¡­back of my head, I guess.¡± At this, Ratia spoke up. ¡°Dissociation. A classic symptom of extreme stress.¡± ¡°What?¡¯¡± Julia stammered at the terse response. ¡°When people experience stressful events, the mind sometimes tries to protect itself by ¡®disconnecting¡¯ from the present. It can help in processing stressful events to view them from a disconnected perspective¡ªas though the situation isn¡¯t happening to you and is just something you¡¯re peripherally aware of. ¡°It¡¯s a pretty standard response to stress, so I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about it. Just tell me¡ªor Braden¡ªif you start having frequent bouts of dissociation after this, especially if they seem unprovoked. As in, you can¡¯t really identify a reason why you would be dissociating in that specific moment.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Julia nodded. It made sense. As weird and uncomfortable as it was, it did help her come to terms with things more quickly. Not that she was completely over it, but it wasn¡¯t crippling her right at this moment. She was mostly just relieved she wasn¡¯t insane or cruel for not feeling the full weight of killing people in that moment. She turned to Braden. ¡°Ok, I think that¡¯s it for the moment. You said the people I defeated weren¡¯t considered people anymore?¡± Julia could think of other questions, but she was too curious now to put the first one off any longer. ¡°They were corrupted by the Abyss, which is outside of the System¡¯s purview. The System is also extremely combative toward Abyssal incursions, so the experience gained might actually be less about whether those people were still classified as such by the System, and more that the System was rewarding you for lessening the effects of an incursion.¡± ¡°Abyss corruption? What is that?¡± Julia asked. ¡°A logical next question,¡± Braden said. ¡°When you look up into the sky at night, you see all the stars, right? They look far away. That¡¯s because they are¡ªvery far away. However, beyond those stars lies the Veil. That¡¯s what I call it, anyway. It¡¯s a¡­uh¡­¡¯bubble¡¯ you might say, that both contains everything in this reality and separates it from the Abyss. ¡°The Abyss is what exists outside of this reality. It¡¯s an infinite void of nothing¡­and everything. It¡¯s a pretty complicated subject, to be honest. The main thing to know is that, despite being completely devoid of anything, there are entities out there. Terrible creatures. They can threaten entire realities. The Veil is completely undetectable, though, so don¡¯t worry too much about it.¡± ¡°Undetectable? But, you just said that those people were part of an incursion, yes? Meaning that one has¡ªapparently¡ªfound this ¡®Veil?¡¯ Also, why do you know so much about it? Is this well-known outside of Rockyknoll?¡± Julia questioned. ¡°Well, no. In fact, I would wager that almost no one even knows the Abyss exists at all. And, if they do, it¡¯s likely due to exposure during an incursion¡ªjust like you¡¯re learning about it now. ¡°Actually, I wouldn¡¯t advise speaking about it too much, either. You can with me, obviously, but esoteric knowledge like this can be¡­unpleasant to those not suited to thinking about it¡ªeven dangerous in the wrong hands. ¡°As for creature incursions, they can¡ªand do¡ªhappen. There are circumstances that can lead to a creature of the Abyss becoming aware of the Veil, but they don¡¯t happen often. ¡°I am something of an expert on the Abyss. The System and I have¡­hmm¡­you might call it an agreement. I hunt down Abyssal incursions. It¡¯s actually what I consider my main responsibility. Being an adventurer just happens to facilitate it much easier than anything else,¡± Braden finished. Julia was having some trouble absorbing all this. She looked over to Ratia for some help but was surprised when she received a shrug in response. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. This is the first I¡¯m hearing about any of it,¡± she looked at Braden over her glasses. ¡°I knew you arrived at this city to investigate something you were specialized in, but I had no idea about all this Abyss business,¡± Ratia said nonchalantly. How do you know so much about the Abyss? And you¡­what¡­negotiated with the System? How does one even do that?¡± Julia asked. Braden rubbed his chin in thought before replying, ¡°You¡¯ve already seen the System personalize things for you, right? The description for your Class was tailored for you specifically. This becomes more common as you get stronger. Or, as you become more relevant to the System. We talked about your metaphorical weight, yes? ¡° He continued after receiving her nod. ¡°Being strong makes you more significant to the System. I don¡¯t just mean ¡®strong¡¯ as in combat strength, either. A high Level Professional Class has just as much weight in the System¡¯s eyes as a combat class. Both can significantly impact the world as a whole, so it pays more attention to them,¡± he finished. Julia chewed that information over for a while. ¡°So, you¡¯re saying you¡¯re ¡®relevant¡¯ enough with the System to negotiate with it? ¡®Negotiate¡¯ also implies that the exchange went both ways. You¡¯re saying that you¡¯re relevant enough to not only engage directly with the System but also to extract concessions from it in exchange for your services?¡± ¡°...that was an impressive deduction, Julia. Are you sure you¡¯re only twelve?¡± he asked with hints of warmth and pride. ¡°But, yes. I am relevant enough within the System to do that. The specific concession I extracted doesn¡¯t particularly matter right now, nor would I speak of specifics without significant wards in place. Just know that it¡¯s what allows me to be here right now, with you. ¡°This parlays well into a lesson that I want you to take to heart. This is something most will learn much later in their lives, but having the knowledge in advance can¡¯t hurt. Julia, remember: the System wants you to succeed, but it is not your friend,¡± Braden warned with sudden gravity. ¡°What does that mean, exactly? Without any context, you might as well have not even said anything,¡± Julia sighed exasperatedly. She always hated when he was cryptic like this. Why couldn¡¯t older people just say things straight? Why did they always have to make riddles and puzzles? Braden nodded and began to elaborate, which surprised her. ¡°The System works for the betterment of the entire world. Specifically, it wants sapient life to succeed. It wants all sapient life to succeed¡ªnot necessarily you, Julia, or even humans in general. ¡°There are many forms of sapient life in this world. Humans, various flavors of elves, beastkin¡­there are more types of sapient life than I have appendages with which to count them, and it wants all of them to succeed. ¡°This makes sense based on everything I¡¯ve told you up to this point, right? This is why the System begins paying closer attention to you as you grow stronger. The impact you could¡ªand likely will¡ªhave on large numbers of sapients scales directly with your individual power. ¡°The System is largely passive, but it will intervene in certain circumstances. Abyssal incursions are one of these circumstances, as I¡¯ve mentioned. Were someone to begin systematically wiping out sentient life in large numbers regularly, it would likely also intervene in that case. ¡°These interventions can take many forms. It might issue a general Quest to anyone in the immediate area to eliminate this individual, promising rewards upon completion. It might provoke a dungeon break in the nearest dungeons to eliminate this individual. How it chooses to intervene is not a simple thing. ¡°The System works on logic that is unknown to us. None of us know its mind exactly, just the same as you cannot truly ever know the mind of another person. However, its mission is clear. It wants to promote the success of sapients. But, again, that¡¯s the success of all sapients. ¡°Now, tell me, Julia. Based on what I¡¯ve just told you, what do you think would happen if humans somehow banded together and collectively decided that they were the only sapients that mattered? What if humanity collectively began eradicating other forms of sapient life?¡± Braden asked seriously. Julia¡¯s face paled at the thought, and she practically whispered, ¡°It would try to end us.¡± Braden nodded. ¡°Very likely, yes. If it decides humanity as a whole is a threat to the larger category of sapient life, it would take action to ensure the future of sapients. I don¡¯t know exactly what it would do, but it certainly wouldn¡¯t be good for humans. ¡°That said, we¡¯re talking about all¡ªor most, at least¡ªof humanity collectively deciding to fully eradicate all other sapients. That would be a heinously awful situation and also incredibly unlikely. From what I¡¯ve seen, most people just want to live happy, healthy lives. They¡¯re not given to such evil without external pressure, like an evil leader or something. ¡°I said all this to drive the point home that while the System does want you to succeed, it¡¯s not because it wants Julia, the individual, to succeed. It wants Julia, a small part of all sapient life, to succeed,¡± Braden concluded. Ratia jumped into the lecture here. ¡°Right. This is one of the examples of those emergency quests Braden mentioned earlier. They¡¯re rare, but the System has actually directly bestowed a Quest on the Guild Master of one of our branches for a nearby threat before. The Guild Master then sends out an emergency quest to nearby and relevant adventurers. ¡°This is also why it¡¯s likely you would be under threat even if you didn¡¯t participate in the emergency quest posted by the Guild. Imagine how severe a threat must be if the System itself wants it removed. It would be in your best interest to participate in the emergency quest rather than risking things on your own, at that point,¡± she said as Braden nodded. Julia was quiet and pensive as she contemplated all they had just revealed. Ratia stood up suddenly. ¡°Well, I¡¯m happy to talk business anytime, but I do have a clinic to tend to.¡± She turned and smiled at Julia. ¡°Please don¡¯t hesitate to ask if you need anything, dear. My office is just down the hall. The first door on the right when you get to the head of the stairs. My door is open to you any time.¡± Julia smiled back. ¡°Thanks,¡± she said. Ratia nodded and headed out the door¡ªwaving at Braden as she left. Braden walked over to her bed with excitement in his eyes. ¡°Hey, do you want to go see the new house? Assuming you¡¯re feeling well enough, of course. ¡°We can pick Trixy up when we get there. She had to stay home, unfortunately. Magical beasts and their tamers are required to be registered by an appropriate authority before they can walk around freely. For us, that means here at the Guild, so we¡¯ll need to bring her straight here and get you registered.¡± Julia smiled and nodded. She was ready to put all of this behind her. Interlude 1 Gravin sighed as he watched the adventurers go about their work. He was positioned just inside the treeline looking toward the west gate of Rockynoll. Well, what was left of it, anyway. This site had been chosen for the experiment due to its location. It was far enough away¡ªand relatively isolated¡ªfrom a major population center to let the experiment run its full course without interruption, but it was also close enough that the second stage could proceed immediately as the subjects began to spread out from the town. They would likely have reached Striton within a few days on their own. However, now both the experiment and Rockyknoll were smoldering ruins. Somehow, the Adventurers Guild had gotten word of the subject¡¯s activity incredibly quickly. The adventurers they dispatched arrived just two days after the experiment began in earnest and obliterated the entire town. A fire had started before their arrival, largely flattening Rockyknoll. The subjects didn¡¯t appear to be very capable of the organization¡ªor even the complex reasoning¡ªrequired to quell such an inferno, so it very quickly spread from building to building until only the barest of stone structures remained. Even the palisade was not spared. What little still stood was firmly leveled by the ensuing conflict between the subjects and the adventurers. They had arrived in the night after the second day of the experiment. They attacked quickly, quietly, and efficiently. Gravin had watched them end the subjects brutally and mercilessly one-by-one. He desperately wanted to stop them¡ªto see the experiment through, but his instructions were clear. Discretion is more important right now than any experimental results. Experiments can be restarted elsewhere, but only if he survives. The ease with which the adventurers dispatched the subjects annoyed him, but many of them seemed unable to adequately fight back. A consequence of the experiment, it seemed. The subjects seemed to disregard bodily functions until overcome by them completely, meaning that many operated until their bodies physically could not continue and then collapsed. This made it trivially easy for the adventurers to eliminate them¡ªeven when they were detected. A collapsed body with no energy left in it cannot put up much of a fight, after all. There was a brief moment where he had hope that the experiment could continue. The adventurers had dispatched a small group of collapsed subjects as quickly and quietly as possible, but one of the subjects managed to get an ear-piercing shriek out before being silenced. The horde that had been convalescing in the center of town charged toward the sound with unbridled aggression and bared, gnashing teeth. The adventurers, seeing the state of the already mostly-destroyed town, seemed to decide that there were unlikely to be any survivors and went loud when the horde rushed them. Two mages combined their spells¡ªlikely some combination of wind and fire¡ªand detonated a tremendous blast that fully destroyed what remained of the town as well as its former inhabitants. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The blast was so strong that Gravin was almost knocked off his feet all the way out behind the treeline. He shook his head, dismissing any unproductive recollections of the past. The experiment was over.It was time to move on and find somewhere else to begin anew. Yet one persistent intuition troubled him. Something was wrong here. The response from the Guild was too quick and too precise. The normal modus operandi for the Guild was to send a scouting team to investigate the problem before committing any actual combat forces. The adventurers who arrived, though, did so just days after the experiment had reached full force. Not only that, they were clearly high-leveled adventurers sent there to do precisely what they did. There was no investigation, no confusion, and no hesitation. They simply dispatched the subjects. In other words, they knew what they were going to find when they arrived. How did information get to the Guild so quickly? The only connection Gravin could make was something he had heard from the very first test subjects. They had talked about a young girl that was growing up in the town under the tutelage of an adventurer. The townsfolk did not seem to have anything out-of-the-ordinary to say about her other than that she arrived at the town originally having been chased by some monstrous beasts. However, Gravin knew that there was more to it than what the townsfolk saw. The incident they mentioned was, in fact, another experiment of his¡ªthe first in this region, during which he tested his current methods on beasts. Testing on animals was a logical first step before moving on to human trials. He had tested on some normal wolves roaming the forest. Once he had the data he needed, he simply left. Evidently, the mutated wolves attacked a merchant cart en route to the town¡ªresulting in the deaths of everyone except the girl, a strange coincidence. Setting aside his own need to manage the aftermath of his future experiments, Gravin found it too coincidental that the girl had survived both the initial incident and this one. She was currently unaccounted for¡ªwhich might suggest death¡ªbut his intuition told him she had survived. How had she managed to get out when Gravin was not looking? He had been watching closely since the experiment began. He had timed it to start when he knew the one adventurer staying in town would be gone, and he had watched all the way to the point the other adventurers arrived and began their massacre. Then it clicked¡ªthe fire. It must have been when the fire pulled his attention away. Somehow, she got out in that small window where he was distracted. How, he was not sure, but that is the only plausible explanation. Was she the one that started the fire? Did she start it intentionally to distract him? No, that is too paranoid. The adventurers are still here sifting through the ash and ruins. Clearly, they are just inspecting the devastation. They are not looking for him, nor is there any urgency in their actions. They very likely do not even know of his involvement¡ªespecially now that all witnesses were eliminated by their own hands. Gravin took stock of the situation. A new experiment must be started elsewhere. He got useful data from the first stage of this experiment, but the essential data he sought did not emerge until stage two. But this girl bore investigation as well. Perhaps he could include her in a future experiment¡­ Chapter 17 Julia parried a strike with her own sword before falling back a couple of steps. Ravina pursued immediately, taking a single step to cross the distance that a couple of Julia¡¯s steps had covered. She stabbed forward as though to run Julia through, but as she began to parry the stab to the side, Ravina¡¯s foot hooked around the ankle of her forward foot. Now off-balance while trying to shift her stance, Julia ended up in an almost-split stance, with the point of Ravina¡¯s sword just a fingernail¡¯s length from her forehead. ¡°Well, the first parry was solid, and immediately tryin¡¯ to gain some distance was also a good decision if you were gonna use magic. Your forward thinkin¡¯ when ya have the initiative is decent, but you¡¯re not thinkin¡¯ ahead enough when on defense. And what have I said about your footwork?¡± Ravina chastised. ¡°¡®Lose your footing, lose your life.¡¯ I know. But what can I do? You¡¯re way better than me! I was thinking about my footwork the whole time, but when you chased after me, I had to think about not getting stabbed!¡± Julia groused. Ravina was a Mithril-ranked adventurer that Braden had hired to train Julia in the things he wasn¡¯t quite as good at¡ªnamely, swordsmanship. He could apparently hold his ground with his staff long enough to make sufficient distance and retaliate with magic, but that was it. He was not a close-combatant by any means. ¡°Girl, you¡¯re missin¡¯ the point completely. I said to never stop thinkin¡¯ ¡®bout your footwork. Did you think that meant to think about it only when it¡¯s fuckin¡¯ convenient for you? You gotta think about your feet and be planning a few moves in advance, or you¡¯re gonna trip over them, as you can plainly see.¡± ¡°Ravina¡¯s good people. She¡¯s just¡­uh¡­a little abrasive,¡± was what Braden had said when explaining who he¡¯d hired for training. She was a late-twenties-something girl with long black hair that she wore in a braid extending down her back¡ªor into her cuirass, if she was on a job. She had prominent cheekbones, a nose that suggested one or multiple breakages, and a strong jaw that said she would brook no nonsense¡ªher demeanor confirmed it. She was stalwart and strict in her training. Julia suspected that Ravina was drilling her in ways Ravina herself wished she had been drilled before going out into the field. ¡°Make and learn from mistakes now, so you don¡¯t have to pay for them later,¡± was one of her favorite tenets¡ªrepeated often. The numerous scars present on her trainer¡¯s body suggested she was speaking from experience. For all her encouragement of making mistakes, you¡¯d think she would be a little gentler when one actually occurred. But alas, she was not gentle about punishing any single mistake¡ªno matter how small. Julia had many welts to testify to. That dichotomy was the world Julia had been living in for the past year and a half. Julia¡¯s fourteenth birthday had come and gone just a couple of weeks ago. It was a standard affair of cake and presents, along with Braden imparting some kind of magic or technique to her. Since her twelfth birthday, it had become something of a tradition. On her thirteenth birthday, Braden had given her a demonstration that pushed her Gravity Magic forward by leaps and bounds. He¡¯d arranged a few dining chairs in a small circle and spread a sheet over them. He then set an apple in the middle of the sheet so that it created a small divot. He told her to think of the sheet as the ¡°fabric¡± of space and time. Well, he said ¡°spacetime¡± specifically, as though they were one thing. Regardless, the force of gravity apparently created these divots in spacetime, which attracted objects just as anything placed on the sheet would slide toward the apple due to the divot it created. He demonstrated larger divots with larger objects. This was a great visualization that excited her, but what had really pushed her magic forward was when he put a coin next to the apple on the sheet. ¡°Now, imagine you want to levitate this coin with your magic. How would you do that? Well, you need to cancel out the effect of the apple¡¯s gravity well that has the coin trapped. Like this.¡± He put his hand under the sheet and gently pushed up on it from beneath the coin so that the coin was now higher than the apple¡ªlevel with the edges of the sheet draped over the chairs. This was what really firmed Julia¡¯s vision of levitating objects. Instead of just feeding the World her mana, now she had clear instructions to tell it exactly what she wanted. As a result, it became far more efficient. She could levitate small objects for extended periods with minimal drain on her mana. She was still not quite at the level of levitating herself, though. She could make it happen, but it was horrendously taxing on her mana reserves. Braden claimed this was more about her having a low total amount of total mana and less mana efficiency (due to her low Level) than her understanding of the technique. ¡°One doesn¡¯t overcome a fundamental force, even one as weak as gravity, easily, Jules,¡± Braden had said. He¡¯d also mentioned something about cancelling gravity not being the same as levitating¡­something about anti-gravity? That one had gone over her head, and Braden was mumbling to himself more than her anyway. His gift for her fourteenth birthday had to be put off. They had a small patio with a grassed-over backyard behind their house, but it wasn¡¯t really designed for training. Braden claimed they would need a wide-open space to demonstrate the technique. That was the main reason they were here at the practice yard for the Guild. Typically, Ravina just came by the house and ran her through forms in the courtyard, but she seemed to have decided to take advantage of this opportunity. ¡°You¡¯ve got the forms down well enough. It¡¯s time to start sparrin¡¯ and learn how to keep it under pressure. Had to get your form down so you don¡¯t form any bad habits during actual sparring practice and undo all my work so far. We¡¯ll meet at the practice yard three times a week from now on.¡± Ravina had been coming twice a week so far, so this was an escalation to their practice. She also forbade any magic use during spars. Julia objected, saying that she would be fighting with magic, so she should learn how to wield both at the same time. ¡°Pfft, yeah. You should learn that eventually. Tell me, girly, would you also like to try writin¡¯ a story before you even learn your fuckin¡¯ letters? You¡¯re far too new to the sword to be tryin¡¯ anything else with it. Focus on not trippin¡¯ over your own damn feet for now.¡± Braden had actually questioned whether she was sure she wanted to train with a sword. Since she was likely going to be focused on magic, he had suggested something like a staff or a scepter¡ªsomething that could aid her casting and function as a close-range weapon when needed. Julia was sure, though. And no, it had nothing to do with all the heroes in the stories using swords! Swords are versatile. As sidearms, they¡¯re small enough to carry around without being obtrusive, they can cut, stab, and slash as needed, and they¡®re also much cheaper than a scepter¡ªeven cheaper than a staff. At least, cheaper than one with a magic focus in it. She wasn¡¯t sure about Braden¡¯s, since it didn¡¯t seem to have a focus at all. Julia had wondered multiple times whether the sword was a sound decision after training with Ravina. However, she was dedicated. She had obtained the Sword Skill officially after just a few sessions with her, and it had made it all the way to Level 3 in the training she¡¯d done since. Ravina claimed that the early levels were easy since they were all about footwork and form. Apparently, the difference between a Level 6 and Level 7 swordswoman was substantial. Regardless, Julia would stick with it. She got back up after dusting herself off and slightly lowered herself into a neutral stance. They traded blows¡ªor, Julia took blows, rather¡ªfor another hour or so before Braden finally showed up. He had been busy the past year. Apparently, a squad of adventurers had been dispatched to Rockyknoll quickly after Julia arrived in the condition she was in. Lothier had explained to the Guild Master what was going on and¡ªwhen Braden refused to leave Julia¡¯s side¡ªthey sent out a Mithril-ranked squad to clear the town. Braden was paying for his stubbornness now, though. The adventurers wiped out everything. No survivors. The entire town was just ash and detritus, so Braden had precious few clues to further his own investigation¡ªwhich was almost certainly connected to that incident. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Julia was pretty sure he blamed himself for the trouble she went through, since he wasn¡¯t there for her. Nowadays, he was never gone for an entire day and night. When he left the city to investigate, he moved as fast as he could safely. Which¡ªconsidering he¡¯s at least a Grandmaster¡ªis fast. He was always home for dinner now. ¡°Thanks for your hard work, Ravina. I¡¯ve got a lesson with Julia queued up today, so I¡¯ll take it from here,¡± Braden said amicably as he approached. ¡°Sure. She¡¯s just reachin¡¯ the point where she won¡¯t learn nothin¡¯ more from me for the day anyway,¡± Ravina chuckled as she walked away. ¡°Remember: Mingr?t, Julgr?t, and Dringren. Be here by the time the sun peeks over the horizon. And bring pants you don¡¯t mind shittin¡¯,¡± she shouted behind her as she left the field. Julia sent a look over to Braden. ¡°Kidding! I¡¯m sure she¡¯s just kidding, haha¡­¡± Braden said¡ªlooking slightly uncomfortable. ¡°Well, three days of training a week. You must have impressed her. I¡¯m only paying her for two,¡± Braden chuckled. ¡°Dringren is fine, but why does she have to work me twice before the first rest?¡± Julia whined. ¡°Hey, three days a week out of ten isn¡¯t bad, really. Gives your muscles plenty of time to rest and recover. Anyway, you better mark that down before you forget. You know I¡¯ll forget, so it¡¯s all on you,¡± Braden warned with humor. Julia walked over to the bag she¡¯d set on a bench nearby and took her notebook out. Braden had given it to her this year for her birthday. It came with a durability enchantment¡ªof course¡ªand also included a pen that, depending on which end you held, could either write or erase previous writing. Truly a special pair, this pen and notebook. Julia wrote a brief schedule out:
  1. Singr?t: Magic training - all day
  2. Mingr?t: Swords - first thing: Magic training - afternoon
  3. Dringr?t: Magic training - all day
  4. Julgr?t: Swords - first thing: Magic training - afternoon
  5. Sungr?t: Rest
  6. Singren: Magic training - all day
  7. Mingren: Magic training - all day
  8. Dringren: Swords - first thing: Magic training - afternoon
  9. Julgren: Magic training - all day
  10. Sungren: Rest
She shuddered just thinking about wearing her ¡°shittin¡¯¡± pants and whatever horrors that entailed. Julia started when she heard¡ªand felt¡ªa rumbling. She looked over at Braden quickly to see him pulling a stone fence straight out of the ground. It extended in a circle around him for about a ten-stride radius. ¡°There. There¡¯s no one here right now, but can¡¯t be too careful. We¡¯ll be doing some lightning work today, so don¡¯t want anyone getting too close,¡± Braden said as the fence finished its dramatic rise. It was late morning, and the training field was empty. Ravina had Julia practicing since the early morning, when it was busier, but now most adventurers had finished figuring out what they were doing for the day. Usually, there were at least a few who took the time to train if they weren¡¯t taking jobs, but it was raining today. The practice field was enclosed with a roof, but¡ªapparently¡ªno one wanted to be out in the rain if they didn¡¯t have to regardless. ¡°Ok, what we¡¯re going to attempt to do today is upgrade your Faraday¡¯s Cage spell. When I taught it to you, the intention was to use it as a defensive measure against not just offensive light and lightning magic aimed at you, but also your own. Now, we¡¯re going to turn it into an offensive spell itself. Or¡­maybe a retaliatory spell, if not strictly offensive.¡± Julia¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°A protection spell turned offensive? How are we going to do that!?¡± she practically shouted in excitement. She loved learning new magic. Braden chuckled and suddenly started glowing. Julia had just enough time to wonder what was happening before a bolt of lightning sparked across his body. It didn¡¯t seem to leap to the ground or outward at all. It hugged his body and traveled around it. Then another appeared and did the same. As the bolts and the glow faded, Braden began, ¡°As you know, Faraday¡¯s Cage is about distributing charge around your body so that electricity is not encouraged to travel through it. Well, since you¡¯re already maintaining a shield around yourself, why not add the electricity to it yourself? ¡°If you do that, not only are you still protected from the magic aimed at you, but you also have a defense against physical weapons and strikes. The implementation of this spell is incredibly simple. You effectively just cast lightning magic at yourself once the Cage is in place. ¡°This is the reason I had to have enough space. It¡¯s why you¡¯re still standing behind the fence right now. I¡¯m not controlling the electricity. I¡¯m just maintaining the Cage across my body and slightly insulating the ground¡ªso that the charge doesn¡¯t ground itself and dissipate. Since the electricity is uncontrolled, it¡¯ll jump to whatever is close enough to attract it¡ªbe that a metal weapon or even a body. I call this modification Faraday¡¯s Armor.¡± Julia was almost vibrating with excitement, but before she could rush into the circle to try it herself, Braden held up his hand. ¡°This is¡ªby itself¡ªnot a modification of the spell. You¡¯re just layering two spells on top of each other. That can be considered a modification in many circumstances, but this is not one of them. Changing the target isn¡¯t exactly modifying either the Bolt or Cage spell. ¡°There¡¯s one more step needed to transform the spell into Armor,¡± he said. Then he started glowing again. This time, the bolts came continuously. Arcing constantly across his body, but not striking as far out as before. They were tight and seemed to undulate only inches from his skin. ¡°The final step in this process is to sandwich a Bolt spell between two Cage spells. You effectively just trap the electricity between two Cages to contain it until it¡¯s ready to release. Now, you do have to be careful with this spell. ¡°First of all, I don¡¯t know if you know this, but plasma¡ªwhich is what a lightning bolt is¡ªis hot. Not hot like boiling water. Not even hot like a burning fire. It¡¯s hot beyond anything you¡¯ve ever experienced. You won¡¯t heat up quite as quickly as a traditional Faraday Cage since we¡¯re just using magic to manipulate charges. There are no wires to add external resistances. However, the air itself offers resistance, so it will heat up to uncomfortable temperatures quickly. ¡°There are several ways to combat this, but I really want you to figure out what method works best for you. The reason I keep drip-feeding you these small hints is that I want you to come to your own understanding and make your own magic. You can impress your will upon the World much easier and more naturally with concepts you¡¯ve figured out personally. ¡°There¡¯s a big difference between something you think is true because you¡¯ve been told, and something you know is true because you¡¯ve experienced it.¡± Julia nodded in understanding. She had experienced the difference understanding could make most prominently with gravity. ¡°The second thing you have to watch out for is actually the exact purpose of this spell. The Cage is a non-physical thing¡ªconstructed entirely out of magic. Thus, it¡¯s permeable to physical objects. This means if something, like a weapon or someone¡¯s hand, passes through the first Cage, it will be struck by the full strength of the lightning trapped between the two Cages. ¡°This is obviously the purpose of the spell. It¡¯s meant to defend you from physical strikes. Or, rather, automatically retaliate against strikes. The problem is that you can let no one and nothing touch you if you aren¡¯t in mortal peril. It¡¯s just like the Bolt spell. Do not let lightning strike anyone you aren¡¯t prepared to kill.¡± The words rang much heavier than they had when Braden first taught her the Bolt spell. Back then, it was theoretical. She hadn¡¯t actually considered the implications of those words. Now, they etched themselves into her heart. She was doing well with all the trauma, according to Braden and Ratia. True, she still sometimes woke up drenched with sweat and panting, but it was never debilitating like it was the first time she saw blood on the butcher, or when she realized she¡¯d killed someone. She certainly wasn¡¯t ready to go out and do it again, though¡ªwhich was good, she thought. She felt she should never be willing to kill someone without much thought. She and Braden practiced the spell for a couple hours. It turned out relatively easy¡ªother than the mana expenditure¡ªsince she already knew the spells involved. The initial cast wasn¡¯t so bad¡ªjust two casts of Faraday¡¯s Cage and then one Lightning Bolt. The Bolt only had to be cast a single time, as the energy would be contained by the ¡®Cage sandwich¡¯ until released. The cost of the spell ended up being¡­not too bad. Once she unlocked the spell through the System, the efficiency rose just a bit, so the cost was somewhere around 2.5 times that of the initial cast of a Cage (slightly less than the cost of each spell individually), and then about 1.75 times the cost of maintaining a Cage spell. More expensive than she¡¯d prefer, but definitely not prohibitive. The main issue was the heat. She could only have it going for a few seconds before the temperature rose to uncomfortable levels. She tried using Breeze to blow the heat away from her. It worked, but the efficiency¡ªof both the mana cost and heat reduction¡ªwas low. She felt certain that Wind Magic was the answer, but she currently had no firm ideas other than blowing the heat away. When they got home, they had a meal of egg noodles and chicken in some kind of garlic butter sauce. She hadn¡¯t paid too much attention to how Braden was making it, but the smell while it was cooking told her enough to hazard a guess. Julia turned in early that night with Trixy curled around her neck. She wanted to get as much sleep as possible. After all, tomorrow was the day she¡¯d finally be going on her first job as an adventurer! Chapter 18 Julia followed Braden into the entry hall of the Adventurers Guild. The building was enormous¡ªthe largest structure she¡¯d ever set foot in, though it wasn¡¯t ostentatious. The first floor was carved stone, with two more floors of wood extending upward. Large chandeliers with magic lights that gave off a bright blue glow in the morning and shifted to a muted orange throughout the day hung from the ceiling. The entryway was a large hall that opened into the main room about 50 strides beyond. There was a large window with a counter set in it and three workers manning the desk. This was the place for general information, inquiries, and registrations with the Guild, where non-members interacted with the Guild. Beyond, into the main hall, would be separate counters for adventurer use. Julia¡¯s destination for now was the general reception counter, so she followed Braden over. They had intentionally arrived mid-morning so that the crowd was smaller, and they didn¡¯t have to wait in line. They approached the counter, and a young man smiled at them. ¡°Greetings. Welcome to the Adventurers Guild. What can I do for you today?¡± he inquired politely. ¡°Hi. We actually have a couple things to do. First, Julia here needs to register her tamed companion with the Guild. Second, I would like to sign her up for the apprentice program,¡± Braden replied. They had actually planned to register Trixy much earlier, but once sword practice started, Julia seldom left the house. So, it kept getting put off. ¡°Sure. We can get those things taken care of pretty quickly, I think. Did you have an adventurer in mind to apprentice her under? We will need to make a formal request that requires said adventurer¡¯s consent before she can be apprenticed. Depending on the specific adventurer¡¯s availability, this could take a while. ¡°Also, apprentices must be a minimum of 14 years old, so we will need to verify Miss Julia¡¯s age when we do the documents,¡± the young man explained professionally. ¡°Of course. The adventurer she will be apprenticed under is me. Although, there might be occasions where she will be partnered with Ravina Bladesworn. I have her written consent here on this form. I don¡¯t envy you having to read her signature, though¡ªit¡¯s the worst set of scribbles I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± Braden joked as he withdrew a scroll she hadn¡¯t seen either Ravina or Braden with before. ¡°Ah, yes. Miss Bladesworn is a promising up-and-coming adventurer. She would make an excellent mentor. May I have your Guild card, sir, to verify your identity before we move on to the documents, please?¡± Braden nodded and handed something over discreetly. He hid whatever it was in his hand, setting it on the desk and pushing it across until the gentleman took it. The man¡¯s eyes went wide for a moment. He opened his mouth, but Braden raised a hand to stop him. ¡°Let¡¯s keep it all subdued, if you don¡¯t mind. I like to lie low,¡± Braden said while smiling at him. The man gulped and nodded before getting up to put a stack of papers and what she assumed was Braden¡¯s Guild card in a container that then went inside a glass tube. He seemed to fumble with the container a little¡ªwere his hands shaking? Julia was beginning to suspect there was more going on with Braden than just being a high Level. Striton was a fairly large city and a major trade hub. Would a professional of the Guild staff really react that way just because someone was a Grandmaster? As she was thinking this, the staff member rang a bell attached to the tube and the container¡­disappeared? Julia heard Braden chuckling at her surprise. ¡°It¡¯s a pneumatic tube. There¡¯s a gentleman that works in the back and uses air magic to guide the container through the tubes. The bells attached to the various tubes transmit sound through them. ¡°So, he hears a bell through one tube, guides the container to him with air magic to check its destination, then sends it off in the correct tube,¡± he explained. ¡°Wait¡­you¡¯ve said something like this before¡­uh¡­pressure¡­pressure differentials! I think!¡± Julia exclaimed¡ªhappy to have remembered. ¡°That¡¯s right! Pressure wants to equalize, so areas of higher pressure always move toward areas of lower pressure. The glass tube is a sealed environment with only the two ends letting air in and out. ¡°So, if you block one end with the container and use air magic to pull air out the other end, that will create a lower pressure zone at that end, which will pull the container through the pipe, since the container has higher air pressure pushing it from behind toward the lower-pressure zone.¡± Julia nodded. Braden had briefly touched on air pressure gradients, but it had mostly gone over her head. She understood the core concept of high pressure moving to lower pressure, but it was difficult for her to visualize¡ªair was invisible, after all. This tube was a great visual aid. Lost in her thoughts, she jumped a little when the container returned with a thump. The man behind the counter pulled the documents out and handed them to Braden. ¡°Please follow me, and we will get you all sorted out and on your way,¡± he said. Braden and Julia followed him into the main hall¡ªa huge room divided into three sections. There was the central section that the entry hall led into, which was the reception area. It had a row of counters with privacy dividers extending out of them. Probably so that adventurers could handle business in relative privacy even in the public space, Julia assumed. The second section was off to the left and contained a gigantic board with what must¡¯ve been hundreds of quest notices attached. Well, there would have been a few hours ago. Right now the board was looking a little sparse. There were still some quests up, but most had been taken¡ªperhaps around thirty-five percent were still waiting to be accepted. The third section, off to the right, was a bar. It had several circular tables scattered about, but also long, rectangular tables with benches in front for those who preferred a more communal drinking experience, along with stools placed right up against the bar. Julia questioned the wisdom of having access to alcohol in a place of work. Noticing her stare, Braden spoke up while they walked through the reception area of the main hall. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, and you¡¯re not wrong. However, the reality is that many adventurers get their compensation and spend it on alcohol the same day. There¡¯s a lot to be thankful for, after all, if you make it back from a job with your life. ¡°These are also the adventurers most likely to be¡­uh¡­rowdy when drinking. Having the bar here helps ease the burden of rowdy adventurers fighting in taverns around the city. Also, if they pass out drunk here, they¡¯re less likely to be robbed or anything similar. ¡°There¡¯s also a rotating list of barmen. People and businesses from around the city can sign up to run the bar for a month at a time. A person or business that¡¯s made the list can only run the bar for a single month per year, so that means a total of 10 different businesses can run the bar each year. ¡°This helps keep the Guild in touch with the city¡¯s residents, brokers goodwill by keeping a large portion of rowdy adventurers here rather than in local taverns, and gives businesses that might be having a rough time an opportunity to earn some coin. It also makes sure there¡¯s no animosity for hogging potential alcohol sales by keeping a bar staff on the Guild¡¯s payroll. ¡°Adventurer¡¯s drink a lot, and the one running the bar keeps the majority of the sales from it. It¡¯s quite lucrative to run, even if you do have to deal with the rowdier clientele.¡± Julia just nodded at Braden¡¯s explanation. It honestly didn¡¯t affect her that much either way. She didn¡¯t really care when or why people were drinking as long as they were leaving her alone. They stepped through a door at the back of the reception area and proceeded down a long hall furnished with a modest¡ªbut nice¡ªburgundy rug. There were candle holders mounted to the wall periodically that had softly glowing crystals in them. After a short walk down the hall, passing several doors on either side, they reached a staircase and continued up past the second floor to the third. At the end of the hall was a door slightly larger than the others she¡¯d seen. It was carved from dark wood and seemed freshly polished. It also looked heavy.. Julia didn¡¯t have great eyes for such things, but she felt she would have trouble opening it even on well-oiled hinges. The gentleman leading them knocked twice on the door and bid them goodbye as he headed back down the hall. The door opened to reveal a brick wall of a man. He had short, slicked back brown hair, a wide nose, and beady hazel eyes. His beard was short¡ªalthough longer than Braden¡¯s¡ªand well-maintained. He was as wide as the doorway and almost as tall. He smiled at them, which revealed two silver teeth on the right side of his mouth¡ªmaybe knocked out in a fight long ago? ¡°Well, howdy, Braden and Miss Julia. Come on in, won¡¯t ya?¡± Braden smiled and ushered Julia in ahead of him. Inside was a large office with a lush black rug covering most of the floor. A deep red wooden desk sat in front of a window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. It had a chair with a high back and leather upholstery behind it, and two comfortable looking chairs with smaller backs in front of it. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Bookshelves covered both of the side walls with various books, scrolls, and knick knacks decorating them. There was also a couch and two chairs off to the side with a small table between them. Presumably for more relaxed meetings. The whole room said ¡°formal but relaxed,¡± if she had to put it into words. The large man sat down at his desk and motioned for them to take the two chairs. Once everyone was seated, he spoke. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad to see you both. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve been introduced, Miss Julia. Name¡¯s Bruleth. I¡¯m the Guild Master of the Striton branch.¡± ¡°H-hi. I¡¯m Julia,¡± she said shyly. She was annoyed at herself for being so nervous. She had just been smacked around by Ravina for hours yesterday! It doesn¡¯t get much more intimidating than that! There¡¯s no reason a man should scare her just because he¡¯s large and important. ¡°Should all be in the papers, but we¡¯re here to register Trixy and get Julia settled in for an apprenticeship,¡± Braden said with a smile. He seemed to know the Guild Master quite well. Julia wasn¡¯t honestly sure why the Guild Master was handling this personally. It seemed like work that would be delegated in an organization this large. ¡°Of course. Trixy¡¯ll be the little thing all wrapped around your shoulders, Julia?¡¯ Bruleth questioned. ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s a good girl.¡± Julia said as she petted Trixy. Doing so always helped ease Julia¡¯s nerves, and it hopefully hid how sweaty her hands were¡ªthat and thinking about how she could shoot lightning at the big man if she really needed to. Trixy lifted her head long enough to rub it against Julia¡¯s chin before settling back in lazily. ¡°She¡¯s a late riser,¡± Julia clarified. ¡°Well, she¡¯ll fit right in, then. Don¡¯t let the morning rush fool you. Most of these rubes only drag themselves out so early on workdays. Any other day, the sun¡¯s as high as it can get before they roll themselves outta bed¡ªsometimes literally,¡± he chuckled while sifting through the papers Braden had given him. ¡°Right. First and foremost, we just need a piece of something Trixy-related and your signature. A hair or something will do just fine. You can read all the details of the registration in this contract before you sign, if you want, but the gist is that any problems caused by your tame will be your responsibility to rectify¡ªwhich typically means a financial responsibility. ¡°That said, no matter what the city¡¯s rules are, the Guild doesn¡¯t consider one a legal adult until the age of 18, so any trouble Trixy causes will fall back on your guardian. In this case, that¡¯s Braden. ¡°Also, if she ever undergoes any kind of evolution or dramatic change, she¡¯ll need to come back here immediately to update her registration. Failing to update the registry within a reasonable timeframe comes with hefty fines at a minimum¡ªsince magic beasts can have varying levels of power. If Trixy ever gets more powerful and you don¡¯t report it, it can be seen as an attempt to hide a potentially very dangerous weapon. ¡°If that was a good enough summary for you, you can go ahead and get me a sample of her hair and sign here. If not, feel free to take your time reading.¡± Bruleth placed down a scroll and pen in front of her as he said this. ¡°Normally, I would say read anything very carefully before you sign it. This time, though, I¡¯ve already read it myself, so I would say go ahead and sign. Also, Bruleth didn¡¯t mention it, but a registration needs to be renewed every 2 years at a minimum. ¡°If she evolves or powers up significantly enough that you need to report it, that will count as a renewal. So, it¡¯s a renewal once every 2 years or after evolution¡ªwhichever comes first,¡± Braden clarified. Julia brushed through Trixy¡¯s fur until a hair fell out that she could grab and set on the scroll. She then signed where indicated. Bruleth put a finger over the hair and passed mana through the scroll. The hair seemed to¡­get swallowed into the contract, which appeared to be made of vellum, or something. When it was finished, Bruleth put it to the side. ¡°Great. Take this. It¡¯s a token that identifies that you¡¯re in possession of a registered tame. It doesn''t have any specific details about Trixy, but presenting it to guards or authorities should alleviate any concerns. If they need specifics, they can always request information from the Guild.¡± He touched a small metal square to the scroll and passed mana through both. They both glowed for a second before it subsided and he handed the token to her. ¡°The token has a unique mana signature attached. That way, anyone with that token can bring it to the Guild for an inquiry, and we can quickly pull Trixy¡¯s contract out of our files by using that mana signature as an identifier,¡± Bruleth explained. ¡°This registration will be pulled from Braden¡¯s account, but should you lose the token, there will be a pretty hefty fee to replace it. This whole operation isn¡¯t cheap, actually. The Guild has vellum enchanted to be reusable, but we have to keep this contract in perpetuity, so you¡¯re paying for the enchanted vellum, the token, and the administrative fees.¡± Julia noticed there was something like an immaterial thread connecting the scroll to the token she was holding. She could only see it if she was holding the token and focused. She imagined such sophisticated enchantments for both the contract and token couldn¡¯t be cheap. She then started thinking about how loaded Braden actually was. He didn¡¯t spend frivolously, from what she saw, but they never did want for anything, now that she was thinking about it. ¡°That¡¯s the first task taken care of. Now, we have an apprenticeship to handle. First and foremost, we have to confirm you¡¯re of eligible age. Standard procedure is to use an Identity crystal.¡± He took a gemstone about the size of Julia¡¯s palm out of his desk drawer as he said this. ¡°Now, some disclosures. This crystal will reveal your Name, Age, Class, Subclass, Magic, and Skills. ¡°This Identify procedure is standard across all Guild branches everywhere, and every adventurer has to go through it. However, any information revealed during the Identify will be privy only to the Guild Master¡¯s eyes at the branch the Identify is performed, or anyone they authorize to see it.¡± Julia became a little nervous at the disclosure of functionally her entire Status sheet. Not that there was anything on there she was afraid of getting out. Braden had warned her about her Summoning Magic or Rare Class getting around potentially causing issues, but he seemed to be on good terms with Bruleth, so she likely didn¡¯t need to worry about it. Still, it felt a little invasive. She looked over at Braden and he smiled reassuringly at her. ¡°I will personally vouch for Bruleth¡¯s trustworthiness. However, this is your information. All adventurers have to do this disclosure, so you will have to if you ever want to be an adventurer. That said, you don¡¯t have to be an adventurer for me to train you, so it¡¯s up to you. We could back out now and head home. No worries from me either way,¡± he concluded. That was annoying. It felt like he was putting the decision entirely on her. Well, she did want to be an adventurer. She wasn¡¯t completely sure what direction her life would take as she got older, but she did know that the Guild was a huge potential ally she wanted. Not only would it be a powerful backing, it would give her the freedom to go anywhere. The Guild had a branch in most major cities around the entire world, as far as she was aware. Having a pre-established home-base with a pre-established authority in almost every single large city in the world would be a tremendous boon no matter what she actually decided to do with her life. She nodded to Bruleth and he handed her the crystal. ¡°I¡¯m glad Braden¡¯s already instructed you in mana Skills. Sometimes we have to coach folks through how to utilize mana just to get this part done. ¡°Just pass your mana into the crystal. It¡¯s bound to this vellum here,¡± he motioned towards a piece of vellum sitting on his desk. ¡°It will automatically record your details.¡± Julia did as asked. When she began feeding mana, it suddenly felt as if someone were peering into her very soul. She felt seen in a way that was uncomfortable. It wasn¡¯t like a person looking at her so much as a force passing through her and scraping her insides off to take with it. She had to remind herself it was an automated function of a magic item to restrain the shudder that threatened to escape. After glowing for a couple seconds, the crystal went inert again, and she handed it back to Bruleth. ¡°Alright. Well, age is 14, so you meet the minimum requirements for apprenticeship. Let me just go ahead and ask this, though I suspect I already know the answer. What, if anything, in your status would you like us to keep confidential? ¡°Like I said, no one can look at this information without my approval, but if there¡¯s information you want kept confidential, I will take that into account when considering what to show anyone else, should it ever become relevant.¡± Julia looked over at Braden, who nodded to her, and said, ¡°I would like my Class and its Rarity to remain confidential, as well as my Summoning Magic. I¡¯d prefer that people believe Trixy and I met in the wild somewhere.¡± Bruleth nodded and smiled. ¡°Of course. I figured as much. You¡¯re ok with your Lightning Magic being held less confidentially? It¡¯s not super rare, but having someone even remotely good at it is.¡± ¡°Up to you again, Jules, but consider that, for right now, it¡¯s by far your most deadly weapon. Until you acquire more experience, you¡¯ll likely be relying pretty heavily on it. Also, Lothier has already seen you use the Bolt spell, so it¡¯s already known to at least one other person¡­and, to be honest, I¡¯d be shocked if he hasn¡¯t already told the story of his mad dash back to the city in at least three different taverns by now,¡± Braden advised. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fine. I certainly don¡¯t intend to get worse at it, so I suspect it¡¯ll continue being one of my strongest Magics even as I get stronger. I¡¯m not too concerned about word getting out,¡± Julia said. Bruleth nodded and put the vellum with her details away in his desk drawer. ¡°Well, everything¡¯s in order, then! Now, I do have to inform you of how this works. I¡¯m sure Braden¡¯s already told you all about it, but we have liability to worry about here, so I¡¯m still going to give you a run-down. ¡°First of all, here is a pamphlet with all the details you could ever need. The highlights are that you¡¯ll be apprenticed under Braden¡ªwith pre-approval for additional apprenticeship opportunities under Ravina¡ªfor a period of four years. You¡¯ll be able to go with Braden on pre-approved quests and access pre-approved dungeons. ¡°After a period of four years, when you¡¯re 18, your Status will be read again. Depending on the growth displayed as well as a final exam from an independent Guild proctor, you may join the Guild and advance immediately to Iron rank. ¡°Even if you fail on either the Status read or proctored exam, you can still start in Bronze with all the experience from your apprenticeship under your belt. So, there¡¯s really no downsides as far as I¡¯m concerned. ¡°If you have any questions, feel free to ask any of our Guild staff. If they can¡¯t answer your questions, they¡¯ll get you to someone who can. Do you have any questions about the program right now?¡± he asked as he finished his spiel. Julia shook her head and took the pamphlet before storing it in her bracelet while pretending to tuck it into her shirt. ¡°Excellent! Well, I think that¡¯s everything taken care of. Braden knows all the routine and procedures, so I¡¯ll let you guys get started on whatever you¡¯ve likely already got planned. Welcome to the Adventurers Guild, Miss Julia.¡± Bruleth extended his hand with a smile. ¡°Thanks,¡± Julia said as they shook, her hand completely engulfed by the huge man¡¯s monstrous mitts. She was relieved that he turned out to be much more professional and polite than his initial appearance suggested. She and Braden then headed out the door toward the main hall¡ªand toward Julia¡¯s first job as an adventurer. Chapter 19 Dust billowed around Julia¡¯s feet as she and Braden made their way down the small stretch of dirt that connected their destination with the main road. They were on their way to meet the requestor for this particular job. Braden had selected one of the Bronze-ranked jobs that was still up on the board before they left the Guild. This request was to eliminate an infestation of Earth Voles from a local farmer¡¯s field. Braden had said this one would teach her a lot, but Julia had to admit that she was a bit disappointed at how mundane it sounded. The image she had in her head was of brave adventurers facing down dangers, not gardening. That said, it was still her first job. Maybe it wasn¡¯t her first official job yet, but she was still going to give it her all. Braden had indicated that he would be there for help and advice, but he was largely going to leave its resolution up to her. That had her a little nervous, but the stakes seemed relatively low on this specific job, so that was actually more a comfort than a disappointment for her right now. Braden knocked lightly on the door of the farmhouse they approached. Julia had noted that the path from the road, although only made of stamped-down dirt, was well-maintained. It was flattened until relatively level, with no weeds sprouting. Julia could guess, just from this fact, that the owner of this particular farm was rather detail-oriented. The door opened to present a wide, middle-aged woman. She had a neat bun on top of her head and wide, but sharp, blue eyes above a narrow nose and thin lips. She had a pristine white apron over a lavender blouse. Julia wasn¡¯t sure why, but the first impression the woman gave her was ¡°motherly.¡± ¡°Greetings, Ma¡¯am,¡± Braden said amicably while bowing his head slightly. Julia copied the maneuver. ¡°My name is Braden, and this here is my young apprentice, Julia. What looks to be a scarf that she¡¯s wearing is actually her tamed companion, Trixy. We¡¯ve come to accept the job that was posted with the Guild.¡± Braden presented the contract bearing both their signatures and that of a Guild receptionist. ¡°Oh! Thank you so much for coming! Please, come in! Come in!¡± the woman exclaimed while ushering them into a modest but neat house. She led them from the entry hall that was facing a staircase to a small sitting room with an open arch into the kitchen at the back. There was a comfortable-looking couch and chairs seated around a small, knee-high table. Just to the side of the seating area was a large, stone fireplace with a shiny wooden mantle mounted on it. At her insistence, Braden and Julia took a seat on the couch. The woman that welcomed them turned in their direction and bowed slightly. ¡°Thank you so much for accepting our request. We were worried that it would sit there for weeks while our crop was ruined. My name is Meriarla, Arla for short, and my husband is Arlor. ¡° Julia tried not to chuckle about the Arlor and Arla couple. Talk about a destined pair. ¡°We don¡¯t have a great deal to offer in compensation, but I¡¯m quite good with a needle and thread, and my husband is a deft hand with wood. We¡¯d be glad to offer those Skills to you for anything you might need. We can also offer some of our crops that survive the Voles, if you¡¯d like.¡± Braden smiled at her. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s no need for any of that, Ma¡¯am. Though, I thank you for the offer. As I mentioned, Julia is my apprentice, and this is her first job. The experience alone will be more than enough reward. ¡°That said, if you feel honor-bound to offer something, we would gladly accept a meal. I¡¯ve been cooking for the two of us on my own for a decade now, so I would love a home-cooked meal to enjoy without having to prepare it myself.¡± ¡°Of course, dear. We¡¯d love to welcome the two of you to our table! Arlor will be out tending to the field, so please relax while I go fetch him. Can I offer you anything to drink while I¡¯m gone? Perhaps some tea?¡± Arla offered as she motioned towards the kitchen. ¡°That¡¯s quite alright, but thank you for the offer. We had an early lunch in the city in preparation for heading out here. I also can¡¯t help but think that tea would relax us a hair too much since we still have some work ahead,¡± Braden said good-naturedly as he scratched behind Trixy¡¯s ears. Trixy was still draped around Julia. Although awake, she moved with a languid air as midday approached. ¡°Can¡¯t argue with that. When Arlor comes in for the day and sits down, I know there¡¯s no hope of getting him out of the house again,¡± Arla chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll be back shortly. Please feel free to relax. There¡¯s an outhouse around back and a well on the opposite side of the house, if you need either before I¡¯m back.¡± Julia and Braden nodded and thanked her, and then Arla was out the back door. Julia noted that the house was spotless and organized. Everything seemed to be in its place with not a speck of dust present. Her suspicions of a detail-oriented family seemed to be confirmed. This couple ran a tight ship. Trixy began languidly stretching around Julia¡¯s chest, clinging to her shirt as she moved around. This, Julia knew, was the real start to Trixy¡¯s day. The crawling around that was slow and lazy at that moment would ramp up until she was zipping around faster than Julia¡¯s eyes could track. This was one of Julia¡¯s favorite moments of her day, though. While waking up fully, Trixy would be very hungry for attention. Julia was more than happy to oblige. While Julia was feeding Trixy all the attention she desperately needed, a man walked in the back door, closely followed by Arla. Arlor, presumably, was a tall man with wide shoulders and a shiny, bald head. He had sun-tanned skin that was soaked in sweat and wore a loose, linen tunic with equally-loose breeches. ¡°Howdy, folks. Arla told me bout ya already. ¡®Preciate ya comin¡¯ out here. Them voles been drivin¡¯ me up a wall. They¡¯s bad enough chewin¡¯ on m¡¯ crops, but it¡¯ll be real bad come time fer the next round¡¯a plantin.¡¯ Them thieves¡¯ll eat seeds just as well as m¡¯ growin¡¯ crops,¡± Arlor finished dejectedly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Arlor. We¡¯ll take care of it. Now, I don¡¯t know if Arla mentioned it, but Julia here is my apprentice, and this is her first job. So, Julia, I¡¯ll let you take things from here. I¡¯ll just offer advice when you want it, or if I think it¡¯s necessary,¡± Braden finished, motioning to Julia to continue. ¡°Uh¡­ok. Um, Mr. Arlor? Could you tell me what you know about the voles? First of all, they¡¯re called Earth Voles, yes? So, they¡¯re magic beasts, then?¡± Julia asked with uncertainty. She wasn¡¯t used to even conversing with people, let alone taking charge of a job! ¡°Tha¡¯s right. They got some kind¡¯a Earth Magic. Makes ¡®em even harder to catch ¡®n a normal vole or mouse. Can burrow them tunnels faster¡®n you can reach yer hand down after ¡®em. Think the Magic makes ¡®em eat more, too. They¡¯ll knock a whole stalk down an¡¯ eat it. Jus¡¯ a single one by itself!¡± he finished animatedly. ¡°I see. So, we¡¯ve got voles that eat more than their non-magic counterparts, and they can use magic to both get to your crops and run away from them quickly. Do you know when they tend to be active? Or about how many there are?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯d be tempted t¡¯ say they¡¯s active at night, but it might jus¡¯ be that they ain¡¯t out there when I am. I ain¡¯t seen but one or two when I¡¯m out there workin.¡¯ Ain¡¯t sure if it¡¯s cause they¡¯s afraid of me, or it¡¯s their natural sleepin¡¯ hours. Terms¡¯a numbers¡­I ain¡¯t familiar enough with¡¯m t¡¯ be able t¡¯ tell one from another. Must be a¡¯least four or five based on how many I seen runnin¡¯ around at once.¡± Julia pondered for a moment before deciding she needed the whole picture to plan further. She stood up and asked Arlor to show them to the fields. There seemed to be an even mix of wheat and a tuber called klontrup planted. The fields weren¡¯t numerous, but they were impressively large. Julia was shocked that so much was tended to by just this one couple. She must¡¯ve made a face of some kind because Arlor chuckled and spoke up. ¡°It ain¡¯t much, but we do what we can. City¡¯ll take bout three quarters of the harvest, though. Well, that¡¯s what it were last year. Who knows what it¡¯ll be now. Seems t¡¯ change every single year. Then we gotta keep what we¡¯re gonna need to live on, but we can sell the rest. Usually, that leaves somethin¡¯ like a tenth of it fer sellin.¡¯¡± Julia was shocked to hear that the city took so much of their harvest. She knew the basics of taxes, but this seemed like robbery. Braden nudged her gently from behind and whispered so that only she would hear, ¡°Focus. We¡¯re here to do a job, not debate the ethics of different tax rates. ¡°He¡¯s also already keenly aware of how much the city is taking from him. Telling him about how he¡¯s being taken advantage of won¡¯t be telling him anything that he doesn¡¯t already know.¡± Julia nodded at the mild correction. ¡°Can you show me any of the hills and burrows, assuming they¡¯re still around?¡± Arlor nodded and led them all around the fields. They saw several little hills and spots where tunnels had collapsed. Julia could imagine how Arlor arrived at his guess to their numbers. There were many hills, but not so many that there would be double-digit numbers of diggers. That might change if they reproduced, though. Arlor bid them farewell and headed inside. He¡¯d decided to take the rest of the day off so as not to disturb Julia and Braden while they worked. Julia crouched before a slightly-collapsed burrow with a hand on her chin, thinking. Braden made his way over. ¡°Will you think out loud for me, Jules? I¡¯d like to hear your thought process.¡± Julia nodded and stood. ¡°I was thinking about options. I can think of several ways to smoke them out. I mean, I could literally use smoke. Funnel it into the burrows that aren¡¯t collapsed with Wind Magic. I could even shoot fire directly into the burrows. I could shake the ground enough to scare them out. I could do any number of things to get them out, but I don¡¯t know what I can do to corral them once they are out. ¡°I have lightning, but that¡¯s obviously tremendous overkill. Plus, it would be horrendously wasteful for mana unless they conveniently decided to cluster together. Fire in a field is a no-go. Actually, that is one of the key issues that I can identify. ¡°The best option would be to use a spell to target them all at once, but any spell I might be able to target multiple creatures with would also undoubtedly do damage to the fields. It would defeat the purpose of us being here if I went and destroyed his crops myself.¡± Braden nodded along as she worked through the problem out loud. ¡°Well, those are all great points. I will give you a hint, though. I chose this job for several reasons, but one of them was that you are uniquely suited to this exact job. If you get completely stuck, think about what that could mean.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Julia pondered. She thought the problem through and chewed it over for close to an hour, with Braden occasionally interjecting. Try as she might, she couldn¡¯t think of a way to get them all. And that was the main thing. She had to get them all. If even one survived, not only would it continue destroying Arlor¡¯s fields, but it could also be pregnant. She had no idea what a pregnant vole would look like, so as far as she was concerned, any one of them could be. She actually felt pretty bad about killing animals. Especially pregnant ones. Voles, though she¡¯d never seen one before, were supposed to be very mouse-like, too. She thought they must be pretty cute. Hopefully she wouldn¡¯t lose her nerve when it came time to do the deed. This was just the first step of being an adventurer, though. Not all monsters that harassed people were vile and ugly. Some were cute but destructive nonetheless. She had resolved herself to this when Braden had first broached the apprenticeship idea to her. Still, the issue was actually getting them all. Braden had said she was ¡°uniquely suited¡± to this job. The only thing she could think that was unique to her at this point was her Lightning Magic. She had become increasingly aware that while unlocking it wasn¡¯t uncommon (many people saw lightning during storms and could conceptualize it easily enough), having any kind of competence with it was. However, how would lightning solve this issue? Did it have to do with the way Braden often described it as getting ¡°grounded?¡± She thought he just said that because it would often strike the ground and dissipate. Maybe it was more? Could she¡­somehow distribute her lightning through the ground? Braden, likely observing her mounting frustration, began with an amused tone, ¡°If only there was some way to take the fight directly to them, you know? If only there were¡­I don¡¯t know¡­a natural predator nearby that hunted creatures like mice out in the wild and liked to burrow. ¡°If only said creature could become invisible and hunt the voles one at a time without them even knowing it was there. Maybe the creature would even grow stronger as it hunted the voles and consumed them. That would really be¡­honestly that would be the ideal solution here. If only.¡± Julia slapped her hand to her forehead. Of course! Trixy was also something unique to Julia! Ferrets were meat-eaters. Braden had called them ¡°obligate carnivores¡± before. Julia didn¡¯t pay a great deal of attention then, since Trixy didn¡¯t require food to survive, but now the information rushed back to her. She lifted Trixy off the ground from where she was playing, weaving between stalks of wheat like an ambulatory snake. Braden had explained before how to communicate more effectively with a bonded companion. He had used his favorite ¡°thread¡± analogy. Julia thought about it now, trying to identify the intangible ¡°thread¡± connecting her to Trixy. It felt something like a tugging at the back of her mind. She likened it to if she were to tug on one of the hairs on the back of her head, only less¡­physical. When she felt it, she began sending images and imagined scenes of Trixy turning invisible, leaping into the burrows, and hunting the voles through the thread. Trixy seemed confused at first, but after a few repetitions, she seemed to get it. She actually looked excited by the prospect of hunting. Julia supposed that wasn¡¯t strange since it¡¯s what Trixy would be doing in the wild anyway. She dashed out of Julia¡¯s arms and flew like a white streak into the closest burrow. Julia was worried she¡¯d forgotten about the invisibility, but she saw her tail disappear before it was fully into the burrow. Hunting while invisible is also what Trixy would be doing in the wild, so Julia realized she was likely worrying too much. Julia and Braden wandered around the field trying to prepare in case any voles came running out. They didn¡¯t want any to escape. None came, though. Eventually, they just resolved to sit down towards the center of the field and wait. It had been a solid hour without any activity that they could see, so they stopped worrying about escapees. It took another two-ish hours before Trixy finally emerged from a burrow in one of the tuber fields and came dashing over towards them. She jumped into Julia¡¯s arms and began her usual thing¡ªracing around and around Julia¡¯s torso like if she had a shoulder bag on and spun it around her. Julia noted that her fur was quite a bit browner than it was a few hours ago. She hoped it was just dust and dirt. Surprisingly, she started to feel that tugging at the back of her mind. Focusing on it, Julia began receiving images from Trixy. They were unorganized, but she thought she recognized what must be voles. There were scenes of Trixy walking right up to them before dispatching them with a quick bite to the neck. They were caught completely unaware while Trixy dispatched them one-by-one. There turned out to be seven of them. The images stopped after a few seconds, thankfully absent of any images of Trixy actually feeding on them. Seeing the little things die was more than enough violence and gore for Julia. ¡°She did it!¡± Julia exclaimed as she came out of her memory-sharing reverie. Braden smiled at her and motioned towards the house. They started on their way, and Julia decided to check Trixy¡¯s gains.
Name: Trixy Age: 3 Species: Black-Footed Mirage Ferret Evolution Progress: 16%
Illusion Magic:
Invisibility Create Illusion
Dash 5 Danger Sense 4 Mana Manipulation 4
Julia did the mental math and came up with each vole giving Trixy two percent towards her evolution. Hunting fifty equivalent creatures to evolve seemed like a lot to her, but if she thought about it, a wild ferret would likely consume well over fifty in its lifetime. It made sense. When they reached the house and informed the couple about the voles, they were both invited to a jubilant dinner. Arla had gone above and beyond with the meal. There was a ham wrapped in bacon (apparently from a neighbor who farms animals) with fresh klontrup from the field. It was cut into cubes and cooked in oil to give it a nice, crispy texture, while the inside was still soft. Apparently, they staggered the fields so that both harvesting and planting were nearly year-round activities. It was a delicious pairing. Julia thought it was a heavy meal, but considering the labor Arla and Arlor were both doing every day, it seemed to fit. When dinner concluded, the couple thanked them profusely and told them to drop by any time they liked, as they were always welcome. Julia followed Braden back towards the city in the evening with a smile on her face and a full belly. Trixy had been too full to eat much after the vole hunt, but she did munch on some bacon. She was now lounging on Julia¡¯s neck. Both were full and happy. ¡°Regardless of this being a perfect opportunity for Trixy to gain some evolutionary progress, there were many other reasons I chose this specific job,¡± Braden started as they walked down the road towards the city¡¯s gate. It was evening and the road was busy, but they were still far enough away that their conversation could remain private.¡°The main reason I chose this job is to give you some perspective,¡± he continued. ¡°Perspective?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Yeah. First of all, remember what I said a year-or-so ago? You spend enough time hitting things with a hammer, and eventually everything starts looking like a nail. ¡°You¡¯re talented with magic, Jules. A prodigy, even. That¡¯s likely breeding a desire to use it for everything in you, so I wanted to give you the opportunity to think and problem-solve outside of your magic repertoire. The more tools you have in your belt, the more problems you can solve. Magic is just one tool. Granted, it¡¯s a powerful and versatile tool, but it¡¯s just one tool. ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons I chose this job. The most important reason, though, is so that you can see through others¡¯ eyes. ¡°Adventurers join the Guild for many different reasons. Power. Fame. Glory. Wealth, or having no other options¡ªany number of reasons exist. What I want you to remember is what the Guild itself exists for. Do you know what that is?¡± he asked her. ¡°Um¡­the Guild¡¯s purpose is¡­to¡­take care of its adventurers?¡± She answered questioningly. She hadn¡¯t ever thought about it, truthfully. The Guild just¡­was. She didn¡¯t think about its purpose just like she didn¡¯t think about Striton¡¯s purpose for existing. It just did. ¡°That¡¯s one of the Guild¡¯s most important responsibilities, yes, but that¡¯s not the reason it was founded. It was created to help people. Unfortunately, Jules, there are varying levels of competence when it comes to authorities around the world. You heard what Arlor said about his harvests, right? Three-quarters of his harvest is collected by the city. ¡°And what does he get for those tributes? It¡¯s not the city that¡¯s out here helping with his fields, is it? It¡¯s us. Adventurers. What¡¯s more, he had to post the job himself, offering whatever compensation he could manage for it. The sad reality is that the job he posted would likely have languished at the Guild. It was low-risk, certainly, but also low reward. ¡°The Adventurers Guild exists to help people like them, people who fall through the cracks. I personally would argue that the Adventurers Guild shouldn¡¯t need to exist at all. In my mind, a government¡¯s primary responsibility is to take care of its citizens. If it¡¯s not even doing that, for what purpose does it exist? ¡°Reality doesn¡¯t always work out like that, though. And, unless I¡¯m going to overthrow every government on the planet, and then rule the entire planet, there¡¯s no way I can help all those people. So, I¡¯m an adventurer. We are adventures. ¡°We do it for fame, gold, glory, and power, yes. All of those things are great, but we do it first and foremost to help people. The Guild, together, can help many of those people, the ones falling through the cracks, far more than you and I individually ever could. ¡°I wanted you to meet that lovely couple. I want you to remember, even when you¡¯re Mithril or Adamantine or even Orichalcum, that the jobs you take are posted by real people living their real lives. The things we do have consequences. And, the things we don¡¯t do, also have consequences. If we didn¡¯t take that job, those lovely people would likely have lost their harvests and their livelihood. ¡°I know that might seem extreme for seven voles, but those were not ordinary pests. They were monsters¡ªmagic beasts. Seven magic beast pests could knock over an entire field in one season, even before considering reproduction or evolution. Arlor and Arla¡¯s fields and livelihood were very much at stake. ¡°So, please don¡¯t ever forget that inaction is also an action, and actions speak much louder than words. I¡¯m not saying that the other adventurers don¡¯t all have good reasons to take other jobs and ignore this one, nor am I trying to suggest they¡¯re bad people. ¡°I¡¯m not even saying that it¡¯s always going to be possible for the Guild to handle every single request they get. You¡¯ve seen the board and the hundreds of requests posted to it every single day. Sometimes, it just isn¡¯t going to be possible to handle every single request. ¡°What I am saying is that you and I, right here, right now, had the time, leeway, and ability to handle this specific job. I know you were initially disappointed that it wasn¡¯t glamorous or exciting, and I don¡¯t blame you. ¡°On top of that, it wasn¡¯t rewarding at all from a financial standpoint. However, completing the job likely changed those two wonderful people¡¯s lives for the better. If you remember nothing else about this day, please, remember that.¡± Chapter 20 +SYS Name: Julia Age: 15 Class: Seeker 17 Subclass: None Companions: Trixy Attributes: Strength: 29 Dexterity: 27 Constitution: 29 Intelligence: 33 Wisdom: 31 Resilience: 28 Unassigned Attribute Points: 0 Magic: Earth Magic: Spire Material Separation Wind Magic: Vacuum Dash Water Magic: Water Shield Water Whip Water Walking Icicle Thermal Magic: Spark Fireball Temperature EM Magic: Faraday¡¯s Armor Lightning Bolt Lightning Field Light Magic: Light Invisibility Gravity Magic: Telekinesis Space Magic: Spatial Awareness Spatial Coordinates Summoning Magic: Ritual Summoning Monster Tamer Magic: Pact Telepathy Sense Share Arcane Magic: Manipulation Density State Elasticity Skills: Runes 6 Enchanting 2 Ritual Casting 5 Meditation 7 Mana Manipulation 7 Mana Sense 8 Truesight 4 Assimilation 6 Swordsmanship 5 Evasion 4 Danger Sense 3 Tracking 2 Mana Healing 3 Split Focus 4 Mana Conversion 3 Enhanced Body -SYS Julia closed her Status, having admired her progress over the last year¡ªeven though her mind tried to insist it was far too little. She¡¯d been busy, clearly. She¡¯d even advanced a few levels in her Class! That had been a surprise. It turns out that because Trixy is considered part of Julia¡¯s Status, her gains contribute just a tiny bit to Julia¡¯s as well. Considering Trixy¡¯s Evolution Progress went up to 78%, three levels for Julia was truly a tiny amount. Still, it was progress where she wouldn¡¯t have seen any otherwise. Not that Julia wasn¡¯t progressing, she was. It just happened that her progress was in magic and Skills rather than Class levels. Class levels required combat to advance, after all. Or, for her they did. Braden had been taking Julia on Bronze-rank jobs every week for the last year. Typically, these were quests that, while low-risk, exercised Julia¡¯s resourcefulness. Every single job required something that Julia had never experienced before. Braden didn¡¯t pick any repeats. Sometimes it was finding a lost pet. Other times it was tracking a specific animal that was ransacking a farmer¡¯s crops or livestock¡ªthese were the ones Trixy especially liked, and where most of her Progress came from. And still, sometimes it was completely different, like tracking down a specific herb in the wild or investigating the source of a ¡°disembodied voice¡± locals were hearing coming from their well (it was a kid who liked to climb down the rope and hide under the bucket to scare people). Julia had even picked up the Tracking skill due to all the experience she gained from following animal trails and tracks. Turns out that even looking for herbs involved animals¡ªor, it was a good place to start. If animals ate the herb you were looking for, follow their tracks to find their feeding grounds. If animals didn¡¯t eat what you were looking for, look for areas where the tracks weren¡¯t. Julia¡¯s free APs that she hadn¡¯t assigned had haunted her for many months. Even as she neared her fifteenth birthday, she still hadn¡¯t decided where to allocate them. Braden hadn¡¯t been helpful, either. ¡°It¡¯s your decision, Jules. Think about what you want to do in the future. There¡¯s power to be had in specializing. Some builds dump all the free APs they get into the same Attributes their APs are automatically assigned to, doubling down on the gains. Others use the points to boost other Attributes and shore up their builds¡¯ weaknesses. Both are legitimate strategies. ¡°There¡¯s no right and wrong answer here, and I can¡¯t tell you what to do or what you won¡¯t regret doing in the future because it completely depends on what you want to do; who you want to become.¡± After much internal debate and bouncing pros and cons off of Braden, Julia had decided to follow the throughline of her Class, which was building her foundation. Thus, she distributed the free APs evenly throughout her Attributes not getting boosted automatically by the Class. She didn¡¯t know exactly what she wanted to do in the future, so she would build a broad foundation to keep her options open. For now. Interestingly, despite pumping 28 APs into body Attributes (Strength and Dexterity), she didn¡¯t hurt nearly as much as when she¡¯d first checked her notifications after waking up in the Guild Infirmary. Braden had been confused by this until she shared her Status with him. Turns out the Seeker Class gave the ¡°Enhanced Body¡± skill at Level 10. Typically, Classes would give Skills every five levels, with the more prominent Skills usually awarded in ten-level increments. Enhanced Body did exactly as advertised. It made pretty much every aspect of her physical body better. She was a little faster, a little stronger, a little¡­well¡­better in pretty much every way. This wasn¡¯t something expressed through numbers in her Attributes. It was just a feeling. This was, however, the main source of her absolute agony. It made otherwise minor adjustments to her entire body¡ªthe entire thing. All those minor adjustments at once, though, made it feel like her bones were being shattered and rearranged. The Skill, despite being a Skill that showed up in the corresponding menu in her Status, didn¡¯t have a Level. Julia had to ask Braden about it, she¡¯d never heard of such a thing. Apparently, there were Skill categories that people referred to as ¡°enhancements.¡± This was not a System designation, since they were already classified as Skills. It was just something that people started calling them. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. They were Skills that enhanced something about oneself. They were largely qualitative improvements and, as such, didn¡¯t have Levels associated with them. They were simply one-time improvements made to one¡¯s body or mind or spirit or whatever else. The Seeker Class so far had given Julia Truesight at Level 1, Physical Assimilation at Level 5, Enhanced Body at Level 10, and Magical Assimilation at Level 15. The Assimilation Skills are Skills that add increased experience toward learning Skills of the relevant type. Physical Assimilation aided with skills like Swordsmanship, Evasion, and physical Skills, while Magical was for magical Skills, obviously. However, upon acquiring Magical Assimilation at Level 15, the two Assimilation Skills had combined and absorbed her Training Skill, which was, itself, a Skill that provided boosts to experience gained while Training. Braden hadn¡¯t been able to give exact numbers, but he suspected that she now had a rather tremendous boost to experience toward Skill learning and acquisition of all types. This was in addition to the Class itself already likely giving a small boost. Based on the trend of Skills her Class had given her, she was both excited for and absolutely dreading the Skill she¡¯ll get at Level 20. Very likely, it will be some kind of ¡°Enhanced Mind¡± or something similar. Judging by the pain her body experienced, she expected it to be like her brain was being pulled out of her ears, nose, and eyes. That was an issue for later, though. The Assimilation Skill had made a tremendous difference in both her training with Ravina and her magical study¡ªespecially after her 15th birthday. Braden had kept to tradition and fed her some world-shaking truths about reality. The first was related to Gravity Magic. She, at this point, had very little trouble levitating all but the heaviest of objects. She still couldn¡¯t get herself very far off the ground or for very long, but she could almost keep an apple above her head all day. Braden had questioned why she was only levitating objects on one axis, though. ¡°You know the demonstration I gave you was just to make it easier to visualize, right? The apple on the sheet is just a visual aid. It¡¯s a two-dimensional visual aid. ¡°But, gravity doesn¡¯t exist in only two dimensions, does it? Spacetime doesn¡¯t exist in only two dimensions. When you press on that sheet¡ªpress on spacetime¡ªto levitate an object, you¡¯re only doing it on the up-down axis. Why can you not do it on the other two axes as well?¡± As he posed this question to her, he floated an apple out of his palm and horizontally over to her lap. She stared at it in consternation for several long minutes. Then, it clicked. She ¡°pushed¡± the apple off her lap in excitement, and it rocketed across the room before splattering in a spray of apple-mush against the wall. She was too excited to even register the mess she¡¯d made. The System was also excited, it seemed, as it awarded her the Telekinesis spell under her Gravity Magic category. That was just the appetizer, though. Once the mess was cleaned and Julia had gotten the excitement out of her system by using her Telekinesis to shift pretty much everything in the house about, Braden had sat her down again in the living room. He confused her by whipping a slate board on wheels out of seemingly nowhere. He must have a dimensional storage item on him somewhere. Julia resolved to figure out where it was someday, as he started to draw on the board with some kind of flaky stone. ¡°Steam, water, and ice. If I told you these are all water, you would agree, right?¡± he began while drawing the named states of water. At Julia¡¯s nod, he continued, ¡°Well, why are they all water? ¡°What is the commonality that unites them? No matter which way you look at them, they¡¯re all pretty different from each other, right? So, why are they all considered water? We even have different names for all of them, so why?¡± At his urging, Julia responded with the only thing she could think of. ¡°Well¡­they all¡­come from each other? Ice comes from freezing water. Steam comes from boiling it.¡± Braden nodded and smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. To be honest, I¡¯m not actually sure why they¡¯re all called water colloquially. That¡¯s not the point I¡¯m trying to make, though. What I¡¯m trying to say is they¡¯re all the same thing, just in different states. This is the important thing. What the water is composed of is all the same. What matters is the stuff¡¯s arrangement and energy.¡± Braden drew a bunch of circles in different configurations. One in a crystal-like arrangement, one with the circles loosely collected into a larger, somewhat-amorphous circle, and one with circles seemingly free-floating wherever they wanted. ¡°Solid, liquid, and gas. These are the three most common states of matter. In the case of states of water, we have ice, liquid water, and steam or water vapor respectively.¡± He lectured about ¡°molecules¡± that made up the structures he¡¯d drawn on the board and how their energy and vibrations determined their state. Higher energy levels, which meant more motion, would shatter the rigid bonds of the solids and transition the substance to a liquid. He used the example of leaving ice out and watching it melt. It went from an ordered solid to a chaotic puddle. The reality of how things were structured shook Julia, but the really devastating news was that everything in the world existed in states like these. He compared the example of ice melting to melting iron in a forge and a volcano turning solid rock to molten slag. Julia felt like her view of the world was crumbling. She suddenly wondered how she¡¯d existed for so long while being so oblivious. It was a strange experience. It was true, and she knew¡ªsomehow¡ªthat it was true, but it was so different from what she had thought up to this point that it was almost like her mind was refusing to believe it purely on the basis of being too different from her previous view. Braden had explained that there were more states out there, just less commonly. Apparently, lightning existed in a state called ¡°plasma,¡± which was achieved by heating a gas so hot that it underwent another phase transition. ¡°There are other, more rare states that do or can exist, but I¡¯m honestly not super familiar with them. I barely even know a couple of them, and I certainly don¡¯t have enough knowledge to explain how you¡¯d be able to use supercritical fluids or whatever for magic.¡± Julia shook her head. ¡°How is it possible to know all this and not be an expert?¡± she asked. ¡°You said once that you only ¡®took some classes¡¯ to acquire this knowledge, but how is it possible to learn so much about the world from a couple classes?¡± Julia was overwhelmed with just the few things he¡¯d taught her already. The overwhelming feeling left her a little dispirited, honestly. Braden chuckled. ¡°Well, where I¡¯m from, people were required to attend mandatory education from about ages five to eighteen. And that¡¯s just the required education. People who were interested in further study could attend even more advanced education. ¡°Don¡¯t be discouraged. I¡¯m not a genius or anything. You¡¯re way smarter than I, Jules. The only difference between the two of us is our starting point. This is a young world. Most civilizations around this world are still in the city-state stage. This would be considered absolutely archaic by my own home¡¯s standards. ¡°The¡­uh, ¡®place¡¯ I come from had thousands and thousands of years of history. The civilization I came from was built on the bones of the hundreds of countries that came before it, the knowledge passed down and built upon by generation after generation. ¡°These are not my own discoveries. They are discoveries made over centuries, millennia of study and research by people far greater than I. ¡°But you know what, Julia? This world is so very new. I don¡¯t know what you want to do with your life here, but if you wanted to, you could be the one to kick off the era of study and research in this part of the world. You could be the one to encourage cooperation and knowledge-sharing and work towards the mutual betterment of all sapients. This world¡¯s story is just in its first chapters. ¡°So, don¡¯t despair at not being at the end of a story. Cherish the fact that you get to decide how it begins.¡± ¡°What a wonderful sentiment-¡± is likely what Julia would¡¯ve said had she been paying any attention. Her mind was aflame with possibilities that this knowledge of matter provided, the dip in her spirit having fled just as soon as it arrived to be replaced by a whirlwind of ideas. She was vaguely aware he had just said some things that should pique her interest, but there was too much to think about! She couldn¡¯t focus on anything else beyond those ideas that came bubbling up. She kept trying to grasp them before they popped and disappeared, but there were so many of them. Over the next several days, it was all Julia could think about. She went through life for those few days almost without thought to what she was physically doing. She ate, slept, and brushed her hair all on instinct, constantly turning over the magic she had access to in her head. And it finally bore fruit on the fourth day after Braden¡¯s lecture on the states of matter. Julia sat in the backyard around midday. She had a bowl of lukewarm water in front of her. She had been considering state changes for many days now. She knew that Ice Magic was not only a possible type of magic, but even a common one. There were many users of it even in the Striton branch of the Guild. Ice wasn¡¯t as common here where it was relatively warm all the time, but there were Ice Mages that would make a living entirely off creating ice for businesses and families¡ªto keep food storage cold. So, although not as common here, it was certainly present. It was also very easy to visualize and understand at a surface-level, so Ice Magic was one of the more common types, perhaps even competing with the primary four elements for number of users. Julia had been thinking that she could likely unlock Ice Magic by transitioning water into ice. She thought she could do this with her Fire Magic. Her Fire Magic had sharply increased in both power and efficiency once she practiced with the visualization of injecting her mana as energy to increase the vibration of molecules. If she could increase the vibrations, surely she could decrease them, too, right? First, she wanted to shape the water into a spike. Braden had explained that despite being so tiny as to be invisible to sight, the bonds these molecules made with each other were usually quite strong. Breaking a few bonds with mana would be trivial, but breaking enough of the bonds to make a noticeable difference in the material would be far more mana-intensive than one would imagine. So, Julia decided to first shape the water before freezing it rather than trying to rearrange it once frozen. Once it was formed into a spike and floating above the basin, separate from the rest of the water, she started on the visualization she¡¯d been working out for days. Braden claimed that the place he came from didn¡¯t have magic at all, which was unthinkable to Julia. She wasn¡¯t even sure she completely believed him, despite him having no reason to lie. How could anyone figure all this out without magic!? However, he would also say that magic provides a huge advantage to doing basically anything. He frequently called it cheating. She was going to try and ¡°cheat¡± today. She let her mana flow out of her along her hand towards the water spike that was floating in front of her. As it surrounded the water, she imagined the mana as a physical thing squeezing the water. As the water molecules bumped into the wall, the wall would absorb the kinetic energy. This was not exactly how it would happen with a physical material, she knew. The material would also have molecules that vibrate with their own energy. There would be a trade of energy between the two. Magic, however, had no such restriction. If she wanted the mana only to absorb, that¡¯s what it would do. As she concentrated and infused that intent into the mana, she noticed the water spike begin to turn slightly opaque. Then, it began to freeze. It started from the tip of the spike, which Julia expected. There were physically fewer molecules in the tapered end, so it would freeze first. The frost slowly spread toward the end of the spike until it covered the whole thing. She¡¯d done it! However, the notifications she got were not the ones she was expecting.
Arcane Magic unlocked! Spell: Manipulation added to spells under the Arcane Magic category. Spell: State added to spells under the Arcane category. Spell: Icicle added to spells under the Water category.
Arcane Magic? What in the world was that? And Icicle went under the Water category? Not Ice? That wasn¡¯t all, though. When she glanced at her Status, she noticed her ¡°Fire Magic¡± had changed to ¡°Thermal Magic.¡± She had to ask Braden about all of it. ¡°Congratulations, Julia! You didn¡¯t just unlock new magic. You unlocked the magic. Arcane Magic is not a type of magic so much as a threshold of understanding you¡¯ve reached. Arcane Magic spells can be applied to nearly all types of magic. Manipulation is like what you were doing with the water. Holding it in the air, moving it around, etc. ¡°State is what you did after. You used a few different types of magic to change the state of a material. Remember what I said a few days ago? Any matter can change states. They¡¯ll require different amounts of energy, but they can all do it. ¡°Unlocking Arcane Magic means that you¡¯ve taken a step toward understanding the reality around you. You¡¯ve recognized that everything in the world is connected through rules and laws, and magic can manipulate those rules and laws. ¡°This is a huge step you¡¯ve taken, Julia. You¡¯re probably one of only a handful of people in the entire world that have reached this threshold, if I were to hazard a guess. And you¡¯re almost certainly the youngest. ¡°And you did that all on your own, Jules. You¡¯re really incredible,¡± Braden smiled with pride. Julia¡¯s cheeks heated up, but she nodded with a wide smile. She was beyond pleased with her accomplishment and her new magic. Braden then explained that the change from Fire to Thermal was just a reflection of her understanding of the magic. She didn¡¯t see it as just a magic to manipulate fire anymore, so the System reflected that change. Julia was startled out of her reminiscence by Trixy jumping onto her back and perching atop her shoulders. She was likely aware that she was about to be left at home for a while again and trying to soak up as much attention as she could preemptively. So lost in the past was Julia that she nearly forgot that today was something to be extra excited about. After a year straight of doing Bronze jobs, Braden had finally decided she was ready for her first dungeon run. Chapter 21 Julia and Braden arrived at a queue that stretched away from a hole in the side of a hill. The hill wasn¡¯t very tall¡ªperhaps only two or three ¡®stretches¡¯ high, about the height of two or three average men standing on shoulders. If there weren¡¯t such an obvious, gaping hole piercing the side, one might not realize it was even high enough to be dug through. This was the Striton beginners dungeon. The dungeon is about a two-hour walk outside the south gate. There exists another, more advanced dungeon about the same distance from the city to the north. Striton was originally founded by people who wanted to exploit the dungeons¡¯ loot and resources, so the first settlers chose the exact center point between the two. The beginner dungeon was almost exclusively used by Bronze adventurers, both for training and for a small income. There was no rule against higher-ranked individuals running the dungeon, but it was a sort of unspoken rule in the city that the dungeon was left to beginners. As a low-Level dungeon, the resources weren¡¯t particularly great, but by reserving it exclusively for beginners, the few resources available provided a decent income as they leveled¡ªsince no one else would run it. Julia examined the line as they took their positions at the back. It didn¡¯t stretch too far. Dungeons used some kind of sub-space to separate parties of adventurers when they entered. It was called ¡°instancing¡± among the knowledgeable, so the line moved at a decent clip. The majority of the line seemed to be people around Julia¡¯s age, with the occasional older person likely acting as a mentor, like Braden. There seemed to, most commonly, be groups of people. She couldn¡¯t see any who appeared to be going it alone. That was standard protocol, of course. Someone capable of soloing this particular dungeon would be rewarded far more by partying up and tackling the more advanced dungeon. Still, she was surprised to not see anyone attempting it at all. Perhaps her surprise stemmed from the knowledge that she would, eventually, be doing so herself. Braden had suggested it as a sort of mid-point test. She had been apprenticed for over a year, now. When she turns sixteen, it will be halfway through her four-year apprenticeship, so Braden thought it would be a good midterm exam to run the beginner dungeon solo as prep for the advanced dungeon. He wasn¡¯t going to throw her in blind, obviously. That was why they were here today. She, Braden, and Ravina would be running the dungeon as a ¡°party.¡± Braden had assured Julia that both he and Ravina would have handicaps of some kind to ensure she had a legitimate experience. She wouldn¡¯t get any levels from running such a low-Level dungeon with higher-ranked people like those two, but she would get the dungeoneering experience, as well as experience working in a party. When she ran it solo, it would also yield quite a bit more experience than a normal run with a party, so it was fine with her. As she was contemplating and people-watching, Ravina approached them from behind. After greetings were exchanged, Braden began the briefing. ¡°Alright, Jules. As I mentioned, we¡¯re going to run this with a party dynamic. Do you know what the standard roles for an adventuring party are?¡± he asked. ¡°I believe the three roles are tank, damage, and support. Tanks being the roles that try to keep enemy attention focused on them, damage being the primary damage dealers, and supports being any number of support-oriented Classes. They could be healers, they could specialize in buffing their teammates, they could focus on controlling the battlefield through terrain manipulation¡­any number of things, really,¡± Julia concluded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Good work. I¡¯m glad you researched. That is actually the first step to any dungeon run: learning as much about the dungeon and preparing as much as possible before going in. We¡¯ll get to the details of the dungeon when we¡¯re in it, though. ¡°For this run, Ravina is going to act as the Tank, and I will be Support. We¡¯ll consider me a healer for our current purposes. You, Julia, are going to be the Damage. And, when I say Damage, I mean that Ravina will be focusing solely on defense. She will not be attacking unless she deems there to be actual danger to herself or you. ¡°Since I will be healing, actually defeating enemies will be completely on you. I will also be acting as the party leader for this run¡ªthough this dynamic will change with each run. Since you¡¯re so versatile, we¡¯ll do several runs with you in all three positions, and then we¡¯ll complete a run with you acting as the party leader. ¡°For this run, however, use whatever means you deem most effective to defeat the enemies. I will call out orders sometimes as the party leader, but unless I specifically tell you to do something, use your best judgement. A good party is one that can rely on their teammates. If the party leader has to call out every single beat of the battle¡­well¡­things aren¡¯t looking good. ¡°Anything to add, Ravina? Thanks for joining us for this excursion, by the way,¡± Braden finished. ¡°Sure. Was thinkin¡¯ it was about time the girl got some real experience. Only thing I gotta say is don¡¯t worry ¡®bout me n¡¯ Braden. Ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ in there that can hurt us. The whole fuckin¡¯ dungeon could come down on our asses at once, and they still wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt us. ¡°Use this first run to figure yourself out. Figure out what works for ya and what don¡¯t,¡± Ravina said. She was always so eloquent. Julia nodded, and they approached the entrance to the dungeon. It was guarded by a big guy with leather plates over chainmail. His armor selection almost perfectly matched Julia¡¯s. Braden had picked the armor up for her a couple of weeks ago in preparation for this run. It was chosen for its flexibility as well as knowing what the threats in this particular dungeon are. ¡°Names and party name?¡± the guard inquired. He wasn¡¯t actually a gatekeeper for the dungeon. He wouldn¡¯t stop anyone from going in. He was employed by the Guild to keep a record of whoever accessed the dungeon. As morbid as it was, people did die in dungeons, so record keeping was important. ¡°Braden, Ravina, and Julia,¡± Braden said, pointing at each of them in turn. He then acquired one of the most heinous smiles she¡¯d ever seen. She was suddenly very nervous, which turned out to be a good instinct when he said, ¡°Party name is Jewels.¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Julia looked down at the ground so quickly she thought she might have gotten whiplash. Her cheeks were burning. Ravina cackled like a witch from the wilderness. How was it even possible to laugh with an accent!? The guard, either not getting the joke or completely disinterested, merely nodded and motioned them forward. Julia crossed her arms in front of her and slowed to walk behind the two of them. She kicked the bottoms of Braden¡¯s feet as he walked. ¡°Ow, hey! I didn¡¯t¡ª¡± he started, but Ravina interrupted. ¡°Shut up and take your lumps. Ya got your joke in, now ya gotta accept the consequences,¡± she said with finality. They proceeded down a dark tunnel through the hill, Braden grumbling while the bottom of his feet were kicked every time he took a step. When they stepped into the sun again, Julia sucked her breath in and held it for a second. Before her was a¡­town? No, maybe fort was more appropriate? There was a large wooden palisade, perhaps five or six stretches high, spanning the distance between two hills with a large gate right in the middle. The gate¡¯s design looked the same as the palisade¡¯s. It was made of huge tree trunks jammed into the ground and carved into sharp points at the tops. The difference was that the bottom of the trunks rested on the ground rather than being driven in. How exactly such a heavy gate would swing open, she couldn¡¯t fathom. There was no movement that she could see from the couple watchtowers that extended up over the palisade, nor were there any noises that would indicate an inhabited camp. It was completely silent but for the usual sounds of the forest. ¡°What¡­is this?¡± Julia asked. ¡°It¡¯s a little¡­unnerving. There are no signs of life that I can see.¡± ¡°This is a goblin camp. Dungeons are created by the System using memories from the past. This particular memory is something about a camp of goblins that grew so large and sophisticated that they started raiding local settlements. I believe the ¡®objective¡¯ is to discover the fate of the prisoners. ¡°It¡¯s ostensibly a rescue operation, but it¡¯s well established that there are nothing but picked-clean bones to rescue, here. This particular instance doesn¡¯t matter too much, but the scenario of the dungeon is important to keep in mind. Other dungeons will reward you further if you complete their objectives rather than just slaughter your way through them. ¡°Regardless, the dungeon won¡¯t trigger until we open the gate.¡± ¡°...How exactly do we do that? That gate looks like even Dave would have trouble chopping through it,¡± Julia said with some humor. ¡°Who the fuck is that?¡± Ravina asked. ¡°Someone that we used to know. Irrelevant,¡± Braden chuckled. ¡°The gate will open by itself when we get close. Enemies won¡¯t spawn, however, until we actually cross the threshold. ¡°The gate will remain open should we need to retreat. And retreat is an option. Never let your pride prevent you from retreating, Julia. Dungeons can always be attempted again later, but only if you¡¯re alive.¡± ¡°Aye. I¡¯ve seen my fair share of promisin¡¯ adventurers ended by their own egos. ¡®S a sad thing, but some folks got heads so big they stop seein¡¯ the ground they¡¯re walkin¡¯ on till they trip over it,¡± Ravina concluded somberly. Julia nodded soberly, reading the sudden, heavy mood. ¡°Right, well. Normally, you would have discussed relevant abilities with your party members before entering the dungeon, Julia, but both Ravina and I know your abilities pretty well, and we¡¯ll both be filling very specific roles, so we¡¯ll just head straight in. Remember, neither of us are dealing damage. That part is on you,¡± Braden said as they formed up their ranks. Ravina was in front, with Julia behind her and Braden at the end. Typically, there would be a more sophisticated formation, but three people were slightly too few to do anything practical at the moment. The camp would be relatively close quarters once they were inside, so staying close in that formation was as good as it could get for their numbers and roles. Julia nodded and drew the sword at her waist. Braden had also acquired this sword for her with the armor. He had to special order it, though. It was standard steel in almost every way, except that it had a core of Mithril, and the grip was the same wood that Braden¡¯s staff was made of. Braden had to order the sword with the tang exposed and the pommel unattached (the blacksmith was not happy to sell an incomplete sword, even as a special order) so that he could apply the grip himself. ¡°Can¡¯t have you infusing lightning into the sword and shocking yourself,¡± was the reasoning behind the wooden handle. It wasn¡¯t just because of the grip that it had to be special ordered, though. Typically, a smith would have an enchanter engrave at least some basic enchantments if even a small amount of Mithril was used. It was such a precious material that it was wasteful to not enchant even a blade with just a Mithril core. However, Braden wanted it unenchanted so that Julia could place her own enchantments. She had been working on both official Enchanting and conduit enchanting. That was the purpose of the sword. For now, she would use conduit enchantments as needed, the Mithril core acting to strengthen the steel against the corrosive effect the conduit enchanting would have on it. Eventually, once she was good enough, she could place actual Enchantments on the sword herself. The sword was of decent quality even without the Mithril. It was a standard arming sword with the guard bowed out a little towards the point. A fuller ran down the middle of the blade, and a circular pommel of steel was attached to the handle. Braden had wrapped leather over the wooden handle, so it was comfortable to wield. Braden was very fond of the sword. Apparently, he didn¡¯t care much for non-functional frills and decorations on weapons. This sword was ¡°all business.¡± The sword now comfortably gripped in her right hand, Julia pulled some moisture out of the air and made her standard water-buckler over her left wrist. The spell she was using, Water Shield, was an idea Braden had given her after acquiring the State spell in Arcane Magic. She had been looking for a magical shield to complement her Faraday¡¯s Armor, since it wouldn¡¯t protect from physical objects. ¡°You know, water has some interesting properties. Did you know that it¡¯s incompressible? Or, at least, highly resistant to compression. Imagine if you made a shield out of it. All you would need to do with your mana is focus on maintaining its shape, keep it from deforming when struck. Its own properties of compression resistance would do the rest of the work for you,¡± he had told her. The shield was extremely effective in practice so far. She had figured out how to make the water give a little when struck. Not enough to break the spell or deform the shield, but enough to absorb some of the physical impacts and reduce the strain on her mana when struck. In addition to its defensive properties, it was trivial for Julia to freeze portions of it into icicles and launch them. It was both defensive and offensive. Truly a versatile spell. A benefit she wasn¡¯t expecting was unlocking the Elasticity spell for Arcane Magic in her tinkering to help the shield absorb impacts. Julia buckled the strap of her iron cap under her chin (the helmet was the one thing Braden wouldn¡¯t budge on¡ªshe was getting a metal helmet or she wasn¡¯t dungeon delving, as far as he was concerned), nodded to the other two, and they proceeded toward the gate. Chapter 22 The enormous gate creaked open without a sound as they approached. It was unsettling to see such a monumental structure move soundlessly and without apparent operators. ¡°Likely a product of this being a dungeon,¡± Braden explained¡ªprobably noticing Julia¡¯s discomfort somehow. It was a little annoying that he could read her so well. ¡°The real deal would probably have been pushed by trolls. Goblins are known to capture them when their settlements become large enough. Well, I say ¡®capture,¡¯ but it¡¯s more like they lure them into their camps and keep them there by feeding them. ¡°The trolls would push the gate open, but it would most certainly not be soundless and clean. The bottom of the gate would drag the ground and dig out furrows in the dirt from frequent use. They would also likely not keep them closed often. ¡°Goblins have a natural intelligence, but they¡¯re not sapient like other species. They have a sort of primal instinct to use very crude tools, but that¡¯s about it. The gate and palisade would be contrivances of more evolved goblins, likely recreating whatever they¡¯d seen the nearest tribes of sapients do.¡± Julia nodded. That fit with what she knew. She had done some research on the dungeon back in Striton. The Guild had a small library that one could freely read from as long as they were a member. They wouldn¡¯t let anyone take scrolls out of the library, but reading was both free and encouraged. Braden said it was as much about preparing for their jobs and knowledge sharing as it was encouraging literacy among adventurers. Guild staff would read the details of a contract to you if you asked, but knowing how to read yourself would be enormously beneficial. The dungeon¡¯s dossier contained basic information on goblins¡ªthe enemy encountered¡ªa species of cruel intellect that makes and uses crude stone tools and wields the weapons of their defeated victims. They could evolve into sapient species later in their evolutionary path, but due to the nature of their upbringings, these sapient-evolved specimens were almost universally malicious and cruel. The worst atrocities committed by goblins, such as when they raided local villages, were perpetrated by their more evolved leaders. The less-evolved kin followed them without question and lacked the intelligence to organize significant threats to towns and villages otherwise. Julia supposed that this encampment, in reality, would have been constructed by such a sapient leader (or leaders), but the dungeon dossier claimed there were no such threats present in this representation of it. It was generally just the dregs that were present here. Braden nudged her gently from behind. ¡°Get ready. It begins once we cross the threshold. Keep your guard up at all times. Never get comfortable in a dungeon, Jules. Never.¡± Julia nodded seriously and lowered her stance a little as they crossed the scarred ground where the closed gate would normally rest. Braden had mentioned that it would start then, but Julia was still surprised by the abruptness of it. Shouts and jeers suddenly overwhelmed her. She scanned around her quickly to see that there was a group of goblins surrounding them. There had been nothing there, and then, suddenly, a group appeared, surrounding them in a crescent shape and brandishing nicked, jagged swords. The goblins were just as the dossier described. Generally short¡ªperhaps a head shorter than Julia, who was already short herself¡ªwith pale, green skin, large noses, and beady, yellow eyes. They wore sneers as they pointed their weapons, as though disdainful of the group that had come to threaten them. Julia wondered where their confidence came from, but that was a thought for later. ¡°Ya just gonna stand there, ya puke-colored fucks!? I ain¡¯t got no time to waste on maggots like you, so come quick! If ya make me come to you, I¡¯m gonna stick this sword up your dickholes! Better to die with it through your necks than through your tiny, diseased pricks, ain¡¯t it!?¡± Julia was shocked by Ravina¡¯s sudden vulgarity¡ªuntil she remembered that Ravina was playing the role of the Tank. Goblins had a basic understanding of speech. Or, it was more like they discerned tone, even if they didn¡¯t grasp the actual words. The taunt worked. Their eyes narrowed at Ravina and, as one, they lunged at her. Ravina would probably be a whirlwind of death on this field under normal circumstances. As it was, she was just a regular whirlwind. She parried strikes with contemptuous ease, without wasting extra energy on dodging. She just flicked weapons aside like they were gnats that were annoying her. Julia appreciated the movement before recalling that Ravina was only on defense while offense was her responsibility. She moved in quickly as a goblin overextended a spear that Ravina flicked towards the ground. It struck the ground and sank in a little, requiring the goblin to halt its momentum and yank it back out. Julia took advantage of the extra movement and plunged her sword into its exposed torso. She experienced a brief flicker of nausea as she saw dark green blood burst from the wound and heard the squelch as she pulled her sword back out, but she shoved it down and kept moving. She backed up a step from the certainly-dead goblin to make sure its death throes wouldn¡¯t endanger her and used the time her distance bought to quickly cast one of her new spells. Spatial Coordinates was a spell she learned from a combination of her experience fleeing Rockyknoll and her Spatial Awareness spell. Spatial Awareness enabled her to detect the actual locations of objects in space. She could then use that awareness to ¡®lock in¡¯ a specific position in her mind. It was similar to what she had done when she focused on a specific spot of the ground as she and Lothier fled town. Rather than just concentrating on that spot with her eyes, though, this locked those absolute spatial coordinates into her mind so she could make use of them later. She cast the spell on the handle of her sword and threw it like a javelin with all her strength at the nearest goblin. It pierced through the goblin¡¯s neck and sank all the way to the crossguard before its momentum halted. She focused on the handle¡¯s coordinates and used her Telekinesis to yank it back into her hand. It arrived with a thunk, and a torrent of blood began pouring down the goblin¡¯s neck as it sank to its knees. Julia prepared a strike for the next goblin, but suddenly Ravina sliced the heads off the remaining two goblins with a single strike. Julia was surprised, but not as surprised as when Ravina began stalking up to her like an approaching storm. ¡°Are ya daft, girl!? Who the fuck been trainin¡¯ ya for the last year that taught ya to surrender your weapon for no good reason!?¡± she shouted accusingly. ¡°Wha¡ªI¡± Julia stammered, but Ravina interrupted before she could form coherent words. ¡°Don¡¯t answer! It was rhetorical cus I know I ain¡¯t taught ya that poorly. Why in all the gods¡¯ saggy tits did ya think throwing your weapon away was a good move!? Stop! Don¡¯t answer! I already know. I been trainin¡¯ ya for a long time, girl. I know exactly why ya did it. Ya thought it looked cool¡ªlike somethin¡¯ an adventurer from the stories¡¯d do. Well, it didn¡¯t. It looked godsdammed fuckin¡¯ stupid! ¡°Throwin¡¯ your sword is a desperate move that ya resort to when ya got no other options. I¡¯m talkin¡¯ when your arms are so damaged and broken that ya can¡¯t wield it well, or you¡¯re so outmatched that ya gotta do somethin¡¯ unpredictable to make an advantage. Neither of them things apply to this situation. ¡°I was holdin¡¯ ¡®em just fine. They wasn¡¯t even interested in ya, even if ya picked ¡®em off one-by-one. Ya weren¡¯t even gettin¡¯ attacked. There was no reason to get rid of your one, physical weapon. I don¡¯t care what fancy magic ya got in there. What were ya gonna do if there was a mage hidin¡¯ somewhere that could counter your spell? What were ya gonna do if goblins were stronger than ya thought, and ya couldn¡¯t get your sword back from ¡®em? ¡°Any time your sword¡¯s outta your hand, you¡¯re riskin¡¯ not gettin¡¯ it back. I better not see ya doin¡¯ any stupid shit like that in here again. We ain¡¯t even close to the kinda trouble that¡¯d warrant them kinda tactics. Next time, ya might as well just cut your whole damn arm off and throw it at ¡®em, too.¡± Ravina sheathed her sword aggressively and stormed off muttering to herself as she started picking up the goblins¡¯ cores. Astonished and chastised, Julia looked toward Braden. This was not the start to the dungeon run she¡¯d expected. He smiled at her and shrugged. ¡°Nothing for me to add. I wouldn¡¯t have used those exact words, but she¡¯s definitely right. Throwing your weapon is reckless and dangerous. Sometimes you do need to take a reckless and dangerous gamble, but you didn¡¯t right now. ¡°I¡¯m actually a little surprised that you were so concerned about looking good. I know you love the stories of brave adventurers and all that, but is this really the same girl that needed a logical reason to wear a dress instead of pants? The same one that I got an enchanted hairbrush for specifically so she wouldn¡¯t have to wash as often?¡± Braden chuckled as they walked toward the other corpses. Julia, cheeks red, was annoyed with herself for getting caught up in the moment. She had, at that moment, thought it would be a good idea. It would give her more ranged options without risking hitting her teammates as much as magic would. In retrospect, she realized it had initially popped into her mind simply because it looked cool, and only later did she come up with justifications for why it would work. Braden saw how sullen she was and put his hand on her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Jules. I suspect you did that because, in your subconscious, you recognize that despite being in a dungeon, your life isn¡¯t in danger¡ªwhich is true. Ravina and I won¡¯t let anything happen to you. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, though, that the purpose of these runs is so that you can solo it, eventually. It would be bad to let you develop any bad habits right now that could be fatal later. ¡°You will be putting your life on the line at that point. Ravina is only so harsh with you right now because she doesn¡¯t want you to get hurt. She¡¯s trying to prepare you for your first solo run, but she¡¯s also nervous about that prospect because she cares about you. ¡°We both are, actually. So, absorb the lesson she¡¯s teaching you, and remember that she¡¯s only even here in the first place because she cares and wants you to succeed. I didn¡¯t include training like this in her contract, so she¡¯s here because she wants to be. ¡°And the lesson to be learned this time is that the purpose of these battles is not for you to look good. It¡¯s for you to learn how to survive.¡± They both started forward and rejoined Ravina, collecting two of the four cores as they went. Ravina had the other two. She looked at the two cores Julia was holding as she spoke. ¡°Goblin cores ain¡¯t worth much, but it¡¯s somethin.¡¯ I¡¯ll hang on to these two as a penalty for your fuck up. I am the one who killed ¡®em, after all.¡± Julia nodded as Ravina pocketed the two cores she was holding. Julia spoke as they started away from the entrance of the encampment. ¡°Isn¡¯t an immediate ambush right at the gate a little cruel for a ¡®beginner¡¯ dungeon?¡± she asked. Braden nodded. ¡°It can certainly be a surprise if you¡¯re not expecting it. Of course, anyone just needs to read the dossier at the Guild to prepare, but also remember that most come through here with a party of at least four members, which would make it effectively one-on-one. The ambush aspect would be surprising, but a one-on-one with goblins is really not that big of a deal.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Ravina nodded, now back in formation and leading them through the encampment. ¡°Aye, it¡¯s a nasty surprise, but that¡¯s it. Those nasty fucks wouldn¡¯t be quick enough to give ya a killin¡¯ blow even if they knocked ya on your ass. Most parties would just risk a couple scrapes from an ambush like that.¡± They slowed to a stop as they began hearing strange sounds ahead. There was snarling and grunting, as well as various scraping sounds. Braden made a motion to suggest they keep their voices down. ¡°Right,¡± he said just above a whisper. ¡°Since I¡¯m acting as party leader on this run, I suggest we ambush them from stealth. Those noises are the rather horrible sounds of goblins mid-meal. Their guards will be down, so it¡¯s a perfect opportunity to strike. ¡°Now, Ravina and I both have ways to be stealthy, most people will be stealthy even without any stealth Classes by the time they reach our Level. However, you likely won¡¯t have a party full of people who can be stealthy for many Levels, Julia, so we¡¯ll consider you to be the only stealthy member of the party for this specific run. ¡°We¡¯ll have plenty of time in future runs to coordinate a surprise attack, and that¡¯ll be more effective when you¡¯re the one doing the planning anyway. So, for now, why don¡¯t you use your stealth to sneak into attack range and strike? Ravina and I will hang back just out of range until the goblins mount resistance. ¡°If you take them all out without them noticing, great. If not, we¡¯ll back you up when they counterattack. We¡¯ll switch back to our usual formation at that point. Also, consider our progress through the dungeon when you¡¯re considering your attack options. ¡°Although it¡¯s a beginner dungeon, it¡¯s still multiple encounters long. We need to make it to the command structure in the center of camp. That means we¡¯ll be about halfway finished after this encounter. Manage your stamina and mana accordingly. It won¡¯t do you any good to take all the goblins out if you use up all your mana or collapse from exhaustion.¡± Julia nodded and crept towards the goblin noises. She would love to have some tall grass to hide in, but the ground had been thoroughly tramped down by the presumably large number of goblins that the camp hosted. Julia suddenly realized that the real camp would have been extremely dangerous for her. Based on the sounds she was creeping towards, she was going to be fighting groups of four or five goblins at a time, but this camp would likely have hosted hundreds of them in reality. She pressed her body close to one of the ¡°tents¡± the camp hosted. Though, these structures weren¡¯t much more than a few animal carcasses stretched between stakes in the ground. They seemed to all be abandoned, though she suspected that this was only because the dungeon was not more heavily populated. She couldn¡¯t help but think how nice it¡¯d be to have Trixy with her. Trixy could¡¯ve made them both invisible, which would¡¯ve meant Julia could avoid using her own mana until the actual attack and remain completely unnoticed. Unfortunately, Braden had decided that Trixy had to be left behind until Julia could solo the dungeon. He said it was Julia¡¯s test alone this time. They could both come in together and practice when she could survive on her own. She poked her head around the edge of the nearest tent and recoiled back behind her cover. The sight was so revolting that she had to physically press down on her stomach to halt a retch before it could rise too far up her throat. The sound would¡¯ve likely given her away. She breathed deeply and centered herself before peering around the edge of the tent again. There were five goblins positioned around a large bonfire belching out black, acrid smoke. Or maybe that was just Julia¡¯s perception due to the body parts being cooked around it. She wasn¡¯t an expert on anatomy or anything, but she knew human body parts when she saw them. Or, humanoid, at least. Arms and legs seemed to be the most common. They were arranged in a loose pile angled slightly away from her vantage point. Although limbs were the most common, Julia noted a few torsos and even heads amidst the pile. Lifeless eyes and faces frozen in rictus fear stared back at her, as though blaming their fate on her inaction. Julia knew this was just her fear playing tricks on her. It was the same feeling that she got those many years ago when looking at the butcher¡¯s blood-covered apron. She shook her head a little to clear those unhelpful thoughts and focused on her task. The thoughts were much easier to push away now than when she was younger, but they were still there. Three of the goblins did not seem content with waiting for the pile to cook. They were feasting on raw limbs, pulling the meat away from the bones in a horrible display of grotesque gluttony. Julia, now in a distant, calculating mode after re-centering, thought their manner of consumption was both messy and inefficient. Two other goblins sat in front of the limb pile entranced. She could see drool dripping from the corners of their mouths, but they had more self-control than the other three, apparently. A plan began forming in Julia¡¯s mind as she examined the scene. She noted a lack of ranged weapons as well as any heavy objects that could be thrown. Confident that there would likely not be any projectiles to worry about, she began working on her trap. First, she had the better-safe-than-sorry ideology pounded into her brain from a young age, so she erected her water shield over her wrist, just in case. Next, she began casting her new EM Magic spell. The name of that magic changed in her repertoire once Braden began instructing her on how to create light with Lightning Magic. It was a difficult subject, which Braden had warned about in advance. She had made enough progress that she realized the connection between electricity being able to generate light. That combined with her existing knowledge of electric charges had changed the name of the magic. She could even bend light around herself to become temporarily invisible, though that also had its own issues. Regardless, light wasn¡¯t what she was working on right now. There were a few ways Julia could think to eliminate the goblins, but she was thinking hard about the warnings she had received both against doing cool things for the sake of it and keeping her resource usage in mind. A huge fireball would likely do the trick, but it would also be expensive on her mana¡ªnot to mention obvious. She didn¡¯t really know whether the attention of other monsters from outside the current encounter could be drawn, but now wasn¡¯t a great time to find out. Her spell ¡°Lightning Field¡± was essentially an offensive version of Faraday¡¯s Armor. Rather than being armor she wore around her skin, this was a trap that sat on the ground almost invisibly, waiting to be stepped on. She placed this spell in a rectangular area in front of her, and then it was go-time. She stepped out from behind the tent, obvious to anyone looking in her direction (though no one was, yet), and used the Manipulation spell from Arcane Magic to grab the fire from the bonfire. She swirled the fire around into a tight ring and whipped it over to the feasting goblins. The ring contracted with the goblins in the center until it was burning against their skin. The goblins howled and attempted to leap away from the fire, but Julia used Manipulation on the earth below them to sink their feet in. Unable to escape and lacking any means to fight the fire, they burned rather quickly. Julia compressed the fire with the Density spell and spun it. It burned with such fierce heat that it began to torch holes through the goblins where it passed. The other two, shaken out of their trance by the howling of their comrades, rushed towards Julia with fists raised. They didn¡¯t seem to have weapons, but that wasn¡¯t even close to stopping them. However, their reckless charge halted about two or three strides from Julia. They suddenly and violently convulsed before falling to the ground and writhing there. Julia, unsure if the shock was enough to be fatal, drew her sword and advanced. The charge from her Field spell had dissipated fully into the goblins¡¯ bodies, so she simply walked over to them and pierced both of them through the neck. She turned towards the burned goblins and, deciding caution was the best approach, decided to finish them off as well. She had punctured two of the three throats when the third launched to its feet. It couldn¡¯t advance forward since its feet were still anchored into the ground, but it extended its arms to try and grab Julia. She instinctively took a step back and extended her shield. She froze the front part of the shield and extruded an icicle parallel to her fist underneath. The ice blade plunged into the lunging goblin¡¯s face. She felt it hit and deflect off the side of the goblin¡¯s nose before it sank almost effortlessly into its eye. The goblin instantly went limp and collapsed back to the ground as Julia slid the ice spike out of its head. She shuddered at the blood dripping off the end before she let the entire shield fall from her wrist, canceling the spell. She glanced around and sheathed her sword when she didn¡¯t see or hear any other threats. ¡°Well done, Julia,¡± Braden praised as he and Ravina approached the gruesome scene. Julia was surprised that she hadn¡¯t noticed them approaching until he spoke. ¡°All slain with no wounds to you and no intervention from us. Pretty much the ideal outcome.¡± ¡°Aye. That¡¯s good work ya done. Got a good head on your shoulders, girl¡­when ya decide to use it. Finishin¡¯ ¡®em off was a good move. Walk me through stabbin¡¯ ¡®em in the neck specifically,¡± Ravina demanded. ¡°Well, I was trying to save mana, so I didn¡¯t use much in the Lightning Field. Electricity also has a paralytic effect, so being down didn¡¯t necessarily mean being dead. I wanted to ensure they died to protect my flank while dealing with the other two. ¡°My first thought was the head or heart, but I¡­I haven¡¯t stabbed many things. I thought maybe the skull and ribs would be difficult to get through, so I went for the throat,¡± Julia reasoned. ¡°Aye, that¡¯s good thinkin¡¯. Neck¡¯s easy to pierce. Your thinkin¡¯ is solid. We been focusin¡¯ on your swordwork and form rather than fightin¡¯ real enemies. We¡¯ll have to add dispatchin¡¯ opponents to our practice from now on. ¡°There are ways to squeeze a blade between ribs, but not testin¡¯ it out in live combat was a good move. Stabbin¡¯ their throats and immediately movin¡¯ outta range was good thinkin.¡¯ A throat stab is usually fatal, but not immediately. Definitely wanna get outta range after deliverin¡¯ the blow. ¡°Ya likely already noticed with your ice spike, but the eye is a good place fer dispatchin¡¯. Creatures and people got holes leadin¡¯ right to the brain behind their eyes, so stickin¡¯ a sword in there is pretty effective. That¡¯s one of the reasons skill will always trump Levels. That feelin¡¯ ya got from passing a blade through its eye, that¡¯d feel exactly the same whether it was a weak goblin or a Grandmaster. ¡°Granted, a Grandmaster¡¯d have a host of ways to make sure ya didn¡¯t get the chance to stab ¡®im, but still.¡± Julia nodded as Braden spoke. ¡°I¡¯ve got nothing to really add to that. You did good work, Julia. Normally, I would say that compressing the fire was a little wasteful, but you offset it by using existing fire rather than making your own. ¡°Using the Lightning Field to restrict your opponent¡¯s movements rather than deal fatal damage was also a good call. Probably saved a substantial amount of mana doing that. It was also a mostly-silent execution. ¡°The goblins¡¯ death throes were mostly silenced by your throat stabs, and the fire scoured the goblins¡¯ wind pipes while you were blasting them with it, so very minimal noises escaped to alert other enemies. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about other enemies noticing your presence in this specific dungeon, but others are not so kind. Adventurers call situations where other dungeon creatures reinforce the group they were already fighting ¡®dungeon rushes.¡¯ ¡°They¡¯ve killed many an unprepared party¡­well, that¡¯s neither here nor there, I guess. I¡¯m starting to ramble. How are you feeling? Need to rest?¡± Braden asked. Julia shook her head. She had just over three-quarters of her mana left. The group collected the cores and moved on. The third encounter went similarly to the first. A group of six patrolling goblins encountered her party as they moved towards the center of the camp. Julia largely stabbed around Ravina, who held their attention, when she found the opportunity. There was no reason to do anything fancy when simple worked just fine. Ravina had also encouraged Julia to use the opportunity to figure out where the most effective areas to stab are. Ravina said that stabbing strikes were generally the way that fights ended in the earlier Levels. Apparently, while cutting could deal devastating damage against unarmored opponents, it could take minutes for them to bleed out and die. Minutes, in a life-or-death battle, was practically an eternity, so the most effective way to end the fight was to either damage critical areas enough that they can¡¯t fight back, or deliver an immediately-fatal blow. As morbid as the situation was, Julia was actually learning quite a bit. She had been correct in thinking that bones were difficult to stab through. She would stab at a critical point only for the blade to be deflected by a bone she hadn¡¯t thought about or seen. Stabbing between bones required an intense precision that she didn¡¯t yet have in battle. Perhaps she could manage on a stationary target, but she simply lacked the combat experience to do it right now against living opponents. Still, being stabbed by Julia¡¯s sword wasn¡¯t exactly sunshine and rainbows. Even if she missed the eye or got deflected by a rib, each stab did tremendous damage. At worst, it would slow the enemy down a little, so each stab was worth the effort no matter the degree of the result. For the last two, Julia used her Water Whip spell to test its efficacy. She created it using the Elasticity spell, which made it mana-efficient. After the initial mana investment, it required only a small amount more when striking a target. It didn¡¯t deal any wounds that broke the skin, but Julia could tell from how the goblins recoiled that it was damaging. It was especially effective when striking the head or joints. Julia suspected that the joints, being where bones were connected, were weaker than the bones themselves. She wasn¡¯t sure exactly why the head was so effective, other than it being a general weak point. After combat, they collected the cores and proceeded. It wasn¡¯t long before they stood in front of an actual structure. This was the first thing Julia had seen that was built of more than just stretched hides and sticks since the palisade. The building was only a single story, and it was little more than a standard house¡ªmaybe a little longer. It seemed to be made of poorly-cut wooden planks. They were joined with jagged, metal nails and had gaps between them¡ªlikely only good for keeping the rain out rather than any temperature regulation. Still, the building¡¯s uniqueness compared to its surroundings was indicative of a boss fight. Chapter 23 The party stopped outside the boss¡¯s longhouse to plan. The dossier already explained the finer details of this encounter, but it was still Julia¡¯s first boss fight. Caution would be her friend here. ¡°Alright, why don¡¯t we go over what we know before anything else? Julia, will you summarize this encounter for us?¡± Braden prompted. ¡°The encounter begins as soon as we step into the longhouse. There are two hobgoblins led by a shaman. The hobgoblins are the damage dealers¡ªthey rush you as soon as you enter, while the shaman remains in the back and focuses on crowd control. ¡°They use two-handed clubs and are each armored with a rusty iron breastplate. I don¡¯t recall reading about any other armor, so I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s just their torsos that are protected. They are deceptively quick due to being stronger than goblins, and getting hit by one would be a bad idea. ¡°The shaman wears rags but carries a staff with a nature focus. It will use the focus to boost the strength of its spells, such as Constricting Roots. There is a bit of a trap in this longhouse due to the roots hidden underneath. They can¡¯t be seen above ground, so they can catch unwary or unprepared adventurers by surprise,¡± Julia finished. Braden and Ravina both nodded. ¡°Aye, I been tellin¡¯ ya to watch your feet. This¡¯ll be a good test,¡± Ravina said with more gusto than Julia was comfortable with. ¡°Right, I¡¯d like you to do some of the planning for this encounter, Julia, but I am acting as the party leader, so I¡¯ll give us a heading: we should definitely take out the shaman first,¡± Braden declared. ¡°Yeah, standard procedure, that. Mages are a pain in th¡¯ ass for everyone. Whether it¡¯s fireballs, tornadoes, or roots tryin¡¯ ta trip ya up, you''re always better guttin¡¯ ¡®em first. Healers, too. Can¡¯t make no progress in a fight if ya can¡¯t make no wounds,¡± Ravina said while spitting to the side of the path. Gross. ¡°Ok, then¡­um¡­we need Ravina to hold the hobgoblins'' attention. Since you¡¯re the healer, Braden, I guess I have to take the shaman out¡­I think I can maybe interfere with spells targeting roots beneath our feet. ¡°If I use Density to compact the ground directly around us, and then use Temperature to freeze the compacted ground, the roots should have a pretty tough time getting through. Then I just need to either close in on it while the hobs are distracted and dispatch it with my sword, or use a long range spell. ¡°Maybe Spire? If it¡¯s unarmored, a spike of earth shooting up from right below it could at least do some damage, if not kill it,¡± Julia thought out loud. ¡°That sounds like a good plan,¡± Braden nodded. ¡°We have a saying where I¡¯m from, ¡®No plan survives contact with the enemy.¡¯ It means that it¡¯s completely impossible to make a foolproof plan, even with all the information in the world. To that end, simple plans tend to work best because they¡¯re more adaptable. ¡°The more complicated the plan, the more that can go wrong and, thus, the easier it is to fall apart. So, what I¡¯m getting at is that if I were you, I would compartmentalize those things you just said. Keep the overall plan simple and in one compartment in your mind, and keep the methods you could use to implement the plan in another, separate compartment. ¡°The plan is to draw in the melee combatants, and disrupt and dispatch the mage while their attention is held. That¡¯s your compartment for the plan. The compartment for disrupting the mage is that you could use the compacted and frozen ground to prevent the shaman¡¯s area of effect spells, and your compartment for dispatching is potentially a sword strike or long-range spell. ¡°This way, you can shift compartments around as needed while still keeping to the simple plan of taking the shaman out first. ¡°Everyone ok with what we¡¯ve got?¡± Braden asked. Ravina and Julia nodded. The party lined up behind Ravina, who pushed the door to the longhouse open and charged in. Julia was right behind her, with Braden bringing up the rear. She jerked her head back and stumbled in her first step when a root shot out of the ground. It almost took her eye out! Ravina stepped back and parried it away from her at the last second, but that thing almost killed her! So much for just crowd control; that shaman¡¯s magic was dangerous. They had just entered the building! She knew it was going to start once they walked in, but this was still¡ª¡°Focus!¡± Ravina shouted. The shout jolted Julia out of her daze, and she dashed after Ravina. She extended her Water Shield to function more like a kite shield than a buckler and then focused on the earth below them. She pushed mana into the dirt and was surprised by how easy it was. The dirt was so loose it was almost sand. The shaman must have messed with it in advance to make it easier to move its roots around in. Julia grabbed as much as she was comfortable with spending mana on and began compressing it beneath the party. At the same time, she began siphoning the heat out of the ground she was compressing and sent it into the air above her. This had the unexpected benefit of making a thick fog lift from the ground around them. They were concealed from anyone more than a stride away. This didn¡¯t do much for Ravina¡ªapparently¡ªas Julia heard the clash of weapons in front of her, followed by a howl of pain and rage. Ravina seemed to have decided against the verbal taunts in favor of physical provocations this time. She must have kicked one of the hobs from the sounds Julia heard. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Her attention was drawn once again to the ground below her. She felt the roots writhing beneath. They were like worms trying to dig in and squirm around the compacted, frozen dirt beneath their feet. The shaman didn¡¯t require sight to impede them, clearly. Julia realized suddenly that she was on a timer. She had to actively use mana to keep the dirt compacted and frozen against the root strikes. Every hit drained just a bit more from her. She activated her Truesight, and the fog around her cleared as if it were never there. Instead, she could see a faint haze of mana mixed into the air around them, which she assumed was the fog itself. Through the mana haze, she saw two hulking figures swinging their clubs wildly at Ravina. They were about the size of tall men, with thick, corded muscles lining their frames. Their coloring was closer to orange than the green of standard goblins, and their beady eyes held a madness that was difficult to quantify. Julia wondered if this was what a berserker¡¯s rage looked like. Ravina was having no trouble. In fact, she had her eyes closed, to Julia¡¯s astonishment. It didn¡¯t seem to be due to the fog, either. Julia had no doubt she had some way to see through it if she wanted, but she seemed to be closing her eyes as a taunt. She was also engaging in more physical provocation. She would parry a strike and tap a hob on its forehead before retreating out of its guard, or she¡¯d step on its foot when it overextended. Julia decided she shouldn¡¯t be so surprised. She knew firsthand how good Ravina was at pissing people off. Past the melee was a goblin that looked like any other except for the staff it clutched. Clearly a weapon obtained from one of its victims, it was a gnarled branch clutching a green gem at the end like twisted fingers. The goblin had the butt of the staff firmly planted into the ground and seemed to be concentrating on it intently. Seeing that it was focused on the ground it was trying to send its roots through, Julia had a burst of inspiration. She let her focus shift slightly away from maintaining the compacted ground¡ªshe needed all the attention she could spare¡ªand created three icicles out of her shield. Her shifted focus meant that the roots burrowed deeper into the safe zone she had created, but that had the additional effect of further drawing the shaman¡¯s attention from the cloud of fog. Julia launched her icicles just as she felt the roots break through the surface of the ground around them. They were within a stride-or-two and advancing fast. The shaman looked up just in time to fall back on its rear. The icicles passed harmlessly above its head. It glared at the cloud of fog, and a sinister grin crossed its face as it realized it had just dodged its enemy¡¯s trump card. It made to slam its staff back into the ground in victory just as a spear of earth shot out of that same ground. The earth spear pierced through the bottom of the shaman¡¯s jaw and continued with little resistance. It wasn¡¯t strong enough to pierce all the way through the shaman¡¯s head and out the top, but Julia had no doubt it had made it to the brain. The shaman¡¯s legs collapsed, its staff clattering to the ground beside it. Its head was still punctured by the earth spear, though, so its body hung there limply like a grisly trophy. Julia took a breath and released her mana from the ground around her. It was a tremendous relief to let go. She didn¡¯t realize how much that spell combination was taxing her mentally. The work was not yet complete, however. She focused on two final spells. First, she sank the hobgoblins¡¯ feet into the ground down to the ankle. She made sure to time it right when they were about to strike. They seemed to be attempting a coordinated strike against Ravina, which Julia thought was impressive planning considering their berserk state. They stumbled as their feet stopped dead, but their momentum carried the rest of them forward. Ravina took a step back, likely sensing that things were wrapping up. The hobs looked around, seeing Julia looking in their direction now that the fog was dissipating. It was too late, though. Just as their heads turned Julia¡¯s direction, she released both the icicles that were hovering over her own head. They only had a couple strides to travel, so they arrived almost instantly and pierced into one of each hobs¡¯ eyes. Their heads were flung back with the momentum of the icicles, and their bodies crumpled backwards, their knees bent at an angle due to their feet still being locked into the ground. Julia collapsed as well. She sat on the ground, huffing. She hadn¡¯t used all of her mana¡ªjust over 50% of it. However, the mental toll of maintaining several concurrent spells had completely drained her. She could feel a headache brewing. Fortunately, it seemed to be a simple headache rather than the terrible mana exhaustion migraine. ¡°Excellent work, Jules. Truly. Well done. That was some inspired spell casting. I especially liked drawing the shaman¡¯s attention away from the ground. ¡°Not only did this distract it from potentially seeing your mana taking over the ground it was just working on, you lured it into a false sense of security by making it think the icicles were your only move. Once it had dropped its guard, you hit it with the very earth it had been manipulating. That was wonderful work,¡± Braden praised. ¡°Aye, that was some nice castin,¡¯ girly. Part of me wants to say ya should¡¯a charged the little shit and cut its throat, but I¡¯d be a poor teacher to criticize ya for using all the tools in your belt. Killin¡¯ it at range was the right move. Good job. ¡°I¡¯ll take cold steel over wispy magic anyday, myself though,¡± Ravina¡­praised? Julia thought it was praise. Somehow, Ravina managed to make even praise sound questionable. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m exhausted. I¡¯ve never cast and maintained so many spells at once. At one point, I had both the compression and freezing active¡ªwhile also building the icicles and laying the foundation for the earth spear. I didn¡¯t realize how hard it was until it was over,¡± Julia explained. ¡°Yes, that was some wonderful multitasking. Shifting a bit of your focus away from defending against the roots also worked very well for your gambit. The shaman suddenly gaining ground probably subconsciously tipped it off that it was either about to win, or something was wrong. That was probably what enabled it to¡ªclumsily¡ªdodge the ice, further reinforcing the idea that it had just dodged your final move. ¡°And shifting the heat from the ground into the air to create fog, that was great. I don¡¯t know if you can tell, but I have a lot to say about this encounter. I want to go over it step-by-step so you can nail down all the things you did right and learn from the things you did wrong. However, why don¡¯t we get out of here first? ¡°Unfortunately, despite you doing all the damage, Ravina and I are way too high-Level for this place. The dungeon is certainly not going to reward us for clearing it. How about we stop by the market on the way back? We can get our own rewards for a successful clear and a bite to eat before heading home. Trixy¡¯s probably torn the house in two by now,¡± Braden chuckled. Julia smiled, nodded, and they headed home. That¡¯s one party run down, a few more¡ªand one solo run¡ªto go. Chapter 24 Julia dropped the bag of goblin cores on the reception counter with a sigh of relief. It¡¯s not like they were particularly heavy, being each only about the size of the last knuckle of her thumb. She had simply become accustomed to carrying everything in her bracelet, so physically toting a bag around with her¡ªdespite its small stature¡ªhad become a chore. Julia had decided to turn the cores over to the Guild on her own. One didn¡¯t technically need to be an official member to sell loot to the Guild, and she had been here enough that the Guild staff were familiar with her, regardless. It would technically be more lucrative to find a buyer for the cores in the city, due to the Guild taking a brokerage fee on anything it sold on behalf of adventurers. Julia had decided that the potential extra profit for goblin cores from the beginner dungeon was simply too small to worry about, though. Selling the materials here at the Guild saved her the effort of trying to find a buyer and negotiate anyway, so the extra fee was worth it to her. After completing the dungeon yesterday, the party had split once they arrived at the city gate, with Ravina heading home, and the pair of Braden and Julia stopping by the market to get a bite to eat. Julia had decided to wait until today to turn the cores in at the Guild so that she could fully enjoy the feeling of completing her first dungeon run last night. Ravina had offered to drop all the cores off on her way back, but Julia wanted the experience of actually turning it in herself in preparation for when she was a full fledged adventurer. After collecting the couple coins from the receptionist, Julia started toward the back hallway that led to the practice hall, as she had a session with Ravina today. She had decided a full day of rest was unnecessary, apparently. Julia suspected that she was in for a world of hurt today, as Ravina had likely been watching every move she made while in the dungeon. Things were chaotic, so she couldn¡¯t remember how her sword form had been during combat. She could only pray that Ravina hadn¡¯t seen anything that needed¡­harsh correcting. ¡°Ho there, young lady,¡± Julia heard a voice say. ¡°Please don¡¯t be talking to me¡ªplease don¡¯t be talking to me¡­¡± Julia thought. She turned around to see a large man approaching her. She was dismayed to see him looking directly at her and approaching with a smile. Great. ¡°You¡¯re Julia, right? I¡¯ve seen you around. Apprenticed to Ravina?¡± the man asked. He was tall, though Julia was a little short, so most were taller than her. He had short, brown hair that stood slightly where it met his forehead. It reminded her of a wave lapping the banks of a river. He wore a dark red tunic beneath steel plates. This didn¡¯t seem to be a whole set of armor. He had a cuirass, pauldrons, and gauntlets as well as leg guards. While impressive, there were large gaps between the plates that would undoubtedly do a fantastic job of catching a sword or spear and driving them into his flesh. Julia found herself hoping, for his sake, there was at least some chainmail beneath the tunic. Still, she had to admit that the combination of armor, colors, and his general good looks cut a striking figure. She found herself thinking that while she might normally think he had the look of one of the adventurers she read about, it was wasted on him. She wasn¡¯t sure why she thought that. Perhaps it was due to her anti-social childhood. She did tend to be distrustful of others that are more social. ¡°Y-yes, that¡¯s me. What can I do for you?¡± she asked, once again annoyed at her shaking voice. ¡°Oh, I just thought I¡¯d come say hi. Name¡¯s Jerrick. You¡¯re in your second year of apprenticeship¡ªabout halfway finished? I imagine you¡¯ll be thinking about a party soon. Just wanted to put my party¡¯s name in the running. I belong to a Steel-rank party called The Silver Edge. ¡°We¡¯ve got me for the frontlines, a Ranger, a Skirmisher, and a Druid. We¡¯re a reasonably balanced party, but we could definitely use a mage that can deal some damage, especially one so beautiful. I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re quite talented with Lightning Magic. You¡¯ve got some serious potential,¡± he finished with a smile. Julia was stunned silent. She imagined she must have the ¡®gaping fish mouth¡¯ she once teased Braden about. She had conflicting emotions. She was proud that word of her prowess had spread to someone she didn¡¯t even know, but she also had a¡­slimy sensation. She couldn¡¯t quite place the source, but she had an unshakable feeling of sleaze¡ªas though his compliments were more for him than her. Before she could respond, a voice spoke up from behind her. ¡°Aye, Sliver Edge¡¯s well-balanced. This dipshit¡¯d have died if it weren¡¯t.¡± Ravina approached and stood next to Julia¡ªgiving Jerrick the stink eye. Although, if you weren¡¯t familiar with her, you might assume all of Ravin¡¯s looks were stink eyes. ¡°Ya know, I always knew ya for a fool, but I didn¡¯t know ya was a depraved one as well. She¡¯s half your age. Ya really know how to live the ¡®ick¡¯ in Jerrick, huh?¡± Ravina spat. Julia was surprised. She¡¯d grown used to Ravina¡¯s vulgarity, but hearing her directing insults to someone else was new. Jerrick¡¯s face twisted into a sneer before morphing back to something more amicable. ¡°Now now. There¡¯s no reason for such hostility. Silver Edge can recruit just the same as any party, and calling a young lady beautiful is hardly as nefarious as you¡¯re making it out to be, Ravina.¡± Ravina spat to the side¡ªthankfully away from Julia. ¡°Ya must be trying to fool yourself cus ya ain¡¯t even close to foolin¡¯ me. Julia¡¯s gonna be well outside your meager strength by the time she¡¯s eighteen. And your wrong. I¡¯m teachin¡¯ her the sword, but the one teachin¡¯ her everything else is beyond the potential of your entire family¡¯s lineage. ¡°Run along now. Go play with your friends. Go wiggle in the dirt outside this city and pretend it¡¯s the entire world, worm. Languish in your mediocrity,¡± Ravina finished as she made shooing motions. Jerrick¡¯s face transformed into a scowl that Julia thought might burn her just from her proximity to it. ¡°You¡¯ll regret speaking to me that way. Mark my words,¡± he growled through gritted teeth. ¡°Ha, yeah. Keep blowin¡¯ hot air¡ªit¡¯s all ya can do. Just do it where I don¡¯t have to deal with the stink,¡± Ravina said dismissively. Jerrick huffed and stormed off toward the exit. Ravina watched him go for a second before she turned to Julia. ¡°Watch out for that one. He hides his forked tongue behind a dazzlin¡¯ smile. Adventurers ain¡¯t all on the same team all the time¡ªespecially if you¡¯re the new girl in the party. That¡¯s not even accountin¡¯ for whatever horrible bugs his diseased prick would give ya if ya let ¡®im,¡± she warned rather bluntly. ¡°It¡¯s not like I would sleep with him just because we¡¯d be in the same party. I don¡¯t know how adventurers handle their personal lives, but I¡¯m not interested in mixing work with romance,¡± Julia said firmly. She was a little annoyed that Ravina seemed to think that of her. Not that there''s anything wrong with others¡­¡±loving¡± each other. She just thought it was unprofessional to do while working. ¡°I ain¡¯t worried about ya fallin¡¯ for his non-existent charms, girl. I¡¯m worried about what would happen if he crawled into your sleepin¡¯ bag while ya were out in the wilderness with no one but his friends around to help. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that trustin¡¯ your party is about more than just combat,¡± Ravina said seriously. Julia nodded, now pensive. That was not something she¡¯d considered before. ¡°Long as you¡¯re thinkin¡¯ about it. Ya got a good head on your shoulders, so I ain¡¯t worried ¡®bout it now that I¡¯ve warned ya. What I am worried about is your footwork. ¡°Who the fuck told ya that ya didn¡¯t need to worry ¡®bout your feet while you¡¯re castin¡¯ spells, huh? You think there ain¡¯t ever gonna be a situation where ya gotta dodge in the middle of a cast? ¡°Come on. We¡¯re gonna work your feet ¡®till you¡¯re wishin¡¯ they¡¯d just fall off.¡± Ravina headed toward the practice hall with a resigned Julia trailing. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Julia crouched behind a goblin¡¯s tent, not wanting to waste any mana being completely invisible. Since the first clear, their party had run the dungeon a few more times. Sometimes Braden or Ravina would lead, sometimes Julia would be the leader with the other two having designated roles and Skill sets. Those were particularly challenging, as she had to figure out solutions to the dungeon¡¯s challenge with the narrow list of abilities her party members had for that specific run. After several successful runs, it was her turn¡ªher ¡°midterm,¡± as Braden had taken to calling it. He had accompanied her to the entrance and waited there. The run was completely up to her, and he wouldn¡¯t even step foot inside lest he inadvertently cripple her ability to gain Levels. She had run the dungeon enough to get the gist of the encounters, by this point. The high-points were the same, but the specific scenarios changed. For example, there would always be an ambush at the front gate, but the numbers of goblins would vary. There would be two encounters on the way to the boss with varying numbers of goblins in varying states of equip. She even encountered some that had bows and arrows on one of their previous runs. The boss room was the only one that was always exactly the same¡ªalways two hobs and a shaman. The consistency of the rest of the dungeon was enough to plan around, though. She had simply laid a lightning trap inside the gate as soon as she crossed the threshold. This was potentially unfair since she was able to buff herself with Faraday¡¯s Armor and even queue up the trap spell, ready to cast it at a moment¡¯s notice before she even crossed the threshold. She wasn¡¯t going to mention it, though. Braden always said there was no such thing as ¡°fair¡± when your life was on the line. She stalked through the rows of tents towards the light she could see in the distance while ignoring the blinking light in the corner of her vision. Now that she was on her own, she was gaining experience from her kills. She suspected she had acquired at least one Level from the gate guards¡ªshe didn¡¯t know what else the pending notification could be. She was planning on ignoring notifications until the run was over, though. She knew at Level 20 there would very likely be a Skill that enhanced her mind waiting for her. Based on the incredible pain the Enhanced Body Skill had caused her, she wasn¡¯t going to risk acquiring it mid-run. Coming upon the final tent that could conceal her before the ring of light, she peered around the side. There was a large bonfire with goblins loitering around¡ªshe¡¯d gotten lucky. This was a similar scene to their first run, where goblins were occupied with eating. This time they just seemed to be lazing around, though. Some even looked like they were sleeping! There were seven goblins. Three were sitting around the fire with a glazed look to their eyes, staring up into the sky as though their minds were far away. The other four were on the ground in various states of rest. One was sprawled on its back with its limbs splayed out carelessly. Another was on its side using its hands as a pillow. All seemed asleep. Julia prepared her first spell and cast. The four goblins sank beneath the earth as though falling into water. Brutal, Julia knew. She didn¡¯t want to waste mana increasing the earth¡¯s density, so it would be suffocation that would get them rather than a quick death by crushing. She tried not to think too much about it. The magic was quick and silent¡ªthe other three goblins awake but none the wiser. She drew her sword as slowly and silently as possible while she prepared her next spell. She had decided to attempt to remove these goblins as stealthily as she could. Braden had mentioned offhandedly that there wasn¡¯t a possibility of individual encounters receiving reinforcements in this dungeon, but she thought she should operate as though the possibility was there to prepare for future dungeon runs, as well as real situations out in the world. Goblins didn¡¯t only exist in dungeons, after all. As she cast, a light appeared behind the farthest goblin from her. It wasn¡¯t excessively bright, but it was enough to get the attention of all three goblins. They quickly jumped to their feet and stalked over to it, which is when Julia made her move. The Dash spell propelled her out of her hiding spot faster than she could have sprinted. Ravina had been drilling her on how to quickly dispatch opponents, but Julia wasn¡¯t quite adept at it yet. She decided to add some insurance. Targeting the nearest goblin, she used her Spatial Coordinates spell to lock down the exact spot in the goblin¡¯s neck she needed to cut through, and then she used Gravity Magic to draw her sword towards the coordinates as she struck. The blade sliced clean through the neck, right between two vertebrae, severing the goblin¡¯s head in a single strike. Before it could even hit the ground, she was past it¡ªthe other two goblins still moving towards the light without even noticing their dead compatriot. Julia decided that the combination of Spatial and Gravity Magic was wasteful for these creatures, so she improvised as she approached the back of the second goblin. She grabbed it by the back of the throat and¡ªat the same time¡ªdrew water down her arm, up the goblin¡¯s neck, and into its mouth. The water forced itself down the goblin¡¯s throat where she promptly froze it, sending jagged spikes of ice into the sides of its windpipe to anchor the ice there. She then sank its feet into the ground to just above the ankles. The goblin thrashed around while clutching at its throat, but Julia was already past it. She launched a rock with her Earth Magic that smacked the lead goblin in the back of the head. It turned around in fury just in time for her blade to slice it clean across the neck. It made a horrible gurgling noise before her blade pierced its eye and it fell to the ground, unmoving. Julia took a moment to catch her breath before stalking back over to the still-struggling goblin with the ice in its throat. She knew it could take minutes to suffocate completely, so she ended its suffering with a blade through the eye. She wiped her sword off with a rag she kept in her bracelet before surveying her work. She was both proud of how silent the assassination had been, and also slightly disgusted. She had brutally slaughtered seven goblins with relative ease. She felt proud of her growth, but she couldn¡¯t feel anything except grim resignation at the lives she had taken, and would have to keep taking in the future. As this thought began to pass, she felt a sharp pain across her back and screamed, spinning to face the direction of her pain. A goblin stared back just an arm-length from her, its face forming a rictus grin. Blood dripped from a jagged dagger in its right hand. Her blood. Julia felt a rage boiling in her chest when she saw her own blood on its dagger, but before she could act on it, the goblin swung at her. She quickly called the water buckler to her wrist and absorbed the blow. Rather than deflecting it, though, she froze the water connected to the dagger and yanked back. The dagger ripped from the goblin¡¯s hand, stuck fast in the ice on her wrist. The goblin¡¯s triumphant grin turned to shock as the dagger left its hand, and it quickly morphed into a grimace as it saw the sword plunging toward its belly. Julia used the momentum of pulling the dagger out of the goblin¡¯s hand with her left hand to spin her body that direction, her sword lowered into a stab. It connected with the goblin¡¯s gut, and Julia sent a quick lightning enchantment through the blade. The goblin convulsed so violently that the sword was ripped out of its guts, but not without doing tremendous damage to its insides as it left. It fell to the ground and continued convulsing despite the source of the electricity being disconnected from it. Julia spun the blade in her hand so that it faced toward the ground before plunging it into the goblin¡¯s face, not being particularly careful to hit it exactly in the eye. The convulsing stopped; the goblin stilled. Julia felt liquid running down her back and, realizing it was her own blood, left her sword embedded in the goblin¡¯s skull to inspect the damage. She realized her leather breastplate was hanging off her frame now. It was affixed to her with straps that connected in an ¡°X¡± shape in the center of her back, but two of those straps had been cut through. The goblin appeared to have attempted to stab her in the back, but the leather straps were harder than it expected, so the dagger was deflected into cutting across her back from her right shoulder down to the lowest of her ribs on the left side. The cut felt deep, and it was gushing blood. Julia now had a choice. She could retreat from the dungeon and have Braden¡ªwho was waiting just outside the entrance¡ªheal the wound. Or, she could do it herself and continue forward. The wound, while deep, had not done significant damage to anything but her skin thanks to the leather halting most of its momentum. She decided she would continue on. She couldn¡¯t be an adventurer if she turned back after a single wound. She concentrated on where she felt pain the most prominently and sent her mana there. She felt a sudden itch that grew to an almost overwhelming desire to tear into her back with her fingernails before everything subsided. She couldn¡¯t see it, but she neither felt pain nor any additional blood running down her back. The healing had damaged her mana pool significantly, though. She was down to a little over 50% of her mana. All that worrying about being mana efficient and she went and wasted it anyway¡ªno, that wasn¡¯t the right way to think of it. Thanks to her being mana conscious earlier, she had managed to heal a large, bloody wound with still above half her mana remaining. The real mistake wasn¡¯t being mana conscious, it was being overconfident. Running the dungeon so much had instilled in her subconscious expectations of it. They hadn¡¯t ever run into circumstances where a goblin would hide during an encounter for a sneak attack. Actually, she couldn¡¯t even be sure it was hiding. It could simply be that she hadn¡¯t seen it. What a stupid mistake. The very first Skill her Class had taught her was a sight Skill, and she hadn¡¯t even thought to use it! Truesight would¡¯ve shown her enemies regardless of whether she could see them with her eyes. Hell, she could even see the bodies of the goblins she buried beneath the ground with her Truesight! Why hadn¡¯t she used it to confirm their numbers!? This was a mistake she would not make again. With that determination and a new scar to remind her, she yanked her sword out of the dissipating goblin¡¯s corpse. She wiped it down, sheathed it¡ªnot even bothering with the goblins¡¯ cores, and continued toward the center of the dungeon. Chapter 25 Julia looked at the door to the longhouse with trepidation. This was the final obstacle: the boss. She had eliminated the penultimate encounter with relative ease¡ªespecially compared to the second encounter, which had given her a large scar to remember it by. The encounter was one she¡¯d seen before with Braden and Ravina. It was a patrol of goblins that followed the same route. They would march back and forth across the lines of tents in the same path over and over. It was technically possible to ignore them completely and sneak past, but Julia felt it a bad idea to get into the habit of leaving enemies behind her. She waited until they passed by before digging a large hole in their path using her Earth Magic. She formed spikes at the bottom and suspended a fine layer of dirt over the hole to disguise it. Holding such a thin layer of dirt in the air over the hole with Manipulation wasn¡¯t too mana-intensive, and it was more than sufficient in the darkness. The goblins, one and all, walked over the hole and onto the layer of earth she was suspending¡ªwhich she simply dropped. Most were killed by either the fall or the impaling stakes at the bottom, but the rest would eventually suffocate since Julia buried the hole again. She did this both to finish the goblins off and so that she didn¡¯t accidentally fall into her own trap on the way back out of the dungeon. She stood now before the boss fight with 40% of her total mana, a leather chestpiece that was barely hanging onto her frame, and what was undoubtedly a nasty scar across most of her back. The cost of her hubris had been steep so far. She hoped it wouldn¡¯t cost her further. She pushed the doors open, but before she actually entered, she began casting her defenses. She first spread a layer of water across her skin. The implementation of this spell wasn¡¯t too dissimilar from Faraday¡¯s Cage, just with water. This was something she had come up with after using her Water Shield spell so much. Spreading the shield around her entire body provided robust protection, similar to wearing armor. There were a couple of problems with it, though. First, if she couldn¡¯t see blows coming, she couldn¡¯t make the water appropriately absorb the impact, so concussive force could still get through the shield. Granted, it should be severely diminished, but it would still get through. It was certainly better than getting hit raw, though. Second, spreading it around her entire body effectively trapped her in an airtight bubble. It would be simple enough to leave a few small holes in the water shield to breathe, but she couldn¡¯t this time due to the next spells she would cast. She used the Vacuum spell to create a layer of vacuum around the water shield, just above it. Then, she layered the Faraday¡¯s Armor spell on top of the Vacuum. This was the solution she had arrived at regarding the intense heat the Armor spell gave off. Creating a vacuum underneath the Armor meant that heat wouldn¡¯t transfer across it, so she was completely insulated. That also had the unfortunate effect of limiting her air supply, as even a small hole in the vacuum could let heat through, since the Armor spell covered her entire body. Her solution to this issue was on her wrist. She began to feed a small but steady stream of mana into her bracelet. Normally, it operated by storing and using ambient mana from the environment, but this time she needed to inject some intent into its operation, so she used a small amount of her own mana. She infused the mana with the intent to pull her exhaled air into the bracelet and eject the un-breathed air from the bracelet. Yes, she had stored air in the bracelet ahead of time. She¡¯d had the realization a couple months ago that, as long as the thing she was trying to store wasn¡¯t alive and could physically fit, it could be stored. This included air and boosted her supply of breathable air to levels that were more than manageable for single fights. Braden had suggested if her entire bracelet contained nothing but air, she could even last for a whole day, or even longer if all she did was sit down. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Regardless, the time limit became more about her mana supply than the air she breathed. Although a small drain on her mana, it was still there. She had to recycle the air rather than only withdrawing air from the bracelet (which would not have required her to expend her own mana) lest the withdrawn air inflate her water armor into a water bubble. She finally layered Faraday¡¯s Armor on top of the Vacuum and Shield, and she entered the longhouse. Immediately, she activated Truesight and saw lines of green begin wriggling beneath the ground. These were the roots the shaman controlled, and they were everywhere. This was why she had decided to take the shaman down first once again. She cast Gravity Magic on herself and, rather than attempting to completely negate her own gravity, lessened it. She launched into the air¡ªsoaring much higher and farther than her Attributes alone would allow, angled towards the shaman, and used the Dash spell to blast herself towards it. The hobs took up positions on either side of the shaman with their clubs held in front of them. They anticipated clubbing her as her momentum carried her towards them. However, Julia had accounted for this. She shot a Spire of earth out from behind the shaman. It wasn¡¯t made to kill, as she felt she couldn¡¯t reliably do it with just the one spell. It was instead made in a sort of club shape. The clubbed spire blasted into the shaman¡¯s back and rocketed it forward, now directly in Julia¡¯s path. She hit the ground, no longer worried about the vines, and crouched low. She used the momentum from her jump to slide across the packed dirt the final few strides to the shaman, who was now face-down in the dirt. She planted her feet on its back and plunged her sword down into the back of its neck. She twisted it and rocked it side-to-side to make sure the damage was done. Blood spilled into a grotesque puddle under the now-dead shaman¡¯s head, and Julia withdrew her sword to a ready stance. Not ready enough, however, as one of the hobs had managed to reach her in the second-and-a-half it had taken her to land and dispatch the shaman. It clubbed her in the side, hard. She¡¯d also forgotten to cancel the gravity spell, so she went flying to the side with the club¡¯s momentum. The club the hob had hit her with went flying out of the hob¡¯s hands when her Armor discharged, but the hob itself seemed unharmed. In retrospect, the club launching her away probably saved her another horrible bruise, as the other hob¡¯s club came down where she had just been standing. She cancelled her gravity spell, landed with her feet on the ground, and tried to ignore the twinge of pain hidden in the tenderness of her side that told her there was likely more than a bruise. She estimated she had just under 25% of her mana remaining She couldn¡¯t afford to be anything less than clear-headed right now, so her magic options were limited. She thought quickly and decided her sword would have to do the heavy-lifting. She drew on the dregs of her mana to stack the odds in her favor, casting Lightning Field on the ground directly in front of her while also reducing it to wet, sticky mud. The hobs charged her with a rage so fierce she could almost see the red in their eyes. The first reached the Field and immediately fell, convulsing. This, unfortunately, discharged the trap, so the second was unaffected. It was, however, affected by the thick mud. It stumbled in its charge and almost tripped, flailing its arms to keep upright. This minor mistake was its doom. Julia batted its club away from her with a water buckler formed on her left wrist and stabbed its right thigh with her sword. When it instinctively curled in on itself to grasp the leg that was stabbed, she left her sword embedded and grabbed at its head with her now-empty hand. The Faraday¡¯s Armor discharged straight into its skull, and Julia saw the life leave its eyes almost immediately. Whatever hob had hit her initially had not gotten enough of a charge from the Armor to even notice¡ªlikely due to the clubs being large hunks of wood and not very conductive. She had topped up the charge contained in the Armor when she landed, preparing for a more decisive opportunity. Seeing the other hob shaking its head and attempting to get back up, she drew her sword out of the dead hob¡¯s thigh and stalked over¡ªwalking over the wet mud like it was a paved road. She arrived at the hob just as it got to its knees and plunged the sword straight into its throat. It gurgled and made to grab the sword, but Julia withdrew it and kicked it back over into the mud. When it splashed onto its back, she froze the mud around it to make sure it stayed still while it died. Huffing and holding onto her side where she¡¯d been struck, she couldn¡¯t help but smile when she saw a chest materialize in the middle of the room¡ªa blue box appearing above it.
Congratulations on clearing the Level 10 Goblin Camp dungeon!
Chapter 26 Julia sat in the Lotus position in front of a ritual circle she¡¯d drawn with sapphire dust. She would rather have been sitting with her legs in front of her, but Braden always insisted on the Lotus position. She wasn¡¯t sure why, but it wasn¡¯t the worst thing ever, so she decided to pick her battles and not question it. After completing the dungeon by herself, Braden had insisted on her checking in with Ratia back at the Guild. Ravina had come with them, knowing that Julia had just completed her first solo run. There had been some back-and-forth when she got there. ¡°I can see that you did what you could with this wound, but next time you decide to heal on your own, try pulling the skin around the wound closed first. You forced your body to heal as-is, which means the part of your skin that was cleft by the dagger became scar tissue. ¡°Had you used mana to force the edges of the wound together and then healed it, there would likely only be a small line across your back rather than¡­this. Actually, you¡¯re pretty lucky that dagger was blunted from use and age. If it were sharper, it would¡¯ve done more¡ªand potentially serious¡ªdamage. Although the blunted edge made this horrible, jagged scar, it didn¡¯t do much more than damage your skin. ¡°That said, I could fix this scar. It would not be pleasant, but it¡¯s possible. I¡¯d have to remove the scar tissue, which would be painful, and then seal the wound properly to heal it,¡± Ratia lectured. ¡°Fuck that. What ya got there is a trophy, girly. Ya fucked up, paid the price, and learned from it. Let it be a reminder to ya in the future. Wear it proud, girl, cus it means ya survived,¡± Ravina said resolutely. She seemed to have strong feelings on the subject. Julia looked over to Braden, but he just shrugged. ¡°Your call, Jules. It¡¯s your body. I only want you to do what makes you happy. I don¡¯t particularly care whether that means having scars or not.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to handle that fractured rib regardless,¡± Ratia said. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the horrendous bruising¡ªsince your instructor seems keen on you keeping your wounds, but there¡¯s no reason to leave a hairline fracture. That¡¯s just going to keep you from exercising for a few weeks, so there¡¯s no benefit to keeping it. ¡°I would advise you to think about whether you¡¯ll want the scar in the future, though¡ªnot just how you feel about it now. There may come a time when you¡¯re picking out a wedding dress, and you wish you¡¯d have¡ª¡± ¡°Fuck that, too. Who gives a fuck whether some man likes your scars or not? Ya live for yourself, not others, girl. If some man or woman or whatever you¡¯re into don¡¯t like the scars you¡¯re proud of, fuck ¡®em. That means they don¡¯t like you. They can fuck off and find some doll to fawn over instead,¡± Ravina spat. Julia was unsure whether Ravina was speaking from experience, but she clearly felt strongly about it. Truthfully, Julia was neutral on the subject. She didn¡¯t particularly care about romance or anything of that sort, but she also didn¡¯t care much about Ravina¡¯s trophy symbology. She decided that since she didn¡¯t feel strongly one way or the other, she¡¯d just leave it as-is for now. After the conflict in Ratia¡¯s office and getting her rib healed, she, Braden, and Ravina retreated back to the house to discuss her run in detail. They dissected every move she made from start to finish and discussed what she could have done better. The most obvious mistake was her failure to scout effectively and becoming too comfortable with her expectations for the dungeon. Something that kept coming up that she couldn¡¯t quite get away from was her lack of options due to low mana. She was decent with a sword and always getting better, but she never dedicated her full attention to it. Magic was always what she was most interested in, so she couldn¡¯t expect to solo dungeons based on her sword skills alone. That meant that when her mana was running low, so were her options. The most obvious fix was what Ravina proposed, which was just improving her swordsmanship. Julia maintained that she didn¡¯t want to fully commit to the sword and let her magic studies fall behind, so that was a no-go for her. Braden suggested taking up a secondary ranged weapon, like a shortbow. However, Julia felt this was essentially the same answer as improving her swordsmanship. She didn¡¯t want to have to curb her magic studies to learn a new weapon completely from scratch. This left the only real solution to be either being more efficient with her current magic repertoire, or increasing her total mana pool. Once they had reviewed her dungeon run, Ravina had left their home for the night so that Julia could go through her notifications. She had ended up gaining four Levels for her solo run, which was many considering the final boss in a Level 10 dungeon would likely be Level 10 as well¡ªseven Levels below her. She once again distributed her free APs evenly and promptly passed out from the most intense migraine she¡¯d ever experienced. Acquiring the ¡°Enhanced Mind¡± Skill put her first mana exhaustion migraine to shame. The few seconds she managed to feel before her consciousness was scoured away was what she imagined it must feel like to have a fire ignited inside your skull. Once she awoke the next morning, she felt a level of clear-headedness she hadn¡¯t ever experienced. It was akin to being drunk her entire life and only just sobering up. Well, she assumed that¡¯s what it was like. She hadn¡¯t actually been drunk before, but she¡¯d seen drunk people. She knew how sound thinking evaded one in that state. It was then that Braden had said he would help her out with her mana problem for her sixteenth birthday¡ªtoday. After the usual affair of a morning cake and presents, this time with the addition of both Ratia and Ravina (Ravina ate almost half the cake by herself), Braden had sat her down to explain his plan. ¡°My intention was always to slowly introduce you to Summoning, so I guess this fits along those lines. The thing is, Summoning is incredibly dangerous. It deals with forces that¡­well, not to be too dramatic, but the forces in the Ether could literally destroy all of reality. Which is not to say that I think you could manage that accidentally, but I do think you could destroy yourself accidentally, and that¡¯s worse, in my opinion,¡± he explained. Julia¡¯s first instinct was to chide him for being dramatic and comparing her destroying herself to all of reality disappearing, but she decided now was a time for information. ¡°The Ether? What is that? Is it a place?¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Yes¡­and no. Sorry, it¡¯s complicated. It¡¯s a¡­uh¡­a record. Sort of like a library, except completely disorganized and volatile. Imagine there was a library containing records of everything that has ever existed, but these records aren¡¯t books. They¡¯re¡­hmm¡­they¡¯re memories of the things that existed. ¡°Maybe a dream is a better comparison. You can think of the Ether as a large dream that contains memories of everything that ever was, but not just in this reality. It contains memories of all realities before this current one. ¡°What¡¯s more, you are not in control of that dream. Imagine how hostile your own dreams can be, and then imagine if you were in someone else¡¯s dream. You can see how it could be dangerous, right? ¡°When you perform a Summoning, you¡¯re grabbing a piece of the Ether, a memory, and instantiating it here in this reality. That memory might be from a time when things¡­worked differently than they do now. Drawing things from the Ether can be corrosive to the current reality. Not everything will be, but the possibility is high. ¡°This is why I wanted to guide you through the process. I don¡¯t want to keep it from you only for you to discover it on your own and hurt yourself. I also don¡¯t want to tell you how powerful it is and then try to convince you to never touch it. I want to teach you how to approach it responsibly. ¡®All things in moderation,¡¯ as they say,¡± he concluded. ¡°Are you saying¡­is Trixy not from this reality?¡± Julia was a little disturbed. She loved Trixy no matter what, but finding out she might have yanked her from a completely different reality was¡­hard to process. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. All things exist in the Ether, Jules. That means things that exist right now are also in there. It could be that Trixy''s species is present somewhere in the world, but it¡¯s equally possible her species has been extinct for millennia. I don¡¯t know. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a big issue, though. She¡¯s a ferret. Yes, she¡¯s a magic beast as well, but ferrets definitely exist in this reality. I¡¯ve not seen her specific species before, but I¡¯ve seen ferrets. I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about it,¡± he said while shrugging. ¡°Ok¡­I do have other questions, but we started this conversation because you were going to help me with my mana pool, right? How does this help?¡± Julia questioned. ¡°Right, well as I said, the Ether contains all things, but it¡¯s not just living things. Anything that has ever existed is in there. There¡¯s almost certainly something that can help increase your mana pool¡ªan artifact someone created, a rare ingredient, whatever. ¡°Remember when we performed Trixy¡¯s ritual? I had you focus your intent and will on what you wanted¡ªwhat you needed. That was to filter the memories in the Ether until something that matched your need was found. You can do the same thing with objects. Just focus on needing more mana, or whatever you need.¡± After the explanation, they had quickly proceeded with the ritual. The process was functionally the same as with Trixy. Braden insisted on putting the same safeguards in place. You never know what could come through, so assuming it would be an inanimate object just because you wanted it to be was folly. Julia wasn¡¯t going to do any chanting or recitations this time. She knew the theory well enough, and she had enough magic practice under her belt at this point to have a stable intent. She placed her finger on the dust and began channeling her mana. Surprisingly, even this was easier with her new mind enhancements. She found manipulating mana easier in every way. As her mana left her, she focused on her current need. She needed more mana. She needed to be able to cast her spells without worry. She couldn¡¯t afford to be caught out without any mana. It was not an exaggeration to say that her life would likely depend on her mana capacity once she became a full-fledged adventurer. She looked towards the center of the circle when a bright light flashed. The dust she had been channeling her mana into had disappeared in a puff. There was now just a slightly-sizzling circle where the dust had been. In the center of the circle was a stone about the size of her thumbnail made of a completely clear material that refracted a rainbow when light passed through it. Julia looked over to Braden for guidance and was surprised to see him walk into the circle and pick the stone up. She began to worry when she saw his face turn sullen as he inspected it. ¡°What is it? Why do you look so disappointed?¡± she asked with trepidation. ¡°Hmm? Oh, I¡¯m not disappointed. This is just¡­not what I was expecting. This is a Fey Heart. Here,¡± he said as he held it out to her. However, when he released it, it just¡­stayed there. It remained stationary in the air as though he were still holding it. It didn¡¯t give the impression of floating¡ªmore that it was just¡­locked into place. She tried to grab it, but her hand passed right through it. ¡°Run mana through your hand when you try to hold it,¡± Braden instructed. She did and found that she could grab the stone. It felt otherwise unremarkable now that she had it¡ªjust like a large gem. As soon as she stopped the mana in her hand, though, it would phase right through and remain in the air. ¡°What exactly is this? A Fey Heart, you say? The Heart of a Fey? What are Fey?¡± Julia asked. ¡°You¡¯re aware of elves, yes?¡± Braden asked. Julia nodded. She¡¯d read about them in some of the books Braden had. ¡°They¡¯re distant relatives of elves. There are basically two broad categories of beings: mortals and spirits. ¡°Mortals¡ªlike humans¡ªare physical beings that can sometimes manipulate mana, while spirits are beings made purely of mana that can sometimes interact with the physical world. There¡¯s a spectrum of beings with those two being the opposite extremes. ¡°On the less-extreme end of the mortal end are elves, who are physical beings that are naturally gifted with mana and magic. On the other side are Fey, who are spirits that are very close to being physical beings. They were still made entirely of mana, but they had a physicality that many pure spirits lack. ¡°This ¡®heart¡¯ is the core of a Fey. It¡¯s what tethered the spirit to the physical realm. The only way for a Fey Heart to exist is if the Fey it belonged to is dead. That¡¯s why I¡¯m a little sad. This represents a sapient being that died. It¡¯s not too different from holding a human¡¯s heart in your hand,¡± Braden finished soberly. Julia was a little disgusted with both herself and the ritual she¡¯d just performed. How could it do something like this? She just wanted more mana! She didn¡¯t want to harm anyone! Noticing her distress, Braden gave her a small smile. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Jules. And don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not like this was ripped from a living being¡¯s chest by the ritual. Hell, this isn¡¯t even the real thing. This is just a duplicate of a memory of the real Fey Heart that exists in the Ether. It¡¯s just a copy. ¡°I do think it needs to be handled respectfully, though. Just because it¡¯s a copy doesn¡¯t change the fact that it¡¯s a memento mori¡ªit was once part of a living, sapient being. ¡°It can definitely help you, though, so definitely use it. Don¡¯t let the past weigh you down too much¡ªespecially when you aren¡¯t even responsible for its circumstances.¡± Julia nodded. ¡°How do I use it? What does it even do? It looks like a beautiful gemstone, so¡­could it be a magical focus?¡± Julia wondered. ¡°Good deduction. It could be that, but that would be a tremendous waste,¡± Braden said as he picked up the heart. He walked over and sat in front of Julia, who was still on the ground in front of the ritual circle. ¡°This doesn¡¯t interact with normal matter, as you¡¯ve seen. It only interacts with mana. What you should do is push it into your chest, between your heart and stomach, and integrate it into your mana circulation.¡± Julia stared at him in horror. What the fuck did he just say!? Chapter 27 ¡°You heard right,¡± Braden said. ¡°This heart won¡¯t interact with regular matter. You can¡¯t carry it with you unless you have an item enchanted specifically for that purpose. You wouldn¡¯t be able to make much use of it if you carried it that way, though. ¡°If you embed it in your body and anchor it there with your own mana, not only will it stay as a part of you, it will boost your mana storage significantly. It¡¯s a young heart, which means¡­it was from a young Fey, unfortunately¡­Regardless, the heart is young, so it¡¯s got about as much mana as you do right now¡ªmeaning it will double your mana capacity once you integrate it. ¡°I also have a suspicion that it will affect your future Class options,¡± he finished with a nod. Julia was saddened to hear that a Fey had died young enough that this heart exists, but like Braden said before, it¡¯s just a copy. She tried not to let it affect her. ¡°How will it affect my future Classes? I wasn¡¯t aware that anything even could affect your Class options,¡± Julia said with confusion. ¡°Lots of things affect your Class options, Jules. You¡¯ve seen it already. Your Rare Class was offered due to your knowledge and circumstances. I assume what you mean is that you didn¡¯t know items could affect Classes?¡± he asked, and she nodded. ¡°Right, well that¡¯s understandable. Most items don¡¯t affect Classes significantly on their own. ¡°However, you¡¯ve already seen some examples of this. You probably don¡¯t know her exact Class, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve surmised that Ravina has a swords-focused Class, yes? That would be an example of an item affecting her Class options. ¡°In your specific case¡­I¡¯m honestly not too sure. I¡¯m just guessing, but I would wager that the heart, once integrated, would give you some options typically only available to spirits. Or, at least, options only available to beings on that end of the spectrum¡ªspirits, Fey, and the like. ¡°Anyway, the point is that this should help tremendously with your mana capacity. The only downside is you¡¯ll constantly have to devote a certain amount of concentration to keep it within your body and connected to your core. I¡¯m hoping the System will help with it after a while, though. We¡¯ll have to see,¡± Braden concluded. Julia nodded and pushed the thing into her body. She didn¡¯t feel it, but she did have to move the mana in her body out of the way. She had the body reinforcement technique going passively at all times¡ªit was completely subconscious, at this point, so the mana she was circulating was actively blocking the heart from entering. Once it was situated in her torso, she visualized a ring starting at her core, extending out to the heart, and circling back to her core. She used this ring to begin cycling her mana. It started in her core, flowed into the heart, picked up and merged with the mana there, and flowed back into her core. Julia gasped as the merged mana flowed back into her core. It felt a little bit like when you dip your body in water. It¡¯s cold and uncomfortable at first, but you quickly get used to it. She also became aware of external mana being pulled into her body. She usually had to meditate to pull in external mana, and it required concentration to convert into unattributed mana that wouldn¡¯t tear her body apart. This heart seemed to be doing it naturally, without her input¡ªand it was really good at it. She felt like it was at least double the rate her meditation would accomplish, and it was completely passive! Even if it didn¡¯t also double her total mana, just the boost to her regeneration would be worth it. This was truly a game-changer. As if to add fuel to the fire of her already-burning excitement, the System chose that moment to interject.
Fey Heart successfully integrated! Skill: Fey Heart acquired!
Julia closed the notification and immediately noticed a difference. The heart was now connected without requiring her constant attention. She didn¡¯t need to consciously cycle her mana in the loop she had just contrived; the System seemed to be doing it for her. Or maybe it had made the heart a part of her body permanently? Was it just like any of her other organs now? Julia was unsure about the specifics, but she didn¡¯t care even a little. She now had double her previous mana pool and a regeneration rate that was close to three times as fast as her previous! This was a huge improvement for her, and she couldn¡¯t hide an ear-to-ear grin. Braden noticed and smiled as well. ¡°I¡¯m glad it worked out for you, Jules. Remember the warnings I gave you about Summoning, though. It¡¯s powerful, but it should not be your first option for anything. Even that Fey Heart, as beneficial as it is for you, degrades the reality around it just a bit,¡± he said. Julia¡¯s smile vanished. ¡°It what? Why didn¡¯t you tell me that before I stuck it in my body!?¡± she shouted in fear. What did ¡°degrading reality¡± mean? Was it going to poison her!? ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not doing anything harmful,¡± Braden chuckled. ¡°Believe me, Julia; I would never suggest doing something that would harm you. Not without making you fully aware of it, at least. When I say it¡¯s ¡®degrading reality,¡¯ I just mean that the Fey were from a time when the rules and laws of reality were different. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°That heart plays by a different set of rules than our current reality does, but the System was present for both its reality and our own, so it¡¯s not an issue. It¡¯s constantly rewriting and merging the rules between the two clashing realities to anchor the heart¡¯s existence here. ¡°In this exact, specific case, it¡¯s fine. However, this is one of the main dangers of Summoning. When the System has to modify the existing rules of reality, strange things can happen. ¡°Imagine if there were an entire region where the rules of reality were merged with rules from a previous reality where¡­I don¡¯t know¡­where gravity didn¡¯t work the same, or something. You¡¯d step into that area and go floating off into the sky. ¡°I call effects like these ¡®anomalies.¡¯ I¡¯m unsure if anyone else has a specific name for them, but there are, right this very moment, areas of the world with anomalous realities. They can be just as beautiful as they are dangerous. The Great White Spout comes to mind,¡± he finished wistfully, as though seeing what he was describing right before his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s the Great White Spout?¡± Julia asked. It sounded¡­anticlimactic. All that talk about anomalies and clashing realities, and he ends with a ¡°spout.¡± ¡°It¡¯s at the very northernmost point of this world. There is a huge geyser that¡¯s constantly spewing an ocean¡¯s-worth of water out into the sky. And, Jules, when I say huge, I mean monumentally enormous. The geyser¡¯s diameter is¡­well, I don¡¯t have an exact measurement, but it¡¯s many journeys wide. It shoots water up several journeys into the air, as well. ¡°What¡¯s more, it¡¯s freezing cold at the northernmost point of the world, so the water gets shot up as a liquid and comes down as ice, snow, and hail. It creates some amazing scenery that you have to enjoy from afar¡­unless you don¡¯t mind being impaled by huge icicles or bludgeoned by hail that could be as big as your fist or larger than a house,¡± Braden said as he waved his arms to indicate the potential hail¡¯s size. Julia was intrigued, to be sure. She¡¯d only ever heard about snow from Braden or read about it in books. She¡¯d seen ice that was created by magic, but never any that occurred naturally. It was always warm here, so cold weather effects were strange and mystical to her. Not to mention the scale. She honestly thought he must be exaggerating. A single journey was a thousand strides! And she was short, so when most people referenced a stride, it was equivalent to two of hers! How could there be a column of water thousands of strides wide shooting thousands of strides into the air constantly!? Where did all that water come from? ¡°If you think that¡¯s impressive, you should meet the people that live there¡ªwithin the Spout itself,¡± Braden said smugly. He loved dragging things out when he knew he had her attention. ¡°How could anyone possibly live in something like that? Are you saying they live in the column of water or around it?¡± Julia questioned skeptically. ¡°Neither. They live on top of it. Maybe we¡¯ll go check it out once you¡¯re a full-fledged adventurer,¡± he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. ¡°You and Ravina are both insufferable in different ways,¡± Julia sighed.
The goblin¡¯s head hit the ground and rolled to a stop a full stride away. Julia signaled Trixy to drop the Invisibility and wiped the blood off her sword. Trixy jumped down and hovered around the goblin corpses¡ªready to snatch up the cores as soon as they appeared. Monster cores were like mana batteries, so they were valuable for many magical purposes. However, until an enchanter got to work on one, the mana stored in it would dissipate over time. This meant Trixy had to consume them pretty much immediately, lest they fail to provide her with any growth. Julia had decided to run the dungeon again, both to test her new mana pool as well as run through with Trixy for the first time. She was also secretly hoping for a better reward at the end. When she completed it solo last time, there had just been the shaman¡¯s nature focus in the chest. This was decent loot, especially for a beginner, but she couldn¡¯t use it. The focus, being attuned to nature, would only amplify magic aimed at manipulating nature, which Julia almost never used. She knew the theory of how to make vines move and all that, but she never found interest in it compared with her other magic. It made a decent trinket to sell, but that was it. The first encounter had gone the smoothest of all her runs so far. Trixy had made them invisible, so Julia just walked through the gate and stabbed the five goblins waiting in ambush. They became aggressive and swung wildly once they realized there was an enemy they couldn¡¯t see, but it became trivial when she sunk their feet into the ground. Trixy had advanced to 89% evolutionary progress. Julia was mildly concerned about her evolving in a dungeon, so after she lapped up all the cores from this second encounter, Julia instructed her to not eat any others. She would give her the cores from the boss encounter, which should (hopefully) be all that¡¯s needed. This second encounter then went just as smoothly as the first. She decided to let Trixy rest and handle this one on her own. This encounter was a variation on the ones she¡¯d seen up to this point. The bonfire was present, as always. There was a pile of tattered cloth, broken crates, and various items scattered about. It seemed to be where they were storing their latest spoils. There were four goblins rummaging through the crates, while a fifth was patrolling around the area. Julia had used her Truesight to identify all the goblins before connecting a chain of charges. She let loose a Bolt spell that traveled down the chain and fried all five immediately. Truthfully, it was way too loud to be useful in a stealthy situation, but she was here to test her new limits, not practice running the dungeon. The Bolt had managed to suck about 25% of her mana away, but that was a phenomenal improvement compared to her previous baseline. She wasn¡¯t being particularly careful with mana conservation at the moment, and it still only used a quarter of her total mana! A Bolt that took out five goblins at once from medium range only used a quarter of her mana! Julia picked Trixy up, wearing a smile that probably looked frightening juxtaposed with the charred goblin remains, and they headed off towards the center of the camp. Chapter 28 ¡°Well, you¡¯ve seen circumstances, knowledge, and even items influence your own Class options, so it shouldn¡¯t be too surprising that your bond could influence Trixy¡¯s evolution. There¡¯s a great deal of mystery surrounding evolution for monsters, but I personally think they aren¡¯t too dissimilar from Class advancements at their core,¡± Braden said. They were back home, having completed the dungeon and gotten Trixy evolved. The dungeon run had been trivial compared to any others. Being invisible was really ¡°overpowered,¡± as Braden would say. Julia assumed that in future dungeons¡ªand especially out in the real world¡ªthere would be ways for enemies to detect them even while invisible. Still, it made this particular dungeon a breeze. She handled the third dungeon encounter much like the second one in her previous run¡ªby burying the goblins underground. This particular instance was an easy one. There were four goblins guarding a crossroads in the path through the camp. Each goblin was stationary and watching one of the paths. Fortunately, Julia was intimately familiar with where the encounters take place¡ªgenerally, so she and Trixy were already invisible. Julia didn¡¯t even have to waste mana by extending her Manipulate spell out over distance. She was able to simply walk up into the middle of the group before casting. One happy side effect of the heart now embedded in Julia was that funneling more mana to Trixy became viable. Trixy took a bit of mana from Julia regularly to sustain herself, but Julia could additionally funnel her mana towards Trixy if she wanted. Previously, she simply didn¡¯t have enough mana to justify doing so. Now, thanks mostly to her massively improved regeneration rate, she could afford to. They would simply rest for a few minutes after an encounter, and while Julia regenerated her mana, she would siphon some of it off towards Trixy. This enabled them to use invisibility for each encounter. For the boss battle, Julia took no chances. Despite being invisible on entering, she still launched herself through the room with reduced gravity until she landed directly in front of the shaman. She sliced the shaman¡¯s throat while pinning the hobs¡¯ feet to the ground, then zapped them with lightning. It was over in a matter of seconds. The loot for this encounter ended up being a pair of badly-damaged swords, which was not what Julia hoped for. It seemed the shaman¡¯s focus was the highest-end for the dungeon loot. She shouldn¡¯t have been disappointed since she shouldn¡¯t have even been expecting much, but she couldn¡¯t help but be. Regardless, the real treasures of this dungeon run were the cores. After feeding the two hobs¡¯ and shaman¡¯s cores to Trixy, a white light had enveloped her like a cocoon. Julia didn¡¯t even have a chance to check her Status to see the progress reach 100%. The cocooning happened immediately, apparently. What emerged from the cocoon was not at all what Julia expected, which was why she was talking to Braden about it right now. ¡°How exactly did her relationship with me turn her into¡­this¡­not that I don¡¯t like it. You look stunning, Trixy,¡± Julia hastily clarified. She didn¡¯t have definitive proof of this, but Trixy¡¯s cognition seemed improved after the evolution. And her body¡­wow, was her body different. The Trixy before her was very similar in almost every way to her previous form, but the parts that were different were dramatically so. She was still the all-white with black feet coloring from before, and she was still¡­generally ferret-shaped. However, she was much longer now. She was about as long as Julia was tall, and she had a different fur pattern. Her fur was generally the same length, but now she had long fur coming out of her neck. Julia had read about animals that had long fur specifically at their necks called ¡°manes,¡± and she assumed this was what Trixy had. Her legs had grown a little longer¡ªnot quite as stubby as before, but the biggest change to them was to her paws. Each digit on her paws had extended out, and there were now long, sharp claws that poked out from each. The claws, when retracted, looked like the claws of a larger, predatory cat might¡ªexcept Trixy¡¯s looked like that while retracted. When she extended them, they looked more like the talons of a predatory bird, all curved and vicious. Her snout had extended quite a bit. She used to have a stubby snout compared to other furry animals Julia had seen, but now her snout looked more comparable to a dog¡¯s or a large cat¡¯s. Her teeth had changed to match, as her mouth now gleamed with sharp fangs that were so long, Julia was surprised they didn¡¯t stick out when Trixy closed her mouth. To top all these changes off, Trixy now¡­floated¡ªwhich was not hyperbole. She literally floated around as though swimming through the air. Julia thought that the motion combined with her new, elongated shape made her look rather eel-like. Trixy zipped through the air to nuzzle against Julia¡¯s chin before wrapping herself around Julia¡¯s chest and neck like a harness. This was her new resting position¡ªreminiscent of when she¡¯d wrap herself around Julia like a scarf. Julia petted her head as she turned back to Braden. ¡°I¡¯m not overly familiar with her specific species of ferret, but I¡¯ve not heard of many ferrets that evolve into spirits. It would be quite a coincidence for her to acquire a spiritual evolution immediately after you fused with a Fey Heart. ¡°To be fair, it could very well be a coincidence. I don¡¯t know for sure. Trixy did have a, uh¡­wispy quality to her before with the ¡®Mirage¡¯ in her name and the Illusion Magic. Maybe she was always destined to evolve into a less-physical being. I¡¯ve got no idea,¡± he concluded with a shrug. Julia nodded¡ªnot like she knew either. She pulled up Trixy¡¯s Status to review her changes.
Name: Trixy Age: 6 Species: Nascent Black-Footed Lightning Spirit Ferret Evolution Progress: 2%
EM Magic Arcane Magic
Streak Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Bolt Static Light Invisibility Create Illusion Embody
Danger Sense 8 Mana Body Spirit Core (Nascent)
There were some dramatic changes¡ªthe most obvious of which was right at the top. She was a ¡°Nascent Spirit¡± now. Julia understood the words¡ªTrixy was a new spirit, effectively¡ªbut she didn¡¯t understand the implications. Would she evolve further into the realm of spirits? Were her evolutions influenced by what Julia did in the future? Were some evolution options barred to her now that she had started down this path? She had no answers to those questions. Regardless, the next largest changes were in her Skills. The Mana Body and Spirit Core Skills were huge changes for only occupying two lines. Mana Body was easily understood on a conceptual level, but what it enabled Trixy to do was pretty wild. It was the reason she could float around. Her body was almost completely made of mana now, so it only interacted with normal matter as much as Trixy wanted and allowed it to. The exception to this was the other Skill in the list: Spirit Core (Nascent). Trixy didn¡¯t seem to be a pure spirit. She had a physical core anchoring her to this realm, though it was still bound to Julia¡ªTrixy drawing a small amount of mana from her regularly. The Core was essentially the core of Trixy¡¯s being. It didn¡¯t do much else besides, but it was directly responsible for Trixy¡¯s existence, so it was pretty important, obviously. She also gained Arcane Magic, likely due to the Mana Body Skill. Since her body is literally made of mana, she can change the mana that composes her to whatever she wants, provided she is familiar enough with the mana type. I.e., she could Embody a mana type. The Streak skill is a direct result of this. It involved Trixy converting her body to Lightning (or EM, as her Status now said) mana, which enabled her to move at unbelievable speeds¡ªprovided she has enough mana to maintain it. That was a pretty large ask, since the spell consumed mana at a prodigious rate. Her previous Illusion Magic spells had been retained in the EM Magic category, and she still had her Danger Sense Skill. Those things and her name were about the only things that hadn¡¯t changed. Julia couldn¡¯t be sure, but she thought the changes had upped Trixy¡¯s combat capabilities significantly. They¡¯d have to do some testing. The opportunity should arise before long, since they had some jobs coming up. Braden had decided that she¡¯d spent enough time bullying goblins. Now that her midterm was completed, it was back to jobs posted with the Guild. That was an adventurer¡¯s purpose, after all. Running dungeons was a decent gig¡ªand indeed, some adventurers made it their entire careers, but doing that full-time would be counter to the purpose Braden had shown her. She wanted to help people. True, that would sometimes mean focusing on herself and growing stronger, but she couldn¡¯t forget her core objective. They would be back to jobs in the morning, so for now, Julia was planning on kicking back and relaxing. Trixy was sleepier than normal¡ªpossibly a remnant of her evolution. Julia wasn¡¯t even close to understanding how any of it worked, but she was sure it used a lot of energy. She put her feet up on the table in front of the couch and glanced over at Braden, who was sitting in the chair across from her with his eyes closed. He wasn¡¯t sleeping, he claimed. This was something he did frequently. ¡°Checking on my other affairs,¡± he would say. Julia was pretty sure that he was sleeping but didn¡¯t want to admit it for whatever reason. ¡°Can we play a game?¡± Julia asked. Whenever she had time marked for relaxing, she ended up thinking about magic or combat or Guild jobs or dungeons¡­all things that were not relaxing. Braden always said taking time to relax was just as important as working, so he had taught her many games over the years to occupy her mind. ¡°Sure. What would you like to play? Want me to get out the chess board? Maybe some number puzzles?¡± Braden opened his eyes and inquired. ¡°How about riddles?¡± she questioned. Braden had attempted to make riddles several times before. He was bad at it, and Julia thought it was endlessly amusing. She¡¯d never tell him that, though. Watching him think for several minutes just to come up with the worst shit she¡¯d ever heard was fantastically relaxing. ¡°I guess I could think of something¡­hmm¡­¡± he hummed while he thought. After a few minutes, he seemed to figure it out. ¡°Always present but never felt, Usually too much or too little; Most don¡¯t like you in theirs, But separating yours from mine is itself a riddle.¡± Julia thought for a while. Usually, Braden¡¯s riddles were on either end of the extremes. He either gave too many clues and made it trivial, or he was so cryptic that no one would be able to guess it¡­or the clues were just bad rather than cryptic. This one seemed to be decent enough, but she thought the first two clues were really vague while the final two were too blunt. ¡°Space,¡± she said confidently. ¡°Damn. Yeah, you got it,¡± he grumbled. ¡°Give me another. That one was too easy on the backend. The first half was challenging, but the second half was almost obvious,¡± she chided lightly. ¡°Can you make one that¡¯s a little more¡­relevant, I guess? Space is such a heady topic¡ªmaybe something more grounded or relevant to our daily life.¡± He closed his eyes and thought for a while again. He opened them and smiled. ¡°Alright. I have one. It¡¯s about a place you¡¯ve probably never heard of, but I¡¯ll tell you the riddle and then tell you about the place itself. That work for you?¡± She nodded. ¡°Below your feet, But taller than the sky; Dark at first, With lights up high. Life flourishes, Without the sun; A world below Known only to some.¡± Julia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was interested in the subject of the ¡°riddle,¡± but she couldn¡¯t help thinking about how bad it was. ¡°Sun¡± and ¡°some¡± don¡¯t even rhyme! Braden had said something about ¡°slant¡± rhymes before, but she wasn¡¯t buying it. ¡°That¡¯s clearly about some kind of cavern or something below ground, right? What is it?¡± she asked. ¡°The denizens don¡¯t have a name for it. It¡¯s just the world to them. However, the very few residents that live above ground and are aware of it call it the ¡®Deep Down.¡¯ It¡¯s not one specific place so much as a series of interconnected caverns. Though, the entire cavern system isn¡¯t necessarily connected. ¡°Maybe it would be helpful to consider the Deep Down an elevation rather than any specific caverns. Once you get a certain level below ground, you enter the Deep Down. The caverns range from tiny to so gigantic that you can stand directly in the center of the cavern and not see its walls or ceiling. It¡¯s an amazing place. We¡¯ll have to visit sometime,¡± he finished. Julia had stars in her eyes hearing about such an alien environment, and she had inadvertently achieved her goal of trying to relax by completely forgetting about it.