The steady march continued for a third straight day. They continued to make good time as a general rhythm had been established, and everyone grew somewhat used to hiking. Still, many of them, Imri included, had blisters and chaffed legs. It was quickly becoming apparent that they wouldn’t be able to keep this up indefinitely; they would need to set up a camp in a day or two at most. However, no one complained, knowing there wasn’t any alternative.
Imri’s mana had completely recovered with the walking meditation and rest. Seeing it as a waste to sit on full mana, he practiced his Boundless Step spell. He used the spell twice, his first time to easily surpass a particularly difficult section with a steep incline. He also used his true distance spell to measure the distance traveled accurately. Finally, he paid close attention to how much he had progressed in his abilities and level. He didn’t have exact numbers for those; he just had an intuitive sense of how close he was to progressing to the next rank. Despite the ambiguity, Imri was sure that in both aspects, the gains were minimal and nearly insignificant when compared to using them in life-or-death struggles.
This experiment confirmed something Imri had suspected: there was more to leveling than just spamming abilities. He conducted one more experiment, using a Boundless Step to teleport the same distance. However, this time it was used on a relatively flat and easy-to-traverse section. As Imri felt his spell and level progress, he could tell the gains had been less than before. It appeared that the slightly useful nature of his first spell had been rewarded, while the near-useless application had resulted in even smaller gains. It was the difference between tiny and minuscule, but it was significant over the long run. It also gave Imri a theory that skill and experience were doled out at the system's discretion as if some grand arbiter judged all of their exploits.
By the end of the day, they had nearly circled halfway around the city, having progressed through the forest rather than risking a confrontation with the Azala. Despite this not being the exact location they had discussed, no one wanted to start the next day with another hike, so it was quickly agreed that this would be the new temporary camp. The location suited their needs well enough; there was ample space in a clearing for their ever-growing population. A small lake fed by a creek provided ample water. It also didn’t need to be perfect; it was a temporary location.
The next day, Imri excitedly resumed his enchanting. While he was excited at the prospect of creating new enchantments, Zhaire's necklace of time dilation had been a great success, and he had gotten near ceaseless requests from the rest of the fighters to create something similar. Even Zhaire hadn’t been satisfied, requesting a superior item be created once Imri had leveled up a few more times. Imri had readily agreed, hoping this would settle the debt he owed the man.
He quickly started creating two necklaces, intending to make them identical to the one he had made for Zhaire. The jewelry he was inlaying the runes on was of similar quality, if not slightly superior, with plenty of supplies to choose from. Unfortunately, cores were in much shorter supply, so he was forced to settle for slightly inferior cores at quality levels 5 and 6. Despite the material being of a lower quality level, Imri hoped his improvement in his crafting efficiency would offset the difference, having improved from 218 before his first successful craft to 238 today after having gained several levels in both his profession and class.
Imri quickly redrew the runes, his mind still remembering every minute detail despite the week that had passed since his previous success. It took him far less time, completing the entire process in under an hour. He quickly inspected his work, infusing a small amount of mana and activating the necklace to ensure everything worked properly. Everything worked as expected, but something felt off about his work. Imri eventually dismissed the notion, assuming he was less enthusiastic about mass-producing practical items than discovering new designs. He still used the lowest level core he had available when finishing the enchantment.
Quest Updated Progress Runic Enchanter Rank up F to E Craft functioning runes 14/20
Despite the quest update, Imri frowned, having felt less progress towards his profession than expected. He inspected the finished product and quickly spotted a problem. While the item description was identical in function, the effective mana level of the runes was 113 as opposed to the 126 on Zhaire’s. While he had thought it possible for the overall efficiency to be lower, he hadn’t thought it would be this much. While the effect of the time dilation rune would be the same, having been set to a constant 3% just like the previous version, the amount of mana needed just to maintain a brief duration would be exorbitant. It wasn’t just an inefficiency of Time Dilation runes but all the other runes as well. The true distance rune was constantly active, and while it drained negligible mana compared to the Time Dilation rune, it was still a significant factor. Imri had guessed that Zhaire’s necklace would go from full mana to empty in only a few days, and this new necklace would drain even faster.
Imri almost discarded the necklace out of frustration but eventually calmed himself down. He studied it some more, this time looking at the runes to see if some issue had created the inferior product. While there weren’t any glaring flaws in the piece, Imri noticed that many of the inscriptions were sloppy when compared to the original. They weren’t egregious errors, but Imri began to wonder if the overall precision had something to do with the quality.
His curiosity was now piqued, and he began another experiment. He would create the same necklace using nearly identical materials, but this time he worked with the care and precision he had used on his first attempt. He went as far as to exchange the level 6 core he had for an inferior level 5 version just to eliminate every variable possible. He spent the better part of half a day on this attempt, making sure everything was as flawless as possible. When he had finished, he knew the final result was vastly superior even before looking at it with Identify. The final result was runes with a mana efficiency of 132, slightly higher than the one he had made for Zhaire and vastly superior to his earlier attempt. Smiling, he turned his attention to his system notifications.
Quest Completed Progress Runic Enchanter Rank Up F to E Craft functioning runes 20/20
Runic Enchanter F has ranked up to E Runic Enchanter E Primary Stats / Level Improvement Intelligence .25% +.05% Willpower .25% +.05% Charisma .1% - Secondary Stats / Level MP .25% +.05% Crafting Efficiency .4% +.1% MP Regen Rate .5% +.5%
Skill Learned Tier/Rank Description Rune Removal 1F Enables the runic enchanter to use mana to remove runes inscribed on an item, allowing the material to be repurposed. This skill consumes mana/rune removed. The mana cost varies by material and level of core used in the finish divided by crafting efficiency.
New Quest Description Runic Enchanter Rank Up E to D Craft functioning runes 1/50, Design 10 different enchantments 1/10, Craft 15 different runes 1/15
Imri reviewed the changes to his profession from the rank up. Unlike his class, the stat gains stayed in his primary attributes rather than forcing it to be spread around. This made sense; while a mage needed some constitution and agility to not be completely helpless in combat, an enchanter had no such needs. Similarly, for his secondary stats, an enchanter had less need for a large mana pool, instead needing a more steady but moderate supply of mana. He assumed this is why he got even more mana regeneration for his profession while not getting as much mana and no HP.
His new profession rank-up quest also had a significant jump in difficulty. While crafting 50 runes seemed like a lot, Imri could complete that in a few days, given enough cores. The harder challenge was coming up with 10 different designs. Fortunately, Imri felt he wouldn’t need to develop 10 designs as complex as his Time Dilation enchantment. Implementing the light runes he had practiced on was an easier way to make some progress on this quest. Still, he wouldn’t rush; he wanted to craft functional items, not just some Rube Goldberg monstrosities that served no purpose but to advance the quest. He also suspected the system wouldn’t award much experience for that sort of method. The final clause in the quest was to craft 15 different runes, something he expected to easily hit by creating 10 different enchantments. It was likely in the quest to prevent enchanters from making ten slightly different designs that were functionally identical.
Imri fell into a routine over the following days. He started his morning by joining the combat-focused individuals as they implemented a physical training regimen. Zhaire didn’t hold anything back, putting them through rigorous drills that had many breathing hard while the rest threw up their breakfast. The regimen combined the standard military PT and Zhaire’s more sports-related exercise. It started with a light jog and some stretches before they did agility drills, high stepping over or around various makeshift obstacles that had been set up. After that, it was body weight strengthening, which was sports science for push-ups, situps, and pullups. The penultimate exercise was a series of sprints before ending in a light jog, which still felt grueling considering his entire body hurt.
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The first few times Imri participated, he was slightly discouraged, being one of the worst participants. His status as a powerful mage didn’t give him special treatment either, with Zhaire shouting his typical disparaging remarks at him whenever he lagged behind. His hard work paid off as all three of his physical attributes increased their base value, and Imri noticed he was catching up. His body had more room to improve than others as he recovered from his pre-integration illness, though he wouldn’t be able to use that as an excuse for much longer.
After his morning workout, he spent time working on his enchantments. Much of that time was spent learning from Zathri, who helped him shore up a few blind spots. The most immediate improvement was to how the primary runes were activated. In the case of his time dilation, it was readily apparent that using the true distance rune was far from the most efficient method. Zathri taught him several runes related to sound that would help with that. The first was a simple logic rune related to whether the wearer of the item was speaking. The next two runes were used in conjunction to determine if the user had said something specific. When those booleans were true, the Time Dilation rune activated, targeting the wearer. Essentially, this meant the item's wearer said a phrase that activated the rune, reminding Imri of various anime where characters would shout out their powers to activate them. While this initially seemed ridiculous, this configuration was far more efficient, preventing the items from needing frequent recharging. It also didn’t require a shout, as Imri had set the sensitivity on the detection rune to pick up a normal conversation amplitude.
“This one sadly cannot teach much more,” Zathri explained after Imri had incorporated their advice into his newest design of the time dilation enchantment.
“What are you talking about? Your help has been invaluable, and I still have so much to learn,” Imri said.
“Unfortunately, this one is no master enchanter, having reached only level 8 before the integration. Even that low level took me decades to achieve, and it is readily apparent that Imri has much more talent for the craft than this one,” Zathri explained, a tinge of sadness apparent in their tone. Imri was surprised the Chixel enchanter was only level 8; his level in Runic Enchanter was nearly as high, having reached level 7 with the several days of crafting he had been afforded.
“I’m sure it’s just a benefit of the integration. Once you can start crafting again, I’m sure you’ll start leveling again,” Imri said, hoping to cheer up the downcast enchanter.
“This one is nothing when compared with Imri. This one had hoped to reach level 20 before time was over. Now that is doubtful.”
“You only expected to get to level 20 in your lifetime?” Imri asked in shock.
“Before the system, getting to level 10 was considered a great achievement. Now, with the integration, this one suspects 20 would be applauded as a success that most will never reach, and that is focusing on a single class,” Zathri explained.
“So, I’m an outlier,” Imri stated. He had been pleased with his leveling speed but compared himself to Zhaire, who consistently managed to be a level or two ahead of him when only considering their classes.
“Don’t get this one wrong; there are those who are outliers among the Chixel as well, just not this one,” Zathri added.
Imri thanked the Chixel for their instructions and forthright conversation. His mind raced as unbidden questions entered his mind. Was he really an outlier? Was it because of his heritage? He considered the level of all those around him; most of the camp hadn’t even reached level 5, and the vast majority were sitting at levels 3 and 4. Even Emelia was starting to lag behind at only level 7. He shook his head as if the physical act could shake out an errant thought. He spent the subsequent part of the day on a walking meditation to clear his mind, which was the next part of his daily routine.
During this time, he gained an inspiration related to his spatial magic. He had long been annoyed at only having Spatial Contraction and not the opposite spell, which he assumed to be Spatial Expansion. Spatial Contraction had been the first spell he learned, and while it had seen infrequent usage since acquiring time spells and not at all since getting a pistol, he still considered it an essential spell. This wasn’t because it was incredibly useful but because he suspected it was fundamental in learning more powerful spells. He strongly suspected he wouldn’t have been able to learn Boundless Step without first acquiring this spell.
His breakthrough finally came when he realized he had been thinking of expansion all wrong. He had been hoping to use expansion as a weapon, like he had with contraction. However, this was an incredibly poor way of thinking about it. Spatial Contraction could only be used as a weapon because he condensed the space around his opponents, in essence forcing their bodies to exist in a space that wasn’t large enough for them, forcing them to diffuse to fit into the space. It wasn’t his spacial magic doing the damage directly, but it was simply the body requiring a static state to function properly. He also knew it was impossible to cast spells that manifested inside a living being, their mana disrupting the spell before it could manifest. He had been foolishly trying to break this rule by using expansion to separate body parts. Instead, he needed to use expansion to create more space outside. He couldn’t think of any practical application of this until another inspiration struck.
Imri took out two water bottles, both nearly full. He focused on the space inside the bottle, willing it to expand. There was a brief sloshing as it seemed like half the water disappeared. Imri smiled and poured the contents of the second bottle into the first. The water poured in without issue. It appeared like a normal water bottle to anyone who looked at it. Conversely, when he tried to pour all the water into the normal water bottle, he only got halfway through the spelled water bottle before the mundane one filled up. Unfortunately, Imri could feel his mana slowly depleting, making the Spatial Expansion a temporary effect fueled by his mana. He released the spell, and the half-full bottle was instantly full again despite no change in the actual amount of water.
Spell Learned Tier/Rank Description Spatial Expansion 1F Expand space in local space-time as defined by local anchors. Mana cost varies depending linearly on the amount of space created, the distance from the caster to the anchors, and the ratio of existing space to newly created space.
Quest Updated Progress Relativity Mage Rank up E to D Learn new space or time spells 2/5, Rank up space or time spell 2/5.
The description wasn’t useful in terms of telling him what the spell did, simply stating he could expand space. Like all his spells, it was versatile in theory, allowing everything from the trick he had just done with the water bottle to something like an entire world existing inside a building. The key to the spell was defining the anchors, or in other terms, where the space existed. In his experiment, the anchor was the edge inside the water bottle, meaning all space he had created existed inside this boundary and was diffused evenly. To double the amount of space meant the ratio was 1, or the space existing was equal to the space created. This meant that the mana cost when keeping the anchor constant was exponential.
As was customary with gaining a new spell, Imri did some experiments. First, he increased the amount of space by half of what he had, giving the spelled bottle 150% of its normal capacity. As he had predicted, the mana required to keep that spatial expansion powered was a quarter of what his first attempt had been. Likewise, when he doubled the space, it took four times the mana, an amount that Imri couldn’t keep up for long. Curious to test out another extreme, he changed the anchor to be the entire planet, then cast the spell to increase the space by the same amount as the water bottle. Unsurprisingly, the spatial disturbance wasn’t even noticeable, though intuitively, Imri knew the spell was working. Unsure of a practical use case for having such a large anchor, he nevertheless filed it away as an interesting oddity to expand on later.
He pondered what the next extension of this manifestation of space could involve. If teleportation was an extension of Spatial Contraction, what was the extension of Spatial Expansion? Unfortunately, nothing came to mind, and he had to content himself with gaining a new spell. Fortunately, another new notification came to his attention, one Imri was pleased to see. As he brought it up, he expanded the level-up gains to include all his progress in the past week.
Imri Padar has reached Level 12 in Relativity Mage (1E) Imri Padar has reached Level 12 in Primordial (1F) Imri Padar has reached Level 7 in Runic Enchanter (1E) Primary Stats Gained +1 Strength 115 +2 Agility 89 +1 Constitution 100 +2 Intelligence 152 +2 Willpower 135 Secondary Stats +3 HP 117 +4 FP 90 +10 MP 226 +7 Mana Efficiency 240 +10 Crafting Efficiency 248
His thoughts were interrupted as he neared the camp, a commotion quickly returning his attention from his internal musings. He relaxed slightly as his senses registered that the commotion was not an attack or anything of that sort. He smiled as he spotted Sylvi.