Novels2Search
A second, [glitched] chance
Chapter 10: A journey of a thousand days starts with the first step.

Chapter 10: A journey of a thousand days starts with the first step.

A few weeks later, Kiresula and Mayana were about to go on the journey to Ilkshehir. They had only a few things they carried on their backs and little currency. Mayana had worked a lot in the weeks before, especially of course on making the synthic rods. She could cast the light spell herself directly into it now and only relied on Kiresula’s help because the best that could be said about her pool of synthic magic was its existence. Only once she had been able to do that, she went bigger about promoting the sticks on a wider basis, as she felt that no one would feel happy about something that was fully dependent on glitchling magic.

Kiresula had worked on learning the spells, that she belonged to her new class in the evenings, after Mayana’s workday. She took to Seferian magic like a pig to mud. She experimented with ways to preserve food now that she lost her ice affiliation. The Seferian spells were quite situational. They were for collecting samples, for making vessels able to withstand rough conditions, for protecting a vessel against selective conditions, like a bottle or a waterskin that would prevent water inside of it from freezing, but these seemed to be very situational or just not the kind of spells that she hoped for in order to preserve food. She felt that this was essential and now, she could have kicked herself for choosing this class. She paced to and fro near the Rainbow House, where she did her spell practice. Eventually, she realised that she needed to consider her new class not as a defective ice mage class, but as a new class for expeditions, travels and journeys. She needed not to consider the subject of preserving and storing food from that vantage. And for that reason, she needed an expedition of her own. A practice expedition so to speak. Suddenly, she was hit by an idea and used its metaphorical impact velocity to bounce back to father’s workshop in record time. Makit and father Kanvin were working on a travel chest together and didn’t notice Kiresula’s entrance and she didn’t try to attract any attention, even breathing quietly. She knew the importance of uninterrupted concentration and after a few moments instead went to the kitchen and made some snacks for the two. Afterwards, she again entered and waited for their attention to slip.

“Hey, Kirey, what brings you here? Want to help us out?” Makit asked.

Kiresula shook her head: “Are you planning to run the dungeon again? I’d might want to participate.”

Makit raised an eyebrow: “You want to run again?”

She nodded. “I am itching to do so, yeah.”

Makit shook his head: “Do you have any ways to fend for yourself in case you get separated from the group?”

“So the gods will. I can’t judge how good I will be at this without a test.” Kiresula said, expecting [Sunlight] spell to do overtime.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Makit looked concerned: “Is there something you would be able to bring to the group?”

“Feeling broken magic like others do regular one? If a field is small, I might even be able to drain it.” Kiresula suggested.

Makit suddenly was very interested: “I have never thought about that. I’ll talk to my group. Will Mayana also want in?”

Kiresula grimaced: “Likely not, but I will ask. Before, she never did, so I don’t expect her to.”

Makit responded: “Grand, get back to me when you have info!”

Kanvin took some snacks: “Just stay safe! You are no longer… quite as awesome!” she knew that he was this close to say something much more realistic.

Kiresula smiled: “I am trying to cope with how differently I am now. Don’t worry, I will stay safe. That is one of the reasons why I want to test my mettle with the group around.”

Father Kanvin nodded: “I understand that you don’t want to remain cooped up here. I heard rumours that you want to go to Ilkshehir, so it makes sense that you try to become stronger. Even though I am not sure that this is actually feasible for a glitchling.”

Kiresula nodded: “I am trying, yeah.”

That weekend, Kiresula, Makit and the rest of the group walked to the dungeon early in the morning. Makit and Tamijet being quite in favour of public displays of affection and were all over themselves. Their pace was easy for Kiresula to follow and the others were making the kind of crude humour that she expected from delvers. It felt reasonably comfortable and reminded her of previous delves. Arriving at the dungeon, she saw the message of the dungeon: “Welcome, traveller, to the Dungeon of the Bridge. The goal is to reach the bottom layer, defeat the boss and gain the rewards. This dungeon has 5 layers, 4 layers contain various fights and riddles, the lowest layer contains the fight against the dungeon boss. If you want to get information about this locale, please use [System] functions. Good luck and have a lot of fun!!”

Kiresula felt happy about this message, weirdly nostalgic but also full of energy and ready to take it on.

The first room looked like Kiresula remembered it: A small room with benches, where the walls were uneven, made out of natural bare stone. On the right side, small trickles of water seeped out of small cracks in the stone and then flowed away on the ground in a small hole. If you were desperate enough, this water would quench your thirst, but it tasted of iron. There were three exits: The one behind them led out of the dungeon. The one to the right looked like an arch of stacked stones. The one to the left looked like a circular hole. Kiresula saw the sheen of broken magic in front of the right one. She pointed to the left. “The right one is currently engulfed in broken magic.”

Makit looked at her: “I thought you can drain that stuff. If we can use the Monster Run, I would prefer it. The Riddle Run is longer and more complicated.”

Kiresula nodded: “Sorry, I always preferred the Riddle Run, so I didn’t think about that.” She sat down in the middle of the broken magic and started her magic reclamation techniques. The thin film was quickly absorbed. Her reserves went from a flat zero to 38 Seren. She stood up. “That’s dealt with. Let me just look ahead!” She went ahead keeping her magic restoration techniques up. That was when the club hit her.