Glade was reborn in a flash of white on the dais floor, not far from where he had died. Thoughts ranging from the not-so-subtle tones of discord and cryptic messages passed between the adjudicators to the new abilities he had been granted ran through his mind. But now was not the time, nor the place.
Purposefully placing those matters into his ‘things to worry about later’ box, Glade focused on the very real, very dangerous, infestation of highly poisonous astral spiders within his new home.
Fortunately for him, Credos had given him a highly effective tool to deal with the threat.
Glade activated his time dilation skill for the first time, the world around him slowing to a near crawl. Even with the knowledge embedded directly into his mind, Glade was simultaneously stunned and thrilled. So much so, he almost sent a silent thanks to Credos. It was because of the adjudicator that Glade understood the strengths and weaknesses of using such a skill.
The clearest advantage to time dilation was it sped up his mind so he could assess and think through potential solutions in the blink of an eye. That alone made the skill powerful beyond belief. But that wasn’t all. Not by a long shot! Glade had always been able to cast his magic at the speed of thought, so long as the spell or skill didn’t require verbal cues or body movements. Which meant he could cast both telepathy and mana manipulation while under the effects of time dilation!
Those were the upsides he knew of at the moment. Unfortunately, there were three downsides that he could see right away. The skill was a veritable stamina hog over a prolonged duration of time. Doubling the stamina usage every second in real time was a steep price to pay, almost like it was designed to check the incredible power the skill represented.
The other immediate drawback was Glade’s body couldn’t keep pace with his ramped-up brain. Already he could tell that extensive practice was critical if was going to learn how to move at normal speed while his mind moved nine times as fast at his current skill level. Practice that would evolve every time he leveled.
The final drawback was progressing the skill past the Trainee ranks. Glade could only imagine time dilation was a rare skill. He really didn’t want to wait until the next time he died to have a chance to graduate into the Apprentice ranks. But that was a worry for a later date.
Following years of ingrained habit, Glade first conducted a mental inventory of everything he had on him. What he found brought a huge smile to his face. Rather, it would bring a smile once his facial muscles registered the command.
Instead of the light cotton pants and shirt he had seen with other rebirths, Glade was clothed in a heavy cream colored cloak, matching heavy tunic and pants, mittens, thick socks, and leather boots, all of which fit him perfectly.
The adjustment to his wardrobe hadn’t been the first request he had asked of the Eight, nor had it been his last, but at least this one had been readily agreed to. They had even thrown in a generic pack, cream colored of course, which was much more than Glade had thought they would provide.
And even more important, the clothing was thick enough that it should stop most spider bites.
In addition to the new clothes, a ridiculously large book rested in his gloved hands. Glade made a mental note to thank Acumen later for the spider crushing device.
Next on Glade’s checklist was his magic abilities. As the mana flowed through his pristine channels, Glade noticed his smile was finally starting to take shape. He nudged the muscles in his face to broaden into a full-on grin. He had his magic back! Even his status bars showed he was full on health, mana, and stamina.
While dying was not on the top of his list of things to do, it was probably the best thing that had happened to him in the last several days!
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Less than 5 seconds had passed within Glade’s time dilated mind, and he was right on track with his plan in dealing with the spider infestation. The next step was to confirm where in the hall said spiders were located and, more importantly, the status of his friends. And he had just the tool.
Glade was on the cusp of invoking his telepathy skill when he learned that another being could enjoy the benefits of his time dilation.
A cry of relief filled Glade’s mind as Ember’s consciousness slammed into him with all the subtlety of an emotional tidal wave.
Alternating waves of joy and snarling rage repeatedly assaulted Glade’s mind at the speed of thought, derailing his carefully laid plan.
“Ember!” Glade mentally cried out. “It’s ok! I’m back…”
Another wave of intense emotion interrupted Glade, letting him know that it was very much not ok, and that anyone who said otherwise would be burned to ash.
“Peace,” Glade projected, sending every calming image he could to his companion. “I’m back to save our friends. Do you remember our friends?”
While Glade’s words didn’t quite translate into the images and emotions they had learned to communicate with, Ember immediately understood the situation, locking onto the intent of the message – that their friends needed help.
A surge of rage boiled over into Glade’s psyche as Ember realized for the first time that its friends, like the one who had freely given the delicious fire mana, were in danger.
Glade felt his overly large smile begin to shift into a snarl as he fought to control the emotional storm that was Ember.
“Mine…” the word tumbled out from the maelstrom of images overwhelming Glade. A word that captured everything Ember was trying to express. Their friends were his to save, his to protect, and his to belong to just as the spiders, a word Ember had no context for but to hate with the very essence of its soul, were his to destroy!
10 stamina points dropped from Glade’s green bar as he crossed over into the next consecutive second of his dilation skill. Knowing he didn’t have time to deal with Ember’s existential crisis, Glade made a snap decision. While their link wouldn’t allow him to set Ember’s wrath aside, he could redirect it.
“Ember, focus!” Glade projected, forcing the emotions of serious and critically important through the link. “We have to save our family,” images of Kedryn, Riya, Bragden, Krazzik, and others were shot back and forth in an instant with the underlying emotion of love being threatened. “Help me!”
The last statement wasn’t so much a plea as it was an invitation. An invitation that, at its heart, allowed the egg to be more than just a bystander.
“Yes…” Ember hissed, projecting triumph mixed with truest desire.
Precious moments passed as their two minds, one of cold logic, the other of pure emotion, blended, and then balanced.
Congratulations! Your bond with the unknown egg has deepened! You can now project the creature's magical abilities externally.
Warning! Wow, would you look at that, you are actually reading a warning ahead of time! You have finally made it to the average level of intelligence. Be warned, bonds with magical creatures such as the unknown egg share more than just emotional support and communication. You will be the filter and amplifier of your bonded’s magic. Any foreign mana pushed through you will have lasting effects. Be wary what you allow to pass through your soul.
Glade could practically hear Acumen’s condescending voice as he read the warning, but was grateful, nonetheless. He had just gotten his magic back and refused to risk it again.
With that final thought, Glade triggered his telepathy skill.