Chapter 37

My new evolution had come with benefits that I hadn’t immediately realized; there was a new element to the world, like a thin filter overlaying everything I looked at. A glance would assess the subject in an instant, understanding in broad strokes the attunements of mana within it; trees glimmered with a faint green film, the sensation of almost imperceptibly slow movement drawing ripples of energy up from its’ roots, meeting at the peak of the bole with a similar downward draw of fire- and air-attuned energy spilling downward from the broad, leafy crown. I could see the thin, hungry striations reaching beneath the Hydra bushes, tendrils reaching out from a core buried several feet beneath the soil, each core reaching out at an angle to bloom into thorny bushes several feet away; I realized now that the placement of the bushes was a form of camouflage, none of them directly above the core to betray its’ location, scattered randomly above it to foil anyone digging for its’ heart.

I could see where the edges of my fiery aura overlapped with them, the branches recoiling from me, leaves curling inward defensively in a bid to look as unoffensive as possible; I didn’t feel even the slightest degree of threat from any of them, sensing their auras were far too weak and primitive to pose a challenge to me.

My movements were quick and certain, avoiding obstacles that previously would’ve snagged at my robes or stumbled me. My steady jog became a run, exulting in the heightened sense of awareness that my evolution had given me.

I mulled over the choices that had been offered to me for my newest skill; I still had access to pick any of the previous skills offered, and this time only three new additions awaited me.

Crystalflame Arsenal (Basic): You may choose three weapons with which to gain proficiency; you will learn basic usage of these weapons, as per the Fighting Style skill. In addition, you may conjure these weapons with [Crystalflame] with increased efficiency and damage. All [Crystalflame] weapons gain increased damage and durability, scaling slightly with your Willpower.

Crystalflame Armory (Basic): You may choose one form of armor with which to gain proficiency, as per the Defensive Training skill. In addition, you may conjure this kind of armor with increased efficiency and durability. All [Crystalflame] armor gains increased durability, scaling slightly with your Wisdom.

The Fire Within (Basic): This skill enhances and governs your ability to control and direct your internal use of magic; such effects will become more efficient and less damaging to your body, scaling slightly with Intelligence.

I mulled over the choices as I ran, vaulting over a very startled Boarfiend, flicking it with a little lash of flame to make sure it ran instead of fighting; the frantic squealing behind me drew a little laugh as I swung from a branch that a Serpanther rested atop, and it hissed at me, recoiling instead of striking. It felt as if my aura had grown somehow, that it was strong enough to deter the predators that formerly would attack and pursue me. Between my heightened perceptions and my frightening aura, I had a lot of time and attention to spare on, well, musing about but ignoring the problem of actually choosing an ability. I sighed as I stopped for a moment, staring toward the distant mountainous form of the Greenwarden.

The [Crystalflame Arsenal ] ability would give me a lot more flexibility in fighting; imagine if I chose a sword, a whip, and a hammer! Strike up close, far away, quick or slow and strong! Maybe I could make a bow and arrows (Would that be one, or two?) and a pair of shortswords. Maybe I could make some of the more exotic weapons; flaming chakrams, a glaive, and a huge axe!

I mused on the possibilities, turning it over in my head, but ultimately pushed on to the next skill.

With [Crystalflame Armory] , I could become proficient in some kind of armor and maybe stop being hurt so often or easily. I’m not sure how much of a difference some of these armors would make against hits like Marcus could land, or the enormous maw of the serpentine Guardian, but it had to help at least somewhat. Wouldn’t be much of armor otherwise. I shuffled that ability firmly into the ‘maybe’ category, and turned my thoughts to [The Fire Within] .

I had used my fire magic to speed up my body, once; while it had given me the speed I needed to escape the Guardian, it had burned up my muscles and required a lot of rest afterward to recover from it. If I could make it less damaging to use, maybe I could get more practice with it, figure out more ways to use it. Augment my muscles for strength, or turn my blood into lava, or something. While I had used weapons, I didn’t care for them too greatly, and I already had [Unarmored Defense] that I’d been neglecting; it’d be a waste to use a skill choice on replacing one I’d gotten for free.

I finally settled on [The Fire Within] . It was unfortunate that it scaled with Intelligence instead of something more useful like Wisdom, but I figured putting some points in that direction probably wouldn’t hurt. No one ever complained of being too smart, after all. To test it out, I channeled my flames into my muscles like I had before, acting like a bellows pushing air into the furnaces within. I could instantly feel the difference; where before it had begun aching like I’d overworked the muscles, now it was more like a smooth heat. I steadied out the flow of energy, intention slotting into channels within my body I was certain I hadn’t felt before, and I gathered my muscles for a leap.

My first augmented jump carried me upward with enough force to snap the branch I’d launched off of, plowing through a cluster of thinner branches above me with whiplike strikes across my forearms. I tumbled through the middle branches of the next tree along, and then flew like a brick through a window, smashing into the next tree along and tumbling to the ground. I groaned as I stared up through the branches at the sunlight trickling down, a mess of leaves and detritus falling down around me like rain, pattering onto the forest floor. It took me several seconds to recover my breath, and when I stood up, I realized the energy was still flowing all on its’ own; I rebounded off the tree trunk as I veritably launched myself upward, barely catching myself with a hand to push off before I simply rammed my face into the trunk.

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Holy crap, I thought to myself as I forced myself to remain still. It works a hell of a lot better!

I shivered with the exertion of standing still against the explosive energy burning through my muscles, and took off at a slow jog toward the meeting point. Even restraining myself, I was still outrunning my previous pace, though I had to be far more careful about my movements.

I was surprised to notice that the notification still hung at the edge of my consciousness, telling me that there was a Skill selection available. I paused for another moment to check it out, this time intentionally stopping the circulation of energy.

This time the options were much easier, and I made my selection almost instantly.

Weapon Crafting (Basic): Advance your proficiency in crafting and Reforging Common and Uncommon physical weapons. This will unlock more Skill options based upon creating weapons.

Armor Crafting (Basic): Advance your proficiency in crafting and Reforging Common and Uncommon physical armor. This will unlock more Skill options based upon creating armor and defensive tools.

Implement Crafting (Basic): Advance your proficiency in crafting and Reforging Common and Uncommon magical implements. This will unlock more Skill options based upon creating magical implements such as amulets, wands, staves, and rods.

After all, I’d already decided not to focus on weapons or armor; these ‘Implements’ sounded a lot more useful to me. While I’m sure other people would appreciate me crafting weapons and armor for them, that didn’t help me directly. I felt knowledge flood into my mind, most of it seeming to drain into portions of my memory that I couldn’t quite reach; it was almost as if the knowledge was locked away somehow, though I felt it could be called up under the appropriate circumstances.

With all of that out of the way, I finally felt as prepared as I was going to be to take on the Guardians; besides, I couldn’t afford any more distractions. Even with my newly augmented speed, I would still be cutting it close to get to the rendezvous in time. I flooded my muscles with magic, this time choosing the most direct path – a straight run toward the ruined tower, simply bursting through anything small enough in my path.

Another few hours got me to the ruined tower just in time for our gathering, arriving with just enough leeway to pause a short distance away and catch my breath, tugging twigs and leaves from my hair and clothing, brushing my clothes back into a semblance of order. A wizard is neither early nor late, I assured myself, putting on my best regal and haughty expression, but arrives exactly when he means to. I strode into the clearing, and was startled by my reception; those nearby drew their weapons as they whipped around to face me, uncertainty and caution warring on their features as they waited to see whether or not I came in peace. Next, I noticed that there were a lot more people than I’d expected; perhaps thirty people scattered around the clearing, clumped into groups of four or five.

“David?” I heard Cenna’s voice, uncertain. I turned to face her, smiling.

“Yeah, what? Do I have something on my face?”

She stared at me for a handful of seconds. “What… happened?”

“Happened to what? What’s wrong?”

“You don’t look… like you.”

Another woman jogged up, and lifted her hand in a gesture of casting, welling up ice from the air before her, the frost dripping downward until it formed a misshapen pane of glass, my reflection rendered in a glossy blue tint.

My eyes had shifted from brown to red, faint crimson circles around the iris. My hair had gained a reddish tint, and my skin had shifted into a more bronzed-looking color, like someone with a millionaire's complexion. I was pretty sure I’d gotten a little taller, too, though I wasn’t sure when that could’ve happened; Cenna seemed even shorter beside me in comparison.

They watched me as I took in my new features, touching my skin to make sure it really was me in the mirror. I finally cleared my throat, apologetically, and gave them a sheepish smile. “I uh, evolved my race. When you reach level 25, you get the, uh, option… to do so.”

A mixture of confusion and excitement met the statement; while it seemed I hadn’t been forgiven for burning down the town, there at least wasn’t active hostility directed toward me, and my news had ignited curiosity amongst the gathered warriors.

“Alright, alright,” Lyrella called out, as she strode over. “About damn time, David, the clock is ticking. It’s right about to be-“

She was interrupted by an apocalyptic blast of sound that cut the horizon like a blade, descending vertically to strike the Guardian on the far side of the Greenwarden; this one rose up, shaking itself away, resembling nothing more than an absolutely enormous stag, its’ branching horns somehow reminiscent of the stars in the sky. It bellowed in response, and the sound was like a hurricane, roaring and lashing at the trees.

Our Guardian raised its’ head, the serpentine maw regarding the distant stag as if considering whether or not to intervene.

“That’s our cue, everyone!” Her tone held its’ usual boisterous aggression, but it felt somehow hollow in the face of the enormous attack that had initiated the battle on the other side.

The third Guardian, a shaggy vine-draped bear the size of a factory, roused itself up from the forest that had concealed it, a series of thundering impacts blasting along its’ flank.

“Goddamn,” I heard someone murmur from nearby, as the serpentine Guardian drew its’ head fully up over the canopy. “ We’re supposed to fight that fucker?”

The laughter that answered held tension, but also excitement. It was time to fight.