POV Aron Brightcloud
Finished with my visit to Torsk’s “playground” I headed towards the Main-building of the institute. Thanks to Luana’s payment, I was loaded with contribution-points once more.
Walking on the orderly laid flagged path, I encountered various groups of people. Some of them whispered to each other in the misplaced belief I wouldn’t hear them. Yet my keen ears let me listen in on their conversations easily.
“Have you heard, that’s the one that nearly got his teammates killed! Luckily young earl Stardust had been there to protect his group in their time of need. He even lost an arm during his heroic stand. I would have kicked this slacker out of the group! You can’t trust someone like him!”
“Are you sure? Wasn’t he the one who was involved in the catastrophe with the Silverus girl? He brought even her corpse back. I would think such a person doesn’t behave this careless. He should know best how dangerous a dungeon can be.”
The first person shook his head. “No, I am certain. They have even put it into his file. It has to be true.”
Manor must have invested some energy to spread the news. This went quicker than I had expected. That piece of…
I should have let him die. Now it was too late. I wouldn’t get a chance to right my mistake in the foreseeable future. The team was going to split up.
The only option I was left with was doing it here, yet taking him out on institute grounds was a fool’s errand. No. I kept my anger back. Manor wasn’t worth the risk.
While in thoughts I reached the main-building and within it the contribution-point shop.
Countless artifacts lay on tables and glass vitrines. As before, Katherine arrived as soon as I had entered the shop, a professional smile on her lips.
“Hello, young novice. How can I help you?”
I nodded in her direction. “Good day, I wanted to browse your wares for enhancement pills.
“As you wish.” With measured steps, she led me to the nearest booth.
“Enjoy the browsing. Please be reminded that you shouldn’t consume the same pill you have bought a few weeks back. It leaves a strain on your body. We recommend waiting half a year before its next use. Especially as a mage, your body needs longer to adjust.”
I hadn’t been aware of that. “Thank you for the warning, I will follow your guidance.” What a professional person. She had remembered what I had bought and reminded me of the possible dangers!
Well, it looked like I had to find another pill.
I skimmed over countless descriptions. I could improve my magic abilities, but apart from shielding, which was already powerful, the improvements wouldn’t make a decisive difference. It would bring more to enhance my warrior abilities. Especially now that I had to join a trash-group because of Manor’s deceit.
Which one should I choose?
The Ogre-Strength pill, Rashak-Endurance pill, or the Shart-resistance pill? As their names said, the first improved my strength, making my muscles stronger, the second enhanced my Endurance while the third one strengthened my bones and flesh to resist more damage from physical and elemental sources.
I should begin with the basics. That meant Endurance or resistance. Strengthening my muscles sounded powerful but knowing that these pills were made for warriors they must pack quite the punch. A solid structure for them to work with was a must.
I had a higher endurance because of my dual-path as a warrior and mage. Generally, I was already unable to fully use it as I needed to hide my warrior’s body. So this left the Shart-pill as the best improvement for me to take. It would make a difference when I needed it most.
Having come to a decision I selected my choice and left the compartment to get the pill. The price was similar to the last one I had bought. It would leave me with thirty contribution-points.
Katharine finished the packaging just as I reached the counter.
With a smile, she pushed the little package towards my side.
“Have a great day, young novice.”
I respectfully took it and left the shop.
Next stop, library. Bones had finished reading the formation book and had needled me to get more. He had been especially interested in the topic of illusion, Sense altering, and breaking-formation.
His attitude surprised me. I still felt certain that he hadn’t understood half of the first book. Still, I gladly let him study more. He didn’t need to build formations. If the learned knowledge allowed him to break out from formations, it was already enough. Most likely he would stop soon, as he had no aptitude for it.
The trip to the library went uneventfully. Soon a part of the space in my inter-spatial ring was filled with four new formation-books, pertaining to the topics formation-breaking, illusion, Sense altering, and emotion manipulation.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Having skimmed through them, I felt the need to brush up on my own skills. There was some nasty stuff hidden in there. I didn’t see myself as a formation-master but I needed to be able to sense formations and understand them well enough to force my way out.
Back in my room at the arcane tower, I withdrew the books for Bones, put them on the nearby table, and made myself comfortable. Lying in my bed, book in hand, I deepened my knowledge of this world further.
‘Thanks, big brother!’
The little troublemaker gleefully sat at the table and read through the books. Olivia had joined him. Cooing supportively as he studied. It warmed my heart to see my “little ones” working together and supporting each other.
With a smile, I turned my attention back to my own book.
______
POV Olivia
‘You are the best big brother, Bones! With this knowledge, I will crack the armory’s formation matrix. You will be able to eat all you want!”
Olivia’s sweet thoughts motivated her “older” Brother, and he fought his way through the books with more zeal.
Still, it didn’t take long for him to slow down. A doubtful thought drifted over to Olivia’s mind.
‘Little sister, why do you need all the other books? Isn’t the formation-breaking book enough for us to get into the armory?’
The young spider had awaited this question from her brother. It had been inevitable. It was of utter importance to placate his thoughts, otherwise, her plans would go up in smoke.
‘No, Bones! It is necessary. You don’t know what sort of trap formations they have installed in the armory. We only touched the outer ones, what do we do if they have combined it with an illusion or sense altering formation further into the building. We would be completely screwed. Do you want for our master to have to bail us out after they caught us?’
‘No!!’ his answer immediately and forcefully arrived in her mind. This would be a disaster. Especially as the guards would think their master had ordered them to steal/eat the armors. No, this could never happen!
‘See, that’s why it is important for me to first gain extensive knowledge before we attempt the break-in.’
Cowed by her superior planning and debating skills, the skeleton focused once more on the books.
‘Don’t forget, never mention my awakening to Aron. He will realize that I am helping you and bar you from accessing the armory ever again.’
Bones nodded his head vigorously.
‘Fear not little sister, I won’t say a word!’
Olivia felt reassured by his answer. She needed to stay under her master’s “radar” to do what needed to be done. As a familiar, ancient rules bound her. This meant that she could only act within certain boundaries. Hunting down and killing a human without orders was definitely far outside of them.
But she had found a loophole. When Aron had initiated their contract, Bones had acted as a co-master. Manipulating the child into giving her the orders, she would gain the freedom she needed to take care of the stuff her master didn’t want or could take care of himself. All that was easily possible because of the child’s voracious hunger and innocence. Giving her a huge lever to push on and lead it in the direction she deemed right.
The beauty of her plan was that if Aron got interrogated, he could safely say he hadn’t known a thing.
Olivia felt the anticipation bloom in her. Now she was “free”! She had a lot to do! The young earl Stardust’s tragic demise wouldn’t happen by itself.
_______
POV Aron Brightcloud
As the lights of the day slowly vanished, I felt that the right time had arrived to take the Shart-pill. This one promised to be a tormenting experience. Tempering always went hand in hand with pain. I wanted it to happen before I went to bed, no sense in laying around exhausted for half the day because I consumed the pill during lunch.
I took out the unremarkable piece and laid it on the drawer next to my bed. I opened the buttons of my tunic one by one and took it off. A lot of impurities would be pushed out of my body, better to not have it on my clothes. Next, I draped a large towel over my bed. Finished with my preparation, I warned my familiars.
‘Protect me if something happens, I will use the pill now. Fear not if I shout or trash. It’s all part of the process.’
Olivia chirped in agreement while Bones nodded. They would take care of me while I was incapacitated. Not that I thought that something would happen, but I preferred staying on the safe side.
I slipped the pill into my mouth and swallowed. Immediately warmth filled my body. I laid down on the bed. Soon I would be unable to move. I didn’t have to wait long. The once comfortable warmth rose and rose, it concentrated around my bones and began to “cook” them. The heat turned to pain. Massive, it flared throughout my body. My willpower kept me from shouting, but I lost all awareness. Completely engrossed in the burning of my own body I endured second after second as the fire forged it into something more.
At some point the fire left my bones and moved over to my flesh, my veins, organs, fat, and muscles all got the treatment. Step by step it worked its way through until it had run its course. Leaving me exhausted but happy on the dirty towel. A stinky mucus-like substance had leaked out from my body’s pores, coloring the piece of fabric black.
My willpower pushed me upwards and I stood. I felt the change in my body. I had somehow more substance to myself. Not weightier, but more durable. Anyone who tried to hurt me was in for a nasty surprise!
_______
My recovery period had ended. Back in class, I observed the other students as they seated themselves. Entering the room, Jane gave me a wink coupled with a sympathetic look. She moved over to her seat.
Luana had obviously brought her up to date, otherwise, the young women would have behaved differently.
At least Stonewall kept to himself. It felt a bit atypically for the otherwise strive-loving person. But I was okay with taking a brief break from his annoying antiques. There were still more than enough gazes focused on me, judging my newest episode in the dungeon.
Manor, the prick sat not far away, surrounded by some of his friends. He boasted loudly of his exploit. Weirdly, I felt respect for his blatant disregard of the actual truth.
“Good Morning Class!” The entrance of Teacher Monrose stopped the ongoing discussions.
“Good Morning Teacher Monrose!” The entire class answered.
Content with our response, he moved in front of his table and addressed our class.
“You have now studied for over a month here at our precious institute and have passed the first trial phase! You all have learned the basic spells, have gained experience in the dungeon, and have made friends along the way. You are ready for the next step! As you know, our society is divided into two major organizations, the military, and the guild. From here on you will only partially study here at the academy. You will either use the rest of your time for adventures as a member of the guild or full-fill tasks for the military. In either direction lays glory for you and our country!”
He regarded us all with a level gaze, trying to deepen his message.
“Your teleport authorization has been raised. From now on you will be allowed to travel to Ronach, the city of earth-binders. As mentioned before, your first task will be to join one of our two glorious institutions, choose wisely!”