Book1, Volume 6
Chapter 54
The walls of energy caging her in disappeared with a light Poof! Wylla's foot dug deep into the matt propelling her forward towards the inky Ganglyrot Witch like a bat out of hell as her tail swished side to side in the air behind her.
Her mind churning, anticipating the Ganglyrot Witch's plan of attack; Hmm... if she's anything like the real one she'll first try to chain me down to keep me from moving! As such, Wylla sent oryn energy flowing into her eyes as they lit up following the aura inside Ganglyrot Witch as it flowed into the spear.
The Witch then slammed the heel of the spear into the ground as 4 orb headed streams of dark red energy slithered towards her underground.
Wylla sent oryn energy into her right foot as she quickly sidestepped left as two bloodrose chains burst out of the ground just missing her. Her right foot then hit the ground as the other two bloodrose chains burst up and BAM! Slammed right into the short Earth Flora Wall that Wylla called forth.
The Witch's eye's widened for a moment and her jaw clenched at the sight of her chains missing their target. Her hands tightened her grip on her spear as her body shifted stance, prepared to thrust out at the charging Slydrake girl.
“KAVI!” The Witch screamed out as she unleashed a small barrage of high and low thrusts at Wylla,
Wylla sidestepped the first round of spear thrusts causing them to pass by her left side while she tried to close into striking range but the Witch kept shuffling back and to the side, maintaining thrust range.
“Humph!” So you think you can stop me from getting closer... let's just see about that! The oryn energy within Wylla's new Trinity Unity Core flooded out and down into her feet ready for use as Wylla's tail then whipped forward from low to high, slapping the thrusting spear up and away from her body.
She then rushed in towards the retreating Witch, her first two steps shooting forth unseen energy orbs underground, taking the Witch by surprise as earth flora spikes burst up from the ground inches from where her foot was about to step down on.
Panicking, the Witch tried to step forward despite her backward momentum; Her foot landed on the ground but before she could step forward the earthen spike pierced into her calf breaking her retreating defensives spear thrusting stance.
With her hands on her spear and body stumbling forward into the much too close for comfort Syldrake girl, the Witch held the spear vertical and dropped its heel into the ground in hopes of stopping her stumble and regaining her balance.
But Wylla wasn't about to let her call time out or have a do-over... nope! Wylla quickly stopped her forward charge, reached out with both strong clawed hands and grasped the Witch's hands which were grasping the spear.
Trails of thick inky black blood flowed down the back of the Witch's hands from where Wylla's claws were latched into, forcing the Witch to maintain her hold of the spear.
The unbalanced Witch screeched in pain as Wylla controlled the flow of her body by pulling the Witch's spear up into the air, horizontal to the ground, causing the Witch to look like a criminal being told to lift their hands in the air. Such a position left her body wide open she felt herself being pulled falling forward towards a smiling Wylla.
A sudden cold chill entered the Witch's heart as she spotted something flickering side to side behind Wylla... SWOOSH!
Fast as a whip, Wylla's bladed tipped tail thrust deep into the Witch's abdomen (“AIEEK!”), right below her chest bone... or what Wylla thought of as her chest bone.
Wylla then continued pushing up with her tail as she rolled onto her back bringing the Witch down with her while placing her right foot on the Witch's pelvis... and kicking.
“AIEE!” The Witch screamed again as she was sent flipping, high and away into the air as the bladed tip of Wylla's tail made a fatal mess of the Witch's stomach. A gong rang out before the Witch's body even hit the ground announcing Wylla's victory.
The Ganglyrot Witch's body then turned into an inky puddle that slithered back into its starting ring awaiting instructions.
[ Winner: Wylla Match Rating: 7.9/10 – Kicking your opponent which is badly injured and near defeat far away from oneself is a good way of allowing an opponent to use an item or spell to heal themselves or escape.
Unless keeping the opponent near oneself causes damage like in the case of opponents that explode when defeated it is best to use moves that allow you to keep control of your foe while also keeping them close while in Syldrake form. In addition, you missed one of your Earth Flora Spikes.]
“I see... that does make sense. Next time...”
[ Would you like to spar again? Y/N ]
“Ah... no! That's all for right now... thank you...” Wylla said as she looked down at the ground, making sure that she wasn't standing in or near the starting ring.
[ Answer received and approved. Returning opponent to Sparring Scroll Painting. ]
The puddle of ink then flowed up into the air, slithering back into its scroll and reforming into the painting of the Ganglyrot Witch.
“That is so cool! I wonder if I also get XP from winning... and do I die if I lose?”
[ Queries received. Answers: One may increase the rank, tier, and level of their skills while in here but at a slower rate than one would when fighting out in the real world.
In addition, if your health reaches zero during a match you will not die. The match will be over and the results will then be displayed as your health quickly regenerates back to what it was at the start of the match. ]
“Yes! That's great. So I can work on my proficiencies while sparring...”
[ Yes. And you may also work on just your proficiencies when you switch the Syldrake Dojo from Sparring Mode to Skill Training Mode. ]
Puzzled, Wylla asked, “How so? Can you give me some examples of what you mean?”
[ Query accepted and approved. When switching to Skill Training Mode you can select the parameters to your liking in order to target the skills in which you wish to train. Examples: If you wish to practice and increase the proficiency of your range spells you can select a variety of opponents from the scrolls list and have them stay within certain distances from yourself while you attack with your spells.
Or if you wish to increase the detection proficiency of the antennas of your Butterfly form you can sit in the center of the room with your eyes closed as the chosen scroll opponents move about around you at a selected speed trying to touch you before being hit with your Seed Burst like a game. ]
“Game?” Wylla asked with a tinge of excitement in her voice.
[ Yes. By switching to Games Mode you can play a variety of games geared towards improving your body, mind, and soul such as Hunter Prey, Mazes, Bounties, Escape or Die, Outnumbered, Infection, and Zombies. Plus many more, all geared to be fun and educational. ]
“Ah, that's so unexpected! I'll definitely try them out another day. Thanks for letting me know.” Happy with the results Wylla made her way to the redwood steps growing out of the wall and then proceeded onto the second floor.
Wylla emerged from the entrance in the ground onto the second floor; Her eyes quickly looking about the large room, “Ooh... this must be my study... den?” Wylla paused for a moment, unsure if study den was really a thing. Ah, whatever, either way, let's see what there is to see... Shrugging her shoulders she stepped fully into the study den room.
She looked about, noting that this room was much smaller... well when compared to the huge dojo below. The ceiling was still high, over 12 feet in height, with warm redwood beams and Lampryn fans. The hardwood floor matched the ceiling beams and the wooden furniture in the room.
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In front was the sitting area with an oversized earth-toned flora couch and a pair of comfortable matching sitting chairs arranged around a large redwood coffee table.
Past that on the opposite side of the room was a large ornate redwood desk and chair in front of a pair of opened french doors which led to the second-floor balcony overlooking the crystal blue lake. There were two large round objects sitting atop the desk; One silvery and the other glowing a golden green.
The walls were lined with bookcases and glass cabinets filled with books, paintings, wooden statuettes, flora crafts, and flowers in vases providing splashes of color in the mostly earth-toned room. To the left of her desk was a spiral Syldrake staircase leading up to the third floor.
Her eyes scanned the books on the walls as she walked towards her desk and the large glowing oval object on top it. She glanced at the books on the side on the way, noticing that most of them held titles in a language she couldn't read as she made her way past the sitting area of the room.
“Is that what I think it is?” Wylla muttered to herself as she neared the golden-green glowing object sitting in a wooden tripod stand atop her desk (for who else would the desk belong too within this space?).
“It is isn't it? An egg!” Wylla excitedly reached out with her hand as warm fluffy thoughts of mystical pets born of years of reading wuxia and isekai web novels paraded around in her head.
“Don't be a slime... don't be a slime...” She chanted to herself as her hand touched the large basketball sized egg's glowing shell. “Yikes!” Wylla let out a small yelp of surprise as a static-like orb of energy zapped into her fingers, bolted up her arm, and entered her mind releasing a long golden-green scroll.
Images of words could be seen flowing within her eyes as the knowledge of the Soulryn Scroll was 'downloaded' into her mind and a holographic 24-hour countdown timer sprang up in the right corner of her vision.
“Ah, so that's what you are!... You're the egg for my Soulryn Summoning Ritual. I hope you're cute and fluffy!” Fingers crossed! Laughter and happiness filled Wylla's face, reaching her eyes until she noticed the countdown timer and knew what it meant, turning her face into the spitting image of a child sitting in front of the presents laden Christmas tree the day before Christmas.
“Hmm... well then since that's the case I'll just have to keep myself occupied until the timer hits zero. And since there's a lot to do and prepare for the ritual, that shouldn't be hard to do.” Satisfied with her plan, Wylla shifted her focus to the other round object that was atop the desk.
Wylla moved from the front center of the desk to the corner to stand in front of the round silvery crystal-like object which was now very clearly a globe. This probably serves as a map function for this game. And if it's like all those games I've played before then the reason everything looks 'grayed-out' is because I haven't explored anywhere yet.
“Let's see if I'm right,” Wylla said, reaching out and touching the smooth cool surface of the globe causing an infobox to pop up:
[ Unable to access at this time. In order to use Globe functions, you must first leave your starting zone and enter the world of Abrynth. ]
“Yes, I'm right! Looks like I can add map skill to my list of cheats... or did I already have that? Ugh, I really do need to take the time to go over everything in my status and Druic Grimoire again. But not today."
Now, let's see about these books before checking out the next floor. Who knows, maybe there's a new skill I can learn or spell... Wylla walked up to a tall bookcase, her eyes jolting left and right, glossing over the titles (most of which were written in an unknown language).
She spent some time rummaging and looking through them. “Hmmm... It looks like the books on the shelves are mostly made up of those I've read before and books written in a language I've never seen before... maybe those are just filler books to decorate the bookshelves so that the bookcases don't look so empty?” Wylla said, closing one of the books and placing it back on the shelf.
She then picked out another book that had a title she could read but wasn't one she remembered ever reading before titled: A Spriggankin Introduction to Magical Realms. Ah, this must be made of the knowledge I gained from the Old Raven and the Spriggankins!
With upturned lips, Wylla opened the book and turned to the first chapter:
What are Magic Realms?
Magic Realms are spheres of Oryn energy in which magic of a similar nature exists. While sometimes clashing with each other they can also exist harmoniously with one another as well as synergistically.
All mortals who use Oryn energy in life tap into and hold an affinity with certain Magic Realms like Fire or Beast or Sun or Plant realms and so on. There are many major, minor, and undiscovered realms leading to newly self-created niche realms.
Most if not all Magic Realms have many sides to them as such each user of a realm is unique and different from other users of the same realm. While many may start off learning the same beginner spells they will then develop a feel for the different pathways found within their Magic Realms to create a niche or niches of their own.
Wylla glanced at the Venn diagram showing a mix of different Magic Realms for a moment before reading on.
There are many truths contained within each Magic Realm, some overlapping with other Magic Realms. For instance, if two Fire Realm affinity holders are in the same group, it doesn't mean that they will use the same firey spells and skills.
For within the Fire Realm lies many pathways to the truths of the different nature of the essences of fire. Some may follow the pathway to the purifying nature of fire and use it to cast purifying fire to cleanse curses or spirits and be especially destructive to the undead and demons.
Others may follow the pathway to the fiery heat contained within the land and cast spells of liquid molten magma. Some may tap into the otherworldly fires of the spirit realms casting Ghostfire flames that burns ones soulwell or the cursed flames of Witchfire which burns with a green cursed flame that will burn until the curse is cleansed or nullified.
In the Fire Realm alone there are many paths one may follow and there are no doubt paths that remain unknown to this very day. Those with Fire Affinities will have to discover which path best suits them as they grow in power and knowledge of their affinities.
Wylla's eyes shined as ideas and thoughts flowed in her mind. “So how does one create their own niche realm and can there be more that one affinity within that niche realm?” The sound of pages turning filled the air as her eyes scanned the opened book in her hands coming to a stop at the section she was looking for.
Creating your own Niche Realms takes intellect to study the nature of the Oryn and your affinity realms. It takes wisdom to gain enlightenment from the usage of your affinity realms through the daily usage of your spells and skills. And it takes Faith in believing that you are on the right path and that the constant pursuit of your own magic will lead to the creation of your Magic Realm.
As for whether your niche realm/s can be made up of more than one magic realm the answer lies within the Plant Realm. For if you look into the flora of our world, of Plants and Trees, you will see the great big green nature of that realm and notice that many Plants and Trees in our world also have other affinities contained within them, working harmoniously and synergistically together.
For instance, you have the green nature of Banshi Flowers combined with the musical nature of the Sound Realm allowing the flowers to scream out loud when damaged. There's the plant essence of the Wynbella Flora which holds an even greater amount of the cold essence of the Ice Realm. You have the poisonous nature of the Araken Flora blended together with the curse essence of the Dark Realm.
Of all the realms of magic that make up the Oryn, it is the Plant Realm that holds the greatest amount of synergy with other realms. Which is both a good thing since one has a greater amount of options open before them when creating their own magic niche realm. And a bad thing since it's easy to get lost amongst all the pathways opened up before them.
Hmm... that makes sense. I need to keep this in mind when I get to this point. Wylla thought, nodding to herself. She then fought off a yawn right as she was about to start reading again, shook her head, and closed the book placing it on top of her desk.
I'll finish you next time I come back to read. She gave the book a tap and then turned her head to look toward the spiral Syldrake staircase leading up to the third floor. “Now to see what's up and around the bend.”
Wylla climbed up the staircase and stepped onto the third, and by the looks of it, last floor since she didn't spot any other stairways leading up.
This room was about the same size as the study den below; It had high ceilings with redwood beams and hardwood floors. The walls were lined with mostly wooden cabinets with glass-paned doors.
On the far side of the room, standing on either side of another opened door which led out to another balcony (this one with a view of the beautiful waterfall), were a couple of tall redwood bookcases. None of the books in the bookcases had titles that Wylla could read. Guess I haven't unlocked these 'subjects' yet.
Long wooden work tables and stools furnished the room with a round stone fire pit prominently sitting in the center.
Wylla walked up to the fire pit and knelt down next to it. “This looks like the perfect place to put you.” Smiling, Wylla summoned her Bloodrose Cauldron. The energy flowed through her body and released out of her hands over the fire pit as the cauldron materialized right in front of Wylla's crescent-shaped eyes.
Wylla stood up, nodded to herself as her cauldron sat perfectly atop the stone fire pit. Her small mouth then opened as she recalled something. She looked into the cauldron and shook her head, “Guess this means my Bloodrose Grimoire couldn't come... think I'll try soulbinding it while my Soulryn timer counts down.”
She then lightly stretched and fought off another yawn as she looked towards the staircase leading down. “Such a strange and wonderful pagoda, not only does each floor serve its own purpose, but each floor comes in its own size.”
Looking one last time around her workshop room, she gave her wonderful cauldron a gentle pat, nodded to herself, and then made her way back down the stairs.
Despite her tired eyes, Wylla returned to the first floor of the dojo with a small smile on her lips. Her feet dragged across the matt and a yawn escaped her mouth as she stretched her arms up in the air, slightly arching her back while walking towards the center of the room.
“Mmmm... as much as I'd like to spend more time here I think it's time for some sleeps... Tomorrow is going to be a big day since I have a Grimoire to soulbind, a baby serpris to nurse back to health and return to its family, and a Soulryn summoning ritual to prepare and perform...”
And then... a guardian to find and defeat so I can leave this beautiful starting area and finally logout... to be me again... The thought brought a trace of melancholy to her eyes and lips.
Sighing, she shifted her thinking to happier thoughts as images of what her soon to hatch Soulryn would be danced in her head. She walked to the center of the dojo and sat down in the lotus position within the lotus ring in the mural, and closed her eyes breathing in and out... in and out... returning to her body.