– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 218, Season of the Setting Moon, Day 19 –
Terry finished cleaning himself up and he re-equipped his armor. The world outside his window was still dark while the morning was struggling to push away the night.
He had already finished his morning exercises which consisted of running.
Running and running.
Then some more running.
Running on layers of divine mana.
Running while trying to let the divine mana follow his trajectory.
Running while pulling his mana bubble with him.
Running while letting his spell structures ripple throughout the mana bubble without ever igniting any.
Running while fluidly cycling one burst technique after the other.
Even though Terry had remained in the same place for a whole week, he still felt like he was running all the time. Admittedly, the recurring nightmares of himself fleeing from hordes of monsters didn’t help.
The weather and monsters kept changing, but the basic dream was always the same. It would start with him at the center of a crowd. Then the monsters crashed into the crowd and everyone started fleeing and screaming. Overcome from terror and from the momentum of the crowd around him, he would start running as well. Running faster and faster. Overtaking others. Jumping over those that had fallen. Bumping into those running slower than him.
Terry frowned when he remembered the sensation of bumping into others in his dreams. Those dreams felt so much more real than any others he had ever had. He felt the sun or wetness from rain. He even sensed mana. Recently, he had also started tasting the sweets when his dream self had bought some before the monsters arrived. The only sense that was still missing was a sense of smell for some reason.
Terry splashed some more water onto his face. He needed his morning runs to push the nightmare out of his mind and concentrate on his day. Ironically, running in reality seemed to work best to forget his nightmarish night-time runs.
More running…
Terry grabbed a piece of chocolate from his desk. The city-state he was finding himself in was a strange place, but there were a few pleasant things to discover. An exquisite chocolaterie was among those.
After getting a good idea of his potential income in this place, Terry first researched the forbidden zone at the guild. If it took him longer to earn the money for the portal fee than it would take him to circle around the volcanic thunder, then he wanted to know.
From what he had learned, sidestepping the forbidden zone was not a good option either. He would have to cross other hostile territories. Some martial sects with a reputation to kill on sight. Some uninhabitable territories which also meant no hunting to supplement his food supply.
In the end, Terry had decided to stay in the city-state and work here until he had enough money to access the portal. After the snide remarks from the receptionist at the Guild, he had also decided to read up a bit on the country he was in.
The country used to be called the Bloodborne Kingdom, but the royal family had been dethroned less than two years ago. Now it was called the Freedom Cooperative.
Cooperative.
Terry had heard that term before in the Flower House, which also claimed to organize and run itself as a cooperative. He didn't even try to understand what that meant. He was just passing through. He only needed to understand enough to get paid and to stay out of trouble.
He was satisfied with knowing that there was some kind of governing assembly. He retained a lingering aversion for politics from his time in Tiv and Thanatos, which was why he did not care to figure out the nuance between this local parliament and others.
The only reason Terry had read further into the whole thing was his surprise at learning that the coup had been rather bloodless. The different rebel factions not only managed to covertly invade the palace and other key locations, they also succeeded in convincing the royal guards to step aside or to join their side. The royal family had chosen exile over submission and left the country for good.
Unfortunately, a bloodless revolution did not mean a bloodless aftermath. Terry had gotten a glimpse into the chaos the old woman was raving about. He had scared off the pickpockets on his first day, but he still had to put down an overconfident group of street robbers during his first night.
Terry frowned from the input of his mana detection field. His far-reaching senses should be a blessing, but in this kind of place, it felt like a curse of knowledge instead. He signed, grumbled, and checked the clock.
Still time until the merchant’s logistic entrances open.
So what? I don’t know what’s going on. Why is that person even outside at this time?
I can’t do this all the time. I’m not paid to be a guard. I have other stuff to do and…
Terry rubbed his eyes and sighed again. “...consider it training.”
Bullshit. What kind of training could that bunch be?
He finished the chocolate and ran out before the darkness was chased away by twilight.
***
Terry stepped around the corner and intentionally flared his mana.
“What the—?”
A group of men spread out and eyed the new arrival warily.
“Piss off,” growled Terry. “Leave him be.” One large man was lying on the ground with bruises and a blackened eye.
“Who are—?” One from the shady group spoke but was held back by another. “Yo, you misunderstand mister.” The speaker was dressed in a suit. “That bastard assaulted us!”
Yeah right.
Terry glanced at the man on the ground. He had to admit that the man had a mean face and the blackened eye somehow increased the impression even further. However, he knew who had attacked whom from his mana detection field. And even if he hadn’t. “If that man assaulted you, then why is he the only one with a black eye?”
“I have friends, you see.” The suit was gesturing towards the rest of his group. “They helped me.”
“Spare me the veiled threats.” Terry glanced at the group without concern. “Just piss off.”
“Punk, I’ll gut you!” One robber pulled a weakly-enchanted hatchet and attacked. He did not make it two steps, before a swift fist crushed his skull.
“I’ll take that.” Terry placed the enchanted hatchet into his storage bracelet. It was a weak enchantment but it could still be sold for some coin. Money was money.
Afterwards, Terry glanced at the unmoving corpse with a detached attitude that froze the blood in the veins of the shady spectators. The only reaction on Terry’s face was a slightly raised eyebrow. He had slightly overestimated the man’s mana cultivation and severely underestimated his own strength.
“Run!” The suit barked out in panic and was the quickest on his feet.
“Good call,” muttered Terry. Smarter than the last group.
He refused to let those who had pulled a weapon on him live, but he did not feel like pursuing the other weak street bandits today. He still had several jobs to do during the day and hunting bandits at night wasn’t paid in this city.
In fact, the city didn’t even task guards with patrolling at night, which Terry found exceedingly weird. The Council in Arcana would never permit such lawless times or districts to exist in Arcanian cities.
“Are you okay to walk on your own?” asked Terry.
“Y-yes…” The bruised victim coughed some blood.
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Truthfully, Terry wasn’t so sure if the man would be fine on his own, but he had expected that answer. The man wanted Terry to leave. As soon as he was out of sight, the man would proceed to loot the corpse to recover some of the money they had taken.
I don’t want that stuff anyway, so calm down you— You know what? Nevermind. Why do I even bother?
Terry shook his head. This city was different from the lunatic martialist asylum he had been trapped in, but somehow it was just as depressing. He had learned more about the city from Jasmine, his employer and nominated leader of the Flower House.
The corner where the mean-faced robbery victim had come from was apparently some kind of hub for illicit activities, most prominently the peddling and consumption of illegal stimulants that included magic narcotics produced in the Lich Kingdoms.
The locals were complaining and basically blaming the refugees, but Terry was not sure he cared what was going on in that place. He was not familiar with the substances and could only go by Jasmine’s description, but as far as he understood, the people chose to go there and they mostly hurt themselves.
Terry did not feel like he had any right to preach about making choices that brought harm upon yourself. He thought they were making bad choices, but it was none of his business. He was just passing through, after all.
Terry glanced once more at the corpse on the ground. The assailant had died from a single punch. Not even a particularly hard punch in his opinion. He had not used any burst to accentuate it. Since he was wearing his concealment necklace with its passive mana absorption, the mana enhancement was less than his balanced state. He did not even aim the punch properly.
No matter. The mana user in front of him was now dead after a single punch.
Terry did not feel happy at the evident sign of how much stronger he had become thanks to his improved physique and mana foundation.
He certainly wasn’t feeling sad either. The kind of person that stalked the streets at night to rob others and did not hesitate to draw a weapon had long ago traded their humanity for the world of beasts.
No, Terry mostly felt a tinge of surprise. He had not deliberately killed the man. He had not even used his daggers. He had simply not cared enough to hold back even more. He was not used to holding back anymore. He was not sure if he wanted to either.
Terry closed his eyes and allowed the sensations from his mana touch to call him back to focus. He swallowed his complaints and dashed towards his first mission for the day. During his departure he could already feel the bruised victim loot the corpse of the robber…
***
“Are you sure you can transport all of that?” The warehouse worker clicked her tongue and covered Terry with her inquisitive gaze.
“Yes.” A calm reply. Terry was already spreading his mana to activate the crafter’s pendant. The activation of the pendant took time, but it could hold gigantic quantities. As preparation for the transport job, he had tested an idea to sidestep the slow activation by marking many objects at once. There was still a limit to the pendant’s reach, but he would be able to enter all of the wares in around fifteen minutes with this approach.
“If you say so.” The elven woman that acted as the contact in the warehouse rolled her eyes. “Your caravan appears to be late though. Just warning you. The boss isn’t kidding about the contract violation fees. It’s better to admit it now if you don’t have full confidence. Also— What?” The warehouse worker blinked quickly in succession when a large batch of her wares vanished at once.
“I can handle it,” mumbled Terry while walking forward with his eyes still closed from concentration. One benefit of his mana touch was that he could fully concentrate on mana without needing his vision that only served as a distraction when it came to matters like these.
“What kind of storage item are you using?” asked the warehouse worker.
“Crafter’s pendant,” replied Terry without turning around.
The elven woman followed his movements with a look of perpetual skepticism. Only when all wares had disappeared into his dimensional pendant did her expression change into slight astonishment. “Well, I never.“ She pushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek. “If you can afford something like that, what are you doing in a dump like this?”
Terry tilted his head. With all of his planning he had never thought about selling his most valuable possession. Perhaps the pendant alone would buy him a ticket through the portal. However, just the idea of losing another one of his cherished gifts from his family caused his blood to run cold.
Never…. Okay only if there is no other option. But I’d rather try circling around than selling my pendant. That portal does not get me all the way to Arcana and I’d rather travel a longer distance with a crafter’s pendant than a shorter distance without.
Terry remembered that he was technically in the middle of a conversation and belatedly replied: “I’m just passing through.”
The elven warehouse worker scrunched her face. “Just don’t try anything dumb. The wares are not worth getting yourself into trouble with the Guild for. They’re all marked and traceable. The contract violation penalty is no joke.” She bit her lower lip. “And if I may be so free, I would suggest you run. There are always vultures hanging around the caravans. They might not expect you to take a stroll with our stuff hidden in your jewelry, but if you come here again, they’ll figure it out eventually.”
Terry could not help but chuckle. Of course, he would be running. Wasn’t he always running? Running and running.
“You’re a bit off, aren’t you?” The elven woman raised an eyebrow.
“A bit? Hopefully just a bit,” blurted Terry in a mutter and shrugged.
You’re voicing your thoughts out loud again.
Weirdo.
He checked the receival document and compared it one last time against the contents in his crafter’s pendant. After confirming that the inventory listed matched the one he had received, he signed and bolted away to deliver the wares to the other end of the city.
He jumped into the air on layers of divine mana and used the chance to continue his training from his morning run. Down below, he could still sense the cloaked presences of mana-users that were observing both the warehouse and now him.
Terry continued unperturbed since none of the mana signatures were a serious threat to him.
***
After dropping off all the wares at the merchant’s storefronts, Terry passed by a building in the university district. The doors had not been opened yet, but that fit his schedule perfectly. He placed a dozen mana containers in front of him, spread his mana, and filled them all up in parallel.
After Terry was finished with the containers, he moved in front of the doors. He did not knock because he could already sense the people inside preparing for opening hours.
“Huaam— Eeek!” The sleepy-eyed dwarf that was opening the door yelped when he saw a strangely dressed man mere inches in front of him.
“I’m here for the Guild mission for filled mana containers,” declared Terry.
“Stone below, you scared me,” grumbled the dwarf. “Wait over there or at least let me have a coffee before pulling pranks like that.”
“My pa used to say that fear or wrath beats any coffee when it comes to waking up,” remarked Terry. A wistful smile crept onto his face at the unexpected memory. If he remembered correctly it was from a story that his accepted mother Isille had shared about the pranks of Bjorln and Olgorn. Apparently, the two brothers had a phase when they utilized rather eccentric ways of making sure the other was awake on time.
“‘Pa’?” The research assistant moved his gaze over Terry from top to bottom with a skeptic expression.
“I’m pretty tall for a dwarf, I know.” Terry blurted out and immediately wondered if the old memory had caused the old joke to slip from his tongue. He felt a bit awkward because he couldn’t know if the research assistant had really picked up on the dwarven way of addressing parents. He cleared his throat and returned to the original topic. “I’ve brought the full amount of requested mana containers. Freshly filled up.”
“‘Freshly’?” Once again, the research assistant’s face contorted with barely hidden skepticism. “I’ll see about that. Come in. Don’t take it personally, but I’ll have to check the decay level before accepting anything.”
It did not take long for the dwarf to confirm everything to his satisfaction. In fact, the researchers were so pleased with the low degree of decay, in other terms the ‘freshness’ of the mana that they immediately tried to recruit Terry for further work.
In contrast to others, Terry was able to deliver a large batch of freshly filled mana containers at once. A unique selling point thanks not only to his outstanding mana foundation, but also because of his practice with ranged naturalization and ranged use of mana containers.
Since they aimed to research the decay rate, it was best to start as freshly naturalized as possible, because it allowed them to study the decay from the earliest point on. In addition, Terry’s way of filling the containers allowed the researchers to have multiple samples with the same rate of decay as well as with the exact same mana signature.
Terry was slightly intimidated by the fervor in the researchers’ eyes when they discovered what he could offer them. Their gazes grew almost heated while they mumbled about sample size, significance, and something called control variables. He was half afraid that one of them would try to kiss him when he declared that he could directly fill their instruments in minutes instead of first depositing his mana into his own containers.
To Terry’s delight, their research fervor directly translated into an increased quota of requested mana and increased payment for each delivery. He just had to pass by and deposit the mana here. The arrangement was not only more profitable but more convenient for Terry since he was wary of handing over his personal mana containers of Arcanian makers whom he trusted.
His next stop was at a different district that mostly contained factories and workshops of various kinds. The doors for the large workshop were already open and he could already see a few other people lining up and filling mana containers for the mission relating to quality control.
Terry had to fill out a few forms and was then led to a corner with a batch of mana containers whom he was supposed to fill with mana. He proceeded to use the same approach as for the other mission, but the reaction of the quality control experts was a lot less ardent than that of the researchers had been. They just raised an eyebrow without commenting and then proceeded with the rest of the formalities that ended with them thanking Terry for his assistance and reminding him that this was a regular mission.
When Terry left the workshop, it was still early in the morning. Even if he could not get more pay from the quality control mission, his speedy fulfillment carved out more time for other jobs. Yesterday, he had spotted a few more missions that fit him. These were mostly related to utilizing his mana sensor and mana touch abilities.
One mission was about working as an appraiser for magic items, which involved services like detecting flaws in magic items or estimating the remaining duration of enchantments. That mission had been issued by a local auction house.
Another set of missions was issued directly by the local city government. They required help with making sure the many workshops did not leak any dangerous magic substances. They also wanted to explore an unexplored underground tunnel system left behind by the previous rulers.
The last group of missions from the recent candidates revolved around helping some local farmers and food merchants to identify exactly where and how pests were invading their fields and storage facilities.
The best thing about many of these sensor missions was that Terry didn’t even have to specifically allocate time for them. He could do whatever in the city while spreading his mana detection field to track the entrance point of rodents or get a gauge on any magic substances leaking from factories.
Not right now, however.
The next item on Terry’s agenda for the day required him to go slightly beyond the scope of the outer city and to enter an area that would limit his mana sensor range. He had finally been allocated a spot for the most profitable mission work around.
Today, Terry would perform his first dive into the local dungeons. He had done his research and he was still determined to do it solo.
***