Emily was walking behind me, with Seramosa next to her, as we returned to the village centre. Although the Ifrit obviously favoured Elye, she was clearly quite pleased with finding someone besides me who could see her.

By the time we got to the pond, Renji was already in the middle of rinsing his gauntlets with a bucket and brush, while Elye seemed to be counting trophies they’d collected from the Black Hounds, specifically the fangs of their large mandibles.

Next to them sat the Huntsman, nursing his ankle, while some people from the village were listening to him describing how Renji and Elye had fought to exterminate every last one of the creatures. I did wonder what the long-term effect of wiping out so many of the vile animals would be, but it was also quite possible that Lacksmey was dealing with an overabundance of monsters, which had evolved to survive being hunted by Otherworlders. If the latter was the case, it would mean that when the Realm Gate moved to Lundia, those animals might’ve started to grow out of control and become powerful enough to attack villages. It was perhaps something a Librarian or Genius would know the answer to, well-versed in history and lore as they were.

“Welcome back,” I said to my companions.

“Did you miss us?” Renji joked.

I scoffed at his joke, then said, a bit more seriously, “I met this girl here. She’s an Otherworlder.”

Renji’s eyes narrowed as he observed her. The villagers nearby had fallen silent as well, casting Emily some wary glances. “She seems quite young.”

“I’m sixteen,” she answered.

“What are you doing in Lacksmey? You must’ve just arrived in Mundus recently to be that age.”

“…See that’s the thing. She arrived in this village. Not Lundia. Here.”

“What? That’s impossible.”

“I saw it!” said one of the nearby villagers. “She appeared out of nowhere!”

Emily began to withdraw into herself, seeming to shy away from the attention.

Renji hummed as he thought it over. “I’ve never heard of something like that, but we should bring her with us to the Adventurers’ Guild in Altar. Maybe they’ll know what’s going on.”

I nodded. “I was just about to suggest that.”

“How’s our driver?” Renji asked. “We could leave as soon as I’m done cleaning up.”

“I don’t think we should expect him to recover anytime soon,” I replied. “He seems very torn up about the loss of his horse.”

Renji turned to the villagers. “Can we buy two of your horses?” he asked.

“I’ll have to teach you how to ride,” Renji remarked, as we tore down the road to Altar, the four of us spread between two horses.

I was sitting behind Renji, while Elye was holding on to Emily, who seemed to have a knack for riding. The Elfin was talking her ear off, despite the fact that they’d just met. Fortunately, Emily seemed to be okay with her new friend and was making an effort to engage in her bizarre topics, such as which birds made the prettiest sounds in her world or what her favourite cut of meat was.

The two mares we had bought for about eighty silver crowns each, were dark-grey and fairly well-tempered, but also eager to be allowed to go as fast as they could. I suspected the animals hadn’t seen much use by the villagers, who, from the looks of it, were self-sufficient enough that they didn’t require many goods or services from outside their own little community.

My ass was already completely numb from the makeshift saddles we were using. In actuality, they were just folded rugs which did basically nothing to cushion the repeated impacts of the hooves against the gravel road.

“Didn’t we underpay them for these mares?” I wondered, as the wind rushed by my ears. We were going a lot faster than the carriage, but I still wasn’t sure if the trade-off between speed and comfort was worthwhile.

“It might be the opposite, actually,” Renji replied. “Sure, a proper thoroughbred would cost the same as a house, but these horses are far from that. Plus, they’re already past their prime and I doubt the village paid much to acquire them.”

“How’d you get to Arley when you first got news that I’d arrived?”

“The Guild lets you rent horses, so I just paid for one and rode it all the way to Lundia, before handing it back to them.”

“That sounds a lot like a car rental service,” I remarked.

“That’s the side-effect of Otherworlders coming here with the ideas and concepts from their own worlds.”

“I’m surprised they haven’t figured out electricity yet.”

“Some things are easier to get people onboard for than others. Getting a proper industrial revolution going would take the kind of goodwill that few Otherworlders ever attain, not to mention the fact that the Crown would have to greenlight it.”

“Wouldn’t they benefit from such a thing?”

“Perhaps, or perhaps their reign would become shaky.”

I frowned. “I wonder where the Royal Family came from? Like which world.”

“The names of the King and Prince are both very Nordic-sounding,” Renji replied. “Or so Frode told me. Their family name translates to ‘Golden Rose’ in his native language.”

Maybe I should try asking Mortl about it if I meet her again.

“Did I mention that Emily is a Spellhand?” I asked, changing the subject.

“You didn’t.”

“She seems to have an Affinity for Wind. My Ifrit told me some about it.”

“Air Affinity? That’s an uncommon one. Did you try to train her?”

“Only a little bit, but she’s surprisingly quick to learn. She managed to put a hole through one of the Troll Spires.”

There was a worried tone in my friend’s voice as he asked, “What was the Backlash like?”

“She passed out and her heartrate seemed to drop. She told me it felt like she fell from high up. And she also complained of a headache and feeling cold.”

“I can try and help her avoid that happening.”

“You know a lot about Backlash?”

“Oh yeah. When I started out in Lundia, I was in a Party with a Spellhand who had a Fire Affinity. Spellhands are pretty popular, because they can deal both with groups of enemies or large monsters. They’re kind of like heavy ordnance.”

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“I’m sensing a ‘but’ incoming.”

Even though I was seated behind him, I could hear the smile on his voice as he said, “But,” before his tone shifted back into serious, “Spellhands use their very souls to fuel their powers and a soul is like a battery that can’t be recharged. Depending on the kind of Affinity and how skilled they are at utilising their powers, they can, in the worst-case scenario, end up having to retire after just a handful of years, and some have even died from pushing it too far. Those who learn to control their powers well from the start don’t end up like that though, but they’re rare. If you meet a Spellhand with an Advanced Role, they’re usually pretty powerful, more so than Crusaders or other Specialisations.

“Priests and Paladins are similar to some extent, as they use their souls to fuel their healing powers, although I haven’t heard of any Priest who experienced severe Backlash, usually they just deal with intense exhaustion if they push things too far. I suppose their Affinity is far more benevolent in that regard.”

“What about Exorcists and Summoners?” I asked.

“I’m unsure. But I suppose that it’s a type of Affinity that doesn’t have obvious side-effects.”

“Could the Backlash be something subtle, like how people are inclined to view us with mistrust?”

“I don’t think it’s that simple. I think the mistrust is cultural, not magical in origin.”

I suppose that if people were likely to mistrust me because of my ‘Affinity’, then the Elfin wouldn’t have been so welcoming.

I thought over it a bit, then remarked, “It really surprises me that Spellhands has it rough like this. I always thought they were really fortunate.”

I had always just assumed I was the only one who had it rough, but clearly that wasn’t the case. I could also understand how an Exorcist, with their seemingly exhaustible powers and no Backlash, would appear malevolent to a Spellhand who always had to be wary.

“Few people take the time to get to know other Roles well,” Renji said. “Unless they’re a truly tight-knit Party. Of course, I researched it further because I am hoping to become a Spellfist, so I need to be prepared for the kind of Backlash I might experience. That being said, the Backlash effects aren’t inevitable, but you need proper training and guidance to avoid it, which many new Otherworlders don’t receive. They honestly need to form a Guild.”

“My Ifrit, Sera, told me about Earth Affinity Backlash.”

“That one is pretty rough,” Renji replied. “They often end up paralysed in some way, even the ones who are careful. It’s almost like parts of their body turn to stone.”

“Yeah, it sounds horrible.”

“They’re all bad in their own terrible ways. There are a lot of very minor effects, but here are just some of the overarching ones,” he said, before taking a deep breath and beginning his lecture.

“Fire Backlash leads to hyperventilation, overheating, and bleeding disorders, like Haemophilia. It also affects nerves, manifesting as a lack of feeling in the extremities. Eventually it can lead to blindness and pain insensitivity. My Party member from back in the day ended up blind after going way overboard with a spell that wiped out a goblin stronghold in a colossal explosion.

“Water Backlash, ironically, leads to dehydration and malnutrition, as well as loss of motor functions or discombobulation, kind of like their ability to balance is off. Water Affinity Spellhands tend to appear like they’re always drunk, stumbling and falling all the time. They get ridiculed a lot for it, which is just cruel,” he growled, clearly not a fan of such mockery.

“What about the more long-term consequences?”

“Their skin eventually gets super dry and starts peeling off. Nails and hair too, plus they can get quite brittle bones, which is a terrible combo with the lack of balance.”

“This world sucks,” I complained. “Are there any Otherworlders who get a good deal?”

“Paladins and Priests seem quite happy,” Renji remarked. “Rangers, Vanguards, and Hunters aren’t too bad off either.”

“What about Brawlers?” I asked.

“We’re like discount Vanguards, always second-rate.”

“You don’t seem second-rate to anybody,” I replied sincerely.

“Well, I also made an effort to squeeze every drop of potential out of my Role.”

“I just realised: everyone in this world who wields magic is basically screwed…”

“If we don’t count Paladins and Priests, then that’s pretty much how it is, yeah.”

“Awesome,” I said, sarcastically. “Alright, tell me about the other Affinities.”

“Earth we already covered, so that brings us to Air. The immediate Backlash effects are usually blackouts and fainting, because of air being forcefully expelled from the lungs. The veins also seem to expand drastically, leading to a low blood pressure and heartrate. Basically, Emily has to watch out for heart failure down the line, if she doesn’t get a good grasp on how to use her powers. Additionally, extremities cool down a lot and it eventually leads to a much lower core temperature and poor circulation, which in turn can lead to hypothermia and frostbite.”

I frowned. “How is she meant to avoid it?”

“The main way to avoid Backlash is to properly understand the powers you are wielding. Spellhands get skills called ‘Affinity Trigger’ and ‘Affinity Control’. The Trigger is basically the ability that allows you to summon the element out of nowhere. The Control is what allows the change in temperature, speed, volume, density, and so forth, of the particular element. Control is also what allows for the fine manipulation of the Affinity element, like redirecting the wind, creating waves in the water, making fire move around, controlling roots, and so forth.

“The Backlash is based on the amount of energy that is fed into the spell, whether or not Trigger is used to summon, and what kind of Control is applied. But with a careful approach to spellcasting, all of these can be utilised while the Backlash is avoided, though it requires a lot of training.

“The spell Emily used before she passed out, what was it like?” he then asked.

“She called it Wind Arrow, and though I couldn’t really see it well, it was like a dense spear of air that was able to cut all the way through a thick tree trunk.”

“From the sounds of it, it seems she may have unintentionally used both the Trigger to summon more wind, as well as the Control to refine the shape, density, and speed.”

I gritted my teeth. “…It’s my fault. I just told her how I use my Repel.”

“You didn’t know any better, since you don’t have to deal with Backlash in the same way,” he said, trying to be reassuring, but just making me feel worse. Then he added, “If she is guided well, she’ll be able to attain Lightning Affinity.”

I blinked. “That’s possible?”

“Oh yeah, and it’s awesome! I’ve only seen it once, but there’s a reason it’s the most powerful Affinity of them all.”

“Does anyone start off with that?”

He shook his head. It was awkward having a conversation like this, where I could only see the back of his head, while he couldn’t see me at all, since he was focused on the road with its twists and turns. “The four starting elements are always Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. I’ve heard rumours that some people have started off with two Affinities, though they’re meritless, I think, as everyone I’ve met has only ever had one from the start. However, as you know, when you increase the Rank of your Role, you unlock new Abilities, and, for some Spellhands, these can be a new Affinity.”

“Is Ice one of them?” I asked.

I could hear the smile as he answered, it was clear this was a topic that he loved to talk about, despite its cruel nature, “Ice is one, yep, and it’s obviously based on Water Affinity. There’s also a sub-type of Fire, one which is called Balefire, but I think that requires the Spellhand to be afflicted with a specific curse. It allows them to create a fire that cannot be extinguished through normal means. There’s Lightning and Sound, which are based on the Air Affinity; Metal and Crystal based on Earth; and Plant is another Water-based one. Those are the ones I know.”

“That’s quite a lot.”

“There should be Light Affinity as well, perhaps tied to Fire, but that’s just speculation on my end. It may also be the Affinity that Priests and Paladins have, but I don’t know for sure.”

“What about a Dark Affinity?”

“Who knows. I get the feeling that there are countless more variations, but they probably just have crazy specific requirements to unlock. The Balefire one is really rare as far as I know.”

“Do they have different Backlashes?”

“Yeah, but they’re often quite similar to the element they’re based on. Although I know that Lightning Affinity can lead to memory loss. It seems a small price to pay for the ability to vaporise anything in sight.”

“I don’t know, that side-effect actually scares me more than the others.”

“Yuuta look!” Elye suddenly shouted, pointing off towards one of the nearby Troll Spires, where a tiger-sized animal was hopping several metres through the air between the trees, keeping up with us. It kind of looked like a Binturong mixed with a Red Panda.

“Don’t let it get too close,” Renji yelled back to the Elfin. “It’s likely interested in snacking on our horses.”

“It’s hostile?”

“Not necessarily, but it’d probably take on a Dragon if it was hungry enough.”

“It looks kind of adorable,” I said.

“You’re only saying that because it’s far away,” he replied knowingly. “Baneclaws are like squirrels on steroids with the temperament of a honey badger. They’re known to kill just for sport.”

I turned to look back at it, just as Elye had leant back in her seat with her bow in hand and an arrow knocked.

“Elye! Don’t piss it off!” I yelled.

Fwoosh!

Fuck…

“Please tell me she didn’t do what I just think she did,” Renji remarked, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to look at the Baneclaw. It was hopping between the trees, while slowly descending down towards the ground, an arrow lodged firmly in its left shoulder. It was producing a grunting sound and obviously very pissed off.

“Renji… make the horse go faster.”

“Oh my god it’s coming closer!” Emily panicked.

Elye started laughing maniacally.

Our mares seemed to understand that a massive monster was coming closer, so they picked up a burst of desperate speed and we managed to leave the Baneclaw in the dust, but when I looked back, I saw it standing on the road raised up onto its hind legs and massive clawed paws lifted into the air threateningly.

“We can never go back this way,” Renji said, one-hundred-percent serious. “It has seen our faces.”