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Evangeline

After Eva had revealed her healing abilities to the human team, they discussed about combining their respective skills into a specialized training plan based on each member's area of expertise.

She did not however disclose her ability in space magic, since she barely knew them and would in no way trust strangers that fast.

After all, elven space mage were targets of slavers, at least according the prior information she got from the system.

The final consensus was a two-week training regimen to make the elf a passable field support medic.

Alice was tasked with enhancing Eva's mana regeneration using methods other than solar energy. Paul focused on optimizing the cost-efficiency of her healing abilities.

Jeanne, well, she was a case by herself, whose intensity was almost intimidating. When her turn came for showing to Eva what she could do, she spontaneously burned her own arm, urging Eva to practice healing on her. This lasted for hours under Paul's guidance on mana output optimization.

David and the rest of the infantry and shield bearers took responsibility for training her in stamina, basic close-quarters combat, and battlefield awareness.

Eva had raised concerns about their food supply, but the issue was quickly dismissed. The unfortunate passing of two team members during their escape from the spider flood meant their rations could now comfortably stretch for three weeks.

Despite the dryness of the food, the presence of a water well and apples made it tolerable. Besides, Eva was not about to complain, especially when she had the luxury of beef jerky when only days ago, she only ate apple and was ready to eat moss and suspicious mushrooms just to have some variety.

Throughout the training period, Eva seized every opportunity to get to know the team members.

Alice became a frequent conversational partner, especially during meditation sessions that required little more than occasional guidance. A recent graduate from Verdantia's royal academy, Alice was the fifth daughter of a landless Viscount with numerous children, meaning her prospects of an arranged marriage were distant, allowing her the freedom to explore the world while her parents busied themselves with her siblings' matrimonial arrangements.

Through Alice, Eva learned about essential societal rules, like the frowned-upon practice of casting 'Identify' spells outside combat or without consent, or the fact that a noble insulting a commoner was perfectly normal while the contrary was condemned and finally the fact that only commoner mage or officers escaped this rule.

She was also informed about the political landscape, including Verdantia's status as one of the seven kingdoms within the Human Empire and the longstanding tension between elves and dwarves.

She even had a brief introduction to significant ongoing conflicts such as the Demon Wars in the South, the ongoing Fae wars at the continent's borders, and the alliance between the Necromancer Kingdom and humanity against the north's Void Beast incursion.

Eva also discovered that while void magic and demonic arts were strictly taboo in this world, practices typically deemed forbidden in classical fantasy settings, like Necromancy, Blood Magic, Mind magic and Dark Magic, were respected fields, as long as they adhered to legal standards.

On Paul's side, his background was rather unremarkable. He hailed from a merchant family and had graduated from the commoners' academy in the capital.

His current participation in the expedition was motivated by a desire to earn enough money to buy a residence in the capital, aiming to work as a magi enforcer, a member of the police department that handles magic-related crimes.

This ambition was fuelled by a personal vendetta. His father's lumber trade had flourished, but the dream of Paul attending the royal academy was thwarted by the exorbitant fees and the financial strain from criminal groups that extorted his father's business with rogue mages and hefty "protection" payments.

Stolen novel; please report.

Paul's approach to life and magic was shaped by these experiences, making him more pragmatic and utilitarian than the other mages.

Jeanne, on the other hand, gave off an "psycho cultist" vibe. There was an almost fanatical gleam in her eyes during training sessions, and she was often overheard muttering under her breath about "training the god-chosen" or "the chosen one sure is precious and talented" when she thought no one was listening.

She rarely spoke of her own life, instead focusing on the divine teachings of Prometheus, the God of mankind.

While she maintained a stern and serious demeanour in public, her behaviour became markedly different in private, particularly when around Paul and me.

She didn't hesitate to express, as she usually says, “external expressions of joy for serving the divine father watching her from heaven”, which often manifested in unusual moans and a distant, blushing gaze after healing sessions.

Every morning, I had David, who's conversations invariably revolved around his daughter, whose cuteness he never tired of discussing and his very affectionate wife’s cooking.

I eventually steered clear of topics related to his family, as it brought up uncomfortable comparisons with my own family back on Earth.

David was an excellent and patient instructor. He emphasized the importance of walking in rhythm and following specific patterns on the battlefield, crucial for readiness and threat response. We even spent three days mastering the art of running and moving in combat, focusing on aspects as small as breathing.

Between physical training sessions, I got to know the other men. Gordon, the spearman, coached me in dodging and agility.

George, the swordsman, had an impressive collection of daggers and knives and taught me basic knife fighting, even gifting me a fine bronze dagger and improved under-Armor clothing. Chad, the shield bearer, focused on combat focus and non-magical treatment of injuries and wounds.

Fred, Ferdinand, and Florian completed the lineup of my close-quarter combat trainers. While David observed and offered guidance, these three were my regular sparring partners, honing my skills in hand-to-hand combat.

Our training sessions weren't without interruptions. Occasionally, lone, or small groups of Wolf spiders would disrupt us, but they were easily dispatched at first. However, as time progressed, these skirmishes with the spiders grew increasingly intense.

By the end of the second week, we faced a significant challenge: a raid by a pack of forty Wolf spiders, including five lieutenants. This encounter was the perfect test to gauge the effectiveness of my training.

Remarkably, the training paid off; we managed to fend off the spider group with ease, and this time, without any injuries. David even jokingly said that he would not mind recruiting me in the barony’s army as his personal medic, but I shrugged it off.

The morning after this victory, as everyone was packing up their gear, I decided to return to my shack for a while to assess the fruits of my training. Settling down with the two Doebbits on my lap, I eagerly opened my status menu.

To my delight, the results were beyond satisfactory because regardless of how small they seemed, most of it was the result of training in a safe environment.

[Elven Essence Weaver] levelled up 3 > 6

You have new skills for this class

You levelled up 7 > 8

New base stat points available!

She first did her basic stats distribution. She had a lot of points available since she did not do anything with them when she went from level 2 to 7.

This time, she tried to reach a certain balance in her stats distribution, to last longer since the fight awaiting her will definitely needs more than magic.

Base stats (points available : 40(-40))

Strength : 7 > 15 (-10)

Endurance : 7 > 20 (+1)

Agility: 12 > 25

Intelligence: 138 > 144 (+42)

`I did gain 2 base points on everything, this must be the results of the trainings alone huh` she thought, after noticing that her stats had progressed naturally.

Now, the new skill choice

You have new skills available:

[Verdant shield] your total mana is multiplied by three then divided among your teammates to become their shield. While active, you cannot access your mana but 30% of total stats from your allies, with the exception of Intelligence, are shared with you.

[Treant Awakening: Conversion] You can convert any tree into a treant to join you in battle. The treant duration and combat abilities are proportional to how much mana is used during it's creation. The treant can't regenerate mana. Cost of conversion is influenced by different factors like the tree's age, size and origins. Only one tree can be converted at a time.

[Essence, Vitae's hand: Minor] direct evolution to [Essence Infusion], it has the same effect but do not need any casting or mana to essence conversion time. Direct contact with the target or 1 meter distance maximum.

This time, the choice was way harder. She definitely would not go for the Verdant shield but... The hesitation was between better and faster heals or a treant fighting alongside her party.

Either she fully trusted the ability of the human platoon to hold on with her heal only, or they get a giant that could create an opening during the fight. She decided to go for the better heals, because right now, she had three fire mages that were definitely going to rain fire on an army of spiders. Adding a treant would be like adding wood in a fireplace, a complete waste of mana. Even if she would prefer having her own Groot, she will get it later anyway, when she gets another skill selection opportunity after levelling her class out.

[Essence Infusion] became [Essence, Vitae's hand: Minor]