Jun sagged with relief once Shiori called a stop for the day. She had walked with the pack and her Master on her back for the entire afternoon, and the sky was starting to get dark.
They had left the clearing after noon, which seemed like a late start to begin traveling, but her Master had made the decision for them both by packing everything up. She still didn't know where Shiori put everything. Maybe an inventory? Some kind of space magic?
When she'd asked, her Master had just pointed in a new direction for Jun to walk while saying that it was magic she wasn't ready for.
They stopped along the bank of a small stream that was reasonably clear of brush. A fallen log made for a convenient seat for Jun to rest upon as she dropped her pack. As she rested, her Master jumped down from her shoulders and stretched. Jun blinked, and between one moment and the next the familiar campfire from the cave had appeared, a chunk of meat already sitting on the iron spit and roasting!
Definitely magic, Jun thought. Rubbing her aching shoulders, she couldn't help but glance at her pack laying on the ground where she dropped it, her weapon still tied to the back of it. She had a feeling the only reason she was carrying the pack was so that Shiori had a comfortable place to nap while Jun walked, but she didn't dare voice her complaint. Again.
Jun had complained about the weight of the pack digging into her shoulders a couple hours after they'd left, and stopped for a break. While she was sitting on a somewhat comfortable root, a wooden bowl full of Shiori's crime against cooking disguised as soup manifested pressed against her face, the pungent herbal smell making her tongue curl. Her Master urged her to drink the soup, insisting it was good for her and would help her stamina.
Her Master was right, as Jun quickly found the energy to keep going when she started running away from the floating bowl of soup! She hadn't stopped moving since, at least until Shiori called for them to stop for the night.
Her thoughts were interrupted as her Master called her to attention. "Kitten, pay attention, it's time to learn a new spell." Shiori sat staring at her as a light purple pyramid with 4 sides floated manifested above her ears, rotating in place as the purple glow lightly illuminated their camp as night approached. Each side held an unfamiliar symbol surrounded by geometric shapes she knew were sub-glyphs that helped direct her mana through the spell form.
The spell form stopped to display its square base, the central symbol beginning to glow as the other shapes dimmed. A stylized mountain surrounded by sub glyphs lit up in the center, giving off a feeling of strength and balance. "The foundation. Stability. Longevity. Endurance." Jun quietly whispered, the beginnings of comprehension and understanding flowing into her. The symbol slowly took shape, glowing as it laid a foundation in her mind for the spell.
The spell construct rotated to show a single side of the pyramid and the symbol etched within, that of a lone tree sitting upon a hill, bending with the wind. "Flexibility. Adaptation. Bending without breaking." The tree seemed to bend and move with the wind as it took shape in her mind and joined with the foundation.
The spell rotated in place again, stopping between two faces as their symbols pulsed in time with each other. Linked aspects. A river flowed, parted by a rock in the middle of the current, enduring the ceaseless current. The river's banks contained the water, controlling its movement, directing its flow. "Resistance and deflection. Containment and redirection." The sibling symbols joined their cousins in her mind, related but distinct.
A final turn, a final face. The entire face except the central symbol glowed with light, dimmer at the edges and brightening closer in, until the light reached the symbol and vanished. A hole in reality, consuming all that approached. A single overwhelming word echoed through Jun's mind. "Void." The symbol joined the others in her mind, sucking in her mana as sub-glyphs formed around the symbols, containing their aspects and joining them together. The spell form snapped into being, a four-sided pyramid glowing the bright blue of Jun's mana.
"[Barrier]!" Jun's mana dropped precipitously as the spell manifested itself in front of her, filling the dimly lit camp with a pale blue light. A circular plate of energy floated in front of her, as wide as the length of her arm.
Jun looked closer at the coalesced spell in front of her. She could barely make out the shape of a magic circle etched with glyphs through the glow of the shield. Looking closely, she began to recognize some of the markings as sub-glyphs from the spell forms in her mind. Her curiosity peaked,
Jun yelped as she saw the rapid movement of something approaching her from the side and flinched back, instinctively closing the screen as she threw up her arms to protect herself. The glowing blue plate flew between her and the threat and blocking the projectile!
An empty wooden bowl clattered to the forest floor as the shield dimmed slightly. "A defensive spell." Shiori nodded approvingly at Jun's reaction. "As you just experienced, the spell reacts to perceived danger."
Shiori leapt up into the air and kicked off of Jun's shield to land on a purple version of her new spell. A small [Piercing Missile] manifested and shot forward, dissipating as it impacted the shield. She noticed that Shiori bouncing off the shield had barely dimmed it, while the magic spell had slightly increased it's brightness. "It can stop things both magical and mundane, if you have the necessary power to sustain it. The shield can absorb magic to power itself further, but it can be overwhelmed.
"Finally, while it is useful and can keep you alive..." Jun yelped as something hit her rear with a dull slap. Another another wooden bowl and clattered to the ground. "Do not rely upon it. The danger you don't perceive could still harm you." Shiori released her spell and the construct broke into purple motes as she dropped to the ground and padded over to the roasting meat on the fire. "Meditate on your new spell and the meanings of its aspects as we eat."
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Jun rubbed her rear, wincing as the stinging faded. She was glad Shiori pointed out the weakness immediately instead of putting her at risk, but they didn't leave her thinking charitable thoughts. Pulling up her new spell details, she groaned internally at the cost.
[Barrier] (Apprentice 1)
An upgraded variant of the basic [Shield] spell. This spell is composed of the aspects for Endurance, Adaptation, Redirection, and Negation. Blocks, absorbs, and redirects force.
Cost: 100 mana minimum, variable.
Her mana was better now, but it was nowhere near enough.
Mana: 97/200 [15/min (0.25*MIND + 0.5*SPR)/min]
As she watched her mana, it slowly ticked down as she held the spell, at a rate of about 1 or 2 seconds. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the flow of spell. Unlike with her [Piercing Missile] spell, the spell form for [Barrier] didn't drain of mana after she cast the spell. Instead, she could feel a sort of tether between the active spell form and her construct. With a few experimental pushes on the spell, she found that she was able to move it around through the tether, sending it flying around the campsite with her mind.
Mana: 23/200 [15/min (0.25*MIND + 0.5*SPR)/min]
After about a minute of playing with the spell, she felt a headache starting to build. Instinctively, she tried pulling the mana pulling the mana out of the spell form and was surprised when the mana seamlessly returned, refilling some of her mana pool as the spell dissipated.
Mana: 36/200 [15/min (0.25*MIND + 0.5*SPR)/min]
About 10% of what she spent casting the spell had been returned that way. While it wasn't a great return, she was happy that she could at least get some back. It would make practicing with the expensive spell a bit easier.
Finished playing with her new spell, Jun moved over to the campfire where a steaming bowl of roasted meat sat waiting for her. Shiori was happily eating from her own bowl while her tail flicked back and forth happily. The appetizing smell reminded her stomach of its hunger and she quickly dug in as she contemplated the new spell's aspects.
Jun's lessons on modifying her first spell emphasized manipulating the distribution of mana to emphasize or minimize aspects of the spell through their symbols. Her instincts told her she should be able to modify this spell in the same way, but she wasn't sure what each symbol did. Most seemed straight forward, but the final symbol filed her with unease. Something about the symbol for Negation felt off, like there was far more beneath the surface. The dark void in the center of the symbol which seemed to consume mana itself sent shivers down her spine the longer she looked at it in her mind's eye. She couldn't help but feel like if she wasn't careful with that symbol, that it would consume her as well.
Shaking away those paranoid thoughts, Jun finished eating and washed her bowl out in the stream and left it by the fire to dry. Shiori had already climbed up a tree and settled in to sleep on a branch above.
Holding her sleeping fur in her hands, Jun looked around the campsite. It was fully dark now, and the flickering light of the campfire made the forest seem far more ominous. She couldn't help but picture the first monster she'd fought lurking in the dark, waiting to attack. "That's ridiculous," Jun muttered to herself. The symbol for Negation must be making her more paranoid than she thought. A soft breeze whistled through the trees and sent another shiver down her spine.
Looking around the campsite for a good place to lay her fur out, she couldn't help but glance nervously at the darkness between the surrounding trees. Imagining eyes staring at her from the darkness, she shivered again then looked up at the tree Shiori was sleeping in and spotted a large nook where several branches split off from the trunk. It seemed like a ridiculous idea, but she felt certain she'd feel safer sleeping in the tree, even if it was far from the warm fire. Sighing at her ridiculousness and fighting down a blush, She shoved her fur back in her pack and shouldered it before she started climbing the tree. Her muscles ached from the activity, especially after such a draining day, but each foot between her and the ground brought a greater sense of security.
Pushing down her embarrassment, Jun carefully laid out the large fur she used as a bed in the nook and squeezed herself in to sleep, her pack and weapon hanging from a branch within easy reach. As she drifted off, she couldn't help but think that from up here, the sound of the wind rushing through the forest sounded a lot like the snarling of beasts.
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Draxar snarled angrily as he watched the subject of his hunt climb up a tree with its pet to sleep. That pathetic creature was cautious at least. He flexed his claws, digging them deep into the oak tree that partially obscured his bulk.
The firelight glinted off of his slitted eyes as slunk into the campsite, sniffing the meat the human had carelessly left over the fire as he considered his options. He could attack his prey now as it slept, though climbing the tree would slow and impede him, giving away his presence. It would have time to attack him with its magic before he could close the gap. A dishonorable and weak tactic to be sure, but one that would be effective. He had watched his prey use that very same tactic to hunt a young wood boar. There was no honor in its kill, but it had survived.
No. Attacking now would cede the advantage to his prey. He was patient. Another day would not hurt. Eyeing the cooked meat on the fire, he snatched it in his claw, the heat barely felt through his [Heat Resistance]. Slipping back into the darkness of the forest, he took a large bite of the meat and chewed before swallowing with a chuckle as he searched for a place to rest. He would deprive his prey of its supplies while strengthening himself. An acceptable strategy, to take advantage of his prey's failures. It would weaken with hunger, and then he would strike.
Vengeance will be his!