Before I sat down a few meters away from the two dead beasts, just an arm’s length from the black square stone, I checked my surroundings several times, ensuring I wouldn’t be ambushed again by a hungry horned rabbit. Facing them head on was something I would be reluctant to do even as a test of my skills. However, there was no denying that the beast hitting me at full speed showed me how tough I was right now.
Though battered, there were no broken bones in my body. My regeneration had long since stopped the bleeding, and even the bruises were fading fast. Despite that, my injury or toughness wasn’t what bothered me the most. After all, it was quite obvious what had happened. I became overconfident, let my guard down, and allowed my thoughts to wander during the struggle. The horned rabbit did his part, and my new skills did theirs. Simple to understand.
What I couldn’t get my head around were Traiana’s memories. I didn’t even know if ‘memories’ was the right word for what I experienced. Perhaps more like some kind of imprint in the labyrinth block’s rune lines.
No matter what it was, it did bring up the question of whether each of these square blocks scattered across the first floor bore the same trace of her emotions. What about the columns supporting the artificial sky? Did they hold it too? And if they did, was it the same...remembrance?
Since I was sitting so close to the block that messed me up more than the horned rabbit, I gave it a try and touched the cold black stone again. Yet, as I somewhat expected, nothing happened. The stone remained cold, as well as the runic lines stayed faintly glowing, not responding to my touch at all. Thus, much to my relief, no memories struck my mind, nor foreign emotions flooded my body.
Honestly...it was a little disappointing, too.
I thought I could learn more and find out what had brought an end to the Ancient Era. Wouldn’t it be cool to discover something no one else had before I did? To be one of those adventurers who made history?
It didn’t take me long to realize how foolish that idea of finding something like that on the first floor of the Labyrinth was. Simply ridiculous. What’s more, Lord Wigram mentioned that what the labyrinth statues depict were most likely moments from the final battle that took place then.
It would make sense that he knew about this as well as any seeker.
I may not have been the chosen one, but it still made me wonder. Was it really a warning of an impending battle, or was Traiana trying to tell the others something else? Perhaps I imagined it, knowing my own suffering...her pained cry to the world felt to me like she was reaching out asking for help.
How to help a thousand-year-old statue, though? Moreover, as it seemed, it was not just a statue but a whole labyrinth that was infused with her memories as one big memorial.
How was it built, anyway? Who built it? Did they know Traiana?
Too many questions that only burdened my mind needlessly and distracted me from my misery. And it was a pain in the ass to deal with the skills. However, it was a problem I should solve before I threw myself into helping strangers with their issues, trying to be a hero.
With that, I gave the stone block one last touch, checking that whatever it was that toyed with my mind was most likely on the same cooldown as the crying aura of the statue up in the square.
With more than enough time wasted, I went back to what I came here to do in the first place. Fully focused and still under a tier two beast transformation, I hunted down three more horned rabbits enjoying the new strength, not the killing, before I decided it was time for a change of pace.
Or, to be more precise, a change of skill.
There were still a few I hadn’t really tried, not in-depth. One of them [Ride of Ancestors], which I was too much of a coward to use. My fear was that the instincts would overwhelm me, and I wouldn’t be able to come back. Sure, I could have been entirely wrong and misunderstood the skill. However, it was a risk I wasn’t willing to take, not without Deckard present.
When I surrendered to the beast in the barracks and went for a tier-three change, he promised to beat sense back into me if necessary. Hopefully, he’ll be willing to do that in this case, too.
That left me with [Midnight Shine] and [Mantle of Magic]. The first was impossible to try in the artificial light of the Labyrinth, the latter...why the hell not? Why not give it a proper field evaluation? While Deckard saw it as a waste of time for me, and even Lord Wigram agreed that using the skill to its full potential would require me to know more about magic, I saw it as an opportunity to at least get a hint on how to use it.
Since I gave it a little test before to see if [Call of Nature] had any impact on it, I knew it didn’t. Yet the skill affected my mana and made it easier to control. That’s why I went for [Unbending Resilience] when I switched it out.
To get even more out of the skill, I reversed my beast change. That way, I was in the body most familiar to me, and didn't have to fight my instincts. Back in my half-human body, I could throw all my focus on mana and the magic of the skill. Checking my surroundings one last time, I sat down in the grass, closed my eyes, and activated [Mantle of Magic].
Prepared for the rush and loss of mana, which happened when I wanted to use my apple-scented poison, I was surprised by mana’s gentle and slow shift.
There was no point in marveling at the fact, though. The skill’s description spoke about my imagination that I should be able to envelop myself in mana and seep it into my bones and flesh. So I pictured that.
Of course, as a complete newbie, I started small with my pinky finger. If something went wrong and for some reason my finger exploded, it was a body part I could spare for a while and regrow relatively quickly. As more mana shifted to my palm, I quickly banished the idea from my mind, fearing that the magic would actually come to fruition.
The mana concentrated in my little finger, saturating the tiny bones and muscles and leaking out through the skin, enveloping it in a faint layer visible to the eye. Yes, I took a peek. It was like the shimmer of hot air in the summer months over hot rooftops. Even in my perception, it seemed no different. If anything, it appeared to warm my pinky.
Excited by the success and the fact that I still had all five fingers, I imagined the mana surrounding two of my fingers, then three, four, all five, and finally, my whole hand.
Seeing it was simply... magical.
It was also the first time I properly used mana outside my body. Technically, my skill did that. But with my class evolution and a plethora of new skills, I’ve started to see them in a different light.
When I found myself on Eleaden, the system was something new to me. I saw skills as tools allowing me to do what I couldn’t before, I’d say in a gamer’s way. If I were to simplify it, as icons I could click on and use. No matter how I felt about my class, for me even some skills were just tools of my master to control me better, the tools I hated.
This loathing of mine for certain Slave skills hadn’t changed even now.
Yet I saw skills in general differently now. Some of them were, to a certain extent, a presentation of what I myself had accomplished, and the rest were a demonstration of what I could achieve. All the skills, more than anything, were handbooks showing me what I could be capable of, guides leading my hand, and revealing my full potential.
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Sure, with a proper technique, I could run fast, but [Swift as a Whip] proved to me I could run faster. If I didn’t use it as a gaming skill, and let it guide me, then I may have learned more and progressed quicker. [Beast Core] was a shining example where the skill taught me how to use the abomination in my underbelly. With [Sense of Beast], I got a glimpse of the extent of my sixth sense, [Silent Prowl] taught me a lesson in sneaking, and even though it made everyone around me uncomfortable [Clandestine Terror] gave me insight into how I could influence my presence.
And now, thanks to [Mantle of Magic], I could see and feel the mana shifting as it infused my flesh and formed into a faint film around my hand. I’m sure Aspen could have explained it to me as many times as she wanted, and I wouldn’t have gotten the insight I was getting now.
That brought up the question of whether it might be possible to learn schools of magic that way. Through [Heart of Magic], or rather my heart of flesh and mana, I had access to a number of them. It almost sounded like cheating, but was it?
Anyway, it called for asking Aspen or Lord Wigram if it was even possible to learn magic that way. I might as well have been completely wrong, and it certainly wouldn’t be the first time.
After all, my theory of guiding skills didn’t include the buffs they gave. I couldn’t get my head around it. Was it something I could eventually achieve on my own, too? Or was it simply a system mechanic? For now, until I come up with a better explanation, I’ve decided to think of them as rewards for what I’ve accomplished.
***
Magic and mana manipulation caught my attention more than I expected. Maybe it was the epiphany, the opportunity to learn more, that made me sit on my ass for over two hours. At that time, I learned to coat my whole body with a thin layer of mana, realized there was a difference between natural saturation and mana imbued flesh and bones, and improved my control over mana in general.
I’m not saying I was good at it. The film covering my body wasn’t very stable. Unknown to me was the nature of the difference between natural saturation and forced imbibition, and the mana control hasn’t improved that much either. And of course, I haven’t been able to do any of the first two without the skill. Yet.
Baby steps.
Among other things, it was interesting to find that imbuing my flesh and bones with mana or the thin layer around my body didn’t do much. After all, it was only raw mana without any form or purpose. If I wanted more strength, greater toughness, or to wrap my fist in fire, it required mastering the appropriate magic.
Well, that may not be quite as complicated as everyone has been trying to make it out to be.
Anyway, this magical training took more of my time than I had planned, and the hour to leave Fallens Cry has long since passed. There was so much I wanted to get done before heading to Drunken Filly.
So, swapping [Mantle of Magic] back for [Unbending Resilience], I shifted to a tier two beast, jumped to my feet, and grabbed the body of my last prey. I downed the horned rabbit in one blow to the back of the neck, leaving it otherwise completely untouched. In other words, I should get the most coins for it.
Dragging a two-ton beast through the labyrinth was a chore, even with extra strength, especially since the Thread closely followed my path through the first floor. I guess I don’t have to say I didn’t exactly go straight.
When I appeared at the top of Labyrinth Square, it was after I let go of my change and returned to my human-ish self. There was no need for me to draw any more attention than the kill I was dragging behind me warranted.
In my visits to Fallen's Cry with Deckard, I didn’t see it, but without him beside me, my walk to the platform was not without jeers and ridicule. To them, I was a newbie who had no business being here, and I expected the same treatment now upon my return to the square. To my surprise, I didn’t get it.
At least not in full force.
Sure, there were still seekers who threw snide remarks in my direction, yet now, amidst the insults, I’ve heard words of praise, too. The difference in attitude was baffling, and I’d be lying if I said their recognition wasn’t strangely satisfying. To some, I was now a seeker, one of them.
As always, trying to ignore the insults and not showing my glee at the praise, I set about dragging my catch off the platform, up the steps, and across the square to the only stall where I knew they were buying up the horned rabbits.
It was in a part of Labyrinth Square, where the stalls were mostly terranes. The place wasn’t that busy. Yet, my arrival with the haul I was dragging behind me attracted attention. Honestly, I had no idea what I would have done if I hadn’t been able to find the stall or if they just weren’t open today.
Taking the beast with me to my room in the inn was simply impossible, nor would it have handled well if I had left it in the square. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were rules for that, some kind of decree forbidding to let carcasses lay in the square.
Thankfully, my luck didn’t leave me altogether, and I reasonably quickly located the stall with a bear-looking pair of terrans.
“What have we here?” exclaimed the man, a merchant, as I stopped in front of him and his fellow butcher, panting and sweating from head to toe.
[Butcher: lvl 56]
[Merchant: lvl 49]
I guess even though it wasn’t that busy here, the trades went well as they both gained some levels since I last saw them.
“I remember you,” the merchant said, grumbling as he looked at me better. “The weird one.”
Not exactly flattering that he remembered me like that. But the fact that his partner elbowed him in the side, pointing out that this was no way to do business, brought a smile to my face.
“Last time you said you were buying horned rabbits, here’s one.”
“It certainly is...but I have to say, it’s rare to see anyone dragging their catch across the square. You made quite an impression.”
“How else do they...transport them, then?” I asked. It was a sincere question, as a spatial tool that could hold an entire rabbit must have cost a fortune.
“Solo, huh?”
I gave him a slight nod.
“Well, most of the time, the company’s porter carries the goods.”
His female partner growled and spat. “Companies!”
“Oh...I’m not in any,” I said thoughtlessly.
Ignoring me, the butcher continued her rant. “These cheapskates usually come with their salesman. To sweet-talk us into a better price.”
“Calm down, Berengaria. Lass said she wasn’t with any.”
“I’m not,” I added quickly to the butcher, who, despite her indignation, was looking at my catch with interest.
“Sorry, it’s not even an hour since one was here trying to get ten silvers out of us for one of these. Ridiculous, theirs was cut to shreds. This one...broken neck?”
She whistled approvingly at my nod. “Well done. Give her six silvers, Tarlo.”
“But...”
“I said six. The rabbit is worth it, and I like her.”
The man heaved a sigh. “Lass, let me tell you, we usually buy them for five.” That was the price I remembered I was counting on. “But the truth is, yours is without damage. Well, as my sister said, six silvers. That’s all we can give you for the beast.”
His words brought a broad smile to meet my face. “We have a deal.”
“Excellent!” exclaimed the butcher, still inspecting the rabbit’s carcass. “Fetch more of these, and we’ll give you the same price.”
Yeah, about that. “I may be moving to a lower floor...”
“Even better then, you can hunt one at a higher level.”
“Of course, we’d pay you more for one of those,” added the merchant. “Depending on the level and damage of the rabbit carcass.”
I nodded. “Okay, I like the sound of that. Just...can I ask you about those porters you mentioned?”
Simply put, they were people who had the skills. Their class was focused on carrying goods, and it wasn’t just one class, but many. In addition to the porters, there were fetchers, bearers, and haulers. And those were just the classes the merchant, Tarlo, named to me.
If I was willing, I could have hired some. However, he didn’t recommend it to me. Not if I was solo. They usually demanded a guarantee of their safety in the Labyrinth, which would be hard for me to achieve if I wanted to hunt. He recommended I take a loan in the bank, buy a proper spatial tool and get as fast as possible to the floors where there are smaller beasts but more valued.
I appreciated his advice but didn’t want to do either. Unpaid loans led to slavery, and haste in fights in turn led to mistakes, thus death.
Thanking him for his advice, I took the coins and left the square. My destination was the cheap clothing store that Timmy, my first guide in Castiana, had shown me. A short-sleeved shirt for three silvers and shorts for three more were all I had bought. Yet these two pieces of cloth burned my earnings from Labyrinth.
My hoard then thinned by another thirty coppers for a bath, but at the end of the day, I was somewhat presentable and ready to celebrate my class evolution.