Owen grinned brightly and ran off to pack. Apparently, the captain had explained the situation as he had been told, and they had both rushed over to catch them before Alaster left. Alaster was a bit grumpy that he had to wait for the boy, but he did his best to cover it by asking the Captain about his opinion on the current affairs.
“Its wasteful. All these Nobles and Diplomats haven’t had their homes raided by monsters at night. They don’t know the terror of seeing a Monster rip apart your friends and family. Instead, they make their own conflict. These wars will be extremely costly. Not just in lives lost during the wars, but because the battles will excite the Monsters, and they will attack settlements more often. And with all the men and women of fighting age gone, many villages, such as this one, will be destroyed.
While the soldiers are away, many villages won’t have the manpower to farm enough, and many will starve. And when the wars finally end and the soldiers return home with only a fraction of the numbers they left with, they too will starve. And if they don’t, the Monsters will see a settlement with many humans to kill and eat, and not enough people to defend themselves.
I believe that if the Nobility visited the villages more often and for longer periods of time, and see the devastation the Monsters leave behind, there would be fewer wars, and more calls to exterminate the Monsters. The Villages would receive more resources to build taller and stronger walls, to have more soldiers guarding them and more patrols protecting them.” The Captain ranted, breathing hard by the end as his grip on his sheathed sword tightened.
“How many are they drafting from Goldview?”
“The drafts haven’t reached us quite yet. But I would not be surprised if they demanded fifty, perhaps even one hundred. We are a small village of only five hundred.”
“How many would you need to still properly feed and protect the village?”
The Captain didn’t even hesitate, “Four hundred. We guards only number fifty and can guard the village quite well, but with the wars exciting the monsters, there is no telling how many we will need. And our wheat fields require a lot more. We are more lucky than most. We have a Nature Mage. She can make the fields grow faster and healthier.” The man sighed, “I’m sorry. This doesn’t concern you. It's just that I know the names and faces of every person who calls this village home. Being forced to send them off to die in some stupid war aggravates me to no end.”
“It does concern me though. I don’t really have any connections to my own village, but that doesn’t mean I want it harmed. Plus, all of these changes are bound to effect the market. And since we are going to be in the wilds, we should know if the monsters will be more active or not.”
“Wouldn’t you want them to be more active?”
“Yeah, until we get swarmed or attacked by a Monster much stronger than us.”
“That would be a horrible thought. With a group like this, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could take on an Expert Combat Class.”
Alaster knew for a fact that he couldn’t. The captain was under the assumption that all the Undead were normal humans, each with their own Abilities. But his Undead didn’t have Abilities.
‘I wonder if there is a way for them to have Abilities? I really need to find a more experienced Necromancer. Who knows what I could learn?’
“Maybe,” Alaster lied, “But the group is still training, and if a Monster like that attacked, odds are even if they could kill it, I would still be dead.”
“At least you know your limits.”
Owen came running in with a backpack and his staff in hand.
“Welcome back Owen. By the way, where did you get a staff from?” Alaster asked, curious to see if he could get one cheap.
“My parents gave it to me before they died.”
“Keep it close, then.” Alaster said, thumbing the wooden ring his Sister had given him on his birthday.
Alaster ordered the Minotaurs to lightly nudge him, still that little nudge nearly threw him off his feet, which only helped sell the lie.
“Guess, we’ll be going then. Keep up Owen.”
The Guards opened the gate, and the group of ten Undead and two humans lightly jogged out.
The sun shone brightly down on the fields, slightly past midday. The snowy plains stretched out in front of them, the trees of the forest on the horizon. Small groups of Novices were scattered around, hunting the small snow rabbits. They couldn’t possibly provide much EXP, so Alaster did not understand why so many Novices were killing them.
‘Why waste your time on such a worthless prey?’
The group ignored all the Novices and jogged past. After a mile, Owen looked to be struggling, so Alaster slowed them down to a casual walk. He tried to calm himself down by reasoning that learning the School of Fire Magic would be well worth the price of being a little slower. Plus, slowing down allowed him to question the boy.
Alaster asked the first question as they entered the edges of the forest.
“So, Owen, what level are you?”
Such a question was considered more private between strangers, but much less so between teammates.
“I recently turned level five.” He replied with a hint of pride, “What about you?”
“Nine. I managed to help them kill a few Monsters in the Dungeon.”
“Congrats.” Owen congratulated, but with a hint of venom.
“Don’t be so down. I’ve been with them through one Dungeon, and I started off at Level Six. I’m sure you can catch up quickly.”
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They walked deeper into the forest in silence for several minutes before Owen spoke up, “When should we start searching for Dungeons?”
“They prefer to hunt in peace, without worry about interruptions. So we will travel for about a day, camp for the night, and begin searching tomorrow. By the way, could you teach me Fire Magic when we stop?”
“Yeah sure, what magic do you use?”
“Wind.” Alaster lied. Novice Wind magic was difficult to see, so it wouldn’t surprise anyone if they didn’t see it.
“Think you can teach me Wind Magic?”
“No problem, but you’ll first have to learn how to fight in melee. One of these guys will spar with you. I’ve already been trained enough for them to be satisfied. I think. They don’t exactly tell me.”
The rest of the day was spent with walking and the occasional question. It was peaceful. This shallow in the forest, none of the monsters dared to attack such a large party. Many of the Monsters could have killed one or two of the Undead, but there were ten of them, plus the two Night Children. The Children had circled around the village through the trees and now followed them hidden in the trees.
As the sun began to set, Alaster had two of the Black Guards begin to patrol the campsite, while the rest sat down and leaned against trees. They were Undead, they didn’t get cold or tired. All of this was to sell the illusion of them being normal living beings to Owen. Meanwhile, Alaster gathered some dry firewood, something that was much harder due to the deep snow.
But Alaster cheated. When Owen wasn’t looking, Alaster pulled some dry wood from his Ring. He didn’t have a lot in the Ring, but it was enough to build a strong enough fire to use damp wood. Alaster normally hung some wood over the fire to dry it and then put it in his Ring.
When Alaster returned, he helped Owen dig through the snow. As he dug through with his hands, Alaster was once again seriously considering leaving Owen behind. He would have quickly crafted a shovel out of bone, or even just made a bone sheet he could have put the fire on. Instead, here he was, his hands frozen, digging through the snow.
‘This Fire Magic better be good.’ Alaster grumbled.
While the spell he would likely learn from Owen would be very weak and Novice Grade, it would unlock that branch, or school, of Magic. Doing so would allow Alaster to learn higher Grades of Fire Magic, as well as be able to create new spells, like he had done with [Death Touch].
Alaster shoved down is hate of cold in favor of learning a new School of Magic and seeing how it would interact with his Necrotic Mana. But the tipping point was having Fire Magic so he could be warmer latter. He could just barely imagine being able to create a flame that would just hover around him, keeping him warm and dry.
“What are you smiling about?” Owen asked.
Alaster shook his head to clear his thoughts, “Just imagining being able to use Fire Magic. I hate the cold.”
They had dug not only a place to place the fire, but also compacted the snow around it, creating a ring that they could sit on. Alaster placed one of the two Snow Ape furs he had kept for himself on the snow ring and sat down. Owen did the same with a blanket.
“Let's get started then. But what about the rest of them?” Owen asked, waving to the rest of the group.
“Don’t know. I’ve never seen them eat or huddle around a fire. For the most part, they just leave me alone. They wake me up when the sun raises, and I try to find them a Dungeon. If I do, they hand me the payment and take me into the Dungeon with them. I can either just walk along behind them, or help out.”
“That’s it? And they pay so well?”
“Yeah. But it is also pretty dangerous. Not only do we occasionally get attacked while I’m trying to find the Dungeon, but the Dungeon I did find was a Swarm type. They did their best to protect me, but there was only so much they could do when so severely outnumbered. I nearly died twice.”
“Well the pay is nice. But let's get started. Ok, so I have never taught anyone how to use Fire Magic. Is there something I do in the System?”
This was actually one of the few things Colius had been able to teach Alaster about the System.
“No. I’ve heard that you actually have to teach how the Mana moves, feels, and fluctuates during use.”
His own Necrotic Mana felt sluggish and slow while passive, but extremely quick and aggressive when it was given a target.
“Oh ok then. Well, I only know one spell. Fire Bolt. Its kinda like an arrow made out of Fire. I guess the spell feels warm. I know that's something that's obvious, its made out of fire. But the feeling I get inside is warm. But also destructive. Like it's going to torch anything it touches.”
“Does it have a physical impact?”
“What do you mean?”
“Does it move the thing it hits?”
“A little.”
“Could you show me? Could you cast it as slowly as you can, so I can see it?”
“I guess?”
Owen raised his hand over the stacked pile of wood. Alaster focused on his [Mana Manipulation] Ability. As he did, his vision slightly changed, allowing him to see extremely faint wisps of Mana.
Mana was always everywhere, even when someone used Magic, it only moved along with the user’s desire. However, the user still had to use the Mana in their Core to push it and direct it. As such, it was possible to somewhat track the use of Magic, as it would be denser in areas. This denser Mana would be slower to react, but also react more powerfully, which was just another reason why Mages who used Powerful Siege Magic waited for a bit during battles.
As Owen began to cast [Fire Bolt] Alaster was able to see a few wisps of Mana consolidate around Owen’s hand and then condense for a moment before it ignited, the spell finalizing the cast. A fiery bolt appeared in Owen’s open palm for a second before it was shot forward, or in this case down, into the pile of branches.
The pile shifted, but did not topple as it ignited, releasing a pleasant wave of heat, embracing Alaster. But it did not distract Alaster. He was focused on how the Mana moved. The stronger the spell, the more it effected the movement of Mana, as well as how long it took for the Mana to return to a normal state. For such a low level spell such as [Fire Bolt], used by a low level Novice, the Mana returned to normal after only a few moments.
The Mana movement was similar to [Necrotic Bolt], but slightly different. But not too much that Alaster couldn’t replicate the effects with [Mana Manipulation]. However, in the end, theory was different from practice. Alaster asked Owen to cast [Fire Bolt] dozens of more times, each time trying to replicate the Mana movement himself. He could feel himself growing closer and closer, but each time failed, simply creating a weird type of [Necrotic Bolt] that Alaster had to quickly halt.
Eventually, however, Owen grew tired of casting [Fire Bolt] endlessly. Alaster was irritated that he was forced to stop before he had accomplished his goal, but he understood. Plus, Owen had a large tarp rolled up in his bag that he and Alaster set up over the small dugout, creating a small shelter. After that, they ate some roasted Snow Ape meat and laid down to sleep.
Long after Owen’s snores began, Alaster was still attempting to replicate the [Fire Bolt].
‘You should rest.’ The parasite reminded Alaster.
‘I know, but I’m so close. I can feel it!’
‘And you were so close two hours ago. Tomorrow is a new day, and you have time.’
‘But my Sister might not.’ Alaster closed his eyes as he clenched his fist, remembering her face, and finding it difficult.
‘Perhaps, perhaps not. As you are today, are you strong enough to face her captors?’
Alaster hesitated, already knowing the answer, ‘No.’
‘And will you be tomorrow?’
‘No.’ Alaster grumbled in his mind.
‘Then rest, so that you will have the energy to become strong enough. Worry not, your Undead will watch over and protect you, and should they fail, I will not.’
Alaster chuckled, but obeyed, feeling his body begin to relax. As the description of the parasite, [Death Pact] said, it could become his greatest armor, but at the moment, it was even weaker than Owen. Today it was weak, but who knew what tomorrow might bring?