"Hello, Thomas," I greet my visitors, the two of them jumping from the sound of my voice. "Hello, Chief."
"Spirits around!" Thomas puts a hand to his chest. "Startle the crap outta me, why don't ya? Where did you come from?"
Was I really that quiet in my approach? They're on their way to my home right now, though are still about a thousand feet away – another six hundred or so away from the pass through the cliffs on the eastern edge of my lot. I came up to them through the woods once they passed through the perimeter I set up.
I decided to just have it on at all times now instead of just when I'm asleep, and to notify me of everyone instead of just people who could be potential threats. It only notifies me if I'm within its range, but that's more than enough for me.
Today is the last lesson for Thomas before their next visit to town, so I expected both of them to show up rather than just Thomas.
It might not be a bad idea to start clearing a path leading to the village, so that the chief can simply drive his truck here. A task for another day… or month, considering how long such a feat will take to perform.
"Sorry," I say. "Question for the two of you."
"For both of us?" Chief asks. "Did you know I was coming?"
"No," I indicate their necklaces. "The tradition where you acquire those fangs, does it have to be on the three-month mark for my arrival? Or can it be sooner? I've still got a month and a week until it's time, of course, but wanted to know if it's allowable to do it early. Oh, and if it has to be a grand stoneseeker wolf and not, say, a higher variety."
"Thinking of going to the Mistwood to hunt?" Chief asks. "I'd recommend caution, even if you're an adventurer. That place is dangerous."
"Oh, no," I say. "I mean, I did enter it to get some materials, but that's not why I was asking."
"It's acceptable early," he answers. "And if it's a variant stronger than that, then we'd accept it."
"Okay," I say.
"Why do you ask?" Thomas gives me a look which matches the suspicion in his mind.
"That is," I point to the right, and they both look over just in time to see a beast leaping out of the undergrowth with perfect timing.
It looks like a stoneseeker wolf, with the same brown fur streaked with grey as the others I've hunted so far. Unlike those, however, it's 4' to its shoulders when standing. Rather than a grand stoneseeker wolf, which has a horn that's about 2.5" in length, this one's horn is about 5" in length. Jagged plates of stone cover his joints without hindering his mobility, sparks dancing off of them.
I flick my right hand and a powerful gust of wind slams into the royal stoneseeker wolf, throwing him into a tree. Even if he has around 75 Strength and Constitution and a little bit under that in Agility, my 66 Magic is enough to move his weight.
With a flick of my left wrist, a second royal stoneseeker wolf finds himself breaking through multiple [Barrier]s, layered over each other with the purpose of slowing him down rather than stopping him. I'm not strong enough to completely stop him even if breaking through a single [Barrier] of mine takes out a lot of his power.
These two are two layers of evolution higher than the one I'm supposed to hunt, and that stone armor covering their joints is always present. The lightning magic is one they're actively casting, though they're still just stoneseeker wolves. Stoneshock wolves would be an entirely different matter.
Fortunately, they're like the warp golem. I know how to handle such beasts even with a disadvantage.
As the second royal stoneseeker wolf breaks through my [Barrier]s, I grab the first one with [Bind] and fling him into his friend. The two of them slam into another tree, and I quickly use [Bind] to tie them together. They'll break free soon, and are already conjuring [Stone Dart]s to shoot the invisible magics binding them and to shoot at me.
I don't have near enough Magic to stop those with a single [Barrier], so I simply use another gust of wind to knock them aside. The darts fly fast enough I'm only able to redirect them, but they soar past me, peppering the trees behind me.
Thomas and Chief have barely managed to react by this point due to the speed at which things are moving. I expected that and the spot I came up on them at was chosen specifically because I knew I'd be able to keep them from being hit by the fight, so I ignore their presence. They won't get in the way.
As the pair of wolves attempt to break free of my [Bind]s (I have three active, now) and attempt to pepper me with [Stone Dart]s, I focus on their minds. The two of them being right beside each other makes this easier for me, which is why I waited until now to do it.
My 22 Mind isn't actually higher than theirs – they have around 30 Mind – but those numbers aren't absolutes. Someone of a lower Strength can hurt someone of a higher Constitution, as long as the difference isn't too great.
Striking in the right spot or the right way can enhance this. The difference of cutting with a sharp sword rather than whacking with a stick, for example.
And my sword is very sharp. These wolves have no idea how to defend themselves against mental attacks, so I'm only facing their natural resistance to the minds of others as I delve within their own.
First, I find what they fear the most. It's not easy because of their natural resistance being greater than my strength, but I conjure shadows and light to flicker around us. At certain forms, it causes anxiety to enter their minds, their struggles against my [Bind]s and attacks against me slowing. I use those forms of shadows and light more, allowing their paranoia of their deepest fears to guide me to them.
A creature from within the Mistwood, deeper still than where they normally live. A snake, it seems. One with a head on either end of it rather than a head and a tail. With grey scales that resemble clouds and the power to wield lightning, water, and air magics. He sometimes enters their territory and rather than staying still or approaching, they leave until they're sure he's gone. It can slither over the ground without touching it thanks to its air magics, preventing them from being able to sense its approach unless it's touching the ground or affecting plants well enough.
Combined with its taste for wolves, that makes it a dangerous predator to these beasts. They can recognize a superior foe when faced with one.
The two wolves grow more anxious and terrified as I encourage them to see the beast as I create an illusion out of light magics to resemble it. The illusory snake begins to wrap around us, even Thomas and Chief beginning to feel fear as they stop watching and start noticing the snake around us. Thomas has nocked an arrow in his bow and is drawing it slightly, ready to fire the moment he sees a weakness.
"Calm," I use air magics to whisper directly into their ears, the wolves hearing nothing due to the sound not traveling away from my targets. "That is but an illusion of light I have conjured. Note the wolves' movements."
Both wolves have ceased struggling and are now attempting to curl up and hide. With my [Bind]s on them, however, they cannot. Only two of the [Bind]s are left, though, as the wolves managed to break one of them before becoming too full of fear to continue struggling.
The illusory snake finishes encircling us, then with both heads, lunges at the wolves. My foes whimper a little as they tightly close their eyes. When no attack comes, however, they both look outward… only for their eyes to explode as properly-cast [Arcane Spear]s pierce into them.
Well, they're more like [Arcane Arrow]s since I made them slimmer so that they could actually go into the eyes. I'm not strong enough to have cut through their bones with that, only break them. This attack needed to finish them off instantly.
[Combat] is now Level 8! +100 HP +1 Strength +1 Constitution
[Casting] is now Level 7! +100 MP +1 Magic +1 Mind
[Arcane Magic] is now Level 11! +200 MP +2 Magic
[Elemental Magic] is now Level 7! +100 MP +1 Magic
[Mind Magic] is now Level 7! +100 MP +1 Mind
Deflecting [Stone Dart]s from such a strong beast by using air magic gave a decent amount of Skill Experience for it, and I think I was already nearing the threshold.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Sorry about that as well," I tell Thomas and Chief as I cancel what spells are left. "I'm not sure when they came out of the Mistwood, but my wards alerted me to them entering their range a little bit ago. These two were just a tad bit too strong for it to chase off. I think their plan was to kill me due to my taking on the local stoneseekers with as much ease as I've had, but then they saw the two of you and decided to practice on easier foes first. Not that it mattered in the end, I was strong enough and have encountered their sort enough to know how to deal with them."
As Thomas and Chief take in my words and process what happened, I walk over to the royal stoneseeker wolf remains and place a hand on one. It vanishes, and I send the other into my storage after that.
"What… just happened?" Thomas asks. "Ain't ever seen something like that before."
The surprise in his mind tells me he's referring to the disappearing carcasses rather than the illusory snake.
"Remember how I told you," I start walking in the direction of my home, and he and Chief walk as well. "That I can enchant an object to make the space within larger?"
"Without making the outside bigger, yeah."
"This is an advanced form of that enchantment," I explain. "Rather than expanding the space, however, it creates a space. Something called a 'dimension'. It's… hard to describe in simpler terms, but it's a space that's not within our space. There are many dimensions, our world residing within one and the gods residing within another. Even the spirits have their own dimension to live in, a separate 'world' from ours."
Holding up my right wrist, I show them the bracelet around it without stopping as we walk.
"I had the temporal and spatial mithril we gathered from the mines," I tell Thomas. "Fashioned into this bracelet. Then, I enchanted it using a special enchanting ink I made using temporal and spatial magic crystals. That enchantment created a pocket dimension, a small space of its own, and linked it to the bracelet so that I can use the bracelet to access it."
"You mentioned a stasis box," he says. "Does your bracelet have that as well, where things are kept the same?"
"Yeah," I answer. "What's within this bracelet will be as fresh when it comes out as when it was placed within. Makes hauling goods a lot easier."
"Must be pretty expensive, huh?" Chief asks.
"Of course," I answer. "I set the enchantment myself, so there was no need to pay that cost, and the actual cost to get it crafted was cheaper since I provided the materials needed. Just having the two mithril varieties used to be forged into the bracelet cost 14 plat."
"Fourteen-what?" Thomas asks.
"Now do you see why I kept insisting on you taking more than just some new arrowheads?" I ask. "The materials we gathered on the fifth floor are quite expensive. Just one of those arrowheads is valued in the gold range. Two coin tiers lower than the cost of having the bracelet formed, but those hold no special properties other than being magically-potent. A porter is generally entitled to one percent of the value of the loot they carry, and you received far less than that."
Thomas becomes contemplative as we walk, but Chief takes only a moment to respond.
"So you shorted him?"
"He shorted himself," I say. "I tried convincing him to allow me to craft him some other things, but he refused."
"Didn't think the stuff was really worth that much."
"To be fair," I say. "Most of the stuff on that floor is valued in gold coins, not diamond or platinum. Materials with spatial and temporal properties are usually found no earlier than the tenth or eleventh level of a Labyrinth. However, that one pack you wear carried enough to be worth quite a lot more than two dozen of those arrowheads. That's why I tried to convince you to take more. It wasn't a bribe of any sort."
There's regret in his mind now, but also acceptance. He had the opportunity to acquire better gear but turned it down. Because he'd decided it was probably some sort of bribe by me, there was nothing I could do to convince him to accept more.
The rest of the walk to my home is performed in silence, then Thomas pulls off his pack and shows me today's goods. It's the same items as before, but in slightly-higher quantities.
"Thanks," I say. "I wanted to know the logistics of today's plan, with Chief being here. This is only enough for one person to receive learning."
"Ain't planning on it," Chief tells me. "I'm much too old to be learning new things, and I won't find magic useful."
"There's a little bit of use in it for everyone," I say. "Same with reading."
"I'm much too old," he says. "Will probably pass in the next few years, anyway."
One doesn't need the power of [Foresight] to guess something like that, considering he's already in his seventies. That makes him fairly old for a non-mage. Around sixty to sixty-five is when most pass, if they pass from age.
"If you really think that," I tell Chief. "Why do you walk several miles just to visit someone, each way?"
"I like to visit each of the region's residents," he answers. "And my body is still willing, so I'll continue doing it."
"Fair enough," I say. "So this is merely a visit, then? Will you be leaving once the lessons begin? I don't advise that – even if I took on the royal stoneseeker wolves, there are still a few normal ones left as well as some other beasts and the occasional goblin. Once you're beyond the boundaries of my wards, I won't know what's around."
"I should be fine as long as I follow the stream," he tells me. "I'll be back around lunchtime"
Chief seems like he's ready to go now rather than wait around, so I'll stop with the questions.
"Alright," I say. "May the gods and spirits guide your paths."
"May the gods and spirits guide your paths," he returns, then follows the stream southward.
Once he's out of sight, I look at Thomas and hold my right hand over the table we're beside.
Armor crafted of light brown leather appears on the table, matching the style that I prefer. Then, several lanterns appear, each made with a metal frame and a glass shell, a light crystal set within them. A steel bracelet with a small yellow crystal set into it, a small blue one set to either side of that, appears next.Three stones appear next, each with a series of runes set into them with purplish-blue crystal. Finally, a bow forms, faint, silvery runes running down the pale wood.
"What's all this?" Thomas asks.
"Your payment," I answer. "If you're ready to accept it. The total value of this, when combined with the arrows, is just-over one percent of the total value of the loot. Since I'm sure you'd prefer either money or useful items, I decided to craft a few useful items for you. The armor is a little bit more durable than you are, so it'll last you a year or two. It should fit you nicely, too."
"You ain't ever measured me before," he says. "Ain't even got a measuring strip, I'm sure."
"Don't need one," I point to my eyes. "I can measure things pretty accurately by sight the first time if I actually bother. Since I've seen you naked multiple times, I've had ample opportunity to get your measurements. Took 'em last time you were here so I could make the armor for you."
"You can do that?" There's shock in his mind.
"Yeah," I answer and decide to move on from that, since I think we'll end up in a loop due to his surprise if I don't. "The lanterns are, well, lanterns. You can use them for your house, or if you're camping on a hunt. As for the bracelet, the wearer will be able to see in light levels worse than dusk as if it's dusk. You won't need the headlamp anymore if you wear that.
"These stones," I pick one up. "Are wardstones that you can activate by channeling mana into. They'll be useful for camping; you've mentioned before that you sometimes do that when hunting. When you channel mana into it, this rune here will start to glow. See this line? The glow starts at the bottom of it here when there's very little mana inside, and extends all the way to the top of the line when it's full. That's ten hours of power, and costs 20 MP.
"The ward itself," I continue explaining. "Will deter monsters and beasts up to around 35 Strength or Magic from coming near your camp, or even within a hundred feet of it. It will also alert whoever activated it if something does enter that zone, though filtered to make sure something like a butterfly or normal squirrel won't set it off. This will wake you up if you're sleeping. It also has the anti-vermin ward on it, so you can be assured you won't get bothered by insects or have your food stolen by mice while you sleep."
"That's useful," he says. "And all of this adds up to a percent of the value? How much is one percent?"
"One per hundred," I answer. "And it's just-over, when including your arrows. The bracelet and this bow make up most of the cost."
I pick up the bow and hold it as if ready to draw the string, then channel a little bit of mana into the grip. When I do, an arrow of magical force forms. The arrow itself is invisible to Thomas's eyes, though it has a light, blue outline to mine. I draw the string, aim at a target I set up after Dylan and Nolan left yesterday, and release.
Twang!
The arrow soars through the air and slams into the target, off from the center. I have some skill with a bow, but I'm far from an expert. Piercing something dead-on is easier for me with magic than an arrow.
It's enough for the demonstration, however. The impact startled Thomas, who's staring at the hole in the target. Now that it's pierced something and stopped moving, the arrow itself is gone.
"It's a magic item," I tell Thomas. "If you channel in 2 MP quickly enough, it'll form an [Arcane Arrow]. Unlike with the wardstones I created for you, you won't be able to do that now. That one just needs it input, this one needs it input quickly enough. You're still a bit off from that. However, if you say [Arcane Arrow] while gripping it, it'll form an arrow on its own, but draw 6 MP out of you, or triple the cost than if you'd cast it yourself."
"Allowing me to use this even before I can manipulate my mana that fast," he says.
"Correct," I say. "I designed it to work off of your own magical power as well, so as you grow in strength in that, the arrows will become stronger as well. Want to practice with it? You'll recover your mana by the time your magic lesson starts."
"Sure," he accepts the bow from me. "I just say [Arcane Arrow]?"
"Yeah," I answer. "Make sure to grip it properly, and actually intend to activate – the bow can tell the difference and won't conjure one just from you saying it."
"Got it," he says, then thinks for a moment. "Thanks."
Judging by the way he says that and the feeling of his mind, he's referring to me preparing the rest of the payment for him.
"I'm not one for shorting people," I tell him. "Especially if their ignorance of how much things are valued at is the reason behind their refusal. Go ahead and practice with that, you can use the target I set up for practice. We can start your reading lesson after."