Chapter 39: Cladding 6

Lake Astum sparkled below Elania as she flew over it, the sun glinting off the rippling surface like a thousand diamonds.

The last time she’d flown over the water, she’d buzzed the lake with Yolani in her arms, the two of them laughing and reveling in the freedom of flight.

Now, her mood was sober. She was being paid to look for an invasion, or signs of one, anyway.

So she kept her altitude high, soaring far above the ground where no one would likely notice her. The view was excellent for spotting any airships below, but it made it harder to see things on the ground.

As she reached the lake’s edge, she tucked in her wings and made a shallow dive to the northeast, following the border and scanning for any signs of incursion.

Her list of things to look for was extensive, ranging from arcane beasts to pirates to enemy armies.

Pulling out the map Arlois had given her, Elania noticed several blue markers highlighted on the parchment.

That was the real draw of the mission.

The crit would be a little boost, but unique material for the [Regalia] was high on the priority list, even if Ember had granted access to the City Works’ stores. Yolani had mentioned that the stuff would be suitable for increasing the durability of her [Regalia], and Elania trusted her judgment.

The amount of material she could carry was limited, though. She had brought one of Yolani’s weight reduction packs, but that was it. She imagined she’d only need to hit one of the blue markers; the others she could pick up on another scouting run.

The first marker was coming up, centered in a dense section of forest.

Elania spiraled as she surveyed the area, scanning the treetops for any signs of movement or disturbance. The forest below was a peaceful sea of green, the leaves rustling gently in the breeze.

As she descended, the scent of pine and earth filled the air, the sounds of birdsong and the chirping of insects growing louder.

The map zoomed in with her descent, a handy feature that made pinpointing her target a breeze.

As she hovered to a stop just above the treetops, the crystalline pillar she expected came into view, its metallic growths glinting in the dappled sunlight that filtered through the canopy.

Elania landed and approached the spire, admiring its beauty before she reached down to pluck off a metallic chunk. It didn’t budge.

Frowning, she pushed [Power] into her hand and tried again, only for a ringing to fill the air as the metal resisted her efforts.

[The noise was uncalled for.]

Elania pulled Eziel off her back. “Since you’re going to complain, you can help.”

She channeled [Divine Power] through the sword and slashed at the metallic growth. To her astonishment, Eziel didn’t slice through cleanly although a chunk did break off.

“Damn it,” Elania muttered.

[That was extremely rude.]

“If you have a better idea for collecting this stuff, I’m all ears,” Elania retorted.

Eziel remained silent, and Elania shrugged. “Whatever.”

She resumed banging the sword into the deposit, each strike reverberating through the quiet forest.

Sweat beaded on her forehead as she worked.

Slowly but surely, she filled Yolani’s pack with the precious metal chunks. When the bag bulged she stopped.

The ringing in the air persisted, a constant drone that set her teeth on edge.

[The harmonics of the area are likely to cause issues.]

Harmonics?

“What’s that supposed to mean? What’s going on?” Elania asked.

[Your efforts have disturbed the local mana ecosystem and released an arcane harmonic reaction.]

“How can I fix it?” Elania asked, adjusting her pack.

[There is no fix other than to stop being a loud, stupid human.]

Elania rolled her eyes and started to take off, when a ball of fire hurtled straight towards her.

Instinctively, she blocked with Eziel, curling her wings around herself for added protection.

[Now you are using me as a shield. Don’t you have any shame?]

“You’re a huge ass sword, and your job is to block things for me!” Elania replied.

A lizard with stubby legs burst out of the trees, knocking over a pair of pines as it crashed towards her.

Elania quickly used [System Analysis]:

[Megabeast - Fire Lizard]

She cursed under her breath. It looked like worse news than the digger crabs.

“Why is it attacking?” Elania asked.

[Every arcane creature for a hundred miles is likely irate and on the way.]

Right, the stupid harmonic thing…

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

Elania blinked, a sudden realization dawning on her.

If she left now, a horde of angry arcane creatures could descend upon the nearby villages and camps. They were essentially defenseless.

She slashed Eziel through the air and chopped a second fireball in half before it reached her. Being defensive was not going to work. She pulled a light spear out of the air and hurled it into the lizard’s mouth, causing its head to explode in a shower of gore.

Elania swallowed hard. Should she absorb the creature and see what skill it might grant her, or should she try to figure out if harvesting it was worth anything?

Before she could decide, a spray of large quills flew towards her, forcing her to shield herself with a wing.

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath. “This is going to be rough.”

Fumbling with the artifice device Arlois had given her, Elania pressed the button. “There’s a bunch of arcane beasts!” she shouted into the device, dodging another spew of spikes.

A giant porcupine-like creature emerged from the forest, its quills bristling menacingly.

“Deal with it.” Arlois’ voice crackled through the device.

“Fuck,” Elania cursed, her grip tightening on Eziel as she prepared for battle.

The event lasted hours before things finally calmed down.

Elania panted, her chest heaving as she surveyed the surrounding carnage.

The once peaceful forest lay in ruins, trees flattened for miles while the ground was littered with the corpses of arcane creatures.

The crystal metallic deposit stood at the center of the devastation, its surface unmarred by the fierce battle that had taken place. Somehow it seemed to have shrunk in size.

At some point during the fighting, the ringing in the air had subsided.

She wiped the sweat from her brow. Glancing up at the sun, she cursed under her breath. It was well past noon, and she had spent half the day in this single spot.

Elania eyed the corpses strewn about, knowing that there was no way for her to carry them all back for processing. With a sigh, she decided to absorb them instead. Her [Soul Siphon - Visible] perk helped a lot with avoiding having to go around and touch everything.

Golden light from the bodies and spilt blood flowed like a river to her, and her [Divine Power] even ticked up a few points.

When she checked her [System] messages, it was a hectic mess. She wished it would at least group them.

Almost as if someone was listening, the screen flashed.

[You have gained ten levels!]

[Elemental Affinity has increased by two ranks!]

[Presence Concealment has increased by one rank!]

That was… excellent! Maybe she’d stop using the little “X” on everything by reflex now.

Her eyes slid over the three key messages again.

The levels were nice—a little step closer to her next perk point.

Maybe she’d even get a chance to test out the theory of the choices being different based on what she was transformed into.

Her eyes moved to the skill rank-ups. Would the [Elemental Affinity] help her when combating magic or artifice users? She pulled her wing in front of her, tugging on the feathers as she considered the possibilities.

Making them more resistant to magic could prove invaluable, given how often she used them to block attacks.

Arlois had suggested she drop unused skills, but did her ability to absorb from being a lesser demon actually get restricted by having too many? Maybe gaining all the skills via absorption would be a better path.

Assuming that she could gain every skill that way…

Elania shook her head. She had spent more than enough time at the deposit. She took to the sky, aiming to follow along the border.

The exercise in border security was much less eventful compared to her little impromptu POI triggering. At least, that was the only thing she could relate it to. Had Arlois intended it as a joke by not informing her of the danger?

Maybe the Tower wanted her dead… or perhaps she wanted all the arcane beasts in the area rooted out and destroyed.

Elania shook her head, scanning the sky and ground. There was no point in trying to analyze the Tower’s plan. Maybe she would ask.

But that meant having another meeting with her, which made her nervous.

Fuck, why couldn’t Arlois just not be a crazy bitch?

The internal monologue and self-gnawing thoughts almost caused her to miss the river. But it was there, large and flowing, a blue gash on an otherwise green blanket of trees.

Remembering her instructions, she turned west, following the waterway.

Suddenly, two airships came into view, and Elania frowned as she drew closer.

Little yellow fireballs danced between the vessels, a clear sign of a battle in progress. Without hesitation, she picked up speed, pulling out the communication device Arlois had given her.

“There are two airships,” Elania spoke into the device. “I think they are fighting over the eastern river, near the Bterrean border.”

There was a garbled response, and she couldn’t make out what was said. Interference from the fighting?

Elania tucked the device away and pushed some [Divine Power] into her wings while protecting herself with her [Demonic Aura], speeding up as fast as possible.

Wind whipped Elania’s face as she zoomed toward the battle.

The two ships slammed together, a stream of ropes and hooks crossing between them like an army of spiders trying to tie each other up in their webs.

A voice crackled through the communicator in her pocket. She caught a few words. “…find out more, help is…”

That wasn’t very useful. Arlois had talked the stupid thing up, but it seemed like a cheap walkie-talkie knock-off.

Elania muttered to herself, frustration mounting. Somehow, she had an excellent idea of what the reply meant: “Deal with it yourself.”

As she closed the distance, Elania recognized the Contia Towers flag on one of the ships—then she recognized the ship itself.

It was the Farwind!

Both ships were locked together, and crossbow bolts traded between the vessels at a rapid pace.

Elania spotted four small artifice weapons resembling small cannons on the ship attacking the Farwind’s upper rear. The elevation gave them a good vantage point, and the two on the Farwind’s side were periodically spitting out bursts of flame.

A dozen sailors went flying off the deck, their bodies engulfed in fire just as she reached the fight.

She swooped in from the side and ripped the first fireball cannon off the railing, using it as a club to smash the second. The two pieces of equipment went sailing off into the sky along with one of the gunners.

Then, one of her wings tangled in a rope.

It nearly sent her slamming into the deck before her feathers sliced through the bindings. The entire ship lurched dangerously, and she flashed out of the mess and back into the sky.

It was obvious to her why neither side was stabbing at the other’s vulnerable balloons. The “sinking” of either ship would likely pull the other down with it because of the tangle of ropes.

And slicing through the tangle would likely rip the balloons off both ships.

She’d need to take the fight up close and avoid aerial antics.

Elania flashed around to come in from the Farwind’s free side, landing in the middle of a brawl.

She offered a silent prayer of thanks that she had met the crew back in Contia, the white and purple striped uniforms easily recognizable.

The first man in front of her, clad in red and black, lost his head with a heavy sweep of Eziel.

An enemy crewman charged at her, a short pick raised high. Her wing sliced him in half, sending a spray of viscera across the deck.

The nearby Farwind crewmen stared at her, their eyes wide with a mixture of awe and fear.

For a second, she considered blanketing the area with her aura, but that would be too risky. She wasn’t sure she could prevent accidentally injuring the Farwind’s crew.

Melee it would be.

She focused on targeting individual enemies and fought her way towards the ship’s rear where she spotted Captain Narbor.

The man leveled a hand crossbow at a boarding enemy crewman; the bolt found its mark in the attacker’s eye. Without missing a beat, he parried another attack with his cutlass, his movements fluid and precise.

It was apparent that this wasn’t the Captain’s first encounter with pirates—or whoever the attackers were.

The officers surrounding Narbor were hard-pressed, a concentration of enemies clearly attempting to decapitate the ship’s leadership.

Elania wasted no time moving to join them.

Enemies foolish enough to stand in her way were met with the force of her wings, sending them hurtling through the air and off the ship. Screams and bellows filled the air as the attackers plummeted to the ground far below.

“Captain Narbor!” Elania called out. “I’m here to help!”

Narbor glanced in her direction. His eyes widened in recognition immediately. “Elania! Thank the Towers you’re here!”

Elania nodded, her grip tightening on Eziel’s hilt. “What’s the situation?”

“These bastards came out of nowhere,” Narbor shouted. “They’re trying to take the ship!”

A vicious glint appeared in her eyes. “We’ll see about that.”