The hot rush of air wooshing by from its snort knocks me down backward. As soon as my head smacked against the ice, all of the pain I should have been feeling bum rushed me all at once. My severed nerves scream in agony; sending surges of lightning coursing through my veins. Alar speaks, but I hear nothing but the hum of her timbre, and the now harmonious hum of Ikit’s voice, rumbling through my body.
The next few hours are a blur. I fight against the pull of oblivion, for I know if I were to close my eyes; with the amount of blood I had lost, that it would spell my end. I remember my name being screamed by Nyt, and my body being moved through the town as my arm was wrapped in heavy cloths to stop the bleeding. Water is poured down my throat, and a variety of herbs are put on my wounds and washed down with the water.
I pass out as I’m brought into the cave to rest by the lake and the fire. The pain has overwhelmed me. I wake up with a pit in my stomach and a heavy weight on my chest. Instinctively I try to wiggle the fingers on my right hand. After some effort, I manage to push past the buzzing and curl the top knuckle of my pointer finger. Still, the dull thud of pain remains.
As I reach over my body, my arm bumps against something soft and furry.
Master? Clio’s voice rose in my head.
I glance around frantically. Was I still in the cave? Or in a dark room somewhere?
Master! You’re up!
Clio stands up on my chest and peppers my face with licks. I tried to push up with my right arm, but the pain shooting through me when I tried to apply pressure to it stopped that.
“You’re up, oh Chosen of Earth.”
The harmonious voice of the rainbow serpent echoed in the cave. The light of the flames flickered as the air caused by his stirring billowed through the cave.
“So it worked.” I managed to sputter out as I lay back on the ground, staring up at the ceiling.
A low, rumbling laugh emerged from the wyrm’s throat.
“That it did. Thank you; oh Chosen of Earth, for breaking me from that delusion. I had been in that state for so long that I could scarcely believe that it was over. It's as if I’ve been living in a dream. An ever-repeating nightmare of the invasion of Iori; this final outpost of the Mykos.”
“Could you tell me the story of the fall of the town?” I ask.
The large serpent’s nose crinkles.
“Not now, oh mage. The wound is still fresh, and I’d rather not scrape that scab off so soon after closing.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, child of Earth.”
“How is Alar...or whatever the other one’s name is?”
“She is speaking to your compatriots by the shore.”
Using my left arm this time, I manage to push myself up.
“What do you mean?”
“Here.”
The great sea serpent rested its body on the shore.
“Take one of the scales that had been loosened by our fight.”
“Are you sure?”
The creature nods, so I pull Clio off of my chest and set her down by the fire. She sniffs around for a moment before curling up beside it. I step forward reach out with my left arm and pull. The scale falls off with a strong tug; ichor and slime stick to the back of it.
“Use that to make yourself some armor. It will protect you against anything.”
I set the scale; as large as my body, down by my bag, and see that Nyt had taken off my necklace, ring, and the one gauntlet that survived, the dagger and the greaves.
“Next, take your blade and slice off a piece of the flesh.
“What? Why?”
“Eat it.”
“Why?”
“It’ll bestow a part of my power to you.”
I wince, but not wanting to dismiss his kindness, I oblige. I pull the blade out of its sheath by clamping my teeth around it and pulling with my left hand, and approach. The creature squeezes its eyes shut as I slide the blade just barely through its flesh until I manage to separate a small sliver of the gray, slimy skin.
I close my eyes and slide the sliver of slimy flesh down my throat. As it passes over my tongue, I actually find the taste...well, pretty good. It tastes like cooked chicken with a hint of lemon. As soon as it hits my stomach my head begins to swim as information is poured in like water into a glass as a new spell is implanted into my mind. Dragon’s Flesh — a protective spell much like Repel.
“Next, take that knife and draw blood from me. As much as can fit in a cup.”
“I don’t have a cup,” I say, knowing where this is going.
The creature flicks its tail, and a part of the water freezes over. On top of this circular piece of ice was a formed cup, about the size of a 16-ounce can. I pick it up and hold it steadily in my injured hand. No more excuses. My hand shakes and trembles trying to hold onto it as I approach the wyrm.
“Are you sure?”
“It will help you channel magic better, and make your divine spells all the stronger.”
So my healing and lightning? I suppose that’s good enough still I feel a little bit of guilt when I stab forward and puncture the creature’s chest. It grunts in pain, and as I pull the dagger out of its chest, thick red blood flows from the wound, and I press the ice cup right underneath the bloody flow. The cup quickly fills, and I close my eyes once more, tip the cup to my lips, and pour it into my mouth.
The thick liquid nearly chokes me as it slides down my throat. The wound had closed before I could open my eyes again. As soon as the viscous blood settled, my entire body began to burn. I fall into a sitting position. My eyes, my arms, my core, my lungs, my legs my...everything burned. It was an intense and continuous burn. I felt as if I was a piece of paper being put to the torch, and, just as suddenly as it began, it vanished.
Everything around me was a little bit clearer; I could see the faint glow of the sun trickling in through the underwater caves that led to the sea, and I could hear the faint conversations being carried out just outside of the cave. I could smell the sweat sticking to the body, and the damp mold growing on the stony roof. My mind worked quicker as well, as I began formulating new ways to utilize my spells, and ways I could have gone about this whole ordeal better.
Most of all, however, was the fact that my mana-sensing ability was insanely strong. As I stared at the water, I felt a strong connection to the undulating currents, and as I glanced around the room, I felt as if I could call the shadows to me as if we were one and the same. I try it out with the lake; pushing and pulling with the tide lapping up at the shore. Soon, I was able to create a little swell in the water with my movements.
I glance at the flickering campfire. I breathed in as the light brightened, and breathed out as it ceded ground. In, and out. Bright, and dark. Soon, as I breathed in, the fire stretched feet higher in the air than it should, and as I exhaled, the flames were reduced to cinders. As I cut my connection to it, the fire returned to its natural state. It was only at this moment did I realized what Reynard meant about mana being a connective force to everything. All at once, I feel the invisible pull of everything around me.
“This is amazing,” I say...and I quickly wonder how much stronger this sense would get if I were to put on my ring and necklace. I dig through the pile of stuff by the campfire slide my ring on one of the fingers on my left hand, and fit the necklace over my throat. I bend down and pick up my staff as well.
I hold point my staff at the flame and take a quick breath before cutting off a piece of the flame to hover over my staff. Eventually, I break apart the mana holding it together and let Igni take it in. I feel her sear as she absorbs the fire mana and grows within me. Next, I look at the water. I tried to do the same with it, but it wouldn’t work. I tap my finger to my chin. Perhaps it’s because my Water Affinity isn’t as high as my fire? Then what about Earth? The element I have the most affinity toward? I point my staff to the ground and try to do the same. It’s a failure. Then I suppose it’s because I am not contracted with a spirit of any other element.
“Are you satisfied?” The great wyrm asks.
“I am. Thank you.”
It nods its serpentine head.
“Then I must go, and recover from my wounds. If I do not see you by the time you are to leave, farewell, oh chosen of Earth.”
With that said, the serpent slid backward into the water. There was a little bit of stirring before the great wyrm vanished. I glance at Clio, who, despite trying to be brave, was shivering.
“Are you alright, girl?”
Big snake scary.
I pat her head, and sit down by the fire; setting my staff to the side before picking up my Shard and speaking to it.
“Can I see my stats?”
Oh, is that what you’re going to say? No, ‘Hey, how are you doing,’ or, ‘I’m sorry for rushing headlong into danger again and risking your very existence Reynard.’
“I’m sorry for rushing headlong into danger again and risking your very existence, Reynard.”
Yeah, yeah. Mock my worries all you want. I don’t know where you got it in your head that you’re invincible. You’re not.
“Well…can I see my stats?”
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…
After a moment of silence, the screen shifts to my stat table.
Occupation
Elementalist
Level
68(1221/250000)
Strength
59 (+5)
Stamina
40
Perceptiveness
30
Intelligence
59 (+5)
Creativity
70 (+10)
Endurance
45
Magic
198 (+20)
Additional Stats
27
“Holy...how did everything go up by so much?”
A message appears beneath the stat table.
You’re kidding, right?
“No.”
You drank dragon blood.
“Dragon? Wasn’t he a wyrm?”
Look up ‘wyrm,’ when you get back home.
“So that increased all my stats? Just because of that?”
‘Just because of that,’ if you killed him and bathed in the blood afterward do you know what would have happened?
“No.”
You would have been functionally invincible. Think Achilles. Or Siegfried, actually.
“Siegfried?”
Read the Nibelungenlied. Well. The sea serpent is a low dragon, but a dragon nonetheless. If he had been a High dragon then...well we wouldn’t be speaking right now. How do you want to divvy up your points?
I think for a moment. The buzzing in my arm, and the dull ache in the still sore bones of my right foot, and thigh.
“You know what? I think I need to start fighting differently. I’m a mage, not a warrior.”
Oh? really? Wherever did you get that idea?
I smirk.
“Put 25 in Creativity, and two in Magic.”
Will do.
The front of my head burned, as did my core as the 70 turned to 95, and the 198 crested into 200.
“Now can you show me my skills?”
Number go up. Monkey brain happy.
MAGIC
LESSER HEAL 240/999 (100/100)
MEDIUM HEAL 30/999 (30/100)
EMBER 35/999 (19/100)
ENSNARE 19/999 (4/100)
ROCK THROW 50/999 (10/100)
GUST 28/999 (4/100)
DERVISH 4/999 (3/100)
MEDITATION 6/999
SALAMANDER’S BREATH 2/999 (1/100)
CAT’S EYES 10/999 (0/100)
FLAME BOLT 30/999 (9/100)
DJINN’S DANCE 66/999 (10/100)
EARTH SPIKE 240/999 (100/100)
DJINN’S ARROW 38/999 (1/100)
AETHERIC PUSH 32/999 (24/100)
BOLT 26/999 (30/100)
LIGHTNING STEP 29/999 (28/100)
REPEL 121/999 (100/100)
DJINN’S VOLLEY 59/999 (58/100)
UPHEVAL 8/100 (8/100)
SLOW 3/999 (1/100)
CREATE HOLE 45/999 (44/100)
WATER GUN 1/999 (1/100)
COALESCE 100/999 (1/100)
CURE POISON 58/999 (57/100)
LAVA ORB 6/999 (7/100)
MEDIUM HEAL 5/999 (5/100)
TYPHOON 1/999 (1/100)
INVOKE WRATH 1/999 (1/100)
WINDS OF CAER IBORMEITH 20/999 (20/100)
BILLOW 3/999 (3/100)
DRAGON FLESH 1/999 (0/100)
QUICK CAST ???/???
CLOSE QUARTERS COMBAT
JAB 45/999
STRAIGHT 50/999
HOOK 40/999
GRAPPLE 36/999
BITE 7/999
ELBOW 9/999
WEAPONS:
SPEAR 20/999
KNIFE 3/999
DAGGER 20/999
QUARTER STAFF 12/999
LONGSWORD 20/999
PASSIVE SKILLS:
MAGIC AFFINITY 300/999
DUELING 15/999
HEALING AFFINITY 290/999
MANA SENSITIVITY 240/999
FIRE AFFINITY 212/999
EARTH AFFINITY 200/999
WIND AFFINITY 94/999
LIGHTNING AFFINITY 40/999
GRIT 100/999
SHADOW RESISTANCE 3/999
LIGHTNING RESISTANCE 15/999
PAIN TOLERANCE 120/999
MANA MANIPULATION 230/999
FOX’S GUILE 12/999
POTION MAKING 1/999
BASIC HERBAL KNOWLEDGE ???
SENSE PRESENCE ???
CLAIRVOYANCE ???
CLAIRAUDIENCE ???
MUSE TOUCHED ???
MULTI-CAST ???/???
CRIME SKILLS:
LOOTING 13/999
AMBUSH: 4/999
SUBTERFUGE 5/999
CONJURATION SKILLS
SOUL-BOUND CONTRACT 4/999 (1/100)
FORM TAKE 113/999 (100/100)
I press the skill, ‘multi-cast,’ with my finger. A new window splits off which reads:
“UNLOCKED BY ACHIEVING 200 POINTS IN THE MAGIC STAT: Skills of complimentary types that you have learned to Quick Cast can now be cast together.”
That’s actually incredibly useful. Too bad, the only spells I know how to quick cast at the moment is Earthen Spike and some healing spells. Perhaps I should work toward finishing the 100 cast prerequisites for some of the others.
I think for a moment. What skills do I really need? Perhaps stronger attacks. If I’m going to be fighting dragons and the like in the future I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to get something stronger. Fire, this time?
At a thought, the skill page vanishes and is replaced by the Fire section of the skill purchase page. I was able to purchase two skills this time. Two skills catch my eye; Fireflies and Fire Wall. I purchase both of them and push myself up, pick up my staff.
“Ignite above me, oh thou motes of flame.”
Mana flows in through my nose and into my left arm. Igni takes her share and, and expels it back up my limb and out my staff. Twenty orbs of white light form around me, and with a curious, prodding finger, I confirm that they’re created of pure flame. With a motion, I send one of the flaming orbs up toward the ceiling of the room, and it flies there; alighting it. I then order them to collide against the water. The twenty orbs lift above me and fly into the waters. Hissing as they dive beneath the surface, sending bubbles and steam floating out where they landed. If I used this against living things...how damaging would that be? Regardless, I was lying about too much recently. I really need to rescue Monica’s parents so she no longer has to worry about that...
At the thought of Monica, my cheeks burn slightly. Ah, I wonder how she’s doing...I shake my head and gather my things. I cast Medium Heal on my right arm several times until I get a headache, and I’m able to use it to fasten the greaves and gauntlet and slide the scale into my bag. It was a bit unwieldy, but I managed to fasten it to my chest.
I also manage to pick up Clio and cradle her under my right arm as I carry her out of the cave; tapping the staff on the ground all the way.