Flattened mountains [an unknown location in the new world], local time [1793.10.26 1793.10.20]
He decided to just plunge in. If the consequences are that serious, then maybe it’s worth it. I need information, badly. Even the ‘normal’ things I say are giving me away.
“Okay, okay. I will do that,” Zeph answered to the notification, sending his resolution to Gru. He decided to hide for some time still, but understood these humans were safe to interact with.
The debate between Aisha and the System lasted for a minute longer. The System gave her some pointers on what to think about before hammering out the details.
Zeph just sat near the human’s husk, waiting in silence.
Finally, she breathed deeply and looked in their direction. The System group messages disappeared.
“Makani, how long are you going to play dead?” she asked. “We need to proceed; we wasted enough time. Change of plans, Zeph will use his Highlighting Spells along the way—” she sighed again, and gesticulated to him to go ahead.
Zeph lowered his hand, and explained, “As I said, the original Spell takes long to charge, and the Light is short-range, 10 meters maximum for the Mana transforming property.”
She tilted her head. “That should be plenty?” she asked, confused.
“Well, if you want to wait for me whenever I would need to reconstruct another one…” tentatively answered Zeph.
Makani perked at that and looked in his direction.
“You don’t know how to move them?” he said with hope in his voice.
“You can move them?” resounded Zeph’s clever answer.
In one uncanny roll, Makani got to his feet. After catching his balance, he straightened and stood proudly before Zeph. Aisha was making an amused face in the background.
“Of course! You are self-taught! It’s natural you don’t know the basics. Yes, yes, that makes sense!” he stated, only to become thoughtful a moment later. “Probably makes sense… You should have the Stabilizing Spell in your CSM list? It should be accessible to every Class specializing in Spells,” he concluded, confused.
“I can’t use most of my Skills. Only after my latest upgrades, I got to 48 Mana capacity. And, well, I only have 7 Matrix space until I finish resetting my Class levels… Umm, how costly is that Spell, again?” he explained, going by the System’s advice to be more open with information.
They blinked and looked at each other.
“I am starting to understand why System was dissatisfied that much,” Makani said.
“No kidding. If I knew he had it that hard, I would apologize first and then hide my first name from him…” Aisha said.
“Hey, can you stop ignoring me and explain?” he said, making a sour face.
“My poor outlandish, ingenious human,” started Aisha, lightly patting him on the back. “We are born with Mana capacity of at least 50, even the weakest adult has 100 before investing in PE.”
“Well… That explains a lot, actually,” Zeph answered slowly.
They both solemnly nodded in understanding.
“The Tier 1 Matrix Stabilizing Spell requires 50 Mana at the start, and has upkeep depending on the environment… Allow me to assist, then. It will be Mana-wasteful but should work if I only use one more Matrix Spell at the same time,” Makani offered.
“Also, we will need to discuss your level resets. But let’s relocate first, I am counting on you two,” she said, moving in the direction of the exit. They nodded and followed right after her.
Their cave had only one entrance and was quite small, all things considered. They walked close behind Aisha as she navigated the tunnels without hesitation.
The coordinated Light Spells failed at the beginning, but Zeph quickly adapted his Mana-flow to the Makani’s construct, shocking him a little again. By using this method, they were even able to start charging or constructing Mana Highlight while on the move and without disrupting the Light.
They found seven more Axotilians along the way, all of them were adults. Aisha didn’t have any problems dealing with them. The Mana Highlight didn’t last long, so after getting close to the enemy position, she would break two of their legs in one swing during the one second of the next Highlight. After that, they just moved the Light close enough for her to see where to hit.
Axotilians couldn’t bite her as she always continued her attacks from the back, and the first attack usually was a charge. Their tails didn’t do much damage to her, she was able to withstand them relatively easily. Makani was countering their offensive Air Skills and helping Aisha to jump at the ones high on the walls. The ceiling was, for most of the time, out of range, though.
Aisha kept two massive tails from the kills. ‘Long-lasting’ rations, she called them. It was only slightly disgusting when she played with them along the way, trying to squeeze the blood out.
They traveled for a few hours, to Zeph’s surprise. It was a silent hike for the whole time as they strained their senses in the dim light.
Black caves were stretching out further and further. Gigantic rock formations were creating a multitude of possible passages, it certainly looked different from the waterways Zeph was using. Within the restricted illumination, coming from his Spell and Aisha’s enchanted lamp, the cave system gave him vibes of an abandoned dwarven dwelling. Not every shadow was a bottomless chasm, and the ceiling certainly wasn’t hundreds of meters high, but the overbearing darkness was playing with his senses.
With each kill, he could feel his Class and Profession coming closer to the threshold of leveling up. At the same time, with each kill, he felt less and less secure. The dread was real, within these caves filled with assassin-like enemies.
Finally, they made it to the chamber where they have met. The bodies of Myconids were still here. Evidently, nothing in the vicinity wanted to consume them.
The exit tunnel was longer than he anticipated. They had to walk for almost half a kilometer before a weak light from the outside could be noticed. Along the way, he could see the marks left by explosions and fragments of enormous fungi that coated the floor. Makani started to clear the air around them, pushing all particulates away with a channeled Spell.
The first emotions Zeph felt after surfacing were an overwhelming relief and a deep sense of wonder.
The forest was dark, only scraps of teal light were able to make it under the canopy. The wet bark of bare trees was almost black, contrasting strongly with the blueish reflections and the colorful underbrush. Some of the mushrooms on the ground gave away a weak fluorescent light. Miniature ferns in a multitude of shapes adorned the trunks of trees, some mixing between the colonies of fungi on the ground.
Weak blue light danced on the shapes moved by huge water drops falling from the leaves above. They sparkled when falling down as well, adding to the light-show.
It was mesmerizing. Even if objectively it should be gloomy as hell, the fresh scent of the forest and rain, the reflecting lights, no matter how weak, and the alien landscape entranced him.
He was outside. He was finally free.
Free, resonated his whole being in a moment of elation, of happiness.
Free, Gru joined with a resonance of its own, vibrating slightly.
They stayed in place, basking in the feeling together, resonating, vibrating, absorbing the—
“Is it normal for your race to purr when happy?” Aisha asked seriously.
And the moment immediately passed away.
Not without reverberations, though.
Congratulations! You have gained 1 [Greater Willpower]!
You have gained 0.5% [Will, type: H1] [Soul contamination]!
[Will contamination] is now [T1][L55]. (+5)
Zeph felt deflated a little and slouched forward, but kept his face neutral when looking at her.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“You just had to interrupt me, didn’t you?”
“Oh? Were you doing something important?” she asked in a half-joke.
He sighed. “I will explain it later. Anyway, I wasn’t purring, that was just my Soul-bond. Gru,” he said, pointing at his abdomen.
It vibrated in resigned affirmation, and Aisha’s eyes got wide. She was fighting for a moment to find some words, opening and closing her mouth.
“Well,” she said finally. “THAT IS definitely unexpected.”
“Hm? What is?” Makani joined the conversation after strengthening his Spell.
“He has a Soul-bond inside his chest. And it could hide from me,” she said with incredulity, sounding almost offended.
“Eh, it’s your turn to get wrecked then, good luck,” he answered, tapping her on the arm. She glared at the traitor for a moment.
“Whatever. Zeph, do not leave our vicinity. You remember the Myconids’ spores?” she asked, indicating with her hand the underbrush around. “There are the results. We are relatively safe as long as we clear the air. Nothing besides flora can live here. I hope you understand now why we had to be Contracted. I wouldn’t be able to survive two days in such an environment without him,” she said, indicating her partner.
He certainly could understand. If hundreds of Myconids were producing spores every odd day, some definitely would find their way into the forest. The environment here was perfect for fungi, too. Which meant the whole forest was filled with deadly, parasitic mushrooms, producing toxins and their own spores.
He shivered at that realization.
“I understand, but what do you mean by ‘relative’?” he asked.
“These mountains are under constant surveillance after five people from your world were intercepted by a few religious groups. It has taken place some years ago, but I am sure someone noticed us and would like to know the reason for this excursion,” she explained calmly. “We don’t want to clue at your origins, so we prepared a backstory. I certainly hope you are good at playing roles,” she finished, grinning in his direction.
Ugh, just great. I hate to act in real life… he complained internally. But only five people were intercepted? That is quite interesting, he mused, thinking about Alana and Alex.
“I have some questions, now that we are outside,” he said.
“Don’t we all?” she asked philosophically. “I need time to reflect on Onji’s suggestion. Go on and talk with Makani about the sorcery arts or something,” she said looking at the guy.
Makani was in the process of adjusting the Spell, again, concentrating to the point of ignoring them. That could be Zeph’s imagination, but he also looked a little pale.
“Well…” she reconsidered. “Or wait for that until we set up a camp. Yes, you definitely should hold back until then,” she decided, nodding to herself.
He frowned, but their safety had to come first. That rule was engraved deeply in his mind.
“Sure. Can I help somehow?” he asked instead of arguing.
“If only every person was this reasonable,” she muttered, looking down to the ground for a moment. “I don’t think so?” she shrugged, straightening up. “We just need to find our clearing. Our water supply depends on it.”
“Ummm, I can condense some water if you have an open container? Ah! No, no need for one, I can just use my canteen,” he finished after remembering this minor fact.
She looked at him in a new light. She excitedly walked closer and clapped her hands together after moving her weapon under an armpit. “Perfect! You are my savior,” she exclaimed, smiling sweetly and creeping him out. “We can look for a dry place for once! Let’s go!” she shouted the last words, grabbing Makani by the shoulders and directing him away from the tunnel.
Zeph looked after them, puzzled. Why Makani doesn’t have something like a ‘Water condense’? He should have the Matrix? he wondered, unsure. Then remembered Aisha’s warning and trotted to keep up.
They were meandering around colonies of certain mushrooms, Aisha warning him to not touch them without dedicated protection. As she explained, her boots were enchanted to counter such hazards, but he and Makani were at risk of losing a leg because of the lacking gear. The matured versions of certain parasitic mushrooms were extremely toxic.
The need for constant concentration in this gloomy environment quickly erased Zeph’s fascination, grounding him in reality. It seemed they exited the mountain in the morning because the slow travel lasted for hours on end.
Aisha categorically declined the possibility of carrying them. It would smash her pride as the Warrior Priestess, which she didn’t fail to point out by hitting the ground with the back of the shaft of her weapon, splashing a copious amount of mud on herself in the process. Zeph could not argue with that, for many more or less serious reasons.
They didn’t talk much. The silent environment enhanced the eerie mood even more. Both guys in the group were soaked, which doused any fervor for discussion they had, but Zeph was mightily surprised when steam started to come off of Aisha during their trek. Later, she explained to him that after achieving around 10% of one type of contamination, the density of Magicules would be enough to influence the environment. At least in this Ambient Mana density.
And she had much more than just 10% at this point of her life. She had some sort of energy-heat Group, created by volcanic dust clouds, but wasn’t able to explain much more about it. He would have to analyze the Magicules directly and compare the Group to what he has learned in the mental space. Alas, it wasn’t that easy to do at all.
After at least four hours, they found the camp in the clearing. Because there were no beasts in the forest, the pair could just leave all the gear as it was and charge to Zeph’s rescue immediately. They didn't have much besides camping gear and some supplies, though.
As they traveled, an orange sun slowly descended from above the cloud line, illuminating the forest in a mesmerizing light-show and resurrecting Zeph’s wonderment. The mushrooms’ fluorescence increased in intensity, miniature rainbows flickering in places where water sprayed freely. Aisha had to almost manhandle him to keep him on track.
They managed to travel to the next mountain before sunset, but it took them two more hours to find a shallow cave in a low cliffside. The ground was wet still, but Aisha dried the rocks at the back, using the Magicules produced by her Soul contamination.
After Makani set the air barrier at the entrance, they started preparing the camp inside. Aisha’s Profession had a Matrix Skill that sped up the process of drying the wood, which was the only reason they could start a fire at all.
She was, to his great surprise, a Housemother in Profession. Makani was an Aeroplanner. Both chose their Professions to strengthen their Classes in the future, after the level 100 specialization. They also kept them close to their Class level, because the increase in Matrix space wasn’t that important for them.
What a strange bunch, Zeph thought idly while working on their camp. My Profession is filling the holes left by my Class… Are they trying to min-max or something? That shouldn’t end well, in theory at least… But I don’t have enough information to really ascertain that.
Their clothes were drenched, but Aisha ignored it completely, still releasing copious amounts of steam around herself. The guys had to set the clothes on a rope placed between the campfire and the entrance. This arrangement allowed for more warm air to stay in the cave while the smoke from the fireplace was lazily slithering along the ceiling just to fly outside, partially directed by the ‘Air’ specialist of their team. Thankfully, there was no wind at all to disrupt the setting.
Zeph would have to impregnate his leathers after that, but he crafted them well enough to be sure no damage was done by the water.
The increased humidity from all the vaporizing practices in the cave sped up the condensation process tremendously. They had enough of an instant, toxin-free water to even clean themselves.
The water on Zeph’s armor was quickly assimilated by the Phleya when he wasn’t looking. The cold metal still made him shiver when he was putting it on, though. After they finished their midnight ablutions, only Makani stayed almost naked, sitting under a dry coat and trying to warm up.
After every one of them got a cup of a hot soup made from fresh meat of an Axotilian and some dried fruits, they all finally relaxed, cuddling near the campfire.
The warm air combined with the sounds of the rain and crackling firewood formed a homely atmosphere. The fire’s flickering light filled the cave, and the cozy setting soothed Zeph’s mind like nothing before.
“Haaaaa,” Aisha sighed loudly after taking the last deep sip from her bowl of hot soup. “I would rather revel in this luxurious treatment and drink something more energizing afterward, but I need to speak with the Onji,” she said, looking at them. “I can’t postpone the inevitable. Makani, beat into him some common sense. I will be reading directly from the Interface, so do not disrupt me,” she said, moving to the back of the cave and sitting cross-legged on hard stone.
They nodded and sat there in silence for some time still, absorbing the warmth from around them.
“So,” Zeph started, “how is it possible you don’t have ‘Water condense’ Spell or an equivalent?”
Makani was thoughtful while looking at the ceiling. After a lazy moment, he glanced at Zeph.
“Considering the nature of your question, you had Tier 1 Spells on your Matrix list from the start?” he asked, sipping the soup.
“Yes. Well, not this one, but a much better ‘Water liquefy’ was among them. They all are too costly for my Mana capacity, though. I had to re-create the ‘Water condense’ from the Tier 0 Spell,” he answered, looking at the fire.
“So, you have a high-spec Class of some kind,” summarized Makani. “Well, or a Generalist, but that would be…” he slowly quieted down and suddenly turned his head to look at Zeph with narrowed eyes. He had question marks written all over his face.
“I am giving too much information unintentionally, don’t I?” said Zeph with a rueful smile. “I am, indeed, a Generalist. A Force Generalist,” he added.
Makani looked at him like he was crazy, then just started to massage his own temples.
“Never heard about that variant… Generalist should be the shittiest option, so I didn’t learn much. But I know too little about you to judge,” he confessed unabashedly, giving up after a moment. “You may be clueless, but isn’t it natural? It’s just that you…” he stopped himself, shaking his head. “Never mind,” he mumbled.
“Shittiest how?” asked Zeph, concerned a little.
“I will need to explain other things before you truly understand, but I can give a short version?” Makani asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
He nodded, a little reluctantly.
“Okay then. There are only a few Class types that give access to the Tier 1 Spells from the very beginning, all of them are lacking in the Passive Enhancements territory.” He sipped some more of his steaming soup, thinking about something and relaxing a little.
“Two sub-specialization opportunities exist on the way to level 100. Problem is, if you are not developing your Class in its intended direction, it will mutate at those points. In the case of high-spec Classes, like Generalist, they will downgrade. If that happens, it means you just wasted a LOT of time for a few additional Passive Enhancements and nothing more... And the Generalist requires the mastering of many Magicule Groups and multi-Magicule Spells. Normally, people would either degrade to a Mana Manipulator with one or two Groups, or train for long years only to end up as a subpar or straight-out useless Spellwielder with a few weak utility Spells. It’s unreasonable to the point that achieving level 100 is a pipe dream, no one can do that. People just start with Mana Manipulator, or its variants, and go from there, not the other way around,” he finished, becoming gloomier by every word he said.
“This should be useless. You should be useless. Then, HOW?” he finished with a broken voice, looking to the ceiling as if calling for the Gods to explain and fix this hole in reality.
Oh dear, thought Zeph nervously, knowing that Makani was referring to his collection of Spells. I am not sure if my explanation will help, or deliver the finishing blow here…
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Interface:
image [https://i.imgur.com/EQgUZTy.jpg]
image [https://i.imgur.com/UaeMLFH.jpg]
image [https://i.imgur.com/IiDzf2B.jpg]
image [https://i.imgur.com/LzEQ0CL.jpg]
image [https://i.imgur.com/GiUKnCe.jpg]
image [https://i.imgur.com/m2iNfwO.jpg]
image [https://i.imgur.com/BIYZxrp.jpg]
image [https://i.imgur.com/8P2vYtl.jpg]