Chapter 26: What’s the Difference?

Cerise watched Isbeth and the man bicker. She was currently lying on the bed covered in the bed sheets. It had appeared that she had released too much heat from her body which nearly killed her. Granted, [Blood Bound] did go up a level but from all the times it had increased in level before made her think.

Why does it keep leveling up? She wasn’t dumb enough to not be able to figure that out. Every time it leveled up, she’d be in a state of apparent or near death. The first time was when she first used the [Blood Flame]. She felt the numbness creep up to her heart before [Blood Bound] triggered. The second time occurred around the time when her body froze without her awareness, and the third was just moments before.

Her body was shivering from the intense cold, she had used all her Mana in that dual burst of [Cool] and Reverse [Heat], leaving her with nothing but a pile of blankets and doses of medicine to ward off the aftereffects.

If her math is correct, then she only has two chances from [Blood Bound] left before something happens. And what about [Twisted Fate]? It had activated 3 times but there was no changes to the status window, which means there was something different about it.

Most skills had an activation requirement, sometimes it required Mana like her [Blood Flame] or [Rendering Claw], sometimes a condition like [Reverse Cast] and probably [Blood Bound], so what was [Twisted Fate]'s?

The hollow voice once again repeated those words in her mind, each syllable perfectly blending yet twisting in some way. She could remember the words but she couldn’t at the same time. Something about the not knowing and truth? But the two concepts were opposite of each other.

The riddles and questions kept her from feeling the cold that invaded even her bones. It seemed that Isbeth and the man had come to an agreement in the meanwhile, both shaking hands in a gesture that both Cerise and Roy didn’t quite understand.

The book returned to Isbeth’s bag and the man’s Nokia to his. The man sat at the table while Isbeth came back to care for Cerise. The poor girl was shivering underneath the thick bundles of blankets. She had taken off the clothes earlier when she finished thawing, the wet black clothing now handing outside on a wooden pole she found in the house.

“So when will she be able to get up?”

“Don’t know. She’s cold, not deathly cold but cold enough to stop her from making any moves for a few days.”

Isbeth’s hand went over her head, the deathly pale skin sucking away at her own body warmth by the second.

Roy stood up from his chair beside the bed and walked towards the man.

“Tsuki or whatever your name was, if the girl can cast Level 1 spells, you can too.”

The man simply humphed at Roy, crossing his arms while slouching in the chair.

“Tsuru. And there’s a difference between an Elemental Mage and a Spellcaster like her.”

“Alright. So what can you do that she can’t?”

“Firstly, Elemental Mages are those who manipulate Mana in its purest form.”

Tsuru raised his staff, a small cone of frost forming just above the shining jewel.

“She on the other hand, makes use of runes to cast magic. I didn’t realize that until I saw the book that Isbeth gave me. I don’t have much use for runes as I can’t read this world’s…”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Tsuru stopped mid-sentence, his words cut off by Isbeth’s stare from behind Roy’s shoulders. Tsuru cleared his throat, continuing on as if nothing happened.

“Anyways… What I meant to say was that she’s a Wizard and I’m an Elemental Mage. Specifically of the Water attribute and I lack any means to warm her up. Unlearned people often mistake Mages as Wizards and vice versa just because of the fact that Wizards never leave their damned rooms. Got it?”

Roy accepted Tsuki’s words. So that meant Geril was a Wizard? Wait a moment…

“Tsuki.”

“Tsuru.”

“Whatever, do you know if anyone made it out of Viscor a month ago?”

Tsuru shrugged. How would he know? He’d never been to a place called Viscor.

“If you want information, why don’t you go to the Adventurer’s Guild?”

Roy slammed his fist on the table.

“Nothing… Why would you want to know about that place anyways?”

“Just who are you? Any normal person would have heard of Viscor before.”

Roy’s words questioned Tsuru in the same manner that Hello Work lady spoke to him causing Tsuru to start a verbal debate with Roy.

The two men threw questions back at each other for a few more minutes until Isbeth intervened.

“Leave the room or stop the pointless babble. I don’t mind if you two chat but Cerise needs peace and quiet.”

The two men shut their mouths. Isbeth held the brownish pills in her hand as if to threaten them. Tsuru was fine with filling his stomach when needed but pointless vomiting can lead to severe dehydration. Roy knew what they did and was completely fine with shutting up.

“Good. Now discuss something worthwhile.”

Isbeth returned to Cerise who was still thinking about her skills. Judging by how [Hunter’s Eye]’s seal had been weakening for the past month, she’d say it would be take about two months more. Which leaves ten months left until the man’s words finally take hold.

Her original goal was revenge but she had learned since then. Her target was that man’s brother (?) and he apparently was going to start a great war between Gods, Demons, and Primordials, and somehow she had to stop it.

The injected memories gave her only tiny pieces of information about her target, the main one being his appearance and voice followed by his strength. Other than that, she knew nothing. How frustrating.

Should she just flee far to the East? But the man’s grave tone indicated that this wouldn’t be so easy. She knew she could trust Isbeth and Roy but what about that man? He didn’t seem trustworthy.

She had recovered enough Mana to warm herself to stable temperatures but her body was weak still. The only action she could do at the moment was speak. Even if she wouldn’t tell the man everything, she would still take advantage of him for his magic.

“Mmmph?”

Her voice was muffled by the bundles of woolen blankets on her. Isbeth removed the blankets around Cerise’s mouth allowing her to speak without being drowned out.

She spoke out again, her voice still quiet but discernable.

“Teach me?”

She eyed the man’s staff causing Isbeth and Roy to slap their foreheads realizing what Cerise wanted.

“You what?”

Tsuru held his staff carefully, afraid that the girl would somehow shoot lasers out of her rich ruby eyes.

“Teach me magic.”

Cerise tried again, unable to take ‘No’ as an answer. Tsuru caught on quickly but he shut her down afterwards.

“I don’t know your attribute, even if I did you would have to learn on your own unless you have Water like me which I highly doubt by what you did earlier.”

“Teach me magic.”

Cerise needed to become more powerful otherwise she wouldn’t be able to do anything.

Before Tsuru could dispute her claim, Isbeth’s voice came from in front of the shattered window.

“Uhh... I don’t know about you but another crowd is forming outside. Roy?”

“Got it.”

Roy left the room afterwards, leaving the discussion of magic to the three of them. He’d rather destress by hitting some heads anyways. Or he could make some money by selling custom weaponry. A twinkle appeared in his eyes as he walked outside of the building with his arms outstretched in a majestic pose. However, the twinkle died down after a man who was apparently the chief of the village handed him a piece of paper with a plethora of numbers written on it. The man pointed towards the destroyed buildings and back at the temporary housing meant for visitors. He flashed a money symbol towards Roy.

Roy gulped.

“Mind if I help repairing the buildings instead?”

The chief of the village nodded at his reply. The big sturdy man seemed fit enough to carry the heavy wood and tools. Roy was dragged away from the building towards the construction area where he was forced to carry lumber and stone all day. He regretted not staying inside but he never liked debt. He had forgotten the destruction Cerise caused so he worked for the rest of the week, the red numbers decreasing as he tirelessly labored.

He should get Isbeth to compensate him for this somehow. But at least he received a new skill as a result.