Using mana had never been easier. When I tried weaving together a simple invisible force spell, the mana forms flowed together almost with minimal effort. Turning towards a more challenging task, I tried weaving one of the targeting mana forms to the water gathering spell. I only got about halfway through before it collapsed.

Half way was a large step forwards from collapsing immediately. With how unfamiliar the new mana form was, I was quite pleased to have accomplished that much. With a small amount of practice, I was sure that I would be able to manage it.

A quarter-mark of failed attempts later, I successfully weaved the mana together into the correct form. I ran out of mana before I could connect it to the minor invisible force spell, but the success raised my spirits.

The knowledge that I might be able to refill my waterskin soon made the oppressive darkness of the ruined town hall a little more tolerable. The company left something to be desired though. While good listeners, the villagers around me were not the best conversationalists.

As I waited for my mana to refill, I considered what I could do about the bones of these poor people. While trapped, I wasn’t exactly in a position where I could give them a proper burial. Though I was unable to treat their bodies with the respect they deserved, I was sure that the shades of the villagers wouldn’t hold it against me.

Over the next few marks, I slowly worked my way towards being able to craft the water gathering spell. Before running out of mana yet again, I managed to draw a single drop of water seemingly from nothing.

With water growing to be less of a concern with me slowly improving spellcraft, I once more turned my attention toward how I was going to escape.

Judging by the twisted mana slowly seeping through the front wall, the titan was patiently waiting just on the other side. Even after checking over each stone, I hadn’t been able to find another way out other than the stone doorway.

If I was going to get out, I was going to have to somehow drive off the titan. I tried not to let the impossibility of such a task weigh too heavily on my mind as I considered what I knew.

Based on the memories I had seen, the creature had once been one of the lahir the villages had kept. Something vile had befallen it to turn the once peaceful grazer into the monster that it had become. I had some idea what it could have been, but I wanted to see if the villagers knew anything that would help me. Drawing upon the memory of the titan and gazing at the twisted mana with my mana sight, I tried activating identify.

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Identification:

Valgrix the Devourer: The nightmare made manifest and destroyer of Tanru. This horrific being was once a harmless lahir, until taken by a wraith. Instead of dying, as most will at the touch of the damned, the two somehow became one. The resulting horror was filled with unending malice and an insatiable hunger.

Ax, sword, spear, mace, or arrow, no weapon of man could harm the terrible creature. All artifice crumbles before the touch of the Devourer. The people of Tanru were powerless to stop Valgrix's advance.

May the gods save you if you have encountered this terrible fiend.

Well, that was not encouraging. The information from the legacy codex was a fair bit more colorful than the normally dry text the system provided. Considering the rather unpleasant contents of the identification, I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

Instead of getting caught up in the rather depressing description, I tried to see what useful information I could glean. The last line was potentially helpful, but with a bit of a problem. I didn’t know what a god was, so I wasn’t sure how I was meant to call upon their aid. Unless I could figure that out, I was going to have come up with a different plan.

Apparently the titan was somehow partly made from a wraith. That was more than a little terrifying to consider, but at least it gave me an idea. For all of their terrible power, wraiths would always flee before the light of day.

Obviously, the creature outside was beyond the point where mere daylight was enough to banish it, but it wasn’t a dead end. Perhaps a strong enough light spell would be enough to drive away the creature? Considering the warmth of sunlight, heat would probably be another important component.

I shook my head at the idea. There was no way I would be able to generate enough mana to even slightly inconvenience such a powerful creature. I would need the help of dozens of people to pull off such a feat of magic. Unfortunately, the only people around were a long way beyond the point where they would be able to lend their assistance.

I glanced back at one of the skulls lying on the ground nearby with my mana sight. With a terrible realization, I realized that there was still a way that these people might be able to assist me.

I dearly hoped the shades of the villagers would forgive me for what I was about to do, but I had found my way out.