As I moved stealthily through the forest, I practiced weaving weak invisible force spells. Rather than practicing my power or accuracy, I focused on speed. While fighting the snake, the time it had taken me to cast my spells nearly proved fatal.
I was still getting used to my improved mana control, so I was able to improve quickly. I continued to discover many little ways that it improved my spell casting beyond just enhancing my finesse.
I found that I was able to weave together many identical mana forms almost simultaneously with little additional effort. Before, I would have had to draw out each of the simple mana forms one by one.
Another subtle difference I found was that the system seemed to send a tiny pulse of mana behind anything I worked on, gently straightening any sloppy bends or jagged curves in the flowing mana. When I noticed this, I was able to speed up quite a bit by allowing myself to be a bit less meticulous in my weaving.
This increase of speed primarily applied to relatively simple spells. For more delicate or complex mana forms, I still intended to be careful. The system’s correction of my work could only handle small deviations. Any larger mistakes would still cause the mana to unravel, which would be far more problematic with larger spells.
By the time night was starting to fall, I had managed to increase my casting speed for a simple thrust of invisible force by almost half. Repetition certainly played a large role, but I figured that I would likely see reasonable gains when casting other spells as well.
Carefully sketching out a couple sigils of concealment, I set up my shelter for the evening. It didn’t take me long to drift off to the sound of rain gently pattering against the leaves above my head.
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I had only been asleep for a short time when something startled me awake. I felt the ground shuddering beneath me.
Worried about what sort of colossal creature had to be in the area, I listened carefully. Strangely, the ground shook with a consistent rumble. Were a titan walking by, I would have expected an intermittent pattern to the shaking with each step.
After a few moments, I realized that no monster was moving nearby.
No one had ever been able to tell me for sure why tremors sometimes shook the world. Some believed it to be colossal creatures burrowing through the earth. Others claimed it was the aftershocks of colossal titans fighting far in the distance. Still others claimed that natural magic running through the earth and stone would sometimes cause the world to shake.
I didn’t know what was the most likely. I kind of liked the idea that the world just sometimes got restless. There was something amusing about imagining the world as one big creature, so large that it barely noticed the tiny creatures living upon its back.
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As the shaking slowly settled, I relaxed once more. Through the gaps in my shelter I watched a few dozen softly glowing insects lazily dance through the air. It didn’t take me long to fall back asleep.
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I was dimly aware that I had dreamed of riding some giant creature, but I couldn’t recall the details in the morning. With a shrug, I finished off the last of my snake meat.
I still had plenty of dried fish, but I planned on keeping an eye out for any easy game as I walked. With the plants around me slowly growing less familiar, I needed to be more careful when foraging. After already giving myself mana poisoning with one foolish meal, I was in no hurry to poison myself with a handful of berries.
After a few marks of walking, I noticed a tree in the distance covered in a familiar shade of blue. Having learned my lesson from the last time I encountered a swarm of the heat eating insects, I kept well away. I kept an eye on the swarm as I circled around, but they seemed content to linger on their frozen plant this time.
I let myself believe that I was probably safe, until I noticed a family of monkeys running through the branches above. To my great dismay, one of the primates knocked a dead branch loose. The branch swayed a moment, before tumbling to the ground. It didn’t hit the bug covered bush directly, but it was close enough to catch the swarm’s attention.
I let out a curse. I was really starting to hate monkeys.
The swarm left the bush all at once, looking confused and lost. They drifted about aimlessly for only a few moments before some of them seemed to notice me.
Setting off at a run, I tried to think. The last time I had encountered a swarm of these things, they had chased me relentlessly until I ran through the herd of grunes. Obviously, they could be distracted, but by what?
The most likely thing I could think of was heat. Grunes put out a lot of body heat compared to me, so it was possible.
Weaving together a heating spell as fast as I could, I cast it wildly behind me. A quick glance behind me showed that there was a great deal of merit to my idea. Much of the swarm had veered to the side to investigate the sudden burst of warmth. Encouraged, I wove together a much larger and slower to release heating spell.
My second spell diverted the attention of the entire swarm away from me. I let out a sigh of relief, though I wasn’t quite safe yet. My spell wouldn’t last terribly long, so I needed something with more staying power.
While the bugs were distracted, I carved a few runes of heat into a nearby tree. I was reasonably sure that the runes would keep the little things appeased until I was long gone.
Slowly walking away, I was relieved that the bugs didn’t choose to follow me. When I was a reasonably safe distance away, I picked up the pace.
I didn’t stop for almost a full-mark. Leaning against a tree, I caught my breath. I hoped that the day wouldn’t hold any more surprises, but I was sure that there would still be plenty.
Sitting down for a moment, I took a quick look around to make sure I was still safe. It didn’t take me long to spot the next surprise for the day.
For once, it wasn’t some hungry monster or other unearthly horror out to kill me. Instead, it took the form of an unassuming plant covered in little brown pods.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing so far from the cultivated groves of Sanctuary Valley.
Against all odds, I had found a cocoa plant.