Chapter 40: No time to die
“First you jump off the cliff and you build your wings on the way down.”
Ray Bradbury
I had not jumped.
I had been thrown.
I had not seen that coming.
Des and Sinis in their horror certainly hadn’t.
Grandpa in his shock seemed unable to comprehend.
I don’t think that even Grandfather judging by his fury had seen it coming either.
Despite the argument about whether becoming a noble was a wise or foolish idea. None of us had seen the threat coming, no fear of the future had prepared me to suddenly face the fact that I was now falling. Falling to my death as I had little doubt that I would not survive the impact with the ocean after a fall at terminal velocity. Something the staggeringly high cliffs would probably allow me to reach. I had barely begun to live again, there was so much I wanted to do. Seemed silly to complain when I had already been given a second shot at life, but sometimes silly thoughts are all that flash through your mind when in shock.
I had around 10 to 12 seconds to come up with a solution, before splat. Who knows how far down the water was I had not been counting the steps on the way back up.
I was not even facing the right way still looking back up at the top of the cliff, helpless I watched my purple robe stream behind me, whipped back in the wind.
The cliff was not too far away if I could somehow, grab on, I might break an arm or two in the process and that is even if my grip would somehow be strong enough to arrest my fall.
When suddenly . . . with a tearing noise my beautiful new absolutely essential purple robe caught on the cliff face and stopped my fall hard with a jerk. I was now dangling headfirst over the void of space but stationary for a second and in a moment of madness I looked at my notification.
Ding! Due to avoiding certain death by a one in a million moment of serendipity before the age of 1, you have been awarded the hidden stat Luck.
Too flabbergasted to do more, my body still frozen in shock from the fall and brush with death, I looked deeper into my stats.
Level: 11 Name: Kai
Experience: 217,250/ 409,600
Age: 14 months, 0 weeks, 2 days, 18 hours
Health: 1100/1140 Stamina: 546/546 Mana: 1140/1140 Psi: 1160/1160
Trait: Long-Lived, Fast Learner, Super Senses, Source of Mana,
Vitality: 114
Endurance: 25
Strength: 25
Dexterity: 29
Senses: 117
Mind: 116
Clarity: 49
Magic: 116
Charisma: 7
Luck: 1
Slamming into the cliff wall at speed seemed to have taken 40 off my health, the majority of the deacceleration which had been taken up by the robe catching, tearing, and swinging me around into the cliff face.
In my current position as dangled above an over 400-meter drop that did not seem like enough luck to get me out of what still looked to me very much like a life-threatening situation.
Hesitatingly, I gently turned to look up the cliff to see where my robe had caught on the cliffside. If I could pull myself up and get a grip on the cliff perhaps I could hold on long enough for them to throw down a rope? Where they would get a rope from I had no idea but it was the best idea I had at the moment as I did not wish to try free climbing back to the top of the cliff. I might be able to do it in my mind fortress but in the real world no matter my skill level I was still limited by the strength of my baby muscles despite what my stats may have said.
Carefully I pulled myself up on the beautiful new absolutely essential purple robe I had been gifted managing to make myself horizontal. Reaching up once more make the last foot to . . .
The categorically useless, poorly made, and ill-dyed piece of fabric they called a robe ripped through sending me falling once more.
I had maybe 11 seconds left to build those wings and learn to fly. The slight improvement in my situation was that I was now falling face forwards towards the rapidly approaching water than staring up uselessly at the sky. But if I was being honest with myself that was not much of an improvement and I would have far rather have been still stuck to the cliff face.
I could see the rocks at the bottom of the cliff, the stretches of open water along the shore, and I could watch my death approach at an increasing pace.
10 seconds left, maybe.
Ignoring my looming death I scrolled through my skills to see if just in case I had forgotten any of them gave me the power of flight.
Tier 1: Time sense (LV 26) Listening (LV 26) Meditation (LV 35) Swimming (LV 27)
Humming (Lv 22) Sneak (Lv 22) Whistling (Lv 22) Singing (Lv 22) and Drumming (Lv 22)
Running (Lv 17) Acting (19) English (Lv 15) Spanish (Lv 15) Japanese (Lv 15),
German (Lv 10) French (Lv 7) Dodge (Lv 11) Breath Control (Lv 7) Sight (Lv 15)
Scent (Lv 15) Detect (Lv 15) Taste (Lv 15) Bussola (Lv 7) Draw (Lv 4) Climb (Lv 7) Calligraphy (Lv 5) Mathematics (Lv 10) Decoding (Lv 6) Lie (Lv 5) Knife Skills (Lv 5) Trading (Lv 10)
Tier 2: Sense Mana (LV 35) Eavesdrop (LV 25) Memorisation (LV 22) Composition (Lv 22)
Recall (Lv22) Pain tolerance (Lv 13) Piano (Lv 20) Violin (Lv 20), Trombone (Lv 20),
Saxophone (Lv 20) Linguistics (Lv 16) Translation (Lv 16) Stealth (Lv 11) Quick reflexes (Lv 12) Haggling (Lv 5)
Tier 3: Echolocation (LV 25) Expel Mana (Lv 31) Absorb Mana (Lv 31)
Mana Manipulation (Lv 15) Ignite (Lv 15) Freeze (Lv 10) Boil (Lv 11) Bargain (Lv 10)
Tier 4: Mana Drain (Lv 20) Parallel Processing (Lv 15)
Tier 5: Mind fortress (Lv 17)
No, I had not forgotten anything the system had given me. My mind and senses allowed me to see with frightening clarity the full situation I was in. Quick Reflexes gave me the time to think it through. As I fell to my death.
Sensing skills were useless, Musical skills were useless, Language skills were useless, Trading skills were useless and all my physical skills required land or water to work, in the sky I was helpless.
All I had left to consider was my magical skills but again boiling or freezing water and setting fire to my clothing would do little to affect my outcome only make it more spectacular. A baby blazing through the air like a little meteor was not how I wished to end my second life.
9 seconds left, maybe.
Clothing? The ripped robe billowed out around me as I fell. Could I use that somehow? I had water and fire magic skills what I needed right now was air magic and an avatar state. Something I doubted existed in this world.
I had seen my sister use Gust before. I knew how to do it in theory although I had yet to achieve it in practice. The trick I had been told was not to try to push the air away from you but to create a circle of mana moving the air, sucking in more and more air to create a stream of air aimed where you wanted it.
No time like the present to practice
8 seconds left.
I spent my mana freely and air slammed into me whipping my hair around and buffeting me from side to side as I fell. But it seemed to have had little effect in slowing me down.
Ding! New skill Gale learned.
Either the experience of falling to your death or my greater mana pool seemed to have given me a stronger version of my sister’s skill. Normally I would have been ecstatic about a fantastic new skill to practice sailing with but right now I had hoped for a more immediately useful skill or result. For example, a flight skill would have been good right about now.
7 seconds left
I threw my mana once more into the air this time aimed slightly behind me and my robe billowed up behind me forming a small parachute that slowed me slightly but still not enough to make my dive anything less than catastrophic and comical now that I was effectively falling under a giant purple streamer.
The fall itself would not kill me it was hitting the water that would break every bone in my body, stats or no stats.
6 seconds left. I could always hope for more but somehow doubted gravity would give me any.
I needed to change my velocity and as softly yet as quickly as my body could cope with. The purple streamer was not working as a parachute but I had to make it work somehow. It was all I had to work with. So I threw mana and with it air as I hoped to make it billow out and catch me somehow.
5 seconds left.
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I continued to use a gale of air against myself and my robe feeling the combination halt my acceleration and hopefully slow me a little even though it was still clearly not enough as I continued to plummet down far too quickly. Thank the system I had Source of Mana as a trait, or I would have already run out. I was down to my last thought and last possible option. I flooded the purple robe with my mana and rather than using the elegant control my sister had once shown I brute forced it to form the shape I needed.
A band of cloth between my legs, a band of cloth between my arms.
It was an incredibly rudimental flight suit but I held it firm against the wind with my mana rather than the strength of my arms and legs.
The effect was instantaneous.
My downward velocity was translated into horizontal velocity. I shot along the edge of the cliff. I was still moving quickly but at least it was no longer straight down to the rocks below at the base of the cliffs. I continued to fall no longer moving down as quickly as much as along and down. I angled out a little from the cliff to avoid the rocks. There was no uplift that I could tell but I didn't want to move too far out to see as the water was relatively calm this close to the island.
4 seconds left?
I wasn’t sure now how long I would have left terminal velocity can be achieved in 12 seconds after around 450 meters of falling. If the cliffs were around 500 meters that was easily enough height for me to reach it but now that I was moving forward was I still going down as quickly? I didn't think so. But the water was still approaching rapidly.
3 seconds left?
I continued to use mana to hold the cloth steady still aiming gale to support and slow my trajectory. I had to get this right or bye bye baby me.
2 seconds left?
I knew I had to keep my legs lower than my head in order to skim along the top of the water rather than bounce and break myself in too. I was in danger of snapping my neck I just had to come in as flat as possible and I might make it.
1 second left?
Any second now I had done the best I could do. I was still moving far too quickly but my momentum was now aimed more forward than downward. I had halted my body's movement towards terminal velocity and transferred it to horizontal momentum without breaking my body in the process. My mana was holding the cloth in position and doing all the work, not my muscles, which would have probably snapped had I attempted this without my mana, much like I thought they would have, had I managed to grab hold of the cliff, in my frozen moment of freefall, at the top of the cliff.
Head up, arms out and back, legs behind me and down to enter the water first and drag behind me to slow me further.
I had one shot at this.
But it was poss . . .
I kissed the water with my feet and they dragged me down the last foot but the mana flooding my robe held it in shape and held my body in the right form too. My beautiful, elegant, purple robe held my body safe and sound as we skimmed across the sea.
Unable to see in the spray I used my mana in my robe to protect my head, face and eyes having already formed a mini helmet and face shield with it.
A little out of breath from the impact and possibly bruised everywhere on my front, but there didn't seem to be any lancing pain from any of my bones or organs. The Mana-filled robe seemed to have supported my body well enough to weather the impact although I was sure I would be missing a few more points than the 40 from the start of my fall.
Thank the system it was a calm day and we were on the leeward side of the island where it was calmer without the choppy waves I could only imagine rose and fell on the westward side of the island.
Finally, I came to a stop in the water and I was finally able to gasp a breath of air before I started to sink.
I . . .
was . . .
. . . alive!
I almost couldn’t believe it. But I didn’t have time to bask in my brilliance, the robe, my saviour, and the sole reason I had managed to survive was now soaked with water and weighing me down. Was it really already time to let it go? I had only just received it and within hours it had already saved my life.
I was alive! Adrenalin still coursed through my system but I had been thrown into the water before and despite being out at sea it was not nearly as terrifying as the fall had just been. That had been the single scariest moment of my life both past and present. If it hadn’t been for the robe it might have been my last I was keeping it if I could. Yes, my thoughts were running in circles repeating the same facts. I focused and with a burst of mana I formed a little mini iceberg which floated me and my magnificent robe to the surface grabbing another breath of air. After an accident or two with Aleera, I now knew to put as much ice below me as possible and angle it outwards to form a flat sheet with an inverted pyramid underneath to prevent me from being the weight that rolled the iceberg right over and landing it on top of me. Moments of memory Aleera particularly enjoyed but also the closest I had ever come to actually drowning, bar my father's initial attempts at teaching me how to swim.
Then, before hypothermia set in, another burst of magic and mana heated me, dried my robe, and left me in a warm pool of water that I quickly refroze beneath my feet. I finally had more than 10 seconds to think about my impending demise.
Someone had tried to kill me!
Someone . . .
Tried . . .
To . . .
Kill . . .
ME!
Now that I was not frantically fighting for my life, I realised that someone had tried to assassinate me, within hours of becoming a noble. Maybe my maternal grandfather had been the wiser of the two grandparents fighting over my future today. His methods may not be legal in my old world, more child abuse than training, but without the skill Quick Reflexes would I have even had the time to consider my demise let alone act on it?
As I bobbed about in the ocean and gently blew myself back along the cliffs, around the edge of the headland towards the dock hidden in the cavern. As I floated towards the bottom of the fold in the cliff I reconsidered today’s changing fortune. I might have gone up in the world on paper but in practice, I had the quickest, sharpest drop off a CLIFF in response!
Could I go hide somewhere else? I wondered to myself.
No, not really.
I was for all intents and purposes still completely dependent on the adults around me for food, shelter, and clothing. There was no land in sight from what I now knew as the Island of Wester Ponente. While I was beginning to learn the basics of sailing from my father I did not fool myself into believing I had a chance at sailing a floating ice cube anywhere other than home.
What was the assassination all about? Why me?
Was it because I had become a noble? Was it the revenge of the merchant unhappy with having to pay 5% in tithes to a new lord? Why on earth would someone just throw me off the top of a cliff without some form of warning, demand, or interaction? I didn’t believe that I had ever met them before in my life.
I sailed closer to the dark mouth of the cavern.
Was it safe to go back? Would I find another assassin on the docks? I honestly did not have much choice in the matter but I could try to be a little more cautious about my return. We had watched Mercurio’s ship sail out of sight. So I was not surprised to see a small 1 man dinghy with sail tied up to the dock left behind when the larger ship set sail.
I was glad to see that it was empty and that looking up the stairs no one seemed to be running down them fleeing towards their escape from the island.
Hopefully, everyone at the top of the cliff was well but I had little doubt that Grandfather would hesitate in ending the assassin's life. I was a little surprised his dead body had not been sent flying off the cliff with me.
But if he had survived or worse killed my Grandfathers, Des and Sinis then he would be coming down the stairs any minute now. I pulled myself up onto the dock and rather than toddle up the looming stairs to either my rescue or my doom. I added a little ice to my berg to float me higher and make the climb a little more possible. Then I boarded the dinghy and pushed it out to float gently in the middle of the cavern away from the dock. Luckily the rope had been hastily tied and was neither too tight or too heavy for me to pull apart to do so.
If the assassin had survived and was on his way then I still had an escape route and wouldn’t be sitting on the dock or standing on the stairs for him to kick out of the way as he left the island. Hopefully, he would not be able to swim too quickly but I was wary of taking the boat any closer to the exit of the cavern. I knew what to do but as with most things, it is easier to say than to do. Especially when you are the size I am.
So I sat there in the boat in the middle of the cavern, then I waited.
Digging into my pockets I found the slightly sodden remains of food from our feast. It felt like a lifetime ago that I had been cheekily stuffing my cheeks and pockets with the food. Tucking into it, the taste of the dried fruit was spoiled by the salt. However, with the jerky and nuts, it was hardly noticeable, that they had had a dip in the sea, as they were already salted for preservation. Either way, it filled my stomach and gave me something to do while I waited.
And I waited some more.
I hadn’t timed us on our descent but my recollection on our descent, ascent and based on Naismith’s rule they could not take longer than 2 hours to get down here. My brain was too tired to try and work out Tobler’s hiking function even though I had the time to try. I was still concentrating on the stairs hoping that if I did see someone coming I would have the time to sail in to meet them if they were friends or the time to sail away if it was the enemy.
Waiting for so long was boring after having completed my preparations, but I dared not enter my mind in case friend or foe arrived.
Sitting still, rocking to and fro on the boat I had finished eating the rest of the food I had squirreled away by the time it started to get dark, and still no one had come down either to flee the island or to find me. I was both relieved and disappointed at the same time.
The dark did not scare me. With my skills echolocation and mana sense, I had not been blind in the dark for a long time. In fact, since I had gained super senses as a trait night time had become the best time of day to have a reprieve from some of them. The quiet and dark were calming and welcoming.
What was not welcoming was the thought that I had to make a move. It had been several hours now. Plenty of time for the fight to be over one way or another. Plenty of time for either my assassin or rescuer to make their way down either to escape or to attempt to find me.
But no one had appeared. I would have to make a decision.
I now had the means to make it to Little Wester or Wester Levante but I would be sailing after Mercurio possibly sailing after my assassins and who knew if from my glance at the map if I could actually navigate either south to Little Wester or North-East to Wester Levante even if it was not now fully dark.
Surely, I was safer here with my family as long as I could make it to them again.
Tying up my new little boat to the dock my health, stamina, and mana had mostly recovered while I had been waiting so I set forth to face . . .
The stairs.
It was going to be a long, long way up to the top with these little legs of mine.
Level: 11 Name: Kai
Experience: 226,450/ 409,600
Age: 14 months, 0 weeks, 2 days, 20 hours
Health: 900/1140 Stamina: 500/546 Mana: 900/1160 Psi: 1160/1160
Trait: Long Lived, Fast Learner, Super Senses, Source of Mana,
Vitality: 114
Endurance: 25
Strength: 25
Dexterity: 29
Senses: 117
Mind: 116
Clarity: 59
Magic: 116
Charisma: 7
Luck: 1
Free Points: 30
Skills:
Tier 1: Time sense (LV 26) Listening (LV 26) Meditation (LV 35) Swimming (LV 27)
Humming (Lv 22) Sneak (Lv 22) Whistling (Lv 22) Singing (Lv 22) and Drumming (Lv 22)
Running (Lv 17) Acting (19) English (Lv 15) Spanish (Lv 15) Japanese (Lv 15),
German (Lv 10) French (Lv 7) Dodge (Lv 11) Breath Control (Lv 7) Sight (Lv 15)
Scent (Lv 15) Detect (Lv 15) Taste (Lv 15) Bussola (Lv 7) Draw (Lv 4) Climb (Lv 7) Calligraphy (Lv 5) Mathematics (Lv 10) Decoding (Lv 6) Lie (Lv 5) Knife Skills (Lv 5) Trading (Lv 10)
Tier 2: Sense Mana (LV 35) Eavesdrop (LV 25) Memorisation (LV 22) Composition (Lv 22)
Recall (Lv22) Pain tolerance (Lv 13) Piano (Lv 20) Violin (Lv 20), Trombone (Lv 20),
Saxophone (Lv 20) Linguistics (Lv 16) Translation (Lv 16) Stealth (Lv 11) Quick reflexes (Lv 12)
Haggling (Lv 5)
Tier 3: Echolocation (LV 25) Expel Mana (Lv 31) Absorb Mana (Lv 31)
Mana Manipulation (Lv 15) Ignite (Lv 15) Freeze (Lv 10) Boil (Lv 11) Bargain (Lv 10) Gale (Lv 5)
Tier 4: Material Manipulation (Lv 4) Mana Drain (Lv 20) Parallel Processing (Lv 15)
Tier 5: Mind fortress (Lv 17)
Skill experience: 5200
Origin experience: 0
Combat experience: 0
Crafting experience: 0
Trading experience: 0