Uhhh, what do I do?
Cupping my right ear, the one that’s bleeding, I pinch my brows together and look around for a solution. After a few seconds, my eyes land on the tent.
Ah, hmm… guess it’s time to check on my nonverbal skills. Scooting over to the tent I tap the taut tarp to get his attention. After waiting for a few seconds I tap again, and then again, and again, and again. Eventually peeks his head out with an extremely irritated face and says something.
Turning my face towards him I squint in confusion trying to figure out what he’s saying.
After a few more rounds of him trying to talk to me, I put a hand up to signal ‘stop’ and carefully remove my hand from my ear and point to it and back to my ear. Ismund just squints his eyes tilts his head for a second and then looks back to my wet crimson hand. After a few seconds, his face relaxes in what seems like recognition and crouches. After brushing his hand across the snow to smooth it Ismund starts writing in it.
Smart, should’ve thought of that.
Looking down I read, “What happened?”
Erasing the question I write my own, “Listened to the corrupt energy too much?”
He just looks up at me with an exaggerated confused expression.
Elaborating I write again, “I can hear the different frequencies. I think I accidentally burst my right ear or something.”
Frowning, Ismund pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.
“Anything in your status for healing?”
Didn’t think of that.
Reviewing my status I find [Avid Reader].
> [Avid Reader: Increased recovery rate while reading, especially in a comfortable environment.]
Closing my status I copy it in the snow and ask if it’d be helpful to Ismund If I recovered quicker.
Ismund nods his headprints, “Then read something on the System.” and goes back into his tent.
Read something on the System? What’s even on there other than my stats?
> [You can write down notes and read your own status]
What would make me heal quicker?
> [It is recommended that user Drifa reads her status repeatedly.]
So basically memories it?
> [Affirmative.]
Pursing my lips I go towards the wall to lean against it.
This’ll be boring. How long till I’m healed all the way?
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> [Approximately one week.]
Do we have enough food to last us that long?
> [Affirmative. You have enough food to last you about a month.]
Pulling up my status I figure I may as well get to it.
* * *
One week later…
Continuing to look bleary-eyed at my status for what has felt like forever I hear a sudden pop! noise.
> [User Drifa is now completely healed from ailment: Burst Eardrum. Other ignored notifications have been collapsed for efficiency.]
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> [User Drifa has been afflicted with: Minor Headache]
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> [User Drifa has had the affliction Minor headache advance into Mild Headache]
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> [Mild Headache has advanced to Semi Severe Headache]
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> [Semi Severe Headache unable to advance into Mildly Severe Headache x 32]
A tired smile finds itself on my face as I let myself fall into the snow and close my status along with my eyes.
That was even worse than cramming for exams and it was somehow also more boring.
I take a few moments and just enjoy the quiet of a mind that doesn’t have to read. I hadn’t taken any breaks, including sleep, and the ground looked very inviting, especially if I could sleep off the headache.
Taking up its invitation, I fall asleep on the floor.
* * *
Waking up groggily I unhappily find that I drooled in my sleep and now have a frozen puddle of it stuck to my face.
Gosh, this hyper-cold air is getting annoying. I guess was tired. Since the ice isn’t attached to my eyelid this time I feel like it’d be okay to rip it off and be done with it.
“Gah!”
After I get what I hope is all of the drool off of me I ask the System a question.
Why’d the corrupt magic burst my ear when it wasn’t that loud to begin with? Wait, scratch that, I’m just gonna call it CM and PM to make it quicker.
> [Updating to user’s preferences…]
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> [Update Complete!]
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> [In answer to user’s query, the destruction of your tympanic membrane-]
My What?
> [-The rupture of your eardrum was caused exposure to the destructive properties in CM, not how loud it was.]
So how do I not rupture my eardrum again?
> [It is theorized that you should not listen to it without intent. The lack of intent is similar to the chaos that makes the sound of CM undesirable, which creates a connection point for it to attack you.]
Does that mean that intent is pure magic, erm, PM then?
> [Unconfirmed.]
Huh.
Shaking myself back into focus I sit cross-legged and put my hands on my knees and scrunch up my face.
Okay! This time I’m gonna have some intent that’ll be…
I stare off into space for a bit, and then it comes to me.
That I want to understand it, the Pure Magic! Does that have enough intent System?
> [Affirmative.]
Nodding to myself I carry on.
So I want to figure out something useful. Just understanding the CM won’t help me right now, I need something that I can understand that’ll be helpful… I guess that right now I have no means of actually making the PM. So I guess try to make PM. System how do you get it?
> [Pure Magic was first sourced from what was prior-to-now known as ‘electricity’ before the System integration.-]
Oh right, the flickering TV when I got a notification makes more sense now.
> [-was transferred into Pure Magic. The System currently gains pure magic from converting a portion of the residual corrupt magic made from the death of an invader. Dungeons are too powerful to convert from directly without deaths.]
So basically you rely on people killing monsters for Pure Magic, which is why you’re so weak?
> [Affirmative.]
So can you tell me how to do it then if you convert it?
> [As previously stated, you are the first human to use Pure Magic. Therefore, the System cannot help you.]
That sucks.
Wrinkling my nose unhappily, I try to figure it out for myself again.
So the System doesn’t know how it works, at least not with humans I guess. That’s dumb. Now where to start?
Focusing on my surroundings, (without a stick this time), I find myself drawn back towards the field separating me from the CM.
That has to come from somewhere right?
Focusing my hearing, with intent, I slowly increase the area I’m focusing on, which doesn’t sound like anything at all, until I reach where the pure energy and corrupt energy interact.
They mix as well as oil and water, they don’t. This thing has to be powered by something though right? I doubt it just runs on its own.
Using hearing and intent throughout the force field for what feels like hours I get to a point where I’m about to give up until I pick up on something. The center of it around me feels like it’s stiflingly mute, but as it gets closer to the edge it seems to add a second noise that switches back and forth every few seconds.
That’s strange.
After mulling it over for a bit I ask the System another question.
So how can you tell if magic is more powerful?
> [The volume of the sound corresponds with the power, the more musical, or ugly is sounds, determines the complexity of the concept fuelling it is.]
Ah, I see. So does that mean that the area I’m hearing more notes in has a more complex concept or more power in a certain way?
> [Affirmative, that is the most probable explanation.]
What do you mean? Aren’t You the one running it, the force field thingy? You should understand it.
> [Affirmative, the System is running it.]
I think it’s avoiding the second bit.
I frown and glare over my shoulder pretending the System is there.
Alright, anyway, I guess that means I’m getting somewhere. So the area where the two energies interact is important.
Straining my ears, it sounds as if some of the sound from the corrupt side drifts over into the pure side and then somehow dissipates and drags in more corrupt energy.
That doesn’t make any sense.
Squinting my eyes, even though that doesn’t do anything, and looking where I’m hearing the difference I stare at it stumped.
I guess I could ask Ismund for help, even though he probably won’t know what I’m talking about. At the very least I’ll be able to say I know more about something than he does in something.
Nodding to myself, I stretch and head over.