[https://cdn.midjourney.com/6094ee0b-d7a9-4654-9ffa-c5e7cf16028e/0_1.png]
The first night has been easy. They had run over the mountains, following the trails, using the mini maps. In mid-January, darkness held for fourteen hours, and they hadn’t stopped for any break, food, or water. It was a pleasant surprise, for Rowan, to see how much his Awakened body could cope with. So many hours of uninterrupted effort, and it felt like a light jog.
During the first day, they had slept around a campfire, but a few hours were enough to get them back in shape, and for the rest of the daylight, the group played cards, or talked. Rowan let himself loose talking about Bourbon until he noticed the young elves showed signs of boredom.
After the second night of running and a total distance of five hundred and twenty miles, they stopped short of the border, at the entrance of another forest reservation. A few people were waiting for them. Fay, Inglotal’s wife and the tribe’s all-around chief, but also Grace and Lizzie.
[Grace to Rowan]: Don't act surprised, I told her it was your idea. Five days away and just a phone call saying you’re going on a hike is too little for Lizzie, she’s an attention-soaking sponge.
[Rowan to Grace]: Thank you… You’re as wise as you're beautiful. How are things back home?
[Grace to Rowan]: Cora's upset you're bossing her around, sending her to Africa to trigger a core. I told her it was a sign of how much you trust her.
[Rowan to Grace]: Thanks. "Sweetie, look, a bicycle rental," Rowan switched to talking. "Want to go for a ride?"
They hugged, then he took them on a short bicycle hike around, to have some family time. At noon, they teleported away, he ate mechanically the boar stake, hunted by the elves, and then slept for the rest of the day.
A gentle hand shook his shoulder, and he awoke. It was Inglotal. “The night is nigh.” A gate opened at the Border, and they walked through, then stopped when the war chief raised his hand, turning toward Rowan.
“I’ve read Earthlings have translated our name in the wrong way,” Inglotal said. “We’re not the Dark Elves, and Swarthy is just the hue of our skin. Know, Thane Allinder, that we’re the Elves of the Night. The cold night of the Septentrion is our father, and the shadows of the Boreal forest are our mothers. Nottie!” A young girl stepped forward. Around them, the shades of the night deepened and spread, there was darkness emanating from the girl that enveloped them and went around in a wide circle about fifty yards in radius.
Without any warning, Inglotal started to run. They followed, and so did the obscurity. It was colder outside, and the lights of hamlets or towns shone far away, dimmed by Nottie’s AoE. The effort of running was greater, and Rowan’s muscles were working harder.
One hour later, Inglotal yelled: “No potions allowed!”
Potions? Potions for what? What the fuck?
His Mana Pool was dropping at an alarming rate. The truth hit him like a hammer to the head. It wasn’t a stagnant pond, but a river pool, filled when the waterfall above flowed. It had a one percent per minute refill, and flow out, but the latter was first nourishing and maintaining his body, like breathing, only different. If the inflow was stopped by a low-mana area, his body was consuming his Mana but there was not enough coming back.
You have made a Discovery. Your body processes Mana continuously, refining it into a higher form, and stores a part of it in the Mana Pool. The excess is vented out after nourishing your body (normal rate 1%/minute) and contributes to increasing the Mana quantity on Earth. Town Cores do the same, and so does every Awakened plant or animal.
Quest: Train yourself to control your Mana Flow, using your passive CHA Perk 3 to slow your body’s Natural Mana Consumption by +25% and increase your Mana Regeneration by +25%. Reward: 1 AP
Quest: Train to reduce the amount of Mana you have to spend on Spells, Skills, or Perks. Reward: 1 AP
So, there was hope. Rowan tried to slow his Mana consumption. It felt like putting a plug on a leak, and the expenditure slowed to a trickle. The pain and tiredness, on the other hand, increased. In another hour, it became atrocious. He clenched his teeth and willed his Sensorial Filtering on, muting the sourness in his body.
“Slow down, half an hour or walking,” Inglotal shouted after taking a look around. There were sighs of relief around, which meant Rowan was not the only one in pain. That was the good part. The bad part was that the Elves were kids, he was supposed to be tougher.
Ingotal slowed down, coming near him, and beckoned for Nottie. “Walk together. Her AoE enhances Mana's regeneration, the closer you are to her, the better.”
An hour later, a notification came:
Quest cleared. You have learned to Control your Mana Flow. +1 AP
Your Mana is now regenerating at 1.25%/minute in a high mana environment, or per hour in a low one. The amount of Mana you need to consume per minute for your optimal body performance is now 0.75%. The difference (excess) can be expended to momentarily enhance your body or will naturally vent out.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Rowan noticed a considerable drop in his Mana expenditure. 2.50/% Mana regeneration per hour in a low-mana zone, double his possibilities. He had Nottie to thank for that.
“Is your AoE a passive?” he asked.
“No,” the girl shook her head, continuing walking without looking at him. Since she could keep it on without appearing exhausted, Rowan assumed it cost little Mana, and the girl was efficient at it.
“We run, but slower,” Inglotal commanded. The light jog lasted for two hours, during which Rowan allowed himself to burst to full Mana use capacity for a minute every half hour, to take the sting out of his painful joints and muscles.
A new session of walking arrived, for an hour this time. Rowan’s Mana was at twenty-five percent and stopped his Mana outflow for good. Walking, he could do with his normal body abilities. Soon, questions started nibbling on his mind. He could do so many things Räsvelg, like pushing Snowstorm into a cone AoE when needed and imbuing it on weapons. Was it possible to find a gentler use for it as well, like Nottie’s AoE?
“Guys, I’m going ahead, have to test something,” he yelled and dashed ahead. He did consume one percent of his Mana, but after a minute, he was far enough to give it a try. Closing his eyes, Rowan exhaled, imagining frosty clouds spreading from his body, like one of those special effects machines at concerts.
Fuck! For a second, it looked like he failed. A harsh wind had erupted out, blowing the top of the snow away. Yet, it was not the deadly blizzard he was used to with Snowstorm. The wind calmed down, and fog appeared. After a minute, everything around was so calm it didn’t look like anything was out of the ordinary.
You have discovered Räsvelg: Cold Breeze. Spreads out an AoE field with a twenty-five-yard diameter, soothing your allies (+25% MP and HP regen) or debuffing your foes (-25% reaction speed and healing effect) at the same time. Effect and area can be improved through training. It consumes 1/10 of your overall Räsvelg cost per every minute instead of every second.
“YEY!” That meant he had enough of it for eighty minutes. Rowan waited for the others because running back meant consuming more mana. “Guys, look what I have unlocked,” he yelled with pride.
“You lucky bastard! That’s sick!” Nottie yelled, getting out of her reserved Emo-rocker persona for a second.
“That’s not the way to talk to our Thane,” Inglotal scolded her.
“Thane, get your ass here, and let’s see if the effects stack,” the girl dismissed the scold with impertinence.
Teenagers! Rowan snorted. But the buffs did stack. Moreover, they synergized extremely well, to twelve percent Mana Regeneration every hour.
Alternating full sessions of running with walking and jogging, they made it through the night, doing one hundred and ten miles, only ten miles short of what they were aiming for. His MPs under half a percent, Rowan collapsed on the ground, near a campfire that miraculously had been constructed in under a minute by Inglotal.
“It’s daylight. Potions allowed!” the War Chief yelled.
----------------------------------------
For three hours, Rowan slept like a log. A strong shove on the shoulder woke him up.
“Take this now, then another in half an hour, then two at the same time,” Inglotal gave him a box of pills.
“Err… Won’t I get Potion Sickness if I take more potions than the cooldown allows?”
“Yes, you will vomit, and feel sick. Yet, before tomorrow night, the interval between your potion chugging will be halved, and your poison resistance will double. There is a reason we train in lower Mana areas.”
Rowan didn’t puke, but feeling like shit, he did, Sensorial Filtering or not. But after that hour of pain, he could sleep again, and one hour before they started running again, he was allowed to take another potion, and a minute before the fourth night arrived, another.
It was much better now. At full Mana, and knowing how to synergize with Nottie, they kept going on. There was only a single walking break, and they recovered the lost terrain from the previous night. And the notifications were magnificent.
For maintaining a Räsvelg: Cold Breeze perk active for a long period and synergizing it with Embracing Darkness, you can now add the Darkness element to your spells, perks, and weapons.
By maintaining a Räsvelg: Cold Aspect facet active for a long period and optimizing its Mana consumption, you have now reached the best optimized Mana cost for this perk: 15 Mana/second (Charisma Perk 3 applied).
By achieving optimal cost for your Räsvelg first aspect and unlocking 4 of 7 possible facets, you have unlocked a Second Aspect: Fire Wind.
“Wait!” Rowan blurted as Inglotal prepared to light the fire. “I got a fire perk now.”
“Which one?”
“I unlocked Räsvelg, Fire Wind. Let me test it.” The youngsters cheered.
“Be my guest,” Iglotal gestured toward the firewood. "Youngsters, get back. With our Thane, we better be safe than sorry."
“Err… maybe get ready with a shovel or something? Just in case it gets out of control?” Rowan suggested.
Snorting, the Elf produced a large fire extinguisher from his inventory. “We’re not savages.”
“I’ll aim toward the river,” Rowan said, preparing to let the perk out. He did it only for a fraction of a second, aiming his palms at the fireplace. A stream of fire and smoke burst out, formed itself in a ball, hit the firewood, lighted it, and then bounced twice more, starting two secondary fires on the dead branches lying near the river. Inglotal’s fire extinguisher made short work of them.
You have unlocked the Camping Fire facet. Current cost: 20 MP/second. 1/7 facets of Fire Wind discovered.
You have unlocked the Forest Fire facet. Current cost: 20 MP/second/bounce 2/7 facets of Fire Wind discovered.
“Well… it's a little underwhelming, but it works,” Rowan sighed.
“Forest Fire was among the most appreciated spells in our Dark Ages,” Nottie said. "Imagine besieging a fortress, and starting multiple fires inside."
“If we ever besiege a fortress, I’ll be there,” Rowan promised. “Maybe I unlock something like dragon fire too?” he asked, with hope shining in his voice and eyes.
"Dragon Fire is a specific attack applied by a Dragonoid. Humanoids can unlock Flamethrower or Fireball," Inglotal crushed his hopes.
“Say, Inglotal, do you know how many facets and aspects of the winds are, and what each does?”
“No one had unlocked Räsvelg in centuries, but you should be able to unlock three aspects and seven facets for each. There are more, but that's the limit one can master. Here,” the War Chief searched in his inventory and threw him a booklet. “Old book about Mythical perks. I’ll go hunting, you rest a little and take some potions. I want your sickness gone before lunch.”
Sitting on a log, Rowan opened the book. To his disappointment, it was written with weird characters, something like runes. He took a mental note to ask Cora to translate it and stored it when Nottie came and sat near him, which reminded him of the earlier notification.
"Thank you," she said. "Because of you, I can now add Cold to my Darkness."
“Nah, thank you," Rowan waved his hand. “Thanks to you I can add Darkness to my Cold.”