Looking at the position of Dairin relative to the sun, I estimated the time to be around half-past eight in the morning. Taking a deep breath, I composed my face into an aloof and indifferent expression, then pushed the door open and entered the tavern.
As I thought, my companions were seated at the usual corner table in the dining hall. As soon as I appeared, three pairs of eyes immediately converged on me. I nodded to the cook for a teapot and walked over to the table, tiredly lowering myself onto an empty stool.
"You could have waited for us!" Ilona pouted and complained on behalf of everyone.
"Exactly." Miranda snorted immediately.
Flavius remained silent, but his gaze was eloquent. Most likely, even in the best-case scenario, our paths will soon diverge, so I can use this fact. Thinking along those lines, I replied:
"Are you little children, and I'm your nanny?" It sounded harsh and blunt, but earthlings should get used to the fact that no one owes them anything in Ain.
"Hmph…" The future sorceress turned away from me.
"Everyone's healthy; you made it through the dungeon well." I already knew this, having met Ximi on my way from the stone master to the city. Turning to Ilona, I extended my hand. "Congratulations, I heard you killed the first enemy in the dungeon again."
"And all you can think about is making a profit!" The healer retorted and threw a coin-filled pouch onto the table before me. At my surprised glance, she muttered, "From Lao Fan, your winnings. Are you not ashamed to bet on us, Raven?"
"No, I'm not. Should I be?" I replied with a question to her question.
"I thought you were different."
I don't understand what upset her so much. The fact that I didn't wait for them at the entrance? But that's absurd. One could pretend to be offended by something like this, but Ilona seemed to take it very seriously; I just don't understand why.
"What do you mean different?" I clarified but didn't get an answer; the girl just buried her face in the mug and remained silent. "I'm not a noble knight in shining armor. I will help, but only if you can't handle it yourself and I am not busy. Tonight I was busy."
In response to my tirade, Flavius smirked and winked understandingly, like a guy to a guy, apparently thinking something entirely different.
"Is anyone going to tell me how it all went? Ximi promised to drop by in twenty minutes to take us to train." I was genuinely curious about how they fared.
"We went in. Squealed at the spiders. I did, too," admitted Flavius. "Nasty creatures they turned out to be in person. Then we got ourselves together and killed them all. After that, we crawled around the dungeon for four hours, collecting spider webs suitable for thread." The young man responded, but he spoke as if he was overcoming some internal reluctance.
"Achievements?" I asked to keep the conversation going.
"Four decent and a couple of trashy ones." The blond guy shrugged.
I placed my open palm on the table, concentrated, and used Illusion magic to "draw" Mickey Mouse on my skin with mana. I closed my eyes, delved into myself, and made the cartoon mouse move. Yes, it looked like a living black-and-white tattoo rather than a drawing from a real cartoon, but it still impressed the earthlings.
"What is that? How?!" Forgetting all her grievances, Ilona leaned over the table and asked.
"Illusion Magic," I explained. "It's not a school of magic like elemental techniques; it's more like art in the sense we are familiar with. There are no techniques or skills; you just learn to draw with your mana and manifest these drawings in reality. I'm not very good at it yet; I can only make images on skin."
In reality, what I demonstrated at the table was incredible progress for the locals. Even the most gifted among them could have, at most, drawn a single line on their hand after the first night of learning. There was no way they could create a complex image, let alone a moving one. But in Illusions, we earthlings had an edge over the locals. We were accustomed to television, computer graphics, holograms, and the like. We didn't need to alter our consciousness to get used to something unusual, and this magic came easily to us. Easily, though, with one limitation: a minimum of three Talent Stars. Without meeting this requirement, the effort required for learning would be no less than what the locals had to put in, and even then, one wouldn't achieve great success.
"Wow, can I do that too?" Flavius scratched his chin.
It was easy to check the predisposition for Illusions, and I replied:
"If you're good at drawing, then I think this magic will reveal its secrets to you."
"I'm bad!" The guy was disappointed. "I can plot, but I can't draw."
"Well, if you can vividly imagine a three-dimensional blueprint in your head and keep it in focus, then there's also a chance," I clarified.
"Nah. Seems like it's not for me," Flavius became even more dejected.
"But I would like to try," the healer, who had forgotten all her grudges, showed interest.
"If there's free time in the evening, I can try to teach you," I agreed. "Are you going to join these lessons?" I asked Miranda.
"No," she coldly replied.
She had an excellent imagination, but I couldn't remember if she had a talent for Illusions or not. She definitely couldn't draw.
The little mouse on my palm played its part, and the earthlings shared the expedition specifics with me. Except for a few details and a couple of funny situations, everything was exactly as Flavius briefly described. While listening to Ilona, I managed to have a snack. And when the girl finished the story, as if waiting for this very moment, Ximi entered the tavern and gestured for us to get up.
Today's training was not on the familiar hill, but on the shore, right at the waterline. The initial warm-up was the same for everyone, but after half an hour, Ender took me away, and we went behind a dune.
"You're good!" The sheriff grinned as soon as we were out of sight. "Laoy almost lost his mind!"
"What do you mean?" I didn't understand.
"Learning even the simplest moving illusion in one night?!" The sheriff laughed. "Our recluse almost had a stroke!"
"That's strange; he didn't express anything like that," I shrugged.
"Also, you shouldn't show your successes to outsiders," Ender suddenly advised very seriously. "Don't spread unnecessary rumors about yourself: it's not always useful, especially for someone starting their journey on the Spiral."
"Understood." There was truth in his words, and I agreed.
"Later, when you reach the higher precious ranks, ruby or diamond, then the rumors will start working for you, not against you," the sheriff began his usual lecture, methodically striking. "For now, the less you stand out, the better, especially in such a backwater..."
Today, after the usual warm-up of reflex blocks and parrying, the sheriff made my exercises more complicated. Instead of maintaining a second aura, he ordered me to keep any symbol on my palm using Illusion magic.
The night lessons with Recluse Laoy were not in vain. I mastered the basics, or rather remembered them, and that's the main thing. Now it's all about constant practice and training. I don't need much from Illusions, I'm not going to use phantom clones in battle, and I don't think I'm capable of that. The magic of phantom cloning was developed in the past Cycle by Morpheus, one of the earthlings. As he said, it was based on some anime. The illusory copies of himself that he created were unable to inflict physical harm on anyone, but as a distraction, they were one hundred percent effective. The only problem was that to use this magic, one had to have the talent of an artist or sculptor at the level of Titian, that is, five Talent Stars. But I will be satisfied with much less. Simple lines, drawn by my will in the air, will suit me just fine. And I don't need more. Because from these lines, it is easy to form a Rune sign. In a clash with demons, the combination of "Rune plus Illusion" proved to be one of the most effective and straightforward. It didn't require great talents; three Stars in both were enough.
I imagined forming the Sign of Des with Illusion in front of me and then throwing it at the enemy. Yes, this would be very effective and minimally mana-consuming. True, so far, I can only create black-and-white drawings on the skin, but even that is much better than cutting my palm with a knife every time.
In my past life, it took me six months to learn to project the illusion I created beyond my body; I hope it will be faster this time. However, even half a year is an incredible result. For Ain mages, it takes years to learn this aspect. But I can't rely on the locals to gauge my progress. I need to set more ambitious goals, like not lagging behind in Illusion magic at the early stages compared to Morpheus. Eventually, he will surpass me anyway; after all, five Talent Stars is not three, and such a difference cannot be compensated by knowledge of the future. But I can try to keep up with him at the initial stage.
Thus, I set myself a small goal. To achieve that, by the time I meet Morpheus in this Cycle, my Illusion magic should be developed no less than his. Moreover, he didn't seem to be a Shard, as he died too foolishly, though he was one of the smartest people I've encountered in my life. It was his story that helped me achieve an adamantium record for the second trial. Already being a Diamond mage, according to him, he calculated how to complete one of the dungeons and get the "Pure Palm of Five Empty Fingers." He prepared for two weeks, then entered the Gate of the dungeon and did not come out. A foolish death.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
I wouldn't dare to go solo beyond the steel dungeons, even with full gear, under the effects of potions and spells, despite my knowledge of the future! Because the higher the rank of the dungeon, the greater the arsenal used by its inhabitants. And by arsenal, I don't just mean a variety of weapons and protective gear, but also skills and magic. And facing monsters capable of magic and special attacks alone is not an easy task. The earthlings' record is solo clearing an opal-ranked dungeon while under all buffs. But it's worth noting that this feat was accomplished by none other than Nate. Among the locals, the record has stood at the wootz level for five centuries.
Actually, solo dungeon expeditions in Ain are not as rare as Ender thinks. Yes, for ordinary tunnellers and even minor nobility, clearing dungeons solo is nothing more than unnecessary and excessive bravado, often leading to demise. But high aristocracy sometimes rents the simplest dungeons of low ranks so that young members of their lineages can clear them alone. Of course, such clearing is done using the best equipment, under the most powerful support spells, and with very expensive alchemy. Therefore, for young heirs of great lineages, such expeditions are not as dangerous as for ordinary tunnellers. This is done not only for quick leveling through the first two ranks of the Spiral but also as a kind of initiation and proof that the young scion is worthy of the family. But this practice is used only for copper and iron. Even the strictest family heads don't send their own to clear bronze alone. Because it's too risky, and rapid advancement through the Spiral doesn't compensate for the very high chance of demise.
If I look at it realistically, at the moment, armed with the spear that the stone master will make for me, I can clear any iron dungeon solo, as long as I don't fight the bosses. To clear bronze dungeons alone, I will need to purchase a few potions, but I can manage. But I wouldn't dare to venture into steel dungeons alone, not even the first circle of steel with a patrol map. For that, I need to find at least a couple of decent artifacts, preferably of heroic rank, and master Illusion magic to a sufficient level.
In general, leveling up through solo clears seemed very tempting and fast. But who would let me into a dungeon alone? Any of them is the property of the settlement or city it is located near. It's a source of resources and, consequently, money. No one would just let a stranger into "their" dungeon. And I don't have enough money to buy out a dungeon for one-time use. Even for the simplest Iron dungeon, they would ask for no less than five gold for its reset. It's a promising idea but not feasible at this stage.
"Don't get distracted!" The moment I got lost in thought, I received a whack on the back with a pole.
Today's training was harder for me than usual. And it's not so much about the sleepless night as it is about the fact that I had to do four completely different things simultaneously. First, parry Ender's attacks. Second, maintain one of the Basic Cross' auras. Third, strike while applying "Discharge." Fourth, use Illusion magic to keep a Yin-Yang sign on my forehead. All these actions were completely different, and because of this, my brain was literally boiling. I have to admit that so far, I have not been able to fully perform all four tasks at the same level. Nevertheless, the sheriff didn't scold me; he only pointed out the mistake and immediately struck even harder and faster with his pole.
"You are in too much of a hurry," Ender delivered his verdict closer to noon.
"I have to," was all I could reply, parrying his pole's next thrust.
"Maybe you do," the sheriff agreed without arguing, approaching from behind. "But that's not what I mean."
"I'm listening, mentor." This distraction made maintaining the illusion and auras even more difficult.
"You are in too much of a hurry to acquire new skills," the sheriff clarified his thought. "I would advise you not to chase the new but first to master what is already available to you well."
In a normal situation, I would agree with him, but my case is not standard. So I prefer to keep quiet so as not to lose concentration.
"There are three different approaches on the Warrior's Path," Ender began another lecture, striking my back. I had to shift the pole back to block it. "The first is the path of the all-rounder. The warrior learns everything available to him and then uses his vast arsenal to gain an advantage. The benefits of this approach include a larger number of skills, techniques, and spells and, as a result, the versatility of such a fighter or mage. Adherents of this path can enter most dungeons, and most tunnellers follow it. The disadvantage, however, is that with this approach, none of the skills are perfected, and against very strong enemies, the all-rounder is not as effective." While he was speaking, he kept circling me, frequently landing hits.
I gave a nod to show that I heard his words. I didn't need this lecture, as my "past self" had heard such things more than once, but asking my mentor to be silent would have been at least impolite.
"The second path is the opposite of the first. These are warriors of one style and mages of one school," Ender continued. Sometimes I think he just likes the sound of his own voice, so he keeps talking non-stop while training me. "They devote themselves to perfection in one direction. Most often, this is seen in spontaneous mages of one element. But there are also warriors – adherents of one style. I am familiar with a school of fighters whose followers study only one special strike, 'Wind Blade.' It would seem that with such a limitation, such a warrior should be weak in confrontation with an all-rounder, but in practice, this is far from the case. The downsides of such specialization are that some dungeons are closed to you. Like, for example, Ice mages going into dungeons inhabited by nends – they are only a burden for their group. As for the advantages, this approach does not require many Talent stars, as it compensates for their lack with rigorous training, that's first. And secondly, as my experience suggests, such narrow specialists almost always win against the all-rounder in a duel."
After parrying a low strike, I couldn't hold back and said:
"It is not the enemy who studies ten thousand different strikes that is dangerous, but the one who studies one strike ten thousand times."
Hearing this, Ender lost his rhythm of attacks:
"Wise words. Who said them?"
"Great master Bruce Lee," I replied, grateful for the small respite.
"Never heard of him," the sheriff said sadly. "But he is a wise master. I will remember these words."
Having said that, he seemed to recall that we were in training and unleashed a new hail of strikes on me. For two minutes, my back and thighs took quite a beating, as I couldn't deflect all his attacks. After hitting me in the rear another time, the sheriff calmed down a bit and continued his lecture:
"I prefer the third approach the most. It involves studying one primary school and a couple of support styles. The secondary skills either compensate for the weaknesses of the main combat school or enhance it. For example, a melee warrior studies Lightning magic not only to empower his sword but also to strike enemies from a distance," he obviously spoke of himself. "The only difficulty in this approach is that you need to know your Talents precisely and, based on them, choose the schools and styles that will be most effective for you personally. It also implies that it can be hard to find mentors who will teach you exactly what you need. Of course, if you are lucky enough to be born in Pentapolis, finding them is not much of an issue, but in backwater areas, like this archipelago..." He stopped, not finishing the sentence, and then continued. "It seems you were planning to stick to the third approach. Lightning magic with 'Discharge' is an excellent addition to the spear. But why do you need Illusions? Moreover, it's very difficult to use them in battle without extensive preparation. Many are attracted to the path of a jack-of-all-trades, but they forget that one lifetime is not enough to learn everything."
"I have plans for Illusions," I reluctantly said, hoping he would end the lecture. "I will need this magic in the future."
"If you have that future!" the sheriff snapped back. "And for you to have one, you should first master what you already know at the proper level! Two Basic cross auras and Discharge!"
On the one hand, he was right, but without constant training, I wouldn't be able to learn Illusions to a decent level sooner than six months, and such a time frame doesn't suit me.
"I learn fast," I reply.
"Yes, I won't argue with that," to my surprise, Ender agreed. "But you want to run ahead faster than you can learn!"
A quester should arrive today and issue a new task. A task that, as I "remembered," is easier to accomplish in a group and by staying in a relatively safe place for a couple of weeks. Therefore, I would have some time on my hands, but it wasn't worth mentioning this to the sheriff, so I just nodded, acknowledging his words.
The more the sheriff speaks, the less it irritates me. I even learned to turn his speech to my advantage, using the rhythm of his words to ease my concentration and focus. It was like dancing, catching the rhythm of a melody. Because of this, to at least occasionally hit me with his pole, Ender had to accelerate to Bronze, which only pleased my mentor, and his intonation took on a satisfied note.
The lunch was brought to us from the tavern straight to the training hill. On the one hand, it was good since we didn't have to go anywhere, but on the other hand, it reduced our break time from training.
"Question," putting aside the chopsticks, Flavius spoke after looking around and ensuring we were alone on the slope. "On the island, we cleared all the dungeons. And for a week, they are unavailable." Looking around again, the blond guy added, "Training is, of course, good, but won't we be stuck in place if we continue to stay here for another week until the new dungeon reset?"
"I agree," Miranda nodded sharply. "Staying put is not my thing!"
"But are we really 'staying put'?" Ilona feigned surprise. "I have never been pushed so hard in my life as Ximi and Tuan are doing now. I've learned more these days than in the past couple of years." She took a sip of milk and continued, "If this is 'staying put,' then I don't know..." She spread her hands, "I'd rather 'stay put' like this than run recklessly through dungeons and aimlessly poke spears at spiders. Where else can we find such teachers?" The healer stood up, "You don't seem to understand how lucky we are with the locals' attitude, do you?" Ilona turned to the blond guy, "You wanted adventures? Then take your axe and challenge Lao Fan to a practice fight. What's with your face? He is 'just' a copper-ranked tunneller." The girl had a sad smile on her face, "Do you know what the outcome will be? You do. So where are you going to go? Looking for adventures? Have you thought about what will happen when these adventures really find you?" She clapped her thighs and raised her voice, "We are not in a movie!" The healer turned to Miranda, "Can't sit still? Then do a dozen laps around the hill!"
"Aren't you taking too much upon yourself?" Miranda asked her angrily as she stood up.
"You've forgotten something," my quiet voice eased the tensions and made everyone look at me.
"What?" Flavius asked.
"We have visitors today," I said, wagging my index finger.
"The quester," the blond guy rolled his eyes. "Right. We've been in Ain for seven days already. Totally forgot with all the hustle."
"I'll venture to guess that we'll be given the next task," my smile was sad. "And without knowing what this task is, making future plans seems a bit naive, don't you think?"
"Shit," Flavius spat on the grass and muttered angrily.
"Raven is right," Miranda conceded with a grimace. "It's pointless to make plans before the quester's visit."
As she finished speaking, we heard a voice behind us:
"I am pleased that you are thinking about the future sensibly."
How does the saying go? "Mention the shit, and there you have it!" And that's what happened right now. A couple of meters away from us, a quester was standing on the grass.
Miranda's face turned blotchy, Ilona became as pale as chalk, and Flavius choked on his last bite of fish.
"You have all completed the previous task." The joy on the quester's face could even be mistaken for genuine. "And this will not go unrewarded." He snapped his fingers, "There's added silver in your pouches. But this is a trifle." The unexpected guest gestured towards us, and a wave of warmth swept through my body. "From this moment, the rate at which your Core fills is increased by a quarter for three weeks." My companions don't quite understand how significant this bonus is. "The main reward is a new task." Jesus would be envious of the kind smile of this quester. "You have three weeks to raise your rank. And those who fail will be Erased."
Having said that, the entity disappeared as if it had never been there.
Wait!
What does he mean, increase rank in three weeks?!
There should have been another group task!
Why?!!
I'm not ready for such a turn of events!
"Wow," Flavius was the first to speak. "We might probably manage, but Raven, who has recently elevated, seems to have gotten the short end of the stick."
The lump in my throat, which was suffocating me, completely agreed with his words.