When Jeb woke up from his somewhat involuntary nap, he considered his Statistics. What will it take to raise my Willpower to equal my Magic Affinity?
Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of a way to raise his Willpower by the exactly five points his Magic Affinity outpaced it by just by creating Glyphs. The best that he could come up with was creating a Second Tier Spell and a First Tier Spell, which would raise his Willpower to one higher than his Magic Affinity. As soon as the thought struck him, he realized it was wrong.
That would raise his Willpower by six, so it would be seventy three, one higher than his Magic Affinity was now. But, making two Glyphs would also raise his Magic Affinity by two, and it would be seventy four. If, instead, he just made a Third Tier Glyph, though, his Willpower and Mana Density would both raise by eight, and his Magic Affinity would raise by one. That would put his Willpower at seventy five, which would mean that he would have to raise his other Mental Statistics to just under sixty four. Since Jeb assumed that fractional points rounded up, that would mean that his Mana Depth would be one too low.
But, if he then Modified that Glyph, it would raise his Magic Affinity and Mana Depth by one, which would put both within the acceptable limits. He grabbed a piece of paper to double check that he was right with all of his math. Once he was satisfied that he was, he thought about what Glyph he wanted to make.
He could make any of his First Tier Glyphs Efficient or make Lesser Shape Air or Fire. As he thought that, though, he realized that he didn’t know Least Shape Air or Least Shape Fire. He knew Least Move for both of them, which was similar, but somehow slightly different. Jeb pushed the question aside and thought about which Glyph he wanted to make Efficient.
Ultimately, he decided to work with the first Glyph he had ever learned, Least Conjure Water. It was still his only Conjure Spell Glyph, which was a little strange, but Jeb pushed that question aside as well. When his Statistics were in balance, he could spend the rest of the winter figuring out exactly what the difference between Shaping and Moving was, or the difference between Creating and Conjuring. Until he balanced his Statistics, though, he would delay that question.
Jeb laid back in his bed, absently noting how tired his body was. It wasn’t just his body, he realized. His mind and soul were just as exhausted, and the connections between the three felt frayed as well. I wonder if the Librarian put anything about this in the book he gave me, Jeb thought to himself.
It took him far more effort than it should have to get out of bed and pick up the book that the Librarian had given him to progress his Class. Inside, there was a section at the back titled “Potential Pitfalls.”
The fraying between the different parts of himself was the first item on the list. Jeb knew that raising his Statistics as much as he had the past day couldn’t have been easy on him, but apparently that coupled with the trauma of the Librarian’s search meant that he would need a break. Reading further, the Librarian recommended that he spend the rest of the day working on something that did not stress any of the three parts of him or their connection. Thankfully, the Librarian had given a list of recommended activities that Jeb could try. Near the top of the list was knitting, so Jeb made his way back down the stairs to see his family again.
“Back for more knitting?” his aunt asked.
Jeb nodded and was handed a pair of needles.
“Let’s see you cast on again,” she said.
Jeb started moving the thread over the needles, focusing as much as he needed to. Within the first few stitches, though, he knew that he was holding too much tension in the yarn and pulled it off. After a few false starts, he was able to fill the first needle with evenly tensioned loops.
His aunt nodded, and Jeb started knitting in earnest. He spent the rest of the day working on another scarf, this time taking extra care not to drop any stitches. After a dinner filled with conversations with his family (another item on the Librarian’s list), Jeb fell quickly asleep.
In the morning, he woke up and stretched. To his surprise, his body and mind did feel significantly better. When he tried to pull Least Conjure Water to mind, though, his soul cried out in pain. Sighing, Jeb made his way back down to continue working on his scarf for another day.
By the time the sun was starting to set, Jeb had finished the scarf. His aunt smiled when he showed it to her.
“Now what?” Jeb asked.
“I suppose I never did show you how to cast off, did I?” she mused aloud. Jeb watched his aunt quickly knit a square of fabric and then slow down. “Watch carefully,” she instructed, pulling the loops off of the needle.
It was much simpler than Jeb had expected, and just like that, he had his very own scarf. Well, his very own scarf that he had made himself, at least. He started on another before dinner.
The next day, Jeb once more called Least Conjure Water to mind. This time, there was no twinge in his soul, which was a nice change. Jeb was hopeful that the lack of pain would continue as he kept working, though he didn’t count on it. He quickly dismissed the Spell Glyph before it could start to strain him at all.
Since he knew that he would need to work quickly, Jeb started by sketching out what the Glyph should look like at the end, making notes of each of ways that the second and third level of connections moved between the points of the Glyph.
When he had finished, he called Least Conjure Water to mind again. He quickly pieced together the second layer of connections, hardly needing to look at the page. The third level went even faster, though Jeb could feel the strain starting to build up.
Thankfully, the light flowing through the Glyph seemed to be trying to push the straight lines into ideal curves before he even started working on it himself. With a bare flicker of his will, the lines shifted, and the flow of Magic through the Glyph grew smoother.
When the flow passed through the final point in the Glyph, Jeb felt the searing that he had grown to associate with a new Spell engraving itself on his soul. Checking his Status, he nodded. Least Conjure Water -Efficient was right there.
He accepted the Quest Notification that popped up.
Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Glyphmastery Fifth Tier Glyph Chain “Create a Third Tier Glyph”. Like a true Glyphmaster, you were not bound by others’ Glyphs. Rewards: 97 Experience, Mana Depth +8, Willpower +8, Mana +50
His soul was in a little pain, though not enough to stop him from what he needed to do next. He called his newest Glyph to mind and Modified it.
Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Modify a Spell Glyph. Keep changing the Spells you know to fit your needs, rather than the opposite. Rewards: 39 EXP, Magic Affinity +1, Mana Depth +1.
Just like that, his Mana Depth was within the acceptable range. Of course, that meant that he couldn’t learn another Glyph or increase his Willpower before raising his Tier, though he didn’t think that would be too difficult. After all, he would be focusing most of his energies on composing music.
Based on what the Librarian had told him, Jeb would get a single point each in Intelligence and Charisma for each song he composed. He needed to raise his Intelligence to be at least equal to his Mana Depth, which meant he would need to compose a full dozen songs. Having never written a song before, Jeb wasn’t sure how long it would take to compose one.
As he flipped through the Librarian’s book, he noticed that there was no advice on how to actually compose a song. Maybe it would be in the Lute Method Book? Jeb thought optimistically. Unsurprisingly, there was no mention of writing his own music within the book.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Jeb debated between going to talk to the Bard and trying to figure it out on his own. When he remembered that the Bard had told him to work on the Ephemeral Song, he decided to start with that. “If I don’t figure out how to write a song within the next week, I’ll go talk to the Bard,” Jeb committed to himself.
He picked up the lute and checked its tuning. When each of the notes were completely in tune, Jeb realized that it was a little foolish to check the intonation of the lute by strumming it when he was already bound to it. He would have known if it was out of tune, which it clearly wasn’t.
Jeb started up the strumming pattern for the Ephemeral Song and debated what he would work on today. His mind flashed through the potential options. None of the illusions he could make for a single sense were perfect, so that seemed like a strong start. On the other hand, maybe it would be better to keep working on multiple senses at once. As that thought came to mind, Jeb realized that he should work on visualizing his Magic as something other than a river or thread. Even if he couldn’t make it a woven knot yet, the work was bound to be helpful.
“If I can’t get the knot by the end of the day,” Jeb made a deal with himself, “I’ll give up and just work on the actual Song itself.” He poured a bit of Mana into his playing and watched the Song spin out.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Human Age: 16 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 8891/100
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Total Statistic Load: 433 ->452 Physical Load: 139 Strength: 33 Dexterity: 26 Endurance: 35 Vitality: 41 Presence: 4
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Mental Load: 294 ->313 Intelligence: 52 Willpower: 67 ->75 Magic Affinity: 72 ->74 Mana Depth: 55 ->64 Charisma: 48
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Mana: 1705 ->1755
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Glyph Attunement: 31 Least Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Shape Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Water - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Water (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Hold Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Destroy Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Mud (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Earth Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana - Efficient (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Air Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Fire Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Sand Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Least Create Sand (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Attune Sand Mana - Efficient (Modified) Tier 2 Spell
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Bard Songs Known: 1 Lute Enforcement
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Skills: Least Mud Magic Meditation Mana Manipulation Spell Glyphing Improved Glyph Groking Gift of Gab Running Identify Soil Savvy Animal Handling Fertilizing Lifting Athletics Lute Playing Singing Musician Pollination Brewing Distilling Bardic Magic Smithing Wood Identification Woodworking Soil Improvement Enchanting Glassblowing
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic Glyph Specializer
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)