Hearing my words, the goddess gestured for me to continue. I began telling her of the conclusions Dimri reached without going into too much detail – just that we need a mana core from a rank A, legendary rarity, a few weeks, and Nico’s consent to the risk of losing part of herself in the process.
I wasn’t about to undermine the Draconic advantage in sorcery by explaining the intricacies of how the process worked.
“I see…” The goddess said.
While she spent some time thinking, I helped myself to some of the snacks. It was a strange, half circle pastry stuffed with dates and sprinkled with ground sugar, and it tasted really good.
“Very well. I’ll find one such core even if I have to delve into the Abyss myself, assuming Nicotris decides to go through with the Life Dragon’s ritual.” She said.
“Oh, about that. I already got one from the monster horde after the mana pillar rose from the Abyss. It was from a creature called the [Scorching Phoenix]. I confirmed with Dimri that it’s good enough for our purposes.”
The goddess nodded.
“That’s convenient. Very well, name your price.”
“Hmm? I am not here to make money off of the mana core. I’ve already decided to just hand it over to Nico. She let me have the corpse and mana core of a rank A mana core in the third layer, so we’ll call it even.” I shrugged.
The goddess stared at me for a while, so I just kept eating some of the snacks.
Eventually, she sighed.
“Truly, Nicotris has a loyal friend in you. You’ve done what I should have.”
“I was just better positioned to find a solution; the mana core fell into my lap, and I was on good terms with someone who knew a way to help.” I said.
“No, young dragon. I wasn’t talking about finding a solution. I spent half a year looking for a way to remove the status effect, and not once had I considered going to ask the Dragons for help. I likely would have done it eventually, but my reluctance to turn to you for help may have cost Nicotris her life. What the Life Dragon said was a few weeks could very well have been years.”
Huh. I was starting to see where Nico got her stubborn, proud tendencies from.
“In any case, I cannot accept you going unrewarded for the mana core. Let me grant you this in exchange – I believe it is an item of equal worth, and more suited to you than the mana core.” She said.
Her right hand glowed with bright light as a mana core appeared in it. An arcane, rank A mana core.
“This mana core was obtained by one of my worshippers in Tamery’s own siege from the coming horde. Thankfully, Hebnopet is the second largest city in the Theocracy, and was more than capable of repelling it. This mana core comes from a rank A, legendary rarity monster known as the [Transmutation Phantom].”
“Wow. What were its powers?” I asked.
“Like its name implies, it specialized in transmutation magic and was incorporeal, making it immune to physical damage. It turned large amounts of the soldiers’ weapons and armor into useless hunks of other materials and kept on interfering with our mages’ spells. Any attempts to target it were futile since it would retreat back to the horde and hide behind them. It caused a lot of headaches on the battlefield.”
“Well, how did you take it down then, if it was so slippery?”
The goddess gave me her widest smile yet, though that was still barely a hint of one.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Do not underestimate the Theocracy, young dragon. We have plenty of talented warriors. A single rank A monster was a nuisance at most, and it didn’t take long before a strike team was formed to drag it out of the horde and put an end to it. They returned rather quickly with the mana core.”
Huh. Looks like they didn’t struggle much with their own fight. Maybe the Siege of Erdu wouldn’t have been such a tough fight if the prick in Kengir City had actually stationed some men to defend it.
“In any case, this core should be of great use to you since you are arcane-attributed. Do you have any objections?”
“Well, I already said I wasn’t going to take compensation for-”
The goddess tossed the mana core at me, which I hurried to catch.
“If your pride cannot allow you to accept compensation for helping a friend, then ours cannot accept charity. You cannot have it both ways, young dragon.”
“…Fair enough.” I said, smiling sheepishly.
“Now that this matter was settled, we still have to discuss your reward for stopping the Assassin Guild’s abominable plot. Is there anything in particular that you wish for?” She asked.
“Well, there isn’t anything I particularly want, but I am facing a rather difficult problem…”
***
“I see. That is a difficult problem.” Lady Mett said as she took a sip from her cup, thinking over the matter.
Why are all the adults I meet such tea enthusiasts?!
“I do not have an easy solution for you; trauma does not fall under my domain. The Tameryian gods who may be able to help you are Hurun, who you are acquainted with, and Huros, the God of Protection and Healing. I suggest going to them for help with evolutionary trauma; you’re far from the first to suffer from it. I’ll put a good word in with the latter for you, which should help you when seeking him out.”
While I needed to see Hurun anyway, it’s good to hear of someone else who might be able to help.
“Thanks. Where can I find their temples?”
“Hurun’s temple is in the Workers’ District, while Huros’s is next to the city barracks in the Craftsmen’s District. Still, you don’t need to go there. The other gods can visit us here in this instance of the garden. Hurun’s already been asking to see you after we’re done speaking; you can ask him to let you see Huros afterwards. But we still have one matter to finish first – your reward.”
Suddenly, my body began emitting a faint light.
Skill Unlocked: [Fist of Justice]!
[Fist of Justice]
The Goddess of Order and Justice has granted you her blessing. Manifest a fist of light to smite evil doers!
Can be activated once per day.
“Woah. Isn’t this skill something Nico has?!”
“We’re not finished just yet; my blessing isn’t enough for such a meritorious deed, young Kiara. Take this ring – may it serve you well in your coming battles.” She said, making a silver ring with a tiny black gem on it appear just like the mana core and sending it floating towards me.
[Ring of Mana Regeneration]
Fashioned from divine silver and a rank B mana gem, this ring will increase your mana regeneration.
Mana Regeneration increased by 1% of maximum per second MP for one minute. Can be activated once per day.
My jaw dropped at the absurd effect. 60% of my mana in a single minute?! With my mana pool, the results should be simply obscene…
“This ring is useful for magic casters, and Nicotris said that you were aspiring to become a mage. When you manage to overcome your trauma, this should hopefully ease you back into familiarity with combat. In any case, it’s time for me to step away. I hope your meeting with the God of Mercy is what you hoped it would be.”
She said before suddenly vanishing into thin air.
“Well, it seems that Mett has come around to treat a dragon with fondness. I never thought I would see the day.” A voice said to my right.
I turned to see the old man walk towards Mett’s seat to sit ahead of me.
“It’s good to see you, Kiara. Thank you for coming to visit. How have you been?”
***
I spent the next half an hour telling the old god about my misadventures since meeting him last time, and eventually also told him about the challenge facing me.
“I am sorry to hear that. Hold still for a moment, my child.” He said, waving a hand towards me.
A magic circle appeared and embedded itself in my head.
“This spell is meant to mitigate the effects of your trauma. I would teach you how to cast it, but teaching Divine Akashic to dragons is forbidden, so you’ll have to visit every few months if you wish to have it reapplied. However, this is only treating the symptoms. If you wish to get to the source, you will have to turn to Huros. I’ll ask him to take a look at you, if you don’t mind of course.” He said.
“Lady Mett said the same thing. She also said she’d speak with him as well, which is good to know. But I didn’t come here knowing about him at all – the reason I wanted to speak with you was to learn about my past life. It might contain a hint at solving my current predicament.”
“Very well, Kiara. But be aware, it is not a pleasant story, and it ends in tragedy. Are you sure you wish to dig up a past you have no memory of or connection to?”
I nodded fiercely.
He sighed and sat back in his chair.
“As you wish. Let me know at any time if you no longer wish to hear the story. It all starts 492 years ago, just a few years after the Celestial War had ended…”