Chapter 50 (Arc 2 Chapter 4)
The beer and wine were flowing freely as we returned to Titan’s Shield and our small town. I sipped a mild beer when it was shoved into my hand and watched the ground pass below. Many people came by and congratulated me. Gareth was downing drinks fairly quickly and getting bolder and bolder with the twins. My father said he was proud of me and that he had won 150 silver betting on me on my first match. All bets had been returned for the second match when my opponent was found too sick to fight.
When the skyship landed, I went the short distance to the barracks academy building while the party moved into the town. I went into the larder to get some things to make dinner. I was pretty hungry and didn’t feel like braving about the party in town. I was cutting up some salted pork when Aelyn walked in.
“Oh, I thought you were in town? It was so noisy that I thought I would come here for some peace and quiet. I heard you won both of your matches,” She said.
“Just one. The second match was a forfeit,” I said, and she nodded. “Are you making anything good?” She asked, interested in my food prep.
“Sweet and sour pork on rice. It should be ready in thirty minutes. I will make plenty for both of us.” I continued my prep work.
Aelyn said, “Leveled up my dimensional space to level 3. I took the stasis option twice…been storing your cooking in there to have for later….” I looked at her, and she seemed embarrassed.
“I will make three portions so you can put one in your space,” I smiled at her and focused on cooking. She watched me intently working.
As I was plating the sauce-covered pork on the rice, I asked, “How goes your magic? What are you doing in your free time?” I knew Aelyn had a lot more free time in town. She was staying with Ennet, Wynna, and Callem.
“I have yet to imprint a new spell, but my aether core has grown to 9, almost half of my maximum,” she said slowly.
“That is amazing, Aelyn! You must be working hard on those 23 exercises!” I slid two plates toward her, and she took one and immediately opened her dimensional space to place it in and started eating the other.
I ate as well. The pork was slightly chewy but edible. I really should have used fresh pork or made crispy pork instead. I ate it anyway, eliminating my hunger. Aelyn asked, “So what is after your first year of academy?...and…will I stay with you or Callem?” I chewed my food and poured some water.
“Well, I think I am going to open a restaurant in the Aegis city, the capital on Titan’s Shield. Mia made an off-hand suggestion about dungeon-delving teams, and I think I am going to underwrite my own. I can’t do it in Solaris city because of all the bad blood there, and the capital island is too risky. So Aegis makes sense. So my restaurant will house my adventuring team upstairs. I still need to talk to Callem about it, but the idea is starting to grow on me.”
As we ate, the drunken students started returning. Gareth was plastered between the twins, and it was hard to tell who was holding who up. Gareth dropped on his two blondes in their room, sat across from me, and finished my plate without asking. I could only imagine how much he must have drunk to overcome the giant’s constitution ability. I looked at Aelyn and smirked when I saw her face flash mischievously. Tomorrow was not going to be fun for the academy class.
Since alcohol was technically a poison, I couldn’t use my healing ability to correct everyone’s intoxication. Well, maybe the after-effects of drinking could be cured, but I think it was best to let them suffer and learn from their mistakes. Aelyn left, and I went to my room. Gareth was already sleeping in an awkward position on his bed. Like he fell sideways and missed his pillow and forgot one leg. I lay down on my bed, and Gareth’s breathing got louder and louder. Instead of working on my lightning reflexes spell tonight, I decided to start on the privacy spell.
The privacy spell was a tier 1 spell in the school of illusion. The basic casting of the spell was creating a five-foot bubble around the caster that didn’t let sound in or out. I would have to use my level one evolution on the timer evolution. Basically, this would allow me to invest aether on casting to create a stationary bubble. Usually, the spell drew a tiny amount of aether to remain active, centered on the caster. One full unit of aether would sustain the bubble for almost 30 hours in a stationary anchored position. Another mage could dispel the enchantment, or I could dissolve the spell form myself by touching it.
I hoped it wouldn’t take more than a week to learn this spell. I was already thinking of quite a bit of mischief that I could get up to with this spell. It was essentially a move silently spell. I fell asleep studying the new spell.
Aelyn came barreling into the corridor in the morning, getting everyone up. Gareth rolled over and quickly vomited on the floor. It took him a few minutes to orient himself. It had been about 4 hours since he had passed out. I only had gotten about two hours worth of sleep myself. I pushed my friend away as he was about to fall into his own vomit. I then used my cleanliness spell to remove the pile and splatters of vomit.
I went in the corridor and heard a few others losing whatever treats the town had supplied from last night’s party begin to decorate their rooms. Aelyn, for her part, was grinning like a mad woman. I caught her elbow, “Aelyn get them outside and running. You can have your fun. I will clean up this mess,” I indicated a classmate exiting her room and suddenly vomiting when she saw the deposit on the floor from across the hall.
Aelyn soon had everyone outside and staring daggers at her. I quickly made my way to each room and made short work of the messes. I was soon back in my bed and studying my privacy spell. I had nearly one and a half hours of uninterrupted study. The townswomen were preparing breakfast, and one popped her head in. I just waved at her and was left alone.
When my classmates returned, they looked like they wished they had never woken up this morning. I walked to the twins and tried my healing spell on them to see if I could, in fact, cure the lingering effects of a hangover. The answer was yes, as Mera suddenly looked a lot better. I did the same for Fera but held my finger to my lips to indicate not to say anything. Gareth needed to learn a lesson.
Breakfast was simple porridge with honey and toasted bread with butter. Some of the townswomen didn’t look too great either. I hadn’t seen Freya, so I guessed she was laid up as well though I doubted she had more than a few sips of anything. Mother would have been keeping an eye on her. Many people were afraid to eat and just played with their food. Someone came and spoiled the surprise…all the vomit was gone. One of the women was about to point at me, but I shook my head no. I let the townswomen take credit. This was more for my own sanity. I was already cleaning the twin’s room. The last thing I wanted was everyone asking me constantly to clean theirs.
Slowly everyone recovered during the day. I was glad when the bathing hour came and the smelly clothes and bodies left the building, giving me time to work. Selina found me studying the privacy spell. “Storme, do you have a moment?” She asked, sitting on my bed.
I nodded and sat up. “I see you are working on the privacy spell. That is fantastic.” She looked at me seriously and asked, “You have the Annuals again this off day, so our one-on-one lessons are on hold for another week. But I wanted to ask you if you were going to focus on spellcraft or fighting. For the second and third terms, Callem is going to allow the students to focus further. After seeing your fight, I can see you are quite adept at both arts.” Yeah, somehow, in my bout with Naberius, I had made some kind of big leap forward in my skill with the staff. During the fight, I no longer had to think…instinct took over, and I was visually processing everything so fast…
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My mind tuned into Selina…I looked at my aether core…no the lightning reflexes spell was not imprinted yet. But I had definitely triggered something from studying the spell that increased my reactions. “Storme?” Selina was trying to get my attention. I focused on her. “So Storme, Callem did ask me here to teach you the casting arts, but I don’t think we will have time for you to learn everything if you divide your efforts. So are you committed?”
“Yes, definitely yes,” I said without hesitation.
She smirked, “I will inform Elora then.” She stood and started to leave. Elora was at my door and about to enter. “He is going to focus on his spellwork,” Selina smugly said, walking past Elora, who looked slightly peeved. She looked into the room at me, and I gave an apologetic shrug.
I tried to salvage the situation, “Elora, I still want to practice the staff and work towards mastery. I want to take advantage of having the best teacher in the art. So whatever free time….” I slowed my words. What the hell was I saying? Danger, Will Robinson, danger. It was too late as Elora now looked happy and left, and I fell onto the bed, grabbed a pillow, and screamed into it. I wanted more free time, not less! In my haste to placate everyone, I had stepped into it.
I went and found Callem and asked him about the next two terms and what I had agreed to. Essentially the 3-hour weapons training session would be a special one-on-one session with Selina. So I would no longer have any weapons training? He nodded, but there was always the one-hour bathing time everyone else used, and the instructors talked about limiting my conditioning time to just forty minutes so Callem could work with me on the saber and Elina, the staff. Seeing my distress, Callem voiced, “Storme, you are young. Take advantage of these opportunities. I can not shield you forever.” I knew Callem was, in essence, a deterrent, and he was right. I would need to gain as much knowledge as possible. The current fatigue and pain would be secondary to preparing for a long life. I nodded and accepted my fate.
The classes during the week went well, except that Elora was even more focused on me. She kept trying to bring out my accelerated instincts with the staff that I had demonstrated. It took a few spars with her to get used to the feeling of giving over to my instincts…it was like putting your subconscious in charge of your body movements. I was curious if I had developed a new ability, but Callem said it was just a skill called combat reflexes. Callem explained I had reached a threshold in the skill, hitting level 7, and that was why my quantitative leap. Gareth had long surpassed this mark.
When I dueled against Gareth now, I could finally see what he meant. Reacting to an opponent but reading such minute movements. It took two whole sessions with Callem to get the same results while wielding my saber. But I was eventually becoming markedly better.
As the day approached for us to return to the capital, Callem sat me down. “Storme, I have some favors to ask of you. Many of the students can not afford their own weapons. I could purchase them with coins you create, or you could create them with your skill. It is up to you if you want to invest in your fellows.” I had no issues with this request, but maybe I could get a concession from Callem in return.
“Callem, I don’t have an issue with buying them weapons, but it’s better if you use the coin to buy them. How about we make a field trip to Aegis City? I want to purchase an inn there with my coin. I want to eventually run a restaurant there and house my personal adventuring team there.” Callem looked at me strangely.
I continued my explanation, “I always wanted a restaurant. I will hire people to cook and run it. As for the adventuring team, I hoped to use them as a cover to get my own skyship eventually. Aegis has the two dungeons, and Gareth has mentioned a thousand times that individual adventures there are always looking for sponsors.”
Callem was thinking for a long period, and I waited. “That might not be a bad idea, Storme. It would be a cover for your wealth. No matter how much I hate dungeon delving, it can be a profitable venture. Are you looking for me or Wynna to make the purchase and set up the team for you?” I had actually just been thinking of using the team to harvest ingredients for the restaurant. But it was definitely going to be a good cover for expanding my purchasing power in the future.
I was actually surprised Callem was on board so easily. I guessed this mostly due to Gareth. With Gareth’sheart so set on dungeon delving, Callem probably thought this would set him up to be safer and successful. “I think you would be a better choice than Wynna for this venture. Let’s not tell Gareth about this, Callem. I don’t want him pestering me every second of the day to go and join the team on a delve.” Callem chuckled.
“Keeping secrets from Gareth? I find that hard to believe.” He was laughing softly now. He was probably thinking of Gareth’s reaction when I finally told him I was already delving into dungeons…albeit indirectly. “The day after the Annuals, we can go Storme. I also need to take care of some business in Aegis City. I will help you purchase your inn and interview some potential delvers for your team.”
I felt relieved. I think this venture could expand into something much more significant over time. Callem spoke further, “So Storme, the pre-academy and academy finals will be held together. Eight participants from each group will be competing for their respective championships. The fee for tickets has increased from 1 silver to 10 silver, so not many people from town will be traveling to see you and Gareth,” he held up his hand. “Your parents are going. Freya is not.” I nodded but didn’t tell him I planned to bow gracefully out, hopefully.
“I still have your betting ticket. You asked me to bet on Gareth to win it all. The payout will be nine platinum. I suggest that be your budget when we go to Aegis city,” Callem intoned. I had forgotten I had Callem place a one platinum bet on Gareth at 9 to 1 odds. My odds had been something like 144 to 1.
“So Gareth is going to win?” I asked with a grin which Callem returned.
“The person he defeated in his last match was probably the best fighter after Gareth. Since you two are on either side of the bracket, you might face him in the finals, but you have two difficult matches upcoming.” As long as I wasn’t goaded into actually fighting, I planned to lose my first match.
“Who else is going to watch? Should I pay for the entire class to go?” I asked Callem, who thought for a second.
“No, it is best not to spoil the students too much. I can arrange it if you want Mera and Fera to go.” He asked while winking at me. I don’t know what that meant. Gareth was the one pining for Fera, and Mera was pursuing me, but I hadn’t returned her interest.
“Yeah, that is fine. Could you also get a ticket for Mia?” I asked. I wasn’t sure why I had asked for her to come.
“She is already attending. She has her own funds to draw upon.” Callem seemed to revel in my youthful interactions. I wanted to say I was not juggling women. They were all just friends, Aelyn, Leda, Cilia, Mera, Fera, and Mia. Callem left me.
I imprinted the privacy spell the day before we left for the Annuals. I selected the anchoring evolution at level 1. This let me invest aether on casting to create the soundproof bubble. I spammed the spell, and my second evolution allowed me to control the shape of the bubble. I could now pull the bubble close to myself and walk around completely silenced. Or I could anchor the bubble somewhere and alter its shape. The max was a 10’ diameter sphere. It did take a lot of mental effort to make shapes over spheres of boxes, but it was possible.
My other spells had also been leveling. Cleanliness had gone from level 11 to 12. Mend flesh had gone from level 9 to 10. Both were now just one level from a new evolution. The dimensional closet had reached level 11, mostly due to me constantly spamming the spell at night by removing and returning objects. The evolution I selected improved the stasis effect. Now objects left inside aged 100 times slower. Stasis – slows object aging to one-hundredth normal. This would allow me to store food for long periods and, more importantly, extend the shelf life of potions.
All potions had shelf life depending on the ability of the alchemist. Now a potion that would normally be viable for 60 days would last 6000 days in my dimensional closet. I needed to be aware that when the portal access was open, the objects inside did age normally.
For the evolution at level 13, I was thinking of working on evolutions to make the space more habitable. Unfortunately, the stasis effect wouldn’t occur if I was inside, but having a space, I could retreat to would be invaluable. It was still a paradox in my mind…since the space was essentially in my aether core, how was I able to take my physical body inside of it? Well, I think I was leaning toward the air cycling upgrade next. That way, I would have unlimited breathable air if I locked myself inside the space in the future.
The alarm spell had hit level 6. At level 5, I selected a flash effect when it was set off. I was hoping to make a sort of flash-bang magical grenade by combining the effects. The flash was not bright, and the bang was not loud enough. There was an evolution to make the sound louder but not the flash. It shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out, though. I figured my new privacy spell would protect me from the sound, and I just needed to remember to close my eyes.
I returned to working on my lightning reflexes spell, but I had been tempted to work on the tier 2 healing spell neutralize poison. The reason being I confirmed that it could purge the effects of alcohol within the body. After my classmate’s recent incident with drinking, it was now on my list of spells I needed to know.
The crowd on the skyship was much smaller this time, and we hadn’t rented a whole ship. Elora stood with me on the bow, and the entire time we discussed what sequences I should use in my first match. I was pretending to care…I planned to lose…or did I?