"Wow, there has already been a week, right? I thought the forest would stretch for a bit longer." Said Sirius to Seth, who was once again sleeping on his neck. "And no one had attacked me yet. It is nice that I stole that arcane compass. Not only I found out how they tracked me, but also I disassembled it and know how it works! I even can cast it myself, look!" Sirius created a small flash in his hand, looking at it with a smile. "Of course it doesn't work, it's pointing to me. But I think I can reconfigure it. What do you think?" Expectantly Sirius looked at Seth, who was still silent. Snake was listening to his ramblings for three days straight, and became immune to his thinking aloud.
"Actually, maybe I don't need it at all... I got a hang of the Mind's Eye! Look, if I extend my mana forward, I can direct my senses! How cool is that? It is like looking in that direction! And the Mana Pool! The mana it stores is so much denser! If I take it from there I can manifest ice!" He created an icicle in his hand. "But, whatever I did, it doesn't stay. Somehow it refuses to exist more than a minute. Maybe that is why the taste of water in my vials is so bad? It just disappears into nothingness after some time! How did I not think of that! Ha-ha... ha..." Sirius caught himself laughing, but couldn't piece the reason why. Sirius stopped walking.
"Why didn't you tell me that I am going insane? And why... Why I am talking to you? You can't answer me." He sighed. The loneliness was weighing on him. "Let's make a camp while we can."
Sirius stopped and put down his backpack with a clinking of vials, jars and materials inside. Sirius took his staff by one end and swung it over his head, gathering mana in a clump. When he was ready he slammed the staff onto the ground, forcing the mana inside the ground. The hit created a small crater, around half of a meter in depth, just enough for Sirius to light a campfire on a rocky surface. The walls provided a nice barrier from the wind and contained a heat inside at night. But now the fire was not needed, since the sky was still up high, and a food could be cooked with magic. Just as Sirius sat down, he felt a strange sense of danger, and looked up. The sun was blotted out by a huge projectile that was rushing towards him.
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In panic Sirius shot up. He pointed a staff into the ground, nudging with his mind the remnants of his recent spell, and swung it into the direction of the projectile, solid rock creating a small shield. He additionally used up all his stored mana from Mana Pool, manifesting an ice pillar to support the shield mid-air and reinforce it. Half a second later, a huge chunk of ice impacted the shield, poking a hole in the hard rock. Despite that, the projectile stopped, shattering from from the impact and showering the surroundings in sparkling shards.
Sirius inspected the shield he improvised on the go. It was dented and pierced, the ice covering it gone, and the supporting pillar filled with cracks. He released his control of the elements, gathering the dissipating mana that was holding it all together. As he observed the crumbling stone and evaporating ice, he pushed his senses upwards, expecting a new attack. Meanwhile he was slowly gathering more and more energy in preparation for action.
He stood still, his awareness razor-sharp, while the world around him didn't care for the ongoing battle. Then, the stillness was shattered once again, as Sirius darted forward. His eyes pinpointed another lance glinting in the sun high in the sky. He made three wide strides, and used his staff to halt the momentum. With an end of his weapon he controlled a small rock, and in one fluid motion flung it high into the sky. He missed the gigantic icicle, the size of a person, only shattering its leading end. It was enough to destabilise it, making it spin out of control and fall flat to the ground, forming a pile of ice chunks in a dented earth.
He now had a vague direction of the attacker, so he began running in the direction of the small forest patch, taking only his staff. On his way he stopped, and gathered more mana underneath, ready to throw himself to the side. Just like he expected, another ice lance left the grove, crackling as it rushed through the air at supersonic speeds. Sirius used the ground to push himself forward once again. Behind him the lance exploded mid-air, making him look back. Where he stood a rain of shining splinters covered the grass, leaving no place for Sirius to hide. After a short re-evaluation of his opponent's might, Sirius rushed once again to confront the attacker.