Chapter 16 — A Steader
[Pain Tolerance] has increased to 3.
Trying to breathe normally and not take ragged breaths after having returned to the vaulted entry chamber, Toren seated himself on a bench by the Governance Hall’s towering glass windows. The light from Horevi’s holy flames was lighting the day brighter than before, and the shadows were indeed shorter. Kesta hadn’t lied, it really was morning—not evening. The teleport really had reversed time.
He had initially been upset at the teleport having cost him a day, but Kesta soon realized the reason for his mistaken assumption. While apologizing for her amusement, the girl had assured him that he hadn’t ‘lost’ any time, explaining how Horevi circled the Dreaming Turtle to share his fire with all lands meant the Great Phoenix wasn’t in all places at the same time, that in some places it was day while in others it was night.
Of course, Toren knew that, but he had never really thought about what it meant, and though he got what Kesta was saying and could somehow picture it in his mind, he just couldn’t wrap his head around how ‘afternoon’ could become ‘morning’ of the same day—almost as hard to believe as him now being a steader and owning a three-field-sized plot of land. The set of enchanted claim stakes tied to his travel pack proved that last part true enough, just as the Great Phoenix being higher in the sky proved it was indeed morning.
Toren braced himself for more pain, taking in a deep breath and letting it out again. His breath was steaming again thanks to the no-longer-unconscious [Haberdasher] asshole accusing him of theft upon seeing him return from the back rooms.
Naturally, he told the bloody-nosed mad hatter to do something anatomically difficult and that he never touched his coins or whatever. Unwilling to exit the line and lose his spot a second time, the man had impotently continued to yell as Toren walked away.
There was a more important problem that needed dealing with before leaving the protection of the guards within the Governing Hall. With what Kesta had said about the tenter-types and what he suspected of the lurking chucklers, Toren didn’t want to risk walking the town until after his bone set enough he could use his arm again.
Thankfully, his armor gave him some support and kept the bone from shifting too far out of place. He turned his [Mana Sensing] inward, and finding his mana sense almost blinded by the vividly glowing network of blood flowing throughout his body, the physical structure around the break was hard to make out.
Though troublesome to his task, the lack of glow around the break was probably a good thing. Definitely, a good thing. Bleeding inside was a serious risk with broken bones. Or... maybe less so for him?
[Mana Sensing] has increased to 13.
Toren blinked at the surprise Skill increase. Looking inward wasn’t something he did often, since he mostly used the Skill to spot hidden magic beasts and valuable forages. Using a Skill in different ways was often said to be more likely to result in increases. Should he try to raise the Skill further to improve what he could see before attempting to set the bone?
No. He was stalling. Every time the bone halves had touched or shifted against each other when he moved, it was the most excruciating pain he had ever felt—even with the [Pain Tolerance] Skill.
The truth was, though much fainter in the blinding presence of his densely blood-filled veins, the muscles and the halves of the broken bone were still discernible. Muscle and bone were not without blood, after all.
He just didn’t want to do it. A weaker man would already be gibbering and crying on the floor begging for a [Healer] no matter the price.
Working open his jerky pouch with his fingers, he fished out a piece the right size and placed it between his teeth. Leather would be better, but that would mean taking off his pack and cutting a strip off something.
Salty dryness spread in his mouth to mix with the sweat smell of the townspeople on a hot summer day.
On three.
Two.
Now.
His good arm gripping his bicep, he pushed.
A whimper escaped as broken edge ground into broken edge-
…
[Pain Tolerance] has increased to 4.
His neck was suddenly clammy with sweat, and a wave of nausea washed over him. He must have briefly blacked-out.
Could he really do this?
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There was no way he could hold the bone halves together long enough for [Burning Blood]’s passive to rejoin them. And the active ability would burn through his remaining mana too quickly. Unless he could focus and localize [Burning Blood]’s active effect.
He wasn’t a mage and had yet to unlock [Mana Manipulation] or even [Internal Mana Manipulation], but he had raised [Empowered Thrust] to mid second rank before giving up his Profession. He still remembered the feeling of pushing mana into his muscles and wrapping the mana around his weapon as he struck.
In theory, he should still be able to do it to some extent.
Time wasn’t on his side. The nausea was growing worse.
Toren brought the broken edges back into contact as gently as he could and tightened the muscles to hold it there as he activated [Burning Blood] with the bare minimum of mana, watching as fire mana swept outward from his heart, igniting his blood.
His cold sweat began to steam off of him.
When the burning blood reached the area around the break, he tried to suppress the fire from traversing to other parts of his body, willing it to only flow from his heart to the injury.
The effort would have to be enough. Toren pushed more mana into igniting the blood traveling to the break.
Willpower +1
He didn’t have nearly enough presence of mind left to celebrate the hard-won and extremely valuable Attribute increase, his senses blurring at the edges and his perception narrowing from the strain. With an excruciating gradualness, a torturous burning itch supplanted the mind-blanking pain.
“You can’t sleep here.”
It was the voice of the tier-2 guard. Unsure how much time had passed, Toren took a ragged breath and cracked open an eye.
Choosing the bench closest to the 2nd tier guard hadn’t been an accident. The guy seemed a no-nonsense sort without being quick to make arrests. Toren was gambling that the man’s presence nearby would make getting bothered less likely.
“Healing… a broken bone,” Toren pressed out, the itching was becoming almost more unbearable than the pain. “Surely… an hour is fine?”
Several pulsing heartbeats passed before the guard grunted and answered, “One hour.”
~~~
Toren's character sheet:
Name: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 1 Burningblood Berserker (1100/2000)
Status: Injured (Broken collarbone: mending)
Mana: 2/14
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 16 → 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 0
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 0
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 2 → 4
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Spear 9
Knife 12
Stealth 16
Arithmetic 4
Club 8
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 12 → 13
Wound Binding 8