Something Exciting?

Chapter 96: Something Exciting?

/Spells. Such is the name given to magic one casts with the system. Simply speak its name, perhaps add a chant, and it is cast. If it fulfills its purpose, one gains mastery. Intriguingly enough, Spells seem to be just as much of a sliding scale as Skills - they can have higher or lower system assistance.

Take, as a simple example, the Spell <Gust>. It is very basic magic, one that most wind-attribute magicians will want to learn early on, due to the boosts it gives when specializing in air manipulation, more on that in a moment. But despite its simplicity, the system will not do all of the heavy lifting for you.

<Gust> is surprisingly complex to cast, requiring both its name, as well as a quick flick of the wrist to determine direction, intensity, and intent. It would appear the system cannot read all of that from one's thoughts. If the gesture, for example, is slow and lazy, one might simply experience little more than a breeze, yet if the user attempts to push someone away, a strong blast of air may do the task for them.

In contrast to that, we may take a look at the <Fireball> Spell, which may be tackled by much more intermediate magicians, rather than novices. It requires its name to be stated, and a direction for the mana to flow, which can be manually done by the user to conjure it in front or behind them, or automatically by the system, in which case the fireball will originate on the user's hand. Here, the intent is important, yet no matter where you wish for the fireball to spawn, it has a perfectly fixed mana cost.

Each casting takes the exact same amount, though said mana will vary on the magician, based on acquired aptitude, mastery of the spell, and spell level. Contrasting that, <Gust> consumes variant mana, depending on its use. A breeze will take less from the user than a blast of air.

This fluidity of casting Spells is exactly what allows them to match up to martial techniques. Stamina-based fighters usually have much more leeway in terms of applied fighting, their kicks still utilizing system effects and stamina, even if they are delivered higher or lower, or from another position than usually. The rules of Spells are much more rigorous, though that is through the eyes of a wizard, admittedly.

Still, Spells which depend on intent can be launched from unexpected angles, and those with variant mana costs, may use force much greater than the opponent expects, allowing for mages to set traps and false expectations just as any fighters may.

Now, if you will spare me one more time, I mentioned that <Gust> gives boosts to other wind-attributed Spells. Unfortunately, once again, things are not that clear. Spells, just as Skills, can evolve and have some hidden effects, such as synergies. One of the documented effects are what we call "affinities", though there is little mention of them within the system itself.

These affinities are loose classifications of Spells, magic, and even mana itself, which describe their effects to the best of our abilities. Any Spells that move air, for example, are attributed to wind, and if a magician who has been studying Spells such as <Tornado> or <Whirlwind> for years attempts to pick up <Gust>, they will find themselves having an easy time. Yet other Spells, such as <Rock Blast> provide no such benefits.

As always, the system is quite a bit more complex than it may seem on the surface, especially when picked apart like this, yet many of these effects seem so intuitive to people that some may not see the value of documenting this at all. I still encourage all fellow scholars to truly attempt to understand the machinations of magic. Greater understanding of that which allows our powers to grow will always be helpful to us, after all./

An excerpt from "A guide to Spells" by Mary Lonfal.

- - - - - -

Finally! No more being plagued by stamina concerns! Of course, he would still run just to stay fit and increase his stats as well, those helped with more than just stamina after all, but being able to mine for it like this was more than helpful.

Visualizing his vessel was still much harder than his core though. Mana was more centralized and able to flow through his body, while stamina really was all around him the entire time, so trying to think of it as one location was hard. Luckily, it was still doable. He just had to kind of imagine the well as being present in very small fragments in every single cell of his.

Now, normally people wouldn't be able to count their cells, and Mercury wasn't, but since this was more about visualizing it anyways, it still helped with the process to think of hundreds of tiny wells all over his body.

[You have gained 7 Exp.]

As per the usual, he also got experience from increasing his stats. Well, not stats, what should he call these... resources, maybe? Yeah, sure, that should work for now.

With his knew knowledge, Mercury continued his days. He hunted when he was hungry, and worked on his Skills when he wasn't, meditating, runecarving, mining for stamina, and working on his mana veins. As time went on, he occasionally moved deeper into the forest, a little more northeast whenever he was bored of a place.

His fur grew thicker as well, helping to combat the cold, and one dreary autumn day, he stepped out of his log to hear footsteps in between the howls of wind.

Another six pages had passed, and Mercury had developed quite a bit once more. Yet, even with his efforts, he couldn't seem to break through any of the hurdles in his way. He understood breath far more than he used to, yet getting any more understanding was slow and grueling to say the least. The grass was kinder even than at the start, but he couldn't quite manage to make a deeper bond. Finally, even his mana veins refused to expand, the cracks slowly increasing, and evermore inching towards the outside, but even as his mind sharpened, Mercury was unable to quite break through.

But with that being the case, anything to break up his routine was starting to feel more than welcome, and so, with little hesitation, Mercury began to approach the footsteps.

Finding the source wasn't very hard. A somewhat large, ragtag group of people, wrapped in furs and carrying weapons were stomping through the forest. No hunters, that was for sure, and while they seemed wary of danger, they were clearly out of their element, jumping at nothing half the time.

Heck, they even sometimes scared themselves by stepping on a twig, which made Mercury stifle his chuckles. For a while, he decided to follow them, watching as they marched silently, always southeast. Occasionally, the person at the front would open a map and hold it close to their face. They were tall and thin, with tanned but smooth skin and long, brown hair, and eyes grey as sharpened steel.

After some time marching with their new follower, one of the guys in the group finally opened his mouth, a red-haired young man, barely in his twenties, who was panting heavily. "Can we... please take a break? My legs... won't stop shaking," he voiced between deep gasps, and the leader looked him up and down for a moment. They paused, and eventually nodded.

"Fine," a melodic voice neither deep nor shrill voiced, almost with a kind of coarse music to it. "We continue in 15 minutes. Anyone who can still stand, keep watch." The captain themselves leaned against a tree, peering into the depths of the woodland, watching for any movement.

Mercury once again smirked at the sight, thinking if he should give these people a scare, but deciding against it. He could easily follow them, being used to the terrain and having used <Sneak> and <Quiet> often on hunts. Of course, these humans were smarter than the average forest beast, but Mercury would wager their noses and ears weren't as good.

Honestly, not having to hide his scent made this whole thing much easier. He wasn't very big, so hiding behind bushes was more than doable, and watching them was rather funny. They would mark their paths, carving signs Mercury couldn't recognize into the trees, until eventually, the group stopped.

"Captain, someone's been here," a man said, pointing towards the tree. His hair was long and light, slightly curled underneath the helmet as he looked closely at the new sign he'd found.

"What kind of marking?"

"Never seen it before," the man said, half shrugging, only to quickly step aside when the leader approached.

They also looked at the weird sign on the tree, a pattern that seemed to flow with pale silver, glistening magically. "Not natural," they said, shaking their head. "Not natural at all. Fan out, we're looking for whoever made this."

For a moment, Mercury hesitated, but in the end, he wasn't really scared of these people. He'd be able to escape anyways, especially being more familiar with the forest than they were.

"I made it," he called out from between bushes, and immediately, all their heads snapped to him.

"Show yourself!" the captain of the patrol growled, frantically trying to pinpoint whoever had just spoken.

"Uh, I'd really rather not when you're sounding so pissed. That sign really is just a simple rune, reinforce, to be exact. I made it," he explained, a little more apprehensively now. The patrol suddenly seemed a lot more hostile.

As Mercury finished, there was a short moment of silence. In those few seconds, Mercury could see the leader of the party give a couple signs with their hands, the soldiers beginning to move a little again soon after.

"Hey, it's kind of really rude what you're doing right now. I just said I would rather not show myself because of how hostile you're being," the cat explained, keeping watch of the soldiers and slowly distancing himself a little more.

The captain shook their head. "So you can see us as well."

"I can," Mercury nodded, even more wary now. He was keeping tabs on the soldiers, ready to run, hide, or blast them with rocks at any time.

"What are you, some sort of spirit? A monster?"

"What the hell man, I already answered some questions, now it's your turn. Why are you guys moving through here?" Mercury asked, watching the captain's eyes sweep through the area as he stayed hidden.

"North," the captain replied. "Heading southeast."

"That's a direction, not a reason," Mercury said, supressing half a sigh as he made his way through the underbrush to avoid any soldiers.

"I didn't promise you a reason," the captain said curtly.

"Alright, you know what, fuck this. I have been patient and polite this entire time. Stop being brash. I'm just a guy in a damn forest, not a serial killer. You think if I were some evil spirit or monster I wouldn't have rocked your shit yet?" Mercury sneered at the idiots, fumbling through the grass. He had an idea and smiled, but waited just a little longer for a reply.

There was a longer pause. "Either no monster, or one too smart to be found. Regroup, everyone back to back. No gaps," they said. "Now then, what made you talk to us forest guy?"

"I mean, you found my rune, and were walking through territory I clearly marked as mine. Maybe your reading is worse than that of the deer in here? Surely you knew," he said, not caring for politeness anymore.

"Well, perhaps marking it in common would have been wiser?" one of the soldiers remarked.

"For whom to read? You're the first humans I've seen in here, and quite frankly, it's been some time since I got here myself. No, I'll mark it with something that the primary inhabitants of this place get, which is scratch marks. Now, would you kindly tell me why you're coming through here?" he asked, still waiting to execute his plan if needed, though it would be harder by now. The soldiers were close together, their weapons at the ready.

Again, there was a pause, then a long sigh from the commanding official. "My name is Marsh. We're on the way through to bury someone," they said. "We cannot die before they rest safely." Their voice was resolute, and steadfast.

"I can respect that," Mercury said. "If you bury your people here, why are there no paths?"

"The soil we return to must be like the soil we came from. We clean up when we leave. It is best to leave a place such as this untouched."

"Why is that?"

"Tradition, forest guy. Now, I've said my intentions and given you my name, will you at least do me the courtesy of telling yours?" The leader crossed their arms halfway, spear still in hand.

"Yes, fine. Mercury, that's my name. I've been living here to attain... well, peace, I'd say."

"Found it yet?"

"Couldn't tell you if I did," Mercury replied calmly. "This place has been good on my nerves, but it'll take time for me to really find what I'm looking for, one way or another."

"Don't it always," Marsh replied and chuckled. They put their spear aside. "Well then, Mercury. Someone who seeks peace deserves an ounce of trust. At least where I come from that's the case. You can come along for now, if you wish, as our path isn't set in stone."

"I'd wager it's set in a forest," Mercury replied.

"Heh. Certainly. Alright everyone, we move," the captain then said, and Mercury followed once again.

For a while, there was silence between them, but Mercury spoke up first again. "Say, what kind of tradition do you have, to make such a trek for a burial?" he asked. It was clear that while Marsh had been here before, many of the others had not.

"Tradition is to bury our people in this forest, with our parents, and their parents, and all the elders before them," Marsh said. "If you died, you'd want to be buried in a place like this as well, wouldn't you? Quiet, undisturbed. Been that way for ages, and might continue on as such for a while longer."

"Fair. Why here specifically?"

"Because no one comes here. You said it yourself, it's peaceful. No monsters, no nests. My village, or whatever you may wish to call it, we bury anyone who wasn't forsaken here. The trip is long though, so we only take it for a few bodies at a time. Right now, we're not short on them though," they said, their face turning into a frown.

"How so?" Mercury asked.

"Well, wouldn't you like to know? What about you, forest guy? Peace, eh?" Marsh looked to where he thought Mercury's voice was coming from, actually catching a glimpse of white fur. Perhaps a beastkin, they thought.

Mercury slightly huffed at the question. "That's what I said. Long story. Wanna find myself and grow, felt like I couldn't with too many people around."

"Grow?" the leader asked. "Are you small?"

"Depends on your viewpoint, really. I meant mentally and maybe strength wise," Mercury said. "I've been making progress, very slowly though."

"Never can be fast enough, can it?"

"Never," Mercury nodded with a smirk. "What made you suddenly so admirable?"

"You remind me of someone," Marsh replied. "That's all."

"Mh, I see." Once again, silence washed over them. After a few more minute of walking, they took another break.

"If you need a drink, you'll have to show yourself, forest man," Marsh commented into the green nothingness. They weren't very hopeful, but it was worth a shot.

Surprisingly for them, Mercury did decide to step out of the underbrush. "I really wasn't trying to hide anymore, you know," he said calmly, watching as the usual reaction set in, eyes widening all around, and mouths dropping open. Except Marsh's. Their eyes were wide open, but their lips were pulled up into a smirk.

"Captain, is that a monster?" one of the soldiers, the one with red hair, asked.

"It can speak for itself," Mercury replied, more annoyed than he had hoped. "I go by 'he', please refrain from calling me a monster."

With that, the soldiers simply went to murmuring amongst each other, while Marsh held out a waterskin to the cat. "Have a drink at least," they said, grey eyes focused on Mercury. "And don't pay them any attention. Cubs have barely seen the world, sometimes I think one pair of silk gloves isn't enough when talking to 'em."

"Heh, what it's like to be young," Mercury said, taking the waterskin with <Telekinesis>. He wasn't quite stupid, so he made sure to smell it as well, and listen to even the faintest warning from <Intuition>, but he couldn't detect anything bad in it, not even with appraisal.

"Oh, how old are you then?" Marsh asked the mopaaw while he was drinking a couple sips. It had been a long day, and Mercury also had to run off and quickly grab his log. No journey to be undertaken without it.

"37," he replied without hesitation.

"Chapters?" Marsh asked, their eyebrows raising even higher than when the waterskin began to float.

"Yeah," Mercury replied, handing back the drink. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now, how come one of the honourable true kin finds their way into this little desolate forest here? Your kind have business in this place?" Marsh's face was impassive as they spoke, but when Mercury heard the talk, his expression sunk a little.

"What do you mean, my kind?" he asked slowly, almost waiting for the answer to be a bad one.

"The proper kin, the fullblooded, those whose high council decided to throw another half blood child into a river to drown," they said.

Oh no, Mercury thought. Not his weakness, childhood baggage!