Ch. 37 Realization

Gabriel came near the river to a fat squirrel laying on his back sunbathing while Gala was nearby tearing apart a rabbit. (Shit, I didn't leave any food out. I must've passed out after the last book. I think I'll lay off the skills for a while, it seems the more I learn the more they hurt.) Gabriel slowly stood up and made his way to the water getting a drink before hobbling towards his companions and laying back down.

"Morning."

"Are you okay big brother?"

'How do you feel?' Both of his companions had been worried since he passed out screaming the night before. They hadn't slept and immediately brought him to the river this morning, Gala sent Acorn to have his breakfast then while he guarded Gabriel, she went and caught a rabbit. From the way he was screeching and flailing about they thought something really bad had happened, it was far worse than any of the other times before.

"I'm fine, weakened, but fine. I'll need to recover most of the day today. This evening I'll need to run an errand though so we won't be training tonight. Take the time to relax and try meditating, it might actually be beneficial for you both." Gabriel planned to sneak into the village and visit Lady Ara, he needed to confirm some of the knowledge from The Study of Realms. It was too unbelievable to trust 100% without direct confirmation from someone with more experience.

"I'd like to head back to the base, but I can't really fly right now. Would you mind Gala?" Gala grabbed Gabriel and set him on her back while Acorn took the opportunity to jump onto her head. She quickly ran back to the base and through the illusory wall. "Thank you Gala. Feel free to do as you please today, just be careful if you leave base. I'll rest until evening to gather my strength."

"Rest well big brother!" Acorn ran out the illusory wall without another word. Only the gods know what his plans were for the first day he truly had to himself since beginning to follow Gabriel.

'I will try this meditation you spoke of. How does it work?'

"First, find a comfortable position as you will not be moving for a long period of time. Now, clear your mind of all thoughts, focus only on feeling the magic flowing around you. Once you feel that magic, draw it towards you while breathing slowly. Just continue doing that and you'll still feel rested when you're done, but you must stop if you feel any pain. I've only done it once before, I do not know if it can cause us problems if done for too long." Gabriel tried to explain with his limited knowledge of meditation. He had done it once before and The Study of Realms had small section about it so he knew a little more than before, but he hadn't tried since he acquired that knowledge. They both settled in and before long the magic in their base began to feel much more dense. It seemed they both had managed to reach a trance like state of meditation.

Hours flew by and Gabriel came out of his meditation to received a notification.

'Trance like state of Meditation achieved. Magic points increased by 1. Additional bonus for achieving first True Meditation, +5 free stat points.'

(Sweet! Now I'm back to where I should be before I sacrificed 5 magic to save Acorn. I think I'll up my Intelligence instead of Magic this time though. I can do that later, first I need to see Lady Ara.) Pleasantly surprised, Gabriel for up with some pep in his step, feeling rejuvenated and ready to go. He checked Gala to see she had also achieved a trance like state and decided not to disturb her. It wasn't yet sundown, but Acorn still hadn't returned. (If he isn't back when I return, we'll have to go look for him.)

Gabriel took off and was at the village in no time. He flew right over the wall trying to avoid any onlookers below and flew right into an open window on the third floor the Apothecary. (This must be her bedroom. Nice clothes.) Gabriel took a look around before heading toward the nearest open door to head downstairs. As Gabriel hopped through the door, he realized he had made a big mistake. This wasn't the door out, it was the door to the restroom. In the middle of the room was a large standalone bathtub standing on what appeared to be the feet of a dragon. Inside of the tub was Lady Ara, looking directly into his soul when he looked up at her.

"Do you not have any decency? You could've at least announced yourself or pecked the door." Gabriel quickly turned around and out his head on the floor. "I'm sorry, I thought this would lead downstairs, I didn't know it was your bath room!" He was so embarrassed and ashamed he just wanted to fly from the room, but he knew that would just lead to more trouble when he came back with the books.

"Stupid bird. What are you even here for?"

"I need to confirm something from The Study of Realms with you. It seemed to good to be true." Gabriel kept his head firmly planted on the floor not wanting to further anger her.

"Well, what is it? As you can see I'm pretty busy right now."

"Okay, when you reach the Bander Realm, is it true that creatures can force their mutation to be humanoid? It was briefly stated in the book, but there was no further information about it. Nor the way to force it or what I need to make it work." That was all Gabriel had been able to think about since he acquired the knowledge from The Study of Realms. Knowing he could get a human form was killing him because it meant he could go amongst humans without much of a threat. Not to mention, even if his companions chose not to become humanoid, they would be considered Tamed Creatures since he had already formed a contract with them.

"You can force the humanoid mutation, yes, but it's incredibly painful and highly unlikely to work. From what's been recorded to my knowledge, there is nothing needed beyond the determination to make it through the pain. It is the mutation with highest mortality rate. Are you still going to try it?"

(She knew. That's probably why she mentioned her Realm, to get me to look into Realms, to get me to find about that mutation. Either that or I just got really lucky.) "If you have any books on it, could you please set them aside for me?"