Moving On

Chapter 133: Moving On

/Welcome back motherfuckers, to this installment of wow I hate this planet. Today, I'll be getting upset about mana and affinities. Because what the actual fuck is up with that shit, huh?

Seriously. Everyone has mana, no affinity, nothing. That mana can be liquid, solid, or gaseous, and in transitioning from one state to another, releases energy, which can be used for spells. Simple shit, right? WRONG!

This affinity-less magical energy can then be converted into other things. Kinetic energy? We got it. Heat? For sure baby. Light? Abso-fucking-lutely. Spells? What the actual hell is wrong with you. I have never been so offended in my life. My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined.

Okay, I lied, you can cast spells with it, sure. But spells are stupid complex. If you wanna acquire one, you're honestly better off just learning it from a scroll and using it via the system like a regular wizard, it's the most popular way of doing it for a reason.

If you genuinely wanna learn how to cast spells, then okay. Fine. I applaud you, really, because that shit suuuucks. Like seriously. You gotta make sure your mana is shaped in the correct pattern, which basically functions as a transformer for the magical energy that comes out of it, then transform it all into magical energy uniformly, or the thing blows up in your face.

Then, once you have magical energy from that transformer-construct, good on you. That was step one. Now do it again, shape the magical energy into a construct, then release your hold on it all at once, and have it manifest its effects. If you used the right schematic, so to speak, then you succeed, and your spell becomes reality. If not, it blows up in your face in a violent release of energy. Again.

So, essentially, casting spells requires two transformations, first to a specific magical energy, second to the actual spell.

Now, this is where affinities come in. If your mana has an affinity that largely overlaps with a spell, than usually, transforming that mana without a transformer-construct is good enough. You can just lay it out in the spell-pattern and cast the spell right from there, by evaporating the mana, keeping the magical energy in place and releasing it all.

You can also put it through the transformer anyway, losing less energy in the process. It's more efficient to cast spells with the mana, so if you do the double transformation, your spell has more oomph, and a single transformation, while less powerful, makes it way, way fucking faster.

But that still doesn't say anything about actual affinities, does it now. Because the magical energy signature for each spell is slightly different, we can't really make an accurate description of affinities. it would be a specific one for each spell, which would render the whole system fecking pointless again.

So, what mages did, was make loose groups. Loads of spells use similar, if not adjacent energy signatures, in terms of frequency, volatility, and a bunch of other fancy magic terms. Any spell that creates water will be inherently similar. Sure, there are slight differences in the application and stuff, but overall, similar enough, right?

These classifications were made back when magic wasn't as clearly defined as these days, but have even been adopted by the System, so they have stood strong throughout the time. Water and Ice affinities are close together and similar, for example, meaning you can change the mana's affinity between them fairly easily. Water and fire affinities are further apart, making them harder to transform to each other.

Basically, you can make the groups as wide or as close as you want. If you really wished for it, sure, you could have something like i dunno, honeybee mana, which is especially good at controlling honeybees and only honeybees, but at that point, you kinda lose your generalism. What if wasps attack you? Does that mana work on them? Largely, yeah, so why not call it insect mana?

It's a tough balancing act, and confusing as shit, especially when mana types mix (because they can do that), or repel each other (yeah, they do that shit too).

So, to keep things simply: if you cast a spell with normal mana, you gotta transform it twice. Force it into a pattern, evaporate, force it into a spellshape, let go. Done.

If you cast a spell using mana of a similar affinity, expect some loss of efficiency when using single transformation. Like casting an ice spell with water mana might net you about 80% efficiency. When using double transformation, casting an ice spell with water mana might net you 120% efficiency. Water spell with water mana, 90% for single transformation, maybe 140% or so for double transformation.

That's how affinities work.

And how do you get affinites?

Well, shit, isn't that a fucking story for next time. Don't croak, and I'll see you in the next issue, where I talk about why getting affinites should actually be illegal and I hate it./

Issue 12 of "This System Sucks!" by an anonymous author.

- - - - - -

After Mercury had explained, Dreamweaver was silent for a while. Mercury could once again read some incredulity, as well as just plain genuine surprise, but most of what they felt was simple, genuine worry.

'Lately, thee have been doing quite a few rather... unexpected things, young Mercury,' they finally thought, after some pause. 'This one truly believed you so casually visualizing things to be impressive, yet somehow, thee surprise me again.' Slowly, they shook their head. 'I am glad to hear you are still healthy, at least.'

'Thank you,' Mercury answered with a slight nod, 'I'm managing. Do you happen to know anything about this place, old Uunrahzil?'

Again, Mercury's teacher remained silent for a little while, pondering. It felt as though they were searching through an archive of memories. 'Indeed, this one does,' they finally replied. 'As of right now, we are visiting you in a very different dream than your usual one. A dead dream, barely keeping itself alive by clinging to the minds of everyone in the area. It is desperate, young Mercury, and desperate things are dangerous.'

'The dream lashes out at the ones it is latched onto, trying to drag pieces of their mind into itself for sustenance. It does not matter whether the target usually is able to be in this sort of place at all. Meeting other dream mages is rare, as this one told you, yet here, every creature is dragged in, only to be devoured.' Mercury could swear he saw a shiver go through them.

'If thee would like a word of advice, this one thinks you should do your best to escape. Something like this... no sane mind would draw up such an idea.'

After Uunrahzil spoke, Mercury listened more closely for a moment. He noticed something new, something that hadn't been there usually. His teacher was feeling... disgusted. They didn't necessarily hate the dream, rather, they felt like it was just a tool, but their distaste for it was more than clear. If he had to compare it, Mercury guessed it might be similar to seeing a chainsaw that fed off human flesh, maybe? Something similarly grotesque, at least.

'What if I can't exactly escape, not in the short term?' he asked, after the pause.

'Then, young Mercury, this one would recommend thee try and break this dream. It is dying already, barely clinging on as a parasite. Finishing it off would simply require passing the legions of the defenders, then destabilizing the nexus it is woven around, before finally destroying its host, its creator,' they thought to him.

'Sounds simple enough,' Mercury commented, giving a rueful smile.

'It is not a complex task, but not one that will be easy, either,' Dreamweaver explained, a little solemnly, 'but while we cannot help, we still believe this should be possible for you. You have proven thyself as jelec, as "tenacious". It may be desperate, but that scarcely seems enough to defy the will of this one's tri'ht, does it?'

Within old Dreamweaver's thought, Mercury once again found pride. They truly believed that he could do it, hypothetically at least. Not enough to stop worry from slipping through, plenty of it, as well as a bit of dread at the chance of losing their student. Enough to really put the danger into perspective.

But at the same time, this meant that he could actually go back , eventually. Escape this absolute nightmare of a place, hopefully.

'This one thanks you for your confidence, old Uunrahzil,' Mercury answered with a light smile.

'There is nothing you would need to give thanks for. To state one's thoughts is a simple deed, after all. However, before we lose too much time, there are a few more thing to tell you,' old Dreamweaver thought.

'First of all, we will not be seeing you again any time soon. The dream is desperate for sustenance, but also scared of what lays beyond it. Driven to its limits, it has barricaded itself off from where this one currently resides. Bypassing that wall over such a distance already proved difficult the first time, if the gaps we exploited are patched up, there will not be a second visit.'

Mercury nodded at that. He knew old Uunrahzil's regret at the situation, but it was what it was. He'd just have to get through it himself, then.

'Secondly, you must never forget thineself in this place. When thee are harmed here, you may awake, but your mind will still be damaged. Such wounds take time to heal, but you can help it along. Practice ihn'ar, on yourself, on those you can trust around you, try and recall what makes thee into yourself. Do not forget.' Mercury saw them freeze strangely for a moment, then the air shook around him, and old Uunrahzil returned. 'Yes,' they said again, 'you must not forget.'

'Understood,' the mopaaw nodded. Hopefully he wouldn't forget the piece of advice before he could use it.

'Finally, we wish to show you an experience. Thine mastery over <Breath> has grown substantially. I am more than proud of you for coming this far. But, perhaps to serve as motivation for you, we wish to show you the scale of mastery one can achieve.' A slight ripple went over Dreamweaver's form, before they grew still again. It was not a shiver, like before, but rather looked like the tiny wave you'd get from adding a drop of water to a silent lake.

'By no means have we achieved perfection, if one believes such a thing can ever be done, yet we consider ourselves sufficiently practiced to at least give you a hint,' they spoke, and for just a split second, Mercury felt some glee, before it disappeared.

In fact, the entire world seemed to grow still when Uunrahzil ceased speaking. The fog suddenly seemed less clingy, and even after seconds passed, the floor did not crack, or move, or splash. There was a formless pressure in the air, one heavy enough to suppress the eerie silence of the foglands, and replace it with simple stillness.

Then, there was a hint of a disturbance. Just a tiny bit of movement, near Uunrahzil, which began to cascade. The air shifted, a weight bearing down heavily enough for Mercury to get slammed onto the floor, his legs unable to keep him up. It pressed against his ribcage for a moment, before it instead settled on the area around him, and within moments, he could witness the fog getting crushed.

Within moments, the mist had been crushed, to the floor and below it, clattering down further and further around them to reveal the desolate marsh. The sky was suddenly visible, a strange tapestry of colours, seemingly stitched together, seams ranging from purple to blue, then transitioning to bloodred and soft pink.

Dozens of eerie lights attempted to settle on the strange pair, but when the stalkers turned to face them, the pressure blew them away. It didn't crush them, or halt them, but simply swiped them off their feet and sent them off, until there was nothing left but peace and quiet for hundreds of meters.

Up in the patchwork sky, Mercury could still see the red diamond, as well as a set of chains tied to it, disappearing in the fog on the horizon. He couldn't make out much more from where he was, except for the fact that it shuddered, and then the mist began to settle back in.

At least, it tried to, before a second wave of air spread out from dreamweaver, banishing it ever further. The mud was torn from the ground, revealing packed dirt underneath, one that may have bloomed with flowers some time ago, strewn with small pebbles occasionally. Perhaps, a long time ago, when this dream wasn't dying, it'd had a different purpose, perhaps it used to be quite pretty, but it was no longer so.

In the dying dream, there was a sky full of holes, with only a single star still clinging to the floor below it. A star, Mercury would have to snuff out.

Perhaps, he thought, he would make that star fall.

Then, old Uunrahzil buckled, and the pressure disappeared. Small motes of fog began creeping back into the area, and on the fringe of the mist, Mercury could see beams of ghostly yellow light trailing around.

'Goodbye for now, young Mercury. We hope to see you survive. Always strive to do good, but never strive for something you are not. Be thyself, and we will meet again'

'We will, old Uunrahzil,' Mercury nodded. 'I promise.'

The teacher cracked a small smile. 'Until then, our tri'ht. Learn well, and thrive.'

'Until then, teacher.'

With that, Dreamweaver faded and disappeared. Mercury was on his own again, with walls of fog threatening to close in on him, yet his target was clearer than ever. Whatever was anchoring the red diamond to this place, he'd break it. If that didn't work, he'd just have to bring the star itself down.

And then, like many times before, Mercury started running in the dream, but for the first time he wasn't making his way through a marsh, but through a quiet, open field instead.

- - - - - -

Stormbraver was rebuilding itself. After the attack, a messenger from Evlenor came to the city for negotiations. Apparently, the attack on the city had gone against king Fulthur's wishes. The man proved his intentions when he was still set on ending the war, even after his own son had died.

A lot of people had lost their loved ones, and while he was the ruler of a kingdom, that didn't mean he could let that loss cloud his thoughts. That was the burden of a king, to him, and he had to carry it. Thus, an envoy was sent, in hopes for some good faith. They probably wouldn't exactly live in great harmony for a while, but if he could secure himself permission to at least negotiate the city, Fulthur would be pleased with just that.

The council considered for a while, but eventually decided to accept. Sure, they had just fought a long fight and taken down most of the northerner's heroes, but there were still some left, and sending any more troops would mean less people to help rebuild. What they needed now was construction workers and farmers, rather than warriors.

Especially with bishop Nemo in the city. While they had grown used to the presence of high priestess Lucia, having another member of the church in the city was certainly a drain on the resources. Nemo demanded being treated with quite a bit of respect, which meant that he pushed the city council into providing room and board for him.

If he wanted, the church could very well pay for all of it, but "according to tradition", this was how things had always been done.

Generally, the bishop had been a two-sided sword. He was a competent healer, but the help he gave to those unaffiliated with the church often seemed sloppy, even shoddy. He also demanded far more respect than even Lucia had, in recent times.

Still, his presence was at least tolerated as long as he still contributed to the city's health.

Much of the reconstruction was spearheaded by the Merchants' Guild as well. Foss offered a special credit program, where people could take out loans without annual percentile growth. Instead, they simply had to pay back a fixed amount more than they borrowed. Essentially, he wanted to get more money in circulation, to replace the things that were lost, to then get some profit from it later.

When it came to the Mages' Guild, they had been split up. Anyone with sufficient earth-shaping Skills was on reconstruction duty, building temporary shelters and helping make permanent houses. Most other mages were brewing potions to help with tending to the wounded, while some of them also worked with the rescue teams to move away rubble and help people out from underneath buildings.

That is also where most of the manpower of the Godseekers' Guild went. The brute strength of many of the seekers, and their adaptability to survive on their own, made them a very small drain on resources, while doing a surprising amount of good in the city. Up until then, they were mostly thought of like mercenaries, but their reputation was slowly improving.

Things were not nearly as bright for the noble faction in Stormbraver. Due to them being situated up on the hill, most of them were spared from destruction, and quite few of them had contributed their private militaries to the defense of the city, choosing to prepare emergency escapes instead.

After demonstrating that the nobles valued their own lives more than anything else, the public displeasure grew loud.

Many of the commoners wanted to see a change in such behaviour sooner rather than later, and eventually, the council decreed that sanctions would be imposed on all nobles who had abandoned their duties of protection. Their mercenaries were forcefully reallocated to public personnel, tilling fields, or helping in the rescue operations, and quite a bit of wealth was reclaimed and distributed among the people.

Kaga's group of mercenaries had disbanded, largely. Many of them switched over to the seekers, enjoying the freedom to choose temporary employers much more than the rigid structure of the mercenary guild, and those who didn't were hired by nobles, the council, or simply left Stormbraver. Kaga herself was more than happy about her newfound occupation, hopping back and forth between jobs, between dispatching whatever monster came close to the city or breaking apart rubble.

The second job was much more prevalent than the first one though. Usually, monsters hardly even got close enough to the broken walls for anything to happen, since Avery was somewhere out there.

His behaviour had become slightly strange. He refused to go back into the city, instead resting outside, choosing to hunt anything and everything dangerous he could find. The way he killed the monsters also seemed more violent than really necessary, their corpses usually coming back into the city mangled.

Occasionally, Marcel or some other seekers headed out to talk to the guildmaster, though they usually returned after a few hours without much progress. Guard captain Rondo had also gone to see him, which had gone about equally poorly.

Still, he was helping the city, and with how busy things were, there wasn't exactly a whole lot of time to go look after him.

Lucia spent most of her time in the healer's tents, putting her new Skill to good use. Its greatest limitation was that it only healed a person proportionally to how much she liked them, so some people were almost impossible for her to heal. They'd found a small workaround though, where she would look and think of Iris while activating the Skill on someone else entirely which made it much easier to heal people she didn't know or hardly cared about.

Because of that limitation though, her patients simply started to change slowly, with more and more kids being sent her way. Somehow, she seemed to have a positive disposition towards them, not having nearly as many outbursts.

Still, Iris was always by her side, refusing to abandon her lady once more. The two had only grown closer since the attack, and had already officially announced they were a couple the day after.

Most people celebrated for them, though there were a few opposing voices from lord Nemo's faction, mainly ones who believed priests and priestesses should be celibate, and never have a relationship at all. The bishop himself however silenced them, showing public support to the couple.

Which only served to make Lucia more suspicious. The bishop had never liked her, and even now, his words often sounded like they were laced with poison, hidden criticism and disapproval inside. If he supported something she did, then that probably meant he was doing it as a publicity stunt if she had to guess, especially since his followers were usually the more zealous kind who opposed change with all they had.

Whatever the case, she would just have to see.

As would the entire city. Stormbraver was moving forward as time ticked on, hoping to eventually go back to how things were.