Podrick fshes Emily a weak, giddy grin.
“Thanks,” he rasps, his throat hoarse from screaming. “I feel like I’ve been hit by an airship.”
“Ha,” Emily scoffs, pulling out a healing potion and sitting down beside him. “This potion will help with that. But first, I want to do a quick s to check what’s damaged.”
Podrick tries to nod, wing as he moves his neck.
“Just stay still and don’t resist,” Emily says, pushing his head back down before pg her palm on his chest.
The moment she pushes a small stream of maa into him, Emily feels a fierce resistahe energy resting within his new cortex shes out iion, trying to force out her influence. Emily leaves it for a moment, gauging the strength of the maa.
I could force through his resistance if I didn’t mind hurting him. Good to know.
“Stop resisting,” she repeats.
“How?” Podrick asks with slight panic.
“Take a deep breath,” Emily instructs. “Feel the energy leaving your cortex, the new an repg your brain, and try to tell it not to move.”
Podrick closes his eyes and does as she says, trying to feel out the energy within him. Emily maintains a light stream into him as he does, keeping his body in a state of distress, f him to calm it himself.
It takes a few minutes of focus, but he eventually mao draw the hostile maa bato his cortex and hold it there.
“This is so weird,” Podrick mutters as Emily slowly ss his body. “I couldn’t really tell what you were doing before, but now it feels like you’re staring straight into me.”
“Hmm,” Emily hums with a nod. “You’re far more sensitive to my energy manipution after awakening. It’s not surprising you have some idea of what I’m doing now.”
“I see. How are you doing that by the way?”
“Doing what?”
“Moving your maa so delicately. I’m still struggling just to stop it reag on its own.”
“Oh, talent I guess,” Emily says with a shrug. “I’ve never had trouble moving mana or maa to my will, but that was odd among mages. Most of them had to train their mana manipution, so I guess it will be the same for you. It’s just like having another limb: I’m sure you’ll be able to adjust to using it just fier a while.”
“I see,” he responds, his brow creasing when Emily moves her maa towards his head.
She instantly feels the barely-tained maa in the boy’s cortex reag out to interfere.
I ’t s his cortex? That’s a shame. The rest of him hasn’t ged very much, just a little all-round strengthening and a bit of stress damage from the seizing and screaming. I’m guessing most of the ge from the awakening was in his cortex, and the blood was just indicative of that. I wonder why I didn’t bleed though. Did the mage part of my awakening help heal me?
“Okay,” she says, retrag her energy and lifting the vial of red liquid to Podrick’s lips. “I’m done. Drink this.”
He greedily gulps down the cool, soothing liquid, letting out a satisfied sigh as he empties the vial. He goes still afterwards, shutting his eyes and slowing his breathing. After a few moments, he opens them again and sits up.
“Thanks, that feels so much better,” he says, rolling his shoulders and clig his neck side to side.
“You’re wele,” Emily says, standing up and walking towards the door. “That’s all for now. Go get some rest, or py about with your new body, whatever. I’m going bay room.”
She pauses as she opens the dng back over her shoulder.
“Just remember. Don’t tell anyone about this.”
Podriods quickly, a shiver running down his spine as he meets Emily’s stormy warning gre. Satisfied, she turns on her heels and vanishes into the corridor, sending half of her cores to sleep for the night now that her main experiment is finished.
***
Ba her room, Emily colpses on her ba her bed, staring up at the ceiling and opening her system to check out her new skill.
“I’m not sure how I feel about this name,” she mumbles.
ˉˉˉˉˉ
[Mother’s Blessing (active)]
[Cost:] 50% total mana, maa, and stamina
A unique ability to help raise a strong following.
-Grants a blessing to a target that temporarily boosts their cultivation speed and processing ability.
- only be used on targets of a lower level.
- only be used on a target sidered the User’s child.
_____
Increasing someone else’s cultivation speed? That sounds incredible, but only being usable on my children is weird. Presumably, si gave me the skill for awakening Pod, he’d be included. But I certainly don’t sider him my child. Does it just mean people I’ve awakened?
Frowning, Emily starts pulling out small meical pos, idly weaving together another clockwork bird as she thinks.
It does say the skill is for raising a strong following, not family, so surely I don’t actually have to be reted to the targets. The quest was called The Spread of Knowledge, so maybe it would t someone as my child if I taught them. Holy, I sider my maes my children more than I would any people.
Emily’s hands pause in their work as arikes her. She sits up and pulls one of her spider scouts from her ste, setting it down in her p. Pg a hand on top of it, she tries to activate the skill. She feels a pull on the cept of the skill, more abstra nature than the rest, but nothing happens and she doesn’t feel a proper rea.
“Tsk,” she clicks her tongue, putting the scout away. “Never mind, I guess inanimate objects don’t t as my children. I’ll have to test it on some people iure. I’ll wait till I think I trust Pod for now.”
Moving on from the skill, Emily moves into a meditative position as her mind wander back to the fight of the m. Her brow creases slightly as something about the memories feels off, somehow not quite plete, but an unfortable ing in her gut pushes her to ig, so she focuses on her inal target, the thuorm.
Those bolts falling from above were strohan arc, but weaker than arc-bolt. Definitely a third circle spell. I didn’t use a single ru made a third circle spell. How?
A buzzing static fills the air around Emily as she submerses herself in the memory of shooting to the ground with half a dozen lightning bolts following her, fog on the feeling of her e to the bolts.
Are runes actually needed for spells? They certainly help. After all, the system has unlocked skills to help me improve using them; but maybe they’re not required. Like ts! They trol the effect of some spells, but it’s possible to use them without if you have a solid mental image.
The static starts densing into little, sparking bolts, wreathing Emily in a glowing cloak of primal electricity.
To get rid of ts you needed a solid mental image of both the magic circle, and the spell you want to cast. If you’re to get rid of the magic circle and only hold the spell, what’s the catalyst to actually cast it?
Realisation strikes and a thunder crack rings out across the ope, waking everyone on the ship.
“Elemental e,” she mutters as her eyes flit open.
Her eyes glow with a crag blue light, and the buzzing psma surrounding her shudders as she takes trol of it with a light flex of her will. Emily raises her right hand, moving the pure elemental mana to form around it into a fierce-looking bracer with a bde extending a metre out over her knuckles.
A satisfied grin forms on her lips as she gazes at the spell, feeling the full strength of her third circle being put to use without a runic magic circle. After a few seds of admiring the on, Emily releases her trol, and the air around her calms as her eyes lose their otherworldly glow.
ˉˉˉˉˉ
Insight gained!
[Skill upgraded]
[Intermediate Mana Manipution (passive)]
User has fine trol over external mana use.
-Grants +15% effid trol over mana outside the body
-Grants +5% power to elemental maion
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Hidde pleted: True Elementalist
[True Elementalist]
[Rank:] C
[Description:] You’ve indepely realised the folly of Ulean mages and uood the true nature of their pursuits, an important step towards reag the fifth circle. Through refining your uanding, earned in bat aional distress, you’ve taken the first step dowh of a true Elementalist. What you bee now is your choice.
Requirements:
-Cast a spell without using a magic circle iionally (pleted)
Rewards:
-Talent: Oh The Elements
-Mage Knowledge: Magic Vocations
_____
She feels a refreshing shiver running down her spine as the upgraded skill aalele into pce, and new information floods into her mind in a familiar manner.
Well, that’s two requirements for my progression ticked off. Wait, an important step for reag fifth circle? Why?
Emily lets out a long breath and stands up from her bed to pace around the room as she processes everything she’s just learrying to uand what makes it important fressing to fifth circle.
“That aside though, this expins so muo wonder Lebard’s magic was called strange in all the reports I read in the library,” she mutters to herself.
A prese the door breaks Emily’s focus from breaking down her new knowledge, so she walks over to open it with an irritated scowl.
“Yes?” she says to Anton oher side, who flinches back as he meets her eyes.
“Um,” he says, swallowing down his fear and straightening his back. “I was just ing to check everything was okay. We were all woken by that thunder, but it doesn’t look like there’s a storm outside.”
Emily’s expression softens as her eyes widen.
“Wait, you guys heard that?” she asks.
“Yeah. Why? Was it you?”
“Yeah, sorry about that. I swear my sound-proofing barrier . Please ig.”
“Oh, ok. I’ll let everyone know it was a false arm then. I’m going back to bed for now.”
With a tired nod and a yawn, Anton turns to address the heads poking out of their rooms as Emily slips bato hers and shuts the door. Instantly, all the noise from outside is cut off again.
“I thought so, my barrier is still w,” she mutters. “That thundercp must have been like the ones I get with my assions that bypass barriers. Stra’s almost like the world is celebrating my achievements.”
Shaking her head at the ridiculous thought, Emily settles down to finish her sideration of magical vocations.
“The fun of the moment is gone now, let’s just break this down quickly. Why is this apparently so important?”
Mages be split into three major categories, Elementalists, Arists, and Supplits. Lebard mages probably follow the path of True Supplits. All ats said they cimed that they pray to their deities and are given magi return. Their deities are probably just some fourth circle extra-dimensional beings. It would even expin the scarcity of fourth circle mages among their ranks: a Patron ’t create many Supplits at the same level as themselves. Then, the rest of Ulean mages follow a sub-branch of the other two vocations without even realising it.
Emily lets out a derisive chuckle as she uands why the quest called it their folly.
They’re losing the best parts of both vocations just to make up for their ck of knowledge and talent. Elementalists focus oing a strong e with their highest affinity element, rarely a sed or third even if they have multiple high affihey cast spells without magic circles, using elemental maion alone, fog on power and flexibility, and they even go as far as permaly attributing their mana circles to further that.
“Maybe that o be done before reag fifth circle?” she mumbles.
Arists oher hand, focus on uanding runes and cultivating raw mana for utility and adaptability. Ulean mages though, are a shitty excuse for elemental-arists. They focus too mu each developing a single element to have the adaptability of Arists. Their ck of a true elemental e weakens their power, and their relianagic circles reduces their flexibility in bat.
She raises a hand to bite her thumb as the st line of the quest’s description bugs her.
What I bee now is my choice. Is it tellio pick a vocation?
Her lips crawl up into a grin as another option occurs to her.
“Or is it tellio fix their faults and bee a proper elemental-arist?”
She opens up her alent to have a look on instinct, and her grin only grows.
ˉˉˉˉˉ
[Oh The Elements]
User is at oh magic itself.
-Grants an increase of 1% affinity in all elements and cepts.
-Increased aptitude for eg with elements.
_____
“Why would I ever attribute my circles with a single element after earning this talent? I guess I’ll o find ways to ect with more elements iure,” Emily mutters, settling into a meditative position again. “None of them will e as easily as lightning, that’s for sure.”
***
After meditating through the rest of the night while steering the ship onwards, Emily leaves her room to join the rest of the crew for breakfast, massaging her brow and feeling surprisingly drained.
Weird, why am I so tired? I was just meditating.
Gng at her status, she immediately spots an issue.
ˉˉˉˉˉ
[Status]
[Name:] Emily Coldstone
[Race:] Human
[Age:] 17
[Magic Circle:] Third Circle
[Maa Cortex:] Third Stage
[Attributes:] Strength 20 (26), Dexterity 65 (68), Agility 52 (57), Vitality 17 (22), Intelligence 129
[Health:] 267/270
[Stamina:] 135/530
[Mana:] 1490/17415
[Maa:] 1525/17415
_____
Woah, my stamina has dropped so much, and my mana and maa regeion has also slowed by the looks of it. Why? It ’t have been the fight yesterday, was it awakening Pod? I didn’t feel much different at the time though. Also, I’m injured. Maybe it’s this Goddess forsaken buzzing and whatever my maa is doing to my cortex at the moment.
Emily drops into a seat between Ash and Podrick, gratefully accepting a serving of pe that’s offered to her. She nguidly scoops some into her mouth and looks up at Anton sitting across from her.
“Was everything okay st night?” he asks.
“Yeah, we maintaihe same speed as usual and didn’t stray from our path,” Emily reassures him between mouthfuls. “What time do you think we’ll be arriving at Ashdon?”
“If we keep the same speed as yesterday then we should have about six hours till we get there.”
Emily notices him shifting unfortably as he answers but chooses not t it up.
Seems like he’s expeg trouble.
She nods and finishes her food in silehe buzzing in her head drowning out the chatter around her. After eating she heads back to her room, waving Podrick off wheries to talk to her, and colpses in bed.
I feel like it’s a bad idea to use healing magic to interfere with whatever my maa is doing, so hopefully it will be done when I wake up.
KeroKeron
