Chapter 38 – Proper training

  Elizabeth left the Trial of Determination in a bit of a daze. The Trial had been scary, but in a different way than the first one. In the beginning, she had ran like her life depended on it, but realized she would never make it to the end like that. At some point during the Trial, it had clicked in her head, and she began to take back control. She had to force herself to slow down and ignore the things happening around her, just focus on what was before her. It felt so wrong and against every instinct she had, but she had done it.

  Teresa and Savgar had helped her with her running and, with the magical strength the armor gave her, she felt confident in her ability to run for hours, so long as she remained in control and didn’t let her fear take over. She had to keep telling herself that everything was okay and to just keep running. The obstacles were just distractions. Everything was trying to stop her and prevent her from reaching the end, but she wouldn’t let it control her.

  Now she was looking at a series of System Prompts informing her about the skills and stat points she had gained. Since she first arrived, she had gained a few skills, but she had never seen such increases as she had since she started these Trials. Already, she had crossed the first threshold in a couple of stats.

  “Welcome back!” Arbour called to her.

  “Hi Arbour,” Elizabeth answered. “I finished the Trial.”

  “How was it?”

  “Scary,” Elizabeth admitted. “But not as scary or difficult as I was imagining.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Arbour said. “Do you need a break? There are only two trials left.”

  “No, I’m feeling fine. Which one should I do next.”

  “Let’s see,” Arbour said thinking for a moment. “The Trial of Reason would be less dangerous, and less physical so if you need to take a breather that might be a good choice. However, if you are feeling fine, then perhaps the Trial of Perseverance would be the most useful for you right now.”

  “That’s the one where you have to fight, right?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Yes,” Arbour said.

  “Then I’ll do that one,” Elizabeth said determined.

  “Are you sure?” Arbour said. “You have plenty of time. You don’t need to rush through them.”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “I’ll need to do it eventually. The longer I take to do it, the worse I’ll make it out to be. I just need to get through it, like eating my vegetables.”

  Arbour shuddered at that, but Elizabeth wasn’t sure why.

  “Then best of luck,” Arbour said.

  *~*

  “What is this?” Ciao complained.

  Jack and Elaine had followed Daniel back to the library they had found before. Daniel wanted to try and work on translating the books and scrolls within and as Jack promised he had brought Ciao to explore the library. With the way things were going right now, it might be a while before he was able to make it back to this place.

  “What?” Jack asked. Ciao was staring down at an open book with an annoyed look on her face.

  “I can’t read any of this,” Ciao said.

  “We told you that none of us could read their language,” Jack said.

  “I have a translating ability,” Ciao grumbled. “So long as it is written, I should be able to read it.”

  “Those abilities are not omnipotent,” Daniel said. “The less well known the language is, the higher the skill needs to be to translate it. There are also some languages that resist those skills.”

  “I am aware,” Ciao hissed. “I can translate all the common languages of this planet, including Draconian and Primordial. I can even translate some Abysmal, but I am getting nothing from this language. What is it?”

  “The System calls it Karzasic?” Jack said from his workspace. He and Elaine were working on their Alchemy nearby. Jack had to stay close so there wouldn’t be an issue with Ciao accessing the library. They were still trying to figure out what the limit of the tether for their bond was.

  “Karzasic?” Ciao said looking at the book more inquisitively. “Like the city? Is it the secret language of the Order? Is it written in a code?”

  “Still trying to figure all that out,” Jack said from over his cauldron. Currently, Elaine was taking the time to teach Jack some of the basics of Alchemy so he could continue working on it when they separated.

  “How is your quest coming along?” Daniel asked.

  “I’m close,” Jack said. “Currently at ninety-five percent in Elvish but just can’t seem to get that last bit.”

  “What quest is this?” Ciao asked curiously.

  “I have a quest that will let me learn any language of my choosing once I complete it,” Jack said. “I just need to become fluent in one first to complete it.”

  “Might be still relying on English to fill in the gaps a bit,” Daniel said. “You should try speaking in only Elvish until you complete it.”

  “Could work,” Jack muttered. “I am going to be with only Sylvian and Rayne for a while anyways. I don’t think Rayne will like that much.”

  “You need to focus more. You see this bit” Elaine said, pointing to a part of the concoction that was starting to bubble. “You want the ingredients to simmer and mix with each other. Not burn or separate. Adjust the heat a bit and keep the mixture moving.”

  “Right,” Jack said following her instructions. “How do you know when it is done? I’ve gotten used to using the System and my Mana to tell me, but I don’t think my Mana will be a good indicator here. I’m constantly using it as I brew the potion. Is there another way?”

  “Eventually, it should start to become instinctual,” Elaine said. “But for now, I would just let the System inform you. It will be the easiest way, but that doesn’t mean you can’t keep improving on it. Just be careful, you can easily ruin a viable concoction by trying to improve it too much.”

  “So, experiment a little,” Jack said. “Is there anything I need to be worried about when creating these?”

  “This is a simple weak Health potion we are making,” Elaine said. “There shouldn’t be anything to worry about at this point. But don’t work with poison unless you have a decent poison resistance. Some poisons can affect you by the smell alone. Add more powder verbena now, and a drop more of Mana.”

  “You should hurry and complete that quest,” Ciao continued. “Then I can borrow your knowledge on the language and learn it myself.”

  “Wait, you can do that?” Jack asked looking up at Ciao.

  “There are limits,” Ciao said pulling a new book off a shelf. “I can’t do that with any Knowledge you gain on say Alchemy, but languages are always shared between Familiars and Minions.”

  “It is mostly so that the Familiar and the summoner can understand each other,” Daniel said not looking up from his stack of books.

  “That makes sense,” Jack said. “Wait, did you just call me your minion?”

  “Focus,” Elaine pulling Jack’s attention back to the cauldron. “Should be soon.”

  *Item created: Weak Rejuvenating Potion (Trash)*

  Restores a small amount of Health and Stamina.

  -Only one of these potions should be consumed within one day of each other.

  -Experience gained

  *Quest received: Novice Craftsman*

  You have started down the path of a true craftsman working to improve your foundation and understanding by seeking training from those that know more.

  -Craft five different items under the guidance of a teacher (1/5)

  Reward: To be determined

  *Quest received: Multicrafter*

  One craft is not enough for you. You want to do it all.

  -Create ten different items across at least five different professions. (1/10)

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Reward: To be Determined.

  “Weak rejuvenating potion,” Jack muttered. “And a couple of new quest as well.”

  “Rejuvenating? Not Health?” Elaine asked, inspecting the potion. “The ingredients were probably not refined enough.”

  “It says only one should be consumed per day,” Jack said. “I don’t remember that being a thing with the other potions.”

  “These are trash rank,” Elaine said. “Very impure. The higher the rank of potion the less toxic it is and easier for you to consume. There was a limit to the ones I made too, but those were common and uncommon rarity.”

  “What happens if you consume more beyond the limit?” Jack asked.

  “Either nothing, if you are lucky, or you could be poisoned,” Elaine said.

  “What should we do with this one then?” Jack asked. “We only have a few bottles left.”

  “We could get rid of some of the Aspect vials we have,” Elaine said. “We still haven’t found much use for that, and we can make more if we need it.”

  Jack pulled out the twelve remaining vials of the different Aspects they had refined a while ago. He only had one and a half vials left of every refined Affinity except wind. It had taken Jack a day to refine the ones he made, but Elaine was right that they were basically just taking up space at this time.

  “What are those?” Ciao asked, coming closer.

  “Something we made from refining the Aethyr we found here,” Jack said. “Come to think of it, couldn’t Zephyr use these in this state?”

  “Yes, the wind Aspect ones,” Daniel said. “Sylphs are a type of elemental creature and have a natural ability to process their elemental nature easier than others.”

  “I’m an elemental creature,” Ciao purred, almost hypnotized by the vials.

  “You are?” Elaine asked.

  “I’m made up of Darkness and Light and shift between the two,” Ciao said still not taking its eyes off the vials. “Is it not obvious?”

  “Honestly,” Jack said. “I have given up trying to figure out what you are and just accepted that you were strange.”

  “How dare you!” Ciao hissed. “I demand an apology. Those vials will do. The Darkness and Light ones.”

  Jack looked to Elaine who shrugged. “We were just talking about throwing it out.”

  “Not sure I like the attitude though,” Jack said turning back to the cat. “I’ll tell you what, you can have them, but these count as my monthly donation of Mana.”

  “Deal,” Ciao said jumping on top of Jack and grabbing the vials. Jack barely had any time to react before Ciao had already swallowed the content of one vial and was working on the second.

  “What does that even do for elementals?” Jack asked Daniel.

  “I’m not sure,” Daniel said who was watching the exchange, intrigued.

  “Stat growth,” Ciao send after finishing the remaining vials. “You humans have a Luck stat I believe. It is similar to that. We have Elemental Affinity as a stat, but it is not one that we can increase through levels or work. We must consume treasures related to our affinity to increase it. In this Realm, there are very few that can be found.”

  “Similar to how some beasts improve,” Daniel muttered. “And those vials count as a treasure?”

  “No,” Ciao said rolling off Jack and curling up on the floor. “But it is close. I need to process this to make the most use of it. Don’t wake me.”

  “That’s something,” Elaine said. “At least that is one use.”

  “What does our luck stat even do for us?” Jack asked.

  “Were you not told during your tutorial?” Elaine asked.

  “Just that it interacts with the System in some way,” Jack said.

  “Luck is a little bit of a misnomer for the stat,” Daniel said. “It doesn’t really make you lucky. Instead, it sort of encourages the System to pay more attention to you. You’ll find more quests and opportunities. The reward you get for overcoming difficult challenges will also be better, the list goes on.”

  “I like better rewards,” Jack said. “How doesn’t that make you lucky?”

  “You still have to overcome those quests, opportunities, or challenges with your skill,” Daniel explained. “Nothing will just be handed to you like winning the lottery.”

  “Something to think about at least,” Jack said looking down at the four now empty vials. “Waste not, want not?” Jack said collecting the potion in the vials. There was just enough to fill three of them.

  “It’s not really worth keeping trash rank creations,” Elaine said. “Especially with our limited resources.”

  “We can replace it if needed,” Jack said. “Probably will have to. You think I can finish this quest today before we go?”

  “What quest you got?” Elaine asked. “Is it the Novice Craftsman one?”

  Jack nodded. “And another called Multicrafter. Need to make nine more items across at least five different professions for that one.”

  “Never heard of that one,” Daniel said.

  “I think it is because of the number of professions I have,” Jack explained. “Wouldn’t be able to complete it if I didn’t have at least five crafting professions.”

  “We can probably do the Novice one,” Elaine said. “But I don’t know about the other.”

  “I could help you with a little bit of Enchanting,” Daniel said. “But we would need an enchantment, a focus, something to enchant, something to hold the Mana.”

  “I learned three upon getting the class,” Jack said. “Increase durability, strength, and speed.”

  Daniel hummed in thought for a moment as he scratched his chin. “Do you still have some of the weapons that the goblins used?”

  “Yeah,” Jack said, pulling out a club. “Teresa was saying we might be able to use them to train with.”

  “We can do that too,” Daniel said. “But we might be able to practice with them in enchanting as well. Bring out one of the daggers and that vial of Earth Aspect.”

  Jack brought the requested items over as they huddled over the desk Daniel was using. They had to move the stack of books aside to make room. Daniel took the dagger and vial from Jack and began to etch a diagram into the club using the dagger to cut into the wood. He spoke as he worked, explaining what he was doing.

  “Enchanting requires in-depth understanding of not just the magic you are using, but also the thing you are enchanting. This,” Daniel said indicating the club. “Is a trash rank club with nothing special involved in the making. As such, the amount of Mana it will be able to hold is small. Right now, if you were to channel all your Mana into this weapon, it would explode as the matrix of the material couldn’t handle it. Don’t worry about the material’s matrix right now. Just understand that we need to be careful about what we use to enchant it with.”

  “To enchant, you need a formation, this is the enchantment, also called a diagram. Right now, I am using the dagger to design it, but later I’ll use the dagger as a focus for channeling the Aspects into it. Typically, we use specialized tools called conduits for that step. Those are special etching or writing tools for channeling Mana, but we can make do without that for something this simple. Lastly, we have the focus. this is the substance that will hold and channel the Mana for the enchantment to function. It has to be able to retain the Mana and direct it so that the enchantment will continue to work when someone is not directly supplying it. To put simply, the enchantment tells the Mana what to do and the focus is like the battery for it. We will use the Earth Aspects for the focus in this enchantment. It will not last very long as liquid Aethyr isn’t very stable. Normally we would use something like powdered Mana crystals or powdered cores for the focus. Those can continuously draw mana in and make the enchantment possibly last indefinitely.”

  Daniel finished carving the enchantment as his lecture came to an end. He placed the club on the table for them to see. Jack could clearly see the simple design he had worked into the wood, just deep enough to look like it had been minted.

  “Can you just draw the diagram?” Elaine asked. “Or do you need to work the enchantment into the material?”

  “You can draw it if you have a decent conduit that is able to facilitate the binding of the enchantment to the item,” Daniel said. “Most halfway decent conduits do just that. If you get a chance, I recommend investing in a good one. But without that we need to use a little more force to ensure the diagram stays connected to the item.”

  “Is there a reason you specified using the Earth Aspects?” Jack asked.

  “Is it that wood has a natural Affinity for earth?” Elaine asked.

  “It is,” Daniel confirmed. “Wood has decent synergy with Earth Affinity already, so it will bind better with the club. Though I have never used Aspects in my enchanting before. It might result in some new effects outside the enchantment. I’m going to fill in the diagram I etched with the Aspects from the vial. The difficult part here is that once again we are missing a conduit to help with the transfer, and it is not advisable to touch pure Aspects or Aethyr for long, so I will be using the dagger again to channel the contents of the vial into the diagram.”

  “Like a quill and ink?” Jack asked. Daniel nodded but remained focus on his work.

  They watched as Daniel pulled the earth aspects from the vial to the tip of the dagger in a long string of Mana. It was similar to when Jack was refining the mixture, only Daniel’s string of Aethyr was thinner than Jack’s had been able to make it. Once he had enough on the dagger, Daniel worked the aspects into the enchantment methodically until the whole etching was shining with Earth aspects. The process didn’t take Daniel long, only a few minutes of work.

  “Now that it is set,” Daniel said continuing his instructions. “We can finally infuse our Mana into it.”

  Jack sensed a small amount of Mana begin to flow from Daniel into the club. It wasn’t even close to what he was used to sensing when Daniel cast his spells, but it felt much more controlled. As he worked, the diagram on the club began to glow, until it filled out completely and Daniel stopped supplying Mana to it. The Enchantment continued to glow, even after Daniel was done, but not as strong as it had before.

  “And that is basically the process,” Daniel said handing the club and dagger back to Jack.

  Jack inspected the club using his Analyze skill.

  *Item: Crude Club (Trash)*

  -Enchantment: Increased hardness

  “So, this is the enchantment for hardness,” Jack said making sure to take a mental image of the design.

  “Go ahead and try what I did,” Daniel said. “Both of you, if you like. It doesn’t require the profession to make enchantments. It is also great practice for Mana Manipulation. I can also show you the enchantment for increased sharpness, but that would have been a waste on a club.”

  Jack produced another dagger and a couple more clubs. He offered one set to Elaine who took it eagerly. They worked in silence as Daniel went back to trying to translate another book, only glancing up to check on their work every few minutes.

  The first part, etching the diagram, took the longest for Jack. He kept using too much force and the design ended up too warped to recognize. It took him a few tries but soon he was looking at a near identical copy of Daniel’s enchantment. The rest was simpler for him. He already had experience with manipulating the Aspects and was able to transfer the Aspect over to the club with relative ease. His biggest concern was if he had distributed the Earth Aspect evenly enough.

  Eventually, Jack moved on to the final part and started channeling his Mana into the diagram. He started out with a trickle of Mana and slowly increased it until it began to light up as Daniel’s had. He kept the flow of Mana moving until he eventually got the System Prompt he was looking for.

  *Item created: Crude club (Trash)*

  -Enchantment: Increased hardness

  *Level up! Enchanting (Level 2)*

  +2 Int., +1 Wis.

  “It worked,” Elaine said looking up from her own club.

  “You too?” Jack asked.

  “Even increased my Mana Manipulation skill,” Elaine said.

  Daniel looked over their work. “Not bad. You should be able to apply the same logic to other items, just be careful with what you are enchanting.”

  “I got three other diagrams for enchanting,” Jack said. “I could do those and complete the first quest. Could be good practice as well.”

  “You can do that later,” Elaine said. “We should get back to Alchemy. Most of the morning is gone now, and I still need to show you how to create a Stamina and Mana potion. I won’t be able to help you later.”

  “Can you also show me how to make a simple poison?” Jack asked. “I need poison to help my spear out. I can switch the poison it uses with anything I treat it with.”

  “I can,” Elaine said. “But again, we need to be careful when working with poisons. If you haven’t decided on a Body Cultivation path yet, you might want to consider a poison constitution. It will help with Alchemy.”