Chapter 221: Wood and Drakes

Ilea watched the mages when she prepared herself for more attacks. Keyla hadn’t thrown a single attack after her initial two. Quite destructive fire magic and apparently highly leveled skills compared to the ice shard that had just hit her. It was of course an advanced spell the woman hadn’t used before in their sessions, one that might actually injure her as it grew in level.

Her Ice Resistance however was reaching the end of the first tier, currently sitting at eighteen. It would become more and more difficult to injure her with those skills. Keyla had an even worse prospect against her second tier Heat Resistance. Her skin could take the abuse easily combined with quick healing.

The woman’s anger seemed to have calmed down a little as well, her attitude changing to a more baffled one when the other mages had started their attacks. “You can continue.” She said, smiling a little towards the ice mage who had gotten such a wonderful skill. She hadn’t used chanting before which meant the skill required quite a bit of concentration to use, in turn meaning it was at a rather low level still. This training would be highly beneficial for the ice mage. And for me. Ilea thought.

Her resistances had grown rapidly in the past weeks but she found that in the second stage, she needed harder hitting foes than level one hundred to one fifty humans. Even her Lightning Resistance was only at level five in the second stage and she had trained with Trian for quite a long time and rather intensively. I used my defensive skills then too though. She thought but back then his lightning still did a lot of damage even with her Veil and other buffs.

The attacks started again but Ilea was lost in thought, only occasionally healing the minor injuries from the attacks, all of the first group lacking anything new that she didn’t have a resistance against. Maybe I should check on him again… this might help the man too. She thought. Dagon had been against letting the Alymies out of their hideout but perhaps a little training didn’t hurt. She doubted any remaining Birmingales or sympathetic factions would be influential enough to pay Shadows to do their dirty work.

I’ve been wrong before. Ilea thought, another spike of ice exploding in her stomach, damaging some of her organs before she quickly healed the damage. The attack still didn’t come close to what William had thrown at her in their casual drowning sessions but she wouldn’t tell that to the aspiring ice mage. Her future was hopefully less sadistic and cynical as William’s. Perhaps it should be. Ilea thought, smirking as she locked eyes with the mage, Philly’s expression turning a little uncertain, fearful even. As it should.

Checking through her skills, Ilea considered how long she would have to remain in Ravenhall.

Name: Ilea Spears

Unspent statpoints: 0

Unspent 3rd tier skill points [Azarinth First Hunter]: 0

Unspent 3rd tier skill points [Inheritor of Eternal Ash]: 0

Class 1: Azarinth First Hunter – lvl 230

- Active: Destruction – 2nd lvl 20

- Active: Hunter Recovery – 2nd lvl 20

- Active: State of Azarinth – 3rd lvl 3

- Active: Blink – 3rd lvl 5

- Active: Azarinth Hunter Sphere – 2nd lvl 20

- Passive: Body of the First Hunter – 2nd lvl 20

- Passive: Azarinth Fighting – 2nd lvl 20

- Passive: Hunter’s Sight – 2nd lvl 9

- Passive: Azarinth Perception – 2nd lvl 20

- Passive: Azarinth Reversal – lvl 2nd lvl 18

Class 2: Inheritor of Eternal Ash – lvl 224

- Active: Veil of Ash – 3rd lvl 1

- Active: Form of Ash and Ember – 2nd lvl 20

- Active: Ash Creation – lvl 2nd lvl 20

- Active: Embered Body Heat – 2 rd lvl 4

- Active: Wave of Ember – 2nd lvl 16

- Passive: Ash and Ember Manipulation – 3rd lvl 1

- Passive: Ashen Wings – 2nd lvl 16

- Passive: Eyes of Ash – 2nd lvl 20

- Passive: Body of Ash – 2nd lvl 19

- Passive: Ashen Warrior – 2nd lvl 20

General Skills:

- Elos Standard language - lvl 6

- Identify - lvl 7

- Meditation – lvl 2nd 17

- Poison Resistance – lvl 20

- Heat Resistance – 2nd lvl 3

- Pain Tolerance – 2nd lvl 4

- Mental Resistance – 2nd lvl 10

- Fear Resistance – lvl 5

- Water Resistance – lvl 16

- Wind Resistance – lvl 17

- Lightning Resistance – 2nd lvl 5

- Ice Resistance – lvl 18

- Crystal Resistance – lvl 15

- Earth Magic Resistance – lvl 19

- Arcane Magic Resistance – lvl 15

- Corrosion Resistance – lvl 18

- Light Magic Resistance – lvl 16

- Mist Magic Resistance – lvl 7

- Curse Resistance – 2nd lvl 2

- Mana Drain Resistance – lvl 18

- Health Drain Resistance – lvl 17

- Blast Resistance – lvl 17

- Dark Magic Resistance – lvl 1

- Blood Magic Resistance – lvl 8

- Void Magic Resistance – lvl 7

- Silver Magic Resistance – lvl 1

- Blood Manipulation Resistance – lvl 3

- Veteran – lvl 3

- Heavy Archery – lvl 4

- Harmony of the Drowned – lvl 1

Status:

Vitality: 600

Endurance: 350

Strength 266

Dexterity 350

Intelligence 550

Wisdom 425

Health: 5810/6000

Stamina: 3480/3500

Mana: 3620/4250

Considering how many resistances were about to hit the second tear it might be worth staying another week or two to get those done but the training was getting seriously boring. Plus except for Philipp and Viper, the attacks lacked in impact. Her training was slow if she wasn’t brought to near death or at least lost a couple of limbs with each attack. Meat sales suffer as well like this. She thought when the groups switched, some new faces in the next one.

“The new people please attack first and in turn.” She said, the change bringing her back to the present. Six of them. The first one was a fire mage, by far the most popular choice with adventurers it seemed. Ice was a close second even though it was rather difficult to learn she had read. Elise’s information was sobering when it came to the lacking magic diversity of her training partners. Recorded classes were insane in sheer numbers. There was magic for nearly everything one could think of but as it turned out many of those classes were deemed useless or not powerful enough to even be considered.

Ilea was pretty sure that they simply lacked initial impact compared to more conventional choices. Weather mages for example could only summon weak wind tornadoes at first but having watched some movies back on Earth, she knew the possibilities would be quite extensive. Having seen her own ashen magic develop and grow, Ilea was certain her assumptions were correct. At least the attacks would still be wind magic, which she had a resistance to.

Her thoughts stopped when the girl before her, barely older than fifteen lifted her hands, a small splinter of wood growing in the very air before her. Ilea’s smile widened as the splinter grew into a small spike before it was loosed towards her. It harmlessly bounced off of her skin, making her mood dampen a little but maybe she could still get a new skill out of this. People around the girl murmured about wood creation but most didn’t seem very impressed with her magic. In time, that would change, Ilea knew. She remembered the Birmingale noble and the power he wielded. Against Kyrian and Trian it wasn’t enough in the end but most people she had met would struggle against both of them together.

The girl looked a little distraught, her face getting red after someone had chuckled behind her. “You laugh one more time and I’ll kick your face in understand?” Ilea said and smiled at the girl. “You have a rare class it seems, you should be proud of yourself. Train as much as you want here, you don’t have to pay. Next.” Ilea said and was happy to see some confidence return to the girl. She was thinking about answering but ended up just nodding and taking a step back.

The next mage had a lightning class, a big bolt of it impacting Ilea without even the slightest result. His cocky smile was wiped away just as quickly. His class was definitely nice and his skill in magic rather high but it would take decades to reach Trian’s levels. Or a couple months alone against much higher leveled monsters. The fact that the man was here and not fighting something out in the wild made her think about decades more so than mere months.

The last newcomer was a young man in his early twenties. He looked at Ilea before something gray formed before him, a gray whirl materializing and quickly moving towards her. The whirl surrounded her, Ilea trying to figure out what exactly the magic was with her Sphere as she activated her body enhancement skills to see enhance her senses. Minuscule cuts formed on her skin, quickly healing as the whirl intensified. A minute later it subsided, the man breathing heavily with an extended arm towards her, looking at her with a blank stare.

“Was that ash?” Someone asked.

“Dark magic maybe?” Another mage commented.

“He wouldn’t show that off here would he?” Someone said, engaging in the conversation but Ilea knew it was neither of the two suggested.

“What was that?” She asked the man.

“You’ll see when you gain a resistance to it.” He replied. “Isn’t that why we’re all here?”

“Fair enough. You also don’t have to pay.” Ilea said. He didn’t react but stepped back to the group again as they continued speculating on his magic.

“You may attack freely, I’ll let you know when to stop.” Ilea said but knew already that none of them would get her that far. Philipp was in the next group and might be the first one to actually rip out a good chunk of her health. Although her resistances to his magic had grown immensely, making it a little more difficult for his skills to damage her. It was a good indicator to her, how far resistances alone could take her. His magic would rip through her in a similar fashion but the lessened damage meant her healing had an easier time to deal with it, the initial impact was reduced in the first place and with her Veil that increased the potency of her Resistances, it would pay out exponentially.

The session continued without any major surprises, Ilea growing more bored by the minute. Only Philipp’s destructive arrows bringing some joy and challenge into the whole ordeal from time to time but she didn’t know if she could endure another two or three weeks of this. You have to.

The sentiment was strengthened when she locked eyes with Keyla, the woman giving her best to burn her skin but in the end it only added to the destruction of her leather armor. Someone at the order had to wonder about the missing armors. The normal instructions and training sessions at the Hand would start up again soon, the city rebuilt mostly and the surrounding dungeons and wildlife culled down to their previous state again by the many Shadows that had remained in and around the city. Some of the refugees and traveling adventurers were close enough to two hundred, meaning some might join the ranks of the esteemed mercenary guild.

“That’s it for today.” Ilea said, motioning for the mages to stop as a last rock hit her head, the mage looking around in fear before his eyes met hers. “Careful there tough guy.” She said, the man looking down immediately. “Come again tomorrow if you want to continue the training. Have a good night.” She added and walked towards the group, some of them splitting off into groups while others left alone.

“Wood mage and you with the gray magic.” Ilea spoke out, the two young mages in the process of leaving turned towards her, some of the others looking at them with interest. “Stay for a couple minutes if you will. I have an offer that might interest you.” Ilea said, turning to Keyla whose arms hung a little defeated.

“Did that help any?” Ilea asked when she looked at her.

“I don’t know. You… you’re so strong. Why don’t you…,” Keyla started but stopped and looked at the leaving group of mages and the two remaining ones.

“You’ve seen what Philipp did to me.” Ilea said, the man smirking at that.

“Compared to the first time it’s gotten quite a lot less gruesome.” He said and smiled, biting into an apple he had procured out of nowhere. The man was sitting on the railing that separated the theoretical audience from the pit. Few had watched today’s session as Ilea asked them to pay the same price as joining in.

“I’ve fought a wind mage that broke my bones with his attacks. Inheritor of Storm I believe was his class. Someone I know can curse people and drain out their health while another can rip out your heart without you even seeing her. You knew her Keyla. Did you know what she could do?” Ilea asked, watching the woman consider.

“She was nigh invisible, her mind magic capable of freezing people in their tracks. And yet…,” Ilea said and didn’t continue.

Keyla nodded once after a while, looking to the ground, her claws digging into her own flesh until blood dripped to the sand below.

“We’ll talk about her. But first let me help you out.” Ilea suggested and put a hand on the cook’s shoulder. “If anybody gets your services it’s me after all.” She smiled before hugging her.

“We’ll visit a friend and get you a restaurant.” Ilea said, patting her back.

“A restaurant?” Keyla asked in disbelief.

“Exactly that. Maybe start selling things and get people hooked, build a name and then reveal that you’re a Breed. That would be funny, wouldn’t it.” Ilea said and grinned before letting go of her and turning to the two mages who were still waiting. The man looked like he was considering to leave. Still got him hooked though.

“You two, I’m gonna train with this guy here and I want you to join. Get your skills higher and maybe try to get you to actually damage me. Resistances against your magic would come in quite handy.” Ilea said. “Do you want to join?”

“Y… yes!” The wood mage said and smiled before looking down.

The man looked at her for a while. “I want to get paid.” He said which made her laugh out loud.

“You’re a god damned comedian aren’t you? How much do you think your services should cost?” Ilea asked, quite interested now.

“Ten silver per training session.” He stated immediately.

“And how do you come to that number?” Ilea asked. He had answered immediately so he must’ve thought about it for a while. He didn’t seem like someone to randomly blurt out a number. Not like her.

“That’s a secret.” The man said which made Philipp laugh from the side.

“Are you sure? He seems rather calculative? Knowing all your abilities might be bad for the future you.” Philipp said with a smile and looked at her sideways. “He probably realized you haven’t even checked the bucket over there, full of silver.”

“I mean yea, the price is only there to show it’s a real offer and not some desperate fuck looking for training partners.” Ilea said. The additional funds were of course nice but she could just ask Claire for money if she really needed it. The new mage raised his eyebrows and shook his head ever so slightly.

“You’ll get fifteen silver for each session but they’re six hours at least. Both of you of course.” Ilea said and smiled to the girl. The man looked even more irritated but still didn’t say anything.

“They won’t be allowed into Eregar’s Haven.” Philipp said.

“With us it’s fine. Plenty of workers down there as well.” Ilea said to which he nodded. “Can you take them already? I need to talk to a friend about Keyla here.”

“Of course. Come on then lads.” Philipp said, the two mages following him apprehensively, the girl looking back to Ilea with a smile.

“There’s plenty of restaurants yes.” Claire said after Ilea had asked about possible employment for Keyla.

“What about the one you worked at before?” Ilea asked.

“The Golden Drake. I doubt the elder who owns it would sell it.” Keyla shook her head. “I checked it out before and it looked abandoned anyway.”

“Wait, that name rings a bell.” Claire said and summoned a book, looking through it for a while. “Ah yes. It was owned by elder Wallace Urn. The man died in the demon summoning. There were some… peculiarities but…,” She went on before checking another book. “It went to the empire but I’ll see what I can do. Considering it’s still abandoned I should get a fair price for it. Would that be alright Ilea?” She asked.

“Depends on you Keyla? Any restaurant you’d get would be a success. Want the Golden Drake?”

“Are you insane? Just the property cost alone.” Keyla said but Claire waved her off.

“Even with a higher price than expected it wouldn’t be a problem. You were the cook before? It’s supposed to be one of the most highly esteemed places in Ravenhall. The South of the empire even if this book is to be believed.” Claire explained.

“Yea she’s a fucking amazing cook. Get it and make her the boss. Or do you want a manager and stuff? I’d be fine with you getting the staff you need and managing the place.” Ilea said, Keyla’s mouth opening and closing as her brain overheated.

“I’ll get it done. Give me a couple days. I’ll give you a list of different restaurants for potential staff or you may go out there and find them yourself. Plenty of street food vendors around but I think there’s already enough wealthy folk around to support a couple higher class establishments. To have a name already and the same cook would be beneficial. Can you stay here, we’ll draft up the details.” Claire said and Ilea got up.

“Great that’s settled then. Make sure she’s paid well.” Ilea said and turned to Keyla, “Let her know if you don’t want the Golden Drake. I’ll visit as soon as it’s running. You’ll cook only for me the first two weeks. I need to stock up on your food.” Ilea said and checked her necklace, finding only three meals remaining that were originally prepared by the cook.