Chapter 312: Improvement for All

Mike touched down outside of the training area, and began walking towards the cabin. Based on the mental responses he was getting from his summoned creatures, Sera still hadn't gotten the hang of fighting without sight, but was starting to make progress.

He stopped, however, when he caught sight of something unexpected.

A stand of trees had popped up a little ways away from the cabin, for all intents looking like it had been there for years. However, he was quite certain that area had been a barren patch of dirt an hour ago. Curious, he set off to investigate.

Drawing closer, his growing suspicions were confirmed as he heard a male voice humming contentedly from within the small patch of woodland.

Eventually, the figure of Reber came into view, suspended between two trees on a hammock made of thick vines. He was gently rocking side to side while wordlessly singing a song that Mike vaguely recognized from his past life. It was an older one that was played on the radio every now and then, but he couldn't remember the name.

"Yo!" Reber waved relaxedly from his hammock once Mike moved into his line of sight. "What's up?"

"Just checking out the newest addition to our demi-realm. How'd you manage to make it so fast?"

"A magician never reveals his tricks." The treeman replied with a sly smile while tapping the side of his head. "Luckily for you, I never managed to make it past the disappearing ball bit. Your elf friend lent me her mana storage item for a bit, and I was able to grow these in about thirty minutes."

Mike paused for a few seconds to digest that. He wasn't sure what to be more impressed with, that Reber was able to cultivate this level of growth with just the mana in the bracer, or that the amount of energy stored within it made such a big difference compared to when the druid was using his own reserves.

"That's quite the achievement. Did something change from last time?"

"Something did, actually. I picked up a Hero's Companion title, which I'm guessing I have you to thank for. Appreciate it, by the way. It made it a lot easier to practice my skills and helped me make a few big breakthroughs. I can safely say that I've improved more in the last week than I have my entire life up to this point."

To demonstrate that point, he pointed at the ground and muttered another sing-song chant. A sapling sprouted from the soft earth and quickly grew to about a meter and a half. Mike was wondering why he chose this particular means of demonstration, but it all became clear when the treeman reached over and deposited his cup of water on the waiting branches which seemed to have been perfectly formed to hold it.

Suppressing a chuckle, Mike replied. "Still, this amount of development is pretty impressive."

"Nah, these are Needle Oaks. Quick growing trees. Under normal circumstances, they would reach this height in a couple years. Of course, they're pretty flimsy as a consequence, so they have trouble surviving rough storms. Shouldn't be an issue here, though."

"About that. We actually just came back from a flying island inhabited by a race of technologically advanced bird people. While we were there, we met up with a group of smugglers and picked up a device that will allow us to better control the functions of the demi-realm."

"Cool." Reber replied while casually taking another sip of his drink.

"I've gone ahead and set it to produce a light rainshower every week or so, but I wanted to check with you to make sure that will be enough."

"Hard to say. That depends a lot on what you're trying to grow. Should be good for more temperate forest biomes, if you want to go that direction. It's not a bad choice by any means, but we'll probably have to introduce some additional fauna in order to properly mimic the ecosystem."

"...Out of curiosity. What did you do for a living back on Earth?"

The treeman gave him a sidelong glance, "Cashier mostly. Didn't have much of a chance to branch out on other paths before I got sent here."

"No offense, but you sound a bit too well informed about this kind of thing. I have a hard time believing that the druids taught you what a biome or ecosystem was."

"Then I have succeeded in my goal of seeming more intelligent than I am. Honestly, I'm just trying to recall what I learned in my bio and ecology courses back in grad school."

Mike blinked in surprise, but before he could inquire further, Reber continued. "Anyway, that amount of rain should be enough, and we can always adjust it later, if it's not. More importantly, how'd it go with the feisty girl?"

"Feisty? You mean Sera?"

"Yeah, that one. You were in there for a good two hours." He replied with a vague gesture in the direction of the training area Mike had thrown together. "Get any good results?"

"Ah. Well, she's definitely improving, but there's still a long way ahead of her."

Reber cocked a wooden eyebrow at him. "Are you talking about training or something? Thought for sure I'd be hearing some spicier details considering how agitated she's been since you came back."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but that's all we've done over there."

[Which is technically true, since the deeply personal conversation took place in the cabin.]

"None of my business either way, I suppose." Reber replied with a shrug before standing and stretching. "Think I'm going to step out and get a taste of the sea air before the portal closes again. Might even try to get a few of the crewmembers to hand over some of their whiskey rations. Let me know if you need me to grow anything in particular going forward."

[Would alcohol actually affect him in his current form? I'm kind of interested to find out, now.]

"Alright, I'll do that."

"Oh, and you should definitely feed that dragon in your pocket. It looks like it's close to starving."

"Even though I just fed her a whole chicken...wait a minute, how do you know she's hungry?"

"Druid thing. I can sense the relative health of most living things in the near vicinity and get basic information about what's wrong with them, if anything. My instincts are telling me that you little buddy is quite famished."

Mike sighed. "Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. She's been sleeping more and more lately. I feel like I haven't seen her looking lively in weeks. I just wish I knew what she needs to get better."

Reber walked over and gave his pocket a speculative look. "This is just a hunch, but wouldn't more food be a good place to start?"

"I've tried that, but she'll just eat for a while and then go back to sleep."

"Sounds to me like a problem with her diet." The treeman replied while idly tapping the side of his face. "What kinds of things do you normally feed her?"

"Pretty much whatever I'm eating, since most dragon lore's been pretty consistent that they can gain nutrients from just about anything."

"Does she show interest in any particular type of food?"

"I mean, she's pretty crazy about mana cores, I suppose."

Reber patted his shoulder while walking past. "Then there's your solution. You need to feed her more of those."

"They're not exactly common. Besides, why would she need to eat them?"

"Dragons are predators, right? Maybe hunting in dungeons is part of their natural life cycle or something. Of course, the excess mana build up could also cause her to explode...I guess?"

Mike thought back to the summoned lizard he'd recently disintegrated in a similar fashion. "That could be a problem…"

"Well, I doubt that would actually happen since this sounds like an instinctual urge. Anyway, just food for thought." The treeman replied while walking away.

[I suppose there isn't any harm in adding more of them to her diet.] He considered before taking one of the smaller red cores and depositing it in the pocket that Audra was currently occupying. After a brief pause there was a series of loud crunches followed by a satisfied sigh as his familiar returned to her sleep.

[Alright, I'll make sure to swing by the next dungeon we run across and stock up. It would be a good chance to train the others at the same time.]

Lost in thought he idly wandered over to an empty section of the demi-realm and created a chair with Earth Magic. Taking a seat, he turned his mind towards how he would spend the remaining time in the demi-realm.

Based on his best guess, there was probably less than an hour until everyone inside, minus a certain druid, was forcefully removed. In that case, it wasn't really enough for him to really get started on one of his research projects. Besides, he was thinking of consulting Tal and Morris before he went any further with his Life Magic.

He hoped that the pair of them would have some insight into how to best make use of his discoveries. In the meantime he wanted to work on another of his skills and hopefully make some progress.

Pulling out the notebook Emmanuel had given him, he started reading where he'd left off last time.

This particular section detailed a series of techniques used to create a pocket of warped space that was stable enough to be maintained without direct mana investment. According to the notes, which seemed to have been drawn from some other textbook, these methods were the basis of extradimensional storage items, and if he could figure them out, it was likely he could start making some of his own. They also had some combat applications by allowing Space Mages to temporarily trap enemies in virtually inescapable prisons.

[Hmm, isn't that basically what I did with the Invader?] He thought before reading further and discovering the underlying difference being mostly a matter of duration.

[So if I master these abilities, I will be able to remove an enemy from combat for a set period of time without having to maintain the spell? That could definitely come in handy. Let's see, the process starts with some basic spatial awareness exercises...]

Over the course of the next twenty minutes, he followed the instructions in the notebook. Thanks to his experiences with the Invader, the techniques proved easy enough to master and pretty soon he was able to trap a clod of dirt in a bubble of warped space for nearly a minute with little in the way of mana investment.

Excited, he looked at his [Status] to see if he'd made any progress, and was thrilled to see that the rank had gone up again.

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- Basic Space Magic (Tier 3, Rank 3) -

One of the most advanced forms of Elemental Magic. Space Magic allows the user to manipulate the very fabric of reality to produce a number of effects. Characterized by its versatility, it is well known for its use in teleportation, extra-dimensional storage, and spatial distortions. Higher levels of skill increase mana efficiency and the accuracy of space manipulations.

Rank 3 Effects: Personal Storage

- Personal Storage -

Through their increasing understanding and mastery of their chosen element, Space Mages develop the ability to subtly alter the space around them in such a manner that it can be used to store things indefinitely. Higher levels of skill increase the capacity of the storage. Current size: 5 cubic meters.

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"Alright! That's what I've been waiting for!" He cheered, wanting to immediately begin experimenting with the new addition. However, he noticed another addition to his Secondary Skills that brought him up short.

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- Basic Instruction (Tier 1, Rank 2) -

The skill of imparting knowledge and improving the abilities of others. When assuming a teacher-student relationship with another sentient creature, this skill helps guide both parties towards more effective instruction. Provides a scaled, minor enhancement to the rate of skill improvement and acquisition for all students. Higher levels of skill increase the both the bonus and the number of students that can be maintained. Current students: 1/2, Seraphina.

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