Chapter Sixty-Four - Physical Manakinesis

Chapter Sixty-Four - Physical Manakinesis

Chapter Sixty-Four - Physical Manakinesis

Pull little lass! Abraham shouted from the other side of the ship.

I planted my two feet on the railing, wrapped my upper arm around the rope and pushed off as hard as I could until my entire body was horizontal. The rope came with me, but only with some effort and I had to grit my teeth against the strain on my arm.

The sail whose line I was pulling finally deployed, and with a whap its canvas caught the wind and expanded.

In moments Abraham was by my side and he caught me before I fell onto the deck. Then, with deft hands, he grabbed the rope and tied it into a quick knot on a nearby metal hook. Haha! We almost died there! he cheered.

I was grinning like a loon as I tried to keep my feet as the Shady Lady shifted and began to turn, the sail I had deployed allowing the airship to twist around a little and change course. That was handy, because right in the direction he had been heading in was an entire flock of whales.

A pod of whales?

I wasnt sure which word was the right one to describe gigantic flying fish the size of semi-trailers. They were big, grey, and moved through the air in much the same way as whales moved through the ocean. Insight.UppTodated from nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)/m

An Eastern Skim Murgh, level 9.

Whaa, I said as I leaned against the rails to take in the entire group of gigantic flying creatures. They were majestic, in their own way. Like fat people in a supermarket.

Youre easily impressed, Amaryllis said. She was looking a little dishevelled, with her hair tossed this way and that and her clothes already covered in stains from being near the big blubbering engine at the back of the ship for too long.

How can you not be, this is great! I cheered.

Oh-hoh, a lady after my own heart. My, if I was forty years younger Id be smitten on the spot, Abraham said before he moved to the back of the ship, pulled a bottle of something from a rack, took a swig of it, then emptied the rest into a hole above the engine. Raynald! Remind me to get the engine checked again.

The dapper grenoil, who was currently behind the wheel, shook his head. A head that looked rather strange with a pair of elongated aviator goggles tied to it. I reminded you at Port Royal, you insufferable oaf! the grenoil said. You said you had it in hand.

I did! I even commissioned a repairman to look at the old monster.

Did zey? Raynald screamed right back.

Theyre supposed to show up this afternoon, Abraham shouted back. Haha! Theyll be surprised that weve left already.

World save us all, Raynald said.

Amaryllis stared at the two older gentlemen, then glared at me. This is all your fault, somehow, she said.

Dont worry, I said. If we die, itll be while having tons of fun.

Haha! Thats the spirit! Abraham said. Why, you remind me of that time Raynald and I were sent to escort a diplomat from the Pyrowalk Empire all the way to Mattergrove! Easy trip, and the lass they sent was a nice enough lady, but the Shady Lady had a bit of a buoyancy problem.

A buoyancy problem? Amaryllis repeated.

Yup! We lost our balloon when we flew through a flight of saber sparrows!

You... you lost your. Amaryllis looked up to the balloon above us, the thing that was currently keeping us afloat. Thats unbelievable.

Oh? Saber sparrows are a well-known threat. And they taste great roasted over a campfire, Abraham said.

Grinning, I hopped over to one of the metal doodads on the deck and sat down to listen, the whales flowing past us to one side serving as a backdrop and the rushing winds as music to accentuate the tale.

Whats unbelievable is you surviving that kind of crash.

Oh, neat, so I can learn Fireball.

Amaryllis huffed and took my hand in hers. Far from being romantic, she moved my arm up and pointed it off the side of the ship. Push mana out, she said.

I did as she asked until I had a rough ball of my mana in my hand.

Good, now shift its aspect.

I did that too, frowning as I thought hot thoughts and the mana warmed up in my hand and started to flicker and dance like a flame.

Not bad. A bit slow, but that is Fire-aspect mana if Ive ever seen it. You were using Grigoris Fireball, right?

I was? I asked. I got it from a scroll. Its in my bag still.

It doesnt matter. I think I recognize the spell, not that its terribly complex. Start forming it again, she instructed.

I focused and started to form the ball part of the fireball, then I noticed little tendrils of mana snaking around my own, these charged with an almost humming, electric quality. When the tendrils touched my skin it was like I was pressing my hand against a transformer.

Are you doing something?

I told you to make the spell, not ask foolish questions, she said.

I decided to trust that Amaryllis knew what she was doing and continued to form the Fireball. The tendrils of Amaryllis magic pushed and prodded the magic into slightly different shapes.

Look at the new form, pay attention to it, she said.

R-right, I said.

Soon I had what definitely looked like a translucent Fireball floating in the air just above the surface of my hand.

Good. Cast it.

Um. How?

Amaryllis sighed so hard it ruffled the hair by my neck. The trigger on this spell is near the cone. Pull on that and push it out with your mana at the same time. Some people like to push their hand forwards too.

Got it, I said.

I found the thing I thought was the trigger in the spell, then at the same time as I yanked on it, I closed my hand into a fist and punched forwards.

The spell launched.

A trail of heated air followed after the fist-sized ball of fire. I laughed as the Fireball rushed ahead, screaming through the air. Then it started to spin out of control like a deflating balloon. For a moment I was worried it would come back, but it exploded a dozen meters away into a ball of fire with tiny electrical sparks flashing throughout.

I did it! I cheered as I got up.

Congra-- Amaryllis began, but she was cut off as I hugged the air out of her lungs.

Thank you! Thank you! I said.

Ding! For repeating a Special Action a sufficient number of times you have unlocked the general skill: Physical Manakinesis!

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