Chapter 44: Several Marathons

Chapter 44: Several Marathons

Instead of charging off into the distance, the first thing Nathan did was take an inventory. The Heir's bedrolls and almost all of the gear had been levitated and teleported wholesale by Baduds spells - including every single dimensional bag. However, they'd finished setting up camp before collapsing for the night.

That meant various gear and items were scattered around the area, including makings for breakfast tomorrow morning and the magical cooking equipment to prepare it. There were a few other magical odds and ends that Nathan quickly tallied up - Stella had an enchanted tarp that could be erected in case of rain, and Aarl had left out a lightstone that mimicked a flashlight in function.

Regardless of what other value those items have, right now theyre worth Stamina, which is speed, and thus time. The resource I most want to deny my enemies. The less time I give Taeol, the less bad things happen to the Heirs. I hope.

Nathan surveyed it all, building a mental list of how much magic each item carried with respect to its weight. Hed need to bring most of the food to stay fed, but he wanted to bring only items which were enchanted enough to be worth the load.

After all, once I hit my Stamina cap, both absorption and Stamina usage are less efficient until I drop past my cap again.

Nathan absently stuck a bare foot into the fire, absorbing the long-lasting spell that Stella had left there to provide them with heat. Then he went through the kitchenware, absorbing the mana from the cooking pot - heating and cleaning enchantments. He likewise broke down the enchantments in the plates and the canvas shelter and checked his Stamina.

Deepened Stamina: 3787/3810

He snapped the serving spoon in half, which ticked his Stamina up to max. Then Nathan nodded and surveyed the stuff he was planning to carry. He dumped all of the usual odds and ends out of his knapsack, rescued the jerky and packed in all of the remaining food. The lightweight enchanted items went on the outside layer so theyd be as far from his skin as possible.

Then with one last glance around camp, Nathan stopped suppressing the urge to go. He sprinted out of the rock formation, heading north through the darkness. The lack of clouds meant that the blue and white glow of the world above illuminated the landscape well enough for him to see, and [Notice] took care of any ambiguity in footing.

Nathan ran for hours across the barren landscape, the scenery blurring together as he just kept going. He tried to focus on the run, on his plans and intentions. He didnt want to start imagining what might be happening out in Halsmet.

I hope Taeol likes his beauty sleep. He was up kind of late last night, after all.

Night turned to day with the suddenness of a cosmic lightswitch, and Nathan sped up slightly. He had done some running back on Earth, but never long-distance or cross-country. With the Heirs hed run a few miles at a time, but now he was looking to run over a hundred miles in a day. Through mountains full of dangerous ruins. But Nathan wasn't worried about motivation. The knot of hatred and worry in his gut pushed him onwards even as it made it hard to breathe.

Im not sure of the exact distance but not because I can't remember the map, its because the map isnt really to scale. But I know the direction to Halsmet.

Luckily, there were some big landmarks to guide him - the mountains, and a few peaks in particular. Halsmet was due north of a giant half-crater that had been left when a dungeon exploded fifty years ago with enough force to spray half of a peak over the rest of the range.

Halsmet was a militarized city, residing as it did in a large valley on the direct line between Gemore and Giantsrest. It had been the launching point for every Giantsrest attack on Gemore, and was the focal point of patrols in these mountains from both sides.

Im not going to worry about that yet. Ill figure out a way to sneak in. My worry now is getting there before they're expecting me.

So far the running hadnt been too bad - Nathan was spending Stamina at a steady clip to keep himself sprinting along over the rugged terrain. He was sticking to valleys and trying to avoid the dungeons that dotted the landscape. Most of them let him pass peacefully, but a grove of trees had launched barbed thorns as he passed by, each of them coated in a paralytic poison.

Dungeons dont always look like dungeons. Sometimes they look like spooky forests. Wheres the dungeon thats a spring filled with hot people? I wouldnt stop now, but Id mark it down as a place to come back to later.

The run was going well - but Nathan was well aware that his Stamina was dropping rapidly. His Rage kept trying to activate, and it took constant attention to keep the furious blaze of anger under control. He needed to pace himself, keep his Rage suppressed, and figure out better paths around the dungeons. He couldnt skirt miles out of his way to avoid every fortress or spooky tower. But he also didnt want to die because he walked too close to the wrong ancient ruin and it dropped a giant rock on his head.

One problem at a time. Running first. Stop thinking about other things, and focus on running.

Nathan varied his pace, feeling his Stamina tick down while he tried out different breathing methods and running patterns. It was hard - he found himself naturally settling into a meditative trance as he ran, relaxing his attention as his legs carried him forward. The relaxation lasted until Nathan saw a giant face carved into a cliff, with giant green flames burning in its eyes. Winged figures launched themselves from the eyes now and then, and he could swear that a few of them were watching him.

He diverted himself from the valley, spending Stamina to climb the slope across from the Fortress of the Face. The steep slope jolted Nathan out of the rhythm, and he spent nearly a hundred Stamina on the rapid ascent.

Thats not sustainable.

Then he was going down the far side, and the variable slope once more confounded his attempts to find an efficient rhythm. It was maddening. Nathans anxiety had been building, and this minor frustration saw it spike.

At this rate Im going to run out of Stamina and be dead on my feet by the time I arrive. If I arrive. Likely enough Ill just get eaten by a dungeon. Wouldnt that be a thing. At least it would really confuse Taeol and Badud if I vanished from Davrar.

Nathan slowed down. He closed his eyes for a moment, relaxing his shoulders and settling back into rhythmic breathing. Stress and tension weren't going to help him here. He needed to be loose and relaxed as he ran.

Dont force it. Just settle into a rhythm and let it adjust to the terrain.

Nathan ran another hour like that, learning the rhythm. He ran over fields of broken stone and across sandy slopes, allowing his subconscious to pick out the obstacles in front of him and only keeping a conscious eye out for any Dungeons revealed by each new valley.

He almost missed the next dungeon - which was camouflaged into a low hill. Without antimagic letting him see through the illusions, Nathan would have run right into the hidden pits and fallen prey to the dog-sized insects lurking within. As it was, he ran at an angle, outpacing the springing leaps of the hunters that chased him.

I dont even have to change my pace to leave them behind.

Congratulations, you have developed the [Mid-tier Sprinting] utility skill into [High-tier Sprinting].

Utility skill: [High-tier Sprinting]

This skill will help you run very quickly in the future and increase the Stamina efficiency for running. Will not allow you to run in circumstances where you couldnt otherwise.

Excellent. Now I can just keep going.

Nathan kept his pace up through the difficult terrain, keeping a tight leash on his Rage. His Stamina was ticking down - but more slowly than before. He took a few short breathers throughout the morning to munch on food, not eating too much at once.

The scenery around him was unique - this wasnt just a gorgeous range of mountains, it had also been carved into dungeons by multiple different civilizations. Each dungeon was unique and interesting, but Nathan struggled to appreciate it - to pull himself back from the worry and fear gnawing at his gut. The fear of what might be happening to his friends at that very moment.

The day marched on, and the terrain got rougher. Several times Nathan was forced to detour past mountains to find a pass that wasnt just a sheer cliff face. As he moved north some of the taller peaks became capped with snow, but none of it extended down into the valleys.

I filled up my Stamina and even got a unique skill Development. Lets not overstay my welcome before it decides to bury me in the mountain.

Nathan sprinted across the rest of the flat space before the tower decided to up its game. He reached the far side and almost tripped over his own feet at the view that greeted him.

The back of the mountain was a sheer cliff stretching thousands of feet straight down - into a chasm which extended deep into the ground. Beyond the crevasse was a green valley marked with a patchwork of farms.

And just visible beyond the next mountain was a city.

Halsmet.

Skill comparison:

[Mid-tier Sprinting]:

This skill will help you run very quickly in the future. Will not allow you to run in circumstances where you couldnt otherwise

[High-tier Sprinting]:

This skill will help you run very quickly in the future and increase the stamina efficiency for running. Will not allow you to run in circumstances where you couldnt otherwise.

[High-Tier Spellsense]

This skill will help you identify mana types and the detailed construction of spells more easily. Helps you understand the overall purpose of spells and how individual elements contribute to that purpose. Does not grant understanding of how to weave mana together for specific spells.

[Magical Perception]

This skill lets you sense the mana around you and understand its purpose.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Magic Absorption 10

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 4

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 8

Class: Implacable Antimage level 117

Stamina: 3810/3810

Antimages Impassivity

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Improved Antimagic

Strenuous Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 5

High-tier Earnestness 9

High-tier Sprinting 2

Magical Perception 1

High-tier Notice 4

High-tier Identify 5

High-tier Dodging Footwork 5

High-tier Enhanced Memory 7

Mid-tier Lecturing 8

High-tier Tumbling 2