Chapter 28

Chapter 28<~> Chapter 28

It’s a new day and time to look over my status again. The main difference in my status since I last checked is Novice Light Mage going up to level 5 and my drawing and ritual magic skills increasing in level. Since we’re about to head out on a real mission I think I’ll put my Black Cat class back on since it seems to be the most powerful class I have access to right now. I’m not sure if it’s really worth investing experience into but the luck minimum and 5 finesse per level really make it seem appealing.

[Status]

Name: Lilith [Surname Undefined]

Race: Succubus (Demon) [Race hidden - Displayed as Beastkin (Sheep)]

Gender: Female

Class: Black Cat Lv. 1

Level: 23

Stat Spread:

Strength: 50

Vitality: 100

Charisma: 10

Luck: 20 (400)

Finesse: 40 (45)

Magic Control: 30

Magic Force: 40

Unallocated Statpoints: 0

Karmic Energy: 1717

Skills:

Haggling Lv. 1

Swordsmanship Lv. 33

Illusion Magic Lv. 3

Light Magic Lv. 2

Light Manipulation Lv. 1

Uuna Riding Lv. 13

Linguistics Lv. 10

Ritual Magic Lv. 3

Drawing Lv. 8

Innate Abilities

Karmic Balance

Karma Awareness

Karmic Resonance

Karmic Retribution

Dominating Authority

Karmic Hypnotism

Soultouched Connection Lv. 1

Racial Traits:

Infernal Heat Resistance

Infernal Cold Resistance

Darksight

Sexual Appetite Lv. 3

Soultouch

Minor Physical Shapeshifting (Succubus)

Titles:

[World Traveler - Hidden Title]

[Origin of Succubi - Hidden Title]

I’d like to equip Intermediate Swordswoman at some point soon so I can unlock the speed stat but it’s not like I have any unallocated points right now anyway. The base 10 speed would be nice but I only get to change my class once a day and it feels safer to go with Black Cat for what we’re doing. I’d like to level up Novice Light Mage more some time but it’s not really a critical priority for me.

I get out of bed and stretch. Bella had already gotten out of bed and let me sleep a little extra this morning. She seemed to be doing something in the bathroom right now so it’s probably best not to disturb her. I took a quick peek out of the window, it was just before dawn. I didn’t want to keep the twins waiting so I made sure everything was packed up and ready to go.

Less than fifteen minutes later Bella and I came to the front of the Adventurer's guild to find Torien and Morrigan waiting for us. Both girls looked chipper and had smiles on their faces.

“Hope we didn’t keep you waiting long,” Bella said when we walked up.

“Nah, we haven’t been here long. We half expected you two to come much later based on how late you guys showed up yesterday,” Torien replied while handling me the additional pack of surveying gear.

“We’d never get anything done if we waited that long,” I replied jovially. “Anyway, do you girls have everything ready? Any last minute stops before we leave?”

“You sure know a lot about this topic.”

“I am a wild mage after all, I probably wouldn’t be able to use magic at all if I didn’t know how the cycle of mana worked. My knowledge on the subject is actually pretty basic but it’s still probably more than mages who do nothing but use their magic as another blunt instrument to kill things with.”

“Well I find it pretty interesting all the same.”

Morrigan continued on, “One thing we should look out for are magic beasts, they’re different from monsters but can be just as dangerous. Magic beasts are animals and sometimes plants that are heavily infused with mana and can manipulate the magic in their bodies to do all kinds of things. Usually they’re pretty easy to spot because the magic concentration tends to make them glow in various ways, especially when they're evoking the magic to do something. That’s not always the case though so be wary.”

“Are magical beasts all unique or are there groups of the same kind of magic beast?”

“Both can happen, sometimes an individual animal can evolve into a magic beast somewhat spontaneously or an entire group of animals evolve into a group of magic beasts slowly over time.”

“That’s all pretty wild.”

Torien who had been leading this whole time slowed down a bit and let us catch up with her. “I know you guys are enjoying your boring magic theory talk but we’re almost there.”

She points forward towards a small unnaturally smooth stone monument looking thing on the side of the road. It must have been made with some kind of terra magic or something I guess.

She points to some writing I recognize as common. “This is the designation we were given so this is the start of the zone we’re supposed to survey.” She points further down the road. “A few miles down should be another marker like this, everything on this side of the road between these to markers are the areas we’re supposed to document.” She then points to the mountain range that runs parallel to the dirt road. “We need to go as far that way as we can, to the foot of the mountain.”

“That’s pretty far. The first thing we should do is set up a camp. Our plan is to stay here about three full days starting tomorrow so it would be best to get something together as soon as possible. What are the chances we’ll find a water source around here?”

“Ah! I can check!” Bella looked excited. “I can use my nature magic to see if there is any water nearby!” I was caught a little off guard by her enthusiasm but other than her healing there doesn’t seem to be a ton of opportunities for her to use her magic so that’s probably why she seems so excited.

She stepped away from us and started to quietly chant. At first I was just watching her casually but while she was chanting I started to feel an odd feeling from the area around her. Eventually she spoke in a voice that rippled the air around her, “[Detect Water Sources]” I squinted at the spot she was standing in for a little while before I heard a chime in my head.

[Mana Sense Lv. 1 unlocked - You have successfully observed mana being manipulated near yourself multiple times]

[Mana Sense - Uncommon Skill]

Mana Sense governs the ability to recognize ambient and infused mana. Higher ranks improves the ability to sense more subtle mana flows and increases the range of the perception.

Neat!