Chapter 49: Learning a Craft

Chapter 49: Learning a Craft

So. Mana is obviously the key. The more I have of it, the better. The Stances, my boots, the sword, I need it for all of them.

My agility is already high enough that I dont feel the need to bump it up just yet, and so far, strength, while useful, hasnt been a game changer. My sword is sharp enough, and the Techniques lethal enough, that I dont strictly need the advantage of pure strength.

Which makes what I have to do pretty obvious. All the free points in Arcana and Constitution. Ideally, I should make them equal, and grow them in tandem. Being more durable is never the wrong choice, and as my Constitution improves so will my Strength and Agility. Definitely not to the same extent if I improved those stats individually, but its not a bad trade off. And if I spend all my free points, then Ill have, let's see He scrunched his eyebrows, as he did the math in his head. Around forty thousand mana.

Thats pretty fucking good. I wont have to worry about the boots running out on me at the very least. And Ill be able to get more than a single swing from the sword Cyzicus gave me. A mid to long range attack will definitely be useful, especially one that doesnt need any ammo.

Luke opened his status, wary of the pain he was still in, and acutely aware of the fact that Rex was just inches behind him, and Nel in front of him. Since both of them could probably detect his mana, he decided to raise his Arcana attribute by a single point. Planning to drip feed himself the Stat Points over a period of a few days or weeks to make the gains less noticeable.

A decision he regretted immediately, as a searing heat spread throughout his body.

Nope! Not doing that anytime soon. He closed his status. Ill try again tomorrow, and see how that feels.

They flew for another hour, before setting up camp.

Im going to go hunt something. Rex said, the second the griffin touched down in a clearing. Can I borrow a bow?

I have food. Nel offered, pulling a bow and a quiver full of arrows from her ring as she did.

He grimaced. Your food is bland. Then collecting the weapons wandered into the forest.

Kinda rude. As expected.

I should probably go with him. Jax said, striding into the dark woods after him. Leaving Luke alone with the warrior.

Nel, like Luke, carried all the essentials of comfortable living with her everywhere she went. Fully realizing the benefits of having easy access to portable storage. A few minutes after the two of them slinked away, she had the whole campsite ready. Tents, bedrolls, pillows, chairs, tables, and a half dozen other random items meant to make life easy all laid out in a loose circle around a large bonfire.

Unlike Lukes inventory though, food left in hers would spoil, whereas in his, time seemed to stop. Allowing him to remove what he wanted, in exactly the same state he had put it in.

Even so, Nel had found a way around it tagging her food with preservation talismans.

The talismans dont keep food fresh for long, but it's fine for a day or two. She explained, noticing Lukes gaze.

Can you teach me how to make one? He asked, watching her pull one off a container full of rice, and tossing it into the fire.

She frowned at him. A preservation talisman? The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

Talismans in general. I dont know how they work, like at all.

That She glanced at her food, and then back at him again. Yeah, we have time. Id advise against spending too much time on learning how to make them though. Your time will be better spent using the manasink and cultivating than it would on these. We usually let those that have lost hope of ascending to the Warrior-tier make them.

So Trixie was right about that too. I wonder if shes still stuck in the Tomb? Arya and Spiros would have made it out by now. Especially if Len and Yjarn managed to clear the Empresses bar. Although, I wonder where they went? Spiros probably stayed in Carim. I dont think hed leave his sister and cousin behind, but what about Arya? It didnt seem like she had anything tying her to the island. I dont think she mentioned her family a single time we were there.

Nels storage ring flashed, pulling Luke out of his thoughts, and a handful of blank slips appeared on the table along with a thin wooden cylinder and a thin leather bound booklet.

Are these the only talismans you have?

She frowned. I dont think you realize what I just gave you. Those are all the talismans the Rising Sun has access to. If you were a member of the Sect, then you would have had to spend thousands of merits to even learn one of them. Its only because youll be representing Sylcra in the tournament that I even allowed you to see them.

Oh.

Quite. Id also caution you against mixing and matching the glyphs. Unless you somehow learn how to read and write in the Ancient Tongue, youll likely blow yourself up.

The what? And what? Luke looked at the talismans with a sudden sense of apprehension.

Its the language of the Divines. Every word has power, and carelessly toying with it, will get you killed.

Thats good to know. Ill be sure to be careful. He said evenly, eyeing the book.

The Ancient Tongue. So thats what these symbols are. You write them down, and reality bends. Thats kind of wild.

Good. She waved her hand, and the talisman she had drawn flew away from him, and back into her hands. Closing her eyes, she funneled her mana into it, and after a few seconds, it blinked white, and the symbols drawn on it changed. Condensing into the familiar pattern that the other talismans he used had.

So thats how it works.

You can have it, and these. She said, flinging it back to him, along with a handful of other talismans from her ring. Theyre all warrior tier, so youll have something to rely on if things get dangerous.

Thank-you.

Dont mention it. She waved him off.

NEL! Jax came running back into the camp. His clothes tattered, and covered in blood. They took him. They took Rex! He panted, hunching over his knees.

Of course they did.

A spear appeared in her hand, and she rose up in the air.

Where? She demanded.

Jax pointed to the direction he had emerged from.

Not wasting a second, or even bothering to ask who or what it was that had taken her brother, she flew into the tree line. Moving so fast, she looked like a blur in Luke's eyes.

What happened? Luke asked, standing up drawing his sword from his sword from his sheath in anticipation.

Jax didnt answer, and just stood there, his chest rising and fallign as he caught his breath. Staring off in the direction that Nel had left in.

What happened? Luke asked again. Tightening his grip on his blade. His heart beat in anticipation as he realized that something was wrong.

Nothing Nothing happened. Jax looked at him. His eyes cold, he withdrew his sword from its sheath and inched towards Luke.

Man Fuck this. I should have stayed in the Capital.