Published at 16th of February 2024 2:20 pm

Chapter 6. Essence Glass

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

The following day, Nox woke early. It took him several long, confused moments to remember where they were. It felt like a prison cell at first. The room was barely bigger than a broom closet. It had no furniture besides a bunk bed. Lillin’s foot dangled from the top level. Then he spotted the circular window. When Nox climbed out of bed and peeked out of the opening, he saw nothing but a sea of clouds.

They were on an airship.

It was late in the evening when they boarded the vessel. Despite his exhaustion, Nox remembered the crew being displeased with their time of arrival. Queen Mercer had held Kris up at dinner. Her word delayed the airship’s departure. Exhausted after the tournament and all the following events, Nox didn’t give it much thought. He’d gone straight to bed.

Nox’s stomach lurched when he stepped out onto the upper deck. No bone-chilling wind buffetted him. His eyes caught a faint shimmer when he rubbed them. By the time Nox’s vision recovered, he could no longer see the Aero Shield spell’s effects. The tier-three spell protected the ship and the above balloon from the fickle wind currents and weather. Giant mana engines hummed at the vessel’s rear, propelling it in the desired direction. The vastness of his surroundings and the height made his stomach gurgle.

Heights never bothered Nox before. It wasn’t his first time on an airship. They were the only method of entering or leaving the Golden Isles. Schooner and frigate-class vessels regularly ferried hunters, explorers, and others between the floating islands and the land below. Pallav used to take his son down on excursions. Once Nox was old enough, Mou turned a blind eye to him riding down with hunters and gatherers. Occasionally, he visited passing towns and small cities, too. The smaller settlements lacked deep pockets for the merchant empire’s best products but happily settled for an apprentice’s concoctions. They helped fund his experiments and equipment.

However, none of his previous journeys involved a vessel that ascended above the clouds and skimmed them like waves. Nox had never traveled at such altitudes or speeds. It felt unnatural. He considered approaching the railing and peeking but changed his mind halfway to his destination.

“You’ll need a stronger stomach if you intend to make a career out of dungeon delving,” Kris whispered, making him jump. She didn’t appear out of thin air like during their first meeting. Yet she had successfully snuck up on him without making a noise. "You'll rely on high-speed vessels to ferry you between dungeons and wherever you call home."

“How do you keep doing that?” Nox demanded, clutching his chest. His heart pounded in his chest.

“Magic.”

“That’s not much of an answer.” Kris’s skin shimmered. Golden light seeped through her skin. Nox wanted nothing more than to figure out what spells she had in her arsenal, but it was a rude and private question in mage circles. “You’re up early.”

“I like to take in the sunrise,” Kris replied. “The light is cleaner above the clouds. But none of that’s is important right now. I was hoping to catch you without your shadow.”

“Lillin isn’t my shadow.”

“Please. That girl follows you around like a familiar does an archmage. That’s not important, though. It's important we discuss your future.”

“Isn’t that what we did yesterday?”

“Not your immediate future,” Kris said. “I want to talk about your long-term goals. More specifically, I’d like to know your plans for your core. Why would someone as skilled as you remain a Protostar when you’re on the verge of breaking through? I’d bet you have enough mana circulating around the star to start on a planetoid, too.”

“I need a catalyst,” Nox answered. “Slow isn’t the most powerful focus on its own. That’s doubly relevant for someone with a mana zone as small as mine.”

“You have a mana bow now.” Kris nodded at the long glove covering his left hand, forearm, and elbow. “Reckon you’ll start sometime soon?”

Nox nodded. “I just need enough gold to buy a chunk of Eternum Ice. It's a controlled substance on the Golden Isles, and I’ve never had enough coin to afford any. Now that I’m an independent agent, I was hoping to dedicate all my resources to saving for some. Alternatively, if I can get clearance for a Journeyman dungeon soon—”

“That’s impossible while still sporting a Protostar core.” Kris interrupted. “Evolving Slow into Freeze would certainly make you powerful. I’ve worked with several ice mages, but they generally dedicate their first planet to an elemental focus and combine it with Slow for the same result.”

“Yes, but that’s not mana efficient, is it? And since I can’t draw in water from my environment, I’d have to carry it on my person. Meanwhile, nurturing Freeze would help me get around the issue. I could just conjure ice when water isn’t available. Then, I can dedicate my first planet to Shaping.”

“Smart, but I believe you should think outside the box.”

“What do you mean?” Nox raised an eyebrow.

“People with mana zones as small as yours are rarely magically gifted. They don’t nurture their cores or benefit from the same abnormal mana density as you. On top of that, you’ve perfected Slow and matured it just fine on your own. It's on the verge of evolving. You just haven’t found the correct path yet. I think going for Freeze now would be a waste and slow down your current development.”

“I’m not sure I follow.” Nox frowned. “I considered True Slow and then slowly working towards time magic, but what’s the point if I can’t project my magic more than a couple of inches from my body?” He held up his gloved hand. “This will turn mana from a Freeze-focused core into frost and eventually ice arrows. Then I can use ice shields, spikes, and other Shaped conjurations at melee range for a brutal defense.”

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Boring.” Kris feigned a yawn. When Nox didn’t respond, she narrowed her eyes and chuckled. “Hold out your hand.”

He obeyed. Kris dropped a piece of glass in his hand. It was warped. Bubbles and cracks filled it. It stung his palm as he looked up at her questioningly. Nox almost dropped the shard, but then he caught tendrils of lightning dancing through it.

“This is from my duel with Edward,” he mumbled, studying it closely.

“Your Slow was so potent that it halted electrified mana darting at you. The lightning struck your mana zone and condensed itself into a mana crystal.” Kris raised her hand when Nox opened his mouth. “I tested it. It’s not the same as the crystals artificers use for their devices or the stones in mage foci. This is unique. I reckon it’s crystalized arcane essence.” She took the shard from his hand, and her fingertips glowed with golden light. The cracks grew, and the glass crumbled. A mote of lightning remained, floating between her fingers. “It's not as stable, and an infusion of energy is enough to revert the crystal to its original form.” The lightning dissipated as she spoke. “I think Freeze would be wasted on you because you could turn your Protostar into something unique. I reckon you should build your mana system around the concept of crystalizing essence.”

“I…” Nox found himself at a loss for words. He had spent almost a full decade planning his core’s direction. He didn’t think anything besides Freeze and eventually ice shaping would be possible for him. “That’s certainly unique. Alchemists have to work far too hard to extract arcane essence. If I can find mana sources and just crystalize the energy, that would make my life so much easier.”

“I knew you’d appreciate the idea.” Kris grinned. “Your combat plans don’t have to change much. You won’t have frost or cold effects, but instead of ice, you can just make crystal arrows and shields. Best of all, you don’t have to worry about your conjurations melting. As your magic grows stronger, I reckon it’ll take more energy to revert the essence glass to its original form, making them rather durable.”

“It’s tempting,” Nox said. “I was counting on frost, ice, and cold to debilitate dungeon dwellers and keep them at a distance, though.”

“Your display during the tournament tells me you’re a creative man, Nox,” Kris said. “Think bigger. During training and practice, work with Lillin to stockpile gravity essence and use them for arrowheads or fashion them into bombs. Making Crystallize Essence the focus of your core will make you incredibly versatile. You could easily focus on stockpiling destructive essences and become your delving party’s primary monster killer. Debilitating effects would be a bonus, but they shouldn’t be your responsibility. Every delving party needs a dedicated vanguard, a couple of support mages, and someone good with scouting and traps. Leave slowing, trapping, and disabling to someone else.”

Nox thought about the idea for a moment. “This will make me unique. Dungeon Lords and their intelligent subjects won’t know how to counter me effectively.”

“Better yet, you could crystalize their magic and save it for later or turn it against them. If you’re ever up against brigands, rogue delvers, or foreign powers, they won’t know how to deal with you.”

“Thank you,” Nox said.

Kris waved her hand dismissively. “It’s the least I can do. According to department rules, all professors need at least one apprentice, and you’re my first. You can’t very well be my apprentice while still stuck at the novice rank.”

“That doesn’t give me a lot of time.” Nox frowned. “We reach Ygg in three days, and the semester starts in four.”

“I estimate it’ll take you a day or two at most. You’re crystallizing essence with Slow alone, and your star is boiling over.” Kris held out her hand, and a sphere of golden light manifested, floating six inches above her hand. When she moved away, it didn’t follow her. “You’re going to cast Slow on my light spheres until the essence crystallizes, and you get a feel for the process.”

“Yes, ma’am. Anything else?”

“Oh, our conversation is far from over. As your tutor, I need to assemble your curriculum. All students must complete a few essential modules, but I’d like your input for the rest.”

“Very well. Let’s get started.”

Nox originally picked up the Slow cantrip to improve alchemical processes. Several concoctions required multiple stages of rapid cooling during the production processes. Most alchemists used Chilling Grasp, but the Ratra family preferred Slow. It worked at a molecular level when focused on a small area, assisting in rapid cooling. Most frost and ice mages nurtured the same process for their star and built their entire system around it.

On rare occasions, a poorly controlled Slow had turned parts of concoctions into glass. Nox and Mou had theorized it was an unfortunate reaction between the combining essences and the spell. Now that he thought about it, he realized the anomalous reactions only occurred when brewing mana-rich concoctions with three or fewer volatile essences.

At first, Slow did nothing. Kris’s conjured sphere hovered in place, shining like a dim golden lamp, adding to the growing light of dawn. Nox cast the cantrip repeatedly but got the same result.

“Mindless spell-casting will get you nowhere,” Kris told him. “You’re not pursuing an accidental reaction. Mana might be living energy, but it needs parameters to function. Unexpected reactions occur when there is a gap in the directions. When pushing the limits, the intent is essential. Tell the mana and the spell form how you want it to evolve or mutate. Do you know how to do that?”

“Visualization?” Nox asked.

Kris nodded. “Take your time and feel how the spell form functions. Read the mana’s flow and then tweak it to achieve the desired result. We’re not sorcerers harnessing primal or ancestral energies. You’re now a wizard-in-training.”

“You’re right,” Nox said, rolling his neck. He had already used half the mana in his core. “I need to approach this like an academic.”

“Precisely, think of it as alchemical research. You need to study the results after every experiment.”

“If only the observations of mana sense were more quantifiable.” Nox sighed. He moved closer so the light sphere hovered in his mana zone. His understanding of the conjuration’s mana structure and composition deepened. He didn’t just feel its mana but also how it flowed around the structure. When he cast Slow again, he still failed to get the desired results. However, Nox got a better idea of how to proceed. “I think I get it now,” he said. “Can you conjure something volatile? I think I need to start with something less stable.”

“So you can stabilize it with Slow?” Kris asked.

Nox nodded. “I reckon the crystalization occurs when the cantrip stabilizes volatile mana.”

“If you get a feel of stabilizing the unstable, you can repeat the process with inert mana.” Kris smiled. “Now, you’re thinking. I’ll conjure all the light orbs you need. We’ll take breaks whenever you run low on mana.”

“I can keep going all day.” Nox held up a pouch of marble-sized pellets and shook it. The contents jingled. “I’ve got a surplus of mana and stamina boosters.”

“I envy your Sigil of Immunity." Kris chuckled, and the pair got to work.

Share