Published at 16th of February 2024 2:21 pm

Chapter 23. Arcane Progress

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The following day, Nox struggled to stay awake through Beginner Dungeon Theory. He felt fine physically, but the mental exhaustion of the constant grind was catching up to him. First, he kept himself awake by listing all of his ingredients. He almost had everything he needed to make Sleeping Like The Dead. Reportedly Queen Mercer used the potion when the stress got too much. It knocked her out for twelve straight hours, and then she came out on the other side feeling refreshed. The brew also repaired minor tissue damage, purged impurities, and revitalized the skin.

It was tempting, but Nox didn’t want to use the same tools as his mother. He needed to sleep well until the day of the delve. After which, he’d take the next break day to rest. A part of him cursed Kris for the course load. At the same time, he was pleased with all of his classes and the professors. As he sat and practiced Shaping exercises under the table, he made plans to talk to Professor Das during his next open office hours.

“Dungeon Lords that didn’t start as gods is a complicated subject,” the professor said, introducing the first topic of the semester. Nox zoned in and out of her explanation while attempting to create an arrowhead-shaped mana cage without the aid of Mage Hand. “First, the beast needs to get strong or smart enough to leave their birthing dungeon. The rarity of such an occurrence is high enough to call the creature a statistically anomalous entity. Then it needs to survive the world outside while growing stronger. It needs to gather enough power for its mana zone to cover a sufficiently large area and the density to increase to the point that its magic passively warps the surrounding world. Can anyone tell me how a beast could achieve such a feat?”

“Consume mages,” someone in the giant lecture hall yelled out.

“That’s one way, but it's slow and takes far too long. Our records suggest that most creatures who attempt to transcend to dungeon-lord strength only by consuming mages never make it. How else can aspiring dungeon lords gather strength?” The professor looked over the class. “Anyone?”

“Defeating boss-class monsters, dungeon or rift lords, and absorbing their essence gets them a lot more strength than consuming mages,” another student contributed.

“Succinctly put, Miss Smythe,” the professor said. “Unlike dungeon-born entities and the gods, we don’t contain essences. By default, we contain raw mana and then convert it into attuned essence using the spellforms stored in our stars and planets. I’m sure you’ve covered this in Beginner Mana System Theory or will soon.

“When a beast consumes us, they need to convert our mana into a form that their bodies can process. Meanwhile, they don’t suffer the same problem when consuming one another. They just need to meet two parameters. The essence they’re consuming can’t be born of the same dungeon lord that created them, and the essence type can’t conceptually conflict with their own. For example, a lightning-sling creature will get no arcane benefits by consuming something that naturally resists or neutralizes their magic.”

The lecture passed without Nox falling asleep. By the end of the four hours, he could successfully create an arrowhead-shaped mana cage without Mage Hand. He loved the cantrip and its utility but had little use in combat. Nox considered replacing it in his mind’s eye with something more combat-oriented. Mage Hand excelled with a large mana zone or when combined with a tool like Artisan’s Arm. However, he could still use it to feed himself cocktails without letting go of Ratra’s Bow. Because of the lack of space, Mage Hand wouldn’t throw Trap Foam far but could very well flick it at a charging beast. He left it alone for the time being and ate a quick lunch before reporting to his defensive spell class.

“Your progress in one week is unprecedented,” Professor Lorenzo said, studying Nox’s conjurations. “It’s like you spent years stagnating. Now, your mind and mana systems are racing to compensate for lost time. I’d like you to continue with the exercises until they become instinctual, but now infuse the essence of Slow into it.”

Combining the disc with the cantrip’s essence consumed more mana than the individual tasks together. Nox chalked it up to the lack of a planet dedicated to Shaping and poor mana control. Despite the mental strain and significant drain on his mana, Nox approached the task with enthusiasm, eager to learn and master something new. The tingling around his Sigil of the Artisan only excited Nox and drove him to strive harder.

Towards the end of two hours of nonstop practice, a discomfort Nox hadn’t felt since his pre-teen days raised its terrible head. A deep stinging sensation spread from the mana burns on his forearms. Nox removed his jacket and studied his injuries. Much to his surprise, fewer angry crimson lines spread from the hand imprints. Many had shrunk, while some were gone altogether.

“Mana Burn Resistance,” he whispered to himself, eyes widening. Nox guessed the eighteen-year-old wounds inflicted ongoing damage, or they fought his mana circuits as they tried to fix themselves. A goddess had inflicted them, after all. If she weren’t weak from the godfall, the mana burn would’ve likely killed him. Now that the sigil had matured, Nox imagined his body was resisting the ongoing damage or, better yet, fixing it. A little voice in his head claimed the latter was wishful thinking. However, if the sigil stopped the ongoing damage, there was a chance his mana zone would grow. It didn’t need to be a significant change. A foot or even half of that would make a world of difference.

When the third bell rang and Diya’s Spell Weaving class began, a dull ache made his arms too uncomfortable to move. Fortunately, all students received a booklet covering the subject matter. They all contained identical texts and diagrams, leading Nox to believe the research department had ink mages for copying and reproducing texts.

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The material covered looping and linear multi-stage runescripts. A quick glance told Nox he used the first for the basic Crystallize Essence spell. Meanwhile, the second covered the process he needed for his Shaping planet. The new spell would need to use Crystallize Essence as one of the stages, containing a loop as a result. Nox doubted Diya would be satisfied with that alone. The syllabus contained mana efficiency, amplification, and if-then scripts. Nox guessed his final spellform would require the first two, if not all three, of the processes. Unfortunately, Diya wouldn’t get to them for another month. Nox intended to study them in detail after his delve.

Dinner felt like a chore by the time Nox got to it. He ate just enough to satiate and didn’t give in to gluttony like on most days. When he returned to his quarters, packages awaited him and Lillin, and they came with a letter from Kris.

“She can’t meet with me this week,” Nox said after reading through it. “More students have gone missing.”

“Does she say if we need to keep our eyes open for anything in particular?” Lillin asked.

Nox shook his head. “I imagine it's too early to tell. It could be anything. Dungeon Lord cults regularly kidnap mana-rich individuals to feed their gods. Nations preparing for war occasionally stockpile living mana batteries, too.”

“There could be an undiscovered rift under the city or in an abandoned house. It might be on the verge of a breach with beasts already overflowing.”

“That’s not likely,” Nox replied. “This is a city of delvers with the finest arcane university on the continent, if not the world. I’m sure they’d have the means to detect breached rifts and monsters spilling out of them.”

Lillin shrugged. “You never know. There are means to avoid and resist divination.”

The packages contained new coats. They carried the university’s colors and displayed the department’s logo on the upper arm. A bronze badge sat pinned to the coat’s lapel. Nox recognized it as a basic delver’s insignia. Lillin had also picked up the rest of the glassware delivery. She bottled all of their brews, and Nox set out with a sample of each, hoping to catch Professor Das.

Fortune favored Nox. The laboratory used for Advanced Alchemy was rife with activity. Vys and several assistants worked under an aged alchemist’s direction, working on several workstations simultaneously. They ignored Nox as he carefully skirted around them to the office in the back—from where Professor Das emerged the first time Nox saw him.

“Nox?” The older man raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry you haven’t heard from me, bhai.” He waved at the piles of paperwork spread around them. “As you can see, I’ve been swamped. I spoke to Dean Oleg about you, though. He’s more than happy to have you on. I’ll iron out some work for you by Sixthday’s class.”

“That’s sort of what I wanted to discuss,” Nox said. “I’d like to be excused from the next Advanced Alchemy session.”

“What? You want to quit.”

“Not quite. I’m going delving, professor, and need the day off.”

“That’s not how this works,” Professor Das said, frowning. “You don’t just get to skip a class for the sake of a delve. The dungeon studies department might make allowances, but I won’t. I’m not sure I like this attitude, bhai.”

Instead of answering, Nox removed all of the vials from his satchel and laid them out on Professor Das’s desk. He named each concoction as he put them down. “Major Regeneration. Mana Recovery. Stamina Recovery. Feline Grace. Runner’s High. Trap Foam. The last two are my signature creations. You’ll find they’re Journeyman-ranked concoctions.”

“Did you prepare all of these on your break day?” Professor Das asked. “Alone?”

“I had a helping hand. My friend Lillin isn’t an alchemist, but she helped me get around my lack of an Artisan Arm and took care of all the bottling.”

Professor Das unstoppered the flasks and vials and sniffed at their contents. Nox stopped the older man from doing the same with Trap Foam and explained the issue to him. He tasted Feline Grace and Runner’s High, and shuddered as the effects took effect.

“Good job. These are well made, Nox, but I’m not sure it's enough to excuse you from class. No one from Intermediate Alchemy can produce these at the same level as you, but these are well within the realms of the advanced class. It doesn’t—”

“What about this?” Nox asked, placing a thimble-sized vial on the desk. “It’s a Tincture of Sigil Awakening.”

The professor’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?” He fumbled while unstoppering the container and almost dropped it. Professor Das sniffed the concoction, swirled it around its containers, and dipped a finger in the liquid. He rubbed the droplet between his fingers and then tasted it. “This is well outside the capabilities of a journeyman, you know. It's something I’d expect of a mid-adept. Where did you even learn to make this?”

“My aunt taught me,” Nox replied. “She made it for me about twelve years ago; another dose was overdue. So I brewed —”

“I don’t know if you’re brilliant or stupid.” The professor sighed. “Do you have any idea how big a risk you took? Half the ingredients can explode in your face while the rest are toxic.”

“I have a Sigil of Immunity with Toxin Resistance, professor.”

“That still leaves you vulnerable to the other half. Did you use it already?”

Nox showed the older man his tattoos. “They’ve both grown.”

“Sigil of Immunity and of the Artisan? That’s a mighty combination, bhai.” Professor leaned back in his chair and sat in silence for a minute, staring. Nox couldn’t tell if he expected an explanation or apology. “Fine. You’re excused from this Sixthday’s class but only this time. Don’t die and come back safe so I can rip you a new one for taking stupid risks without supervision.”

“Yes, professor,” Nox grinned. “I’d appreciate it if you spoke to Dean Oleg and give me some flexibility regarding attendance.” He whipped out his pocketbook and showed the professor his weekly schedule. “As you can see, things are rather hectic for me. A couple of professors have given me special projects. Their completion will let me finish the relevant courses early. I’d appreciate it if you did the same for me.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but we don’t function like the research and dungeon studies departments. So, don’t be surprised if the answer is a no.”

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