“Another one! That just took off my shield.”
The next fireball smacked into the woman’s chest and burned right through her clothing. For Forian’s cards, level three armor was like paper, though the magic fire didn’t stop there. The woman’s snow-white underwear shown through for the kids. From Forian’s perspective, however, Valanil was standing there in all her glory.
“You couldn’t hit me anywhere else? Engaged, and still,” Valanil muttered, though she made no move to cover up. While her outfit quickly regenerated, the woman just stood there trying to hide a smile. Forian, for his part, didn’t look away or pretend to be embarrassed. He liked what he was seeing, and he wasn’t going to turn down the chance to see it.
“No damage,” Forian said when he pulled up his logs. “How is that possible?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.” Valanil looked over at Tailyn, the boy suddenly becoming the center of attention. “I’ll ask again. What did you do to me?”
Tailyn stood up and finally looked around. It was morning, the sun having just cleared the horizon. Forian was sitting where Tailyn had left him. He was leaning on a fallen branch, Valia standing next to him. Valanil and her burning hand were off to the boy’s side. With her regeneration plus Tailyn’s healing, she was back to normal. As for the boy... His weakness and jelly legs aside, he felt great.
“Like I said, my mana ran out while I was healing you, and I had to pull strength from myself. Healing for me is like forging a statue. I see injured people as deformed, with especially serious wounds as hollows. Since there was nothing left to fill the last one, I pulled a mana coal out of the fire and stuck it in there. That was my only option. I got an attribute for it, too. Although, I passed out right then, so I only saw it now.”
Tailyn’s story was a mess. Absurd from beginning to end, the result was equally absurd. Immunity to fire... The third most popular element used in cards, immunity to it was practically useless given the many ways there were to defend against it. And Forian made sure to point all that out right away.
“Sometimes, there are situations where there’s nothing you can do about fire,” Tailyn replied sullenly. “Valanil and I once had to just burn even though we both knew how to protect ourselves against it.”
“Are there any other upgrades?” Forian asked, trying to find some way to use his student’s new attribute.
“Just fire for now,” Tailyn said as he pulled up his new attribute. “And the person has to be injured for me to add it — the more serious the injuries, the easier it is for me. You can’t enhance healthy bodies.”
“Okay, we’ll see how Valanil makes out with her new ability and what it does for her,” the mage said. When he saw everyone staring at him, he explained. “I haven’t heard about giving people immunity. But I don’t think Tailyn is unique, and so other mages both know about that mechanic and prefer to keep it a secret. Why? Probably for the same reason people with mana don’t do local missions. It’s dangerous for mages. There’s no way of telling what will happen when a mage with immunity to fire tries to cast it.”
Valanil cursed. Yet again, Forian had drawn such a logical and damning conclusion that she was beside herself, and she glanced over unpleasantly at Tailyn. Protection from fire suddenly didn’t seem like such a good idea. And how had the little bastard dared do anything to her without her permission?
Forian tried to get up, but his hurt leg wouldn’t let him.
“Tailyn, I need a regeneration flask — the damage is too strong. Make four for each of us.”
“Where am I supposed to come up with that many coins?” the boy asked in surprise. “Each lesser potion costs 2,100. And you want sixteen... I don’t even have anything I can sell to get that kind of money.”
“Why are they so expensive?” It was Forian’s turn to be surprised. “Do you mean to tell me that back before we headed into the dungeon, when you asked me for thirty thousand coins, you really used them all? I assumed that since a full potion costs four hundred, yours must be around three hundred, and you just kept the rest of the coins for yourself...”
“I had to throw in some of my own!” Tailyn explained, realizing what his mentor was accusing him of. “I didn’t have Raptor back then, so everything cost the full amount. Five thousand two hundred for one potion, and you each needed two. Keep the rest for myself? How could you even think that about me?!”
“Hm...”
Forian felt an unwanted surge of guilt. And that was something that didn’t happen very often — the mage always believed in what he was doing, which meant there was nothing to feel guilty about. And he’d really thought Tailyn had leveraged the situation to work him over for coins. Although, he didn’t see anything wrong with that. It was what he would have done, anyway. Mages always took care of themselves, which meant what Tailyn had done just didn’t fit with Forian’s picture of the world. A generous mage? A mage who took care of others? That didn’t happen.
Tailyn went over to his mentor and wordlessly handed him two lesser regeneration flasks. A silence hung pregnant in the air if not for long. Not about to show anyone else that he had feelings, too, Dorian gulped down one of the potions and broke the pause.
“It doesn’t matter how much the potions cost — we still need them. And if you can’t take care of them, here. Make four for everyone.”
Thirty-three thousand six hundred coins were half of what Forian had on hand, though he wasn’t about to back down from what he’d said. No matter how painful the price was, when it came to his life or skimping, he picked the former every time.
“Student, set up your tent. We need to rest and wait for the guards — we won’t be going anywhere without horses.”
“My boy, I noticed a shower in your tent,” Valanil said, “though it wasn’t working. Is it broken, or is something missing?”
“It needs water.” Tailyn pulled up his local map and pointed off to the side. “There’s a small lake that way, so the shower will work if we set the tent up next to it.”
“Get in line, former duchess,” Valanil said with a laugh when she saw Valia’s interested look. “I’m first. Do you know how to cook?”
“No,” the girl replied in surprise. “I don’t have cooking. But what’s the point when we have the store?”
“Because the food from the store is enough to live on, only it makes life dreary and gray. As they say, a thin waist goes with a sad face. When we get back to the capital, I’ll start training you. A good cook can turn the tide of a battle.”
Everyday issues had everyone’s attention except for Tailyn’s.
“Why did we all get two levels?”
“One for the local mission, the second for the stash,” Valanil explained. “The only problem is that the explosion destroyed it completely — I already looked. Where are you going? The lake is that way!”
“I’ll just be a minute,” Tailyn replied as he leaped between the large mounds of earth. The branches and chunks of tree trunk lying everywhere made the going difficult, but he wasn’t about to give up. The stump sticking out of the ground had his name on it. Whatever the stash was, it couldn’t have just vanished.
“Tailyn, look!” Valia had followed the boy, and she was the first to notice something strange. At about three meters above the ground, the wind was swirling to create a suspicious vortex that was almost glimmering. Raptor didn’t show anything in the area. Still, climbing up the stump, Tailyn reached out to touch the vortex and just about dropped to the ground.
Congratulations! You opened your first Stash and received a reward matching your class.
Loot received:
Alchemist potion. Description: epic item used to increase your Alchemy skill by 1. Must be used within 60 minutes of finding it.
“Get over here!” Valia yelled. Just like Tailyn, she’d gotten a potion, only hers was for mages. And the difference was that it boosted all the attributes impacting her mana and magic attack. That was far more valuable than alchemy, needless to say.
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It took some doing for Forian to reach the glimmering vortex — his leg was only just beginning to heal. Without Vargot and its flight expansion, life was much harder, but he wasn’t going to let that get him down. Sooner or later, he was going to get it all back since the god never put his creatures through trials just for the fun of it. Forian finally touched the strange phenomenon and got his reward. It was just a shame it didn’t restart his mana regeneration.
But there was no time to cry about spilled milk. The mage felt his belt vibrate — his intercom was going off.
“What’s the latest?” A small, shimmering, mirror-like circle appeared in front of Forian, only Sadil’s face was there instead of his own reflection. The whole group fell silent as they listened in. Forian had no way of making the conversation confidential.
“I don’t want to disappoint you, but I’m afraid you were right. The boy really did spend a lot of time visiting your...visiting Finiel. It was just about the whole summer, in fact. But he doesn’t remember what he did since he was drugged — I checked his logs. Care to guess where the boy got the narcotics?”
“Finiel?” Forian’s chest tightened. He’d believed to the last that his betrothed hadn’t had anything to do with the explosion.
“Yep. The morning before he headed over to the academy, Shorty got a narcotic from her that lasts twenty-four hours--that was why Tailyn thought his eyes looked so strange. So, the boy had no idea what he was doing since he was just following orders, though I’m not sure whose.”
“But where did the bombs come from? We’ve had drugged students get into the academy before, but none of them pulled off a terror attack.”
“That’s where things get strange. After taking the narcotics, the boy’s logs stopped recording. That’s a common problem, of course, but it means we don’t know what happened afterwards. There weren’t any bombs beforehand, though. My people checked the past two years. Finiel herself swears she doesn’t know anything about them, that she never ordered Shorty to take out Tailyn and Valia, and that she only gave him the narcotic to see what it does to mages. Apparently, she’s into experiments now. She even showed the boy’s signature — he agreed to be part of the whole thing. And though she didn’t make the god her witness, the viceroy believes her.”
“He’s there?” Forian asked, his frown deepening.
“Yes, that’s the second piece of news. From what Patrick says, the emperor’s viceroy has been visiting your house frequently and staying for a suspiciously long time. Sometimes, it’s a few times a week. I can’t demand to see Finiel’s logs — she’s loyal to the emperor, not the provost. Of course, I tried, but the viceroy told me what I could do with that. We also went through all students and teachers who have access to the store. None of them have purchased any Alron potions for the past two years in general, let alone here inside the academy. Forian, I really don’t know how Shorty got his hands on the grenades, and that has me worried. Much more worried than the kids dying, actually. Finiel knows the answer, though she got away — the viceroy invited her to stay at his residence as his main witness while the investigation is going on... Wait, where are you? That doesn’t look like a road.”
“Zardan Forest. We stopped by to check out a local mission, though the mekbars ate our horses. The guards should be showing up soon.”
“How much mana did you lose?”
“A thousand each,” Forian replied with a pang of envy. The head of security, someone who never left the academy, knew more than he did about the way things stood out in the rest of the world. And that was notwithstanding the fact that Forian’s job was to know everything going on outside the academy walls.
“Oh wow, how did you take out the queen? Did Valanil show off what a Crobar education can do for you?”
“Three alchemical fires right into the mouth, and nobody needs Crobar,” Forian said. “It was all Valia. Also, we found a stash that gives you a level and a reward, so send some trusted mages here to put some work in.”
“Interesting idea... I’ll have to tell the provost — maybe we’ll start grabbing local missions. Okay, get a move on it, Forian. There’s no sense hanging around the capital, not with the viceroy pulling his tricks. I’ll send a squad of mages into Zardan Forest with some horses. Keep an eye on the stash until the end of the day, which is when they should get there. Over and out.”
Forian spent a while gazing off at the horizon, trying to figure out what to do. He didn’t like anything about Sadil’s news, though he didn’t doubt its trustworthiness for a second. Sadil didn’t lie or twist the truth.
It wasn’t an easy decision. But eventually, it dawned on Forian that he respected himself far too much to associate with someone who’d betrayed him, and so he pulled the betrothal ring off his right arm and tossed it away in disgust. There was no way back.
You annulled your betrothal to Finiel Beon.
After setting up the tent, Tailyn climbed into bed and fell fast asleep. The long, tumultuous night had taken its toll, and he didn’t even think about taking a shower. Waking up, he noticed Valia sleeping soundly next to him. The boy crept cautiously out of the room, not wanting to wake her, and spent a while staring in surprise at the open flap leading to Valanil’s room. It was empty and untouched. In fact, it was almost as if the woman hadn’t been looking to get any rest. Forian, for his part, was definitely in his room — the flap was closed. Shrugging and deciding his trainer’s odd behavior was none of his business, Tailyn climbed out of the tent. The day was drawing to a close, and Sadil’s mages were due to show up soon.
“Oh, hey there, my boy. You’re already awake?” Valanil stretched luxuriously as she stepped suddenly out of the tent. Her face was so fresh that Tailyn didn’t doubt for a second she actually had gotten some rest, though she hadn’t touched her room. And she hadn’t been in the kitchen, either...
“Student, what are you doing just hanging around?” Forian asked as he stepped out behind the woman. All Tailyn could do was swallow and close his gaping mouth. Sure, he was only twelve, but he knew all too well what adults did behind closed doors. Forian had certainly gotten over his betrothal quickly enough.
“Ah, and here are our guests,” Valanil exclaimed happily, though she quickly frowned. “Mage, I don’t like this. Are you sure about Sadil?”
A wagon hitched to a set of horses had rolled out onto the field. There were a few mages in it, but the way they were sitting had set off alarm bells for Valanil. It was the way they reacted to potholes, too. The way they just sat there instead of jumping out of the wagon and walking alongside it, almost as though they were tied to their seats. But since her perception didn’t reach the strange procession, the woman couldn’t see what was going on.
Tailyn noticed a red dot on Raptor. It was moving slowly toward the tent, though the only identification was: Unknown. Mage hunter. Level 53. Age 49. But with twenty-five meters of fallen branches between them and the hunter, nobody could see him.
“Hermetic seal!” Tailyn said as he hit the button to deactivate the tent. He very much hoped Valia would just be dropped out of it rather than being rolled up inside it.
“Did you see something?” Valanil asked, her voice coming through the headset.
“A mage hunter. To the right. Twenty-five meters. See that big clump of trees? He’s right behind it. Level fifty-three. I can’t see his name or parameters.”
“Alone?” Forian asked.
“Raptor only reaches twenty-five meters, so I’m not sure.”
“There are three of them — hunters never work alone,” Valanil muttered angrily. “Two veterans and the trainee leading the wagon. The second is off to the left somewhere trying to catch us in a pincer move.”
Just then, the tent finished folding up, and Valia hit the ground with an indignant shriek. Tailyn sighed in relief — she hadn’t gotten rolled up inside.
“Student, you were still sleeping?” Forian yelled to everyone’s surprise. “A hundred pushups! No, that’s not enough. You
have one minute to swim to the other side of that lake and back. Now!”
A shocked Valia leaped to her feet, though she was in no hurry to obey.
“Was I not clear? Or did you forget our language? Get to it, Student, or you’ll be out of the academy today! And turn on your hermetic seal — I don’t want you drowning.”
That time, the girl got it, and she took off running in the direction of the water. Tears stung her eyes. She wasn’t used to people talking to her in that tone.
“Valia, listen to me carefully. We’re surrounded, and they’re about to attack, so I want you to swim down to the bottom and head thirty meters to the left. Keep a close eye on the battle, and jump in when you get the order. They’re mage hunters. Got it?”
“Okay,” came the reply, and the girl disappeared into the water. Tailyn checked Raptor just in time to see her head left and disappear off the screen. With that said, another red dot appeared, that one just as unknown. It was at level forty-nine and fifty-three years of age.
Tears of Alron (The Alchemist Book #3): LitRPG Series Page 10