World Tree Online: The Duchess of Hammers: 2nd Dive Begins
Page 29
“So, why am I here then?” Baby asked, still enraptured by the wonder of the nature in this place.
“This is the training grounds of the Sages. In this place, overflowing with life, you can connect better with nature. It is also a safer place for you to be playing with such energies. When one is toying with the fabric of nature, one should do so in a safe place under careful supervision. It is here that I will teach you,” Delilah answered, her patience reminded Baby of Trinico.
“How do we start?” Baby asked, ignoring the jab she felt at the idea she needed supervision.
“Mana . . . has many aspects,” began Delilah, “In its raw form it is simply energy. But like all energy, it can be refined. A fire mage will change mana into aspect of fire, a wind mage will change it into wind, etcetera, etcetera. As a Novice Sage, spells help you to instinctively change mana to the needed aspects of nature. Your first nature spell was ‘Lesser Nature’s Heal’. A simple expression of nature-based mana given the intent to heal. Aligning the mana with that aspect of nature and then giving it intent. This method, however, is very inefficient. In this place, naturally filled with nature aligned mana, you need to learn to align your mana with nature without the assistance of a spell,” stated the sage.
“I need to learn to convert my mana to nature aligned mana without a spell?” Baby asked, restating the explanation, making sure she understood her task.
“That is what I said,” said Delilah. “Once you have a feel for it, you will be able to learn Sage magic.”
Class Quest Alert: Natural Alignment of Mana (Recommended Level 14-16)
The Grand Fairy Sage Delilah has set a task for you in order to begin learning ‘Sage Magic’. You must learn to align your mana with the aspects of nature without the assistance of a spell.
Reward: Experience, Spell
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
Baby could only ask, “How do I start?” Sure, the quest level was beyond her current level of 10, but if she could learn this then she would be much stronger in the long run. Plus, it was a chance to learn a new spell, something specific to Sage’s.
“You can feel your mana, yes?” she asked.
“Yes,” Baby answered, she had been able to feel her mana almost since the first day she entered the World Tree, it was constant buzz stirring just under the surface.
“Good, then you can feel the mana around you?” Delilah asked next.
Baby frowned, she could definitely feel something in the air around her. It would make sense that it was mana. Baby nodded, albeit slowly.
“Good, then make your mana feel like the mana all around you,” explained the sage.
“Become one with nature, huh?” Baby quipped.
“That would be unwise,” warned Delilah. “Nature is volatile and ever changing. You do not want to become any more a part of nature than you already are. I said to make your mana feel like the mana all around us.”
Baby swallowed at the warning. She had never considered what it meant, or what it might mean to become one with nature. It was just something that was always said in the media, be it the most recent VR movie or digital book. It also made her wonder if anyone had ever bothered to really ponder such a statement. It was popular to think of nature as being calm and peaceful, much like the meadow Baby found herself in. But nature was so much more than that. It was untamed, wild and powerful, capable of tearing the earth asunder, conjuring tidal waves, and even unleashing disease and pestilence. All of that was part of nature and more. It was kind of scary to think about.
Baby sat down in the soft grass and closed her eyes, feeling the mana buzzing just below the surface of her skin. It wasn’t still but it wasn’t really moving about either, it just . . . vibrated in place, waiting to spring lose. It felt different from the mana around her. Stretching her senses slightly, she prodded the ambient mana to try to get a better feel for it.
It was chaos. It raged and calmed and raged and calmed, swirling all about. How did it not tear everything in the meadow apart? Baby couldn’t help but recoil from the feel of it.
“It is powerful, no?” Delilah asked.
“How can I change my mana to match that?” Baby asked. “I would not want such a thing running lose inside of me.”
“But it already is,” said Delilah. “Remember what I said. Raw mana exists in all forms at the same time.”
“But won’t the other aspects balance each other out? Like water counters fire?” asked Baby.
“Water can overwhelm fire sure. But so too can fire overwhelm water. And just what do you think would counter nature? It is life and death, earth, water, fire, lightning, and wind all at the same time. How would you balance that?” asked Delilah.
For the first time, Baby felt a spark of real fear about learning to wield the powers of nature. “But don’t they say nature finds its own balance?” Baby asked.
Delilah scoffed and replied, “What fool said such a thing? Nature does not know balance, it does not strike back at the farmer who tills the earth and cuts down the beans at harvest, just as the farmer cannot strike back at nature for the drought caused by some fool mage in the next province. It would be nice if nature kept a balance, but it does not, cannot. There are no scales that says if there is a drought in province A, that there will be flooding in province B.”
“So how do you withstand such chaos?” Baby asked.
“You are overthinking it. Nature just is, you are part of it and it is part of you, accept it and change your mana to match,” stated the sage firmly.
Baby’s frown deepened. Sighing, she tried again to feel the nature around her. Reaching out with her senses she touched the ambient energy that buzzed through the air. Again, she felt the chaos of nature, the electricity of lightning and the booming of thunder, the blistering heat of the deserts, the raging winds of a storm, and the end of life. She wanted very much to recoil again, to shy away. But then she felt something else. A cool breeze, a light rain, the bloom of flower, the birth of a new life. It was still chaos, but there was also order, the cycle of life and death, the changing of the seasons, all of this was part of nature.
“See, not so bad,” said Delilah.
Baby opened her eyes to see Delilah sitting across from her and smiling.
“No, not so bad,” said Baby, closing her eyes again. She understood that she would not want to become one with nature. But embracing nature? That was something she could do. And slowly but surely, she nudged at her own mana, trying to realign it with the aspects of nature. When she felt she was finally there she opened her eyes to an unexpected but happy occurrence.
You have learned the Sage spell ‘Aspects of Nature’
Aspects of Nature
Level: 1
Experience: 0.00%
Spell Effect (Passive): Improves spells related to nature magics, reducing spell cost 0.10% and increase spell effects 0.10%
It was fantastic. A passive ability that improved her nature magic, it seemed to be a precursor spell. It was also strange, there was no mana cost, yet it was still listed as a spell and not a skill in her menus.
“I’ve just learned a spell, ‘Aspects of Nature’,” said Baby, looking at the meditating sage.
“Good, that was rather quick too,” said Delilah, opening her eyes.
Class Quest Alert: Natural Alignment of Mana (Recommended Level 14-16) – Completed!
The Grand Fairy Sage Delilah has set a task for you in order to begin learning ‘Sage Magic’. You must learn to align your mana with the aspects of nature without the assistance of a spell.
Reward: +30,000-Experience, Sage Spell ‘Aspects of Nature’
“Next, you need to use your nature aspect’s mana to shape the spell.”
“What about the spell words?” Baby asked, happy for the completed class quest and hopeful a follow up quest would soon follow.
“Shape the spell, we can worry about the words later,” said Delilah, waving away Baby’s concer
ns.
“So, how do I shape this spell?” Baby asked.
“You are wrapping your target in layers of nature mana, like a second skin,” instructed Delilah. “This should be done in an instant covering the entirety of that which you wish to protect.”
“Sounds easy,” said Baby sarcastically.
Delilah chuckled a little. “Good luck.”
Class Quest Alert: The Sage’s Ward (Recommended Level 16-18)
You have taken the first step in learning the magic of the Sages. Now you must learn your first spell, the ‘Sage’s Ward’. One of the most powerful protective spells known to the World Tree.
Reward: Experience, Sage Spell ‘Sage’s Ward’
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
Mentally accepting the quest, Baby sighed, her shoulders slouching a little. Still seated in the soft grass, Baby closed her eyes once more. She had an idea of what she needed to do, and it began with aligning a lot of her mana with the aspects of nature. It took a while for her to realign so much mana.
“Um, any suggestions on how to start?” Baby asked, peaking at the Grand Sage.
Delilah smiled, cracking her own closed eye a little. She held up one finger and flexed it a few times before resuming her meditation.
Baby frowned at the cryptic reply. What the point of waggling a single finger at her like that? Was it some kind of strange fairy wave? Not sure what else to do, Baby held out her hand and flexed her pointer finger.
Baby’s frown deepened as she stared at the little finger. Unsure of what she was supposed to do. Then she remembered something Bye-bye had taught her and Rose and the rest of their friends. The easiest way to learn a new skill was one step at time. What if she was supposed to do the same with learning ‘Sage’s Ward’? What if she needed to start out small, protecting something easy . . . easy like a finger?
Frown gone, Baby smiled a little as she concentrated on the finger she wanted to protect. She reached back to her mana to find all the nature aligned mana she created had reverted to normal, unaligned mana. Understanding she would need to test out the rate of decay later, she transformed her mana to the aspects of nature once more.
With her mana aligned, she nudged it into wrapping tightly around her finger . . . it proved to be a mistake when the finger she intended to protect was crushed in an instant.
“Owee!” the little fairy howled, forgetting the nature mana and instead casting ‘Beginner Nature’s Heal’, trying to target her crushed digit and restore it.
Delilah giggled.
“What are you laughing at?” Baby snapped, nursing her finger, despite the limited pain having long since vanished.
“Just remembering,” said Delilah, still sounding amused. “The same thing happened to me when my Grand Sage Fairy taught me.”
“Oh,” said Baby dumbly, then she giggled a little. It felt good to know she wasn’t the only one and probably wouldn’t be the last.
“Anyway, back to work. I should be ready to return us to the Royal Fairy Tree in about 2-hours. You have until then to complete the spell,” instructed Delilah.
Baby accepted the time limit, she needed to head back to the Duchess’s manner when she finished anyway. Closing her eyes, she felt for her mana once more and began to guide it. This time trying to imagine a shell surrounding the finger but not touching the finger.
It didn’t take too long to get the basic idea and was about to try to cover more fingers when Delilah interrupted. “That is a good start, but you must layer the mana over itself, then compress it.”
Baby nodded, focusing on the mana encasing her finger, trying to add another layer of mana then mentally pushing the outer shell down on the inner shell only for it to suddenly fracture and crush her finger once again.
Another round of healing, giggles and promised reprisals, Baby tried again. And again, she crushed her poor little digit. “What am I doing wrong?” Baby asked this time.
“Each layer must reinforce the next layer, so as much as you push in on the outer layer, you must also push out with the inner layer. Now, try again,” instructed Delilah.
Baby tried again, this time trying to push out with the inner layer as she pushed in with the outer layer.
“Better, now add another layer,” instructed Delilah, now watching keenly as Baby worked her mana.
When Baby got to ten layers of compressed mana, it seemed Delilah was finally satisfied.
“Good, let the mana go and start over. You need to be much faster. You should be able to form and compress ten layers of mana in an instant,” ordered the Grand Sage, her eyes closed again, her meditation resumed.
Baby childishly stuck her tongue out at the elderly fairy. It took most of the time she had left with the Grand Sage to increase her speed to the point where the layered mana formed almost instantly.
“Good, now you know what to do. Protect yourself completely . . . just don’t crush yourself, I cannot resurrect you in this place,” stated Delilah, leaving her meditation, then added, “And you really will not like where you resurrect.”
“Where would I resurrect?” Baby asked.
“Hades, hell, the far shores, or any of the many afterlife realms the World Tree has to offer,” answered Delilah.
“Why? Why did you have to tell me that? I would have preferred being blissfully ignorant,” said Baby, grumbling under her breath and seemingly amusing the Grand Sage in the process.
Baby fluttered her wings, lifting her back onto her feet, a lazy way to stand up but one she really enjoyed.
A deep breath blew out shakily, showing just how nervous Baby felt at the prospect of dying by being crushed by her own spell.
“Relax, you will do well,” said Delilah, trying to reassure Baby.
Baby took a few more deep breaths trying to calm herself. Closing her eyes, she tried to picture herself clearly.
“The words,” said Delilah, whispering into Baby’s ear.
Baby nodded, and stated the phrase clearly, imagining the nature aligned mana encompassing her and protecting her, all the layers forming and compressing in an instant. When it was done, Baby was slightly hesitant to open her eyes for fear she would wake up in the afterlife. Cracking one eye she was pleased to see she was still in the meadow and Delilah was standing across from her, smiling.
“Well done,” said Delilah.
You have learned the Sage spell ‘Sage’s Ward’
Sage's Ward
Level: 1
Experience: 0.00%
Damage Absorbed: -1,000-HP Damage
Spell Cast Speed: Instant
Spell Mana Cost: 250
Spell Effect (Active): Protect a single target with a shield of magical energy able to absorbs up to -1,000-HP damage. Increases effect of 'Nature's Heal' by 0.10%.
Baby actually flew a few loops and barrel rolls through the air in celebration this time. Excited and happy for the new spell. It was fantastic and better than she had hoped for. Increased healing and absorbing -1,000-HP damage. Knowing Rose currently had just over 4,000-HP, meant she would be able to add another 1,000-HP to her health pool.
Class Quest Alert: The Sage’s Ward (Recommended Level 16-18) – Completed!
You have taken the first step in learning the magic of the Sages. Now you must learn your first spell, the ‘Sage’s Ward’. One of the most powerful protective spells known to the World Tree.
Reward: +100,000-Experience, Sage Spell ‘Sage’s Ward’
Baby was stunned by the quest completion’s reward. That was a ridiculous amount of experience. More so when the next system message popped up.
Congratulations! You’ve reached level 11!
+2 to bonus Nature Spells, +2-Intellect
As if that wasn’t enough.
“I hereby promote you to Initiate Sage,” added Delilah, smiling brightly.
Class: Initial Sage
Initiate Class Effects: -20% to nature spell damage, +25% to nature spell healing
“Thank you,” said Baby, giddy in a way that was completely fitting for the childlike fairy she played.
“Now, I believe it is time we were on our way,” said Delilah, ready to return to the Royal Fairy Tree.
“One question before we go,” said Baby, before Delilah could put a hand on her head.
Delilah nodded.
“The way I crushed my finger, could I use that same method to intentionally crush another person?” Baby asked. The thought had occurred to her that it could be a rather potent weapon.
“It is possible but remember, you are a fairy, crushing you would be easy. Crushing one of the large ones, much less so. You would be more likely to hold them in place for a few seconds, possibly strangle them for a few moments,” answered Delilah. “Alas, we do not have time, or we could explore the possibilities further. Perhaps, next time you visit the tree will have a chance to do so. I would also recommend next time, you send a letter ahead of time, so we might schedule more time together.”
Baby nodded, happy for the opportunity to train more with the Grand Sage. It had never occurred to her that she could send letters to the NPC’s in the game. It should have, but it didn’t.
“Now, let us be off,” said Delilah, laying a hand upon Baby’s head.
Chapter 18
Hangovers are rough in any world. They are worse when a rooster decides to make camp right outside your window. Thankfully, there were no roosters in Root City, at least not anywhere close to the manor we currently called home. No early morning crowing. Nothing to break me from my much-needed rest and recovery.
“Jack, get up already,” shouted Rose, pounding on my door loudly. “We’ve got stuff to do today.”