A/N: Shoutout to DemonLordShadowheart and their amazing stories, if they hadn't posted today you would only get the one chap. Instead, you get three! 2/3
Shortly after Siris was reincarnated, in the port city of Carata:
Captain Johan Saltfiend sighed for the umpteenth time since that morning. Casting a baleful glare over the robed figures boarding his ship, he returned to sketching out the route. He had been woken up before dawn by someone trying their damndest to break down his cabin door, and when he finally rolled out of his hammock to see what was so urgent he was greeted by a Libram Battlemage in full uniform. The man handed him a sack of coins before Johan could even ask a question and told him to be ready for departure in a few hours. It took threatening to toss the mage overboard to get a straight answer on what was happening.
Apparently, earlier that night the Collegium of Libram had detected a massive surge of mana and divinity to the far east, near where the Breaksteel Hive is. The corrupted formican hive that ripped apart Steelwater Bay years ago, and has yet to be purged due to lack of resources. Those with the strength to clear the hive refuse to do so, as it would leave their kingdom undefended while they are gone, and those without the strength refuse because they want to live. The only hope is that someone unaffiliated with any kingdom takes it upon themselves to wipe it out. Johan snorts, shaking his head.
Fat chance of that! I'd sooner see a sea serpent with feathers than someone clear that hellscape. Damnable cicada spawn fooling with dark magics. I'd bet my rum on one of their researchers finding an old book and calling up something far worse than some simple demon.
He sighs again. Finishing up charting the course to the island of Steelwater Bay, Johan steps out of his cabin and barks orders to his crew as the last of the Libram's climb aboard.
“Get those sails set ye’ fuckin maggots! If so much as a damn rope is loose, it'll be your ass under the keel!”
Back In The Present: Siris POV
Crushing another skull, I fall back against the crumbling wall, panting from exhaustion. Ever since that first scout that I killed, it's been group after group of these things. Unlike the first one that was alone, all the revenants afterwards have all been in groups of three or four. So far, I've yet to see anything but the scouts, but I get the creeping feeling that that won't hold up. It's been a little over two days since I reincarnated here, the first day dedicated to clearing the dungeon in the church and the second to practicing magic.
Turns out, all the bolt-type spells are fairly similar to magebolt. And if I learn them myself rather than through the system, they show up in my spellbook rather than my status. I thought back on how I learned magebolt, and shortly after figured out firebolt. I just have to make the mana move rapidly and chaotically, and icebolt was the opposite. There aren't bolt spells for wind, earth, or water, but I did figure out equivalents. Stone Shard for earth, it rips a chunk of stone from the ground and fires it at a target. All that took was forming a mana construct around a rock but keeping the mana from ‘hardening’ like it does normally. Wind was similar, with Windburst just needing me to expel some mana and focus on imbuing the air in front of myself. Water, though, was much harder than the others.
I couldn't reach the sea below the cliff, but I did manage to find a murky fountain that Purify quickly cleaned up. Trying the same thing I did with wind yielded no results, nor what worked with stone. It took far too long until it clicked. Each of the elements followed a pattern. Fire wanted to burn and consume, so agitating the mana as fuel created the spell. Stone wanted rigidity and structure, thereby creating a solid shell aligned with the element. Wind wants to move, to follow whatever path it wants, and feeding it mana to enact that desire gave me Windburst. So what does water want?
To flow. The most update n0vels are published on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝘯𝘦𝘵
Rather than trying to force the water to move with raw power, I began to imagine the mana flowing like water, condensing into a stream rather than the mist it normally is. Imagine my surprise when rather than controlling the water, new water began to form in the loop of condensed mana I created.
Huh. That works I guess…
Back in the present, I had gained another two levels from the fighting. That brought me to eight, and apparently another skill selection. However, I had options now.
Obviously, I choose to get a new class skill. The menu appears, and I ignore the summoning and conjuration skills. I want to get through the two manuals that I have before getting the skills through the system. I have the feeling that there's a way to get them manually like the bolt spells and the two new water ones.
Witchlock's Pact (Active): Form a magical contract with another party.
Magic Resistance (Passive): Reduce the effect of hostile magic.
Basic Alchemical Knowledge (Passive): Grant intuitive understanding of potions.
Mana Condensation (Passive): Condense internal mana.
The list was sparse this time, but two stood out to me. Magic Resistance would help a ton if something like the lich appeared, but I doubted that would happen anytime soon. Mana Condensation gives even less info than the skills normally do before I select them, but could be invaluable if it does what I think it will. It's a gamble, but…
Mana Condensation (Passive): Condenses internal mana stores, massively increasing capacity and efficiency at the cost of slight regeneration.
As I read it, I'm glad that my hunch was correct. Conjuring up a dagger, I note the changes in my mana. The orange is much more prominent, now less pumpkin-like and closer to the warm glow of a sunset. The natural blue hue of normal mana has shifted closer to a soft magenta, giving the blade the appearance of a slice of late afternoon sky. Admiring it for a bit, I peer a bit closer. The construct seems more… real, for lack of a better term. Rather than the previous transparent and ethereal look that it had before, it now resembles opaque crystal. A stray thought surfaces, and I begin to compact as much of my already condensed mana as I can. The dagger becomes more and more solid, lengthening into a proper blade. A slight curve makes itself known as the cutlass takes shape in my hand.
The crystal-like appearance becomes clearer and clearer, the pink wisps of mana linking together into intricate patterns along the orange blade. My incredible stores of mana begin to bottom out, and just as the final drops empty into the blade I feel a shift. The weightless mana construct gains mass, weighing down my arm as I heft the sword. The orange mana that makes up the majority of the cutlass hardens into true gemstone, glinting fractals of light sparking off the razor sharp edge. The magenta designs seem to warp and move across its surface, giving the illusion of ripples in water. I can sense that this is something special, and it would seem the system agrees.
Item Crafted: Sunset Cutlass (Rare, Bladed Focus)
A cutlass formed from immense amounts of attuned mana crystalizing into proper form. It can be used as a casting focus, aiding in the forming of spell constructs. Can also be used as a catalyst for certain rituals.
Oh, now I REALLY need to learn how to do rituals. The screeching of more revenants distracts me from my wonder, a squad of them turning a corner further down the street from me. Locking eyes with their own horribly disfigured gazes, I smile as I raise my new blade into position. They move first, unnaturally long limbs propelling them forward at tremendous speeds. However, I move faster, cutlass edge intercepting the lead one's initial charge. Dark claws spark off luminous crystal, and a flick of my wrist separates three hands at the elbow. The revenant screams in rage, undead eyes glaring balefully from sunken sockets. Another slash, and the head drops away with a soft thud. Two more abominations dart in around the falling corpse, and I hurriedly parry as many strikes as I can. Inevitably, a few attacks get through my defense, grazing claws unable to pierce my blessed skin. The sharp claws aren't the true danger, as I learned during a previous fight. Lines of festering black follow each attack, magical rot chewing through my flesh wherever they touch. Even my Fallen Nun’s Habit doesn't reduce the effect, the tiny amount of stimulation from the light touches easily overshadowed by the agony of the necrosis.
Swiftly dispatching the two as my regeneration fights the rot, I turn my gaze to the last one, who remained further back for some reason. This one, unlike all of the others, wears the tattered remains of robes that barely cling to its skeletal frame. A spark of intelligence gleams in its asymmetrical eyes, one malformed arm raising to point at me. Flashbacks from the lich fight prompt me to leap to the side as a beam of frost rips into the cobblestones where I stood. Ice crackles as the freezing magic swept towards me, but dodging it is child's play as the revenant mage’s arm sluggishly tracks my movement. Ducking in close to the creature, its body turns out to be even more frail than the scouts as a single swing splits it from head to abdomen. The kill notification confirms my suspicion.
Revenant Hive Magus Lvl 10 Slain
Trying to loot the body actually results in an item, unlike all the other revenants I've slain. A leatherbound book that appears similar to my own grimoire, but much older and more worn than even the two I earned from the dungeon.
Uncommon Skill Tome (Consumable, Knowledge)
A skill tome containing a mid-rarity knowledge based skill. Read to learn the contained skill.
I smile, opening it with a flash of blue light.