Chapter 68 A Difference of Time
Kara woke up with a jolt. She let out a reluctant sigh as she distanced herself from Luna. The pale-skinned Luna tried to reach for Kara"s warm body again only to settle for a pillow. The Fairy most certainly did not have her newly added power under control, and still reaching out at night and sending a pleasurable bit of Mana on instinct.
Stretching and deciding she wasn"t going to be able to sleep anyways, the Wolfkin looked over to where Rainer had vanished just half a day ago.
At that time, she wasn"t in any state to go back to sleep and had rushed to gather the rest of the party, only to discover what they already knew; there was nothing to do.
None of them understood Rainer"s means of teleportation let alone where he could be or how to help him.
With Luna leading the mood, no one seemed that worried about Rainer, apart from Kara. It wasn"t that they didn"t care, Luna likely did above all else. It was that no one could believe he wouldn"t return just fine.
Feeling like she was the weird one among them for stressing out over a giant Devil hand grabbing Rainer, Kara did what she could to busy herself. She talked to Laneth about any means of teaching Rainer"s apprentice to learn to read faster, only to discover the Fae had several language skill orbs tucked away for visiting diplomats. Something they always had made and prepared back when they weren"t shut off from the rest of the world.
It wasn"t hard for Laneth"s father to acquire one, as they were essentially stored away at this point. There would still be a bit of a learning curve with reading as Lilia had never done it before, but the knowledge would be there. That, and Rainer would have to convert any reading material to the Fae Language, but Kara ventured it was better than teaching her to read from scratch.
Otherwise, the Half-Demon delved into her training more than before. Doing her best to level her Aura body enchantments and bring her new cla.s.s to level 25. It left her to head back to sleep after half a day, having missed most of the night before.
Kara got off the bed and took the gla.s.sy blue orb out of her spatial ring. Skill orbs were incredibly rare and sometimes given as rewards from dungeons. According to Laneth, the Fae had discovered a way to preserve an empty orb and later fill it with a skill. But doing it with anything other than languages proved a challenge for the magic they used.
And they consumed the skill of the donator, taking a level 10 of the [Fae Language] to a level 4 skill orb.
She looked at it fondly, knowing how much Rainer would love to study it before giving it to Lilia.
Her thoughts, however, were interrupted.
Gunthar sat in meditation as he always did in the halls between all their rooms. A small portion of his mind reserved for [Soul Detection]. An act that would tire out even the strongest of mortal men mattered not to the undead.
Several presences entered the range.
Gunthar sat up and seeing no one where he sensed the Souls, now rushing to the front of the door to Kara and Luna"s room, went into a dead sprint.
His body shifted as his bones hardened and grew a few feet. The illusory form of a [Devil Lord] appeared only for a moment before his hand covered in an [Aura Blade] stabbed towards one of the Souls he sensed.
A wave of fear erupted out, inadvertently canceling all six of the Fae"s glamours.
Gunthar"s hand entered straight through the heart of one of the Fae, as his momentum carried them both through the wall.
A wolf"s howl shook the whole mansion as Kara shifted in an instant. Luna, waking up startled and covering herself with a magical construction, then lashed out with her flame at a [Grand Fae a.s.sa.s.sin]. The blue-haired Fairy did not even have a moment to scream as the over fueled Sacred Faerie Fire consumed him and the magic that made him.
But the attack was not over yet.
As the Void rushed past Rainer, he suddenly realized he wasn"t going to make it. He could feel it now, the protection the Fae had over their realm. Inconsequential for a shorter jump made from loose s.p.a.ce. But now, just the smallest addition added up to a huge change.
His trips through the Void up until now had been all but instant. Only his higher Intelligence letting him glimpse the omnipresent Void. Even more after his recent advancements. And yet with the now grand distance he crossed, barreling towards a protective barrier, it felt an eternity.
With all his will, he used [Void Sense] in every direction imaginable. Searching, grasping, wanting, to find even the slightest sign of a closer destination.
Propelling himself and Amer with the last of his Mana and Void Will, he diverted slightly from his goal and yet landed in an entirely different world.
An open field of gra.s.s showed two different scenes. In one scene was a newly made [Harbinger] gripping his head as he grimaced in pain.
In another was a one-armed man with a beard of white hair and tentacles rolling around and laughing.
"If your beds are half as soft as this strange fuzzy ground, it was a trade well worth it," Amer said to Rainer amidst his laughter, completely ignoring the fact Rainer was kneeling on the ground.
It took only a minute or so for Rainer to regain himself as he recovered from overextending his Void abilities. Long since burning through his Void Will. He had, over the course of the month with Amer, learned his acquirement of Void Will meant he could not only apply that resource to [Void-walking] but also cast it with purely his mind. No different than when he first used [Void Call].
It was a comforting thought. To know that even if his magic was entirely sealed he wasn"t powerless.
And now, with his head still in severe pain, Rainer knew even if he tried to finish the rush home now he may be more of a burden than help. His lack of Mana certainly wouldn"t be an a.s.set. That and his Familiar Bond painted a new and confusing picture.
"So, who the h.e.l.l was that?" Rainer asked, recalling Amer"s mentions of the Void Lords as not particularly strong by themselves.
"Void Lord Aurora. Or so I think. I can"t imagine anyone other than the higher ranked Void Lords being that strong. And only one is a young woman. Well, not young like you. She had attacked me in a rage after you disappeared into the Abyssal Dungeon. I think she a.s.sumed you to be switching cla.s.ses rather than taking a Trial and planned to attack the moment you did. Thankfully, I was able to teleport myself away. Am I to a.s.sume she still lives?"
"She does."
"Then that confirms it. The last attack you sent at her…" Amer shook his head at the memory of it. Not sure whether to be more impressed with the woman who somehow survived it or the man who fired it.
"Fledging Void Lord, the Devil Kings claimed you as. Serves them right to have died! Still for someone of her rank to bother coming to the Abyssal Plane from her own far lovelier plane…"
Rainer grimaced. Wondering if simply rejecting the gift of the Void being would have been enough to attract such attention. Or if his desire not to lose Void Will and subsequently steal it had caused this. But no matter. It wouldn"t do to regret his actions now.
"You should really practice with that [Acting] skill of yours. I need not even ask if you knew why she had been after you."
Following a self-deprecating laugh, Rainer answered, "Let"s just say not all my powers of the Void are fairly gained."
"A True Devil then."
Rainer now noticed Amer"s missing left arm again.
"What?" He asked, seeing where the [Archon]"s attention lay, "You think trapping someone as powerful as she came cheap?"
Rainer understood immediately. Blood Magic. He would offer to heal the arm once he figured out a better healing spell, but knew better. True Sacrifices were not simple things to heal, causing a scar on the very Soul of its caster. Even Amer"s Avatar magic wouldn"t let his second body have a functioning left arm. He had already lost three fingers on that same arm to blood magic before.
Rainer recalled a minor mention in one of the Blood magic books from Nalmar"s secret library. Likely something redacted from Sun Elf history. It wouldn"t do for the dark magic hating kingdom to idolize a user of it.
One of their once greatest heroes, who fought back invaders from another world so long ago, was an Aura user and a pract.i.tioner of Blood Magic. One by one he sacrificed each of his five major senses, winning important battles until he was left as an invalid. He in his last battle fought toward victory and his death through his Aura alone. Eventually sacrificing himself in his entirety to deal a crippling blow.
Not even the Sun Elf"s most powerful healing experts and magic were able to do anything for him.
Rainer felt that a spell version of [Arcane Invigoration] may fare better, but saw no reason to get the Devil"s hopes up. If anything, the future prospect of unrestricted blood magic use only motivated the [Archon] further to develop a healing spell. Not that he"d test a true sacrifice any time…ever.
Any reservations, however, of Rainer bringing the Devil back to his world were lost. Some of Amer"s talk on Blood Magic had Rainer hesitating to go through with his side of the bargain toward the end.
But he owed him too much to pull such a thing, even just to leave him wherever the h.e.l.l this world was. Rainer sighed, now only waiting for his Mana to recover. He glanced across the open gra.s.s field, wondering if he"d ever see this world again.
From the side Amer watched the [Archon] sink into thought and knew he made the right choice. In the month he spent with the young man, he figured out quite a bit about him. Even as they told stories to one another the [Archon]"s tight-lipped nature over details didn"t help to hide Rainer"s own true nature. And Amer made sure to mention his desire not to bother lying since they could discern them.
Of course, withholding information was different than lying, and yet even still, the [Archon] likely told more of himself than he would normally.
And so Amer knew how the Mage would react to such a large sacrifice. To even just saving his life. There was not even a doubt the [Archon] would try to take Amer with him to another world after that fight. That, and he had saved his little dragon by default as well. An infatuation he still had no understanding of, but nonetheless existed.
Though in reality, the situation wasn"t so heroic. He had prepared the sacrifice not for Rainer but to escape with his own life. But when Rainer had reappeared from the Trial, Amer managed to get away unscathed at that exact moment with nothing more than a teleport. Something the Void lord would have blocked had she not been distracted.
But he had miscalculated. The sacrifice was in no position to be stopped. And with him already realizing that he had likely signed his death warrant by simply a.s.sociating with the Mage there was only one real choice; Use the sacrifice to save Rainer and, in turn, himself.
Amer knew he gained a lifelong ally, whether he wanted him or not. Sure, he enjoyed the young man"s company, but not enough to risk so much without a gain in return. The [Archon] had told him too of the tier 2 level 25 Dungeon he planned to visit. And a Devil"s abilities with Miasma only extended to Aura, so he wasn"t particularly weaker here than on the planes.
Though the concept of a round world still bothered him.
Devils had a dual relationship with Dungeons. If a Devil followed the path of his racial cla.s.s, he was free from taking Trials and could use other means, some similar to monsters, to advance. But the moment he ranked up to a [Devil Lord], he could no longer access dungeons nor change his cla.s.s.
Alternatively, Amer choosing a path of cla.s.ses was free to enter dungeons.
After a long while of thought, the [Archon] finally spoke again.
"Thank you."
Amer nodded, saying nothing else.
"Get ready to leave in about an hour, this isn"t the world I was aiming for. The moment I have enough Mana to jump home we"re gone. Though it seems I may have jumped the gun with the Trial…"
"What do you mean?" Amer asked, ignoring the slight shiver that went through his body at the prospect of this being not the world Rainer was aiming for. The idea that Rainer could miss when traveling between worlds, Amer along with him, was disconcerting.
"I ran to the Trial because I was sure my companions back home were in danger. Remember I told you about the time difference? Well, just a few minutes here and…"
Rainer looked out across the gra.s.sy plain and wondered how concern quickly turned to joy.
More time pa.s.sed, as Rainer let his Mana recover. Neither Luna"s nor Gunthar"s bonds showed anything of concern, and were in fact the opposite even still. He let himself recover a bit more in light of this, not wanting to chance bouncing off, or worse, against the protection of the Fae Realm.
Before Rainer"s final Void-walk to home Amertiyus posed a question.
"Anything I should know, besides the need to hide my appearance once we leave this Fae Realm of yours?"
Rainer rubbed the month-long beard on his chin as he thought it over. The beard was decent enough, the new texture of his far darker hair gave him quite the texture improvement. [Arcane Invigoration] in Rainer"s mind may have played a role in making it grow a bit more than it should have. Thinking to make a tradition, he opted to let Luna"s fire handle it. With a knife and his high Const.i.tution, the task wasn"t hard; he did not even need to be careful.
Realizing that was nowhere near the goal of Amer"s question he finally responded with what he thought as a good idea.
"Resident Devil Expert for the Arcane Order. That"s what we"ll tell the Fae. As for the language barrier, I"ll think about it."
Amer raised a white eyebrow at the [Archon]. He had told him of his "genius" Arcane Order idea. How anyone believed an Order of powerful mages would trust the brash and reckless 20-year-old in a diplomat-like position was beyond him. But he could agree, power often had a way of distorting reason. He couldn"t imagine anyone would actually be brave enough to call him out on it, given how the [Archon] spoke of the power of the Fae in relation to his own.
The Devil gave a sigh as the now recovered Mage placed a hand on his shoulder. And with all the belief he could muster, hoped the [Archon]"s act of missing wasn"t a regular occurrence.
The pair vanished moments later.
In the wake of the attack, Kara and Luna sat by one another at the edge of the bed.
"Luna, do you actually believe he"ll be mad at you?" Kara asked, brushing the Fairy"s silver hair with her hand.
Gunthar stood nearby, still on guard and searching through the heartless body for anything on his ident.i.ty. Fae a.s.sa.s.sins had come for them once more and were just as successful as the first failed attempt. The only difference being the party now lacked a Void-walking Rainer to catch one of the fleeing a.s.sa.s.sins. One who had stopped in shock at appraising a Fairy who had just used her flame to remove his fellow attacker from existence.
One who had managed to escape.
Their target, however, was quite clear this time. Kara.
Though their attack was an absolute failure, even with several 2nd Tier a.s.sa.s.sins. Whether it was Gunthar"s Devil Lord Soul and [Soul Detection], or Kara"s dual cla.s.ses and Demonic nature, the Fae a.s.sa.s.sins simply stood no chance despite their tier advantage. An advantage they likely counted on with someone perhaps finding out the [Archon] was missing for almost a day. An advantage made pointless when an eight-foot-tall horned skeleton charged through a wall with his hand through an a.s.sa.s.sin"s chest.
Even the possibly weakest of their group had used her flame to consume the magical nature of the Fairy.
When Luna didn"t respond, Kara continued talking. She brought up earlier that with Elru not understanding what Luna"s cla.s.s meant, it was unlikely the a.s.sa.s.sin would either. That him running and being shocked was a result of Luna"s flame devouring his ally rather than an [Appraisal]. But that had done nothing to ease the violet-eyed Fairy.
"Did he get mad when you almost let him wear a cursed robe? Or when you fell asleep on guard duty?"
Luna shook her head. Kara, of course, didn"t mention that he definitely should have gotten mad at her for both of those.
"In fact, I"m beyond sure about what he"ll say when"s he"s back,"
"What..?" The fairy asked in a quiet voice.
Kara"s voice lowered an octave before taking a strange pose with her shoulders rolled back.
"Ha Ha Ha. So, all those silly Fae now know about your Flame? Well…looks like we won"t have to hide you anymore. How convenient."
Gunthar stumbled on a laugh, an inner battle raging on. Rainer"s unusual acceptance of strange situations and people was probably the only reason himself, his father, Luna and Kara were alive and well today. But even with the embellishments, he couldn"t imagine the Sorcerer saying anything else. But it clearly cheered the Lady of the Fae up.
"I"m telling Rainer you were laughing at him when he gets back," Luna finally responded with her own smile when both Kara and Gunthar joined in laughing.
Kara paid Luna"s comment no mind, but Gunthar suddenly felt an impossible shiver crawl up his back. He was undead after all.
The group"s mood was suddenly altered as a wave of power they"d never felt before washed over them.
Gunthar reacted in an instant, his bones cracking as he soared in height and strength, taking on the Soul of a [Devil Lord] once more.
From nowhere a man stepped into existence. A beard and hair darker than darkest nights. Eyes that shone with untold power. Only his connection to the Sorcerer let him recognize Rainer before he did anything hasty.
"Rainer," Luna went towards him and ended up falling on him as he collapsed back. Glowing silver hair a contrast to his far darker black.
Rainer did nothing else but smile as he embraced his favorite Fairy after so long. Long for him in any case. Though judging by how tightly the lithe Luna squeezed him, it almost felt like she had missed him for just as long. Only the lack of extreme reactions from the rest of the group told him it hadn"t been too extended of a departure.
The fairy completely ignored the far stranger sight standing on Rainer"s right. The Wolfkin did not.
Kara stared at the absolutely odd…man…Rainer had brought back with him. No one in the party, her included, was surprised, though. At most their newest addition looked cautious, but that may very well be solely from the Devil"s appearance. Or that she was just a little girl presented with a face belonging to a nightmare.
Far be it from Rainer to return from a land of Devils without making a friend. In fact, with Rainer"s taller frame and beard covering his face, the presence of the strange Devil was more a clue to the [Archon]"s ident.i.ty than anything else.
She nudged her head at Gunthar, and he agreed with the silent question as he shoved the Fae body decaying into mana under the bed. No reason to have Rainer go on a rampage after learning what had happened after he left. They"d tell him about it once things calmed down. Though the huge hole in the wall was a harder thing to hide.
And to their own embarra.s.sment, they realized Rainer fully saw Gunthar"s action. Not that he needed to. There was another half-torn body magically decaying in the hall. Fully visible through the hole.
Kara met her gaze with Rainer"s as he returned it, a quiet Luna in his lap, hugging him, as he sat on the floor. She did her best to try to remain angry at him, but with the reminder of feeling his power again her demon side took over and she decided to leave any lectures over reckless magic for a later time.
Rainer explained what had happened as Elru, Laneth, Furtak, and Theodore entered the room. Lilia followed behind, oddly not cautious of the Goblin given her past experiences.
Strange..
Rainer thought. He always viewed racism as an illogical idea, for Lilia not to be bothered by Furtak despite what had happened meant she was more than just a girl with an affinity for Soul magic. Not that he"d blame her in the slightest for any ill thoughts towards Goblins. It wasn"t like she had been attacked by a single goblin, but a slave of an entire tribe of them, even if she fared better than most hiding her ident.i.ty.
And given Furtak"s mentions of his kind outside his tribe, he"s likely a strange case.
Though, in this world with a system that literally gave bonuses and negatives due to one"s race, it wasn"t completely illogical. He could see where a Demon"s lack of value towards other races came from when they were frankly told how much stronger they were than everyone else.
Amer stood off to the side, only slightly remarked by the room"s visitors before their attention returned to the [Archon].
The prospect of a time difference brought less surprise than the fact Rainer was now not only level 24 with his [Archon] cla.s.s but had another 2nd Tier cla.s.s. Though Luna"s reveal of the fact made it an even larger surprise.
"Hara-binger?" She questioned, finally having loosened her hold around Rainer enough to use [Appraisal].
"El-da-rich Draconic Mage?"
"When did Rainer get such strange new cla.s.ses? And Rainer got a second 2nd Tier cla.s.s without Luna"s help…" She glared, not happy at being left out of the Trial.
Though everyone"s else expression bordered between shock, surprise, and a quiet mumble of "As expected, Sorcerer…"
Kara"s expression was unreadable as she contemplated the ma.s.sive distance Rainer had put between them again, but the rest just seemed interested in the strength of his new cla.s.s and ident.i.ty of the Devil standing in the room.
They all remembered a far different image for any Devils they met. Amertiyus certainly wasn"t pleasant to look at, but he wasn"t a monster or a ma.s.sively tall and muscled [Devil King].
Throughout the whole conversation, Luna set about carefully using her flame to remove Rainer"s beard, though she left the longer hair on his head intact this time.
Only Kara remained in the room with Luna and Rainer as the rest of the party left. Rainer, with Luna shrunken on his shoulder, momentarily led Amer to his own room and dropped everything he took from the Abyssal Realm in there so the Devil could organize his possessions.
As they walked back, Rainer spoke to Luna as he rubbed the remaining hair on his face.
"Why didn"t you get it all?" He asked, still rubbing the goatee.
"First hero left and then never came back for his fairy. So, Luna thought to make Rainer look like Villain since he always comes back."
"Luna…you know I would have summoned you if I could. The Miasma…"
"Luna knows," The Fairy responded, though she seemed quite perturbed after learning just how long Rainer had been gone. She had immediately switched to her smaller form during that part of the conversation. And knowing how her personality shifted when she altered between forms, Rainer found it disconcerting. He"d need to speak to her about it sooner rather than later.
But he only sighed, quite exhausted after his Trial. She seemed happy enough back at his side. Anything else, including his plans on no longer hiding Luna from any Fae or anyone else, would have to wait till morning.
He headed back to the room to see Kara not there anymore. With her already wearing his ring that he created it took only a moment before he appeared by her side.
She stood on a balcony looking out. Seeing Rainer suddenly appear next to her was a surprise before she realized what he likely thought.
Apart from her Spatial Ring, she wore the ring Rainer gave her beside it. A silver ring covered in red runic lines and marked with a small black diamond-looking stone.
[Ring of the Bonded Werewolf: Allows for instant demonic werewolf-type transformation with no additional cost. Increases the power of Demonic Aura by 50%. Only applies to Werewolf-Type Demons. Prevents use of Mana. Only applies to Half-Demons. Creates pseudo-bond with: Rainer Nvos]
"Sorry. I guess it"s not comforting when I just disappear on you," She said with more bite than she intended.
Rainer just stood next to her, himself now leaning on the railings of the balcony, not at all bothered by her statement.
A few moments pa.s.sed between the two, Rainer waiting as Kara seemed to have something on her mind.
"You know I can"t even be mad at you can I? What could I have done? What could any of us have done?"
Rainer didn"t answer. Apart from perhaps Theodore and some holy ability he knew nothing about or an enchantment of Elru"s, there wasn"t anything to be done. He would have been taken with or without anyone nearby.
Even worse…someone might have been taken with him. He thought as he glanced at Kara.
"It would have made it worse, wouldn"t it? That"s why you never summoned Luna. You could have always used Gunthar or Theodore to teleport back."
"I"m tired of it…being so much weaker." She finally said, "the moment this new cla.s.s of mine reaches level 25, I want to…I am taking my Trial."
Rainer sighed. It wasn"t a question or a request for advice. It was a statement. He could stop her, magically anyways. Not that he ever would. He knew it wasn"t his choice to make.
But part of him agreed with her decision. He couldn"t always protect her, and in any future battles, she would be at risk simply being around him if she wasn"t strong enough. And the if the prophecy ended up true for this world as well as Gunthar"s previous one, all of the current world would wish to see her dead or otherwise.
Losing her to the Trial was a possibility, but having her captured by any Demon could be far worse for Kara.
Either way, he"d delay it as long as he could, making her the strongest possible Body Enchantments in the meantime.
"You"re only level 19 for now. Besides, I"ve been thinking of some new enchantments," and a way he can enter the Trial if need be, "I"d like to finish them first. It wouldn"t be hard, finding a Demonic Dungeon, I could even meet the parents, so to speak," He added some levity to the situation. Not that he looked forward to meeting a mother, that put her little girl through the slaughter that was the Demon"s rite of pa.s.sage.
Kara suddenly pulled him into a kiss, ignoring the Fairy on his head that seemed happy with them making up.
"Let"s go back to sleep then. Maybe without a month-long vacation thrown in?" Kara said.
"Agreed."
They spent a few moments leaning against each other on the balcony. Rainer"s new height proving a good help as he had one hand scratching her Wolven ears with ease.
"Don"t think I"ve forgiven you for leaving that easily," She added, and against her own words leaned into his hand, "Hmm, so maybe a little easy." She conceded.
Rainer, now in a different room given the state of his previous, lay between Kara and an already asleep Luna.
"What"s with the goatee?" Kara asked. She noticed it before, but other things had been on her mind.
Rainer laughed, hiding the real reason behind it.
"Luna thought it fit with my darker hair. Might as well embrace the look of the Evil Sorcerer."
Kara looked at him strangely before he amended his statement.
"I convinced her to get rid of the rest tomorrow."
"Good," Kara said before chuckling, "It does make you look villainous. Are you sure you"re still human?" The Wolfkin asked. She didn"t particularly care about the answer either way, but seeing him several inches taller and with unnaturally dark hair, she couldn"t help but wonder. And the ways his eyes glowed with magic at times…were she not so entranced by it she"d probably think it even stranger than she currently thought.
"That"s what it says. Besides, any magic unrelated to the Void would probably be impossible otherwise."
Kara hummed in response, playing with one of his longer strands of hair.
"I like the new color."
Rainer found it looked nice next to Kara"s black hair and Wolf ears tipped with white and Luna"s often glowing silver hair. It wouldn"t do for his hair to be the only normal kind.
Kara nuzzled back into his side, Luna on his other. The wolfkin who was once only a little over an inch shorter than he was now seemed far smaller. Luna even more so, though she was the tallest female Fae he"d met yet at 5"6"".
After his Trial and a month spent sleeping on rough…fur, or so he hoped was fur, the softness of the expensive Fae bed got to him. Thoughts for any other night time activity left his mind.
Kara did not seem to mind; it was only half a day for her compared to his month.
And he was no stranger to extended periods of time away from normal social contact, Amer"s blood magic teachings notwithstanding.
After all, he had gone from an active high school social life, one facilitated by his sleeping habits, to a full-on recluse in his first year of college as he created what would eventually be [Void-walking]. The small reminder of home and the upcoming ritual to clear him of any tracking to his Soul from Amer meant he"d have another shot to track his sister.
He wouldn"t visit, not risking the chances of the system failing him there and not being able to return, but he needed to at least see them. Maybe even pa.s.s along a message some way or another.
And so, he let the night take him. Knowing full well he"d be waking up in a different place in any case. He wasn"t ready for a full-on rest just yet. The results of the Trial and why he only ended up making 5 items needed an answer.
In the White Void of [Sleep Learning], Rainer found a calm to look over his recent gains. Prior to opening any status screens, Rainer looked over the stack of notes in front of him. The ones he left before losing his memories.
The first page had a number 5 underlined and bolded at the top. Along with a "You forgot to write this down last time dumba.s.s."
He felt oddly offended, even if it was technically him who wrote the insult. Though it did explain why he only created 5 items, despite all his numerous t.i.tles.
The next page offered a explanation on Kara"s ring. Parts citing how binding it solely to Kara Varg, was considered a positive, but a race was considered a negative. But with how rare Half-Demons were, even if it was considered a negative, it felt almost like cheating. He loved that.
Second was the blocking of Mana use. In the notes, it described information of the item becoming aware to him, in that anyone without Mana couldn"t use this Ring fully. But with Kara having 0 Talent for Magic or Mana, and yet still having some, it was the perfect negative for her.
As he read through more of the notes, he absentmindedly thought of the different tiers of his t.i.tles and whether having some listed as 3rd Cla.s.s was a full confirmation that the third tier existed.
And finally, a look at his new status after receiving all the deferred experience and a level up of [Void-walking] to level 3 from his intentional diversion.
[Name: Rainer Nvos]
[Age: 20]
[Primary Cla.s.ses: Archon(2nd) Lvl 24/25, Harbinger(2nd) lvl 10/25]
[t.i.tles: Immortal Slayer]
[Tier 1: Arcane Scholar, Fae Contractor, Dungeon Pioneer, Philanderer, Trollsbane, Devilsbane, Wielder of s.p.a.ce and Time, Wielder of Fire and Brimstone, Wielder of Water and Tides, Wielder of Terra and Foundation, Wielder of Shadows and Darkness, Wielder of Light, Wielder of Ice and Frost, Wielder of Mind and Illusion, Manipulator of the Elements, Arcane Elementalist, Basic Elementalist, Energy Drainer, Shaman, Speaker of Power]
[Tier 2: Wielder of the Arcane, Master of s.p.a.ce and Time, Master of Ice and Frost, Immortal Slayer, Chosen Slayer, Queen Slayer, Devastator, Corruptor]
[Tier 3: Draconic Contractor, Master of the Arcane, Arcane Speaker, Magus of Tongues, Draconic Magus, Voidwalker, One who defies Divinity]
[Exp: 3.1%, 12%]
[Sub-cla.s.ses: Chronomancer lvl 11/25, Mage of Tongues lvl 19/25, Arcane Speaker lvl 19/25, Eldritch Draconic Mage, lvl 23/25]
[Race: Human]
[Skill Points: 165]
[Talents: Excellent Arcane Affinity, Human Growth, Gift of the Fae(Luna)]
[Stamina: 38/38]
[Stamina Regen: .1% per second]
[Mana: 334/334(414)]
[Mana Regen: .0298 per second]
[Arcane Power: 145/145(180)]
[Conversion Ratio: 1-12]
[Arcane Aura: 19/19(29)]
[Void Will: 84/84]
[Void Will Regeneration: .00298]
[Const.i.tution: 37(+2)]
[Affinity: 414]
[Vitality: 36(+2)]
[Endurance: 38(+2)]
[Strength: 38]
[Dexterity: 38]
[Intelligence: 367(+2)]
[Willpower: 149]
[Arcane Attunement: 180]
[Arcane Alacrity: 26]
[Arcane Cohesion: 28]
[Gravity Control: 26]
[Blood Capacity: 33]
[Language Transmission: 30]
[Aura Control: 29]
[Aura Attunement: 29]
[Void Awareness: 215]
[Void Resonance: 106]
[Void Attunement: 26]
[Attribute Points: 94]
[Void-walking] increasing in level had been a surprise, but he had pushed the spell to a new limit. Having more time in the Void than usual let him change his original course, something he hadn"t done before. It would take an almost impossibly fast reaction to do it normally, but he a.s.sumed he could do the same now.
However, what had surprised him was not [Void-walking] and getting [Harbinger] to level 10 after his deferred t.i.tles, but rather the experience it gave to his level 24 [Archon].
A whole 3%.
It wasn"t bad, Rainer ventured. Level up several tier 7 spells and he"d cross the so-called impossible gap. That he had no idea how to actually level either of his two tier 7 spells, one of which may eventually be tier 8, and that [Absolute Frost] cost far too much to casually use, made the simple statement far more difficult to accomplish.
Rainer then looked at the new skill store he unlocked.
The descriptions of the skills before purchasing were as helpful as they had been for [Voidwalker]. Almost out of spite he simply wanted to buy [Time Manipulation] from his [Archon] store first instead.
[Harbinger Cla.s.s Skills Currently Available]
[Void Harmony: Cost 100 skill points. The Void is omnipresent in its existence, always available to a Harbinger in their purpose. Showing them the way amidst the tides of change.]
[Void Presence: Cost 100 skill points. The Void is omnipresent in its existence, always available to a Harbinger in their purpose. Letting them display their will.]
This one he could at least guess from his own [Arcane Presence].
[Void Insulation: Cost 100 skill points. The Void is omnipresent in its existence, always available to a Harbinger in their purpose. Allowing them to defend against any intrusion.]
He didn"t remember exactly what the descriptions for his [Voidwalker] skill store had been but knew that had been about as informative as these. At least [Arcanist] and [Archon] had more obvious ones. There wasn"t much of a question what [Arcane Weaving] or either of the manipulation skills did.
Ignoring them for now, Rainer looked at his cla.s.s and a new attribute over and over again.
[Harbinger: One who has wielded Magic to master the omnipresent Void. Whose presence heralds the Call of the Void, and the coming of its power free from restrictions. Their path is unblockable, their will immovable, their power"s unlimited as the omnipresent Void itself. 200% General Improvement to s.p.a.ce, Time, and Void Magic and Skills. 100% General Improvement to s.p.a.ce, Time, and Void Manipulation skills. 70% Less Cost for all Void-related Magic and Skills. +5 Intelligence +5 Affinity, +8 Void Awareness, +8 Void Resonance per level.]
[Void Resonance: Increases one"s ability to use Magic to wield the power of the omnipresent Void.]
He understood that any Void Lord wouldn"t have a cla.s.s like this. That having Magic improved, or even s.p.a.ce and time skills didn"t matter for the Abyssal Elves, that were likely Void-touched or otherwise by nature.
And he thought back to his most recent battle. He could have done better. Used [Void Domain] or [Void Sense] to keep track of her attacks better. Using one of his other numerous spells to attack her rather than a hastily thrown together [Absolute Frost].
But just because someone knew 10,000 words of a language didn"t mean they could throw them out as they pleased. Anyone fluent in a language would struggle to write just 1,000 words they knew without context or pause.
And the very cla.s.s he gained and its description seemed to be an answer for his current problems. [Void Call], [Void Mastery], [Void Grasp], [Void Hold], [Void Seer], [Void Sense], it was too much for him to contemplate in battle, on top of his already ma.s.sive spell library. And even then, it wasn"t just using the skills.
It was making sure he didn"t overuse them and kill himself.
If [Harbinger] was a cla.s.s of magic, then he needed to have a magic worthy of such a thing.
[Void Resonance] was a hint. A hint that practically slapped him across the face and told him to trust in the reason he got the [Voidwalker] cla.s.s in the first place. But a hint nonetheless.
And both [Void-walking] and [Void Domain] could too be severely improved by Void Will. His newer resource would not be useless at all, but instead, serve to be more efficiently used rather than one or two powerful and fast [Void Call]s. Saving as well his Mana for other uses.
He needed to create a spell that used his knowledge of the skills of the Void. His knowledge of s.p.a.ce and Time. The power of his Domains. After all, if his skills were limited by [Void Detection] anyways, why not tie them to a single powerful spell?
And just as he created [Absolute Frost] to be as unlimited as the power provided, so too would he settle for nothing less with such an important undertaking.
Absolute…
Rainer"s grin was all but feral as he stared at the nothingness around him. A series of spells for not just this but for the problem of the Fae"s Disease as well. A series of spells that were Absolute. A series of spells that would define him as a Magus.
An Absolute Magus, he mused, wondering if such a t.i.tle could be made solely for him. Before laughing at himself. Now was not a time for delusions of grandeur. After all, he didn"t particularly care what he was known for. All that mattered was reaching new heights of magic, and if no one else knew of his accomplishments? So be it.
He wouldn"t even mind if his academy was eventually a failure so long as it sp.a.w.ned compet.i.tion in the form of other schools across the world, or worlds, as he now thought. All of it was for the progress of magic in the end. Bringing others up to his level, so that they could transcend it in their own unique ways as he trod his own path forward and used their advancements as well.
In the end, [Absolute Frost] was only possible with [Frozen Sun] and [Deliverance]. And with [Will of the Arcane] a magical language he only learned after studying the [Druidic Language] and then the [Devil"s Soul Language].
But for now, he had more recent goals.
Kara"s improvement took center stage, and he had many ideas for new Body Enchantments for her. He had a group of Fae to heal. And another, to let known the consequences of their actions, whoever the h.e.l.l they were.
With no one there to receive any real anger, Rainer had remained mostly calm as they told him of the attempt. But internally a different picture was being painted, but as now, he shook those thoughts away again.
Rainer"s face already grimaced as he prepared to turn [Water"s Gentle Touch] into an Arcane based healing spell. And then a far stronger one at that. Incorporating all he knew of the Arcane, Blood Magic, and some newly gained Magical language ability.
But one needed an injury to practice healing.
It would not be a pleasant affair.
For the first time, he awoke quite happy to end his [Sleep Learning] session. Both Kara and Luna still slept. He slipped away, and as he put on his overcoat, Tiamat, who was at the end of the bed, entered her favorite spot on her own.
Kara suddenly shot up and grabbed Rainer by the coat, before her half-asleep self realized what she did. She stared at Rainer for a moment before laying back down, knowing full well what came over her but not wanting to acknowledge it.
"Kara…"
"It may have been a month for you but for me, it was just yesterday," she whispered, "Don"t be so quiet about waking up next time?"
Rainer nodded, as Kara tried to go back to sleep. He suddenly understood how much he underestimated his disappearance. Much of the shock had dulled after his use of [Absolute Frost]. He had been so focused on studying a new Magic, and with the Familiar Bond quiet most of the time, that shock had almost completely faded.
It wasn"t just Luna he overlooked.
He smiled as Luna sought out warmth from Kara, and the Wolfkin tried to half-heartedly escape, only to end up a bit content in the fairy"s clutches.
Rainer left the room, the ritual to end anyone tracking his soul likely ready by now.
It left only a quick meet up with Amer to end any possible connections to his Soul. As Rainer exited the room and met with the Devil, Amer made his future plans known.
"Once we leave this…Fairy place, I"ll be heading elsewhere," The Devil said.
Rainer shrugged. Amer had already given him more than enough material on Blood Magic and teachings to get started on them. If the Devil wished to go off on his own, Rainer had no reason to stop him.
"I"ll be seeing ya then," Rainer said before adding another thing, "There are plenty of evil people in this world. I brought you here…I guess that makes it my fault if you do something worthy of being called a Devil. Make sure you thoroughly check someone before using blood magic, yeah?"
Rainer didn"t feel responsible for using his power to fight evil or anything of the sort. But he would not be comfortable with the Devil he brought here sacrificing a town for any sort of magic.
"Not an issue," The Devil agreed. He had already planned on hunting bandits to help rebuild his Avatar. No reason to p.i.s.s off the Mage Guilds the [Archon] had spoken of as the magical law of the land. He viewed this comfortable place as a sort of retirement prior to eventually joining the groups raiding the Tier 2 Dungeon, and seeing if he might have a chance at advancing to the 3rd tier before his lifespan ran out.
Rainer left the Devil moments later to get some work in before he"d head out later tonight with Luna.
Back in their room, Rainer sat with Luna draped over his shoulders. She looked down at the paper she created as Rainer wrote on it, mumbling to himself. Lacking a skill with the [Faraan Runic Language], just as Kara, she could look at the complicated Runes with no issue. Someone like Gunthar with only the first level of the runic language would find even his undead mind reeling from just a glance at the Runes as Rainer tried to modify a healing spell.
Luna was supposed to tell Rainer about the Fae a.s.sa.s.sin who had gotten away. About how shocked he appeared when he apprised her, but the Fairy still hadn"t gotten around to it. And waking up this morning, she finally got up the will to admit it. Unfortunately for her efforts, it was too late.
"I"ve thought a lot when I was gone," Rainer said, having already told the whole party about the time dilation and his second 2nd Tier cla.s.s.
"And I"ve realized I"ve done wrong by you," He added before continuing as the Fairy tried to interrupt him, "You were her prisoner, in all but name. And you were my prisoner the whole time you"ve been with me and been in your home. I don"t care if someone recognizes your cla.s.s for what it is. Whatever you want to do, wherever you want to go, it"s your choice. You are not my prisoner."
Luna smiled, before hugging Rainer a bit tighter. Kara"s prediction for how Rainer would respond seemed not to be accommodating enough. She shifted to a smaller size, before nestling in the usual spot in his hair.
"Luna would like that. Also, one of the Fae a.s.sa.s.sins Appraised Luna and then ran away," She spoke quietly, but no longer worried about his reaction.
The dark-haired young man raised an eyebrow before smiling, as it seemed that had been what weighed on Luna"s mind. And given his recent declaration, it didn"t really matter.
"Oh, how convenient," Rainer joked, now with nothing stopping his outing plans with Luna. Before then he wondered how that set Gunthar and Kara nearby into uncontrollable laughter, no longer paying attention to Tiamat trying to fly nor continuing their discussion on Aura. He brushed it off as something Tiamat did and then returned to the page in front of him.
He felt close to an answer. It was only a matter of time. That, and a ceaseless and painful practice in [Sleep Learning]. Healing oneself as a target dummy for thousands of variations of a healing spell was not pleasant.
His thoughts shifted to the future as he erased his current formula for [Absolute…something] and started over.
Rainer calmed down enough after the a.s.sa.s.sins attacked. With no actual harm done, he figured it best to simply leave the city. Making an enemy of all Fae wouldn"t do, at least not yet. Were he stronger he"d be more than happy to demand the Fae to interrogate their own until they found the ones responsible.
And he likely would one day. The trail couldn"t get much colder as it was, with all the a.s.sa.s.sins dead and their goal still mostly unclear. But like h.e.l.l would Rainer let some politician or otherwise get away with setting a.s.sa.s.sins on Kara or anyone else he cared for.
With the books Mira snuck out for him on Body Enchanting and Maya"s mind magic, he only had the curing of the Fae disease, more so for Quera"s mother and Maya"s wife than anyone else, left before giving the Fae a goodbye. He had enough of dealing with politics and factions, though he knew his future would contain some of the same issues.
He had experts on Aura and Magic; maybe he needed one on politics? His idea of negotiating with any future kings or Mage Guilds about his academy boiled down to threatening them with a greater force, or in other words; leave us alone or I"ll kill you. Likely not the best idea to fight the entire world, no matter how strong he got.
Either way, he"d take the farthest Fairy Ring south and find a ship for the crossing to the Dragon Isles. Or buy one and then spend some weeks enchanting it to the brink for practice. He imagined it wouldn"t be hard finding a crew willing to sail with his presence on board after a few demonstrations.
The waters of the Dragon Isles were filled with pirates, ones even led by Rogue and Dark Mages. But having a man who could freeze the seas themselves…
A day pa.s.sed as Rainer spent his time between working on his healing spell and otherwise with Kara and Luna. They had decided for a final outing with the Fairy on full display as their last day here, not that they told anyone they were leaving soon. Luna had already begun talking with Kara and a surprised Prince Lanenth, at finally meeting the Fairy who granted Rainer his language skill, over what she wanted to do.
He had achieved [Arcane-Water"s Gentle Touch] and even added a magical language component, something much easier with two of his newer unlocked attributes. Which left him in a dilemma in what to use attribute points on.
[Language Transmission: Increases the amount of power, control, and range of all Magical Languages]
[Arcane Cohesion: Increases the ability for Arcane Magical Languages to merge and influence Magic.]
But it was nowhere near what he wanted, nowhere near what he needed to heal the disease that plagued the Fae. It was merely a better heal, but nothing comparable to his own [Arcane Invigoration] or Luna"s Faerie Fire.
A flame he learned had consumed a second-tier Fae in just moments, giving him some thoughts as to healing being only a secondary feature compared to magic consumption.
He had taken to visiting Maya"s wife at least once, using [Arcane Sight] in a full study in what made her be all but ma.n.a.less. What made a once young and vibrant Fae wish for nothing more than a quick death.
But it was truly hard to tell if there was anything at all wrong with her apart from the obvious lack of Mana for a Fae.
Rainer was once more in the white void of [Sleep Learning] trying to find a way forward. But never did he question that there wouldn"t be one. He had always operated under such a belief even back on Earth when his biggest dream was flying in the sky and walking through walls.
The only question he had was whether he could finish the spell in a reasonable time. If his current knowledge of [Arcane Invigoration], his raw power, and anatomical skill was enough to do what he wanted.
Rainer found himself distracted for a moment as he tried to apply [Arcane Invigoration]"s power to [Arcane-Water"s Gentle Touch]. Any thought of bringing the ordered Arcane Energy as a natural part of the spell failed. It only served either to overload it or a minor increase in its power. No different if he had cast it with more Arcane Power at the start.
"Absolute touch…heal…cure…"
He cycled through words now, completely unsure of where to go. A name certainly wouldn"t grant him the spell itself. He still had much work to do to get to that point, but he felt that he needed to know what that point was.
At least until a brief flash of how he cured himself of the poison that nearly killed him entered his mind. [Arcane Invigoration] alone wasn"t enough. He first needed to regress [Arcane Awakening] to a state of [Arcane Rage]. To let the Arcane energies tear apart his body, and the poison with it, before he could heal.
His own blood magic that could produce a coma-like state, or even the Fae"s temporary Body Enchantment to incapacitate a target came to mind as well.
That and the various blood and soul rituals he learned from Amer atop of the books he had stored in his mind. Even the [Arch-Lich] necromancy ritual had some possible merit in this case.
Above it all, healing alone was not enough to be absolute. Sometimes an act of healing may even make a certain disease or ailment worse…
"Then what is needed?"
A bird of flames crossed his mind. A mythological creature common in the stories of his world. A legend of fire and ash that represented but a singular concept of immortality.
"Rebirth."