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An Otherworldly Scholar - 181
🕑 Added 2024-12-01 05:36:17 +0000 UTCThe Lich’s forces were starting to recover. Undead and Chrysalimorphs patrolled the Farlands. It wasn’t hard to guess what they were looking for—the Access Rune.
I used [Mirage] and [Dome of Silence] and turned us into silent shadows. I could conceal everyone in a two-and-a-half sphere radius while keeping my mana regeneration above the skill-draining rate. However, keeping seven people inside the spell area took more work than expected. We decided to avoid the orc's hidden trails in case the Greyfangs retained enough consciousness to know about them, and the rugged terrain wasn’t doing us any favors.
We were a needle hidden in a haystack, but the Lich wasn’t dumb enough not to expect us. Our best weapon wasn’t stealth but our levels. In total, I had gained seven levels during Umolo’s siege. It didn’t seem like a lot, considering the dozens upon dozens of monsters I killed. However, I could tell the difference in power. I felt like I could kill a bear with my bare hands and run as fast as a horse.
It was undeniable that a Runeweaver’s growth was superior to a Scholar's.
I summoned my character sheet.
Name: Robert Clarke, Human.
Class: Runeweaver Scholar Lv.31
Titles: Out of your League, Hot for Teacher, Consultant Detective, Researcher of the Hidden, Headmaster, Favorite Teacher (99), Golden Scholar, Iron Runeweaver, +15 others.
Passive: Lv.5 Swordsmanship, Mana Mastery, Foresight, Master of Languages.
Skills: Identify, Magical Ink, Silence Dome, Invigoration, Stun Gaze, Intimidate, Mirage, Runeweaver Encyclopedia, Rune Debugger, Rune Identification.
I had unlocked all the basic Scholar skills plus Stun Gaze and Intimidate, which weren’t listed in the Book of Classes. Both skills had been dormant so far, as my level was too low and my enemies were too powerful. However, with my current level, they might be the cherry on top of my [Foresight] and [Swordsmanship] combo. The strategy might not work against monsters with question mark levels, but it was a good safety net against mid-level foes specialized in armor piercing. Abusing [Mana Mastery] was still my primary way of doing damage.
“No patrols ahead,” Ilya announced as her small flock of sparrows spoke to her ear.
Pyrrah looked crestfallen. All she could summon was a single spirit bird whose shape wasn’t as detailed as Ilya’s sparrows.
“You are doing your best, little buddy,” Pyrrah whispered as the spirit bird disappeared.
“We don’t have time to waste,” Hallas interjected. “The Lich knows we are looking to kill him. We should drop the stealth and gain as much distance as possible.”
Since we left the hidden valley, he had been restless. No. Even before, in Umolo, he pushed for speed over preparation. I had shot down his pleas, but he hadn’t relented. Before I could push him to talk, Pyrrah jabbed his shoulder.
“The Warden’s Tree isn’t going to mature in a week. Even to reach its current state, the seed must’ve been dormant for years.”
Hallas clicked his tongue and used his animating spell to part the thicket. Brambles and ferns uprooted themselves and walked to the sides with lazy movements. As we passed, the plants returned to their original position, covering our tracks.
“Did Farcrest have problems with a Forest Warden two or three decades ago?” Pyrrah asked.
“We did, actually,” Ilya replied.
“See? They must have killed the body but missed the seed,” Pyrrah patted Hallas’ shoulder.
He didn’t seem reassured at all.
I understood that was my moment to attack.
“Do you have something you want to share with the class, Hallas?” I put a bit of [Intimidation] on my words, and my voice sounded more dangerous than I had expected.
His lapse in concentration interrupted his spell, and the bushes stopped moving. Several emotions appeared on his face: fear, remorse, and indecision. He took a deep breath and looked me directly in the eye.
Another elven secret?
“Evindal had a Seedling.”
I wasn’t expecting him to be so direct.
Pyrrah laughed.
“That’s not possible. Why would Evindal have a Seed on him? Only Gardeners—”
“Evindal was a Gardener… and a Gilded,” Hallas interrupted her. “The trade route between our kingdoms will be open soon, and the king wants full control of the area. He didn’t send us here to spy on the Royal Army. He sent us here to establish an outpost, so… if the Warden’s Tree emerged from Evindal’s seed, someone must’ve sped up the process.”
No wonder why Hallas had been so jumpy since we met.
If the schedule had been turned from decades to weeks, we could expect the Warden’s tree to fully mature any day now. The kids seemed to understand the implications.
“That’s the kind of information you tell your companions, asshole,” Firana said.
“Do you understand why the timing is important?” Zaon pointed out.
Firana cleared her throat. “No, but it sounds dangerous.”
If the situation weren’t so tense, I would’ve laughed.
“It means the Warden’s Tree could mature and produce the Warden’s True Body before we expected,” I said, glaring at Hallas. “You tell us that now because you are afraid we are walking into the lair of a powerful monster. Am I wrong?”
Hallas raised his hands in defeat.
“It was a secret mission. Foreigners weren’t supposed to know.”
“You were planning to sow a Warden seed in our backyard?!” Ilya asked, horrified. “Do you want to kill us?”
Hallas shook his head.
“It would’ve ultimately benefited you, I swear. With the proper care of a Gardener, the Warden’s Tree would not generate a body for the Forest Warden to possess. Meanwhile, the trapped Warden would serve as a deterrent against other monsters.”
The kids looked at me. It took me a moment to digest everything he was saying.
“Are you telling me your people use a vindictive spirit to pacify an area and then use its soon-to-be body to create the Holone Grapes and other strengthening fruits?”
“Y-yeah…” Hallas muttered.
The System generated Corruption, the Warrior Trance cost the orc its life, and the Holone Grapes required the control of a violent and territorial spirit. There may be no good way of harnessing magic at all.
I scratched my chin. The new information was worrying, but I couldn’t tell if it changed anything. Ginz worked day and night, barely sleeping, to craft our rifles. We still had to escape from Umolo and guide the orcs to safety. There was little to no time to spare. Even the wedding was essential to cement Wolf’s position as the Warchief of the Teal Moon tribe.
At least, Hallas had done well in telling us before reaching the Tree.
“Whether the Forest Warden gets a new body, our plan remains the same. We enter the Lich’s lair, destroy the corrupted proxy and any monsters standing in the way,” I said. “The whole kingdom and the orc tribes are depending on us. This fight will determine if Corruption snowballs out of control.”
Hallas remained tense.
“Are we cool, Robert Clarke?”
“As far as we know, the origin of the Forest Warden is pure speculation,” I replied. “However, if this makes things more difficult, we might ask for an extra payment. Don’t forget we have a deal.”
Hallas nodded, and a heavy silence loomed over the forest.
“We should hang him from the ankles and let the monsters eat him. This betrayal can’t go unpunished,” Wolf pointed out.
It took me a moment to realize he was joking. He was doing his Warchief impression.
The kids laughed, but Pyrrah remained silent. She hadn’t been aware of Evindal’s true mission. Seeing Elincia’s face shrouded in sadness broke my heart, but I knew this wasn’t a problem for me to deal with. It was between Pyrrah and Hallas.
I focused on the facts.
Our strategy remained the same.
There were still a few days of travel until we reached the coordinates. If the System Avatar was correct, we should find the Lich’s true body on the site of the corrupted proxy. Once there, killing the Lich should be a walk in the park if each kid managed to land two or three shots. On my belt, I had a Leechflame Sword and the Anti-Magic Sword. There was no better equipment to deal with a spirit.
We walked until noon before stopping to rest. Hallas forced the fern clump to clear a circle around us, and we sat on the ground. We left the backpacks aside—except for the elves, each carried over fifty kilograms of equipment—and ate a few strips of salted meat. Despite the Warden’s tree being only a few days of travel, we were prepared for a long journey.
“How many times did you level up, Ilya?” I asked.
The rifle’s potency was as important as the kid’s capacity to remain out of the monster’s reach.
Ilya summoned her character sheet and turned it around.
Name: Ilya, Gnome.
Class: Hunter Lv.17
Titles: Governess’s Little Helper, Giant Slayer, Small-time Mathematician, Survivor.
Passive: Mana Manipulation, Longsword Mastery Lv.1, Archery Lv.2, Tracking Lv.1, Sharpshooting Lv.1.
Skills: Piercing Arrow, Entangling Vine, Spirit Animal, Mark of the Hunt, Magic Arrow, Forest Cloak.
There were several ‘staples’ of the Hunter Class missing, such as [Hawk Eye], [Flare], [Trueshot], and [Explosive Arrow]. The System had seemingly decided to give Ilya the more magic-focused skills. Considering her natural inclination towards mana manipulation, it made sense. Hunter’s magic power, however, was mediocre.
According to the Book of Classes, Hunters had good Speed growth, followed by average Strength. Sadly, Strength was a dump stat for Ilya as the Cooldown Bow and the enchanted rifle didn’t require any.
Firana peeked over my shoulder.
“Sheesh, that’s a sweet personal sheet, but let me show you something really impressive.”
Name: Firana Aias, Human (Strong, Fast).
Class: Wind Fencer Lv.17
Titles: Lady Aias, Gifted, Currents Seer, Novice Mathematician, Novice Physicist.
Passive: Longsword Mastery Lv.2, Fencing Lv.2, Acrobatics Lv.3.
Skills: Aerokinesis, Windrider, Puncture, Feather Fall, Gust Blade, Cyclone Kick, Wind Parry.
“Let me inform you that I have one extra skill and one extra title,” Firana said, full of herself.
“Please, I have two more passives, and Lady Aias isn’t a real title.” Ilya was annoyed.
“I don’t see any Lv.3 passive, though.” Firana taunted further.
“I bet you don’t even know what Wind Parry does.”
“Do you think I’m an idiot? It obviously parries things… using wind.”
The girls continued arguing until Wolf pulled his character sheet.
Name: Wolf A’Dassyra, Half-Orc (Strong, Sturdy).
Class: Healer Lv.13
Titles: Stalwart, Teal Moon Warchief, Novice Anatomist, Novice Mathematician, Heartbreaker, Bronze Healer, From the Brink of Death(2), Field Doctor(1), Patchwork Professional.
Passive: Longsword Mastery Lv.2, Diagnosis Lv.2, Surgical Precision Lv.1, Sanctuary.
Skills: Regeneration, Stupor, Shape Mana, Healer’s Compendium, Purify.
“Nine Titles by level thirteen, you can cry now,” Wolf said.
The kids leaned over my shoulders to watch.
“Heartbreaker? Really?” Ilya said.
“I turned down a lot of ladies during the wedding party.”
It seemed orcs were pragmatic even in their pursuit of love.
“Bronze Healer doesn’t count. You get that for free with your Class,” Firana said, triggering a three-sided argument.
Ilya seethed.
Unlike the other kids, Zaon wasn’t eager to publicly show his character sheet. While the three were arguing, I discreetly approached him. My teacher’s sense was tingling.
“What about you?”
“I’m level sixteen. With the Windshot Boots, I should be able to keep up with Ilya’s movement speed. I also got [Quick Step] and [Bulwark], so I can cycle between speed and toughness,” he said, shuffling awkwardly.
I examined Zaon’s face, and he quickly looked away. His level and number of Skills didn’t seem to be an issue. I forced [Foresight] to dig into my memories and pull the last time Zaon had shown me his character sheet.
It had happened when I taught them basic arithmetic. He had four passives: [Longsword Mastery], [Fencing], [Sentinel’s Oath], and [Awareness]. The passives weren’t the problem, as he had one more than Firana and Wolf, and [Awareness] was borderline broken.
The issue must be his Titles.
Despite Zaon’s progress, the System must not have recognized his efforts as title-worthy. He hadn’t been at the brink of death like Ilya, nor had he become the warchief of an orc clan like Wolf or the heir of a famous mercenary family like Firana. He was just a regular guy who worked day after day with his head down without a huge event in between.
In the classroom, the same happened with grades and scores. A student could improve in all aspects, but tests did not necessarily reflect that. Sometimes, change took more time to crystallize.
“[Bulwark]?” I asked.
Zaon thanked me with his eyes for changing the subject.
“[Steadfast Shield] creates a defensive barrier, but the force of the impact still affects me. [Bulwark] should help me to hold my ground,” he explained.
Firana got bored of arguing with Wolf and Ilya and jumped into the conversation.
“Do you think [Bulwark] can stop Wolf?”
“Maybe?”
I cut the conversation short before Firana could push Zaon to show his character sheet. Sensitivity wasn’t the girl’s forte.
“We have rested long enough. Let’s go,” I said.
We grabbed our backpacks, and the ferns returned to their original position as Hallas focused his spell on the front. A moment later, there was no sign we had been resting there. I let [Foresight] scan the treeline but detected nothing unusual.
Ilya’s [Spirit Animal] found nothing, so we set off.
Zaon suddenly grabbed my arm. At first, I thought he detected danger, but his expression was serene. I let the others get ahead until we were the two of us.
“Identify me,” he whispered.
I used the skill, and Zaon squirmed when [Identify] hit him.
Name: Zaon, Elf (Light-footed, Keen Senses, Night Vision).
Class: Sentinel Lv.16
Titles: Kind Hearted, Novice Mathematician.
Passive: Longsword Mastery Lv.2, Fencing Lv.1, Sentinel’s Oath, Awareness.
Skills: Steadfast Shield, Ghost Blade, Sonar, Second Wind, Nimble Step, Bulwark.
I examined the character sheet. Sentinel was an equilibrated defensive Class with a wide arrangement of detection and support spells. Among the ‘sword and shield’ combat Classes, it had the best magical attributes and the second-best Speed below Fencer. Its Endurance was comparable to that of a Knight, the most powerful basic Class, and its Strength was similar to that of a Fencer.
“Don’t let the lack of Titles get into your head, Zaon. Humans created the System, so it is faulty and biased by nature,” I said.
Zaon shook his head.
“It’s not my personal sheet that bothers me. I genuinely feel I’m stuck. The others are doing crazy stuff, and I’m just… myself.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, and Zaon blushed even more deeply.
“Let me show you something.”
Channeling my mana, I used [Mirage] to summon Raudhan Kiln’s character sheet. I had identified him when he first tried to mess with the orphanage just after my arrival. [Foresight] helped me recollect the memory to the very last detail.
Name: Raudhan Kiln, Human.
Class: Fencer Lv.12
Titles: Farcrest Nobleborn, Big Game Hunter, Reckless.
Passive: Fencing Lv.2, Shield Mastery Lv.2, Riding Lv.5.
Skills: Ghost Slash, Puncture, Nimble Step.
“This is what a regular person’s character sheet looks like, and we all know [Farcrest Nobleborn] and [Big Game Hunter] don’t count. I mean, he probably went hunting a few times with Izabeka, and the System threw him a bone,” I jokingly said.
“You shouldn’t be showing other people’s personal sheets,” Zaon pointed out, although he seemed invested in the illusion.
Raudhan was three or four years older than the kids, but all he seemed to care about was his Riding passive. Was he secretly a horse guy?
“If he didn’t want to get [Identify]’d, he shouldn’t have tried to harass the orphanage.”
“But in the end, it was all a ruse.”
Zaon didn’t feel better.
I dispelled the illusion. Competitive people like Firana might find solace in being ahead of the curve.
Then, it hit me. No amount of perspective would make Zaon change his mind because his troubles came from within. He was blind to all the progress he had made in the past months. On a logical level, he knew he had improved, but he didn’t see that improvement as the fruit of his effort, and as such, he thought it wasn’t in his control.
It was a foolish thought but not less real than a fact in Zaon’s mind.
I wasn’t equipped to perform therapeutic interventions, but I knew a few strategies to deal with difficult emotions.
“Every time you feel this way, I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath,” I said. “I want you to imagine a staircase. At the bottom is the Zaon that was a year ago. Now, imagine each step is an achievement or action that led you here, no matter how small. Think about it. Visualize it. We have time.”
Even if he didn’t see his progress at first glance, I could tell a dozen things from the top of my head. The daily training, the fight against the thieves, the tournament, the week they were in charge of the orphanage, the bravery he had shown since we entered the Farlands, his Class, and the fact he caught the attention of Prince Adrien and even a possible invitation to the Imperial Academy.
Zaon had proved himself wrong. He used to believe he would be a lowly Soldier, yet we were marching toward the lair of a high-level monster. I was sure his [Awareness] was feeding him the exact information he needed.
“Don’t forget the fact you put a spell on Corin.” I joked.
Zaon’s eyes shot open, her face red as a beet.
“I didn’t—”
“She said she would marry you.”
“You shouldn’t be saying people’s secrets!” Zaon blurted.
“I’m sure she wanted me to relay the message.” I grinned. “It’s the duty of the older members of the tribe to play matchmaking for the younger ones. Elder Kormak taught me that, and he seemed very old and wise.”
Zaon sighed, still blushing.
“Did she really—?”
Before he could complete the question, Firana landed between us.
“Greyfangs ahead. Should we avoid them?”
“No,” I replied. “We need practice before facing the final boss.”
Comments
Ben Bass
TYFTC! Zaon is a good kid, and no slouch, and I agree with Matthew, being in the same party with the Firana and Ilyna and Wolf is always going to be hard - skill wise as well as personality. I like the visualization that Rob gave him, that is something he can do on his own easily and keep track of his progress. His Assessment will help him remember all of the things and see things he might not have in himself otherwise. Now let’s see if they can get some more practice and maybe a level or so for the kids!
Matthew
I feel for Zaon, he's a solid A lister in a party of S tiers, at least for now. I'm sure he'll have his moment to shine. I just pray his urge to shine doesn't put him in a situation where his star goes nova.
Kita
TFTC
