Chapter 29: Chapter 29 - Hidden Condition
The Sapphire Crystal pulsed in my hands, calling out to me, but I had another thought.
How do I use it? Do I eat it just like the Beast Cores?
I brought it up slowly to my mouth, but a couple System Prompts blared at me.
[Use x1 Bronze Rank Skill Crystal (Random)?]
[Yes/No]
So there really was a different way to use them. But it also made me wonder how someone without a System might have figured out the difference...
Yes.
The crystal’s glow deepened and then, a web of cracks spread along its surface, before the whole thing shattered, morphing into threads of blue light that then shot straight into my forehead.
There was a dull ache, but only for a moment.
[Skill Crystal Consumed.]
[You have acquired the Bronze-Rank Skill [Unease I].]
I blinked. Unease?
The System clarified.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[Unease I] (Bronze)
Per Level of Unease, gain 1% increase to Intimidation Factor.
Current Intimidation Factor: 101%
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A tiny spark of amusement slid down my spine. One percent. Not flashy. Not even noticeable.
I flexed my fingers experimentally. Nothing. Just a negligible passive effect that I couldn’t even feel myself.
But what was still confusing was that I’d gotten a new skill, but hadn’t received comprehension of any laws.
Had I misunderstood Arthur’s words?
I leaned back against the cave wall, replaying the conversation with Arthur in my head:
Mana. How do I use it? I can feel this sphere of it in my body, and I can nudge it around a little, but it doesn’t do much else.
---That’s because you haven’t understood any laws. And until you do, it’ll only reinforce your body a little.
...
...
Anyway, when you’ve got initial understanding of any of the laws, the Words will let you know. And only then can you use your Mana to start learning Skills.
But I’m pretty sure you’re an exception to that rule, Axel. You don’t know anything about the laws, but you’ve maxed out Bronze Ranked Fire-Resistance.
A slow understanding began to crystallize. The key word...was Mana. Arthur had been talking specifically about how to use Mana... meaning, skills that used Mana required comprehension of laws, but passive effects...like intimidation...wouldn’t need Mana, and therefore...wouldn’t need Laws.
It made sense, but what about Resistance Skills?
Based on how he worded that I was an exception, maybe Resistance Skills were supposed to cost Mana..? Or maybe since Resistance skills were so attuned to Elements or Types of damage, it still required understanding of Laws, irrespective of the need for Mana?
I wasn’t sure. There were too many possibilities.
I put the thought aside. There was no point dwelling on something I couldn’t do anything about. So I brought my thoughts to what I could do.
Thirty-Three days. The Wildlands. Training. Mana Channeling. Strength.
These were where my efforts had to be directed to. Everything else, for now, was irrelevant.
I let the thought hang in my mind a moment longer, then pushed myself off the stone wall.
My clothes were a horror-show. Ripped to shreds, armor and cloth alike.
With a heavy sigh, I rummaged through my pack for new trousers, then slipped into them without delay.
They were a light brown, a shade lighter than my boots, that had somehow survived with decent condition. The same was true for Gerard’s custom-made harness. Despite how much damaged it should have been, it still held together.
I adjusted the harness, slipped my boots back on, but once again skipped on the shirts.
The path ahead of me was no doubt filled with battle. In fact, that was exactly what I was counting on. They’d only be ruined in a day or two.
I looked around, the afternoon sun pouring in through the cave entrance.
No reason to linger.
I gathered what little I had and stepped out into the light.
*West. The plains are to the west. And since I’m currently on the east of the Divide, I need only head straight towards the opposite cliff-face. But I’ll still have to pass through the core...where I probably won’t be able to see the cliffs...
I’d best get started on Arthur’s Sky-Tracking manual.
I pulled it out and started reading as I walked.
It turned out to be relatively simple to judge direction in the daytime, the real issues only arose in the night, when the moon wouldn’t always be visible.
A good 90% of the booklet’s contents were about extrapolating on the positions of stars in the night sky.
Hours passed, and so did the miles. The terrain shifted gradually. Sparse trees grew just a bit thicker, their branches knitting together into a light canopy, only for it to suddenly give way to an open stretch of land.
And beyond, was the wall of trees. A choking thicket of towering trunks as thick as a few buses.
I looked up to the sky, exhaling once through my nose.
Almost sunset.
This was as far as I’d go today.
I chopped down a small tree on the safe side of the clearing for my seating, then gathered the fallen branches, stacked them neatly, and...
How do I light a fire?
I hadn’t actually thought about it before now.
My gaze wandered to my pack, praying there was some manner of tool that the party had been thoughtful enough to add in. And luckily, there had been.
A small leather pouch, labeled, "Fire".
Inside it, was a small black rock, and a flattened, horse-shoe-shaped strip of metal.
Flint and Steel...
It was easy enough to deduce the logic. You bashed them together to create sparks that would kickstart combustion in the wood.
But while the logic was easy enough to deduce...
chik. chik. chik. chik. chik.
Nothing.
chik. chik. chik. chik. chik.
Minutes passed. Then ten. Then Twenty.
But eventually,
chik. Fwhoooom!
It only took me a few hundred attempts, but a fire had been successfully coaxed into life.
A genuine smile spread across my face as I stared into the flames, watching the branches crackle and glow.
Such a small, insignificant feat... and yet I feel a sense of... achievement?
It’d still be a while longer before I adjusted to this brain’s chemistry. But...I chose not to fight it now. Lysha’el’s words still echoed in my mind every now and again. Asking me to live. Telling me I was lost.
I sat there, across from the fire for a few more minutes, thinking things over, the conversation tumbling around in my mind.
I sighed helplessly, looking back to my axe.
Train. I should train.
I stood up, pulled the weapon into my hands, and began. Downward Chops, smooth and deliberate. One. Two. Three. The rhythm set in, shoulders rolling, breath syncing with the motion. By fifty, sweat had begun to bead across my forehead.
That’s when it struck me.
How do I know if I’m doing this right?
For all I knew, I was only etching bad form into muscle memory. Sure the manuals detailed the forms, but... how did I know I was following them? I was attempting to follow it sure, but...I still wouldn’t know if I wasn’t.
The thought barely finished forming when a System Prompt suddenly appeared in front of me.
[Hidden Condition for Partial Unlock of "Eidolon’s Blessing" has been fulfilled.]
I froze mid-swing.
[New System Function Unlocked: Mastery Guidance]
[New System Function Unlocked: Daily Quest]
[New System Function Unlocked: Inventory]
[New System Function Unlocked: Appraisal]
[New System Function Unlocked: Analyze]
[New System Function Unlocked: Map]
[New System Function Unlocked: Artificial Intelligence]
[Loading...]
And then, a voice in my head. Female. Monotone. Mechanical.
[Greetings, Master.]
What...in all hells...