After the physical training this morning, I’m experimenting with Bob, trying to understand exactly what happens when mana is focused somewhere inside our body. As far as I can tell, mana behaves as if it has some intelligence of it’s own, enough to figure out what the body part it is inside of is supposed to be doing, and enhance that effect. As long as I don’t move, the mana does its magic with impressive results, if not always useful.

Perhaps knowing the taste of something without actually eating it might come up useful at some point, but tasting everything inside my hut at once was not a fun experience. I almost threw up from the barrage of tastes, ranging from leftover Macadamia nuts all the way to clay, and of course, the content of a particular pot that I keep as far away from myself as possible and that I haven’t taken outside the village yet.

Yuk.

I’ve collected some wooden shavings to have an approximation of dry toilets but it’s a far cry from anything truly hygienic.

So, are we trying ears now?

Yes, let’s do it.

Curiously, there’s no point in moving the mana slower to try for a more progressive effect. The change comes all at once, like a dam rupturing.

Or an electrical circuit that needs to be closed before anything happens.

Yes, that might be a better comparison.

It only takes a couple minutes before I feel the change. Between Bob getting better and the progress on the trait, our mana manipulation has improved greatly.

BADUMP.

My heartbeat is suddenly annoyingly loud, even though I’m confident it is just as steady as usual.

BADUMP.

When I breathe in, it sounds like a strong wind is blowing.

BADUMP.

There’s also a whooshing sound that I can’t really place, in the silence following each heartbeat… Wait. My bloodstream?

BADUMP.

I can hear the faint sounds of activity in the village, soft gilfeith footsteps, indistinguishable voices, some kid yelling wildly...

BADUMP.

Pretty happy with this experiment, it's just a shame that my heart is so loud… Maybe I'll get used to it over time if I maintain the improved hearing for a while. Those noises are definitely audible too when things are quiet, my brain is just good at ignoring them.

BADUMP.

I stand up to shake the enhanced sense away, when I hear a long, awful and incredibly deep noise. Like the call of a whale crossed with the shrieking grinding of metal on metal, a whale on its death throes.

BADUMP, badump,

What the hell was that.

Badump, badump.

Sounds like a monster that we do not want to see.

Badump, badump.

Even at what must have been a long distance, that sound was… painful. Not because it was particularly loud, but because of the sheer discordance that it carried.

Heart still pounding, I quickly walk outside, the usual calm of the village turned into an ominously silence in the wake of the foreign scream. I quickly come upon a couple of gilfeiths looking worriedly towards the cloudy sky as they hurriedly make they way toward the central path of the village.

“Hey, how normal was that?”

They are both startled by my sudden question, and another less kind expression appear on their face when they recognize me, as if surprised that I’d dare speak to them. I don’t think I’ve seen either of them before more than just in passing. Maybe they didn’t think I could learn the basics of their tongue quickly, I’ve heard gilfeiths looking down on me like that.

Not the nicer moments I've had in Wathamber.

Finally, the man overcomes his dislike and deigns to answer witout breaking stride.

“Not at all, everybody goes to the central eella during monster attacks.”

“It’s an attack already?”

He scoffs and turns around, ignoring my question.

That might be fair, assume the worst and the situation can only improve!

I ponder on that as I walk behind the two.

A brutal flash of light, like the one from a lightning strike, illuminates the low clouds in the corner of my vision, easily outshining the weak daylight. It came from somewhere behind one of the mountains that surround Wathamber, somewhat far, yet also much too close for comfort.

I could swear I saw a massive shadow too, cleaving the light in two, but it was all gone too quickly.

Well Bob, I am decidedly not agreeing with you, my assumption just went from monster attack to gigantic monster attack, which is not an improvement.

It takes a couple seconds before a second, discording cry reaches my ears. They aren’t magically improved this time, yet I ear it almost just as well.

Either something got much louder, or that same something got much closer.

And no thunder.

Whatever you are, please kill each other and don’t come this way…

- - -

Guemeros is still standing with his hands crossed in his back, on the dome of his house. It's quite strange to see the old man up there, but it makes sense as a makeshift podium. Meanwhile, the worried crowd is trickling back to their houses. His speech was trying to be reassuring, but that's an hard goal when you ask people to be ready to evacuate.

Pheyis went to investigate, and a few people have been sent on lookout duty to warn us if anything shows up.

Well, I’m pretty sure that was the gist of it, there were a few words I didn’t catch.

Honestly, I’m surprised at how disciplined the people are at the idea of abandoning the village to run for it. The kids are unusually quiet, a mix of bored and worried looking small figures sitting close to the chief’s house. A few of them already got scolded for trying to move around unsupervised.

“Do you think we’re going to be alright?”

Aetmon waves my question away with some irritation

“Why do you ask a question that we can’t answer? Just wait for Pheyis to come back.”

The mountains have remained silent after the second cry of the monster, and people are slowly easing up, but everybody is still very tense. The glimpse we saw showed power way beyond what anyone here could possibly handle.

“What if she doesn’t?”

He smiles a little at that,

“She’s seen worse.”

Well then. Tense waiting, yay.

“Wanna get some combat practice as we wait?”

Oh, that sounds better.

- - -

The village uneasily resumed its normal life during the afternoon, and many more people than usual were present at the evening weapon training. While it’s unlikely that a percent or two more progress on a combat trait would matter, I understand them. The drills really helped work the worry and stress away, replacing restlessness with an healthier form of fatigue.

Pheyis only returned after nightfall, the clouds had cleared and I was resting outside my house, lost in thought as I stared at the starry sky.

As usual, she didn’t bother with any kind of formalism, one second I was alone, and the next her calm voice was filling the air. Perhaps just a tiny bit more strained than usual.

The system translation notice drifts into my mind, but I mostly hear her words in siacnar.

“Marc, I found another human, unconscious and injured. He was next to a large dead monster. I asked Datari to take care of him but she could probably use your advice regarding human bodies.”

Well, that got me on my feet quickly.

A few moments later, after crossing the village, a single thought comes to mind as my eyes fall on the face of the wounded man.

I have no idea who this is.