With the Dragon Vein essence now under his control and the new mana circulating through his body, Jake was able to cultivate once more in a more relaxed manner. His mind was clear and he felt refreshed. His own mana was limited and lacked a presence, but he found using it as a supplement to be far more beneficial than eliminating it entirely. Using his own mana as a base, he could create the second mana more readily. The conversion was sloppy and inefficient, but he assumed practice would make it smoother over time. For now, this would have to do.

Jake returned to his feet and stripped out of his soiled clothes. His shirt was stained and gross, and the cloth around his waist was in an even worse state. He knelt beside the green water and placed his hands on the top of the still liquid. Closing his eyes, he focused his mana into his hands and called forth heat. He conjured up a large fire, and the water rapidly heated around his palms. It reached its boiling point soon enough and then began to steam as the temperature continued to rise. He maintained the flames and condensed the fire, upping the heat as he fed more powerful mana into it as fuel. The orange flame burned brighter and its color changed to blue, nearly matching the water around it.

The water level dropped as the walls began to sweat, and Jake could practically taste the humidity as the water turned to vapor. By the time the space on the floor was vacant- a heavy fog sat in the air. Jake sat back and then lifted his hands in front of him. Using wind magic, he began to stir the air, swirling it around as he gathered all of the humid fog into the middle of the space in front of him. The fog became a large cloud, and as he spun it- the temperature of the room fell. When it was low enough, it practically began to rain. The water fell out of the air and returned to the floor. Jake spun and spun the cloud with his magic, twirling it tighter and tighter as he wrung out every bit of water he could until the cloud collapsed in on itself. The remaining water in the air dissipated, and that which fell had filled about a third of what had been there originally.

While it was less, it was enough. Jake took his clothes and used the water to rinse them. The stains wouldn’t come free without soap and a washboard, but several rinses would be enough for now. He rinsed and then used wind magic to dry the fabric, and then rinsed again. After five or six cycles, he was satisfied enough to dress himself.

“Now I see why Auntie gets so mad when I come home dirty,” he chuckled to himself as he tied off his skirt. He removed his sandals as well, but only dipped them into the water and shook them free of wetness. They were already beyond gone when it came to their cleanliness. They wouldn’t last much longer anyways- both because they were frayed, scuffed, and cracked, and also because his feet didn’t quite fit them anymore.

Content with his cleaning, Jake used water magic to clean the floor and then pushed the water into the pool using wind magic. He couldn’t use Earth magic yet, so there was no way for him to drain the water yet- but he would learn soon enough. For now, he left the water as it was and headed back to the sigil.

Yir hadn’t come to meet him this time. He couldn’t even see her fluttering about on the upper floors nor did he hear her humming off in the distance. The caretaker of the Library was absent during his little dilemma, and while that saddened him- he wasn’t angry. She wouldn’t be there for everything, nor would Chul. If he wanted to be strong and become a better magician, he was going to have to challenge and continue to push himself. And whenever he found himself truly struggling- relying on others wouldn’t always be an option.

He stepped onto the sigil and used a bit of the new mana rather than his own mana. The sigil flared a warm, cream color for a moment. Then, it flashed a familiar blue. A breath later, Jake was returned to Chul’s back.

* * *

The weight of the child returning caused Chul to stir, and the Arachkin’s teeth chittered to life. Jake took in a long, deep breath, savoring the taste of the stale air of the cavern. The pressure from the mana in the air was gone. He felt far more comfortable now. When he reached for his mana to sense the dense essence around him, he could feel his body reacting well to the Dragon Vein essence in the air. It had originally been trying to choke him out, but now he was feeding off it.

“Chul, I did it.” Jake smiled.

“Oh?” Chul hummed and his carapace wiggled slightly. The Arachkin was shaking off his age.

Jake stood up and carefully made his way over to the edge of Chul’s body. He clambered onto the Arachkin’s leg, and then descended just as slowly. Chul watched the human child move with a curious stare. As Jake neared the floor, Chul made himself ready to snatch the boy up once more should he fall over again. Except, while Jake had been bold and foolish the first time- Jake seemed a lot more sure of himself now. The boy licked his lips as he prepared to jump.

“And a one… two… three-” One the final count, Jake hopped off the Arachkin’s leg and his feet slapped onto the stone floor. He raised his hands above his head as he stuck the landing and puffed out his chest, proud of the graceful landing. He paused there, relishing in his mini-victory.

He didn’t faint. The floor didn’t react to his presence this time. The mana flowing through it remained unchanging and Jake was able to stand on his own two feet. His mana felt strengthened here, and the new mana he had created sapped off the essence beneath him greedily. Even as he wasn’t cultivating, he could feel the two flows of mana becoming more stable within him.

“Interesting.” Chul rumbled and lowered himself closer to the floor. Through his eyes, the Arachkin observed Jake closely, and the boy grinned. Proud of his work, the young one stood like a champion- hands on hips, chin stuck into the air.

“There’s no pain or discomfort? No lightness in your head?”

“None! I feel great!” Jake stuck out his hand and raised his thumb. Chul’s fangs clicked together as the Arachkin’s mind rolled over what he was witnessing. Then, Chul’s upper two eyes changed colors. He cast a Mana-Sight enchantment and looked into Jake’s mana. Jake sucked his teeth and crossed his arms. “Cheater,” he grumbled. The jig was up now.

“Oh-ho… Now I understand.” Chul rose onto his feet and then moved slowly out of the protective hole. “You have harnessed the mana of the Dragon Vein, and what you now possess is similar to that of the Maedra, and myself.”

“Wait, this mana is like yours?” Jake’s eyes widened and he stared up at the Guardian as Chul made his way back to the mana pool.

“Yes, it is. I am a Creature of the Dark, but I am different from the Maedra. While I was birthed beneath the surface, the mana I use for my magic is a mixture of both. I cannot directly harness the power of the Dragon Vein, but by combining the Surface Mana with the Vein’s, I can make something just as dangerous and powerful. And those like me can do the same. We call it, Dragon’s Blood.”

“Dragon’s… Blood?” Jake followed behind Chul and also walked up to the edge of the Mana Pool. Even this close to the pool, he didn’t feel uneasy. If it weren’t for Chul’s earlier warning of the pool being even more deadly- he might have thought of jumping in.

“Do you know where the Dragon Vein’s come from?” As he asked, Chul peeked down at the young boy. Jake knelt close to the water’s edge and used a bit of mana to prod at the thick liquid. It didn’t stir all that much.

“Nope,” Jake quipped, and Chul laughed. Truly a child in some cases.

“Surface Walkers named these places ‘Dragon Vein’s’ because to them, Dragons are at the top of their magic tiers. And the Veins are the strongest and most potent examples of what true mana can do. Though, they are simply Leylines for the rest of us.” Chul reached out over the mana pool and used his own mana to begin to stir the liquid. Jake let out a soft hum of surprise as he watched the Arachkin toy with the green goo.

“These mana pools provide life to the Surface. Here is where the cycle of life starts. The planet creates mana within its core, and that mana bleeds upwards through the earth and ground and dust. When it breaches the surface, it creates these Veins where the mana can flow outwards and bleed into the air, water, and dirt. The Maedra are the foundations of what life originally was, but through a mixture of mutations, adaptations, and life seeking more for itself- the Maedra became only a forgotten piece of the puzzle.

“We call it Dragon’s Blood because while Dragons were not the first to harness the Veins, they were the first Surface Walker to integrate themselves with the Veins. Dragons use mana in its rawest, purest form- like the Maedra. However, they do not fall into madness when they utilize the Veins. Their bodies do not distort. Their minds do not corrupt. Their magic remains powerful and beautiful. They rose to the peak of magical prowess because they were able to not only use the Veins, but they were able to integrate them into their genetic makeup. Every Dragon can use the Vein's power without fear of injury.

Because of this, when you wound a Dragon, it does not bleed blood. It bleeds this essence. Their bodies function entirely off it, and it has allowed them to sit at the peak of existence ever since. The rest of us had to make do with the standard essence, at first. Over time, as the rest of Life began to learn and mutate- slaying Dragons became feasible. Our ancestors learned the trick of the Veins and found ways to make use of the raw mana. Dragons learned of this and fled, hiding themselves away at the edges of civilization for thousands of years. Even now, they keep to themselves.

And with Dragons out of the way, there was no need to progress. Civilization stopped seeking out the strength of the Veins and instead became complacent- the Surface Walkers figured that what they had was enough, and made do with their version of the mana. But for the rest of us, we continued to cultivate and feed off the Veins. My kind was the first to achieve the power of the Dragon’s. While it is not in our blood and is not limitless, we can use magic on par with the Dragons.”

As Chul spoke, Jake listened quietly- but he also let himself play with the mana pool. Chul’s eyes seemed to stare off into the depths of the pool as he shared his knowledge. Respectful and willing to bask in the Guardian’s wisdom, Jake was happy for the opportunity to learn more of the Overworld. It made him smile. As Chul spoke, it reminded Jake of when his father used to share stories with him.

“Now, it seems, you can use it as well.” Chul stopped speaking and his long leg stopped stirring the mana pool. The Arachkin looked down at Jake, and the boy stared at his reflection.

“Dragon’s Blood,” Jake mumbled as he stared at himself. He reached out to the mana pool, his hand stopping just above the surface of the liquid.

It sounded strong. The way Chul explained it, harnessing such a thing was likely only for those who were experienced, or for more divine beings. He could feel the strength in his body and the Dragon’s Blood inside of him yearned to be used. It seemed ready to be converted to a spell as if that was its sole purpose. Though, that wasn’t entirely a lie. Mana was Life Essence- it was what helped him live in this world and was essentially a second flow of blood inside of him. Dragon’s Blood was a type of mana formed only for the sake of being used in powerful magic. It did not keep him alive and had no other use to it.

“Why did the Dragons need to make such a thing?” Jake pulled his hand away from the mana pool and stood up, but his eyes remained locked with his reflection.

“Even I do not know that. Power? Greed? Dragons are very seclusive and even when they lived among the other races of the Surface, they did not share much of their knowledge. Why they did such a thing is still a wonder. Some say it was to protect themselves, as though the Dragons sensed the other Races would turn on them eventually. Others call the Dragons selfish and blame their pride. I believe it is the former. You will learn why in due time, young one.” Chul pulled his leg away from the pool and then lowered himself down.

“Come, Child. It is time to leave. The Maedra have become curious.” After his words, Jake could hear a very, very distant howl echo into the cavern. Jake nodded and climbed onto Chul’s back, assuming his seat once more. The barrier protecting him from potential harm reappeared and the shackles holding him in place wrapped around his lower body. Jake nestled himself onto Chul’s back and got as comfortable as he could while the Arachkin moved towards the entrance of the cavern.

As Chul stepped up to the magical wall, he froze. Jake stiffened as well, his eyes widening and his hands gripping Chul’s carapace. They both stared at a massive shadow standing on the other side of the barrier. A massive beast stared at them through the purple veil, its red eyes peering defiantly at them. Silent and unmoving, it was waiting for the moment the barrier was removed. It stood on four thick, powerful legs and two massive, muscular arms hung by its body. One arm was narrow and sharpened off at the end like a spear. The other was shaped like a large club, and the end of it shimmered in the light- it could use magic. It had no head, but at the top of its trunk-like body, the four eyes stared straight ahead at the purple barrier. It had no mouth to howl with, which likely was why it was so silent.

A Maudrake.

How it had reached the barrier without alerting Chul of its presence was a mystery. It had come without a sound, without making even the slightest of noise. And it lingered mere inches from the barrier- the closest it could get without touching the barrier and disturbing the mana within it. Truly, a smart creature. One positive? It had come alone. There were no smaller Maedra scurrying around its feet that Chul would have to deal with, but judging by the noise at the other end of the tunnel- they weren’t that far behind.

“It seems a fight is inevitable. Hold on, Child.” Chul hissed and retreated from his barrier. He gathered mana into his carapace and fed off the essence in the air. Dragon’s Blood culminated in his body and Chul restored that which he had used up. The sounds of the Maedra were drawing closer, and the Maudrake continued to remain still. It seemed to be locked only on the barrier, so Chul prepared a surprise.

The Arachkin’s body glowed and he strengthened his feet to prepare for the upcoming melee. His body hardened and the armor of his shell thickened. Jake listened to the grotesque cracking and popping as Chul turned himself into a powerful, living tank. Then, four glowing sigils appeared in the air just in front of Chul- familiar ones at that. Mana gathered within them and large purple balls formed at their backs. Like fuel sacs- the purple balls grew and grew as Chul’s fangs chittered. When they were prepared and the spells staged, Chul let out a low hiss.

The barrier dropped, and the spells reflexively activated. Instantly, the four sigils fired beams of mana at the Maudrake. The entrance to the cave exploded with the impacts, but there was no outcry or scream. The cavern vibrated and shook. Loose rocks fell from the walls and the ceiling, and several stalactites dropped into the mana pool below. A few which fell over the stony floor hit the ground and shattered, but the main zone of destruction was the entrance.

The four spells were expended quickly and Chul’s eyes flared a bright green as he surveyed the result of his casting. A thick cloud of dust and debris clouded his view, however. Since it had no mouth to scream with, it was hard to gauge if the Maudrake was injured or not.

But even though neither of them could see- both could sense something was off.

“Chul!” Jake shouted. The Arachkin moved at the same moment as a massive blue ball of mana was fired out of the dust cloud. It slammed into the other side of the cavern and exploded, detonating with enough force to blow a significant hole in the wall. Getting hit by that would have been fatal, even for Chul.

The Maudrake stepped out of the cloud, a heavy leg stomping onto the floor as the large beast entered the cavern. Even after such an assault- it looked unscathed. Chul hissed at the lack of a commendable result and prepared another spell. He fired several balls of mana, shooting them at the Maudrake’s legs to try and disrupt its movement. Yet the explosions had little results. The Maudrake continued on its march and its eyes stared down at the Arachkin.

“Magic has no effect, I see.” Chul ceased his casting and instead went to work enhancing his own body. His entire carapace began to glow purple and Jake found himself bathing in the faint hue of magic. Chul’s sharpened feet dug into the hard stone, cutting the solid earth with ease even as he stood still. Though, as he stood there, the Maudrake would not wait for him to finish. It stepped forward and approached the pair, its right-spear arm lifting as it prepared a strike.

It was big and slow, but the power behind its thrust would be dangerous. Chul cut his enchanting short and quickly moved to the left as the spear was thrust forward. It smashed into the rock, shattering the floor and causing an eruption of hard debris to fill the air. The pebbles and sharp rocks slapped against the barrier protecting Jake. While he was safe inside, Chul was not. Though the Arachkin seemed unaffected. The rocks simply bounced off his tough outer shell.

Chul touched the wall and quickly lunged toward the Maudrake’s side. The creature’s head tracked the move and it swung its powerful spear sideways like a club, swatting at Chul. The Arachkin immediately rotated his body, moving Jake out of the way as he stuck out his legs. They couldn’t avoid the hit, so Chul decided to take it head-on. When his legs touched flesh, he used them to absorb some of the impact and collapsed them as the arm struck his underbelly. They dug into the meat and he clung to the arm. Out of his rear, thick webbing stuck itself to the arm and provided an additional anchor point. When the arm reached the peak of the swing, Chul pushed off and jumped, wrapping around the arm and tying a thick string of webbing around the spear. The Maudrake, agitated, raised its arm and then slammed it into the ground to try and shake off the pest.

Chul jumped off to avoid getting caught up in the mess and landed on the ceiling. From there, he swatted at several stalactites, cutting their foundations with his sharp legs. They plummeted and stabbed into the Maudrake’s exposed flesh. It began to bleed and its back was littered with the spikes, but it seemed largely undisturbed as it raised its left arm to cast another spell. Not daring to challenge the result of it, Chul skittered out of the way and hurried out of the line of danger, rushing to get behind the Maudrake as the large arm spit out a massive ball of mana. The cavern shook once more as it impacted and stone began to fall from above. The boulders and rocky spikes wrecked the floor, along with the Maudrake as it stood beneath the earthy rain.

Rather than risk getting caught in the falling sky, Chul waited on the wall until the majority of the debris had fallen. When it was mostly safe, he quickly lunged forward and darted for the Maudrake’s legs. The creature turned to meet him and the heavy spear cut across the floor like a knife, carving through the stone to cut off Chul’s advance. The Arachkin hopped backward to avoid the spray of stone, directly into the left arm’s line of fire. Chul’s fangs clicked and he slammed his feet into the ground, conjuring up a massive wall of stone as a ball of mana railed the other side. He created several layers of barriers to catch the mana ball once it broke through the stone wall and hunkered down as it pressed forward.

The stone wall shattered and the ball broke through the initial layers of the barrier. Chul continued to feed mana into them, but they all cracked and failed him. When there was only a single layer left, Chul poured everything he had into keeping it up.

Yet his focus on the magic left him vulnerable. Like a knight holding up a shield to fend off another combatant- his flank was fully exposed, and the Maudrake swung its heavy spear to sweep up the Arachkin. The mana ball’s energy dissipated, but Chul was struck in the side and launched across the cavern. He smashed into the wall and let out a terrible screech of pain as his carapace cracked. Jake clung to the Arachkin’s back and the barrier protecting him held up, but it too was damaged from the hit. It was cracked down the middle and would fail for sure if it took another hit like that. Chul fell to the floor of the cavern and staggered up to his legs- one was broken.

“Chul, let me help!” Jake shouted and pulled on the shackles around his legs.

“And what can you do, boy?” Chul hissed as he struggled to try and recover. The cracks in his armor ran deep. A steady line of thick, blue goo flowed from some splits that were deeper than they looked. The damaged leg curled inwards as Chul tried to keep himself balanced on his remaining seven.

“You may have Dragon’s Blood, but this Maudrake is resistant to magic.”

Chul was right- all Jake could do to help was cast spells. So far, none of Chul’s magic spells had caused any form of damage to the Maudrake. If his opponent could simply nullify those spells, then he was useless.

“I can’t let you fight it all by yourself like this!” But even so, he wanted to do something. Anything to help his companion. Chul only hissed a response and jumped out of the way, landing and skittering quickly away from an explosion caused by another Maudrake spell. He then moved forward and skidded, avoiding the spear. A heavy leg came next, but Chul couldn’t dodge it. He was kicked backward and then swatted at by the spear again. The second hit by the spear increased Chul’s velocity, sending the Arachkin careening violently into the wall again- with enough force to cause a thunderous clap to fill the cavern.

Chul let out a painful wheeze and failed to recover this time. His carapace was cracked open at the back and two more legs were broken. Even so, he struggled to get to his feet. Defiant to accepting his loss. Too stubborn to just lay down and die. The Maudrake turned and leveled its left arm, preparing for another spell- this one intended to finish off the Guardian. The barrier protecting Jake was gone, shattered to pieces, and even the shackles were weakened. Jake stared up at the looming Maudrake, at the building ball of mana, and swallowed hard. When it fired, they would be dead.

“Something… There’s gotta be something…” Jake whispered and searched the cavern for some kind of answer- anything.

Just to their left, the mana pool glistened. The thick liquid flowed back and forth as the cavern rocked from the residual vibrations. Jake had no time to think further and instead, he moved. Relying on instinct and desperation. He broke free of the heavily weakened shackles and stumbled forward. Chul let out a slight whine to try and stop the boy, and his weakened legs even flailed for purchase, but Jake wasn’t going to stop. He jumped off Chul’s back and dropped into the mana pool.

“Boy!” Chul called out to him, his voice full of fear for the child. He had been tasked with protecting Jake by the Gods, and he would give everything to fulfill his duty- but he couldn’t protect Jake if he acted so foolish!

The thick goo shot up into Jake’s nose and his body felt extremely heavy as he plunged beneath the surface. But, he felt empowered. His mana screamed inside of his body and the Dragon’s Blood within him pulsed with energy. He kicked up to the surface and clawed for the edge of the pool. He slapped his right hand down to keep himself from drowning, and then lifted his left. Up into the air. Just as Chul had given everything, Jake would do the same.

“IGNARUS!!!” He shouted, his voice cracking as he spat up a mouthful of the goop from his throat.

At the tips of his fingers, he conjured up the largest fireball he could possibly handle. Using the strength of the Dragon’s Blood in his veins and drawing on the power of the mana pool encasing his body, the ball grew impossibly large, but it didn’t budge when he tried to push it away. He used everything he had to just make the thing. The mana within him was practically depleted now. Because of the ball’s size, Jake didn’t have enough left to propel it forward.

Was this… Was this all he could do? Jake grit his teeth and he could feel tears bead at the corners of his eyes.

Seeing the struggling child, Chul reached forward and placed his leg onto the top of Jake’s hand. A light, gentle tap as the black lip settled on top of Jake’s lightly tanned, tiny human hand. Chul’s teeth chittered, and then Jake felt the Arachkin’s mana pour into his body. Jake shut his eyes and immediately began to gather all he could. Using the pool, Chul, and his own, Jake gathered as much Dragon’s Blood as he could into his hand.

As if registering the new threat, the Maudrake stepped back and swung its arm to the right, adjusting the trajectory of its impending spell to match the growing ball of flame. Jake pushed every bit of mana he could up, and then released the spell. The force pushed him backward and his hand slipped off the edge of the pool. The sharp edge of Chul’s leg cut into his hand, carving his flesh as he dropped into the pool. Just as he fell beneath the surface, he watched as his fireball slammed into the massive mana ball the Maudrake was conjuring.

“Live, boy.”

The ensuing eruption whited out the surface and pushed the top layer of the mana pool away as the explosion filled the empty room. Jake felt the heat touch his face even as he dropped into the darkness below.

As a boy raised in the desert- he hadn’t quite learned how to swim.