They parted ways, and Gunnar made for his old respawn point, keeping his hood up as he ventured into more crowded parts of the city. He’d feel a little better once the Nighthawks provided him with new papers.

He’d probably need to consider that for at least some of the Cryptids as well. Not that slaves and hobos had much Renown to worry about in this city. But they were only a few days out from the battle, and the last thing they needed was one of them to get caught. If Sykes learned of their new location, Gunnar felt sure that the man would make Gunnar regret crossing him.

But for now, he let himself blend in with the crowds, which grew larger and busier as he neared the waterfront, despite the early hour. It appeared the working folk of Thailen began their day before the sun had broken the horizon.

Gunnar slipped into an alley in the midst of some rundown tenements and quickly ascended the ladder fixed to the back of the building.

He found Sheira on the rooftop, sitting in the lotus position with her back to him. He approached casually, but Sheira didn’t move. Then, he remembered that his boots had an added Stealth effect.

The elf’s upper body rose and fell with a perfectly steady rhythm, and he wondered if she was sleeping. But the moment, he reached her, she turned her head.

“Sit.”

Gunnar grimaced. “You’re not gonna make me do some woo woo shit, are you?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether you want to learn magic. Magic is as woo woo as you can get, I think.”

He sighed, but took a seat beside her. The stone immediately made his ass cold.

“No cushion or yoga mat or anything?”

“No.”

“You know, there’s a reason people use those.”

Sheira did not respond. She rested the backs of her forearms upon her outspread thighs and continued breathing steadily. She had not opened her eyes once.

Gunnar hated it, but he assumed a similar position. It was not the first time that something in this game had reminded him of his kooky ex-girlfriend from college.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, he noticed Sheira looking right at him.

“For someone so afraid of woo, you seem to know what you’re doing.”

“I knew someone into this stuff.”

“And you learned by osmosis or what?”

Gunnar chuckled. “You tend to be a little more open to trying things when you’re getting laid regularly.”

Sheira smiled. “Oh, I can vouch for that.”

Gunnar didn’t especially like that visual, but hey, everyone needed to get laid. And he was pretty sure that was the first time he’d seen Sheira legitimately smile.

“Now, put to rest whatever baggage you have with meditation, and be still for a moment.”

Gunnar was still.

“Breathe in a slow, deep breath.”

Gunnar breathed.

“Then, let it out.”

Gunnar did. And Sheira led him through several more breaths.

“Focus on the way your lungs open wide, welcoming the air, then, the way they close, keeping only what your body needs, and discarding the rest.”

Gunnar breathed in and out a few more times, finding a slow and steady cadence.

“Focus on your body,” Sheira said. “How it feels. Starting at your head and slowly working your way down. Take note of any discomfort.”

“My ass is kinda getting sore.”

“And let it go,” Sheira finished. “Moving on to the next part of your body.”

Gunnar tried his best to focus, even if he found this all to be a little silly. His head felt all right. His neck was a little stiff. Shoulders were definitely stiff. This damn game and its realism.

As he made his way further down, he noticed something he never had IRL. A surge of warmth in his chest that softly pulsed. It was not a heartbeat, but something else. With each pulse, he could feel a warmth radiating through his body. When he concentrated even further on the location, he could see an iridescent orb of light, though he didn’t really understand how that was possible.

Unlocked Spell: Spiritual Sight

Spell Type: Race-based, Corporeal

Alignment: Light

Linked Attribute: Constitution (+60% Development)

Affinity Level: 9 (Basic Clarity)

Requirements: Sufficient Mana

Cost: 2 Mana per second

Effect: Enhances vision to see magic

Description: Use Spiritual Sight to identify the enchantments in the world around you, and even within yourself. Yes, even you.

“Whoa,” Gunnar muttered softly.

“I take it, you’ve discovered your Soul,” Sheira said.

“My Soul? Is it like an organ or something?”

“It is your spiritual source of power.”

“You’re sounding pretty woo again.”

“And you’re sounding pretty obtuse again. Your Soul is not an organ, for magic is not a physical thing. But it is a similar concept. It is your inner source of magic power. You’ve noticed that your body feels warm when you cast a spell, right?”

“Sure, like a tingling. Though I haven’t cast much more than Scan and Dark Sight.”

Sheira nodded. “Everyone has a Soul. Not all have the ability to see it.”

“The description said Spiritual Sight was a race-based spell.”

“There are some advantages to being Maldan, despite what the empire would like us to believe. There is magic everywhere, including within all of us. That doesn’t mean that humans can’t use spells, but without the proper training, they will take magic at face value. They’ll learn a spell and cast it, and think nothing more about it. Few humans become accomplished mages.”

“So, what is a spell exactly, then?”

“It’s a means of channeling the power of the gods. Spellcasting is us speaking in their language and briefly harnessing their power. Anyone can do this at a basic level, but to become accomplished requires a combination of affinities, both player and race-based, as well as training. Now, to be clear, I am no dark mage, but I can show you what I know. The foundation, though, lies within yourself, your Soul’s connection to the gods.”

Gunnar sat in awe for a moment, concentrating his Spiritual Sight on the soft pulsing orb of power within his chest. As his Mana poured into the spell, he could feel the essence of magic coursing through his body and into his eyes.

“That’s amazing,” was all he could think to say.

“Your Mana is linked to your Wisdom, but most don’t know that it is truly linked to your Soul, which produces your Mana in the first place. And it requires use to become stronger. If you check your HUD, you should find Soul now listed among your Character Traits.”

Gunnar checked, and sure enough, a new listing had appeared.

[Soul - Rank: Silver]

“What’s silver?”

“It is the base level for a Soul. Basically Noob, or Level 1 in strength. It means you can cast very basic spells at the worst rate of Mana usage possible.”

“So what does the level affect?” Gunnar asked.

“The strength of your Soul is what determines the cost of any given spell. The stronger the Soul, the lower the cost. In other words, the more you practice casting, the more you use up your Mana, the stronger your Soul will become, and the more you will be able to accomplish with magic. Even someone with low Wisdom, and thus a low Mana pool, still has the potential to use magic effectively. It just requires work. It’s like running.”

Gunnar suppressed his groan at that comparison, reminded of his ex-girlfriend once again.

But he supposed it made sense.

Sheira cast a small orb of blue flame and let it hover in the air. She played with it, allowing it to expand to the size of a basketball, and then shrink down until it could fit easily into her palm. The flames began to inflict damage upon herself. She grimaced as the flames seared her skin. Both her Mana and Health bars depleted significantly. Then, she cast a yellow Heal spell on her burning hand and her Health began to restore. When her Mana had depleted and her Health was back to 100%, the spells vanished.

Gunnar offered her a soft slow clap. “Impressive. Can I learn to do that?”

“Casting two spells, even basic ones, at the same time requires a lot of knowledge and practice. Your goal for the time being is to learn new spells and strengthen your Soul through repetition of those spells.”

“I picked up a couple spells from a trader.” He reached into his Inventory and produced both scrolls. “Basic Word of Healing and Lesser Shield.”

“Those were actually good choices,” Sheira said, her voice lilting with surprise.

“I make smart decisions from time to time.”

The elf smirked. “Most second-class mages opt for Harm right away, not realizing that a low-grade Harm spell often deals less damage than most of the weapons they already use. These two are great choices because they allow your magic to complement your more trained physical skills.”

Gunnar was pretty sure Sheira had not complimented him before and he reveled in it.

“However, it was supremely foolish to purchase these spells from traders.”

Gunnar frowned. “Why?”

“It’s incredibly easy to counterfeit spells and sell them to noobs who don’t know anything about magic yet.”

“Ah, good point.”

Sheira looked over the sealed scrolls of parchment, each embossed with runes.

“Well, you’d better hope for the best, because now it’s time to learn some magic.”

Sheira drew her dagger from her belt, and before Gunnar could react, plunged it into his thigh.