Part Eighty-Four

This sucks. Not only am I stuck here, but I can’t even practice magic or Sword Aura. This is essentially wasted time. I could be doing anything else, and it would be a better use of my time than this.

After barely an hour of forced bedrest, I was about ready to snap. I hated being sedentary, so much so that I would freak out at any possibility that I was sick. Being bedridden basically meant I’d lose an entire day, if not more.

Just think about all the practice I’m losing out on! Sure, I probably wouldn’t be making any big jumps in progress, but still! Any progress is good at this point. And now it’s gotten too quiet in here

The infirmary had calmed down as the healers administered first-aid to those injured. Those with relatively light injuries had already been discharged, though there were still a dozen mercenaries with severe injuries like myself. Though I should also mention that no one who was brought into the infirmary had died.

I understand that they want to preserve their mana just in case, but they could easily finish healing those of us still here rather then let Kalia’s spell do it for them. I mean, from a resource perspective it makes complete sense, and I’d probably make the same choice, but it is highly frustrating when I’m one of those affected. I just want to do something.

Even worse was the fact that Alicia had gone off somewhere. I think she went to go find Cameron, mostly because we were worried after news of multiple corpses being found had come in. The Void Wolf had gotten up to more than we’d thought before it had attacked me. I could see how it had wracked up such a kill count if it kept ambushing people in the same manner it had me. Even with Beast of the Nightmare and Skanda, I’d barely been able to avoid lethal injuries.

“You don’t need to look so grumpy. You’re one of the luckier ones since you’ll be out of here by morning.”

“Sure, I feel so lucky sitting here with my mangled arm and shoulder. The constant itching just makes this all the better.”

“The itching just means that you’re healing. All the difficult stuff is already done, all you need to do is just let the wounds heal. And at least you still have your limbs. A few of the others weren’t so lucky.”

Considering that three mercenaries had lost a limb during the battle, I guess that wasn’t too much of a stretch. And if I hadn’t had the Coat of Dark Wrath, I probably would’ve joined them. The coat had literally saved my life, though it was damaged in doing so. The left sleeve was basically unsalvageable, and the right shoulder had several large holes in it. I had no idea how I was going to repair it either. So it, along with my helmet, had gone into my bag for storage.

Ugh, maybe I can try to patch it once I’ve recovered. I’ve got scraps of other armors I could use, I just need to figure out how I’ll do it. It’s been awhile since I’ve done any sewing. I’m not sure I can still do it. Maybe Kalia or Alicia knows how? If not, well I don’t know where I’m going with that.

“Haah, sorry. I just really hate being bedridden. I’m not doing anything productive, so I feel useless right now. It’s just a thing with me. You don’t have to worry about it too hard.”

“Productive? I didn’t peg you for a workaholic.”

“No, just no. I’m not a workaholic. Don’t call me that, not even as a joke. Like I said, I just don’t like having to sit around like this. I’d rather be training or something.”

“Isn’t, no, never mind. Well, maybe in an hour or two you’ll be able to do so, but until then, you should just focus on recovering. Oh, and drink this. It’ll replace the nutrients your body is using to heal itself.”

“It’s, not gonna taste horrible, is it? Because I can still taste the Blood Tonic.”

“Just drink it.”

And with that, she shoved it into my mouth, giving me no further chances to protest. And I was right. It tasted horrible.

***

[Alicia’s POV]

Huh, no one saw the wolf enter or leave the fort. That’s definitely bad. If it means what itching it means, then we’re in trouble. I wonder if anyone else noticed this?

Alicia had not in fact gone to look for Cameron, but to investigate something she’d noticed. She’d gone to those posted on watch duty, and asked those she knew if they’d seen the Void Wolf. Not a single one had.

If, if that’s true, then how did it get in? The Anti-movement Array is still functioning, so it couldn’t have snuck in through the shadows. Or did it?

Her next stop was the Anti-movement Array, or what was left of it. The rubble was all cleared off of it by now, but repairs to the stones were still ongoing. Several NPC mages were overseeing the efforts to repair it, molding stones back into place and re-engraving the parts that were damaged, though the mercenaries were doing the majority of the work. Apparently those not a part of the strike squad were given tasks like this, and compensated for their work with gear and other consumables.

I, can’t tell. There’s still mana in it, but I don’t know if it’s still working. I would have expected for the NPCs to panic more if it had stopped working, but it’s hard to read them sometimes. Maybe I should just go ask one of them?

“Um, excuse me? Could I ask you a question?”

“Yes ma’am. How can I help ya?”

Uh, why’s he speaking with a southern accent? I’m just going to ignore that.

“I was just wondering about this, but is the array still functioning? I’ve heard rumors going both ways.”

“Hm, yes and no. It is still functional, but at a reduced capacity. Some of the major sections were highly damaged when the monsters' portal landed on it, but it is still working. We’re working to fully restore it, but it’s a complicated formation. It’ll take us at least another two hours to have it back to full power.”

“Well thank you. I was a little worried about it. Didn’t want a repeat of our second night in here.”

“Ahahaha, no, I guess you wouldn’t. But don’t fret, we’ve got this in hand.”

Bidding the NPC goodbye, she headed back the way she came. So long as the NPC wasn’t lying, and she had no reason to believe he was, then what she’d originally thought of shouldn’t be possible. How could the Void Wolf infiltrate the fort through shadow movement? Was it just that the wolf was able to avoid the spell because it was more powerful?

No, that doesn’t seem right. Why wouldn’t it have done that before? If the array wasn’t powerful enough to keep the wolf out, why would it wait until now to attack? It might have just been waiting for this opportunity, for a time when we’d be distracted and have our guards down, but it still seems too simple. There were plenty of chances for it to do this, so why wait for this exact moment?

In the first place, what does reduced capacity mean? Does it allow the Void Wolf to enter the fort uninhibited? And what about the other Shadow monsters? Will it keep them out?

Mrrr, I don’t think I can figure this out on my own. I don’t know enough about magic and monsters to come to a definite conclusion. I’ll go ask Kalia and Michael. Maybe the three of us can figure it out.

***

So if I do this, then that, it should-. Nope, got it wrong again. Hm, maybe if i-? Gah, nope. Damn, this is hard. I thought that since it’s a 0th Grade Spell, it would be easier to practice than [Mind Rot], especially since I don’t need a target to activate the spell, but it’s too goddamn complex! I mean seriously, I’ve tried eighteen times to get the spell to come together, but it just falls apart every time! Should I just admit that I don’t know what I’m doing?

“Are, are you sure you’re okay to be doing that? I know you don’t really need to move your body when casting, but I’m worried you’re going to hurt yourself.”

“And as I told you before, I need to do this much or I’ll go stir-crazy. I just make each glyph one at a time, and try to put them together, though it’s not working at the moment. Maybe I just need to do it all at once?”

“Well, don’t push yourself too hard, or you’ll give yourself Mana Exhaustion. That’ll just worsen your condition.”

“Okay sis. Yeesh, you act like I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“But you don’t! You literally just said that you don’t know what you’re doing!”

“Wait, are you reading my mind? Pervert!”

“W-w-what? I, what, huh?”

“Uh-oh, I broke her. Hmm, now, how to hide the evidence?”

“W-what exactly would you be hiding!? Ahahaha.” *whimper*

Oh dear, I may have taken that a smidge too far. But it’s not my fault! She’s just too much fun to tease. I enjoy bantering with Alicia, but these kinds of reactions are why I started messing with people in the first place.

But seriously, why won’t this work? Hm, Kalia said that I should be able to get the 0th Grade Spell to work just fine, but I’m pretty sure she’s a magic genius, so what she said doesn’t count. It’s gotta be harder than she thinks it is. So what am I doing wrong?

I’d finally succeeded in badgering Kalia to give me my Grimoire so I could practice magic, though I’d had to promise to go slowly so as to not strain myself before she agreed. My left arm had recovered to the point where I could use it again, though the half-healed gashes in it still hurt.

Wait, the diagram says to bunch the glyphs together before finishing the last one, not after. Was that what I was doing wrong?

I decided to give it one last shot before giving up for now. Shaping my mana into the first four glyphs, I gathered them into a circle before fashioning the last, and slotting it into the middle of the others. When I did, the last glyph sparked the other four, causing the whole thing to flash and disappear. I thought it had failed at first, until I felt the faint pulse of magic emanate from where the glyphs had been.

Whoa, freaky. Everywhere the pulse touched was now within the range of my mana sense. Considering that the spell was called [Soul Resonance], I’d expected to sense the souls of those around me, but I felt so much more than that.

[Soul Resonance] also allowed me to sense mana, regardless of where it was. The Dungeon was just chock-full of it, to the point that I was surprised that we didn’t feel it. It brought to mind what Hunk-lite said about mana density before. I wonder how Earth compares to this?

Now as for the expected effects, they basically worked like a kind of sonar, with the spell pinging back to me whenever a soul was located. I couldn’t see them, but I did feel them. Just from that brief glimpse, it looked like a person's soul encompassed their entire being. You were your soul.

Okay, I’m getting a little too esoteric for my tastes. Time to dial the craziness back a little. Though I also noticed that the NPCs don’t have souls of their own. Which further cements their status as fake in my mind. I guess it makes sense, so I don’t really know what i-.

::Individual has acquired Normal Skill: Abyss Magic Rank F.::

Oh hey, woohoo, new Skill. And now my Status gets a little more dark and scary. Yay!

“Cool, it worked. Hey Kalia, I got it to-. Kalia?”

“T-t-that was you? Please, please, please don’t do that again. I don’t know what it was, but I didn’t like it!”

For some reason, Kalia was hunched over the side of my bed, hugging herself tight. Her face was extremely pale, and she looked to be on the verge of a panic attack. What happened!?

Considering that no one else seemed to have even noticed the magic, I had a hard time understanding what happened to her, but my spell seemed to be the culprit. Maybe she’s intolerant to Dark Magic?

But uh, how do I calm her down?

***

[Alicia’s POV]

Huh? What’s Cameron doing over there? And why’s he with Braddock? I, I probably shouldn’t, but I feel the need to follow them.

Dropping into a low crouch, Alicia allowed the effect of Stealth to cloak her, effectively blocking her presence from others. There were few Skills better suited for tailing someone.

Where are they going? Hm, this could end up being something. I should tell Michael.