An Unbound Soul

Daylight was almost over, so Dad would be home soon. After that was a quick evening meal, then bedtime. I may no longer be operating on a strict stamina enforced time limit, but Mum still insisted that I maintained a healthy sleep schedule. That left me precious little time to try out my new spells.

[Minor Speed] was a bit of a disappointment. The effect was barely strong enough for me to notice the world around me slowing down as I cast it, and even then, it only lasted five seconds before wearing off. On top of that, it cost a whole ten mana. I tried to watch Mum's rhythmic sewing to work out the size of the effect, but it wore off too quickly, and although I had the mana for another cast, that would leave me without anything for my other spells. If I had to guess, I would have said it was a five percent boost. I suppose that in a sword fight, moving five percent faster than the opposition for a few seconds would be a good advantage, all else being equal, but it wouldn't be very much use to me. The description said that only the duration increased with level and not the effect, so even at level ten, the best-case scenario was that I'd get the same small boost for half a minute.

[Minor Strength] was even more of a disappointment. It literally did nothing. My strength did not increase despite a bill of five mana, and I wanted to yell at the skill description for false advertising. The best explanation I could come up with was that it was a rounding error. I'd seen with [Enlarged Mana Pool] that a ten percent boost to sixteen was seventeen, not eighteen or seventeen-and-a-bit. Maybe [Minor Strength] was trying to give me a ten percent boost to strength and failing to do anything since my strength was currently less than ten. If that was the case, it should start giving me a plus one boost after gaining a level.

[Far Step] was far more interesting and incredibly disconcerting. I could take a step of maybe a couple of metres, which didn't sound like much until you considered my short and stubby legs. Then I immediately fell over, because it was really hard to keep balance when your two feet had completely different ideas of which reality they were in. It did indeed cost one point of mana per step, too, which meant that it wasn't a viable means of travel. Even if the distance travelled increased linearly with level, and I didn't have to climb back to my feet after each step, that wouldn't change even at level ten unless my mana pool and regeneration grew by a lot.

Mum watched me picking myself back up off the floor for the third time with amusement.

"That's quite interesting to look at. You look like you're stretching, and then you end up somewhere else despite staying mostly still. Is it space magic?"

"Yes, it's called [Far Step]. It's supposed to let me take really long strides, but I can't keep my balance even on this flat surface. I'd stand no hope of using it outdoors."

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it with a bit of practice."

"Get the hang of what? Also, good evening."

Oh, Dad was home. I didn't even hear the door. "Welcome back. I switched class. I can do spells now. Look!"

I took another [Far Step], concentrating as hard as I could on maintaining my balance. Which meant I wasn't paying quite as much attention as I should have been to where I was going, which in turn meant that I stepped face first into a wall. Ouch.

"Okay, maybe don't look until I've got the hang of it, please. And you just saw nothing, by the way."

"I'm afraid I saw everything. And I'm carefully etching it into my brain so that I never forget it."

"Meanie!"

I made another attempt, this time ending up back on the floor.

ding

Skill [Far Step] advanced to level 2

Seriously? I'd only cast it five times. If that was just the class boost to levelling, then the 'small' in the description was misplaced. Maybe spells were easier to level to start with? Hopefully [Minor Strength] would be the same, in which case I could level it tomorrow, too.

"I think perhaps you should stop that for now. Try again tomorrow somewhere with more space and softer ground."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm almost out of mana, anyway." I responded from my position at ground level, before picking myself back up and helping to prepare our light evening meal.

Sitting down at the dinner table, I considered that little bit of experimentation. I had to admit that rank one spells were a let-down. Really, what did I expect, given they cost half as much as the [Inspection] skill that I mocked so much. But [Inspection] had its uses and was also needed to acquire more powerful skills, and I was sure that the same would be true of these spells, too. And it wasn't as if the rank one spells from other affinities were better. For example, [Warm] supposedly raised the temperature of a small, non-living target by a couple of degrees per level, which wasn't even enough to reheat a cold cup of tea.

"So, spill the beans. What other spells did you get?"

I probably shouldn't mention that I'd bought both time and space affinity spells, but thankfully it wasn't obvious that [Minor Speed] belonged to time affinity from the name alone. I could pass it off as a second body affinity spell.

"[Minor Strength] and [Minor Speed], which boost my strength and speed. But not by enough to be noticeable at level one. Also [Mana Control], which Kari recommended even if I wasn't going to take the [Thaumaturgist] path, and I'm saving my last two points for [Mana Finesse], which I haven't unlocked yet."

"Interesting. Seems like you've got it all planned out, then. I'm guessing your other spells are body affinity? What does the complex affinity of body and space look like?"

"I haven't got a clue. Mum said I could go and do some reading in Dawnhold to try to find out."

A flicker of agitation showed on Dad's face at that. I knew it wasn't directed at me, though; literacy wasn't universal in this world, and neither of my parents could read or write. It was a fact that Dad did not like being reminded about. I was fortunate enough to have learnt from Kari. Maybe I should give Dad lessons one day?

"You didn't consider picking anything more normal? I hope you didn't just jump on body and space because the affinities are rare."

Now it was my turn to look down awkwardly. "I didn't have a choice. Apparently, I'm not attuned to any of the common affinities. Not even fire or ice. Kari says that affinity attunement is a function of your soul, and, well, you know..."

"Ah, I see. Well, I can't imagine that stopping you. You just carry on being you."

"Believe me, I intend to. As hard as possible." He grinned at me in response, and I smiled back.

Meal over, I lay in bed meditating and sensing the mana heading towards me. I tried to reach out with [Mana Control] to trace patterns in the flows of mana, being as gentle as possible. The way to unlock [Mana Finesse] was to practise manipulation of small quantities of mana. Unfortunately, the poor resolution of [Mana Sense] made it impossible to see what I was actually doing. On top of that, [Mana Control] was level one, and I had no experience in its use. I felt like I was trying to create an intricate painting back when I was newly born, when I could see nothing but blurs and could barely control my limbs. While this was good training, I very much doubted I'd succeed in unlocking anything.

Sure enough, I had no new skills available when I woke up the next morning. I immediately fired off a [Minor Speed] and [Minor Strength]. No point in wasting my mana regeneration by sitting around with a full pool. As usual, Dad was gone before I woke up. With no plans or lessons for the day, I decided to do some skill training outdoors, so I ate breakfast, waved my busy mother goodbye, and stepped out of the front door. A regular step this time. Mum was right about not using [Far Step] again indoors without some practice. I had several bruises this morning that I would never admit to.

"Peter!"

Oh crap. I knew that voice. Brace for incoming hug!

"Oof. Good morning, Cluma."

"Hello!"

I had been careless. I should have paid attention to the noise, or checked through the window that the coast was clear, before stepping outside. Now I'd been captured by the enemy.

Okay, maybe I was being a little harsh, but only a little. Cluma was just so... active. And friendly. Like some sort of fluffy nightmare homing bullet that gave energetic hugs instead of gaping wounds. I knew there was no escape until she decided to let go, so I accepted fate and patted her on the head.

"Play?"

To be fair, Cluma was probably the only reason my endurance was as high as it was. Nevertheless, my attempts at fleeing from her hadn't been successful ever since she'd learnt how to run. Her physical stats were definitely higher than mine despite my two season age advantage. But right now, I wanted to train magic, not fleeing from the little hugging machine. Perhaps I could do both?

"Only until my stamina runs out. Tag, you're it!"

"Yay, tag!"

I quickly backed away, keeping my focus on her. She dived forwards at a ridiculous speed. Wait for it... Wait... Now! I activated [Far Step] and stepped sideways, causing her to go zooming past. Now I just needed to climb up from the ground and get back to my feet before she finished turning around.

"Huh? Peter went weird."

I grinned at her. Skills were supposed to advance faster when used in difficult situations, so I must surely be getting a Cluma induced bonus here. Then again, it was hard enough when I was on my own yesterday. Maybe that was why it had advanced so quickly.

I kept my attention on Cluma as she accelerated back towards me, waited for the perfect timing, and stepped sideways once more. This time, I actually managed to stay upright, despite a bit of a stumble. Cluma went speeding past once more before coming to a stop, turning and staring at me in confusion. It was a shame I didn't have the mana to keep this up for long. This was probably already the longest I'd ever managed to evade her.

Clana was sitting on a chair out in front of her house, watching in amusement. I might be allowed out on my own, but a regular child of our age needed an eye kept on them.

"It looks like Peter has been learning magic, Cluma. You're going to have to try harder if you want to keep up."

"Try!"

She accelerated again. Wait for it, and sidest... She changed direction! I grunted as she collided with me right where I'd stepped to, knocking the air out of my lungs and me right to the ground.

"Tag!"

I still remembered the time when I had been looking forward to having a cute cat-girl childhood friend. Truly, I had been naïve. I struggled to take a deep breath, which was kinda hard with Cluma now sitting on top of me.

"Well done. You got me."

ding

Skill [Far Step] advanced to level 3

Strength increased by 1

Hah. Even the System agreed with me. Another level after only three uses.

"You're it!"

Seriously? Oh well, why not? I waited a few seconds to recover while she jumped off me and took her distance, but with my newly levelled [Far Step] she was still within my range... Time for some revenge! I stepped forward and reached out, only to grasp at thin air. Cluma had somehow dodged to the side, despite me covering the distance instantly. I had just enough time to glimpse her laughing before I lost my balance and ended up back on the floor.

"Hehe. Peter fell over!"

Dammit! This was humiliating! How did she manage to react to that? I made another attempt and watched her twitch and start to dodge before I'd even started moving. How? She started to move as soon as I activated the spell and chose the destination. Maybe there was some noise or visual indication at the other end, even before I started moving? If it was a noise, I was stuffed, but if it was visual... I tried to aim behind her, but failed. Apparently, I needed line of sight. I aimed behind and slightly to the side, well out of her cone of vision. This time she didn't react at all until I stepped on the other side, giving me plenty of time. "Tag!"

Cluma looked stunned. Understandably so; this may well be the first time I'd ever caught her in tag since she properly understood the rules. Then, after processing that fact that I really did just catch her, she burst out laughing. "Fun!"

Despite my minor victory there, she was as energetic as ever, while I was already running on fumes of stamina and mana. It was time for me to bow out here. I sneaked in some fluffy ear petting while I had a legitimate excuse and got a hug back in return. "Yes, I had fun too. But now I'm all worn out already. I wish I knew where you got so much energy from."

I needed to sit down and meditate for a bit. Going back home would be best, but I had to admit that using magic against Cluma was an effective way of training. I sat down next to Clana instead, and Cluma followed, hopping into her lap. Clana asked, "Didn't that hurt? It looked like your whole body was stretching."

"The spell itself doesn't hurt at all. It's just disorientating. The pain comes from the face-plant afterwards, but I think I've almost got the hang of it. It's frustrating that I want to keep trying, but even with [Meditation] I still take around four minutes to regenerate a single point of mana."

"Hah, you're complaining about one every four minutes? It takes me almost ten. Beastkin have a fifty percent hit to mana pool size and regeneration compared to humans."

Woah... Glad I wasn't reborn as a cat-girl then, despite the thought that earned me [Xenophilia]. That would have put a serious damper on my plans to be the greatest mage of all time. Presumably there was some advantage instead? Races should be balanced, right? A doubled stamina pool would explain Cluma's energy. "True, but on the other hand, I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've ever caught Cluma in tag, and she's half a year younger than me. I doubt that same trick will work a second time, either."

"Yes, our physical stats tend to be better than humans, but to be fair, she's a bit special even by beastkin standards. Let's just say there's a rank three trait involved."

"Wow. A trait of rank three or higher is something only one in a hundred people should have, and our little village gets two of them in one year."

I glanced at Cluma, who, for some reason, was wrapping her arms around herself while looking confused, ears twitching cutely atop her head. It seemed I was going to have some competition for the position of village weirdo.