NOVEL WEB Chapter-96 One Year
His spirit dimmed. The blood ink in the center resonated with his cast and shone with a bleak tinge. It squirmed at every other heartbeat then dispersed into wine-red threads, sinking into the three cores. They trembled and soon powdered into dust, leaving flecks of cerulean light that hovered and swarmed towards the center. It took minutes for the light specks to merge and stabilize, and when they did, an orange-colored Level-8 Astylind Core of the fire element sat in front of Ewan, gleaming and reflecting his gaping astonishment. He checked and confirmed with his <Lens> spell, it was an actual core of the fire element, no different than the ones he hunted or bought.
And he broke into a quivering grin. The prospects of the spell flooded him with excitement. It could create shortcuts, saving him much time and effort. The only requirement was his research. The more knowledge he had, the more the spell would glimmer. If he employed it well, the profits would soon rain upon him. He was proud of his Pa and his grandpa for creating such a spell, yet the same also pressured him. Continuing those monsters’ legacy wouldn’t be an easy task….
The door of his room slammed open and his Astylinds barged in one after another, creating a ruckus with their synced cries, shattering his wandering thoughts. They didn’t want to practice alone in those rooms. Even the diligent Frost was of the same mind, and his complaints echoed with the others. Ewan shook his head and let them stay with him.
A lot had happened but only months had gone by since he became a Severynth and contracted them. His Astylinds were only a few months old, mere babies. Expecting them to be mature and focus on training in solitary was a miss on his part. It wasn’t a big deal anyway. He was a Potioneer, he could enhance their levels without those modified rooms.
“Don’t make too much noise,” he said and went back to brewing potions—this time with the core he transmuted. Though it wasn’t necessary, a brewed potion’s effect could further confirm its authenticity.
……
Around a week later.
Ewan lounged on the recliner out in the yard, facing the ocean through the gap he opened in the fog-cover, his family’s journal sprawled on his chest.
The red dusk shimmered on the waters, the breeze rocked the waves, the chirping birds returned home against the setting sun, but his churning mind couldn’t appreciate any of it right now, he didn’t have the capacity to.
He teetered at the boundary of the ninth awakening and had many things to consider before moving forward. The most important of which was his mystic-favored affinity. He scoured the hub for days, looking for any information regarding a mystic-type Astylind, but nothing came up—fake or otherwise. The lack of any reports or hints of such sightings bound his hands and feet, he was helpless. Though he wanted an Astylind of mystic element, he wasn’t impulsive enough to hunt for one without any data; he didn’t want to waste his time looking for a needle in a haystack. At least for that, he could burn the haystack and take the needle out, but he wasn’t capable of burning the world to find an Astylind…
So, to take advantage of his unexpected affinity and not let it rot in some corner, he only had one option left—create the rune by himself without any Astylind. Others might stumble here, but his confidence came from his <Transmute> spell. Except for creating any living beings, the spell showed no limitations so far. The theory of it even supported transmuting a breathing creature with a heartbeat, so a rune shouldn’t be an issue, Ewan surmised. The only hiccup was the lack of information regarding the rune. The spell worked based on his knowledge. Unless he studied the mystic rune in detail, transmuting it was only a pipe dream.
It could be that his level was too low to contact such data. If he was right, then he had to wait till after he broke through to Step-1, it might even stretch to Step-2. Or he could climb the ladder in the city and get the Governor’s help. At his level, getting the information on runes should be feasible.
Ewan made up his mind, he would chase this plan. He might fail. All his time, effort, and resources might go to waste. But all investments had an element of risk. If he shirked every time, he would soon find himself at the door of mediocrity.
He noted down his plans in the diary and left them for the future. Now, he had to pay attention to more immediate matters—his choice for Varos. It was a defensive innate skill but differed based on the material used. His family’s journal advised using earth-element materials, but Ewan was a bit reluctant. He chose mystic element for Bralek—the soul defense, choosing the same for Varos might give him another surprise, or so he hoped.
He tapped the pen on his diary, the nib dotting the page. The same issue with the mystic-type Astylind hindered him here too. He had no means to buy any mystic-type material….
One year, he finally wrote down and circled it—he gave his obstinance an ultimatum of one year. He had a lot of work to do before attempting to break through to Step-1. From completing his modification-cycle for ‘Elementalist’ to breaking into the potion market, from upgrading his Astylinds to learning more spells. His estimate for everything came to about one year. If he still couldn’t find anything in that time, he would follow his predecessors’ advice and choose the earth element.
The faint cheers and the hollers trickled in as the world darkened and took him away from the diary. He looked down at the city—towards the vast central plaza—through the crowns of the towering trees. A huge bonfire blazed in the center, its flames reaching for the sky, dancing in rhythm with the jolly crowd around. The purple sky had reddened for the city.
Ewan chuckled. The constant fear of death lying outside their doors had loosened the shackles of the citizens of Drarith. They lived their days as if it was their last. Unrestrained sex, flowing booze, sumptuous feasts; they caroused almost every night, for they’d survived another day. It was a contrast from the lawful colony he was familiar with, and it amused him. But the mere amusement couldn’t make him join them. He put his diary back in the claw-ring and went inside the house, he had a lot of work pending.
