The Survivor Becomes a Dungeon

Vitmori POV

Work had begun almost immediately as Trisha got the forge going, talking with Heptio as she started going through the motions. It was clear to me that she was already off in her own little world. Rita had lingered to watch the work for a moment, but I could tell she was bored of this before long and began making her way out of the forge. Reyvyre had stood around for a little while longer before also making her way out, though she waved for me to follow; seeing no reason not to, I joined her and fell in step beside her. "So, how does your avatar feel? Trisha and Rita mentioned you battled with Reonim." She asked as she glanced over at me; I could see and feel her eyes wandering my body, though I could sense it was strictly analytical as she reviewed her handiwork.

"Hmm... Well, I lost, for one." I mentioned with a bit of a smile and shrugging a bit. "Reaction time wasn't as fast as my original body, though it was fast enough. I think I figured out a hint in using mana to enhance my physical capability, but I was unable to maintain my boosted running speed. My overall physical capabilities were good despite my low weight, but how heavy I am doesn't really matter to me. If I do need more weight, I'm sure I can manage with some kind of metal or stone weights."

Reyvyre's intrigue and curiosity were palpable as I spoke, I could sense that she wanted to take down notes, but she realized that she forgot her notepad back at the longhouse; focusing back on me, she nodded intently at my words before speaking up. "It sounds a lot like the delay that people with artificial limbs experience. The suggested remedy for that is to just use the limb as much as you can... So I suppose it's only a matter of time until your avatar feels natural." She suggested as she absently ran her fingers through her hair. "As for making use of your mana heart, I'm afraid I don't have much experience in actively using it. The only benefits I truly make use of are the ones that maintain my body with the reduced need to eat, sleep, and drink. Though I'm sure Reonim could advise you." She said before looking unsure as she tilted her head side to side a bit. "Well... He's knowledgeable and able to explain things easily enough, but he hasn't shown much talent in actually teaching." She admitted with a little shrug.

"Well, how common are mana hearts and magic users?" Now that I'm really thinking about it, the only people I've seen with mana hearts were mostly those in my service, aside from the drakewardens, Virtisa, Jaz, Lanzak, and Sylvia. Isaak looked like he had some glittering lights around his heart, but he had not actually developed one yet. Even Dhalia only had a mana heart; it wasn't even that impressive.

Reyvyre seemed to need a moment for that, I could feel her mind swirling with information as she considered my question. "One in ten people naturally develop mana hearts, one in twenty will develop their mana hearts to effectively use in combat at Reonim's level, and one in forty are able to cultivate their mana hearts to develop a single mana ring." She explained before looking over at me. "And that is only considering the short-lived races." She mentioned as she looked back out at the treeline below us. "You won't encounter many as powerful as yourself or even as powerful as I am, but there are many ways to develop mana hearts and mana rings, so there will be more than the predicted amount of those with mana hearts here and there, especially in the service of nobles, affluent merchants, among the guilds, or the various academies." She explained as she listed them out on her fingers.

"I see. Well, maybe I'll see for myself once my armor and equipment are ready. I was planning on joining Basti in visiting the hegemony and investigating the trafficking on their side of things." I decided to mention it as we neared the base of my mountain.

I could feel Reyvyre looking at me curiously at that comment. "Are you sure you're up for it? I mean no offense, but this world is nothing like yours, I just don't want you to be taken advantage of or misled." She expressed sincere worry and concern plainly on her face as she watched me.

I couldn't help but be amused by that as I returned her look with a quirked brow. "You may be four times older than me, but I'm still a grown man capable of caring for myself. People will still be people, no matter where they are from. As long as they can still be swayed by words, actions, kindness, or violence; I should be fine wherever I end up." I was half joking with that comment, but as far as I've seen with the people in the haven, even if they look different, they're still just people like I used to know.

I could sense Reyvyre's uncertainty, though she soon accepted my words and decided to move on to the next topic as we got down into the woods. "Well, if you're going on a trip, would you mind if I took Reonim and visited my clan?" She asked curiously, I could tell she wanted to go no matter what I said, though she also felt I wouldn't say no to something like that, and she wouldn't be wrong.

"Leaving so soon? You haven't even been back for a full week." I mused, deciding to pry just a little bit before letting her do what she wanted.

Reyvyre seemed to catch on to what I was after and obliged with a bit of a smile. "Well, I need to go report my status as possibly the youngest elven mage to etch their fourth ring of mana around their heart." She enthused proudly, though she then looked rather sheepish as she scratched the back of her head. "It's also been a decade since I last reported back, and I'm one of fifteen elves to actually wander beyond my clan borders, so I should probably inform them of the events of the world sooner rather than later." She chuckled a little bit before looking back at me. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to return the remains of the elf we found in Lichtdren's chamber to my people, the armor she wore was a lost treasure for the elven people, and returning it should do well to endear the clan to you and possibly the Empire, thanks to your alliance with them." She explained, the anticipation clear in her eyes about the possibilities.

"Just admit it, you have a hard time staying in one place, don't you?" I tease gently before smirking a bit. "Though I do appreciate you going out of your way to find me more friends in this world." I said as I looked over at her, glancing at my mark around her throat. "Sure, go for it, just let me do this real quick." I mentioned as I stepped closer, reaching out and gently poking her neck. I could feel her jolt with surprise, though she remained still as her mind hummed with curiosity at what I'm doing. To be honest, I'm not even sure what I'm doing, but I focus as I trail my finger from her neck, down to her shoulder, and pull away. My mark had seamlessly moved away from being so clearly distinct on her neck, down to her shoulder where most other people tend to have it. "There... Sorry if that was uncomfortable." I said as I flashed a small smile. "But my mark looked too much like a collar on you, and that wasn't sitting right with me." I explained as I rubbed the back of my head. I'm not sure why I did this right now, but it felt right.

Reyvyre looked surprised, to say the least, absently touching her neck and swallowing. I could sense a flurry of emotions coursing through her mind, but overall I could feel that the collar-like mark did bother her, at least in the corner of her mind when she saw others with my mark in more discrete places. After a moment, she smiled at me as she looked up into my eyes. "Thank you, Vitmori, for your help and your permission." She says while looking away, still absently touching her neck as she continues on our way back to the Haven. Though as we drew closer, she glanced back at me and flashed a smile. "Say... How about I show you some of the basics of magic? I'm sure you'll have a handle on it in no time." She mentioned with a grin.

"That sounds good to me." I reply with a bob of my head.

Reyvyre nodded in return before looking away. "Give me some time to set things up, I'll come get you in a little bit." She said as she stepped away and went off in a different direction than the Haven.

I watched her go for a couple of moments, though I made my way over to the clearing soon enough as I walked around. Most people are working on various things, though I do see a cluster of people working around a log, stripping it of bark using the new tools I had given them. I make my way over, spotting a beaverkin man snacking on some bark chips as he seemingly takes a break while Lanzak leads the group now. "You are Woody, right?" I ask, not entirely sure of their name since it felt a little on the nose.

The beaverkin man jumped a little with surprise, having been lost in thought while enjoying his snack. Looking over at me, he offers a grin before standing as he tucked the remaining wood chips he had into his pocket, all while doing his best to chew what he had in his mouth before swallowing and clearing his throat. "Guilty as charged." He expressed cheerfully as he stepped up to me. "Is there anything I could help you with?" He asked as he absently wiped at something at the edge of his lips.

"Yeah, Trisha mentioned that you would be making my bow and arrows for me, I just wanted to know if there's anything I can help with to get you started?" I explain as I glance over at the work they're already doing.

Woody looked thoughtful, his beaver tail tapping almost absently against the dirt behind him. "I know that the Shepherd Zasutir said that we should be doing work on our own so as to not burden you... However, if you are offering your help in exchange for something, then I suppose we are not burdening you anymore, and this is just an exchange of service." He reasoned with a shrewd smile before continuing. "We need much more wood than we are able to process ourselves at the rate we're going. Between firewood and construction materials, we need to get a lot of this setup and drying if we want to make any considerable progress on construction after winter has passed." He explained as his tail tapped at the dirt again. "Now, I did hear those drakewardens were planning on coming in with builders and supplies in the next couple of weeks, but wood is a long-term commodity that has lots of uses." He explained, now all business, though even as he spoke, he reached into his pocket and popped a wood chip into his mouth every now and then. "If you don't mind, could you use some of that dungeon magic of yours to take down twenty trees for us?"

"Only twenty trees?" I asked before chuckling a bit. I certainly don't mind the work, and I do have a lot more mana to work with than I had several weeks ago. Plus, Woody did have a point, this sort of stuff is no longer a one-sided charity of giving them whatever they need. They're doing stuff for me now, and I'm working to earn it. Even if I think twenty trees don't exactly equate to a bow and arrows.

Woody nodded as he chewed on some more bark. "Yep, for now. It's not like we're gonna stop cutting down more trees, though we won't be as rushed if you can do this for us... And as impressive as the longhouse you made is, what we need now are simple buildings for us to grow into before we improve on them later." He explained as he wiped his lips absently. "All we need to do is build the frames and floors of buildings, then I can make some bricks with clay and dry grass to fill out the rest." He said while nodding at his own words.

"I see, so how am I gonna break these trees down, and where do you want them?" I asked while looking over at the treeline and considering what trees to take down.

Woody hummed thoughtfully at that. "Well, you can put the wood behind the longhouse. That's where we have been putting it up till now." He mentioned before looking back up at me. "If you could break down four trees into manageable logs for firewood, eight trees into planks, and the remaining eight trees into squared posts for the frames." He listed out before snapping his fingers as he considered something else. "If it's not too much trouble, could you also pile up all the tree branches next to the wood, and as for the bark..." He trailed off. In the middle of biting down on another chip from his pocket, he pulled it away before clearing his throat. "Could you set up the bark near the fireplace, Virtisa has been asking for some to make some kind of medicine and other stuff... Apparently, it's got some sort of stuff and such to make lots of things and a few medicines." He explained before shrugging as he finally popped the piece of bark he had into his mouth and chewed. "I just think it tastes good." He mused with a smile.

I chuckled a little bit at his last comment before rubbing the back of my head and looking back to the tree line. "Sure, I'll see what I can do." With that, I step away towards the treeline, Woody looking to the others and getting back to processing the current log they were working on. It doesn't take long to go around and gather all the trees since I'm able to take everything from the leaves to the roots all at once. The only thing I had to actually take my time on was making sure the trees I collected were unoccupied and then taking a moment to fill the new hole with dirt so nobody fell in and got hurt.

It was actually on my way back when I encountered Sylvia, who smiled as she spotted me and made her way over. "I heard from Woody you were helping gather trees for us. Could you make sure some of that bark comes my way? I need it if I want to start making the leather for your equipment." She explained as she walked with me.

"Of course, do you think you'll have it ready anytime soon?" I ask as we start heading back to the clearing around the longhouse. Though at that, I could sense some kind of unease coming from Sylvia as she slowed her pace to stare at me.

"How... How soon are you thinking?" She asked before picking up the pace to walk by my side again.

I look over at her and offer a shrug. "Sometime next week, once I have some weapons and clothes, I'll start walking toward the Hegemony and..." But before I could continue, Sylvia started to chuckle before full-on belly laughing at me as she wiped at some non-existent tears, looking over at me and laughing some more as she was soon doubled over at my expense. To say I was a little annoyed would be accurate, but moreover, I was just confused by her reaction.

It took almost a full minute before she managed to get ahold of herself. Even then, she was still snickering as she placed a hand over her mouth before speaking up. "You're such a silly human... I don't know how they did things in your world, but proper leather for armor takes at least two months to be armor grade, and that's not even considering all the other prep work to get it done." She was panting, taking slow breaths as she did her best to compose herself, though she still turned red from the strain of not laughing at me each time she looked back up at me, having to physically place her hand over her mouth to do so. "Forget about the leather, I'll make you some hide boots and gloves and get with Miriam to see what we can do for some quick and sturdy armor. Just leave it to me, Vitmori." She mused, smirking at my expense as she smacked my lower back a couple of times before walking off.

Well... There goes my self-esteem. I suppose the only experience I have is the stuff I scavenged that was already put together, or from armorers who already had a supply of treated leather ready to be committed to make armor per request. To get my mind off that blunder, I set to work sorting out the wood into the requests Woody made for me. I end up sitting cross legged in the dirt and closing my eyes in order to focus on the details of the work; I can feel the mana be expended, and while it does consume more mana than when I usually interact with things in the vacuum of my storage, I can't help but be pleasantly surprised that I'm even able to do this much in this avatar; that is being able to visualize my storage space in the same abstract nature I used to before I had a body.

Before long, all the wood has been sorted out in neat piles behind the longhouse and I go over by the outdoor fireplace to find Virtisa getting a massive pot of water to boil over an open flame, the herbalist lizardkin flashing a fanged smile at me as she pokes at the fire with a stick, Sekha mrowling politely as she sits besides Virtisa, but doesn't move from her place as she watched intently. "Hello Vitmori, I take it that you have the bark Woody asked you to collect for me?" She asked, appearing to be content with Sekha sitting halfway in her lap, which was a huge improvement from when I last saw her hurriedly rushing out of my medbay after seeing what I had done to Dread, her head full of anxiety and doubts.

"Yeah, where should I leave them? There's a lot, ya know." I mentioned as I made my way closer, reaching out and gently doting on Sekha by scritching her throat before stepping away to give Virtisa her space.

I could see her eyes wander as she looked around before pointing at a spot a couple of feet away from her. "If you could leave them there, that would be great, thanks." She said as she brought her hand back and down on Sekha's back as she stroked the blue cub's fur.

I can't help but feel she's underestimating just how much tree bark I collected, in the end I settle with just dropping off a good thirty pounds of bark, and with that I could sense that Virtisa wasn't expecting nearly that much. "Perfect, I'll get to work refining all of this." She said pleasantly. She didn't visibly betray her surprise, though, instead bobbing her head as she went back to prodding the flames underneath the pot.

Before I could get into anything else, Reyvyre came into the clearing and waved me over, her hands and knees covered in dirt. Making my way over, I look her up and down before quirking a brow with curiosity. "I see you've been playing around in the dirt." I mused kindly.

Reyvyre, for her part, looks confused for more than a few seconds before remembering something and looking at herself. She chuckled a bit as she scratched the back of her neck. "Yeah, about that... Well, it's better if I just show you." She said with a small smile before leading me out of the clearing. We walk for a few minutes before coming across a smaller clearing, the smell of fresh cut grass in the air as I see the results of Reyvyre's efforts. In the middle of the clearing was a magic circle with a variety of runes strewn all over the place, while I can read a few of the things here and there, I'm not too sure about the specifics, though I sense Reyvyre is more than ready to explain everything in just a moment as she beckoned me to come to the middle of the circle. "Kneel down here. We're gonna check your affinities." She mentioned, moving to get out of the circle while stepping carefully between the lines and runes.

Watching how she walked, I made sure to follow her example, crossing into the magic circle as I knelt down in the middle. "My affinities?" I parrot curiously. I mean, I knew I had three aspects, but I don't know if it's the same thing she's talking about.

"Yeah, we're gonna see what magics you have the greatest connection to, the base roots of which are the primal elements found in the world. Things like fire, water, earth, and air, among other things." She explained eagerly as she pointed to the four big circles within the magic circle before gesturing to the numerous smaller circles. "Beyond those, there are other magics which are more esoteric beyond the base elements. From there, I can see how to best guide and instruct you on the branches of magics that come easiest for you." She said as she sat down cross-legged in the grass. "Go on, reach out and run your mana through the magical circle, I'll make sure everything stays stable and review the results." She mentioned, eager anticipation just radiating from her like a ball of light. I look around myself for another moment before following her instructions, closing my eyes as I reach out with my mana. I can feel things happening around me, my mana pulsing and resonating as I meet Reyvyre's mana in the magical circle. "Wow..." Is all she says as I go to open my eyes.