The Fool's Freedom

It took Alan most of the day and night to heal his leg. For the first time, he felt the drawbacks of his new trait that had both saved his life and made it fragile in a very different way. All the expensive healing elixirs and potions sat worthless in his shadow inventory.

It was not the pain that bothered him, but healing himself with mana was a slow and arduous process that had no place in combat. Which meant that he had been negligent until now, taking risks he shouldn’t have. If he fought and got hurt in the middle of combat, it was more likely than not for him to lose, and losing meant death.

It honestly made sense for everyone under the System to either get a skill that healed them or carry a lot of potions and other life-saving treatments. However, that was no longer an option for Alan. Even his curse that directly stole life force was worthless as far as Vitality went. Sure, a certain amount could be stored in his body but that was nothing usable for healing.

Running into the forest of mushrooms and their spores was a good thing, overall. It was a harsh reality check – one that he apparently desperately needed. Tier two had not made him immortal or unbeatable, and while he lorded over those in the Sanctuaries, it was still possible for him to suffer from a surprise attack and get wounded. Plus, he didn’t know if the mushrooms were just part of the environment or the actual danger in the valley. What could possibly live among the deadly spores?

Revealing this weakness will be my undoing. Just as I fix one issue, another pops up. It seems even the System can’t change that truth about life. Perhaps Mr. Muge can create something for me… or [Warlock’s Body Mastery] can be advanced enough to allow me bursts of healing.

The skill held the ability to aid natural healing, and considering Alan was now only capable of healing himself with raw mana coming from his reserves, all the skill did was boost that a little bit. It was something, but not nearly enough to be relevant in a fight.

He stood up, testing his leg. The boots enchanted for comfort had been with him for a long while, but it was time to retire them. With a sigh, he took a pair from his shadow inventory – one of the items purchased in the Fractal – and put them on. They were just boots. Nothing special, which soured his mood.

Healing through the night had been nerve-wracking, but fortunately, the part of the forest he was in was devoid of any significant presences. Perhaps because of the danger the spores and the soil represented. His instincts hadn’t told him anything until the last moments, but the beasts of the forest were created with a purpose, and it made no sense for them to

Alan neared the edge again, ready to blast whatever came his way with pure Will and mana. Nothing did, thankfully. The mushrooms were there, with some occasional uprooting themselves and hopping strangely. They were slow, and their behavior made no sense.

With care, Alan used [Shadow Creation] to create something like a scoop over his palm and then let it descend slowly from the ledge and onto the dark soil, held by a tendril of shadows. Immediately upon contact, he felt the skill start slowly breaking down. He reinforced it as much as he could, but the effect didn’t lessen at all until his Will joined in. It seemed like a solution to most problems, or at least an additional obstacle for them.

So the soil drains mana. It was more obvious when done to his skill, rather than him. Plus, he was more focused and aware of the effect of the strange soil. He hadn’t even felt it when he had stepped into it until it was almost too late. If he had been attacked after his mana was completely drained, he would’ve died a foolish death.

He scooped as much as he could and dumped it next to himself on the ground, before releasing the shadows. The grass started wilting around the clump of earth. Taking out the identifier Alan looked at it closely.

Manaleeching Soil

He rummaged through his shadow inventory for a bit, but there was no suitable container for the soil. Gathering some of it was certainly a must, be it to give to Mr. Muge, to save for himself in case of emergencies, or to try and trade some away. He didn’t dare just put it into his shadowy space though. It was too risky, and despite the fact that he had quite a few strange objects there, the soil was different. It was not like the element of void, which swallowed mana and left behind simple emptiness. It was as if the soil fed on mana, and he didn’t want to know what would happen if it was allowed to do so freely.

At least it was easy to keep track of the general area with his boosted Mind attribute. It didn’t feel like he was smarter, but his mind could at least keep up with the superhuman speed and the fast changes happening all around.

Alan started moving again, closely following the ledge and looking toward the valley of mushrooms. The more he ran the more it looked like it was a circular thing, surrounded by the forest, and not the end of the forest. That was a good thing since the mushrooms were terrifying.

Soon he strayed off the ledge and kept exploring. It took him more than a day running in a straight line until the forest changed again, and the constant sense of danger that had followed him since the mushroom valley passed. He was paranoid not to step on weird soil or fall into strange traps. Occasionally he would pass by ruins that his imagination placed in human societies. There were those that were completely alien too, with the strangest being a part of what had perhaps once been a golden arc.

He sensed a large amount of mana and stopped short of a translucent barrier. He smiled. This was yet another Sanctuary.

Creeping through the trees he climbed one of them and observed. Like the previous one – the elven – this one was also built among the trees. It was difficult to see its end or beginning, but the fact that they still had the System protection barrier was enough of a deterrent for Alan. He didn’t need any more cannibal elves in his life either way.

Moving on again, he returned to the more dangerous parts of the forest, skirting on their edge just to see how the different types of trees and beasts changed with the different areas. Figuring out the limits of the creatures inside or finding something precious – like another dungeon – was more important than finding other Sanctuaries. They gave him nothing except headaches.

Finally, after running around aimlessly and just ignoring the creatures in his path, he found what he was looking for – something interesting. It was situated just on the edge of another ‘border’ where the forest changed sharply, signifying that he had entered a different area. Or was about to. The trees were the tallest he had yet to see, with some of their roots reaching his head as they poked through the dirt.

The mana converged dangerously around a spot near a small rocky formation and Alan rushed toward it, stopping just short of stepping into the source. It was a hole in the ground, surrounded by black rock and sprouting invisible waves of mana, like a well. To his senses, it looked like it was bathing the world in energy, and he felt his own reserves grow steadily.

His eyes turned sharp just as an arrow crashed into his passive shadow shield. Alan dodged the next one and wrapped himself in the [Shepherd’s Shroud] before rushing towards his attacker. There hadn’t been much of a danger but it was still weird he had been snuck upon. The well was making it hard to sense the flow of mana around, so it was basically dampening his enhanced senses.

A disgusting creature, larger than he remembered, but just as ugly, stood some ways off between the trees. Four more were coming from behind – one wielding a staff, the others sporting spears and swords. All sorts of small bones and wooden fetishes and charms hung on the belt of the one with the staff. It stood in place and waved it menacingly.

Kobolds. Bigger and better and stronger Kobolds.

A dagger made of shadows slashed at the one who had shot at him. The creature couldn’t react in time, opting to stare at him with its yellow eyes, awaiting death, but nevertheless, the attack didn’t land. A barrier intercepted his shadow blade and stopped it in its tracks, surprising Alan. It hadn’t been a charged attack, nor one infused with his Will since that slowed everything down just a bit, but still… he was at tier two.

The barrier cracked in the next moment, and his second dagger went off by instinct, separating the head of the kobold from his body.

You have slain: Kobold [Archer] (93)

Do they have classes now? What?

The rest of the kobolds screamed. Three rushed at him and Alan’s eyes widened in surprise at their speed. They certainly couldn’t match him, but those were not the kobolds he remembered. Those were strong kobolds.

Alan welcomed them all the same and as they came near him, a shadow nova shot out of him. However, he was once again surprised. As the wave of dangerous shadows crashed into the invisible mana coming out of the hole in the ground, they slowly disintegrated, as if they couldn’t handle the raw energy.

Fuck me, so many new things.

Alan didn’t try again, instead opting to circle around the mana well and meet the charge of the kobolds with his daggers. He noticed a small wooden staff fall between the tree, and a soft red glow wrapped around them, while the one with the staff was chanting something.

A buff? Totem magic?

It didn’t help either way. A charged shadow blade bisected the first one, while Alan turned his second dagger into a whip-like sword and spun, hitting the other two without giving them a single chance to dodge.

You have slain: Kobold [Warrior] (91)

You have slain: Kobold [Warrior] (83)

You have slain: Kobold [Warrior] (89)

Alan stopped and looked toward the one with the staff. The creature was obviously terrified, but that didn’t stop him from rushing to it and ending its life with a few slashes of his daggers. It tried using barriers but they quickly crumbled.

You have slain: Kobold [Shaman] (98)

He stood above the corpses, frowning. There were no items of value on them, and while he noted a few bundles of herbs, he ignored them.

What was interesting was that the Kobolds had grown enough to get classes. No longer ‘lesser’ they were now apparently considered intelligent, and they were at the same level as those in the Sanctuaries. Many times weaker, obviously, with simpler classes. Only the [Shaman] one seemed stronger, but either the creatures were yet to understand how to use the power of the System, or they were simply unfit for it.

It was a curious development, and Alan resolved to explore the direction of where they had come from.

First, he approached the mana well and stared at it for a while. Harnessing its power was not something he knew how to do, although making some mana stones would’ve been an amazing achievement. He still had some ‘points’ to trade for mana stones though. He had neglected to go and see how many he had, and if he could buy something good from the otherwise pretty limited System store in the World Temple.

His reserves were quickly recharged by the ambient mana in the air and after noting the location of the mana well, and hoping he could find his way back, Alan left.

There was a Kobold settlement to find, and perhaps after advancing enough to get classes, their cheese would’ve improved too.

What was an adventure, without a weird delicacy, after all?