Most of the next week passed in a whirlwind of activity. Pax was often on his own, but also joined in wherever his various friends needed him.
To his chagrin, he found the training sessions in the various secondary elemental rooms to be just as challenging and painful as ice had been. Some even took multiple sessions to level.
Solani 2-nine didn’t ease up at all. Making it even more difficult, each element presented its own challenges for him to understand and manipulate. Multiple times, he found himself close to collapsing. It strained both his new mana skill and his understanding of the elements to keep progressing.
The first day he returned to the training lobby, he’d wanted to start with magma to counter the instinctive shiver that ran through him. But with his friends waiting, he chose nature instead. He also secretly thought it might be easier, so he could catch a break.
He’d quickly learned that while nature might be slow, it was extremely powerful. When ropy vines pushed out of the floor to wrap up his legs and torso, he’d almost laughed at what had seemed like a minor attack.
Then the vines had constricted, and he’d stopped laughing. Long, harrowing hours later, he’d learned that the stories of powerful tree roots toppling buildings might actually be true. By the time he hit his next level, he had a much greater understanding of what exactly happened inside plants, along with their strengths and weaknesses.
Once he finished nature, he decided to train magma after all. With his friends busy with their own projects, they all agreed he’d finish unlocking all three remaining mana types before working with them. Besides, giving Rin a few days to make sure she didn’t have any troubles with her ice was a prudent choice. Amil was the only one that objected, but they eventually convinced him.
Magma was gloriously hot for the first twenty minutes, and then it was just as oppressive and tortuous as ice. There were times Pax desperately wanted to pull out his Scorching Touch and Windscale Shroud to protect his skin. Instead, he forced himself to use only his magma mana. He finally leveled it, but was so burnt and swollen he felt a kinship with a crispy piece of meat on a rotisserie.
Still, like the others, he now had a much more intimate understanding of magma, especially the complex nature of its composition. It was more than just molten rock, comprising a volatile combination of intense heat, liquid rock, and gasses under immense pressure. It had given him some creative ideas about how to use Ember in the future.
Pax left lightning for last. He told himself it was to tweak Amil, not because the element kind of scared him. It had been as painful as he’d feared, even giving him another point in Endurance that magma had gotten him close to.
Innumerable times, lightning’s power had sent him flopping with painful twitching to the floor during his training. To his surprise, though, he also learned that lightning had a lot to do with connections.
It didn’t just randomly flail around. Instead, it followed specific paths that he could somewhat control the more he learned about it. He could even disperse it quickly if he used his own mana to provide an easy exit from his body.
And with the multiple attackers created by Solani 2-nine zipping at him, Pax had discovered its ability to chain from one being to another. Lightning had taken even longer to level than ice, but when he was done, he had transformed his fear to healthy respect and gained a basic understanding that made him actually look forward to learning more.
He’d been pretty proud of his progress with his paths by the end of the week.
***
Improvement to your Path of Understanding Nature: +52. Level 1 - 105/100
Congratulations Light Mage! You have completed Level 1 of the Nature Path of Understanding!
Through dedicated study of the element of Nature, you have gained a rudimentary comprehension of its properties and powers, have unlocked the ability to share the gift of Nature with other mages and increased your mana capacity. Continue studying the magical elements of your world to better enlighten those around you, unlock more spell slots and continue to increase your mana capacity.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Improvement to your Path of Understanding Magma: +66. Level 1 - 102/100
Congratulations Light Mage! You have completed Level 1 of the Magma Path of Understanding!
Through dedicated study of the element of Magma, you have gained a rudimentary comprehension of its properties and powers, have unlocked the ability to share the gift of Magma with other mages and increased your mana capacity. Continue studying the magical elements of your world to better enlighten those around you, unlock more spell slots and continue to increase your mana capacity.
Improvement to your Path of Understanding Lightning: +65. Level 1 - 111/100
Congratulations Light Mage! You have completed Level 1 of the Lightning Path of Understanding!
Through dedicated study of the element of Lightning, you have gained a rudimentary comprehension of its properties and powers, have unlocked the ability to share the gift of Lightning with other mages and increased your mana capacity. Continue studying the magical elements of your world to better enlighten those around you, unlock more spell slots and continue to increase your mana capacity.
Secondary Paths of Understanding: (Hidden)
Lightning: Level 2 - 11/200
Nature: Level 2 - 5/200
Magma: Level 2 - 2/200
Mana: 150/150 (+3)
***
Pax divided his before dawn time that week between working on runes with Tyrodon and accompanying Bryn and her Taming crew. He made progress on his understanding of runes, very happy with how much easier it was with his evolved Instinctive Runes. Since he’d already had his ice unlocked, he and Tyrodon had focused on the typical combination air and flame runes used for cooling boxes.
After a couple of days, Pax had been able to successfully create both the foundational air Convection rune and the flame one called Conduction. The first moved air while the second would transfer heat from inside a cooling box to the outside.
Their goal was to eventually create a Freeze rune with ice, instead of only cooling. Not only would it be more powerful, but it would be cheaper and faster to create. As a single rune, it should also require fewer cores to power it. Though, without access to any monster bones from ice creatures, they’d been doing their best to substitute a balanced mixture of air and flame bone powder. So far, their attempts had all failed, but they kept their spirits up brainstorming all the uses they could make of a freeze rune, in battle and for other equipment.
He’d been proud of the progress he’d seen in his menu at the end of the week.
***
Skill Boost: +28 to Instinctive Runes Level 2 (Uncommon-evolved) - 69/200
Improvement to your Path of Understanding Flame: +11 Level 4 - 144/400
Improvement to your Path of Understanding Air: +15 Level 4 - 132/400
Improvement to your Path of Understanding Ice: +12 Level 2 - 38/200
***
On the two early mornings before dawn that Pax joined the Taming crew, he saw even more progress. Bryn told him there’d been a group of warriors waiting for them at the exit before dawn each day, hoping for a shot at Taming a companion. The number had continued to grow until Tasar had to make a sign-up sheet, limiting the number to five a day.
The days Pax had joined them, they’d taken everyone who wanted to go, which had boosted their crew’s Taming progress even more. It had also increased the gains for Part 2 of their quest. Pax still wasn’t that close to reaching level 5 in his Taming skill, but hoped that he’d open another companion spot when he did.
His friends, however, had reached level 2 in their Taming and gained new slots this week. They just needed to decide how to fill them. Bryn and Dahni had both leveled their Taming skills by mid-week, which prompted both Rin and Amil to join them for more trips into the Wilds, reaching level 2 themselves a few days later. It wouldn’t be long before the Team Tribal tamers followed suit.
Brainstorming what they’d choose as their second companions had been a hot topic during mealtimes. Pax had suggested they look to Tame a group of beasts that could both run fast and carry them.
They all knew this interlude they had to build and grow had to end at some point. Circumstances could throw them back into the war at any time. Then, the ability to travel across the Wilds at fast speeds would be a tremendous advantage. Bryn and her Taming team promised to keep watch for suitable transport beasts.
If things kept progressing at a similar pace, Pax figured he’d reach level 5 in his Taming about the same time they completed Part 2 of the quest. If the rest of his crew were able to find a group of suitable mounts to Tame, he’d need to unlock another slot himself if he didn’t want to be forced to ride double with one of them.
Plus, everyone would likely need their own mounts, especially if they outpaced their original companions. Whisk could stay wrapped under his armor, but Talpa would need to ride with him occasionally on a long trip. He could move through the ground pretty fast, but he’d run out of energy long before they completed a full day of travel.
Pax squeezed in every extra moment he could to work with the Taming group. He was close to halfway to his next level.
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