Kennon smiled, with a pack filled with meat to be butchered, fruits, and helpful herbs of all kinds, he stared at the ball of flame in his hand.
It was far hotter than the base torch. And smaller too. That was the hard part. Sustained spells like torch were absurdly easy to empower. But controlling what that power did took a meaningful application of will. Making it bigger was easy. Making it a blue flame the size of a marble was not.
What he was really smiling at though was the notification
Level 2 reached. + 10 soul points. + 100 max mana.
Fire magic level 2 reached.
Fire bolt unlocked.
It was nice. To have the confirmation. But it was a little odd. He could tell that leveling up did nothing to him. The “soul points” and mana cap had been slowly rising all day. He had heard the villagers of Greentown squeal in excitement over a new level. Talking about all the things it would grant them. But he knew in his heart that the notification gave him nothing. It was purely descriptive. Did they not see that? Or was the growth system that different?
Either way he was still excited. With the extra space in his soul he could get physical empowerment. And finally have some stats. A new spell as well.
Dropping his pack outside their tent he saw Bev in the skill building fugue. Clearly she had leveled as well.
Laying down he selected the physical empowerment skill and entered his own fugue. As the design information poured in his head he realized this skill was different from the others. It was simple in the extreme. It was hard to call it a magic array at all. But it did have a means to dedicate as much soul fire as you wanted. In moments the skill was formed. Though it took almost an hour to wrangle the remaining power into the skill.
When he was done he sat up from his fugue and looked around. The difference was subtle, but startling.
Colors were a little brighter. Everything was a little clearer. He flexed his hand, and it moved a little faster. There was more force behind it. He was more certain with his movements. And despite knowing he was faster, it didn’t seem faster to his eyes.
“Amazing.” Bev said quietly.
He had to agree. It wasn’t much. But he felt a minor improvement to everything his body was capable of. He pulled up his status menu.
Name: Kennon Vonn
Age: 14
Class: initiate
Level: 2
Soul points: 0/20
System points: N/A
growth system points: 1
Health: Good.
Mana: 200/200
Conditions: twin bond
Skills.
Physical empowerment T1: 2/100 + 8
Soul sight: 2/100
Mana sight: 2/20
Mana manipulation: 6/80
Spell inscriptions 1/2
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
identify(automatic)
Proficiencies
Fire magic- level 1
Wind magic- level 1
Water magic- level 1
Earth magic- level 1
Divination magic - level 1
So, physical empowerment was an equal split physical and mental. The size efficiency was bad. But at least the effectiveness was maxed. He was also reminded he had another spell he could inscribe. He was ecstatic at inscribing fire bolt.
“I got Fire bolt!” Kennon shouted.
At the same time Bev said “I got Appraise!”
They laughed.
“I guess we know what comes next.” Kennon said just before they began to inscribe.
Golden aloe - Herb - T1
A variant of mana aloe this common herb is prized for its medicinal uses. When ground into a paste, and mixed with oil it can provide basic treatment to all surface wounds. When juiced it provides minor healing to stomach ailments. Difficult to farm without farming class abilities.
Typical value: 10 credits per ounce.
Appraise was amazing. Bev already knew these things of course. She had very basic herbalism and alchemy training. But used on something she was less familiar with.
Golden death - flower - T1
An extremely poisonous semi carnivorous plant. It tempts animals and insects with its sweet smell. When they consume it they perish quickly providing nourishment for the symbiotic fungus housed in golden death’s roots. A valuable poison that degrades quickly allowing it to be useful for hunting. It can also be used to create the antidote to its poison when properly prepared. Use extreme care when handling.
Typical value: 100 units per ounce.
Yeah. Bev wasn’t sure why Kennon harvested this. He only saw the name. But that alone was clear enough. This would be placed safely outside their camp. Without help from the system she had no hope of processing this safely. Normally one would unlock that help at level 10 when selecting a non combat class. But with the growth system she wasn’t sure. Kennon was a better alchemist than her. But working with poisons was a stretch.
In any case. Appraise would make a fine addition to her spell list. Even if it was somewhat expensive to cast.
As she went over Kennon’s haul he practiced fire bolt. She watched the pathetic display of the base spell. Nice for a flare, or to light something on fire from a distance she supposed. But when he compressed and empowered it.
He was having a very fun time scorching finger sized holes clear through branches under the guise of “collecting wood”.
Bev went over their supplies for the third time. Food, water, two knives each. She had an inscription pen and Kennon had a mortar and pestle. They both had a small hatchet for fire wood. An extra set of clothes. And a mana rifle each. And that was about it.
All the tools and clothes had a self repair enchantment. The clothes had self cleaning.
Everything they needed to survive in a friendly forest for a few weeks.
But that was the problem. They would be here more than a few weeks. Unless they wanted to out themselves as unusual they would be here for two months. And after that.
She sighed.
It was time to face the truth. They were alone in this world. They had to take care of themselves. They needed a long term plan. Sensing her thoughts Kennon came and sat beside her.
“What is that mood about, Bev?” he said.
“We need a plan. A real one.”
Kennon groaned, put his head between his knees and exhaled slowly.
“You are right. Thoughts?”
“Well, once we leave the portal we can go to the nearest city. I could get a forging job. You can get an alchemy job. We can join the adventurers guild. Once we have a solid footing we can explore. See what the world has to offer.”
Kennon looked her in the eyes and said, “Same plan as always? Really? After everything? Would someone even be willing to apprentice a 15 year old with a mystery background? And what about the church?”
Bev poked at the fire while she thought.
Finally she said, “No one knows who we are. The people of Greentown never even got our family name. Even if they are actively searching for us we should be fine as long as we don’t go to Greentown. As for apprenticeships, who says we even need one. I have a feeling the growth system will be very helpful.”
She felt Kennon beginning to see her way. Then he said, “What about aunt Margie? Do we forget about her? Go the rest of our lives as if the only person we cared about wasn’t murdered?”
“Of course not. There will be a reckoning. But as she said, it will have to wait till we can survive it.”
“In that case, I suppose the first thing we need is tools. How do you feel about making a forge?”
Bev watched as a feral grin formed on her twins face. She was sure the same grin was on hers. There would be a reckoning. And they would build it with their own hands.
