“Good morning, Ellaine.”
“Mhm … Bwuh! Whe-where am…I? Lady Hestia?”
“You know … Considering how you bragged about being able to stay up the whole night, I actually thought you could do it with that determination I saw in your eyes. I even used my fulinoe leaves to help reduce your arcane corruption so we could continue training!” I expressed my exasperation at the young noblewoman who was looking up from my lap, her face still appearing blue-ish. “As a mage, you should understand where your limits are! You have [Arcane Corruption Resistance Lv. 4], in other words, you should understand when your body cannot handle it anymore. Geez, Ellaine, you made me worry!”
“‘Ellaine?’ So casual, Lady-” She was about to speak but I interrupted her before she could finish her sentence.
Irritated at her obstinate persistence to adhere to formality, despite being among us girls, I lightly tapped her forehead. “That’s not the point, dummy! Barathan, Manuela, Svena, your knights, and don’t get me started on Josine! She almost had a heart attack!”
Letting out an exasperated sigh, I looked up as I ignored Ellaine’s painful yelp. I observed the room we were in—a magical training room located under House Helvas’s mansion designed as a safe space for nobles to train and experiment to prevent collateral damage. Before I came in here to train Ellaine, it was white and spotless; now it was riddled with burn marks and rocks.
To work as a magical training room, there were countless safety measures in place in case of an emergency. A ventilation system made with wind runes, a sprinkler system, and sturdy walls made out of fairnite and eoriant to absorb mana-based attacks. According to Ellaine, with fairnite’s high mana insulation and eoriant’s ability to absorb and store mana, it made it hard for spells to escape outside this room.
As this was another fantasy metal, I was curious and asked Ellaine what eoriant actually was, and apparently it was an alloy made with steel and euorinium. If I wanted more info on it, it was better to read a book on it or ask a blacksmith. Ellaine was educated but she didn’t have all the answers on hand.
On the other hand, I had heard about fairnite before. By itself, it was a beloved stone among nobles due to its marble like texture and ability to insulate against mana attacks. You could see them used on walls, shields, and even armor, albeit, they were quite expensive.
In any case, two days ago, upon her request, I had begun training Ellaine on magic and combat, using the knowledge I learned from Master Kush to help her. As a noble, she already had a good foundation on magic, like the four processes of casting and had already learned two of the four advanced casting techniques. Unlike me, who still couldn’t get [Multi-Cast] no matter how much I tried, she’d learned it.
SpoilerName: Ellaine Fiero Helvas Level: 13 Race: Human
Age: 15 Years Job: Magic Tinkerer Level: 3/5
Status: Health: 301/301 Mana: 454/454
Strength: 158 Intelligence: 298
Vitality: 73 Wisdom: 208
Agility: 139 Stamina: 243/243
Effects: None
Skill: Magic skills and related:
[Mana Efficiency Lv. 6] [Mana Control Lv. 5] [Arcane Mind Lv. 4]
[Earth Magic Lv. 5] [Wind Magic Lv. 5] [Synergist’s Oath Lv. 1]
[Silent Casting Lv. 2] [Chant Revocation Lv. 1] [Mental Warfare Lv. 1]
[Fluid Cast Lv. 1] [Multi-Cast Lv. 1]
Physical skills and related:
[Sword Technique Lv. 1]
Senses and movement skills:
[Stealth Lv. 1] [Accuracy Correction Lv. 2] [Concentration Lv. 4]
[Prediction Lv. 1] [Danger Perception Lv. 3] [Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Auditory Sense Lv. 1] [Enhanced Olfactory Sense Lv. 6]
[Enhanced Vision Lv. 1] [Evasion Lv. 2] [Acrobatic Lv. 2]
Resistances:
[Physical Resistance Lv. 2] [Pain Resistance Lv. 1] [Holy Resistance Lv. 2]
[Fire Resistance Lv. 6] [Water Resistance Lv. 6]
[Earth Resistance Lv. 5] [Wind Resistance Lv. 5]
[Arcane Corruption Resistance Lv. 4]
Stat growth and related:
[Mana Recovery Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Health Growth Lv. 1]
[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv.´4]
[Enhanced Mana Capacity Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Intelligence Enforcement Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Wisdom Enforcement Lv. 1]
[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 1]
Others:
[Singing Lv. 4] [Dancing Lv. 5] [Musician Lv. 6]
[Handicraft Lv. 1] [Enchanting Lv. 4] [Artificer Lv. 1]
[Identify Lv. 1] [Identity Blocker Lv. 3] [Noble Aura Lv. 3]
[Royal Etiquette Lv. 6] [Riding Lv. 2] [Scholar Lv. 2]
[Calligraphy Lv. 6] [Mathematician Lv. 6]
Magic List: Custom Spells:
[Create Crack] [Wind Gust]
Earth Magic:
[Earth Wall] [Rock Blast] [Earth Strike] [Rock Bullet] [Sturdy Earth]
Wind Magic:
[Wind Bullet] [Wind Cutter] [Air Shield] [Wind Slash] [Swift Winds]
[collapse]Thanks to her noble lineage, I guess, her mana was decently high and with her previous Jobs revolving around mages, her intelligence and wisdom were good enough for her level. However, stats weren’t everything. Skills mattered, too. On that front, she did well to train up her magic-related ones but she has been neglecting her other combat-related skills, like her senses and resistances.
On the first day of her training, I received detailed information on how Ellaine usually trained with her tutors and parents. Most of the information concerned her time in the royal academy but she also had private tutoring to complement it. Honestly, if it weren’t for Tasianna and Master Kush, I wouldn’t have been able to decipher most of it as I was mostly self-taught. There were a lot of special terms.
Once I understood the gist of it, I threw everything out of the window. The reason? They focused too much on skill acquisition and improvements through practice. Her schedule was mostly theoretical with minimal amounts of practical applications, especially during her time in the academy as it seemed to have a heavy focus on socializing with other aristocrats, instead of combat training.
When I explained this to Barathan and Manuela, two of her former tutors, they looked aghast. Excuses like, “A noble lady should also appear graceful and refined even during training” or “Sparring could cause serious damage” made me livid. I wasn’t sure if they were being overprotective or if this was just normal in noble society.
Still, I told Ellaine I couldn’t help her train if she wasn’t willing to do what I wanted her to do. I only knew how to train one way and adapting everything around her wishes was too much work for me when I myself was still inexperienced. The look in her eyes was enough for me to nod my head in satisfaction.
I did contemplate giving her the SP system and my bonuses through [Hestia’s Retainer] but I wasn’t sure if I could fully 100% trust Ellaine yet. It wasn’t ‘cause of her, it was about her family and whatever they were planning to do with me. Thankfully, Ellaine accepted my reasoning without any further arguments.
As my dance instructor always told me, “Haste makes waste.” He always advocated for a slow but steady training regimen to iron out my foundation. When the time came for me to show off the fruits of my training, the basics I learned would always be there for me. Sure, sometimes I would lose myself in my idol training but I’ve been following my instructor’s motto since then. Train a little bit every day and never go overboard.
“Here, don’t lose your catalyst.” Returning my mind to reality, I handed Ellaine two rings, one with a brown gem and the other with a green one, as she stood up. These were another variant of catalysts called spell rings.
“Thank you, Lady Hestia … and thank you for healing me. I’ll make sure to repay you for the white grace,” Ellaine said with downcast eyes.
Waving my hand in dismissal, I looked at her with a frown. “Nonsense, as if I would take payment for saving a friend’s life. Do me a favor, instead, tell me you have [Arcane Corruption (Minor)] before you suddenly collapse on the ground.”
While training on the first day went smoothly with me helping Ellaine develop some stamina and seeing how well she cast magic, the second day wasn’t. After I returned from the Binding Festival, she immediately asked me to train with her despite it nearly being midnight. We haven’t slept since we started and I just learned from Barathan the sun was about to come up.
Her training revolved around skill usage and fighting tactics, allowing her to get more acquainted with her skills and how to use them. While stats and skill quality was important, a know-how on how to use them was even more imperative. What use was a high quality Profile if all you could do with it was swing wildly? Precision was equally necessary to become strong.
Sadly, her dedication to improve also caused her to neglect her own health. She built up too much arcane corruption midway through the night and fell asleep after I offered her some fulinoe tea to alleviate her symptoms.
Apparently, fulinoe leaves was a luxury product among nobles and mages, as it was the most effective method to reduce your arcane corruption. Since the plant wasn’t able to survive in soil low on mana, it was usually grown inside monster infested or any high-mana density area, the supply usually couldn’t keep up with demand.
Which made sense, since the more mages in the world, the more the demand would soar. Thankfully, Tasianna could grow them in our garden since I regularly fed the soil with my mana. Naturally, this did mean we could become a supplier for it, so that was one option for us to earn some cash.
In any case, after Ellaine drank the tea—free of charge since she was my friend—she fell asleep until now. After I informed the mansion’s residents of what happened, I’ve been watching over her up until now. They wanted to bring her back to her room, but I figured she would have been disappointed if our training stopped this early.
“Dawn is about to come. Do you want to continue?” I asked her.
After drinking another cup of fulinoe tea, Ellaine smiled and caressed her rings. “… One more round, please. Just one more and I’ll be satisfied for today, Lady Hestia.”
We took our positions inside the room. With one of her rings’ gems shining an emerald green, Ellaine cast [Swift Winds]. Like Master Kush’s amulet catalyst, Ellaine’s spell ring boost her casting speed, spell strength, and reduced mana cost.
The difference between a catalyst-less mage and a mage with a high-quality catalyst was huge. A great example would be my spars with Master Kush. The fights would always feel equal before he pulled out his catalyst, leading to a quick victory in his favor. Ellaine was using a catalyst her mother made for her, but our stat difference was far too large for it to make a difference, unfortunately.
A magic tool, or catalyst, was similar to manatech where it needed an external influx of mana to activate, but what differentiated the two was that a manatech required a mana battery to work while a catalyst were essentially alchemical stones. The former was more complicated and expensive to make, while the latter could be made by most alchemists.
While warriors could improve themselves with stronger weapons, a mage needed higher-quality catalysts. Wands, staves, amulets, rings; whatever you could think a magician would bring to a fight to become stronger.
Our party needs an equipment day, urgently. We could improve ourselves so much with some weapons and catalysts.
“Just a reminder, you only need to touch me once, while I can only avoid your attacks with [Warp Point: Entry] and [Warp Point: Exit]. Understood, Lady Ellaine?” I explained the rules for this training match to her.
I’ve lost track of when I actually got [Space-Time Magic Lv. 4] and its system spell [Warp Point: Entry] but I knew for sure it has been over three months. While training with Ellaine two days ago, I leveled up both [Storm Magic] and [Space-Time Magic]. From those two skills, I learned [Sylphid’s Cloak], a buffing and damage reduction spell, and [Warp Point: Exit], which finally allowed me to use [Warp Point: Entry].
Think of [Warp Point: Entry] and [Warp Point: Exit] like portals that could only work if I cast both of them. They opened up a crack in the air right above their magic circles, which anybody could use to teleport themselves from one point to the other.
Unfortunately, despite how amazing it was to teleport everywhere, two restrictions were holding them back. First of all, the cast didn’t cost too much mana but once both portals were open, my mana would be continuously drained to keep them open until I closed them myself. And secondly, the larger the distance between the two, the more mana I had to pay to maintain them.
With that said, what could I use warp point for? Well, I could use it as an instant teleport to avoid attacks, a quick long-range escape from a tricky situation, or mass group teleportation from one point to the next.
The first option was redundant since dodging attacks with my high agility would be faster than casting those two spells. The second could be useful but without prior preparations by setting the spell up somewhere, it wasn’t that useful. Also, if somebody were to damage the magic circle before I cast exit, the circle would dissipate.
The last option was actually the most useful part of this spell. If I needed to rescue a large group of people or animals, I could place the portal down and then bring everybody to safety instantly, even at a long distance. I just had to make sure the mana cost doesn’t kill me, he he.
So why was I using warp point to dodge here? Well, I was using a portal to move around and that was cool. Wasn’t that reason enough? In a world with dragons and magic, I should indulge myself in having fun with spells.
Once the match began, Ellaine chanted [Wind Slash] and shot it at me. I placed one grey magic circle next to me and then another next to Ellaine, causing a crack in the air to open up. I entered through the portal next to me, shouted “Peekaboo,” and attempted to touch Ellaine with my hand but she quickly dodged. I was holding back.
Our little competition was a game of tag but with magic. Luckily for me, I didn’t need to explain the rules as the game concept existed at the royal academy as a way for students to train against each other. Similar to the rules of tag, once you touch somebody they were out of the game, however, unlike Earth’s tag, Peolyncians could use magic to extend their touch range. There also wasn’t a single “it” among the players as the game was played more like a battle royal, where the person who caught the most people would be the winner.
Usually, the players could use any spells or tricks they had up their sleeves, barring any lethal ones of course, but since it wouldn’t be fun if I gave it my all, I suggested playing under a handicap. I was only allowed to tag Ellaine with my hand and my only dodging method was to use warp point. Otherwise, I could be liberal with my usage of spells to block, disorientate, and trick.
The idea behind this training was to help Ellaine level up her sensory and movement skills as I knew from experience that relying only on magic and resistances was too unreliable. If she were to ever meet an agility or stealth-reliant monster, she would have a hard time fighting it. Saori and the garm matriarch were great examples of this.
The two of us continued for a while until Ellaine’s concentration waned. Noticing it, I decided we had trained enough. Using [Wind Blast], I blew her off her feet, then used [White Flames] in conjunction with my scale-dust to temporarily blind her, causing her already deteriorating focus to drop even more. Using my last portal, I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into the portal to bring her to my side.
“Don’t use your spells only for attacks and feints. There are many other ways you could use them, you just need to be creative about it.”
Breathing heavily, Ellaine slouched onto the ground and congratulated me for winning. Seeing her messy hair, sweat-covered face, and the dirty training suit she was wearing, it made it hard to think this was the elegant, refined noblewomen I’d come to know. The exhaustion she was showing was proof of the effort she put in today.
“This was the fifth match and I’m still unable to put, huff, your suggestions into practice,” Ellaine complained with a shake of her head. “… Am I—huuu—incompetent? I can’t-I can’t learn—”
“Ellaine, this is only the second day, geez.” Massaging my temples in exasperation, I couldn’t help but show a hint of annoyance at her self-deprecation. “The academy starts at the beginning of spring, right? We have so much time to train with each other. You can’t expect to catch up with your brother in such a short period.”
“I know … I understand. It’s just … frustrating,” Ellaine forced herself to admit. “I am the daughter born between a count and a noble from an arcanuess family. Mother could have inherited her House’s title and become Arcaliess Talshia, if only she’d been born earlier. My brother inherited our parent’s talents, so why couldn’t I?”
This was the reason why Ellaine wanted me to train herself.
In the Kingdom of Artorias, nobles inherit their parent’s title not through the time of their birth, but through their abilities and amount of mana. Mana was the foundation of noble society and what differentiated them from commoners. As nobles were considered the elites and protectors of the kingdom, it was expected of house heads to not only be strong warriors but also capable magicians.
Inheritance rules stated the children of the first wife/husband would compete in an assessment of their total mana and the quality of their profile, ending with a duel between each of them. Children from the second or third spouse were only allowed to compete in the succession if the spouse themselves challenged the first spouse and defeated them.
As mana and high stats could be inherited by their children, nobles prioritized merit and abilities over arbitrary barriers like a child’s age and the ranking of the head’s spouses. Ellaine’s mother Marianne, for example, was the second daughter of the second wife of an Arcanuess, but could still participate in the inheritance battle despite being the youngest. She only lost the right due to her siblings being more capable.
Another example was Count Helvas himself. He was the second son but he bested his older brother in a duel with his sword despite having less mana than him.
While age wasn’t a factor, that didn’t mean it was irrelevant. Once the first child was born, parents usually gave him or her the most resources to improve until the next child was born. This meant that Ellaine’s brother Jonathan, who was three years older, had more time to benefit from his House’s resources and teachings.
Aside from the age gap, Ellaine also mentioned the talents of her brother. Not only was he a capable swordsman like their father but also inherited their mother’s talents as a mage. On the other hand, Ellaine was just normal. She was average and took longer to learn new subjects compared to her brother.
When the first child came of age at 15, the inheritance battles would begin. At the age of twelve, Ellaine was forced to compete with her brother for the noble title of her house, but after years of possessing an inferiority complex and knowing how far ahead her brother was, she gave up her right before the competition even started. Her brother was made heir apparent, while she lost all respect from her former retainers.
The only retainers Ellaine still had were Josine, who was only a commoner, and two household knights, who were only the children of barons. While her parents and brother still loved her immensely, this “cowardice” still clung to her like glue in her social circles, especially at the royal academy. Due to her own lacking self-confidence, she hadn’t been at a social event ever since she gave up her inheritance rights.
I could sympathize with Ellaine. I knew too well how it felt to disappoint your parents despite all the love and support they’d given you. Ellaine couldn’t become a countess anymore and it was likely she would be married off to another house, but I didn’t want her to feel like she was worthless.
As such, seeing her dedicate herself to training felt reassuring. Sure, “haste makes waste” so training during the night without any sleep might be counterproductive but the fire I saw in her eyes yesterday made me aware she was fooling around. She wanted to turn her life around.
Pressing a button on the wall, I spoke into a blue crystal. “Barathan or Manuela, Lady Ellaine and I are done training. She;s probably too tired to move by herself so please have somebody carry her up to her room.”
After a few seconds, the crystal glowed blue and Barathan’s voice came out from it. I didn’t ask how this intercom-like manatech exactly worked but looking at it with [Mana Eyes] it seemed it was connected through a wire to the other end.
Ellaine was then brought back to her room by Josine and Manuella while Barathan and Svena guided me back up to my room. Inside my room, Saori and Tasianna were seated, looking slightly troubled as they stared at Barathan and Svena. At that point, a chill went up to my spine as I noticed the two servants glaring at me.
“No matter how strong you are, a noble lady should never, ever be left alone inside the city!”
They gave us a lecture so intense it even made Saori look apoplectic after I went back to the mansion alone. Regardless of whether I could protect myself or not, a retainer leaving their lord or lady to walk alone through a city only invited problems. What if I got lost? What if somebody tried to mug me? Even if I could bring them down, it would still cause trouble elsewhere.
It was a case of decorum, which I honestly didn’t care one bit about. I used to walk on the streets of a huge city like New York every day, and even if I avoided the more shady places, it didn’t stop people potentially getting mugged by gunpoint in Manhattan. If somebody tried to rob or kidnap me, all they would get is a fat dragon tail whip right to their face!
Nevertheless, this went over Tasianna’s head as she immediately kneeled down and apologized. “I have grown too lazy and abandoned my Lady,” she exclaimed before reaffirming her loyalty to me.
“I shall never leave your side again!”
… Suffice to say, Saori and I had to re-lecture her to not overforce herself onto everything. Moderation was just fine, and I didn’t need to be chaperoned everywhere. We also had to make it clear to Barathan and Manuela that while we understood their cautious viewpoint, we couldn’t agree to them.
No wonder Ellaine turned out so weak with these two overprotective attendants slowing down her training. Oof.
Once that was done, our days in Firwood went on. A week passed where I would split my time with training Ellaine, working on Quests at the hunters guild, and preparing for my next idol concert—whenever it would be scheduled. In this time, our party was able to gain two more Job changes.
The monsters and Quest experience we gained weren’t enough for any of us to level up, but our Job levels received experience independently. Instead of choosing more mage Jobs, I wanted to see what Jobs would open up if I were to take [Fighter] and [Cleric]. I had so many skills that I wanted to know how many options I had before taking harder to level up Jobs.
Saori did the same thing by acquiring [Caster] and [Fighter] herself after finishing [Rogue]. Tasianna, on the other hand, became a [Torrent Sorcerer] to improve her water magic even further. Unlike all the Jobs Saori and I have gained so far, [Torrent Sorcerer] could be leveled up to level 15, instead of only five. This was our first experience with a Job of a higher tier, meaning it had not only a higher level cap but was also harder to level up. Similar to how a rank G monster would level up quicker than a rank D one.
Weekly Job Change Limit: 2/3
Previous Jobs: [Caster] [Mage] [Fighter]
Main Job: [Cleric]
Available Jobs
[Freelancer] [Pyromancer] [Earth Mage] [Aeromancer] [Wind Mage] [Holy Mage] [Space-Time Mage] [Magus] [Healer] [Priestess] [Shrine Maiden] [Synergist] [Warrior Priestess] [Brawler] [Aggravator] [Ravager] [Hellblade] [Bard] [Scout] [Worker] [Academic] [Noble] [Scale-Dust User] [White Pyromancer] [Corrosive Pyromancer] [Usurper] [Champion of Aurena] [Crimson Saintess] [Idol]
As expected, having certain Jobs would open up hybrid Jobs like [Magus], a warrior mage, or [Warrior Priestess]. Interestingly enough, there was a job named [Hellblade] I could unlock which shared the same name as my [Hellblade Dragon] unique skill. With [Scale-Dust User] referencing one of my most used abilities, it practically confirmed I could get dragon-based skills with this.
I was planning to get these advanced Jobs one day but unlocking the easy ones first was my priority. What I currently needed wasn’t just skills and abilities, but also stats. Stats weren’t everything but it would be stupid to say they were irrelevant. After all, the higher my mana, the more reckless I could be with spell casting.
During this week, signs of my [Battle Frenzy] eventually showed up during a Quest. Saori mentioned I lasted almost two weeks without showing symptoms, probably ‘cause of my choice to evolve into a [Young Sunfang Dragon] Nevertheless, it was still a bit disappointing to see the status effect wasn’t gone for good. Damn you, Grandpa Kargryxmor!
Taking the opportunity to fight outside the town, Saori, Tasianna, and I had one of our usual duels. The symptoms quickly disappeared before our spar ended. While we were there, I tested something I’ve been wondering about this whole time—whether the skills and stats I got from my Jobs transferred to my dragon form.
As the Main Job benefit, [Cleric] gave the Job skill [Healing Amp], which improved the effectiveness of my healing spells, so I wanted to see if it stayed when I transformed. Unfortunately, it didn’t; meaning Job skills, abilities, and spells couldn’t be used while I was fighting in my original form. However, any bonuses to my stats stayed. That was really good news and gave Saori and me another incentive to get more Jobs and level them up.
Naturally, this did mean our minor and moderate forms had just gotten a major boost in combat power if we could get some good Jobs. Of course, the main function of our beastmen forms was to first not reveal our true forms and second for battles where we couldn’t assume our real forms for whatever practical reason.
Still, it was better this way. Our [Humanize (Major)] were completely redundant for combat, and was mostly just to fit into human society. I couldn’t access my dragon abilities as a full human, after all.
Well, it wasn’t too bad. Maybe I could get something like “Supreme Overlord of the Heavenly Orchestra” or “Mega Super Bla Bla Bla Bla Idol” and it would just make my dragon form useless and I could fight as a human. Now that just sounded … pfff.
Being a dragon meant being able to fully release all my power. Nothing could beat that.
In any case, from now on, our three free Job changes were all used up. From now on, we had to spend one small silvite, or 1000 Davi, for each Job acquisition. Due to our financial situation and our need to get more Jobs the moment we could, Saori told us to start making money.
AbyssRaven Oh, there is Ellaine's backstory.
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“Good morning, Ellaine.”
“Mhm … Bwuh! Whe-where am…I? Lady Hestia?”
“You know … Considering how you bragged about being able to stay up the whole night, I actually thought you could do it with that determination I saw in your eyes. I even used my fulinoe leaves to help reduce your arcane corruption so we could continue training!” I expressed my exasperation at the young noblewoman who was looking up from my lap, her face still appearing blue-ish. “As a mage, you should understand where your limits are! You have [Arcane Corruption Resistance Lv. 4], in other words, you should understand when your body cannot handle it anymore. Geez, Ellaine, you made me worry!”
“‘Ellaine?’ So casual, Lady-” She was about to speak but I interrupted her before she could finish her sentence.
Irritated at her obstinate persistence to adhere to formality, despite being among us girls, I lightly tapped her forehead. “That’s not the point, dummy! Barathan, Manuela, Svena, your knights, and don’t get me started on Josine! She almost had a heart attack!”
Letting out an exasperated sigh, I looked up as I ignored Ellaine’s painful yelp. I observed the room we were in—a magical training room located under House Helvas’s mansion designed as a safe space for nobles to train and experiment to prevent collateral damage. Before I came in here to train Ellaine, it was white and spotless; now it was riddled with burn marks and rocks.
To work as a magical training room, there were countless safety measures in place in case of an emergency. A ventilation system made with wind runes, a sprinkler system, and sturdy walls made out of fairnite and eoriant to absorb mana-based attacks. According to Ellaine, with fairnite’s high mana insulation and eoriant’s ability to absorb and store mana, it made it hard for spells to escape outside this room.
As this was another fantasy metal, I was curious and asked Ellaine what eoriant actually was, and apparently it was an alloy made with steel and euorinium. If I wanted more info on it, it was better to read a book on it or ask a blacksmith. Ellaine was educated but she didn’t have all the answers on hand.
On the other hand, I had heard about fairnite before. By itself, it was a beloved stone among nobles due to its marble like texture and ability to insulate against mana attacks. You could see them used on walls, shields, and even armor, albeit, they were quite expensive.
In any case, two days ago, upon her request, I had begun training Ellaine on magic and combat, using the knowledge I learned from Master Kush to help her. As a noble, she already had a good foundation on magic, like the four processes of casting and had already learned two of the four advanced casting techniques. Unlike me, who still couldn’t get [Multi-Cast] no matter how much I tried, she’d learned it.
SpoilerName: Ellaine Fiero Helvas Level: 13 Race: Human
Age: 15 Years Job: Magic Tinkerer Level: 3/5
Status: Health: 301/301 Mana: 454/454
Strength: 158 Intelligence: 298
Vitality: 73 Wisdom: 208
Agility: 139 Stamina: 243/243
Effects: None
Skill: Magic skills and related:
[Mana Efficiency Lv. 6] [Mana Control Lv. 5] [Arcane Mind Lv. 4]
[Earth Magic Lv. 5] [Wind Magic Lv. 5] [Synergist’s Oath Lv. 1]
[Silent Casting Lv. 2] [Chant Revocation Lv. 1] [Mental Warfare Lv. 1]
[Fluid Cast Lv. 1] [Multi-Cast Lv. 1]
Physical skills and related:
[Sword Technique Lv. 1]
Senses and movement skills:
[Stealth Lv. 1] [Accuracy Correction Lv. 2] [Concentration Lv. 4]
[Prediction Lv. 1] [Danger Perception Lv. 3] [Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Auditory Sense Lv. 1] [Enhanced Olfactory Sense Lv. 6]
[Enhanced Vision Lv. 1] [Evasion Lv. 2] [Acrobatic Lv. 2]
Resistances:
[Physical Resistance Lv. 2] [Pain Resistance Lv. 1] [Holy Resistance Lv. 2]
[Fire Resistance Lv. 6] [Water Resistance Lv. 6]
[Earth Resistance Lv. 5] [Wind Resistance Lv. 5]
[Arcane Corruption Resistance Lv. 4]
Stat growth and related:
[Mana Recovery Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Health Growth Lv. 1]
[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv.´4]
[Enhanced Mana Capacity Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Intelligence Enforcement Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Wisdom Enforcement Lv. 1]
[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 1]
Others:
[Singing Lv. 4] [Dancing Lv. 5] [Musician Lv. 6]
[Handicraft Lv. 1] [Enchanting Lv. 4] [Artificer Lv. 1]
[Identify Lv. 1] [Identity Blocker Lv. 3] [Noble Aura Lv. 3]
[Royal Etiquette Lv. 6] [Riding Lv. 2] [Scholar Lv. 2]
[Calligraphy Lv. 6] [Mathematician Lv. 6]
Magic List: Custom Spells:
[Create Crack] [Wind Gust]
Earth Magic:
[Earth Wall] [Rock Blast] [Earth Strike] [Rock Bullet] [Sturdy Earth]
Wind Magic:
[Wind Bullet] [Wind Cutter] [Air Shield] [Wind Slash] [Swift Winds]
[collapse]Thanks to her noble lineage, I guess, her mana was decently high and with her previous Jobs revolving around mages, her intelligence and wisdom were good enough for her level. However, stats weren’t everything. Skills mattered, too. On that front, she did well to train up her magic-related ones but she has been neglecting her other combat-related skills, like her senses and resistances.
On the first day of her training, I received detailed information on how Ellaine usually trained with her tutors and parents. Most of the information concerned her time in the royal academy but she also had private tutoring to complement it. Honestly, if it weren’t for Tasianna and Master Kush, I wouldn’t have been able to decipher most of it as I was mostly self-taught. There were a lot of special terms.
Once I understood the gist of it, I threw everything out of the window. The reason? They focused too much on skill acquisition and improvements through practice. Her schedule was mostly theoretical with minimal amounts of practical applications, especially during her time in the academy as it seemed to have a heavy focus on socializing with other aristocrats, instead of combat training.
When I explained this to Barathan and Manuela, two of her former tutors, they looked aghast. Excuses like, “A noble lady should also appear graceful and refined even during training” or “Sparring could cause serious damage” made me livid. I wasn’t sure if they were being overprotective or if this was just normal in noble society.
Still, I told Ellaine I couldn’t help her train if she wasn’t willing to do what I wanted her to do. I only knew how to train one way and adapting everything around her wishes was too much work for me when I myself was still inexperienced. The look in her eyes was enough for me to nod my head in satisfaction.
I did contemplate giving her the SP system and my bonuses through [Hestia’s Retainer] but I wasn’t sure if I could fully 100% trust Ellaine yet. It wasn’t ‘cause of her, it was about her family and whatever they were planning to do with me. Thankfully, Ellaine accepted my reasoning without any further arguments.
As my dance instructor always told me, “Haste makes waste.” He always advocated for a slow but steady training regimen to iron out my foundation. When the time came for me to show off the fruits of my training, the basics I learned would always be there for me. Sure, sometimes I would lose myself in my idol training but I’ve been following my instructor’s motto since then. Train a little bit every day and never go overboard.
“Here, don’t lose your catalyst.” Returning my mind to reality, I handed Ellaine two rings, one with a brown gem and the other with a green one, as she stood up. These were another variant of catalysts called spell rings.
“Thank you, Lady Hestia … and thank you for healing me. I’ll make sure to repay you for the white grace,” Ellaine said with downcast eyes.
Waving my hand in dismissal, I looked at her with a frown. “Nonsense, as if I would take payment for saving a friend’s life. Do me a favor, instead, tell me you have [Arcane Corruption (Minor)] before you suddenly collapse on the ground.”
While training on the first day went smoothly with me helping Ellaine develop some stamina and seeing how well she cast magic, the second day wasn’t. After I returned from the Binding Festival, she immediately asked me to train with her despite it nearly being midnight. We haven’t slept since we started and I just learned from Barathan the sun was about to come up.
Her training revolved around skill usage and fighting tactics, allowing her to get more acquainted with her skills and how to use them. While stats and skill quality was important, a know-how on how to use them was even more imperative. What use was a high quality Profile if all you could do with it was swing wildly? Precision was equally necessary to become strong.
Sadly, her dedication to improve also caused her to neglect her own health. She built up too much arcane corruption midway through the night and fell asleep after I offered her some fulinoe tea to alleviate her symptoms.
Apparently, fulinoe leaves was a luxury product among nobles and mages, as it was the most effective method to reduce your arcane corruption. Since the plant wasn’t able to survive in soil low on mana, it was usually grown inside monster infested or any high-mana density area, the supply usually couldn’t keep up with demand.
Which made sense, since the more mages in the world, the more the demand would soar. Thankfully, Tasianna could grow them in our garden since I regularly fed the soil with my mana. Naturally, this did mean we could become a supplier for it, so that was one option for us to earn some cash.
In any case, after Ellaine drank the tea—free of charge since she was my friend—she fell asleep until now. After I informed the mansion’s residents of what happened, I’ve been watching over her up until now. They wanted to bring her back to her room, but I figured she would have been disappointed if our training stopped this early.
“Dawn is about to come. Do you want to continue?” I asked her.
After drinking another cup of fulinoe tea, Ellaine smiled and caressed her rings. “… One more round, please. Just one more and I’ll be satisfied for today, Lady Hestia.”
We took our positions inside the room. With one of her rings’ gems shining an emerald green, Ellaine cast [Swift Winds]. Like Master Kush’s amulet catalyst, Ellaine’s spell ring boost her casting speed, spell strength, and reduced mana cost.
The difference between a catalyst-less mage and a mage with a high-quality catalyst was huge. A great example would be my spars with Master Kush. The fights would always feel equal before he pulled out his catalyst, leading to a quick victory in his favor. Ellaine was using a catalyst her mother made for her, but our stat difference was far too large for it to make a difference, unfortunately.
A magic tool, or catalyst, was similar to manatech where it needed an external influx of mana to activate, but what differentiated the two was that a manatech required a mana battery to work while a catalyst were essentially alchemical stones. The former was more complicated and expensive to make, while the latter could be made by most alchemists.
While warriors could improve themselves with stronger weapons, a mage needed higher-quality catalysts. Wands, staves, amulets, rings; whatever you could think a magician would bring to a fight to become stronger.
Our party needs an equipment day, urgently. We could improve ourselves so much with some weapons and catalysts.
“Just a reminder, you only need to touch me once, while I can only avoid your attacks with [Warp Point: Entry] and [Warp Point: Exit]. Understood, Lady Ellaine?” I explained the rules for this training match to her.
I’ve lost track of when I actually got [Space-Time Magic Lv. 4] and its system spell [Warp Point: Entry] but I knew for sure it has been over three months. While training with Ellaine two days ago, I leveled up both [Storm Magic] and [Space-Time Magic]. From those two skills, I learned [Sylphid’s Cloak], a buffing and damage reduction spell, and [Warp Point: Exit], which finally allowed me to use [Warp Point: Entry].
Think of [Warp Point: Entry] and [Warp Point: Exit] like portals that could only work if I cast both of them. They opened up a crack in the air right above their magic circles, which anybody could use to teleport themselves from one point to the other.
Unfortunately, despite how amazing it was to teleport everywhere, two restrictions were holding them back. First of all, the cast didn’t cost too much mana but once both portals were open, my mana would be continuously drained to keep them open until I closed them myself. And secondly, the larger the distance between the two, the more mana I had to pay to maintain them.
With that said, what could I use warp point for? Well, I could use it as an instant teleport to avoid attacks, a quick long-range escape from a tricky situation, or mass group teleportation from one point to the next.
The first option was redundant since dodging attacks with my high agility would be faster than casting those two spells. The second could be useful but without prior preparations by setting the spell up somewhere, it wasn’t that useful. Also, if somebody were to damage the magic circle before I cast exit, the circle would dissipate.
The last option was actually the most useful part of this spell. If I needed to rescue a large group of people or animals, I could place the portal down and then bring everybody to safety instantly, even at a long distance. I just had to make sure the mana cost doesn’t kill me, he he.
So why was I using warp point to dodge here? Well, I was using a portal to move around and that was cool. Wasn’t that reason enough? In a world with dragons and magic, I should indulge myself in having fun with spells.
Once the match began, Ellaine chanted [Wind Slash] and shot it at me. I placed one grey magic circle next to me and then another next to Ellaine, causing a crack in the air to open up. I entered through the portal next to me, shouted “Peekaboo,” and attempted to touch Ellaine with my hand but she quickly dodged. I was holding back.
Our little competition was a game of tag but with magic. Luckily for me, I didn’t need to explain the rules as the game concept existed at the royal academy as a way for students to train against each other. Similar to the rules of tag, once you touch somebody they were out of the game, however, unlike Earth’s tag, Peolyncians could use magic to extend their touch range. There also wasn’t a single “it” among the players as the game was played more like a battle royal, where the person who caught the most people would be the winner.
Usually, the players could use any spells or tricks they had up their sleeves, barring any lethal ones of course, but since it wouldn’t be fun if I gave it my all, I suggested playing under a handicap. I was only allowed to tag Ellaine with my hand and my only dodging method was to use warp point. Otherwise, I could be liberal with my usage of spells to block, disorientate, and trick.
The idea behind this training was to help Ellaine level up her sensory and movement skills as I knew from experience that relying only on magic and resistances was too unreliable. If she were to ever meet an agility or stealth-reliant monster, she would have a hard time fighting it. Saori and the garm matriarch were great examples of this.
The two of us continued for a while until Ellaine’s concentration waned. Noticing it, I decided we had trained enough. Using [Wind Blast], I blew her off her feet, then used [White Flames] in conjunction with my scale-dust to temporarily blind her, causing her already deteriorating focus to drop even more. Using my last portal, I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into the portal to bring her to my side.
“Don’t use your spells only for attacks and feints. There are many other ways you could use them, you just need to be creative about it.”
Breathing heavily, Ellaine slouched onto the ground and congratulated me for winning. Seeing her messy hair, sweat-covered face, and the dirty training suit she was wearing, it made it hard to think this was the elegant, refined noblewomen I’d come to know. The exhaustion she was showing was proof of the effort she put in today.
“This was the fifth match and I’m still unable to put, huff, your suggestions into practice,” Ellaine complained with a shake of her head. “… Am I—huuu—incompetent? I can’t-I can’t learn—”
“Ellaine, this is only the second day, geez.” Massaging my temples in exasperation, I couldn’t help but show a hint of annoyance at her self-deprecation. “The academy starts at the beginning of spring, right? We have so much time to train with each other. You can’t expect to catch up with your brother in such a short period.”
“I know … I understand. It’s just … frustrating,” Ellaine forced herself to admit. “I am the daughter born between a count and a noble from an arcanuess family. Mother could have inherited her House’s title and become Arcaliess Talshia, if only she’d been born earlier. My brother inherited our parent’s talents, so why couldn’t I?”
This was the reason why Ellaine wanted me to train herself.
In the Kingdom of Artorias, nobles inherit their parent’s title not through the time of their birth, but through their abilities and amount of mana. Mana was the foundation of noble society and what differentiated them from commoners. As nobles were considered the elites and protectors of the kingdom, it was expected of house heads to not only be strong warriors but also capable magicians.
Inheritance rules stated the children of the first wife/husband would compete in an assessment of their total mana and the quality of their profile, ending with a duel between each of them. Children from the second or third spouse were only allowed to compete in the succession if the spouse themselves challenged the first spouse and defeated them.
As mana and high stats could be inherited by their children, nobles prioritized merit and abilities over arbitrary barriers like a child’s age and the ranking of the head’s spouses. Ellaine’s mother Marianne, for example, was the second daughter of the second wife of an Arcanuess, but could still participate in the inheritance battle despite being the youngest. She only lost the right due to her siblings being more capable.
Another example was Count Helvas himself. He was the second son but he bested his older brother in a duel with his sword despite having less mana than him.
While age wasn’t a factor, that didn’t mean it was irrelevant. Once the first child was born, parents usually gave him or her the most resources to improve until the next child was born. This meant that Ellaine’s brother Jonathan, who was three years older, had more time to benefit from his House’s resources and teachings.
Aside from the age gap, Ellaine also mentioned the talents of her brother. Not only was he a capable swordsman like their father but also inherited their mother’s talents as a mage. On the other hand, Ellaine was just normal. She was average and took longer to learn new subjects compared to her brother.
When the first child came of age at 15, the inheritance battles would begin. At the age of twelve, Ellaine was forced to compete with her brother for the noble title of her house, but after years of possessing an inferiority complex and knowing how far ahead her brother was, she gave up her right before the competition even started. Her brother was made heir apparent, while she lost all respect from her former retainers.
The only retainers Ellaine still had were Josine, who was only a commoner, and two household knights, who were only the children of barons. While her parents and brother still loved her immensely, this “cowardice” still clung to her like glue in her social circles, especially at the royal academy. Due to her own lacking self-confidence, she hadn’t been at a social event ever since she gave up her inheritance rights.
I could sympathize with Ellaine. I knew too well how it felt to disappoint your parents despite all the love and support they’d given you. Ellaine couldn’t become a countess anymore and it was likely she would be married off to another house, but I didn’t want her to feel like she was worthless.
As such, seeing her dedicate herself to training felt reassuring. Sure, “haste makes waste” so training during the night without any sleep might be counterproductive but the fire I saw in her eyes yesterday made me aware she was fooling around. She wanted to turn her life around.
Pressing a button on the wall, I spoke into a blue crystal. “Barathan or Manuela, Lady Ellaine and I are done training. She;s probably too tired to move by herself so please have somebody carry her up to her room.”
After a few seconds, the crystal glowed blue and Barathan’s voice came out from it. I didn’t ask how this intercom-like manatech exactly worked but looking at it with [Mana Eyes] it seemed it was connected through a wire to the other end.
Ellaine was then brought back to her room by Josine and Manuella while Barathan and Svena guided me back up to my room. Inside my room, Saori and Tasianna were seated, looking slightly troubled as they stared at Barathan and Svena. At that point, a chill went up to my spine as I noticed the two servants glaring at me.
“No matter how strong you are, a noble lady should never, ever be left alone inside the city!”
They gave us a lecture so intense it even made Saori look apoplectic after I went back to the mansion alone. Regardless of whether I could protect myself or not, a retainer leaving their lord or lady to walk alone through a city only invited problems. What if I got lost? What if somebody tried to mug me? Even if I could bring them down, it would still cause trouble elsewhere.
It was a case of decorum, which I honestly didn’t care one bit about. I used to walk on the streets of a huge city like New York every day, and even if I avoided the more shady places, it didn’t stop people potentially getting mugged by gunpoint in Manhattan. If somebody tried to rob or kidnap me, all they would get is a fat dragon tail whip right to their face!
Nevertheless, this went over Tasianna’s head as she immediately kneeled down and apologized. “I have grown too lazy and abandoned my Lady,” she exclaimed before reaffirming her loyalty to me.
“I shall never leave your side again!”
… Suffice to say, Saori and I had to re-lecture her to not overforce herself onto everything. Moderation was just fine, and I didn’t need to be chaperoned everywhere. We also had to make it clear to Barathan and Manuela that while we understood their cautious viewpoint, we couldn’t agree to them.
No wonder Ellaine turned out so weak with these two overprotective attendants slowing down her training. Oof.
Once that was done, our days in Firwood went on. A week passed where I would split my time with training Ellaine, working on Quests at the hunters guild, and preparing for my next idol concert—whenever it would be scheduled. In this time, our party was able to gain two more Job changes.
The monsters and Quest experience we gained weren’t enough for any of us to level up, but our Job levels received experience independently. Instead of choosing more mage Jobs, I wanted to see what Jobs would open up if I were to take [Fighter] and [Cleric]. I had so many skills that I wanted to know how many options I had before taking harder to level up Jobs.
Saori did the same thing by acquiring [Caster] and [Fighter] herself after finishing [Rogue]. Tasianna, on the other hand, became a [Torrent Sorcerer] to improve her water magic even further. Unlike all the Jobs Saori and I have gained so far, [Torrent Sorcerer] could be leveled up to level 15, instead of only five. This was our first experience with a Job of a higher tier, meaning it had not only a higher level cap but was also harder to level up. Similar to how a rank G monster would level up quicker than a rank D one.
Weekly Job Change Limit: 2/3
Previous Jobs: [Caster] [Mage] [Fighter]
Main Job: [Cleric]
Available Jobs
[Freelancer] [Pyromancer] [Earth Mage] [Aeromancer] [Wind Mage] [Holy Mage] [Space-Time Mage] [Magus] [Healer] [Priestess] [Shrine Maiden] [Synergist] [Warrior Priestess] [Brawler] [Aggravator] [Ravager] [Hellblade] [Bard] [Scout] [Worker] [Academic] [Noble] [Scale-Dust User] [White Pyromancer] [Corrosive Pyromancer] [Usurper] [Champion of Aurena] [Crimson Saintess] [Idol]
As expected, having certain Jobs would open up hybrid Jobs like [Magus], a warrior mage, or [Warrior Priestess]. Interestingly enough, there was a job named [Hellblade] I could unlock which shared the same name as my [Hellblade Dragon] unique skill. With [Scale-Dust User] referencing one of my most used abilities, it practically confirmed I could get dragon-based skills with this.
I was planning to get these advanced Jobs one day but unlocking the easy ones first was my priority. What I currently needed wasn’t just skills and abilities, but also stats. Stats weren’t everything but it would be stupid to say they were irrelevant. After all, the higher my mana, the more reckless I could be with spell casting.
During this week, signs of my [Battle Frenzy] eventually showed up during a Quest. Saori mentioned I lasted almost two weeks without showing symptoms, probably ‘cause of my choice to evolve into a [Young Sunfang Dragon] Nevertheless, it was still a bit disappointing to see the status effect wasn’t gone for good. Damn you, Grandpa Kargryxmor!
Taking the opportunity to fight outside the town, Saori, Tasianna, and I had one of our usual duels. The symptoms quickly disappeared before our spar ended. While we were there, I tested something I’ve been wondering about this whole time—whether the skills and stats I got from my Jobs transferred to my dragon form.
As the Main Job benefit, [Cleric] gave the Job skill [Healing Amp], which improved the effectiveness of my healing spells, so I wanted to see if it stayed when I transformed. Unfortunately, it didn’t; meaning Job skills, abilities, and spells couldn’t be used while I was fighting in my original form. However, any bonuses to my stats stayed. That was really good news and gave Saori and me another incentive to get more Jobs and level them up.
Naturally, this did mean our minor and moderate forms had just gotten a major boost in combat power if we could get some good Jobs. Of course, the main function of our beastmen forms was to first not reveal our true forms and second for battles where we couldn’t assume our real forms for whatever practical reason.
Still, it was better this way. Our [Humanize (Major)] were completely redundant for combat, and was mostly just to fit into human society. I couldn’t access my dragon abilities as a full human, after all.
Well, it wasn’t too bad. Maybe I could get something like “Supreme Overlord of the Heavenly Orchestra” or “Mega Super Bla Bla Bla Bla Idol” and it would just make my dragon form useless and I could fight as a human. Now that just sounded … pfff.
Being a dragon meant being able to fully release all my power. Nothing could beat that.
In any case, from now on, our three free Job changes were all used up. From now on, we had to spend one small silvite, or 1000 Davi, for each Job acquisition. Due to our financial situation and our need to get more Jobs the moment we could, Saori told us to start making money.
AbyssRaven Oh, there is Ellaine's backstory.
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