“Didn’t you say you had birds? It has to be birds, then. The Health scaling is something but the reliability of an attack that will never miss is often preferable.”
“Birds it is, then.”
Sofia summoned the book and grabbed the first page that appeared when she opened it, without even looking. As the mana entered the book, fog started spreading over the floor of the castle’s courtyard.
Erredis looked with curiosity, “This book hero of yours really is an anomaly.”
“It was designed by the Orator after all.”
“It’s also baffling the confidence with which you utter these names. Though I have to admit it indeed looks like you’re safe.”
“I was practically given an item from each of them, it would be weird if I wasn’t safe. Though I was told not to mention the fourth one. Can you really not do anything about them if they’re after you? Is there even anyone stronger than you out there? Can anyone do anything? Even Sun was forced to give up on her stuff when they came.”
“Tough subject. As I said, levels kind of lose their meaning later on, thinking about who’s stronger than who is kind of irrelevant. And the Lords… Well, even for me, it’s better not to antagonize them. They have always been a mostly neutral party, so truth be told, I don’t even know how I would fare against them, but there are four of them. Do you see three other me around here?”
“So in your super long life, you’ve never even run into one of them?”
“I’ve met one, the bookmaker.” Erredis sneered. “Unpleasant.”
Did Orator speak through her mouth too? That is unpleasant, yes…
Sofia waited with bated breath, but there was no sign of the Orator showing up.
“Are you alright, Sofia?”
“Yes, I was just waiting to see if he was going to show up. This guy has a tendency of appearing at ‘convenient’ times.”
“‘This guy’ she says… Enough blabbering, get on with the throwing, young lady.”
“Yes ma’am!”
So how do I do this?
Sofia opened her hand and one of the small bird skeletons jumped in by itself. Tuck your wings, you’ll be easier to throw.
“I’ll use a thousand mana to begin with.”
Sofia activated [Saintess’ madness], she could feel the bird being magically stuck against her palm as she controlled the skill to allow a slow trickle of mana to enter the skeleton. Casting seems really easy. I can manage the mana flow without trouble, I could probably dump all my mana in there in two or three seconds. She felt her hand become slightly colder. Ice element.
[You have been affected by the temporary effect :’Minor Ice resistance’]
Out of anything I could get, that’s the worst one. Entirely useless. VPPV Already does that.
As the mana in the bird approached the thousand Sofia was aiming for, she was going to warn Erredis about the throw. Before she could do that, her body was irresistibly compelled to move, her right foot planted itself firmly into the ground as her torso twisted like a coiled spring. Her left foot left the ground, practically throwing itself forward as her arm swept back in a motion she didn’t control. Before she could even understand how the skill could puppet her like that, her body lunged forward, releasing the bird at the perfect time with a violent bang.
Erredis wasn’t standing far, the bird hit her squarely in the face before Sofia could even react. The old lady didn’t even flinch when the bird hit her and exploded in a burst of sharp spikes of ice. There was nothing left of the bird when Sofia managed to take back control of her body to stand upright, and only a few small chunks of ice on the ground were left as a result. Erredis suffered not a scratch, even her clothes were completely unaffected.
“You broke the sound barrier without even trying, nice.”
“Sorry about that, I didn’t know it would go by itself, I wanted to warn you but...”
“Kid, what are you worrying about exactly? I saw exactly what happened, and I could have avoided that in my sleep. I’m fairly confident that nothing you could even try would as much as make me lose one health point. So you really don’t have to be so conscientious about how you hit me. You have my permission so just go all out with those birds. Let’s find out how many elements you got in there!”
Twelve elements was the answer, there could be more but so far this was how many they had found, each element seemed to be as likely to appear as the others. Every time, Sofia’s body would uncontrollably throw the skeleton by itself at incredible speeds. When she tried aiming away from Erredis, the birds had no issue correcting their trajectory to still always hit. The strength of the magic burst scaled as advertised with the mana and health of the skeleton, but the duo found out that the size of the magic burst was dependent on the size of the skeleton itself.
They hadn’t tried too many of bookie’s summons, as it ran out of fog pretty quickly when they tried ramping up the size of the skeletons Sofia threw, but notably, she had no issue throwing the stone ogres just as violently as she threw the birds. The skill did all the heavy lifting, literally and figuratively.
Erredis had reported what the afflictions were even if she was technically unaffected, so Sofia now had a well-organized list of the effects, as well as a good understanding of how much mana she should put into the skill depending on the strength she wanted it to have.
‘The madness list
Ice - [Lingering frost] : The next spell will require a longer casting / channeling.
Fire - [Mana burn] : For five seconds lose as much health as mana used.
Lightning - [Electrical pulse] : If applicable, the target may be temporarily immobilized.
Stone - [Pterified] : Whenever receiving physical damage, turn the damaged body to stone.
Wind - [Vortex] : Projectiles are attracted.
Water - [Drenched] : Upon receiving another affliction, double it.
Light - [Beacon] : For one minute, the Saintess and allies know precisely where the target is.
Shadow - [Darkness] : Hinders the sense of vision.
Space - [Anchor] : For ten seconds, prevents teleportation.
Plant - [Fertile grounds] : Magical vines grow on the target, sapping mana away.
Flesh - [Withering] : For one minute, cannot regain health.
Sound - [Brittle] : Bones, armor, magical constructs and items become easier to break.’
Sofia frowned, she adjusted her position in her chair and asked for the second time, “Are you really sure it said ‘Pterified’?”
Erredis shrugged, turning a page of the book she was reading. “Test it on yourself if you don’t trust me.”
I trust you but I still don’t get it…
“No need… The effects are surprisingly good. Especially the fire one.”
“It depends on the opponent. I’m more scared of the sound effect.”
“Really? It looks fine but in a battle against any kind of mage, the fire affliction looks much stronger.”
“You don’t understand the annoyance that a broken scale is. What’s a bit of damage in comparison to a broken scale…” Erredis closed her book and put it back on the table. “Overall the skill is fine, as long as you can fix that delay between the throw and the moment you get control of your muscles back. Just a matter of practice I believe,” Erredis commented, imitating Sofia’s throwing motion.
“I’m still a bit underwhelmed that the element is random, but at least the good effects make up for it, I expected much worse. I can work with this, and there’s room for shenanigans with the skeletons’ blessings and abilities. I can alter the trajectory with [Bone Dominus] too.”
“You should be able to choose the effect you want eventually. Maybe with higher levels of the skill, or just with enough manual practice. The way the magic works is a bit unconventional by the looks of it, but I don’t want to say too much until I’m sure.”
“Another thing to worry about later then. Thank you for helping me, your feedback is invaluable.”
Erredis hid her face with both hands, “Oh you, stop it, you’re going to make me blush,” she answered in a playful tone. Anything else you need help with before I go teach some manners to an impolite youngling?“
“Ah, uhm… I had something but it’s a bit…”
Can I even ask? It feels a bit shameful to ask after she’s already done so much… But at the same time…
“Go on, be greedy, you’re a child, by Dragon and almost by Human standards. You can be a bit unreasonable sometimes. Whatever it is, just ask.”
“Can I… Have a scale?”
Erredis narrowed her eyes. “A scale, you say? Do you know what these are worth?” she asked, curious.
Sofia shook her head.
“Well, they’re worth a lot. Each scale of a Dragon is precious, grown over hundreds, thousands of years. An important, irreplaceable part of our natural protection. Not something that can be healed or faked with some magic. We cannot just give it away like that. If we break or lose one, it’s going to take forever to grow back. So I cannot give you one of my scales, no.”
“I see, sorry, I was presumptuous to ask. You have already been an unexpected and previous help that I hope I can repay someday.” Sofia apologized with a bow, her golden hair falling before her face.
“But I can give you someone else’s.”
“Uh?!”
“What? Have you never killed another human and pilfered their bones? What do you think? And what do you even need a scale for in the first place?”
“The biggest limiting factor of using [Angel’s bolt] is that it destroys my arm when I input too much mana. Even Mithril melts. So if I had a Dragon-scale armor for my right hand and arm…”
Erredis nodded along as she listened to Sofia’s explanation.
“Well, kid, I’m not the best smith around, but I can probably do that. Not for free, though.”
“I’ll do anything!” But if it’s going to take long I would rather go find Saria first…
“Didn’t you say you had birds? It has to be birds, then. The Health scaling is something but the reliability of an attack that will never miss is often preferable.”
“Birds it is, then.”
Sofia summoned the book and grabbed the first page that appeared when she opened it, without even looking. As the mana entered the book, fog started spreading over the floor of the castle’s courtyard.
Erredis looked with curiosity, “This book hero of yours really is an anomaly.”
“It was designed by the Orator after all.”
“It’s also baffling the confidence with which you utter these names. Though I have to admit it indeed looks like you’re safe.”
“I was practically given an item from each of them, it would be weird if I wasn’t safe. Though I was told not to mention the fourth one. Can you really not do anything about them if they’re after you? Is there even anyone stronger than you out there? Can anyone do anything? Even Sun was forced to give up on her stuff when they came.”
“Tough subject. As I said, levels kind of lose their meaning later on, thinking about who’s stronger than who is kind of irrelevant. And the Lords… Well, even for me, it’s better not to antagonize them. They have always been a mostly neutral party, so truth be told, I don’t even know how I would fare against them, but there are four of them. Do you see three other me around here?”
“So in your super long life, you’ve never even run into one of them?”
“I’ve met one, the bookmaker.” Erredis sneered. “Unpleasant.”
Did Orator speak through her mouth too? That is unpleasant, yes…
Sofia waited with bated breath, but there was no sign of the Orator showing up.
“Are you alright, Sofia?”
“Yes, I was just waiting to see if he was going to show up. This guy has a tendency of appearing at ‘convenient’ times.”
“‘This guy’ she says… Enough blabbering, get on with the throwing, young lady.”
“Yes ma’am!”
So how do I do this?
Sofia opened her hand and one of the small bird skeletons jumped in by itself. Tuck your wings, you’ll be easier to throw.
“I’ll use a thousand mana to begin with.”
Sofia activated [Saintess’ madness], she could feel the bird being magically stuck against her palm as she controlled the skill to allow a slow trickle of mana to enter the skeleton. Casting seems really easy. I can manage the mana flow without trouble, I could probably dump all my mana in there in two or three seconds. She felt her hand become slightly colder. Ice element.
[You have been affected by the temporary effect :’Minor Ice resistance’]
Out of anything I could get, that’s the worst one. Entirely useless. VPPV Already does that.
As the mana in the bird approached the thousand Sofia was aiming for, she was going to warn Erredis about the throw. Before she could do that, her body was irresistibly compelled to move, her right foot planted itself firmly into the ground as her torso twisted like a coiled spring. Her left foot left the ground, practically throwing itself forward as her arm swept back in a motion she didn’t control. Before she could even understand how the skill could puppet her like that, her body lunged forward, releasing the bird at the perfect time with a violent bang.
Erredis wasn’t standing far, the bird hit her squarely in the face before Sofia could even react. The old lady didn’t even flinch when the bird hit her and exploded in a burst of sharp spikes of ice. There was nothing left of the bird when Sofia managed to take back control of her body to stand upright, and only a few small chunks of ice on the ground were left as a result. Erredis suffered not a scratch, even her clothes were completely unaffected.
“You broke the sound barrier without even trying, nice.”
“Sorry about that, I didn’t know it would go by itself, I wanted to warn you but...”
“Kid, what are you worrying about exactly? I saw exactly what happened, and I could have avoided that in my sleep. I’m fairly confident that nothing you could even try would as much as make me lose one health point. So you really don’t have to be so conscientious about how you hit me. You have my permission so just go all out with those birds. Let’s find out how many elements you got in there!”
Twelve elements was the answer, there could be more but so far this was how many they had found, each element seemed to be as likely to appear as the others. Every time, Sofia’s body would uncontrollably throw the skeleton by itself at incredible speeds. When she tried aiming away from Erredis, the birds had no issue correcting their trajectory to still always hit. The strength of the magic burst scaled as advertised with the mana and health of the skeleton, but the duo found out that the size of the magic burst was dependent on the size of the skeleton itself.
They hadn’t tried too many of bookie’s summons, as it ran out of fog pretty quickly when they tried ramping up the size of the skeletons Sofia threw, but notably, she had no issue throwing the stone ogres just as violently as she threw the birds. The skill did all the heavy lifting, literally and figuratively.
Erredis had reported what the afflictions were even if she was technically unaffected, so Sofia now had a well-organized list of the effects, as well as a good understanding of how much mana she should put into the skill depending on the strength she wanted it to have.
‘The madness list
Ice - [Lingering frost] : The next spell will require a longer casting / channeling.
Fire - [Mana burn] : For five seconds lose as much health as mana used.
Lightning - [Electrical pulse] : If applicable, the target may be temporarily immobilized.
Stone - [Pterified] : Whenever receiving physical damage, turn the damaged body to stone.
Wind - [Vortex] : Projectiles are attracted.
Water - [Drenched] : Upon receiving another affliction, double it.
Light - [Beacon] : For one minute, the Saintess and allies know precisely where the target is.
Shadow - [Darkness] : Hinders the sense of vision.
Space - [Anchor] : For ten seconds, prevents teleportation.
Plant - [Fertile grounds] : Magical vines grow on the target, sapping mana away.
Flesh - [Withering] : For one minute, cannot regain health.
Sound - [Brittle] : Bones, armor, magical constructs and items become easier to break.’
Sofia frowned, she adjusted her position in her chair and asked for the second time, “Are you really sure it said ‘Pterified’?”
Erredis shrugged, turning a page of the book she was reading. “Test it on yourself if you don’t trust me.”
I trust you but I still don’t get it…
“No need… The effects are surprisingly good. Especially the fire one.”
“It depends on the opponent. I’m more scared of the sound effect.”
“Really? It looks fine but in a battle against any kind of mage, the fire affliction looks much stronger.”
“You don’t understand the annoyance that a broken scale is. What’s a bit of damage in comparison to a broken scale…” Erredis closed her book and put it back on the table. “Overall the skill is fine, as long as you can fix that delay between the throw and the moment you get control of your muscles back. Just a matter of practice I believe,” Erredis commented, imitating Sofia’s throwing motion.
“I’m still a bit underwhelmed that the element is random, but at least the good effects make up for it, I expected much worse. I can work with this, and there’s room for shenanigans with the skeletons’ blessings and abilities. I can alter the trajectory with [Bone Dominus] too.”
“You should be able to choose the effect you want eventually. Maybe with higher levels of the skill, or just with enough manual practice. The way the magic works is a bit unconventional by the looks of it, but I don’t want to say too much until I’m sure.”
“Another thing to worry about later then. Thank you for helping me, your feedback is invaluable.”
Erredis hid her face with both hands, “Oh you, stop it, you’re going to make me blush,” she answered in a playful tone. Anything else you need help with before I go teach some manners to an impolite youngling?“
“Ah, uhm… I had something but it’s a bit…”
Can I even ask? It feels a bit shameful to ask after she’s already done so much… But at the same time…
“Go on, be greedy, you’re a child, by Dragon and almost by Human standards. You can be a bit unreasonable sometimes. Whatever it is, just ask.”
“Can I… Have a scale?”
Erredis narrowed her eyes. “A scale, you say? Do you know what these are worth?” she asked, curious.
Sofia shook her head.
“Well, they’re worth a lot. Each scale of a Dragon is precious, grown over hundreds, thousands of years. An important, irreplaceable part of our natural protection. Not something that can be healed or faked with some magic. We cannot just give it away like that. If we break or lose one, it’s going to take forever to grow back. So I cannot give you one of my scales, no.”
“I see, sorry, I was presumptuous to ask. You have already been an unexpected and previous help that I hope I can repay someday.” Sofia apologized with a bow, her golden hair falling before her face.
“But I can give you someone else’s.”
“Uh?!”
“What? Have you never killed another human and pilfered their bones? What do you think? And what do you even need a scale for in the first place?”
“The biggest limiting factor of using [Angel’s bolt] is that it destroys my arm when I input too much mana. Even Mithril melts. So if I had a Dragon-scale armor for my right hand and arm…”
Erredis nodded along as she listened to Sofia’s explanation.
“Well, kid, I’m not the best smith around, but I can probably do that. Not for free, though.”
“I’ll do anything!” But if it’s going to take long I would rather go find Saria first…
