Chapter 38: The Beginnings of a Team
It was the seventh day since Kraft's departure, and the second week that Serie and Rhodes had been staying in the village.
"It's getting crowded," Serie remarked as she and Rhodes sat together by the fire.
He didn't know if it was his imagination, but ever since his brief disappearance, Serie had seemed to close the distance between them. Before, she had always maintained a certain space, but now she sat right next to him. So close that when the breeze blew, her golden hair would brush against his arm, making it tickle.
"What do you mean?" Her out-of-the-blue comment had left him a little confused.
"Our adventuring party seems to have grown." She had thought that her two-person journey with Rhodes would last for a long time. But in just over a month, they had already become a full five-person team. For an elf like her, it was just the blink of an eye.
"Indeed. A pity we're missing a priest or a cleric. Then it would be perfect."
In Rhodes's opinion, a team without a healer was still lacking something. But their current lineup was already quite good. Once Norne and Eirik had mastered the basic spells, they would officially begin their adventure. First stop: the dwarven ruins. Though with their current strength, they would have to explore from the outside in, honing their skills as they went.
"All the holy scriptures have been monopolized by those Sky-Winged priests. They're the only ones who can use healing and blessing magic." The Sky-Winged were a race created by the Goddess herself. Their lives and deaths were in her hands. If the Goddess were to ever disappear from this world, the Sky-Winged, along with their holy scriptures, would vanish as well.
"Do you want to learn the healing magic from the scripture, Serie?"
Rhodes had tried before to create a healing-type spell with his [Creation] talent, but he had failed. It was as if that type of magic was under some kind of prohibition, one that even his transmigrator's 'cheat' ability couldn't break through.
"I do," Serie answered directly. "Can you create it?"
Rhodes shook his head, admitting that he couldn't.
Serie wasn't surprised. "Healing magic comes from the scripture, and the scripture's power comes from the Goddess herself. It's normal that you can't create it."
"Hmm... this so-called scripture, can other races interpret it?"
Serie paused at his question. She had never considered it before. The scripture had never been seen outside of the Sky-Winged Tribe. Even her own people, the elves, who nominally worshipped the Goddess, had never been granted it. "I cannot answer that. No one has ever tried."
"So there's a possibility, then. Looks like we can add that to our adventure checklist."
Explore the dwarven ruins, obtain the holy relic.
Venture into the Godfall Land, obtain a method to kill a god.
And now, obtain a holy scripture.
These were the goals of his adventure with Serie. But each of these dungeons was more difficult than the last, almost on par with clearing the Demon King's castle.
"The Goddess is not a very approachable being."
Serie didn't believe in the Goddess. Even Kraft, who had left, wasn't much of a believer, though he didn't show it as openly as she did. If Rhodes were to just waltz up to the Goddess and ask for a holy scripture, the most likely outcome would be a divine smiting.
"That's why we need a spell that can kill a god," Rhodes said with a grin. Holding a sword in your hand and not using it were two different things. Even the proudest of gods would have to bare their soft underbelly when faced with a magic that could kill them.
"Yes. You're right." Serie smiled as well. Finally, their goals were aligned. The thought made her happy. But she quickly suppressed her smile and resumed her usual cold demeanor. Only Rhodes could notice the subtle changes in her mood.
"But did you drink your medicine today?" Rhodes suddenly asked, changing the subject. He had been giving her a mana recovery potion every day, and he planned to bring a supply with him when they left the village, just in case she ever overexerted her mana again. He would have to make it a bit more concentrated, of course. It would be more bitter, but it was a necessary sacrifice.
Hearing his question, Serie's face fell. "I don't need it. My mana has already recovered a lot."
"Now, now. Be good and listen. We don't want any lasting side effects."
Rhodes's tone was like that of a parent coaxing a child. In a way, a pouting Serie was a child that needed to be coaxed.
After some more persuading, Serie reluctantly drank the bitter mana potion. And then Rhodes pressed his advantage, saying he was going to bring a supply of it with him on their journey, for emergencies. At his words, Serie's face froze, her golden eyes a mixture of seven parts panic, two parts helplessness, and one part defiance. Don't ask how he could tell. When you've spent a lot of time around a fluffy, temperamental kitten, you learn to read the signs.
Seeing her adorable expression, Rhodes couldn't help but laugh.
Embarrassed, Serie gave him a light kick, though it lacked any real force.
For a moment, all was peaceful. Rhodes wished he could stay in that moment forever.
"Congratulations. You are now officially mages."
In their third week, Norne and Eirik had managed to master the light arrow spell. Its power was only about a third of Rhodes's, but when they hit an innocent little tree, it snapped in two.
"It took us so long just to learn the most basic spell. Who knows how many years it would take to learn that big spell of yours," Eirik said, rolling his eyes. He had been desperate to learn the powerful spell Rhodes had used, especially after Serie had learned it and cast it herself. Her version had been even more terrifying. The space around them had been plunged into absolute darkness for a full second. From the outside, it looked as if all the light in the area had been swallowed by a black hole. And the destructive range of her spell had been even larger than Rhodes's. They had been lucky they had tested it outside the forest; otherwise, the whole forest would have been in an uproar. Even though the fae were gone, this had once been their home. The human village had also lived here for hundreds of years. They had to protect it.
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yo guys trying something new for Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter