Chapter 81—Side effects

Chapter 81: 81—Side effects Warren allowed them a break before they went out to the fields near Castaway to camp for the night. They were to pack lightly and meet him in the courtyard in three hours. They spent the first hour talking. Lucen wasn’t really worried about packing; he could just go to his room and keep some clothes in his storage. He was waiting for something, he would leave once it happened. "I’m actually excited to see the Withering Forest," Elle mused. "I hear the bones of a Mad Serpent are around there. It stretches for days on end." "I’m more excited for the people," Helie sighed happily. "The different cultures in Bulwark or the Zenti, the adventurers’ guild." "There’s also the Ruiela celestial event soon," Hither added. "We’ll see its full glory around there, in the plains, when it happens." He pointed at the map on the board. "We have to grow a lot during this trip," Callan said confidently to his group of friends. Set had his head against the table, humming in agreement. Callan looked at the glass roof above them. "I wonder what spells and treasure the King’s Voice is bringing. I can’t wait for the Ainsel castle to get here; I’ve never seen a Sky castle." "Horalix has one, Kongrad castle," Set murmured. "They took it with them into the Void." "Ainsel touches down in five days," Ymir said. "Then we have to start going in two days. Can we even get used to a single spell in that time?" "Do we have to leave in a week?" Helie asked. "According to the timeline Warren made for us." Ymir nodded. "I want more offensive spells. Fast ones. And spells that can enhance allies." Tharic hummed, daydreaming about the powers they’d gain. "I want a High-rank channelling technique. One that allows me to use water spells." Lucen half-heartedly wondered what he would get. Kedral wasn’t a Lightcloak, so he wouldn’t be as biased. Hopefully. He didn’t want fire spells, [Forgotten Embers] was proving to be a challenging spell to force into his mind. Earth or wind spells would be nice; he was partial to water since he never used any water spells. Something that could fuse well with [Sinking Sand] would be amazing. But how the spell would evolve he had no idea. Duran rose from his seat and marched towards Lucen. Finally. Lucen was getting bored of waiting for him. Duran loomed over him, smiling in a threatening way. "How about we solve our problems civilly?" Everyone held their tongue, eyes flicking from Lucen to Duran. He stood and stretched his back, sighing. "I was waiting just for that. What do you have in mind?" Duran’s jaw tightened, annoyed by Lucen’s bravado. "Simple. A duel of distant sky." Distant skies wern’te fights to the death like the duel of Black Skies Set challenged him to. Rather, you weren’t allowed to kill, but could mutilate your opponent. Lucen would have rejected. But he wanted to test his strength against a Low-tier Knight. He beat Thomas because of his superior Veil and hidden regenerative spell. Now he wanted to face Duran and beat him with just skills and a limited number of spells. "Sounds fun," Lucen said. "Where and when do you want to fight?" "Let’s do an exhibition in Castaway." Duran chuckled. "I’m sure they’ll want to see your skills. Two days from now, be ready." Duran would surely invite Kibara to watch him get beat up. As shameless as his father, Lucen tutted. "Sounds good to me." He turned and left the Crystal Dome. He needed to pack for the trip and channel, as he was running low on mana. ■——■ He needed to be alone to channel. If anyone saw his process, they would realise there was something odd about his technique. Channelling for an hour would give him enough mana for six. So before they went camping with Warren, he needed to restore his mana. He sat on the floor, eyes closed, breath steady and slow. First, he started by drawing his Life mana with his breath, then in between breaths he hummed in rhythm with the Elemental and Divine mana in the air. The process was straining at first. He couldn’t breathe in while whistling, or he’d mess up his Life mana rotations. And he needed to watch the movements of mana in the air to appropriately switch between humming and breathing. The mana flowed warmly through his skin and into his soul. The mana brushing against his soul felt like vibrations over silk. His soul pulled together closer and closer every time he channelled, attempting to coalesce into something both solid yet immaterial. The Devourer system was holding back his progress. It was like a black pit exerting pressure on the luminous flames that he pictured as his soul, pushing his soul apart. He wouldn’t channel for more than an hour, since he channelled for almost three hours some days ago. Overchannelling had both physical and spiritual consequences for the Tripartite. For Elemental mana, overchannelling would cause your skin to start changing into different elements. Flesh was an element, so you’d retain some. But if a piece of your heart turned to air or stones started forming in your lungs, you’d simply die. Divine mana was more common, he saw the overchanneling effect on clergymen. It was those blue crystals that formed over priests’ eyebrows. Simple enough, but Lucen heard it could also warp mind and soul. He wasn’t sure what the risks of overchannelling Life mana were, but he wouldn’t like to find out. Lucen was already channelling three different types at once. The consequences would be harrowing. He opened his eyes and sighed. His chest hurt a bit from the overexertion, but [Blood Rebirth] was already working to heal him. Two days till the duel, five days till the Ainsel castle got here, seven days till they started the journey. He needed to sharpen the traits of his soul and mind so that he could stop putting off becoming a Knight. The first person to become a Knight at fifteen years of age. Lucen smirked; what would they say then?