Chapter 31: The Path of the Mage IV

Chapter 31: 31: The Path of the Mage IV --- [Ding. Mission Progress: 1 / 3 Mana Particles Absorbed.] John exhaled. "That... was intense." Fizz floated lower. "You didn’t explode. That’s a win." "I can feel it. Like something’s alive inside me now. Awake." Fizz grinned. "That’s your mana vein, baby! She’s open now. Flowing like a river of spicy soup." "You did it, you have got mana vain" he said. "Proud of you. Proud of me. Mostly proud of me." John gave him side eyes. "You didn’t do anything." Fizz crossed his arms and pouted. "I supervised. That counts." John chuckled softly and turned toward the tunnel they’d come through. The cavern behind them was dimming fast, as if the mana particle had been its heart. After that John clenched and unclenched his fists. His vision was sharpened. The air felt thinner, but clearer. His body didn’t feel different physically but something had changed. Something fundamental. A power he never knew existed in his past life now whispered just beneath his skin. He sat for a moment on the edge of the stone platform, letting his heart beat slow down. Fizz flying midair. "You know, that wasn’t bad for your first mana absorption. No screaming, no spontaneous combustion, no pants wetting. You’re learning. I must say I am a bit disappointed. I wanted to see you wet yourself. What a bummer!" John gave him a frustrated smile. "If I had wet myself... I would have made you clear my clothes." "Hey, what type of master are you? How can a cute fluffy thing like me clean someone’s pee? Where is the fun if you don’t clean yourself in shame?" "You little evil... Stop your pee talk." John stood and looked back toward the tunnel. "Come on. The second location might be far away. Move on." "Let’s get out of here." "Do we have to? I liked the part where I wasn’t getting rained on." Fizz zipped ahead again, leaving behind a trail of faint sparkles as he sang some nonsense about glowing butts and forest farts. "???? Glowing butts and forest farts, Magic beans and mushroom carts, If you poop beneath the moon, You’ll summon frogs that sing in tune! Fluffy tails and itchy moss, I once sneezed and burned a boss, If your socks are full of ants, Dance around and lose your pants! ????" He spun upside down in mid flight and shouted dramatically, "That’s the chorus! Write it down, we’ll perform it for royalty one day!" John rubbed his temples. "Fizz... we’re in a haunted mana cavern." Fizz did a twirl and struck a heroic pose in mid air. "Then let them hear the hymn of the Sparkle Fart Poem!" "...We need to get you a leash." "Too late! I’m free, fabulous, and mildly flammable!" John shook his head, but a small smile tugged at his lips. He didn’t say it aloud, but part of him had started to believe in the song. This journey wasn’t just about becoming a mage anymore. It was about unlocking something deeper. The truth of the power inside him. The truth of the black hole slumbering beneath his bones. And maybe, just maybe, teach some manners to fizz. Fizz flew a loop in the cave and declared loudly, "Now behold! The sacred second verse passed down by the gods of flatulence!" Then he sang again: "???? Fireflies in my underpants, Goblins stole my battle stance, If a squirrel winks twice at you, It’s cursed, you’re doomed, your pants are too! Sniff the mist and lick a stone, Call a dragon on your zone, If your nose begins to hum, Congratulations, your brain is numb!" He struck a pose in the air, wings flapping like a dramatic cape, then somersaulted off it with a glittering spin. John stared at him like someone watching a deer commit tax fraud. "You were dropped as an egg, weren’t you?" Fizz landed on his shoulder, eyes wide and innocent. "I was taken care of by hundreds of servants. There’s a difference." John let out a slow breath as he digested Fizz’s comment and singing. The cavern had grown quieter now, as if even the walls respected his calm mind. Fizz flopped upside down in the air and flapped his wings like he was swimming through pudding. John was already walking, the lantern lighting the path ahead. They passed the charred cocoons again. Fizz gave them a nod of approval and reached the mossy entrance of the cavern without trouble. Outside, the noon had fully settled in. Golden light broke through the trees, dappled across the forest floor like melted coins. A breeze rolled past, fresh and scented with pine and damp soil. John paused at the mouth of the cave, letting the change in air clear the weight of the cavern from his shoulders. Fizz stretched his tiny limbs dramatically. "Alright, master," he said, spinning a slow loop, "you have done step one. What’s next?" John blinked as the system interface shimmered into view. [Ding. Mana Particle Absorption Complete. Progress: 1 / 3 Next Location Unlocked: Mossshade Hollow. Estimated distance: 19.6 kilometers southeast] He frowned. A red mark pulsed on the edge of his map, far beyond the tree line. "The next location is Mossshade Hollow. Sounds like a swamp." Fizz groaned. "A swamp? Great. That means bugs. And leeches. And water that smells like fart soup." "Sounds like your natural habitat." Fizz clutched his chest. "You wound me, sir." John smirked and studied the route in the paper map on his hand. (He took it from the village.) It cut across narrow trails, over a creek, and through an area the map labeled Whispering Pines. The name alone made his skin itch. Fizz tapped the side of the glowing projection. "See that spot right before the swamp? That’s a good place for trouble." "I know." He folded the map and adjusted the satchel on his hip. His lantern dimmed as sunlight took over. "Let’s keep moving. The longer we wait, the higher the chance something else finds us and attacks us."