Arcane Missile (Fast Magic-Skill) reaches level 3. 1.2% Well filling per cast.
"You should keep Source Sight always active," Erin suggested.
The two were still by the cave, waiting for David to suddenly find something that allowed him to live or spontaneously catch on fire, whatever came first.
Still, that was David's thirtieth cast. Arcane Missile had reached level two after twelve casts. It was indeed getting harder.
He was breathing hard, his arm had started permanently bulging with dark veins, and it hurt. Despite Erin's healing, it hurt.
However, Arcane Missile had not been the only Skills that had leveled up.
A.S.U.T. is now level 14. Universal Translation 14%
Survivalist reaches level 8. Adapt to external forces + 8%
"I don't know if I'll make it…" David said after recalling his Status, saying so he thought about Bubba, "Maybe coming to Vietnam wasn't really a good idea."
Attributes
Health: 31%
Stamina: 38%
Well: 100%
His Stamina dropped every time he received healing.
Erin did not answer right away. In David's eyes, she had been starting to lose hope as well.
"I don't know what you are talking about, but your Skill level is increasing really slowly…it's clear that your world doesn't have any knowledge about the Source. It would go a lot faster if you had got at least the basics of Magic."
"Should I try to level up other Skills as well? Would they help me?" David asked, coughing.
"It would only put a further strain on you. Just …. … and keep your Source Sight active. It's the best way you have to learn how the Source activates your Skills."
David shook his head, suddenly not really in the mood for games, "I'm going to die, am I?"
"Davi, listen. We don't have much time, and I brought you here for a reason. But before that, we need to find a way to empty your Well… if we do not do that, there is simply no way for you to survive this ordeal. So just keep leveling up. It's the only thing we can do about it; I'm sorry." She paused, thinking, searching about something that could help him, "Even just increasing your Survivalist Skill might make things better. Among many other things, it helps you survive; what's better than that?"
"Wait," David said, "I never told you I had a Survivalist Skill. How do you know?"
Erin smiled at him as if she had been looking at a child, "We are all born with a basic Survivalist Skill, Davi. I sincerely doubt you will be able to make it strong enough to help you survive through this, but every little bit helps. It's likely already slowing down your Well accumulation. Trying to level up is the best thing you can do, right now. If I were to move you, to get you anywhere, you would die during the trip. It would simply take too long."
David thought about it, sighing in defeat, "Mmm, ok." Still, he felt like someone on a hospital bed, "But now I'm curious. If I Level up by completing Quests, how do you level up?"
Erin smiled, "By growing older. Every year of life through Arthan, the Source blesses us with a level up."
A.S.U.T. is now level 15. Universal Translation 15%
David's eyebrows arched up, "That's definitely the first time I heard about that. That makes you Level sixty-seven, then, right?"
"Indeed, that is why we are Baptised by the planet in which we are born. We receive its Blessing. And each year we grow older with it," she shone with a proud smile.
David nodded. But he added nothing else, he needed to focus back on his situation.
He had cast enough Arcane Missiles to understand that he didn't have to point his arm to the object he wanted to strike. He just needed to align the center of his palm to his target. However, this time he would keep Source Sight on.
As he did, the world burst aflame. Dave could see himself; he was entirely enveloped in azure flames. They covered every square centimeter of his body. The ring of magic that had been adorning his wrist and that had since disappeared was now present, visible for his eyes. It was confusing, for it was of the flame's same color, but it was still there, unmoving.
David called for his Skill; the moment the Skill was called, the ring activated, rotating on itself, then stopping, it pulsed, and he figured out that he had been injected with Source, for the very following moment the Arcane Missile departed from his palm.
The Missile was still pitifully small; he hypothesized that it might grow by increasing his Mind, and the Source had agreed with him.
The Source
Mind is your natural ability to understand and utilize the Source. The higher your Mind, the more powerful and complex your uses of the Source will be.
However, he had understood something new. His Magic Ring allowed him to form the Magic automatically. Without it, he would have no clue from where to even start in utilizing the Source. Maybe understanding how to use the Source correctly would allow him to form Magic without turning them into Fast or Heavy Magic Skill Slot. At this point, he could only guess, or more intelligently, ask Erin after he had saved his own life after he solved his small issue with his death at any moment's problem.
His minuscule yet new understanding of the concept behind his Magic Skill rewarded him with—
Arcane Missile (Fast Magic-Skill) reaches level 4. 1.3% Well filling per cast.
David smiled, but he had a long road ahead of him, and his best chance was tied with the study of his Fast Magic Skill activation.
David let himself fall deep into that world of focused observation. He had never felt so observant of anything in his life. Starting from his mother's creed to society's law as a whole, indeed, he had formed his own morality code; however, the respect he showed to the works of the Source was on an entirely different level.
He felt he had finally found something concrete, something rewarding, something to which he could dedicate a lifetime without judging it as a waste of time. Maybe he could—maybe he could even—stay in that world. Studying, observing this magic he had just discovered. Who would miss him? A mother that considered him a failure, a deviant? A best friend that hadn't come to visit him once when he spent his sentence in prison? Or a girl that had never really showed any interest in him—
"Davi! Slow down, or I won't heal you in time!"
Erin shook him awake. His eyes were following the small pieces of rock and dust crumbling on the ground. They had been affected by his Arcane Missiles; before that, he hadn't even managed to shake the dust that had settled on the rock. Now he could see many small indentations in the wall in front of him as if someone with a tiny hammer had been hammering at the rock. It was by no means damage in the true sense of the world, but it was something. However, he felt surprisingly weak.
Then the Source presented to him more than a few messages.
Arcane Missile (Fast Magic-Skill) reaches level 5. 1.4% Well filling per cast.
…
Arcane Missile (Fast Magic-Skill) reaches level 11. 2% Well filling per cast.
Survivalist reaches level 9. Adapt to external forces + 9%
Multitasking reaches level 2. split your focus in two with 2% increased efficiency.
"How long have I been shooting Arcane Missiles for?" His voice croaked, a broken sound indeed.
"A few minutes at best, but you started shooting really fast. I know it's easy to lose oneself in such a sight but you could have killed yourself.
"I…can see a fire. Azure flames. It should be the Source, I think. Or I might just have lost a few screws or several more than that."
Erin smiled, "Indeed, Source Sight is the most basic of them all. But it's been a boon for you to have received Arcane Magic. Many start from that branch of magic, and since you are less than a novice at it … … the foundation of your Class."
A.S.U.T. is now level 16. Universal Translation 16%
"So, I could eventually use more than one… type of Magic?" Dave asked, intrigued.
"Indeed, you can have up to five different Magic Mastery," she smiled weakly, "but that's something that doesn't concern you, not right now, why don't you focus on something else," she said, caressing his head.
David ignored her, "Five? That's pretty specific. Why is that?" Dave asked.
"There are nine possible Elements of Magic," she said, taking her time to kiss him on the neck to heal him up, then she continued, "To form my current Class, my Magic Masteries of choice were Blood Magic, Dark Magic, and Water Magic…in that order. Not everyone appreciates my choices, especially given that I based my Class on a form of magic that Wood Fey define as taboo. But that is not a problem anymore," she chuckled, her eyes going for where the big city in the distance was supposed to be, "The Fiend's gentle coming and installments have given us cities, a technology we didn't have, the knowledge we didn't have, but it has also increased Source Poisoning to a point in which our strong Resilience by birth might not suffice anymore."
David frowned. Had he misunderstood? "Wait, I thought they had invaded you."
"They did, yet at the same time, they didn't. When they came here, they asked gently, they didn't force us. They needed a new home, for their world was too strongly poisoned by the Source. Thus they needed to migrate. Who were we to deny them access and condemn a race to extinction?" She shook her head, "The Fey are not like that."
"So you…were alright, but then why are you here, and not in the City? Why was that perfectly advanced patch of city lying there, abandoned?" David asked.
"That is…maybe I should start from the beginning…I just fear we don't have the time for that. What do you say we keep on with your training, and then I will tell you the story of my world?"
"Okay. It's a deal," David said with a weak smile.
He hoped he would live long enough to hear her tale, and he was about to recall his Status when the weird phenomenon he had witnessed when they were running in the abandoned city manifested again.
In front of him—directly in front of him—the Source was coalescing, manifesting small electric blue lightning bolts.
"I have to see this…" David said to himself.
He had automatically deactivated Source Sight when Erin brought him out of his focused state and burst once again the world aflame. However, even if seen through the spectrum of Source Sight, the phenomenon was pretty much the same. He saw a small flame at the center of the coalescing lightning, but nothing else changed. Maybe his understanding of it was too little, or maybe his levels and Mind too low.
"This is good, Erin said. Using your Magic on such a target will help you to understand it better. Don't be afraid of hurting the creature. It is a soulless being; they are Sourceborn and stem from Source Poisoning. Most of them are only good at creating trouble. Some others should be protected, but," she chuckled, "this is not one of those."
It was incredible for David, he was used to minds much too small for their own good, but Erin, although she resembled a young girl, acted with the wisdom of a woman well beyond the years she displayed.
The creature that materialized was exactly similar to the one he had seen appear earlier.
It was at that moment that The Source referred to him a message he had not received before.
The Source - Quest
Source Quest! Defeat the Night Impit.
Upon completion, you'll reach Level 1, and receive a One-Time-Only free Magic Skill Unlock Token.
David's eyes grew wide, "I guess the Source has finally deigned to give me a hand…" David announced.
"What does it mean?" Erinnya asked.
"It has given me a quest; I have to defeat that creature."
Erin nodded after a second of hesitation. "It is your quest then, if I won't be able to help you, I'll stay here by your side, protecting you. Give it all you've got."
David wanted to ask more, but the creature had entirely taken shape.
Night Impit (Sourceborn)
Level: 19
"Dang it! His level is even higher than the other one I saw…" Still, David did not let himself get discouraged. He started shooting all the Arcane Missiles he could on the creature.
The arcane projectiles hit it like small, almost harmless fireworks. Most of them disappeared as they collided with the creature's skin, but they still seemed to harm the creature's petite body; it jerked for the pain.
"They are just rubber bullets for you, eh!? But how many can you resist!?" David shouted with what few had remained of his voice. Erin instead was supporting him. She kept kissing his neck; David felt that she might play a good part in some unquestionably over-budgeted vampire movies.
The small creature was confused, it shielded its face with its arms, but after a few seconds of the Deviant's unrelenting assault, it roared with a small cry, then ignoring the useless Arcane Missiles coming at it, it launched forward. Its fingers turned into long claws, and with a demonic shrill, the monster aimed at David.
But it never collided with him, for Erin kicked it away with a frontal kick. She didn't even move; she kicked him from her sitting position. Not even bothering to detach from David.
The creature flew against the wall; it shook. Dust, pebbles, and fragments of rock fell down on the ground.
"I hope I didn't ruin your quest," she said gently.
The Source didn't say anything about it.
Dave allowed himself only a couple of seconds of surprise at that display; then he started hitting the beast all over again, Source Sight showing to him that every collision produced a small liquid shockwave. Indeed, his missiles looked like meteorites impacting the moon. Their impact left small traces on the creature's body, small, useless traces just like the moon's craters. Ineffective.
Arcane Missile (Fast Magic-Skill) reaches level 12. 2.1% Well filling per cast.
The adventure was showing its result, but his missiles were just too pitifully weak, and the accumulating damage still way too low to be of any impact.
The creature was still dazzled by Erin's kick. So David quickly made a decision—he got up.
Dizzy, wobbling in place, David placed one foot in front of the other and marched on.
"What are you doing?" Erin asked, just a little surprised.
"Finishing things up the normal way," saying so, David took out his trusted knife and while shooting Arcane Missiles to confuse the creature, he stumbled over to it.
Arriving at the creature's location, he let himself fall forward. The squeaking creature, keeping its eyes closed at the unrelenting assault, opened its eye wide as the knife plunged into its small chest. Then it reiterated, clawing at David.
Receiving the slashing attack on his arms, David fell on his bottom.
The creature threw itself at him, but Erin was there; she pulled a bleeding David away from the maddened creature and kicked it back to the wall of rocks, stunning it again. This time her kick was stronger; the wall shook.
David's arms and chest gushed blood, partially violet-tainted blood.
While the creature shrieked, then removed the knife from its chest, stumbled up, and launched a weak roar, then it started escaping.
Dave looked at the escaping monster, his only means of salvation running away like that. He lost all hope; he felt death close-by, but only until the moment before the creature stumbled, tripping on the floor.
There was still a chance for him—so he got up again, picking up his knife from the ground, a transfixed David marched toward the creature.
The beast had got back up and was trudging on, trying to lose its persecutor in the jungle.
Erin was immobile, looking at him. Then she got up to follow.
***
When David reached the monster that had stumbled, once more, he raised his knife; he found breathing to be hard, much harder than it had ever been. But he let himself fall on the creature's back, locking its movements with his weight, then he plunged the knife between the creature's shoulder blades.
The Night Impit shook, jerked, but finally, it stopped moving. Then started slowly dissolving into a violet haze...little by little.
Wisps of what had previously been the lightning that formed the creature rose up in the air and entered David. He literally inhaled them through his nostrils.
The Source
Congratulations, Deviant Son! You have beaten your first Source Quest.
Your Level reaches 1. You receive 1 Attribute point.
Blessing of the Source, Resilience + 1.
You have defeated (1) Night Impit.
Your Class level reaches 1.
You can access the Magic Archives.
Mind + 1, Resilience + 1. You receive 1 Attribute point.
You have received a One-Time-Only free Magic Skill Unlock Token.
You have received (1) Tiny Source Box.
Dave fell on the ground, where a second prior the creature had been. He gasped and wheezed, "That took a while..."
Attributes
Health: 6%
Stamina: 9%
Well: 100%
"Source. Attribute points into Resilience and show me the bloody Archives!"