The Great Chapel was surprisingly crowded, filled with all sorts of priests, adventurers, and knights. Regardless of who it was, they immediately made room and allowed us through.
"The hero!"
"Shhh, be respectful,"
"Bless my child!"
"Long live the Sun God!"
Soltair smiled benevolently, exchanging pleasantries with all who reached out to him, but somehow kept moving steadily forward. The Shard of Omniscience gleamed brilliantly, flashing with runes all over as people touched it.
We were given a spot by one of the attending priests, who then took the liberty of clearing away any spectators. A Hero's power was a tightly guarded secret, and it was all too easy to read what was displayed on the Shard.
"You go first," Soltair said, guiding my hand onto the Shard. I relaxed as the warm strength of the crystal permeated my body. I called my mana and shivered as it reacted with the Shard, and runes materialized on the surface.
Name: Xiviyah, Hero of Fate
Race: Demonkin
Status: Sun's Divine Curse; Fate's Blessing; Slave Contract: Sun Hero
Abilities: Magic: Fate (9th); Adaptive Resistance: Holy: (2nd), Curse (3th), Lightning (1st), Fire (1st), Ice (1st); Eyes of Fate;
"Curious," Soltair said, narrowing his eyes as he peered at the Identification.
"Looks like my abilities increased?" I asked. The Adaptive Resistance had obviously changed, increasing the level of the original resistances, and adding a few new types of magic entirely.
Soltair studied my face carefully, his eyes lingering so long I nearly blushed. Right when it was getting awkward, he blinked and turned away, as though finally realizing he'd been staring.
"Sorry. I was just wondering what sort of magic those priests used that attacked you."
I shivered, recalling the various spells they'd attacked with. "Sun was definitely the most dominant type of magic, and it was also the only one to actually hit me. I blocked the rest with magic. Curse magic wasn't involved either, so if that theory is correct, why would the level increase?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "But it looks like your resistance grows every time you experience a type of magic. If only we had more evidence."
I didn't like the look he gave me, feeling too much like a rat in a cage. "I'd rather not." Getting burned by Sun Magic once was bad enough. It did make me curious though. Would the Divine Star, the floating sun that weakened demons, be as effective now?
"Well, regardless of the mechanics, we didn't learn anything new. Guess I'll go next," Soltair said.
He placed his palm against the Shard, closing his eyes. Driven by curiosity, I activated the Eyes of Fate and observed the process. I regretted it almost immediately, as the Shard shone brighter than any sun I'd seen. Every time someone touched it, a new blossom of light would erupt from the crystal and join with the person's personal mana. It would cycle through their body and return to the shard, at which point a series of runes would appear. The process was so swift and clean I had to watch it several times, and soon it became very clear. The invasive mana had no interaction with the individual, just simply read what was there.
Absorbed by the shard's functions, I jumped, startled, as Soltair touched my shoulder. "Everything alright?" I nodded quickly, feeling ashamed of his concern. What, did he already finish? I wanted to see his stats…
"Let's go. We don't have much time till the duel starts," he said, pulling me along with a smile.
"Okay. Do you have any ideas?"
"Maybe, but it's pretty risky and requires you to use a fourth-circle spell."
I stopped short, jerking him to a stop. He looked back at me, and I realized he'd been holding my hand this whole time.
"Xiviyah?"
I shook my head and brushed the red from my cheeks. "I don't know if I can do that. Third is the highest I've done, and even if I could, it takes weeks to learn a single fourth-circle spell."
"I know, but it's our only choice."
Seeing him so earnest tugged at my heart. Soltair had nothing to lose here, yet chose to worry about me. "I can try," I said, almost unable to meet his eyes. "How long do I have?"
"About an hour. Let's get to the library."
A hero on the move was a force to be reckoned with. Hallways cleared as priests dove out of our way, and we arrived within a few short minutes. Thron looked up as we barged into the Great Library, frowning in disapproval at the commotion. He relaxed slightly when he saw who we were.
"Ah, it's you. Sun Hero, it's rare to see you in these hallowed halls. Come to brush up on your magic? I assure you, we have just the right-"
"Not now, Chief Librarian. I remember hearing about a spell called 'Link Ability.' Do you have it here?"
"Hmm, that sounds like a Fate spell. I'm afraid our catalog contains simply too many spells for me to know them all, but allow me to assist you." He paused, then looked up sharply. "Wait, don't you have a duel soon?"
"That's why we're here," Soltair said, fidgeting impatiently. "That bastard of a hero plans on fighting dirty, and this is our only option left."
For some reason, I was reminded of Fate's words. There was always a choice. Was this what she was talking about?
"I see. Then let's get going. I'd hate to see one of our regulars disgraced by such a man." Thron said. He pushed his glasses up with a sniff and led us to the magic elevator.
"Amazing!" Soltair breathed, looking over the edge as we ascended. "It's just like an elevator back home."
"Uh, is this your first time here?" I asked tentatively.
He laughed and scratched his head sheepishly. "I'm not one for books."
"Then how did you learn your magic?"
He looked around to make sure Thron wasn't too close and leaned in close. "I didn't. I started off with Sun Magic, 5th, which everyone knows about. However, about a week in, the ability underwent an evolution and became Sun Mastery. I had barely begun dabbling in magic by then, and entirely outgrew the need. Sun magic obeys my thoughts, shaping itself to my will. I fake the chants, and the magic circles appear on their own. I'm only constrained by my mana capacity."
I felt awash with disbelief. "And no one's noticed?" That was actually similar to what I had done my first time, when I cast chantless. Wasn't that supposed to be dangerous?
"I fooled you, didn't I?" he chuckled. It was infuriating to think he'd never told me, but at the same time, I was relieved he trusted me enough to let me in on his secret.
"We're here," Thron said, casting a sidelong glance at us. Although his eyes gleamed with curiosity, he had enough restraint to avoid eavesdropping.
I ran to the Fate Magic section, careful to avoid running into any of the priests or mages who were busy studying. They wouldn't be near as tolerant with me as they were Soltair.
"No running!" Thron called, but could only lower his voice as Soltair took off after me. He grumbled something else, but I ignored him and found the fourth-circle spell section.
"There's so few spells here," Soltair remarked. Despite our hurry, his breath was light and even. I envied his constitution, but could only pant until I caught my breath.
We looked frantically through the scrolls and tomes, nearly knocking them off the shelves in our fervor. After a few minutes, I jumped as a heavy hand fell on my shoulder.
"It's here, hero," Thron said, holding a thin tome up. "Please, don't make any more of a mess."
"How did you find it?" I asked, pulling the book into my hands.
"I am the librarian, after all," he said proudly. "Also, the books are categorized by complexity and code, so it's easy to find once I know the name."
"Oh. You'll have to teach me that code later," I said, avoiding looking at the mess of paper in our wake. I made a mental note to apologize later, but now wasn't the time.
I sat down and opened the book. The spell wasn't too difficult to memorize, especially with my knowledge of chant and runes. Most of the tome was comments and experiences in regards to casting it, but I barely skimmed those. But, the more I read, the more I grew concerned. This isn't right at all. Who had written this spell?