When Eldric woke up the next morning, a strange warmth coursed through his body. He glanced at his hands and noticed a faint, translucent bluish aura surrounding them. He blinked, tilting his head, confused.
"What is this?" he asked aloud, directing his question to Datum.
"This is called Essence, the fundamental energy of this world's magic," Datum replied in its usual, emotionless tone.
"So, this is the extent of the magic I can use right now," Eldric murmured, flexing his fingers as the faint aura shimmered briefly before fading.
His thoughts drifted to the conversation with Datum the night before. The Essence he could sense now was minimal—barely enough for practice. Yet, it was a start. According to his stats, improving his ability to manipulate Essence was essential if he wanted to grow stronger.
Amnesiac as he was, Eldric knew one thing: he needed power. Without it, he would remain vulnerable, constantly at the mercy of others, just as he had been when he first arrived in the village.
His gaze shifted to the glyphs etched into the shed's walls. This time, they seemed different. A faint light pulsed from the intricate carvings, as though resonating with the Essence within him.
The glyph was a complex, spiraling pattern, its jagged edges intertwining with delicate arcs. Faint traces of Essence seemed to flow along the grooves, barely visible but undeniably present.
"There's definitely something about this pattern," Eldric muttered, stepping closer. The glow seemed to respond to his presence, flickering softly under his scrutiny.
At first glance, the glyph seemed inert, but Eldric felt an odd pull toward it. The intricate carvings weren't just decorative—there was something layered within them, a subtle hum of magical intent that he couldn't ignore.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "What does this have to do with me?"
Even if the shed was vandalized with these glyphs—or maybe marked for a specific purpose—Eldric didn't have much choice but to live with it for now. His instincts told him they weren't malicious. The faint, pulsing glow felt neutral, almost calm, and didn't set off any alarms.
"Let's leave these things alone for now," he muttered, stepping away.
After finishing his simple breakfast, Eldric ventured out, retracing his steps to the spot where they had harvested herbs the day before. As he wandered through the forest, something unusual caught his attention—a faint, almost ethereal aura surrounding certain plants. The glow was subtle, like a soft halo visible only to him.
"Huh," he muttered, crouching for a closer look. The faint aura surrounding the plants intrigued him, and he blinked, realizing it was likely connected to the Essence now flowing through his body, heightening his senses. After a brief observation, he decided to move on, filing the phenomenon away for later consideration.
As he continued through the forest, Eldric recalled his conversation with Gui the other day—he had asked the boy to write down some basic food recipes commonly cooked in the village. Buying bread every day wasn't sustainable, and with the village off-limits to him, foraging and cooking for himself had become his only viable option.
"Haah... should I write a book titled Survival Guide for Amnesiacs?" he mocked, shaking his head as he resumed his search for edible plants.
As he collected ingredients, an idea struck him. "Datum, does the basic knowledge of glyphs include anything for producing fire?" he asked, already dreading the thought of starting a fire manually.
Datum remained silent for a moment before responding in its usual detached tone. "Yes. Basic knowledge includes creating simple fire glyphs. Would you like to proceed?"
"Yes, absolutely."
A slight tug rippled through Eldric's mind, and an image of a glyph began to take shape in his thoughts. It was a simple, elegant design meant to channel and ignite Essence into flame.
With his foraging done, Eldric returned to the shed. He placed his finds on the table and began searching for a suitable stone to use as his makeshift glyph base. It took some trial and error, but eventually, he found one flat and smooth enough to draw on.
"All right," he said under his breath, his fingers tingling faintly with anticipation as he prepared to carve his first glyph.
Eldric asked Datum to produce a parchment for practice. As per Datum's information, he also needed a special ink—Dewspirit Ink—which could be extracted from the petals of Spiritbloom, an essence-infused plant.
With a sigh, Eldric activated his "Show" ability to identify the flower, spending nearly half the day scouring the forest. Finding the Spiritbloom was only the beginning; extracting the dew from its petals took another hour of careful, tedious work. By the end of it, Eldric muttered under his breath, "Surviving here really isn't for the faint-hearted."
When the ink was ready, a quill materialized in the air at his request, hovering momentarily before settling in his hand. He set to work on the glyph Datum had shown him earlier, dipping the quill into the ink and carefully tracing the intricate lines onto the parchment.
After finishing his first attempt, Eldric examined it closely. A faint imbalance on the right side of the glyph caught his attention, but he shrugged it off. "Good enough for a first try."
"How do I activate this?" he asked.
"Guide your essence into the glyph and use the activation word, Ignis," Datum instructed.
"How exactly do I guide my essence?"
Datum provided a detailed explanation, and Eldric closed his eyes, focusing inward. He felt a warm current coursing through his body, subtle yet distinct. Following Datum's instructions, he concentrated on guiding that warmth toward his hands. When he opened his eyes, a faint bluish aura surrounded his fingers, seeping into the glyph on the parchment.
"Here goes," he murmured. "Ignis."
Crackle.
"Ah!" Eldric blinked as the parchment burst into flames, disintegrating in a matter of seconds. Startled, he took a step back, watching the ashes scatter in the wind.
Then, the weakness hit him—a sudden wave of fatigue that left him staggering. Eldric slumped onto the ground, grateful he'd set up outside and had a bucket of water nearby for emergencies. His breathing grew labored as he struggled to process what had just happened.
Datum's voice echoed in his mind. "Manipulating essence requires practice and precision. Releasing too much essence can drain the host's energy, leading to fatigue or even incapacitation."
Eldric groaned, lying flat on his back. "You could've warned me about that," he muttered, his words heavy with exhaustion.
It took nearly ten minutes for Eldric to recover enough energy to sit up. Undeterred, he resumed his attempts, tweaking the glyphs after each failure. He adjusted the symmetry of the design and ensured the lines within the circle balanced the fire's containment.
On his tenth try, Eldric drew the glyph onto a smooth stone he had prepared earlier. Taking a deep breath, he activated it with a steady hand and a firm, "Ignis."
A small flame flickered to life atop the stone. Eldric stared at it, wide-eyed, as the warmth danced in front of him.
He slumped back, a triumphant grin spreading across his face. "Finally."
But his victory was short-lived, as his thoughts turned to the next task. Make fire? Check. Cook food? Pending. Survive another day? In progress.
With a weary sigh, Eldric gathered the ingredients he'd foraged earlier. Using the recipes Gui had provided, he managed to prepare a decent meal. It wasn't gourmet by any stretch, but compared to the chaos of the day, it felt like a feast.
One thing Eldric had learned so far was that continuous manipulation of essence, even in small amounts, contributed to its growth. The trial-and-error process with the glyph earlier had also driven home a critical lesson: precision was everything. A single misstep could lead to failure—or worse, a backlash.
He made a mental note of these discoveries for future reference. It was exhausting work, but necessary. He sighed, his gaze shifting toward the glyphs etched into the wall.
Eldric stood and approached the symbols, his fingers hovering over the intricate carvings. He traced the patterns lightly, feeling the faintest hum of energy beneath his fingertips.
"Should I try it?" he murmured to himself.
The practice from earlier had bolstered his confidence, but the sheer complexity of these glyphs made his nerves buzz. Still, as Datum had explained, experience and knowledge was essential to his growth. With a steadying breath, he focused his essence, guiding it toward the carvings.
The moment his essence connected with the glyphs, a sudden shift overtook his vision. Eldric froze, his consciousness pulled into an unfamiliar flow of energy. Interconnected runes danced before his mind's eye, shifting and twisting until they merged into a new, distinct shape.
When the vision ended, his senses returned sharply to the present. He noticed something he hadn't seen before—a faint shimmer at the edge of the wooden floorboards, just below the first glyph. What he had dismissed as a scuff mark now revealed itself to be another, larger glyph, its design more intricate and alive with subtle, pulsing energy.
Eldric crouched to examine it closely. The glyph's center featured a crescent-shaped symbol, its edges entwined with a pointed arrow that extended outward. Radiating lines branched in all directions, forming a pattern that reminded him of a compass or the delicate veins of a leaf. The lines were connected by thin, flowing arcs that mirrored the spiraling energy of the first glyph, as though the two were part of a larger, interwoven system.
At the glyph's edges, faintly glowing runes flickered like embers, their light brightening slightly as Eldric leaned closer. Each rune seemed to signify a path, and as his fingers grazed the design, a subtle warmth spread through his hand.
The glyph pulsed, its glow brightening until lines of essence converged at its center. A translucent map shimmered into view on the shed wall, the faint star-like glow of a grove catching Eldric's eye. His breath hitched—this was no ordinary carving; it was a guide. Beneath the image, a single word shimmered in the air, etched in light:
"Seek."
"Seek what?" Eldric muttered. The map's details lingered in his mind, vivid and unshakable, like a memory seared into place.
He felt another wave of fatigue wash over him, his body trembling from exertion. The glowing map faded from the wall, leaving Eldric staring blankly at the glyphs as they dimmed once more.
"Haah… the basics, huh?" he muttered, shaking his head.
The effort of activating the glyph and dealing with its aftermath left him drained. If this was what counted as "basic progress," he wondered what higher levels of mastery would demand. Weren't the basics supposed to involve simple tasks, like identifying useful herbs or starting a fire, not summoning mysterious maps?
"I really have a long way to go," he sighed, shaking his head.
Eldric leaned back, his eyes trailing to the other glyphs carved into the walls of the shed. Now that he was certain they weren't malicious, he let out a breath of relief. Whatever their purpose, at least his life wasn't in immediate danger.
For now, he decided to keep the projection's details to himself. He'd check the grove marked on the map if he found the time—or maybe he wouldn't. His survival took precedence over chasing mysterious leads.
Feeling warmth spreading through his body, like a comforting blanket draping over him, he realized exhaustion had finally caught up. His eyelids grew heavy as he made his way to the bed. Eldric sank into the rough mattress, murmuring to himself, "Let's hope tomorrow doesn't make things worse," before sleep claimed him.
Far Away…
In a distant land, an old man flinched as a sudden heat surged within him. His hand instinctively reached for the source—a white orb shimmering faintly with a greenish hue. The glow lingered for a moment before fading into nothingness.
"What's wrong?" a voice asked from nearby. One of his companions had noticed his sudden movement.
"Nothing," the old man replied smoothly, forcing a calm smile. "Just a momentary chill."
Once the other man left, the old man turned his gaze back to the now-dormant orb in his hand. His expression darkened, a mixture of weariness and resignation etched into his features.
"Still hiding secrets, even in death," the old man murmured, his fingers tightening around the orb. "You never did make things easy, my friend."