Chapter 76: Ethereal Lines

  Emilia, as always when she had a bit of free time, was in the church library. She was sitting near a window that overlooked the garden, reading three zero-level talisman books and contemplating the glyphs within. There was quite a variety of glyphs.

  "Is it worth investing more time and money to deeply learn these glyphs, or should I just practice them a little bit to memorize them and improve my skills?" she wondered. On one hand, having variety would make her products easier to sell; on the other, it was a serious investment.

  Learning the glyphs in depth would take her a great deal of effort, and the techniques for drawing them on magical wood bark were quite different from those used on the paper meant for talismans. If she focused only on the wooden bark method, she still wouldn’t be able to sell her work. After a short moment of thought, she decided it wasn’t worth committing fully just yet.

  Emilia sighed. “I can just practice them a little, and then I’ll think about what to do with them,” she decided in the end.

  Electric Hands

  This talisman channels concentrated electrical energy that the user can direct through their hands and discharge into a chosen target via touch. It can only be used by individuals with unlocked mana.

  Flaming Hands

  Similar to the Electric Talisman, but instead of electricity, it infuses the target with an intense surge of heat.

  Light Talisman

  Creates an ethereal orb of light that hovers above the user’s shoulder, illuminating the surroundings for up to fifteen minutes. Can be used by anyone.

  Blessing

  A talisman that slightly improves combat luck — a subtle effect, difficult to measure, but it’s said to help strikes and spells find the enemy’s weak points more often. It can only be used by someone with unlocked mana and a divine connection. Emilia had access to this spell as an Acolyte of Hecate.

  Refreshment

  This talisman sends a pulse of neutral mana through the user’s body, restoring a small portion of their strength. Its effect is relatively weak, and repeated use quickly diminishes its potency — arguably one of the most “efficient” ways to spend a few hundred silver in a single battle.

  Prolonged use — ten or more talismans per day — may cause mild side effects, which is why higher-grade talismans are generally recommended… especially by the masters who created them.

  The masters, naturally, suggest using twenty to twenty-five per day to “enhance training efficiency.” A first-level talisman, crafted by such a master, can be bought in bulk for a modest thirty silver apiece — a truly “reasonable” investment for any ambitious parent eager to see their children shine, or at least empty their coin purses.

  Turn Undead

  Harnesses chaotic magical energy blended with divine power to disrupt or destroy the necromantic force that sustains undead beings. Weaker undead lose cohesion and perish instantly, while stronger ones are significantly weakened. Requires a user with unlocked mana and a divine bond.

  Repel Undead

  Creates a field of chaotic energy mixed with divine essence that lingers around the talisman, deterring lesser and mindless undead from approaching its area of effect. It doesn’t make passage impossible — merely suppresses their will to come closer. Duration: one hour. Requires a user with unlocked mana and a divine connection.

  Emilia diligently wrote down every single glyph. First, she would draw it on a large piece of parchment, then she had numerous notes regarding the application of the glyph itself. Which techniques were used where, the topography of the mana resistance, the spots that were more difficult, and what she needed to be careful about. Recommended techniques for solving some of the problems. Separately, she had a second diagram with the mental components, and there were also many instructions there.

  Emilia stayed in the library for a long time, and when she was finished with the diagrams, she returned home and took out a test tube with homemade ink. She generously dipped her brush, carefully tapped it to remove the excess, and then shook it while continuously infusing the mixture with her mana.

  Soon, the liquid was evenly distributed over the brush hairs, and the mixture's energy activated. Emilia prepared the paper and sat down at the table by the window. She had arranged many mana-rich herbs in pots, which enriched the air with their mana.

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  Various herbs were also hanging from the ceiling to dry. On the cabinet in front of her were different jars with liquids, and ointments in clay and ceramic pots.

  On the lower shelf, one could see roots preserved in a mixture of alcohol, alchemical preservers, and mana. Next to them were similar parts, such as thick leaves, branches from magical trees, dense plant stems, and other organic materials, preserved in the same way.

  Across all the shelves, there were many mana-rich pebbles, which Emilia charged morning and evening to keep the energy levels high and help her develop her skills. Furthermore, after returning from Gaia’s private space, where the mana was especially high, Emilia quickly established that the mana in the room aided the success rate of her work with talismans and formations.

  The brush slid slowly across the paper as Emilia guided her mana. One by one, the lines began to fill the space, and their complex entanglement created a feeling of something unearthly and filled with mystical power.

  The glyphs themselves—the words of the heavenly language—somehow evoked strong feelings in the observer, which is why they were freely used in the past for the "decoration" of pagan sanctuaries.

  Emilia did not stop working, because before a talisman was finished, any cessation led to an extremely rapid drop in energy levels. This happened because the unfinished lines leaked energy from their edges. Only when the system was completely balanced would the energy be preserved inside the talisman—concentrated and ready for instantaneous release.

  The lines highly concentrated this mana. And this concentration was precisely the major obstacle preventing Emilia from starting to work with Level One talismans.

  That required someone with more concentrated mana, but ever since she ate the Abyssal mushrooms and reached 215 mana, Emilia was quite close to such mana concentrations. Perhaps when she reached 250–300 mana, she would have the initial capacity to start working with the simplest Level One glyphs.

  Emilia continued her work; a first, a second, a third talisman, two of which failed, and Emilia had to stop and recover her strength. She still had mana, but if her concentration dropped too much, it would affect her success rate. It was far better to stop and restore her spiritual energy.

  Emilia had come a long way; now she could work almost twice as fast with the talismans she knew, and maybe 30% to 50% faster with the new talismans.

  Considering the fact that her meditation had also progressed, and she recovered mana and strength much quicker, she was capable of producing many talismans every day.

  However, Emilia enjoyed hunting in the forest; there, she had managed to significantly develop her work with formations and enrich her mana. Furthermore, her combat experience grew considerably.

  She built relationships with the hunters and even Chief Nikos and his grandson Varis. She was not rushing to focus on making large amounts of silver, as this was quite dangerous unless one had strong backing. This was one of the important reasons she was looking for an alternative source of ink for talismans. The ink market was heavily monitored and controlled, making it very easy to track how active someone was.

  The alternative source of ink helped Emilia stay outside the view of the city's more active players. She wanted to first develop her personal strength, and then her acquaintances and support network.

  Emilia worked for a long time, making one of her combat talismans for every new talisman she created, so she could train with it in the forest, and one for sale to recoup her expenses.

  When evening fell, she paused for a moment and helped her mother with dinner. Afterward, the family gathered, discussing simple topics, laughing together, and planning the future.

  After dinner, Emilia helped her brother with the development of his academic skills. She assisted him with writing, reading, mathematics, and geometry. Every time he improved his skills, she had prepared various treats, and when he reached key milestones—5, 10, 15—she had promised him special rewards.

  Emilia had looked around the house and was thinking about making a few formations that would improve their daily lives. For example, three air glyphs to help the smoke exit the chimney more easily, a cooling formation for the summer, and light glyphs that could be activated when needed or when they had guests. Perhaps also glyphs to strengthen the walls, but according to Ronan, this would be completely unnecessary. Even though the blood and materials were free, such formations required a lot of time and effort.

  "But I have to improve my skills with something anyway. Whether I make one formation or another isn't that important. This way, at least we'll improve the house," she countered.

  "That's right! Besides, if something attacks us, I'll be able to climb onto the roof and shoot with my new bow!" Kael supported her, making a hand gesture of how he would shoot arrows from the roof.

  "Don't talk with your mouth full; you'll choke," Mira said, waving a ladle threateningly.

  "If evil creatures come, your mother will chase them away with the ladle," Ronan laughed, and Mira looked at him and smiled too.

  "That thing with the chimney, though, will be really useful," Ronan continued. "That way, if the wind blows or the weather is bad outside, the smoke won't come back into the house."

  "And the wood will burn better," Mira quickly agreed.

  "I'll check the chimney tomorrow and see if I can do something. Maybe if I prepare the formations in advance on a piece of tin or ironwood... Or perhaps one of the glyphs will be lower down and directly on the wall. I need to look at the books in the library. Something about chimneys was mentioned there. And if I reinforce the walls and the roof, they will last longer, and we won't have to pay for expensive repairs years from now. I'll check; I remember a whole section on simple formations for construction."

  "And you don't have to pay anything?" Ronan asked.

  “As an Acolyte of Hecate, some books are free for me, others come with a special fee, and a few require permission from above. For the moment, I pay a fixed fee and enjoy extended access to a significant number of books—just like the children of the richer merchants and nobles, but with an 85% discount.”

  Emilia had greater access than those children, but still, access was limited only to zero-level skills. Moreover, a large portion of the skills were dangerous, both for the user and for those around them. Also, they were secrets of the kingdom, and easy access was not granted to them.

  Something like social networks, large language models, and the Internet in the 21st century. Even simple things like making a firework, gunpowder, or any kind of explosive were restricted for "legal" and even "moral" and "ethical" reasons. "Many things were restricted even just so as not to 'offend' someone else." Something completely unthinkable in this more primitive world.