"My eyes!" Jack shouted as the sun's light battered his eyes. "Ugh, is that why the teacher says to close your eyes when entering a Rift?" he asked himself, blinking away the black spots in his vision. It was a few minutes before Jack could finally see clearly enough to take in his surroundings. "A desert? With black sand?" he murmured to himself as he crouched down and took a handful of sand to examine it. "Weird," he said, feeling the sand slip between his fingers. Not noticing anything of note besides the colour, Alex wiped the remaining sand off his hand before standing up. "Let's see, what did the teacher say about how to find the Rift's exit again? Something about looking for the most noticeable landmark. Ah, that must be it," he remarked, tightening the straps of his backpack while gazing at the giant black tower in the distance.
With a destination in sight, Jack glanced around at his surroundings before walking towards the tower on the horizon. However, not even a few minutes in, Jack felt a presence approaching him. Waiting for it to get closer, Jack quickly unsheathed his sword on his side and slashed at the presence lunging at his back. "A grey lizard? No, a grey wolf? When did deserts have wolves?" He muttered while stabbing his sword into the struggling monster's eye, killing it. "Figures a wolf wouldn't hunt alone." He sighed when he noticed the other monsters around him.
Ducking under one of the wolf's attacks aimed at his neck, Jack pulled his sword free from the corpse, sprang straight up, and, with a twist of his body, slashed another wolf's stomach open. Jack then shoved his sheath into the mouth of a lunging wolf befor using them to smack away another wolf attacking his side. Due to the constant attacks all around him from the wolves, Jack was only able to retaliate with quick but light slashes with his sword. Except for the first wolf, he managed to kill before they could surround him; each wolf required multiple attacks before he could land the killing blow.
"Phew, what a workout," Jack said while wiping the sweat off his brow. He looked over the now-dead wolves around him. Crouching down at one, Jack scrunched up his nose as he remembered what he needed to do now. "Oh yeah, getting the loot from the monsters. Ugh, I should have packed some rubber gloves." Jack pulled off his backpack and took out a Storage Pouch. Then, using his sword to slice up the wolves, he stored the cut-up legs and head inside his pouch while leaving the torso alone. "Not going to deal with that mess." It didn't take Jack long to finish, only having to slow down due to a worm-like monster bursting out of the sand to attack him. "It's not worth it." He told himself as he eyed the two halves of the giant worm with disgust. After drinking a bottle of water from his backpack, Jack continued his journey towards the tower.
As he walked, a chill ran down his spine. Sharpening his senses, he identified the source of the sensations coming from two main directions. A slight pull roughly ninety-six degrees to his left, and a stronger one ahead of him. "Ice? In a desert? No, it can't be a monster, so probably a classmate?" Jack only knew two people in his class who regularly fought with ice magic: Alex and Crystal. "I'm sure with how hot it is, Alex will have no trouble dealing with any monster using his fire magic. I'm not so sure about Crystal and her ice magic. Can Spell slingers even sustain an ice spell in this heat?" Realizing there was no point in dwelling on it, Jack started running towards the larger cold sensation ahead.
"Well, I guess that answers my question," Jack muttered to himself upon seeing a frozen wasteland in the middle of the desert. In the wasteland, a lone teenager was trying and failing to cut up a dead, half-frozen wolf. With a gentle step, Jack slid across the ice, stopping right behind the teen. "Need help, Crystal?" He asked with a light tap on her shoulder.
"AAAHHH!" Crystal screamed, barely managing to stop herself from falling over by creating a chair of ice behind her. "Jack?!" She let out a deep breath. "Please don't do that again, I thought I was gonna have a heart attack."
"Sorry, Crystal, that's my bad." He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck in shame. "So, uh, need help?" Jack asked while motioning with his head at the dead wolf that Crystal was trying to cut open with an icicle.
"Yeah, any help is appreciated." Crystal let the chair fade away after getting off it. He nodded with a smile.
"So, how do you want this done? I can cut the wolf into large chunks, or if you have a smaller blade and some gloves, I can also remove the individual parts you want."
"Now that you mention it, give me a sec." He watched Crystal head towards a small cube of ice, melt it and come back with a backpack in hand. Placing it on the floor, she rummaged around until pulling out a large knife in a leather cover. She handed it over to Jack befor taking out four Storage Pouches tied together by a light blue string. "Here you can put my portion in here."
"Your portion? I don't see anyone else besides us. Am I missing something?" He said while looking around the icy land.
"It's only us two."
"Wait, you mean you're splitting your loot with me?" Crystal nodded. "But I didn't help kill any of these."
"I'm not going to have you cut these Dessert Hunters for free."
"Dessert Hunters? Do you mean these wolves?"
"Yeah, did you not read about the potential monsters we might encounter?" He shook his head.
"Didn't see the need to. Also, I can't even imagine how someone could stay awake reading a book that big and dry," Jack complained as he started carving up the monster. "You sure I can have some of this?" She nodded with a reassuring smile. "Heh, well, thank you then." Jack continued cutting up the now-thawed Dessert Hunter while Crystal kept a lookout for any other monsters. Once he finished carving the wolves, the duo divided the valuable material. After everything was stored away, Jack understood how Crystal managed to move across the desert so quickly. As they walked across the icy wasteland toward the black tower in the distance, Crystal gradually stopped maintaining the ice behind them, letting it fade away under the blazing sun. Reaching the edge of the frozen wasteland, only a small patch of ice remained beneath their feet. Crystal motioned for Jack to stop before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
"Freeze," she commanded, her right arm shooting forward as her eyes snapped open. A wave of frost and snow originating from Crystal rapidly washed over the desert, freezing everything it encountered. A shiver ran down Jack's spine as a chilly sensation coming from Crystal ran over his body, only stopping once the wave of frost disappeared on the horizon. "Phew, "Lowering her outstretched hand, Crystal let out a relieved sigh, breathing out a white puff of air in the process. Jack let out an impressed whistle at the sight of the newly made wasteland.
"No wonder you could move so fast." Jack tapped the frozen ground in front of him with his feet, testing its strength, befor taking a step forward. Once Crystal had rested, the duo continued their journey toward the tower, occasionally stopping when they noticed a frozen monster. They would quickly kill it, carve it up and then continue on their way. "Hey, Crystal," Jack spoke up as they were crossing over the third carpet of ice that Crystal had made.
"Yeah?"
"I've been meaning to ask since I saw you first do this." He said while sweeping his hand over the ice they were walking on. "Why is spell casting vastly different from one Spell slinger to another? Like, how can you create something like this with just a wave of your hand?" He motioned again to the ice. "While someone like Alex needs to do the fancy hand motion he does."
"Ah, I see what you mean." Crystal nodded. "I think I can answer that. First, you need to know the basics. You see, all Spell slingers use Mana either within or around them to cast spells. How they differ is how they shape the Mana and what form it takes when the spell is cast. Now, classification, do you know why Spell slingers are grouped into three categories?" Jack shook his head. "For convenience."
"Convenience?" Jack repeated in disbelief.
"Yes." Crystal nodded. "The classification was originally made to make it easier to group Spell slingers who have certain characteristics together. Do you know the three categories of Spell slingers?"
"I think. It's Mage, Enchanter and Mana Weaver." Crystal nodded.
"Correct. Then, do you know the difference between the three categories?"
"Uh, Enchanter make stuff, Mages use spells? Uhm, Mana Weavers do hand motions?"
"In a way, that's correct." Crystal chuckled. "Now, befor I explain further, it's important for you to know that people can be more than one type of Spell slingers at the same time. A person can be an Enchanter as well as a Mage."
"Like Alex?"
"Yes, though he is a rare example of a Spellcaster that can fall under all three categories."
"Why is it rare? Wouldn't it be better to be able to cast spells in many different ways?" Crystal shook her head.
"The reason why it's so rare is because of how much time and effort it takes a Spell slinger to hone their abilities in one method. At most, a Spell slinger would learn a second casting method to support their main one. Alex is the outlier because he can use all three methods of spell casting."
"Ah! Got it."
"Good. Now, let's explore the three classifications, starting with Mages. Mages are Spell slingers who use the Mana inside their bodies to formulate spells in their minds befor casting them." She tapped on the side of her head. "Think of it as Mages using Mana like clay to sculpt spells. Like sculpting, you can theoretically create anything, but in practice, anything too complex would take a lot of time, Mana and skill to make. A simple effect, like emitting a little light, would be equivalent to grabbing a handful of clay and making a lumpy ball. While something more complex, for example, wings of fire, would be like sculpting a pair of realistic wings out of the same clay."
"Wait. Does that mean every Spell slinger learns how to craft the same spells?" Jack scratched his head as he thought back to some of his fights in class. "Because in our Combat class, I could have sworn I've seen some Spell slingers use the spells with the same effect as each other."
"Oh, you mean Base spells."
"Base spells?" Crystal nodded while cooling both of them with a cold breeze.
"You can think of Base spells as shortcuts for Spell slingers. For Mages, they are used as mental muscle memory to speed up the formation of the spell in their minds. Using my earlier example of sculpting, Base spells are like moulds for sculptures that the Mage can use to bypass the mental sculpting and jump straight to casting them. Or they alter the Base spell to create the desired effect without having to start from scratch. Interestingly enough, Mages tend to have the easiest time modifying Base spells compared to the other types of Spellcasters. It's common for any Spell slingers, especially Mages, to use Base spells to increase their casting speed. However, remember, just because we can use Base spells doesn't mean we have to. " She emphasized her point by creating an ice crystal butterfly in her palm. Lightly pushing it up, the butterfly flew towards the sky, fading away a few meters away.
"Wait, then why do you still pronounce spells? Like earlier, you called out the Freeze spell, while you didn't say anything when making the butterfly."
"Ah, sorry, must have forgotten to mention that." Crystal thought over what she said so far before realizing something. "Let me make one thing clear. Base spells, despite what their names might suggest, aren't always simple spells. Base spells are called that because they have a widely known base structure that any Spell slingers can learn and use, given enough time. Meaning any spell can theoretically become a Base spell if someone manages to create a stable enough base structure that is usable for any Spell slingers. An example of a complex Base spell would be Change Weather: Rain. Yes, it has a base structure that anyone can learn and utilize on paper, but in practice, it's so complex that memorizing alone would take decades. And that's not even taking into account how hard and mana-intensive the spell is to cast. As for vocalization, that's just part of Base spells that Spell slingers can use to exchange part of the mental strain of spell casting for more of a physical one. Again, Spell slingers can use vocalization if they want to, but aren't forced to." Crystal paused for a moment. "Tangent aside, a Mage is any Spell slinger who can cast spells just using their mental abilities. Make sense?"
"Hmm, yeah, I think I got it," Jack replied right as they reached the edge of the carpet of Ice. Before Crystal could do anything, a Tunnel Worm burst from the ground, maw open, ready to bite into the more vulnerable mage. The monster didn't get the chance to do anything as it was quickly dispatched with Crystal conjuring a block of ice to trap it while Jack finished it off. After they carve, split, and store the materials from the monster. The duo took a short break to refresh themselves and drink some water.
"Now, let's move on to the next classification: Enchanters. Do keep in mind that I don't have any experience in enchanting, meaning what I'm about to tell you may not be completely accurate. I'm just saying what little I know. "Crystal continued after creating another icy path for both of them.
"That's fine with me," Jack replied with a friendly smile.
"While Mages can sculpt spells out of Mana entirely in their minds." Crystal started with a smile of her own. "An Enchanter is a Spell slinger who takes a physical object like a sword and carves, imprints or etches the spell into it. This method trades raw power that Mages have for ease of use. Once carved into an object, anyone who can manipulate Mana can activate the enchanted spell. Because of this, Enchanters are usually less likely to make use of Base spells. There is not much of a point for a skilled Enchanter to carve a Base spell into an object if they would need to start from scratch, no matter which spell they choose. It's better to customize the enchantment depending on what the Enchanter want the item to do."
"How does an Enchanter even use Base spells?" Crystal thought over the questions.
"Despite how I described it earlier, spells are more like a series of lines and circuits made out of Mana constructed in a 3d space instead of a solid shape. While Mages maintain spells using their mental strength, Enchanters use artifacts that contain the spell to maintain them. For Enchanters, Base spells allow them to skip the creation process and essentially trace the spell over the object. Though, as I said earlier, Enchanters typically don't do this because the little time they might save isn't worth imprinting a subpar spell onto an object, compared to how it would be if they created the spell from scratch." Jack's eyes lit up as the puzzle pieces in his mind started to click together.
"Ah! I think I'm starting to understand why I've never seen a dedicated Enchanter in the Academy." Crystal chuckled.
"Yes, it's difficult for an Enchanter to fight solely relying on their enchanting skill set, as it doesn't mesh well in a fight. This means an Enchanter who wants to fight would also need to learn other means of defending themselves. Due to how physically demanding it can be for an Enchanter, you typically see them learn how to fight in a way that takes advantage of their strength, like swordsmanship. Speaking of swordsmanship, Enchanters who are also swordsmen are pretty common due to swords being one of the easiest objects to enchant."
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"What is the easiest item to enchant?"
"Runes, or more specifically, Basic enchantment rune."
"What makes them easy to enchant?"
"They were designed to be malleable enough that any Enchanter, regardless of strength, could easily imprint enchantments onto them. While also being a great conduit for Mana. However, because of how fragile they tend to be, they quickly break down when you use them to channel spells, as the Mana that courses through them breaks down the rune." Reaching the edge of the carpet of ice once more, the duo took the time to hunt down some monsters and gather their materials. They ended up killing several packs of Desert Hunters, a few Tunnel worms, a group of Sand Goblins and a Sand Elemental. After a short break, Crystal created another path of ice toward the Tower befor continuing her explanation.
"The last classification of Spell slingers is Mana Weavers. You can think of them as an in-between of a Mage and an Enchanter. Like Mages, they use Mana to sculpt their spells. Unlike Mages, they don't mentally craft their spells. Like Enchanters, they work in the physical world. Unlike Enchanters, they don't require a physical object to cast their spells. To cast a spell, a Mana Weaver first condenses Mana into threads they can physically handle. Then, like what their name suggests, Mana Weavers weave the Mana threads into the spell's required form. Due to the spell existing in a physical form, Mana Weavers can apply their spell to other things besides themselves."
"That sounds pretty convenient compared to how Mages and Enchanter do things." Crystal shrugged.
"Like the other two, Mana Weavers do have their fair share of downsides. Because the spell is physically present, someone can interrupt it by damaging the weave, for example, cutting it with a sword. This form of spell casting is also the most Mana-intensive one to maintain, as a Mana Weaver has to constantly supply the threads with Mana to maintain the threads' physical form. So the Mana Weaver is better off casting the spell immediately after weaving it, instead of holding onto it. As for Base spells, you can think of them as spells that are easy for the body to form muscle memory with." Jack frowned as he thought over what he was told.
"Why are they called Mana Weavers and not something like spell weavers?"
"Because the art of Mana weaving originally wasn't about spell casting," Crystal replied while handing Jack a bottle of water befor drinking a bottle of her own.
"Really?" Jack asked while handing the bottle back. Grabbing the drink back, Crystal stored both bottles away befor continuing.
"Despite not knowing who the creator of Mana Weaver was, we can infer the original purpose of the art from scattered texts that have been recovered throughout the years. For context, the earliest documented instance of people using Mana Weaving dates back to around the time Rifts started appearing. This means that by the time people have figured out how to cast even the most basic of spells, they have been weaving and using Mana threads for several decades."
"Hmm, I think I heard something about that befor." Crystal rolled her eyes.
"You should, because the origins of spell casting were on our last history test." Jack froze before slightly sagging.
"Damn, is that what the question was about? I might have failed the test then." Crystal chuckled befor patting Jack on the back.
"I'm sure you at least got a passing grade," She reassured. "And if not, I could always tutor you next time."
"Thank you, I might have to take you up on your offer," Jack said, feeling a bit better. "So you were saying?" Crystal nodded.
"So people have been utilizing Mana threads way befor spell casting was a thing. And unlike today, we don't have evidence that people back then had a method of preserving weaves, making it unlikely they used Mana Weaving as an art form. So why do you think people during the time that Rifts started appearing would use Mana Weaving?"
"To hunt monsters?" Jack answered after giving it some thought. Crystal nodded with a proud smile.
"That's most likely the case. We have strong evidence in the form of written records, old photographs, and oral stories suggesting that when humanity was ill-equipped to deal with monsters, people would use Mana threads to reinforce their weapons and armour. How effective it was remains a topic of heated debate and speculation. One thing that historians can agree on is that due to Mana thread's nature of becoming extremely tough and durable when supplied with Mana. It was likely used to trap and restrain monsters, giving people back then enough time to land a killing blow. So, most likely, this was their primary use for at least a few centuries, befor the original creator of Mana Weaving discovered how to use Mana threads to cast spells."
"Wait a minute." Jack interrupted. "How old was the original creator of Mana Weaving when they created it? Because you make it sound like they lived to be at least a hundred years old." Crystal nodded.
"Because they might have been." Crystal chuckled at Jack's confused expression. "You see, in old texts, the creator of Mana Weaving is usually mentioned as the Original Weaver. Some theories suggest that the name Original Weaver is a title passed down from person to person. However, there is overwhelming evidence that suggests otherwise, and that the Original Weaver did somehow manage to live for several hundred years. Though how they managed that is a complete mystery. Well, I might have gotten sidetracked, but I hope I managed to answer your original question. "
"I think? I honestly forgot what my original question was." Jack admitted while awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. Crystal couldn't help but chuckle at what he said. The duo continued to leisurely make their way towards the tower for another 30 minutes befor they heard what sounded like thunder followed by screams. Rushing towards the source, they were greeted by the sight of a tiny blond teen running from what looked like a giant black centipede contorted into a wheel rolling towards her. The monster's hundreds of legs were spread out and constantly moving to help it keep balance as it rolled. "Isn't that Sera?"
The duo looked on from atop a dune as Sera reached into the bag slung over her shoulder and took out a bottle filled with glowing yellow liquid. She threw the bottle over her shoulder, where it flew through the air and smashed into the rolling monster. Upon breaking against the monster's hard exoskeleton and the liquid coming into contact with the air, a bright flash of light engulfed the giant centipede as a loud thunderous sound reverberated across the area. Blinking away the dots in his vision, Jack was surprised to see that the monster was mostly unharmed as it continued to chase after his classmate.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Sera yelled as she threw a bottle of red liquid, which shattered into a ball of fire upon hitting the monster. But once the smoke cleared, it was obvious that the attack only slightly singed the monster's exoskeleton. Sera kept repeatedly hurling bottles of various liquids at the rolling centipede, but all of them did little to no damage. Realizing what needed to be done, Crystal froze the dune they were on, creating an icy slide.
"What the hell is that?" Jack said out loud as he slid down in the direction where he would intercept the monster.
"A Black Armour Roller."
"A what?"
"A Black Armour Roller. A monster that can rapidly absorb Mana from the ground while it rolls. It uses the Mana it gathers to form a thin but dense barrier around itself. The barrier it creates can nullify any attack as long as it's supplied with enough Mana. It hunts by rolling over its prey, crushing them under its weight and momentum. If we want to be able to deal any significant damage, we need to stop it from rolling first."
"Gotcha!" Jack curled into a ball as he slid down the dune to build up speed, befor springing off the ground. "Whoa!" Landing on the rolling monster, Jack had to spread his arms out to stabilize himself while running backwards so he didn't fall off. Once stable, he quickly slashed at the monster's legs, only for his sword to bounce off it, the recoil almost causing Jack to fall off. Seeing his attack fail to have any effect on the monster, Jack sheathed his sword befor grabbing and pulling two legs towards him. Tucking his body in, Jack let the monster's legs carry him until he was in front of it. The moment he felt his feet dig into the sand, Jack pushed up with all his might befor letting go of the legs, lightly tossing the monster over his head. Taking advantage of the brief moment the Black Armour Roller was in the air and thus not being supplied with Mana, Crystal activated the spell she had prepared.
-BOOM-
Quickly disappearing ice and chunks of exoskeleton flew through the air as the Black Armour Roller crashed into the thick wall of ice created in front of it. The monster let out a pained screech as its body unfurled itself. Befor the Fortress Roller could recover, a flash of metal sliced off a large chunk of its legs. Then a wave of ice encased its body, preventing it from curling up, followed by several bottles raining down on it. The monster was burned, electrocuted, doused in acid, pierced by large icicles and cut into pieces before it finally died from its injuries.
"Uh, I think we might have overdone it," Jack said out loud as he looked over the broken corpse. "So, do either of you know which parts are valuable?"
"Sorry, I don't like to work with bugs. So, uh, I can't really say what's useful or not." Sera muttered while keeping a good distance from what was left of the monster. "Oh, thank you both for the help." She bowed to Jack, then to Crystal.
"No problem," Jack said with a friendly smile.
"Yes, we're happy we could help," Crystal added while flipping through a thick notebook. Closing the notebook with a thud, Crystal let out a sigh befor storing her notes away.
"What's wrong?"
"I was looking over my notes, and I realized I didn't write down what parts of the Black Armour Roller are worth harvesting."
"So are we just gonna leave it here? Because I don't think we have enough room to store the whole thing." Sera visibly perked up upon hearing the news. However, her hopes were immediately crushed when Crystal shook her head.
"No. Even if we aren't certain about what holds value, we can make an educated guess by comparing it to other monsters with similar bodies and abilities. Unlike typical centipede-like creatures, Black Armour Rollers do not depend on venom to subdue prey. This suggests they probably don't have a venom sac, and even if they did, it might not be very valuable. Their legs, however, are quite durable, sharp, and strong, unlike their fangs. Therefore, we should likely harvest some of the less damaged legs. Their carapace could be valuable due to its ability to absorb Mana efficiently. I can't say much about their flesh, but it probably wouldn't hurt to harvest some along with the carapace. Unless you think something else is worth harvesting, I think it's safe to ignore the rest."
"Sweet, so Sera, how do you want to split it?"
"Oh, ah, you two can have it all. I already harvested a lot of materials from other monsters I encountered."
"Are you certain? There's enough here for all three of us. And didn't you use many potions during the fight?" Sera visibly winced at the comment. "Wouldn't it be wiser to gather enough to recover your losses?"
"Well, yes, but the Academy has a pretty generous program for Alchemists."She frantically muttered while avoiding eye contact. "So I'm not losing too much from not harvesting the bug. Also, my Storage pouches are already pretty full, so-" Sera's body deflated befor she could finish. "I just don't want to touch the bug or carry any part of it with me."
"... / ... / ... "
"How about this?" Crystal spoke up, breaking the silence. "Jack and I have plenty of materials harvested from many different kinds of monsters. I propose we trade some of it for your portion of the Black Armour Roller." Sera's body perked up.
"That's a great idea! I'll happily give you my portion for anything that didn't come from a bug." It took the trio a few seconds to hash everything out and another couple of minutes to harvest what they wanted from the monster and complete the trade.
"Hey, Sera, you wanna team up with us?" Jack asked while drinking a bottle of water, surprising Sera, who was taking stock of what potions she had left.
"Oh, uh, are you two fine with me joining you?"
"Yeah!" Jack answered with a bright grin. "Right, Crystal?"
"Yeah, we would love to have you with us."
"So what do you say? You wanna join our team?" Sera's eyes brightened as she rapidly nodded.
"I would love to! Oh, I have something to give you two." She rummaged through her bag befor taking out two bottles of light blue liquid with a thin layer of frost on the glass. Taking one of the bottles, Jack noticed a faint trace of chill coming from it that he couldn't tell if it was from the ice or not.
"What's this?" He asked as he inspected the potion.
"A Chill potion," Answered Crystal. "Are you sure you're fine just giving these to us? From what I understand, aren't these quite expensive and difficult to make?"
"Oh, uh, hehe." Sera awardly scratched her slightly blushing cheek. "They can be expensive to buy, but I kinda got them for free. Oh, uh, you know how I said that the Academy has a pretty generous program for Alchemists." She added when she saw their confused looks. "If you prove you can brew a potion well enough, you can volunteer to make batches of said potion for the Academy. If you are accepted, the Academy will provide the needed equipment and ingredients you need to brew the chosen potion. While you have to give the Academy the majority of what you make, you can keep a certain amount depending on the type of potion you make. For example, as long as I keep the quality high enough, I can keep one out of four Chill potions I brew using the materials the Academy provided."
"What does the Academy do with the potions the students make for them?" Crystal asked while jotting down what she had just learned in a notebook.
"They are sold in campus stores. Oh, you don't have to worry about getting scammed." Sera frantically added. "The Academy only sells potions that meet a minimum level of quality. The Academy also makes sure that the price of each potion reflects its quality; the more it costs, the better it is."
"Ah, I see. The program allows Alchemists in training to practice making potions without being limited by their financial situation. And gives them a taste of what working as full-time Alchemists is like. This also makes sure that the stores on the campus have a steady supply of potions that the students might want while also recouping what the Academy spent on potion ingredients and equipment." Crystal mused to herself befor closing her notebook and storing it away.
"Huh, that's neat," Jack added while taking sips of the Chill potion he was given. After a short rest, the trio continued their journey towards the tower in the distance. Without anything major slowing them down, the three of them quickly arrived near the base of the tower. "What's this?" Inspecting what looked like a wall of shimmering air surrounding the tower. Lightly tapping on the wall resulted in small ripples appearing on the shimmering air.
"I'm not sure." Crystal glanced at Sera, who just shook her head. "It's probably nothing major, or else the instructor would have told us about it. But we'd better play it safe and- Jack?!" She screamed when she saw Jack jump into the wall of shimmering air, disappearing as he passed through it.
"I'm fine!" They heard him shout after a tense few seconds of silence, befor his detached head popped out of thin air, startling the other two. "Come on, it's just the tower entrance and some sand. The instructor is also already here." He said before disappearing through the wall of shimmering air once more. The two looked at each other befor Crystal nodded and, with a determined look, jumped through, followed reluctantly behind by Sera. After a quick moment of disorientation, the two girls looked around and saw exactly what Jack had described.
"Congrats, you're the first team to have arrived," McGaron said to the trio. "I'll explain the next part of the test once everyone else arrives. So take advantage of this free time to rest up, trust me, you'll need it." He said befor leaving the trio to themselves. Deciding to heed his advice, the trio made their way to the side of the tower with shade and sat down against the wall. Crystal handed out bottles of water, Jack some sandwiches his housemate had made, and Sera a couple of Health potions. While they rested up, more and more students, along with the adult helpers, slowly trickled through the wall of shimmering air. When the side of the wall they were resting at started to get crowded, the trio decided to move to give other students time in the shade.
"DAMN IT! I can't believe we were one of the last ones to get here!" They heard someone shout as they moved away from the tower. Looking over, Jack saw that it was Mari who shouted, with Alex right behind her.
"Huh, it looks like we were the last ones." He heard Alex mutter.
"Damn it! How were we this slow!" Mari shouted towards the sky in frustration. She kept complaining until he noticed the trio walking towards her. "Jack! Crystal!" She called out while waving at them. "Uh-"
"Seraphina," Alex said to Mari.
"Seraphina!"
"Oh, uh, you can just call me Sera." She softly said to the energetic girl.
"Sera!" Mari corrected with a wide grin, making the trio laugh. "So, how was it for you three? Had any fun fights?"
"You mean hard? Yeah, a few, though I should probably be asking you two that," Jack answered while eyeing Alex's torn and burnt clothes. "You ok, Alex? You look like you were tossed into a burning wood chipper." Alex looked right at him, took out a Mana potion, downed the whole thing while keeping eye contact, and stored it away befor nodding.
"My regeneration makes it so my more self-destructive attacks don't hinder my combative abilities for long. However, despite that, my clothes don't have the same luxury, so I tend to wear them down when push comes to shove."
"Why don't you try adopting more of a less reckless fighting style, then? Like Crystal? I'm sure you could do it with your skills in spell casting."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Mari cut in, interrupting Jack befor he could say more. "No need to change something that ain't broken. I'm sure Alex can figure out a solution to his clothing problem without needing to adopt a new fighting style." Alex rolled his eyes.
"You just don't want to lose a durable sparing partner. Also, there is nothing wrong with having more options in a fight." He went silent as he thought of something. "I'm sure you would greatly benefit from having more options, as you can't really do much against an enemy you can't reach. Like, let's say, a flying monster?" She blew a raspberry at him.
"I can handle any monster, no matter how cowardly they are." Alex shrugged.
"Well, depending on your luck, we might be able to test that theory."
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Jack interjected.
"One of the four bosses you can encounter in the Soul Stone Desert can fly and only fight from afar," Alex answered.
"Sand Emperor," Crystal added. "A powerful sand elemental blinds its opponents while attacking with sand soldiers it creates. Its only weak point is its sandstone center that houses its core." The five of them continued chatting befor hearing McGaron call everyone over to him.
"Everyone has arrived, so we're going to start the next phase of the test. Each team will take turns in the order they arrived, entering the Boss's room. However, this Rift only lets four people at a time enter the Boss's room, so any time larger than that has to split up. The same rules as earlier still apply, though I suggest that you activate your tracker as soon as you feel yourself in any danger. When it comes to Bosses, it's always better to play things safe, so never underestimate the amount of danger you are in. Any questions? No? Ok, good luck to you all! First team, you can enter whenever you're ready!"
