Chapter 273- No shortcuts

No shortcuts

Ishara shook her head again in the negative on seeing what the human scribbled on the paper. She had no idea why the boy kept pushing this belief about magic. Twisting her lip at the crude circle drawn and dissected into quadrants, she pointed at the words fire, water, earth, air written inside them. Pointing to the crackling fire in the fireplace, she walked over to the open window and shifted her finger towards the chopping sounds in the forest.

"Goblin. Fire."

She said while tapping the word on the paper. Scrunching her eyebrows, she flicked a strand of her grey hair behind her slightly pointed ear. As if stumbling upon a recollection, she strode over to Lucy and tapped the girl's shoulder. On understanding her actions, Lucy rolled up the sleeves of her light bedroom cloak to reveal her talisman tattoo. Ishara scrutinized the well-defined card-sized imprint before pointing to the tiny runes.

"Dwarf, magic. Strength rune."

"Dwarf magic, Stamina rune."

Pointing to the quadrant which housed the ancient word for earth, she shook her head again.

"No earth. Dwarf magic rune. Dwarf earth."

Dipping the quill in the ink, she delivered a few deft strokes in the common ancient language which made communication so much easier. Pointing at the words, she yet spoke them out loud.

"Water, forest elves. Healing."

Casting a light spell, she pointed at it and the word air. When the boy turned to the redhead who opened a palm filled with lighting fire, Ishara pointed to the outside heavens and then the word air. Sitting down at the desk, she folded her arms which unintentionally highlighted her well-proportioned bosom. She then scribbled a few words on the paper while ignorant of the sneaky glances from both male and female humans.

"Stories and ancient scrolls say goblins first used fire for crafting. Then for defense. Hakkim taught humans fire magic for defense. Many magic not for fighting. Magic for helping."

As a Hakkim of the Sky Tribe, Ishara possessed a keen mind. When the boy opened this discussion on various types of magic, her input was a must. Since the focus lay in fighting, she recommended fire magic. What opened the discussion into a whole new level, however, rested on the unknown talisman tattoo. The Hakkim never owned any literature mentioning Sersens as a whole.

Luckily for her, she felt she sat among a circle of equals during this meeting. These humans might be pups, but they were well-informed. Time and time again, this young leader left an impression similar to the wise elders of her tribe. She watched the boy furrow his brows and question again.

"Fire. What strongest, biggest spell?"

"Fireball."

She answered without having to think. Goblin fireball had been tweaked and modified over countless generations. A goblin elder required only a few breaths to cast the spell. The effort in mana squeezed its toll but the effect proved worthwhile. A fireball could quickly envelop and decimate a large tree.

Noticing the face of disappointment from across the table, Ishara had the sudden urge to slap the boy into the wooden wall. From the discussions thus far, his body actions and face displayed his lack of appreciation. She narrowed her golden slits as he spoke to the small redhead. Ishara watched as the girl opened her palm to create a crackling blue-white flame.

"How about this? Hakkim see this before? Have knowledge about it?"

The boy asked while holding a serious look.

The dancing ball illuminated the room before narrowing into a twisting web-ball of wriggling arcs. It then vanished with a pop. The display always piqued Ishara's interest whenever she witnessed Dyna during her daily practice. She shook her head since she never read nor heard tales of such a strange fire. The sight reminded her of the storms rolling over the grasslands or booming from the mountain tops.

"Hakkim never seen this before. Maybe from the talisman."

Ishara said. She had ner seen Dyna throw this strange fireball but she saw the girl doing something even more terrifying. As far as the Hakkim was concerned about her interactions and observations of the growing humans prowling around, this clique operated as an anomaly.

Chu sighed before leaning into his chair. His hopes of grabbing that already prepared destructive spell had failed. Although the goblin fireball ranked superior to the Tower in terms of casting time and power, it fell short of his standards. His Sersen power allowed him the luxury of escaping and retreating from difficult battles. Gaining a long-range or even midrange destructive spell into his arsenal to incapacitate his foe served as his goal.

In this unknown world, if provided the choice, dealing attacks where his enemy could not reach him opened up an advantage. Crossbows and current weapons only tickled a beast like the Kurat. With all its physical defense, he felt the beast might not possess the earthly term called magic resistance. If he ventured across future enemies flouting this ability, he at least would have a head start in escaping.

"Since fireball seems to be the magic of the day, it looks like we will have to carefully tread this path on our own. At the very least, we know we can meld our Sersen abilities with magic."

He said while glancing on the pair of thin iron strips and the small, iron slug on the table. He faced the blue-eyed girl first as he continued.

"Lucy, concentrate on your wind blade. Just as Dyna proved to us, see how you can transform your mana to aid in improving it. Dyna, continue on the path you have chosen, but don't overextend yourself. Magic is not something we can mess with easily. Miki, I know you and Dyna are practicing the same skills. Continue as before, since you need a close-range trump card to cover your crossbow and knife throwing attacks. Ming, focus on your battery charger..."

Adventuring parties required individuals with well-balanced skills. RPG 101, common knowledge.

In a few months, he wanted to put this theory to the test during his travel north. Sure, they would have to keep a low profile as Sersens, but out in the wilds, they could cut loose.

Chu tapped the desk with his fingers as he concluded the discussions for today.

"From next week we will enter the forest as a party. We'll hone our skills as a well-coordinated group. Let's not get so rusty so as to shame ourselves."

***

The progress of construction on the farm did not proceed without its share of problems. First of all, no matter how intimidating the wolves appeared, it didn't take long for the newcomers to find out there were only three. With the apparent lack of security to cover the village and the vast grasslands, some escapees achieved success. Since Chu never prioritized Dyna to track these fugitives, the result spurred the hearts of the bold.

Only when he finally allowed Dyna to track and have their remains or half-starved bodies brought back by the village guards did the desire of escape finally quell. Out in the frontier, unless one chose to live as a hermit, one had nowhere to run.

Another problem that surfaced lay in the construction planning itself. Standing near the open trench supervised by Elder Pick, Chu found himself surrounded by Halter, Bon, and the creme of his newly acquired stonemasons and carpenters.

"Boss, it's as I explained. Even with the innovative machinery as you called them, we severely lack manpower. Walls are built using thousands of hands. And even then, they take years."

"I agree with Bon. The railway alone might require a year or more to construct. Building more of the cranes and lifts, aside, we yet require more help."

Chu nodded as he listened to the inputs of the experienced stonemasons and other carpenters. The surprise of seeing this young boss had wained. Everyone in the village knew the backing of the farm occupants. If not for fear of the Tower, more than a few men would have tried their chances to escape.

A hundred hands might seem like a lot, but Chu knew that even on the largest modern constructions it numbered insufficiently. If skyscrapers or bridges required a couple of thousand workers, what would an equivalent wall and castle need?

Already, his first supply of future workers seemed sparse when gobbled up by the relevant divisions. A potter here, a weaver there, and a farrier. Jobs he never knew existed and which kept the cogs of progress turning suddenly found a niche in his expansion. A hundred humans devoured his food but failed to show an impact on his construction.

His headaches seemed to grow. For a person who simply wanted to explore the world, this sideline preparation exerted its toll. The constant yapping and whining of young wolf pups did not help alleviate his problems...

Not for a few nights did he continue to console himself.

"Easy, baby steps, Chu, baby steps. All for our goal of adventuring..."

***

Sue sat with her hood hiding her appearance while watching another group of novices enter into the lecture hall. Every day, this hall catered as a learning resource for the novices who numbered in the hundreds. With classes repeating during the day, these aspiring alchemists could find time from sorting herbs and menial tasks to increase their knowledge. The equally cloaked old man sitting beside her shifted on the slab seat.

"Why does lady Sue want to choose a simple novice? These whelps don't know the difference between a Dripping fern and a Kirry grass. One word from me and Grandmaster Sue will have scores of Master Alchemists willing to serve as assistants. Heck, even I would find time to help."

Grandmaster Earn snorted. He didn't understand why Sue would choose to sit among these infants when alchemists would line up before her. Then again, geniuses always walk unusual paths. He could only shake his head as he abided to her whims.

Down on the stage, the Apprentice Alchemist who conducted today's lesson opened a scroll and then proceeded to shout out the results of yesterday's exam. Grandmaster Sue had a part in this because she wanted to obviously seek the best.

"Hale Kirian, eighty-five. Excellent."

"Juran Lowes, ninety-one. Excellent."

"..."

The corner of Grandmaster Earn's lips curled up on listening to the results. Obviously, the Guild progressed under his tenure. He glanced at the young girl as the scores continued into the more unsavory results.

"Owren Pall, fifty-six, pass."

"Erin Willow, twenty-seven. fail."

"That one... I'll take him."

Sue suddenly sprang up and indicated. She turned to Grandmaster Earn who sat rooted while his mouth hung open.

"If I can have a novice of this caliber create a difficult pill, then even your more talented alchemist could do the same."

She explained to the senior accompanying her.

Grandmaster Earn blinked while trying hard to process this logic.

"Which one?"

"The one called Erin Willow. He is ideal since he possesses such a low score. I never expected to find such a suitable candidate here but Grandmaster Earn has them all. I also ask Grandmaster to prepare a pill concoction room for me."