Chapter 15: Ch. 15 – Mana Smells Like Fish

Dee brought me the bracer, excitement plastered across her face. "Put it on!" She dropped it at my feet, backing up expectantly.

I picked up the bracer, the metal cool in my hands. It was a gleaming silver circlet with delicate patterns and runes dotting its surface. It had a smell that I couldn’t place. I looked up at her, nervous. She grinned back at me, making a motion with her paw.

Before proceeding, I looked down at my wrist to see the changes in my character sheet.

[LV 4- BLACKSMITH APPRENTICE]

 

[38/41]

[3/26]

 - L4

 - L2

 - Passive
 - L3

I had made some sizeable gains. As my health increased, I began feeling better overall. I huffed and puffed less while walking up the ramps, could pick up heavier items, and ate more of the fish-corn mixture the Feka provided. My mana went up, but I couldn't regenerate fast enough to make anything valuable or use skills for very long. I took a deep breath and slipped the bracer on my left wrist, determined to make a difference on this planet. Suddenly, the voice spoke in my head, asking what I wanted to do.

[YOU HAVE ENABLED A 'MANA REGENERATION' ITEM. WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE A {1 MANA/1 MINUTE BOOST FOR ONE (1) HOUR}, OR {20 MANA NOW, 1 MANA/3 MINUTE BOOST FOR ONE (1) HOUR}?]

She paused as I thought on that, then continued.

[REMINDER, USING THIS ITEM WILL RESULT IN MANA POISONING, RESULTING IN A FIVE (5) HOUR LACK OF MANA REGENERATION]

Interesting that it gave me a choice. Was that again from my level 4 'CREATE' skill? Or even 'THINK?' Who knew? Either way, I had to decide if I wanted 60 mana over an hour, but I would get it slower or 20 right away, filling up my mana pool immediately. But that option only had 40 total instead of the full 60. I could see the use if you needed to make something in a pinch, but I was in a different situation.

Considering I still had to travel to the caves with the warrior Feka, I decided. "I will take one mana per minute." Dee glanced at me, startled that I seemed to speak randomly. I shrugged. "Guess we see what happens now."

I looked down at my arm, feeling a strange sensation from the bracer. It felt like someone was injecting warm fluid into my veins, almost like an IV drip. It was the opposite effect of the ore mining or think skill, the bracer becoming a warm, tingling sensation on my arm instead of the sucking feeling.

I estimated my current mana regeneration at around one mana every ten minutes. I could replenish my 26 in about four hours. Health regeneration left me entirely in the dark, as natural healing was all I could do when injured, and that took time. The three health missing was most likely from my scratched shoulders and ear. I was sure there was some health regeneration item, but I didn't worry about that. The health bar on my arm left a lot of information to be desired.

"Well? Is it working?" Dee asked, leaning forward and sniffing my arm. "Smells like it is!"

I looked sidelong at her. "Seriously? You can smell mana?"

"Well, kind of. It's like how you can smell food but can't smell it anymore after you eat it. It's like you're wearing fish on your arm." I looked at her, confused. "Ok, well, not fish. Something not as smelly. It smells amazing." I continued staring, not sure what to say to that.

"Let's get going. Can you come with me to the caves? I should trust these three warriors, but I don't know them..." I asked, changing the subject.

"Of course! I thought you would never ask. Let me get them. We will meet you on ground level!" With that, she bounded off again. I shook my head as she left. There were times here on Prixa when the cat creatures reminded me a lot of home.

***

Ambrose slowed his run, finally reaching the encampment where the rest of the Shadowalker army hid. He had been careful to send Whitefangs around the perimeter to sniff around and ensure the Feka were not scouting them. The beta was still determining how this would go with the alpha. He hit the directives in battle but lost several Stalkers to the new magic.

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A fox-looking creature sat in front of a map, waiting for Ambrose to report back so he could update his battle plans. His troops walked past him, panting slightly and barking at their friends in friendly greeting. A few sniffed butts in hello. Miserable creatures, Ambrose thought to himself. He saw the Jackles with their serving bags strapped to their backs, wandering the camp looking for people to serve.

In the middle of the camp was the alpha's den. He went straight there, ignoring the calls of the red fox. He knew if he lingered, the alpha would know. He peaked his head into the tent, sniffing. "Sire, we have returned."

The alpha opened one eye, sleeping on his back on a black cot. Ambrose knew this was mostly for show; the alpha rarely slept for fear of being challenged. He rolled onto all fours and then stood, shaking his head from side to side. The alpha stood up to his full height, almost hitting his head on the structure. "Report!" he growled, narrowing his eyes.

"The attack on the settlement went to plan. The walls were not very strong, and our Bullheads blasted through them without effort. However, we lost all but one of those creatures. We also lost about one-third of our troops inside the settlement but eliminated their archer troops and a few of their warrior class. A surprise attack by their hunters got more troops than I would have liked." Ambrose growled, thinking of the cowardly attack on his Whitefangs.

The alpha sniffed the air, leaning toward him. Ambrose couldn't help but lean away, fear bubbling in his gut. "Why do I smell such strange death on you? How many of your pack have you lost, beta?"

"Unfortunately, we lost two of our Stalker pack. It was that human boy again, and possibly others. They had access to fire magic and lit Gyros ablaze. His fur singed during battle, leaving him vulnerable to a Fekan attack. It appears the humans are helping the felines."

The alpha narrowed his eyes. Finally, he spoke in a low growl. "Have you eliminated this threat? Or can I expect more surprises in the settlement upon our final attack? Since when can humans use magic?" He practically screamed this last part, the walls shaking slightly.

"I sent five Whitefangs into the tower where the attacks came from. Even if the Feka got to them after, they would have eliminated the humans hiding there. We will be good to attack."

"We better be. You have performed well. I smell no lies or deceit on you. However, I do not smell any fresh meat to consume. Explain."

"Sorry, sire, we had to retreat before our losses from battle continued. The archer bodies had to stay."

The alpha growled, loud and long, causing Ambrose to shrink back. "No matter. We will have plenty of warrior Feka to consume. And once we break into their slave bunkers, we will feed the humans to the pack. Possibly keep them for our use. We will become stronger than ever, preparing for our main attack on Fayport. Get some rest, beta. We move out in a few days."

***

I walked down the path, flanked by my posse of four 6-foot-tall cat warriors, feeling a bit like a boss. I had friends back home, but none that could kill a 3-foot Squamish squirrel for me without even batting an eye. I was never 'cool' back on Earth; the only attention I got from athletes was when they needed help with their math homework.

It was quiet in the jungle, and the effect of having four predator cats prowling around was evident. They moved in a line on the path, ears circling and eyes darting around the fauna, looking for danger. As we walked, I stared at my arm, obsessed with how quickly my mana was filling up.

By the time we got to the cave, I was already [14/27]. The other benefit to having the bracer on was the increase in total mana, my body working hard to process the additional mana, almost like a cardio workout. Once we got to the cave entrance, I addressed the Feka. "You guys stay here. Make sure nothing comes in. I can yell if I need anything. Dee, you're with me."

"Woah, human. I know you're a Creator now, but calm down the orders." She smiled but mumbled about bossy humans and went into the cave. She took out a purple mushroom vile, bathing the light in the eerie purple glow. I followed the light into the cave.

Further in, I saw the same two ore veins behind the walls. I wanted the red ore for my plans with the settlement defense. "Do you need me for anything else? Because if not, I'm going to take a little nap."

I chuckled. "Nope. I just wanted you away from the other three. I can't have those warriors see this part." She nodded, curled up in a beam of sunlight, and closed her eyes.

I walked to the cave wall, picked my target, and stuck my hand in the wall. The IV drip feeling stopped, the familiar sucking returning while I dug around in the wall. I pulled out a piece of the red-streaked rock and put it in my pocket. [9/27]. Nice. I could get 2-3 more pieces of ore in this charge. My skill would level up by then, unlocking who knew what.

Over the next five minutes, I picked out three more pieces, only having to wait a few moments to fill up my bar enough for the final piece while the bracer did its work. I grabbed three red ores and one silver since I needed additional ammo. I used my last Wynd pellet during the battle and wanted to avoid having one ammo type.

I glanced at my arm; sure enough, my mining skill had risen to level 3. My overall mana read [2/30], the mining and bracer continuously upping my mana pool. I hoped I would have a whole pool of mana by the time I returned to the settlement. I needed to make three dog-crushing devices, and if I was the only one who could use fire magic, I had to make them. Hopefully, it would cost one piece of ore per device. If it were more, I would be out of luck. I took a minute to look at the walls, not noticing any new ore.

Slightly disappointed, I woke Dee up, getting us moving. I emerged into the jungle, the moist air noticeably different than the stuffy cave air. By my calculation, I had about 30 mana left from the bracer. I smiled and nodded to the warriors, finished with my task. They nodded back and headed off into the jungle.

It was time for the next phase of my plan. I hoped there was enough time to get all of this stuff installed before the Shadowalkers came back. Romas should be done with the pulleys by now, but I didn’t know how long it would take the dock workers to bring the crushers up the hills. If there was anything I learned from engineering class, it was whatever could go wrong usually did. There was so much to do. I sighed, putting one foot in front of the other. We had to hurry back before the mana poisoning started.

 

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