“So? Nothing major happened while I was gone?” It was always nice to catch up with Amak, especially when he got to tell me how the settlement had progressed since last I’d visited. With midterms out of the way, I’d used the recall gem earlier in the morning.

“Not much,” he admitted. “There was some minor matter with a messenger from the king of Ftheran, wondering what had become of the king’s daughter, but I stalled and sent him away. I trust it’s nothing for now, but you may wish to speak with the man personally if this goes on any longer. Other than that, nothing that I can’t show you on a tour.” The shadow seemed pleased with himself at his handling of the king’s messenger, and I was at once glad that I hadn’t been around to get pulled into it. My Deception level was laughably low.

Nice that he’s worried about his daughter, but annoying that we don’t have more time. Well, whatever. If Cal didn’t show up soon, I’d chat with the guy. I imagined he’d understand, in the end. It wasn’t like she was dead or anything. All in all, I was sure it wouldn’t be too big an issue.

“Thanks for that, then. Think I’m ready for the tour!” Although, I doubted it would be much of a tour, all things considered. It wasn’t like much could have changed since last I’d been here.

On top of that, I’d been greeted with a few notifications on my arrival, keeping me largely up to date with the settlement. Most were minor, though there had been one tidbit that excited me.

Welcome back!

In your absence, Emer’Thalis has gained 311 residents.

Current Population: 1140

Quest Completed: A Burgeoning Settlement

Your settlement has been upgraded from a Village to a Town! Currently your settlement is considered a Minor Town.

Received:

1000 Settlement Energy

+10 Prestige

+500xp

Quest Received: Rank up! (Town I)

Increase your settlement’s rank from Town (Minor) to Town (Average).

Requirements:

Population: 5000 (Current: 1140)

At least two shops.

At least two craftsmen’s workshops.

At least two leisure-oriented buildings.

A system-recognized marketplace.

A system-recognized place of worship or gathering place.

Rewards:

2500 Settlement Energy

+10 Prestige

+1000xp

Additional settlement perks may be unlocked.

The completed quest had been one I’d gained a good while back, right when the fighters had shown up to Emer’Thalis. It was nice to have it done and to see the settlement progressing, even if my contribution on that end had been minimal. Considering the much stricter requirements for the next step, however, I wasn’t expecting to complete the new quest any time soon.

I’d expected the settlement upgrade to be the biggest surprise I would receive this time around. As if to make me eat my thoughts, Amak led me through the trees for a time until we hit the edge of the forest. When we broke out from the woods around us, we weren’t met with the usual cracked and barren earth, but instead something far less expected.

“Amak. Did you build an entire lake in the last few weeks?” The ruins had somehow been cleared, the land now a giant crater with stagnant water stretching from shore to shore. The scope of it was mind-boggling, not to mention the fact that some patchy grass had started to sprout in the surrounding land. It was the first sign of greenery I’d seen that wasn’t directly within Elphaea’s magically enhanced forest.

“More of a large pool, really. And in fairness, you were gone for well over a month, not just ‘a few weeks.’ But yes, it is amazing what can be accomplished with enough mages, isn’t it? I will admit, it did not hurt that so many of the adventurers from Drawgin have earth or water based classes.”

I guessed in light of the whole “magic” thing, I shouldn’t have been so surprised. I’d seen Kex form an entire animated golem from the earth in a matter of seconds. Digging a big hole, in comparison, wasn’t quite as impressive.

Still taking it in, I let Amak continue to explain. “The hope is to create something of a natural water cycle eventually. Rivers, rain, and more will help to transform the surrounding area from its current state. We’re still working on introducing fish and such.”

I tried to imagine the deadlands as anything but… dead, struggling to do so. “How’d you convince everyone to help, though?” I knew there wasn’t much to do here, but getting people to develop the city for free felt like a reach.

“Next stop,” was all the shadow said, cryptically. We retraced our steps through the forest, eventually diverting our path in the familiar direction of the central food area. When we arrived, however, the scene before me had changed dramatically.

Instead of crude, outdoor seating that surrounded a central cooking area, there was now a giant, boxy building, large enough to fit hundreds. More notably, however, were the series of stalls which ringed it, with people hawking various street foods and in rare cases, goods. How anyone was able to get a stable supply of anything to sell here save for food and wood, I wasn’t sure. As tended to be the case for things I didn’t understand, I imagined the answer was magic.

“What happened here?” I remember there having been some plans for upgrading our dining options, but the stalls especially came as something of a shock.

Amak chuckled at my surprise. “I perhaps should be allowing Carpin to explain this one, but he’ll forgive me for taking some of his steam, so to speak. On realizing we would be staying here for a good while, the Logistician introduced a form of currency to the settlement, modeled after something he referred to as ‘contribution points.’ I believe he said you’d be familiar with them. He’s allowing people to pay for dungeon runs with them, and people have begun to trade with them as well. As to your earlier question, we paid people with them to help us build the lake.”

Wild. We had a tiny, baby economy shaping up here. Not that there was much to buy yet, but it seemed to be working to some extent. I’d have to dig a bit deeper during my visit: I had no qualms with charging for the dungeon or for luxuries, but I’d dragged everyone out here — having a roof over people’s heads and being able to eat weren’t things I wanted to charge for.

The building, it turned out, was a cafeteria of sorts. The bulk of it was seating, and a more serious kitchen had been built in the back. As an actual Construction-built cafeteria, it came with its own bonuses as well.

Town Mess Hall (Quality: Great)

All meals prepared in the mess hall consume 5% fewer ingredients without reducing meal size.

+3 Cooking while using the mess hall kitchen

+5 Settlement Morale

Material bonus: Dark Digestion

This building was built with a large amount of mana-infused material (Darkwood) and has taken on some of the characteristics of the material it was built with.

Aids in digestion while sleeping. Food prepared in the mess hall will not cause indigestion due to going to bed on a full stomach.

Unlike many of our buildings, the schematic for the mess hall was just Common, but it looked like it still came with a good number of bonuses. Considering how many mouths the settlement had to feed, the ingredient reduction buff was likely a godsend too.

Nice cooking buff, too. Maybe I can practice there once in a while.

Done examining the mess hall, we continued on. A short walk away (which described just about everything in the settlement, given its diminutive size) I was shown the storage building I’d seen being built last time around. It was finished already, and as I explored the interior, I was happy to find that much of it was refrigerated. Icy-cold air blasted into me, powered by, as per usual, magic.

Ice-Imbued Storage Space (Quality: Good)

Increases shelf life of all stored perishable goods.

Decreases durability degradation of stored equipment.

Contains the ability: Spatial Link (*Deactivated)

Nearby workshops, marketplaces, stores, and restaurants can be granted access to the storage space, allowing them to directly summon items within.

(*Note, this ability is deactivated until enabled through spatial crystals or a sufficiently advanced spatial mage.)

Considering the spatial ability was deactivated (on account of not having a spatial mage around), the building was essentially no different from what it would have been on Earth. It was a big warehouse with a fridge. Still, it was exactly what we needed it to be, and it was nice to see it completed.

Little else had been built, as food had been the biggest issue. Amak let me know that the “forest farming” operations I’d seen last visit had expanded, and there were talks of trying to revitalize some land enough for regular farming, but most food still came from hunting and gathering. It was a struggle to support this many mouths, especially with the influx of kexids and shadows, but various settlement perks, along with Elphaea’s influence, made it manageable. With better storage options now, it was less of a constant grind to get fresh meat as well.

Past that, most of what had been built were newer, better houses. The long-home style had been fine when we were just trying to qualify as a temporary settlement and get settlement energy, but it was also far from ideal for anything longer term.

Luckily, space was hardly an issue here. Apparently, the only reason we weren’t making everyone their own personal mansion was because housing wasn’t great experience for Tuk. Amak made it clear the man had been pushing for more strange, rare, or unique buildings to get built, which hopefully I’d be able to provide for him with my new Architectural Guild contact.

I’d have to track down Carpin at some point too, but Amak gave me a very brief rundown of the changes to the dungeon as well. Apparently the bulk of our settlement energy had gone into dungeon upgrades since last I’d been here, resulting in significantly lower wait times.

I’d have to track down a lot of people at some point. It was a curse of only being “in town,” so to speak, for a few days — I felt like I had to see absolutely everyone I knew here.

All right, not everyone. Certain bartenders come to mind. Still, the point stands.

And I would! I’d say my hellos, catch up as needed, have more official meetings with the other settlement leaders.

Not, however, just yet. It would have felt wrong to not have told Amak I was back, but after getting through all my midterms, and more generally just enduring the hustle and bustle of an actual city, I felt some relaxation was in order.

After confirming with Amak that the tour was over, I thanked him and decided to head back into the forest. Picking a random direction, I started off without any concrete destination in mind.

Not even aware of what I was doing, I found myself channeling dark mana into my boots and doing my best to scan my surroundings with every step. Never mind that the forest here was even safer than the one I’d first arrived in due to Elphaea’s influence. Time after time getting caught in the forest in my class space had ingrained the habit in me.

Having not even realized I was doing it, it thus came as somewhat of a surprise when a notification popped up.

You have learned a new skill: Stealth

Decreases the likelihood of being perceived by others when actively attempting to go unnoticed.

Prerequisites: 15 Dexterity

“Huh. Don’t know whether to be more surprised that I got it accidentally, or that I hadn’t already picked this up earlier.” In fairness, though, I hadn’t had much need of stealth since my early days in the forest, and I hadn’t had 15 Dexterity back then.

Well, wasn’t like I was complaining. Especially with Dark Soles enhancing the skill, it seemed like a good one to have.

Now that I consciously realized I’d been slinking through the forest, I actually felt a bit silly, but decided to keep it up nonetheless. Even if nothing was going to attack me, it would help with leveling my skill, and on top of that, it was probably just a good habit to have.

It did take some of the relaxing aspect out of the walk, but I’d live.

Skill wise, it turned out that Stealth wasn’t the only thing I could practice on my walk either.

While I wasn’t actively searching for them, my Perception made it so that every little herb stood out to me. With the few levels in Herbalism that I’d gained from the academy, I found myself with a vague notion of how best to collect them.

“Probably going to botch this a little, but it’s not like there’s a shortage of herbs around.” Figuring I might as well bring a few samples back to Sylum, I took a few breaks on my walk to crouch down and collect some samples. I figured my professor, or more likely, Emin, might be interested in them, especially considering that they’d absorbed some dark mana. Either that, or I’d use any edible ones in my cooking class.

If Hartha was still around, maybe I’d bug her about the herbs instead. I had to imagine the forest shadows would be a font of knowledge for everything herb related, and failing them, then Elphaea would know. Somehow, though, it felt odd to ask. My relationship with most of the shadows, Amak included, was fairly business-oriented at this point. My only serious friend in the tribe had been snatched away.

As my thoughts of Hartha had somehow guided my feet, I found the dark veins on the nearby trees suddenly dissipating with each new step. In no time at all, I found myself in a familiar clearing, an unearthed trapdoor lying in the middle. Without having realized it, I’d somehow retraced my steps to the basement of the greater church that I’d explored with Cal and Hartha.

I miss them.

I found myself feeling oddly thankful for the whirlwind of events that had happened after the entire Ephesis debacle — something told me that if I hadn’t been so busy acclimating to a new city and taking my classes, then I’d have spent a lot more time dwelling on their absence. Brooding. For all that I enjoyed Barb and Jason’s company, I wasn’t as close to either of them as I was to Hartha or Cal.

Honestly, it’s starting to feel more like Sylum is my home at this point. Without Cal or Hartha here, Emer’Thalis was starting to feel more and more like a business trip.

Feeling nostalgic, I decided to climb down into the church basement. There wasn’t really anywhere good to lie down, but I crouched down in one of the room’s corners, leaning my back against the wall.

I just sat there for a time. Reflecting. Remembering. Letting myself be a bit moody.

And then, when a sufficient time had passed, I brought myself back.

“All right. That was enough being moody. What’s something I can distract myself with before I go back?” As it was, I still didn’t have it in me to return back to my tent just yet.

As it so happened, the answer came to me quickly. I reached into my pouch and pulled out a hefty tome, laying it across my knees as I continued to crouch.

Spellbook of Pest-Killing Aura

Teaches the reader the Pest-Killing Aura spell.

Despite the mostly benign spell name, the idea of learning death magic continued to wig me out, enough that I’d put off reading the thing back in Sylum. After all, I had no idea how death mana might react with all my Arcane Arsenal class skills, and testing all that out in a crowded city felt like a poor choice.

Cloistered away in the basement of a church with nothing living in sight, however, I felt much better. Not great admittedly. I wasn’t entirely looking forward to taking the first step onto the path of being a death mage or a necromancer or whatever people used this sort of stuff for.

Let’s be honest though. I know I’m going to do it eventually. Pretty sure I need to learn them all for my class trial, and on top of that, I’m not trying to piss the archmage off. Might as well bite the bullet now.

With that in mind, I opened the book up and started to read. The familiar sensation of being pulled into the book gripped me, and in somewhat of a trance, I flipped through page after page until I hit the back cover.

At which point the book exploded into a cloud of dust.

I coughed over and over, cursing whoever designed the entire spellbook industry. “Really couldn’t just make them reusable? Or, I don’t know, just disappear after being read?” A pain.

I struggled to stay too annoyed though, as the expected notifications hit all at once.

You have learned a new spell: Pest-Killing Aura

Pest-Killing Aura

Toggles on an aura which kills any insect or pest which comes within a short distance of the caster’s body.

Beneath the main description, there was a host of disclaimers, letting me know the spell would only work on incredibly weak, low-leveled pests like mosquitos. Sadly, it looked like I could not use it to delve some insect-based dungeon and instantly kill all the magically enhanced super bugs.

You have learned a new skill: Death Magic

All death spells 1% stronger

Gain 1% resistance to death spells cast against you

Class Quest Completed: Learn a new basic school of magic (Repeatable)

+2500xp

+1 class point

Well, no turning back now. I was officially the newest death mage on the block.

I toggled on my new cantrip, getting my first taste of death mana. Contrary to what I’d expected, the mana didn’t feel fetid or rotten in any way. If anything, it felt… sterile. And a little chilly. The air around me took on a gray hue under the visual portion of my Sense Mana.

Hopefully Elphaea wouldn’t mind me zapping all the bugs in her forest to train it up.

The spell, however, wasn’t the most exciting aspect of getting a new mana type. As per usual, I tested out all my enhancements, starting with my weapon. I summoned up my soulbound harpoon, channeling death mana into it.

Necrotic Touch

Suffuses your weapon with an aura of death, adding death damage on hit and killing off tissue surrounding your hits.

An ominous gray clung to the harpoon, and I dismissed the mana immediately. In fairness, it was probably the best enhancement I’d gotten if I was fighting something living. It seemed like it wouldn’t be nearly as useful on the myriad of enemies that weren’t composed of cells, though. Elementals and shades immediately jumped to mind.

I tested the mana out on my armor only to find that it had nearly the same exact effect as the weapon did. It was most similar to my fire armor, actually, with both dealing damage to enemies that came in contact with me. The only real difference was the magic type, and the fact that one burnt, the other necrotized.

After that came the vision skill. The feel of death mana hovering over my eyes was a bit disconcerting, but I bore it as I read the description.

Ghost Eye

Highlights any dead, nearly dead, or undead beings in your range of vision. Ghost Eye can see through /10 meters of solid material and is capable of seeing immaterial or invisible undead as well.

A near analog to the life version, but inverted. The fact that it would let me see invisible undead was especially appreciated, as I wasn’t sure if my other visions would let me do that. On the flip side, it meant that there was such a thing as invisible undead, which I could have gone my whole life without knowing.

Tucked away in the church as I was, nothing stuck out to me. As could perhaps be assumed based on the lack of bones, no one had died in here. I imagined that I’d see a bit more once I left the basement and reentered the forest, however.

I dismissed the vision skill, ready to move on. Saving what I hoped would be the best for last, I channeled the death mana into my boots, cloaking them in gray mana.

Withering Steps

Concentrates death mana around your feet, dealing minor death damage per second to any creatures at ground level. This effect is greatly increased on any living entities that are restricting your movement, freeing the caster from most life-based immobilization effects.

And that was it. Hopefully the new skill variant would help me with the grasping kelp in my class trial, though I didn’t see much point in going further without the ice mana I’d likely need for the next portion.

If nothing else, when Hartha came back, it’d be a nice surprise for when we next dueled.

As for the class point, I’d already successfully maxed out Bind Weapon and Bind Armor with the points from getting Small Blades and a few of my magic classes to 10. Instead of spending it immediately, I now had the luxury of saving up for Gloves of the Arcanist.

All in all, the book had done exactly what I’d needed it to do: Distracted me. It was perhaps a bit strange to feel better after gaining the ability to channel death mana, but as I pulled myself from the ground and left the church basement, I felt significantly better than I had walking in.

And now only one mana type left!