Chapter 42: Fruit of the World Tree (3)

Rainer opened his eyes to the white void of [Sleep Learning]...at least what should've been a white void. Burnt into the ground was a lengthy message, in English.

Confused, though understanding he likely left this for himself, he carefully read over its contents.

Whether it was the titles granting points or the prerequisites needed for certain 2nd Classes Rainer grew ever more surprised at the information written by himself. Rather, that who or whatever stole from him in the first place angered him, but he let that go for now. Finished reading, Rainer refreshed the void itself to its original state.

He also now understood the purpose of the 2nd Enchanted item he had created. Were it not for this message he might have viewed it as a flight of paranoia, and to anyone, but an [Arcanist] or [Archon] it was likely a useless item.

He hadn’t ever thought to see if the [Sleep Learning] space would maintain its previous state. Any issues he’d always constantly refresh leaving little room for such testing. He was glad the message got across.

Rainer moved his thoughts to the fight he would soon face. He would first, avoid leveling any of his magic skills to level 2 in here. That he could in any case. [Mana Reading] hadn’t given any experience when it's leveling was assisted by the [Archon] class, but he wasn’t sure about the rest of his magic skills.

[Arcane Awakening] rose to 100%.

A [Spatial Domain] extended around him. The clarity astounding. Whether it was his [Mana Manipulation] or new bonuses, the size he could extend it to, increased dramatically.

Taking from his memory, Rainer formed a mere wooden box in front of him. He stared at it intently and focused all his will on sensing this box. Every inch, every grain in the wood, became visible to him. And then he grasped it and pushed.

He wielded the sensing function of [Spatial Domain] and together with his [Spatial Manipulation] pushed.

And yet there was no movement no matter how much he tried.

Disappointment did not fill Rainer. On the contrary, his excitement grew to a new height. He felt it. Resistance. The box had resisted his actions. He had in fact acted upon it, and it resisted his attempt at pushing. Moved or unmoved he confirmed that he had, in fact, pushed it. He had tried to move space itself.

He confirmed too, however, that he was nowhere near pushing this box, or anything for that matter.

He formed a copy of Yalin’s journal in front of him and read through. Rainer could now understand this spell too utilized the concept of Mana packets, though only one, an incredibly small yet dense one. The spell, while not as severely as before, still caused Rainer a decent amount of pain. He, however, given the nature of how he was to face these incoming Fae, had a new spell idea.

Out of all spells he knew of, [Deliverance] seemed to have the farthest range.

The spell, in theory, was simple in idea. He’d launch a Mana packet as far as he could straight into the sky. Once there a gravity locus would gather the air around it, as well as the Arcane-Fireball that formed from the Mana packet. And then use the remainder of the mana to multiply the gravity on itself and fall toward a single point.

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At 3-4 times of the terminal velocity, the Fae would find it far more than just difficult to dodge. At the very least a sacrifice in resources, or of self, would be required.

There were two issues to the spell. First, the time it would take to prepare, and the small amount of time it could stay at the ready. Meaning, Rainer would need to know both his target and the timing needed. Added to that, was that he couldn’t be too far from the target, lest his aim be off, nor could the target see him cast it lest they simply move a distance away.

A spell made for an ambush.

A spell that had Rainer immediately slapping himself in the face.

“Fuck. Then what about the Fruit?” He called out, of course, to no one.

Given that it would likely take the rest of the time before the meeting occurred to make this spell, Rainer put away the thought for now. His largest concern was Luna's or Kara’s advancement. Though now, after seeing the information about Class prerequisites, the disadvantage of being forced the default 2nd Tier class was a major one.

He could not force either to make such a sacrifice, though he isn't sure if Luna would mind.

In any case I can also use it to advance my 2nd primary class. Entering a 2nd Class Advancement again, with the difficulty of Archon added on, is asking for death. With or without the help of my still hiding friend.

He thought as he gripped his right shoulder. There was no Rune, and nothing, but the uninformative entry in his familiar list, telling him the Magic Beast existed. In relation to that, Rainer looked at the Runic Language he gained, though gained, was about as loose as a term as possible.

It was as if he knew some grammar rules. About a language of which he not only didn’t know any vocabulary of, he didn’t even know a single letter. Until he came across it, the language was, but a nice addition to his skill list. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

[Draconic Runic Language lvl 1/10: A Magical Runic language, Draconic in nature.]

And the 1,000 points required to level it to level 2 essentially told anyone other than Rainer to give up.

Rainer himself didn’t understand why such a language appeared in his advancement. Were Dragons operators of the Trial? Were Dragons akin to gods? Was it just a random choice? Was it chosen on the premise no one would be able to learn it during the trial? Dozens of questions floated through Rainer’s mind. The Rune he learned it from too, didn’t seem to have any meaning.

Realizing he was getting off course, he spent his remaining 6 hours of [Sleep Learning] trying to improve [Arcane Awakening] before Kara awoke him. He had plenty to do awake. Plenty, he did not in the slightest, look forward to.

His attempts with [Arcane Awakening] did produce success. He did wish to try and gain experience from it, but he viewed the skill as far too important to be a test case.

[Arcane Awakening has reached level 2]

[Skill Gained: Arcane Awakening: Shield Mode lvl 1/10]

[Arcane Awakening: Shield Mode lvl 1/10: Forms a protective casing of Arcane around its caster. Renders its caster nearly immobile and unable to use Magic.]

The only issue was that rather than just a protective skill, it was more akin to a turtle retreating into his shell. Not only did the skill cost more Arcane Power than he could convert fast enough, but he was also immobile during it. And not just immobile, but useless in any other way. He had hope that some issues could be resolved in testing and leveling.

In the end, he was using pure Arcane Power and not Mana, in the operation of this Rune. Added on were the differences in Runic lines, between himself and the Fae.

How strong its defenses were? He, unfortunately, needed to test that outside of [Sleep Learning]

So it's time to raise resistances…

--

Rainer grunted in pain as he collapsed. Kara rushed over to his side, but he waved her off.

He could only smile lightly as he struggled to get back up. It was his idea to learn new skills for hand to hand combat while trying to level up [Physical Resistance] and [Pain Resistance]. An idea that would be otherwise seen as lunacy had they not viewed the full description for the [Archon] class. Something Gunthar had yet even to acknowledge fully.

“Rainer, perhaps multitasking is not the best method for such a thing.”

“So you’d rather just beat me up as I stand still?”

“You...bring up an excellent point,” Kara said while sighing and getting back into sparring position.

[Bare-Fist Fighting] had reached level 2 quickly enough. Gunthar instructed Rainer as Kara fought as his opponent. Luna held responsibility for healing the damage that most certainly occurred.

Now, Rainer was trying to learn a more specific skill. Compared to Humans, females of Kara’s demonic tribe surpassed them in strength as, but children, yet between men and women in her tribe, there was a huge gap.

A gap that was eventually circumvented by her grandmother through her various techniques emphasizing speed and offense. A gap crossed by numerous skills in its pursuit.

“Wait, before we continue, let me test something out,” Rainer said, figuring he could use a small break to test out his new shielding ability, ”Hit me as hard as you can in the stomach,” Though he quickly added an amendment, “without Aura.”

Rainer took a strong stance and brought [Arcane Awakening] to 100%. He still had 3 hours before the Fae would arrive, more than enough time to recover fully.

His runic lines shown through his tunic and at his chest a Rune took form. Across his body, a plating of violet arcane energy appeared. Rainer was as if a statue, frozen by this energy.

Hesitantly Kara took a step forward and swung. And yet she felt as if she had punched a steel wall. She shook her hand and gave an annoyed glare to the grinning Rainer. This time, with no hesitation she swung with her full power. Yet without her use of Aura, her fist was once more rebuked.

Rainer canceled the skill, those three seconds of [Arcane Awakening: Shield Mode] had cost him more than half of his current Arcane Power. Added on to the base skill itself, and it was an expensive skill. He decided to fully test its capabilities, lest he wasted Arcane Power in combat.

Taking a few dozen seconds to refill his Arcane Power fully, Rainer spoke again, “This time use Aura, but start light and get progressively stronger.”

As if a hammer banging on metal Kara’s fist rang out.

[Arcane Awakening: Shield Mode has Reached level 2]

[Experience Gained: 11%]

In his joy at leveling the skill and seeing the experience, Rainer had lost focus and did not notice his Arcane Power dwindle and her last fist hit him completely unshielded. He flew back across the courtyard, his only defense being his resistances and the increased attributes of [Arcane Awakening].

Rainer coughed hoarsely as Kara ran in a panic over to him. The smile on his face confused her.

“Looks like that did it,” He said while Luna healed him.

[Physical Resistance has reached level 2]

Rainer took a less physical approach afterwards to learning Kara’s skill, but, in the end, he was unable.

--

Gunthar and Kara walked in the back as Rainer headed with Luna to the location. They would be responsible for either providing reinforcements at the start of battle or buying time versus melee combatants.

While lacking their second class in comparison, Kara was a powerful Demon with a total level of 27 and Gunthar had a genuinely high talent for Aura and hundreds of years as an undead.

While he needed to play the part of a mindless undead, and truly was one at times, he did not let all the time go to waste. At the very least, they both would be able to handle a fleeing and possibly injured second class Fae.

And if they fled by the sky? They’d only be making themselves a target for Rainer.

Rainer used [Magic Detection] to find the enchanted tree. And almost perfectly on time, 4 confused Fae arrived, keeping quite a distance from Rainer. Luna [Appraised] for Rainer as he lacked the ability to see through their defenses. She whispered to him the basic information.

“Three Grand Runic Knights level 1,1, and 3. One Fae Grand Enchantress level 3”

Rainer couldn’t help, but be confident after learning of their levels and classes.

They seemed to have all advanced by way of Fruit, or lacked the skills and titles for any greater class beyond the default.

All three of the [Grand Runic Knight]s wore the same small mithril armor, covering only vital parts. He had learned, quite embarrassingly during his request to get some armor made for him that most metals weakened Magic use. Even mithril and the blessed enchanted steel Gunthar had worn didn’t get rid of this weakness completely.

The Enchantress wore a blue dress, with the rest of her body covered in leather traveling clothes. She too, had a small mithril plate over her chest, though she lacked the shoulder and other parts of it. She had blue hair and blue eyes like Liliana and the other [Rune Knight], as Rainer only knew him.

Seeing that the individual who was likely their target had come to meet them, they assumed their agents had been captured, or otherwise. They all tensed as they instinctively [Appraised] in return.

“Did you bring it,” Rainer asked while holding up an Arcane Weaved cage with Luna inside.

The Enchantress swallowed nervously before speaking up. She had assumed the trade was off given the lack of her brother and sister at the meeting location, but perhaps they had been mistaken. In no way, did they wish to engage with the possibly legendary existence in front of them.

“We did,” Her voice while slightly jittery still had a smooth and ethereal intonation of a beautiful Fae, ”Where are our fellow Fae?”

“An insurance measure. They are all safe; I’ll give you their location when we’re done,” Rainer said as his party moved forward.

“Stop. Only you, your guards stay behind,” She said with as much confidence as she could muster. She handed the Fruit to one of her [Grand Runic Knight]s.

As Rainer walked forward, he had no intentions of handing Luna over. He had the summon ability, but he had no idea how easy or difficult blocking such a transfer was. Kara and Gunthar gripped their weapons as Rainer made his way toward the Fae.

Rainer held out the cage toward the Fae as he, in turn, held out the Fruit. Just as the Fae was about to grab the cage Rainer dissipated it, and in return, a hilt appeared. An [Arcane Blade] flashed as Rainer took the Fruit and stored it in his ring.

The Fae was not in his 2nd class without reason. The rune on his back flared, and he jumped away. The end of the blade caught him as Rainer stabbed forward. He screamed out, as he ran, his left shoulder, now useless.

Rainer brought [Arcane Awakening] to 100%, as the battle commenced. All four of the Fae disappeared in a Glamour. Rainer spread out his [Spatial Domain].

Kara brought out her demonic nature as she searched for the hidden Fae and an ethereal Werewolf began forming at her side.

Contrary to all expectations it was the [Archon] who rushed forward into battle.

[Arcane Sight] covered his eyes. The gravity lessened, and he leaped forward, outpacing the [Fae Grand Enchantress] several fold.

She desperately tried to take flight as he appeared right in front of her, but she was slammed into the ground. In her panic, she noticed not the [Gravity Domain] cast upon her. And in this failure, an [Arcane Blade] removed her head as she helplessly lay pinned to the ground. Her barrier flashed for, but a moment in defense.

The remaining three Fae formed a triangular pattern around Rainer in a frenzy. They had spread out to form a technique with all four of them, yet the [Archon]'s ability to see through their Glamour had left them incapable and reduced its power.

Magic surged around Rainer as their enchanted blades lifted straight toward the sky. They became wrapped in a fury of blue magical energies. Runic lines of magic connected all three and Rainer found himself unable to move. Kara and Gunthar rushed forward, yet were not in time as the blades fell and magical energy slammed into Rainer.

The snow rose in a spinning flurry and then melted instantly. The trees around them fell and broke from the energies. Kara had abandoned her phantom self and instead burned Aura to immediately shift into her Werewolf form. Her massive strength and speed slammed into one of the Fae as she consumed nearly all her Aura to empower her speed. He believed he had more than enough time to defend himself before the [Archon]’s guards arrived.

He was wrong.

His bones shattered and his body bent in directions that most assuredly determined his death. The two other Fae seeing this demon swat their comrade as if he were, but a fly instantly took to the air to flee.

[Arcane-Fire Combustion]

An explosion of Arcane-Fire sent one of the Fae tumbling to the ground. Gunthar ran over and stabbed his Aura Blade past the staggered Fae’s Runic defenses.

Rainer unleashed all eight of his armed bolts at the fleeing Fae, but with a glowing of his Runes, he dodged them, moving just slightly in various directions. Lacking the Arcane Power to increase the strength of the bolts, Rainer expected such a result.

The dust cleared and both Gunthar and Kara looked toward Rainer and found him untouched.

He had already left his shielded mode and formed a [Spear of Arcane-Fire] in his hand intent on killing the last fleeing Fae. The strongest of the [Grand Runic Knights]. Rainer knew enough about his shielded mode after the testing and his reaching of level 2, that their attack would fail.

[Magic Detection has reached level 2]

Aided in such a decision.

He had other means of stopping it, but he chose the one guaranteed to succeed.

Rainer’s [Arcane Awakening] nearly faded as he recharged his Arcane Power. The spear launched from his hand and soared toward the fleeing Fae.

Runes and Runic lines flared across the fleeing Fae’s body as he seemed to shimmer out of reality. The spear shot straight through him, leaving him untouched and exploding in the distance. He rushed farther away. He lacked even the mana to operate a Glamour, something quite inexpensive for most Fae.

Yet a surge of Magic and a roaring of thunder changed his fate, as a bolt of lightning struck down upon him.

Lacking even the slightest defense he fell. If he was not dead already, the thud when he landed, had assured it.

Rainer looked confused. He could detect the Magic had not been aimed at him, yet he knew not who aided him.

Kara, exhausted, shifted back her to Wolfkin form and hid her Demonic Aura. Her crimson eye returned golden. She breathed a sigh of relief at seeing Rainer unharmed and sat down onto the snow. Gunthar assisted Rainer in collecting the spoils of war; that would be left to sift through for later.

Far away, on top of the walls of Grimlar’s pass, stood a man wearing a similar gray robe to Martin. He too had long black hair and downward crooked nose, though he appeared close to thirty years of age. He did not know what went on in the forest. Only that the [Archon] fought with some foe. The surging of magic prevented his detection skills from seeing the truth at such a distance.

And so he aided in this endeavor.

He wiped the sweat from his brow. Casting magic at such a distance had taken a lot out of him. Even more so hiding the presence of his magic till the last minute had not been easy. He had nearly failed in doing such after being surprised by the strange and powerful spear that had been fired, likely by the [Archon].

“Father. Do you think perhaps Northerners never coming down has to do with the Fae?”

“I have no idea. But hopefully, my assistance was welcomed. I cannot wait to meet this man.”

This Archon…

George thought to himself as he stared at the orb in his hand. It was the Skyborne Mage Guild’s attempt at replicating [Appraisal]. It showed only one’s class and one's level, and nothing else. But, as far as he knew, it was difficult to detect. It was one of four owned by the guild.

He became giddy with excitement. From the north or otherwise, George couldn’t care less. He had risked the odds and his life to advance to the 2nd Class precisely to follow his passions.

So long as he answered any battle cries the Guild would support him in increasing his Lifespan and abilities with little effort from him.

Meaning, he had free time to pursue his fancies about the North. He had even begun planning a trip to the true north; none returned from....In secret, of course.

But now, he desired sincerely to meet this Archon. He only hoped his help was not unwelcomed.

--

Rainer walked toward town with Kara on his back. Her long black hair flowed onto his shoulders, and he could feel her light breath on his neck.

She had expended nearly all her Aura to instantly shift and then powerfully strike that Fae. Even with her increased Aura pool shifting instantly still cost a large portion of it.

She had, however, been rewarded.

[Wolfkin, Female, Blade Dancer lvl 16]

Rainer too gained in strength.

[Total Shared Experience Gained: 6%, 1920%]

[Calculating Excess Experience]

[Chronomancer has leveled up to lvl 2/25. Standard Attributes have been distributed.]

[Chronomancer has leveled up to lvl 3/25. Standard Attributes have been distributed.]

[Chronomancer has leveled up to lvl 4/25. Standard Attributes have been distributed. 1 Attribute and skill point have been rewarded]

It also told him, once more, how unique the [Arcanist] class was.

“We’ll take a few days, and then head to Nalmar. They won’t just let go so many of their own going missing.”

“I agree, Sorcerer.”

[Undead, Male, Death Knight lvl 19]

Different from Kara, Gunthar had only killed a 2nd class Fae with Rainer’s aid.

[Fairy, Female, Fae Enchantress lvl 22]

Rainer stared at the little Fae poking her head out of his coat. Had he not taken the risk on his 2nd Class Advancement, he could very well have lost Luna at this moment.

--

As the party made it back to the mansion, they found Martin and someone who looked little different than an older version of him by his side. He had the same green eyes and black hair though his class, was far different.

[Human, Male, Stormcaller(2nd) lvl 9, Wind Mage, lvl 19]

Rainer tensed his body. His mana through the use of spatial magic and refilling his Arcane Power was a little over half. He prepared at a moment's notice to activate [Arcane Awakening].

“Lord Magus, might I present to you my father.”

To Rainer’s surprise, his father showed absolute deference to him. A deference not fitting his power.

“Lord Magus, it is an honor to make your acquaintance. You may call this humble Stormcaller of the 2nd Tier, George La Tal.”

Rainer recalled that the Skyborne Mage Guild had been responsible for the Hunter’s Guild plates. He instantly assumed this man somehow knew of Rainer’s current class through whatever methods the guild had.

“Let’s speak alone,” Rainer said while narrowing his eyes. He was more than thankful for the help, but depending on what secrets this man saw, it was hardly a welcome help.

The tone of Rainer’s voice was not lost on George, yet the prospect of speaking with an existence that may be straight out of a Legend prompted him forward. Even this [Archon]’s low amount of mana for his class didn’t deter his excitement.

“Wait back at our place of stay,” George said toward his son as he followed Rainer inside.

“First, let me thank you for your help. But, I need to know how you know what I am,” Rainer spoke bluntly. In such close range, even if the Mage in front of him was far stronger, Rainer didn’t believe he couldn’t win.

“Most impressive.”

George, unoffended, took out a small black orb and handed it to Rainer. He [Appraised] it before deciding to be safe and not take it from his hand.

[Orb of Class Appraisal: Reveals the first primary class of the intended target.]

“I deeply apologize for the intrusion. I used it on you just as you were leaving town, I could not contain my curiosity. I dared not carelessly follow, but when I felt the pulsing of magic, I thought to assist you in battle. Yet it was over before I knew it and I saw your foes take to the sky. I rendered aid. I hope it was not unwelcome.”

“It was quite welcome,” Rainer paused for a moment before extending his hand and giving an introduction, “Rainer Nvos, Archon of the 2nd Tier. From my land, we grip each other’s hand as a greeting.”

George returned the gesture with a radiant smile on his face. He could not last remember when he had been so happy.

“I’m a bit tired after the fight, how about in a few hours I treat you to dinner?” He said as he recalled Kara resting on his back.

“Excellent!” After accidently yelling out loud Geroge lightly coughed, “I am staying at a room in the Baron’s mansion, please come seek me when needed. And have no fear, I have no intention of revealing information about yourself, Lord Magus.”

“Rainer, in private, will do.”

“Good, Good. Then I shall see you, Rainer, in a few hours,” George replied while reluctantly leaving with a spring in his step. All his questions and thoughts had been temporarily forgotten in his excitement.

An eccentric...is that not the type of Mage I was searching for?

Rainer thought. He hadn’t expected to come across one before the Dragon Isles, but he needed the support of other mages in his goal. Rather, a group of mages progressing magic freely forward, without the constraints of exclusivism, was exactly what he desired.

Rainer took Kara upstairs to rest as he pondered over what he’d speak of during their meeting. He knew he was taking a large leap of faith in trusting this man to keep him being an [Archon] a secret and the fact that he apparently hadn’t seen Kara transform. Yet he couldn’t help, but like the man, and George’s assistance had robbed the Fae of vital information.