Chapter 12: Offer and Refusal

Chapter 12: Offer and Refusal

Ember was ecstatic. Although he had read stories and even heard many gospels of what people of higher ranks and levels could achieve with mana, he had little personal experience with it while confined within the bounds of his home. But who could have imagined a single cast of his could cleave through a gnarled tree four times the breadth of his waist?

Of course, it exhausted half of his mana, but he was but a child, and his mana was still growing. Simply imagining the terrific and miraculous deeds he could perform with mana filled him with exuberance.

There was also another good thing that came out of this whole spell-flinging accident.

[Running (Common) +9 → Max.]

He was uncertain how this came to be, considering the last advancement in Running came only a couple of weeks ago. It had come right after his sudden lurch of movement when the tree fell towards him. In panic, Ember had somehow managed to pour all his mana into his lower body to fling himself out of the way.

Regrettably, he had no skill slots available to evolve it to a copper skill. He was still about 200 evolution points away from reaching Tier 3. If only he had a copper skill at early stages. It would have been a breeze if that were the case.

As the kids were already preparing to leave, Ember returned the wand to its rightful owner with a small amount of reluctance. While the power it could generate was quite startling, Ember was more interested in picking apart the mysteries etched within to figure out how something like this had been made. As far as he was aware, any elemental skill, even the minor ones, began at least at iron rank.

Yet somehow, an object only larger than a pen could accommodate an attuned skill, something that takes 9 skill slots or more. He wondered if his father would buy him one, though he did not ask. A Tier-3 wand was likely too expensive for him to play around with. Even his sister didn’t have one, which only reinforced his assumption.

Speaking of her, Rain was still tackling the thought that their father would not be looking after her during the hunt. He had mentioned it was something to do with his aura scaring away lower-level monsters, and the system not counting it towards her feat if she was too dependent on him.

“But what if I fall into some danger?” asked Rain.

Cliff met his daughter’s gaze, deliberating, perhaps uncertain how harsh he should be with her. “You still have the protective amulet I gave you, no?” Receiving a nod, he continued, “If you fall into danger, use that and scream at the top of your lungs. I will come to your rescue immediately.”

Rain nodded, but then a thought twisted in her stomach. “What if there is some beast that can break through the amulet?”

“There is no such creature waiting to assault you out there, Rain,” their father said. “There are only a few iron-rank creatures out there, and the hunters of the town have been taking care of them before the numbers grow any higher.”

Rain nodded along, although she didn’t seem entirely convinced.

“If you are so horrified, you should remain with Ember,” Cliff said. “You can choose a Healer or a lifestyle class. You know your mother would love that.”

“She would, wouldn’t she?” Rain snorted. Double-checking her supplies, attire, and her defences, she nodded towards Father and crept along with the other Oberons. The two other kids were no older than eight, and they swaggered off as though they were on a picnic.

I guess they have protective amulets, perhaps even better than the one Rain possesses, he thought. Still, they seemed too young for a hunting assignment.

Well, if they could get the Hunter title out of it, that would be terrific, as some titles not only bestow skills, but skill slots too.

“Eager to join them?” Cliff asked, peering at him over his shoulder.

Ember shook his head.

Cliff Blackstone arched an eyebrow. “Well, that’s surprising. I, for certain, imagined you’d wail to let me allow you to go with them.”

“Would you let me if I do?”

“Not a chance,” snorted the knight. “Your mother will bite me raw if I let you anywhere near danger. Besides, you haven’t developed any fighting skills yet. Just because you broke a dead tree with the help of a wand, you believe yourself to be a spell slinger?”

Ember did not think so. He was fully aware of where his skills lay and how limited he was. “Aren’t we going to go after her?”

His father narrowed his eyes, turning his head towards the wilderness. “We’ll move in a bit,” he answered. “Rain will probably notice us if we disembark right away. Now, before that, I’ll instruct you once again to always stick close to me when we are out in the wilds, or I can ask Gemma to drop you off at the inn.”

And miss the chance to safely observe the wilderness and what dangers lie beyond from under his father’s protection? Not a chance.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Meanwhile, Lady Evelyn held a bird in her palms—a mechanical one, no larger than a sparrow. The mana construct was painted akin to a sparrow as well, and would pass for the real thing if viewed from afar. Just by scrutinising its subtle and refined build, he could tell the construct was far more expensive than his spider.

“No need to be worried about your daughter,” she said to the knight. She tossed it into the air, and the sparrow construct flew in the direction where the kids left off. “I won’t leave them out of sight even for a second.”

Was there a camera or a magical equivalent embedded in the construct? Does that mean it comes with a screen or something where you get the live feed?

“It is a tier-three construct,” she explained, noticing his gaze. “Mostly used for spying, though in our case, it can help us oversee the children’s safety.”

Wow, she could smile too, Ember thought. Although the woman was polite and all, she had an innate iciness in her expression that hardly showed much emotion. It might be a Skill effect. Still, Ember deemed her far more principled than the other adult accompanying her.