Chương 49: Chapter 45: Who builds a staircase that starts after the staircase?

The right-hand tunnel led them deeper into the colony, and the passages gradually narrowed until the silk-lined walls pressed close enough to brush their shoulders. Nonetheless, the Embermoths ignored their intruders almost entirely. Unfortunately, the path ahead appeared considerably less welcoming. The tunnel had caved in at some point. Rather than clearing the rubble, the Embermoths had woven their way across it.

Silk bridges crisscrossed the gap, while narrow footholds and climbing anchors disappeared up the wall. Liene craned her neck up.

"I can probably climb that."

"You can probably fall off that," Celline said.

"I can do both." She walked forward and reached toward the nearest recess. Her fingers missed by nearly half an arm's length. Liene stood on her toes, and missed again.

"Ah Flames," she said, pointing toward the higher ledges.

"Once you're up there, it looks manageable. You kind of need to get up there, though." She had a point. The first proper foothold sat well above head height. After that, the route zigzagged through crystal supports that looked reasonably traversable. Liene frowned.

"Who builds a staircase that starts after the staircase?"

"Those who can fly," Celline said.

"I could make a platform with Crystal Step Formation, but rare spells require a lot more aether than common spells. It might destabilize the colony." Fabrisse studied the obstacle.

"I might have something." He had Terralift Minor. The spell was low-level and operated definitively below chest-level. Both girls turned. He crouched beside the wall and rested a hand against the packed earth, quietly reciting the mnemonic, "Earth, lift." A small mound rose from the ground, hovering just above the tunnel floor. An Embermoth floated lazily past the tunnel entrance. It continued drifting without a slightest iota of care.

"Well," Celline said.

"That's encouraging." Liene clapped.

"Oh! That's a great idea! But it's only big enough for half a foothold. Can you make it a bit bigger?" Back then his Resonance had been so poor that convincing dirt to move was like pushing a wheelbarrow with one wheel missing and the other one square. However, the Rank I version only could animate a small patch of dirt. Fabrisse didn't know what Liene saw, but she'd changed her tone to a more reassuring one.

"Hey, don't worry about it. If you can't do it yet, we can find another way." Celline nodded.

"There are usually other routes in colony structures. More annoying routes, but still routes." He didn't want other routes. He could do it. Completing Further Studies in Applied Lithics had awarded ten Earth Mastery Points, exactly enough to upgrade Terralift Minor. [Earth Mastery Points Available: 10] [Terralift Minor (Rank I) → Terralift Minor (Rank II)] [Cost: 10 Points] He willed himself to purchase. The spell expanded inside his mind. He could see new geometric relationships between mass, lift, and stability.

It made sense now. [Terralift Minor (Rank II)] Spellcasting Equation: Sequencing Accuracy (40%) + Mnemonic Integrity (40%) + Aetheric Resonance (20%) [SYSTEM NOTE: Sequencing Accuracy reaches optimal values when DEX ≥ 11. Current value: Optimal.] [SYSTEM NOTE: Aetheric Resonance reaches optimal values when RES ≥ 8. Current value: 6.] Not perfect. His Resonance was still slightly below the recommended threshold. The construct would be less stable than ideal. But it should hold.

"I can," Fabrisse declared.

"You can?" Liene's eyes slightly widened.

"I can. The spell got better."

"What does he mean by that?" Celline turned to Liene.

"I don't know," Liene said.

"Well, let's see it then! Can we try it?" After calculating, he concluded he could maintain a larger platform for several seconds. He nodded.

"Rise. Shape. Hold." This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The patch of dirt rose, now looking like a proper step.

"Oh, neat!" Liene immediately stepped onto it. The platform sank an inch, then it stabilized. Liene experimentally shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"It works!"

"It is currently working," Fabrisse corrected.

"Please be quick."

"Okay." Liene used the earthen step to grab the first crystal foothold overhead. A moment later she hauled herself up and onto the wall. She paused there and looked down.

"Fabri!"

"What?"

"This is amazing!" Her ribbons bobbed up and down as she exclaimed. Fabrisse wasn't entirely convinced that creating a slightly elevated patch of dirt qualified as amazing, but he appreciated the enthusiasm. Liene continued climbing. The route beyond the first foothold proved exactly as she'd predicted. Once she was up there, the rest of the ascent looked manageable. A few moments later she reached the next ledge and raised both arms triumphantly.

"I have conquered the staircase!" Then she turned around and spun another semi-circle.

"You should see up here. The view is great!"

"Keep your voice down!" Celline put a finger in front of her lips.

"Oh. Right." Liene's voice turned into a whisper.

"Your turn, Celline. I'll help you up." Celline stepped toward the earthen platform. Before she could place a foot on it, a wave of fatigue washed through Fabrisse. The platform immediately lurched.

"Whoa," Celline said, pulling her foot back.

"You okay?" Fabrisse hastily corrected the construct. The step steadied again, though maintaining it suddenly felt far more difficult than before. His head felt heavier by the seconds. He glanced at his status. [FP: 13/30] Then another notification appeared. [Warning: FP below 40%.] [Spell maintenance efficiency reduced.] [Warning: FP below 30% will significantly impair spellcasting efficiency, concentration, and thaumaturgic control.] [Note: Increase STR and FOR to improve maximum FP.] [Current Formula: +1 FP per 3 STR and 2 FOR.] So that's what Fortitude is for. Maintaining a spell is mentally taxing. Fabrisse exhaled.

"... I need a moment. I'm a bit out of breath." Celline looked him up and down.

"Huh. I thought Liene was the fragile one."

"Hey!" Liene protested from somewhere above them.

"I can cast at least... more than three spells." Celline looked Fabrisse up and down again.

"It makes sense, I guess. Linny's into fragile things." Fabrisse could no longer hear the chattering, but instead on the concept that'd just been etched into his mind. Focus Point. The Synod taught that every thaumaturge possessed an aetheric reserve. Cast enough spells, the reserve diminished. Rest, meditate, or absorb ambient aether, and it gradually replenished. Simple. The Eidralith was describing something… else. Maximum Focus Points increased with Strength and Fortitude. Why Strength?

If spellcasting merely consumed stored aether, physical strength shouldn't matter in the slightest. Maybe that was the reason why his friend Tommaso could practice offensive spells for bells without complaining. He was athletic.

"Do you think you can manage it again?" Celline asked, pulling Fabrisse back to reality.

"We should keep moving if we want to make it back before sunrise." Fabrisse glanced at his status. [FP: 18/30] Not ideal. Good enough.

"I think so." The second platform proved no easier to maintain than the first. Celline climbed far more efficiently than Liene had, yet by the time she reached the upper ledge Fabrisse's shoulders had already ached. The platform crumbled back into the earth. He leaned against the wall until the fog inside his head finally lifted. By the time he finally dismissed the spell for good and prepared to climb himself, nearly ten minutes had passed.

He wasn't entirely certain whether they would've reached the other side faster by searching for an alternate route. But it hadn't been a waste. Apparently all this climbing and casting had been training for him. [STR Training Progress: 43% to 6] [Terralift Minor Mastery Progress: 3% to Rank III]"Come on, Fabri!" Liene called from above.

"You won't want to miss the view from up here!" He hauled himself onto the first crystal foothold, immediately discovered there wasn't anywhere comfortable to put his feet, nudged himself sideways, almost slipped, recovered, then continued upward with all the elegance of a newborn giraffe discovering vertical surfaces. He really should have trained his Strength.

"Left foot," Celline instructed.

"A little higher," Liene added.

"No, your other left."

"I only have one."

"That sounds like a personal problem." Fabrisse continued climbing. By the time he reached the final stretch, both girls were already leaning over the ledge. Liene extended her hand.

"Here. I've got you." Celline followed suit. Fabrisse accepted both hands. Together, they hauled him onto the ledge. He immediately rolled onto his back, staring at the crystal-lined ceiling while trying very hard to breathe normally.

"I'm... merely... recovering from... spellcasting."

"Mhmm," Liene agreed. The ceiling overhead glowed a warm amber. The crystals here were different indeed. Smaller and uneven, they bulged and pinched there, occasionally appearing to have changed their minds halfway through growing. The crystals carried the Embermoths' glow from one cluster to the next, passing it onward until the entire ceiling shimmered in overlapping waves of gold, honey, and pale orange. So these were the younger crystal formations.

"Take your time," Liene whispered.

"Just... not too long."

"Why?"

"The moths are currently in very aesthetically pleasing positions." Fabrisse stared at her.

"What does that mean?" Celline folded her arms.

"It means she's been composing imaginary paintings in her head for the last two minutes and doesn't want the subjects to move before you've admired them." Fabrisse finally sat up and looked where Liene was pointing. By the Flames. Liene had been right. The view was remarkable.