Chương 50: The Last Mana Well

The hike to the final mana well took Jonny uphill. Very uphill. Getting Igrette up here would be a task. But on the bright side, there were no trees. They just kind of stopped growing after a little while. He didn't really know why. It was like there was an elevation line where they just refused to grow past. Only a few saplings dared cross the line, while all the older, taller trees grew much further down. No trees meant fewer obstacles and more visibility.

It was also dangerous, because that meant that predators could see them from far away, but the most worrisome roaming predators were the winter wolves, and Igrette said they were likely still in the territory of the pack they had wiped out. The leader of that pack had been very powerful, and the whole group was strong enough they could have patrolled miles and miles around. The utter lack of evidence of wolf activity in the time since they left the first mana well lent credence to this theory.

Along with the lack of trees, it also became rockier and rockier as he went further up. This didn't change a lot for him, but it was something interesting to note. He bet it might have been a problem if there wasn't so much snow around, but as it was, the only rocks large enough to be obstacles were ones he could easily go around. He paused occasionally to check his bearing, and make sure he was still going the right way.

Igrette had said directly behind her as she leaned against the rock wall of their snow bank, and he wanted to make sure he wasn't climbing up hundreds to thousands of feet when she was actually pointing somewhere more downhill. But, matter how he looked at it, he was going in roughly the right direction, so he trudged on. After nearly two hours, he finally sensed it, and for what felt like the millionth time, he was slightly in awe of how well-honed Igrette's mana sense was.

Logically, he knew that he should have been able to sense this much sooner. It wasn't like there was suddenly more mana right here than there had been ten steps earlier. It was just at this point that he finally noticed the mana well's effects, while Igrette could feel them from all the way back at their camp. He was slightly off course, but that was mostly because he had chosen his route for ease of travel, rather than directness.

The mana well was not too far away from where he was, and now that he could finally sense where it was, he was able to adjust and pick his way closer. As with the previous mana wells, he slowed his pace, stopping periodically to make sure he wasn't missing anything important. The lack of trees made it easier to see that he was alone, and the periodic large boulders gave him plenty of places to hide if something did show up. Nothing ever did, though.

He made it almost all the way to the mana well without incident, only stopping when the ancient structure was in sight. This stone ring was much less intact than any others he had seen. It was practically just a cracked stone table and some rubble. There were only two things that looked like they might have been the original pillars in their original places, but the rest were in pieces on the ground.

It was set on top of a small hill, and the far side looked like it was a pretty steep drop down at least a couple hundred feet. Not a full cliff, but it wasn't something Jonny would want to climb without equipment. The mana well was unoccupied. It was also stronger than the one they had been at before. Not close to as powerful as the one in the cave, but it was a big step up. And even as he waited an entire hour, nothing showed up to claim it. No way, he thought. There's no way it's actually unoccupied.

That would be too good to be true. This mana well was far too exposed for nothing to have claimed it. Whatever lived here was just out at the moment. So he waited even longer. He found a snug spot hidden in the shadow of a large boulder nearby that had a smooth route back downhill in case he needed to book it, and just sat there. Another hour passed, then another, and another, and Jonny was starting to wonder if he had somehow gotten incredibly lucky. It was already past noon and nothing had shown up.

He thought about maybe leaving, and coming back at night to see if something would be there then. He didn't want Igrette to worry if he was gone for too long, which she no doubt was by this point, if she was awake. Fifteen more minutes, he told himself. He had no way to measure time accurately, but he knew how to count, and started counting up to sixty fifteen times. He had wanted to count up to however many seconds fifteen minutes was, but math was really never his strong suit, so he went with the easier route.

About halfway through the tenth minute, he finally heard something else moving nearby. He huddled closer to his boulder as the sound of scrapping and tapping got closer and closer, until finally, something crested the hill behind the mana well. Two enormous, pitch-black, curved horns attached to a head barely half their size poked up first. The mountain goat stayed there for a few seconds, observing the mana well with a blank side-eye for a few seconds before hopping the rest of the way up.

It sniffed around the edges of the ruined stones for a minute or so, and once it was satisfied that its resting place had not been disturbed, it returned to the center and laid down for a nap. Jonny watched silently, waiting for more to appear, but they never did. It was just the one. Jonny couldn't believe his eyes, so he waited even longer, but even then, nothing emerged to join it. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

That wasn't to say that the lone mountain goat wasn't imposing. It wasn't that large, physically, but in this world, that only meant that it had some kind of magical ability that made up for it, and he was willing to bet that its horns were related. The goat also looked experienced. It was alive and whole, but he could see streaks along its flank, scars where fur no longer grew, and one of its horns had a chip in the front. This was not a young goat. It had been around for a while, and it had survived a lot.

Even if it was alone, that didn't mean it was an easy target. But, it was doable. If it was just one, and it wasn't a predator, he could take it. He just needed to get on its back, and choke it out. Or even better… He fingered Igrette's knife that he kept strapped to his hip. Knives would never be a part of his fighting style in the distant future, but against magic beasts at this level, it could still be useful.

Starting at third layer, beasts began to have hides tough enough to at least resist knives, but he doubted that the goat would actually be tougher than the steel, and with his strength behind it, he would be able to pierce it. He had not yet used the knife for combat, but with Igrette's life at stake, he would gladly "cheat" a little to help him get the job done. He was tempted to just try to kill it right then and there. It was asleep. It didn't know he was there.

If he was fast enough, he could stab it right in the neck before it had time to react. But was he fast enough? Could he kill it before it woke up? He took a mental step back and spent a few minutes observing it, following the steps Igrette had laid out. It was smaller in size, and had very obvious horns. The horns stood out to him as unusual, and according to Igrette, that was a sign that they were in some way magical.

Beasts who relied on magic rather than stealth or physicality to survive tended to display that proudly in order to ward off would-be predators. It was similar to how toxic creatures tended to have bright colors to warn other creatures away. That meant that its body would be slightly weaker than something more physically-focused at the same layer. As for what layer its core was, Jonny had to assume it was third. If it was holding a mana well in such an obvious location on its own, it couldn't be second.

That made things trickier. He had never fought a third layer beast on his own before. But second layer beasts also no longer really posed a serious challenge to him. At least, he could consistently defeat them, even when they had powerful natural weapons, like the wolverines. Plus, this was an herbivore, and while strong, they weren't designed for hunting and killing the same way that carnivores were. Theoretically, it should be beatable, but Jonny also knew it couldn't be simple.

This goat had clearly seen its fair share of predators and lived to tell the tale. Now, here it was, sleeping peacefully in a mana well in a very exposed location with no other goats to protect it. It couldn't be weak. And without any stealth abilities, he doubted he would be able to just walk up and stab it. If that was possible, then the goat would have died long ago. Unfortunately, that was about as far as his analysis could get.

The goat was strong, and wouldn't be easily taken by surprise, and its horns were magical in some way, but beyond that… Should I just try to attack it and see what happens? Part of him told him that was a bad idea. Another part of him told him that if he could kill it now, he could have Igrette at a mana well that night, and possibly save her life. Whether he attacked now, or waited, he doubted he would feel any more prepared.

The only thing that would possibly change would be if Igrette knew what species it was, and told him what its horns did. That would have been the smartest move. Return to Igrette, ask her about the goat's abilities, then come back and try to kill it. But he was getting impatient. Restless. He wanted to know. It was a risk, but a risk he thought was worth it. If the goat proved too much for him to handle, he would run.

He was pretty sure he'd be able to run, and he was also pretty sure the goat wouldn't chase him too far. Magic beasts were territorial, but the herbivores weren't vengeful. If it scared him off, that would be it. It was risky, but he didn't feel it was that risky. And the reward was well worth it. Nodding to himself, he carefully stood up from his crouched position.

His legs were tight from holding the position for so long, so he took a minute or so to stretch them out, keeping an eye on the mountain goat the whole time. It did not hear him, or otherwise react to his movements. When he felt he was ready, he approached as quietly as he could. He had no illusions about being able to sneak up on it, but on the off chance that it wasn't paying attention, he wasn't just going to throw away an easy victory.

He was about fifty feet away when it suddenly opened its eyes and looked at him. The second it did, Jonny charged, hoping to reach it before it could get to its feet. He kept his eyes and mana sense fixed on its horns, ready for anything it might try to throw at him, and as he drew nearer, its horns did start gathering mana. He slowed down, bracing himself to dodge if it tried to fire any mana attacks at him.

The mana in its horns flared as it got to its feet, and Jonny tensed his legs and pre-emptively dodged to the side. No attack came, though. Instead, Jonny felt an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was confused, but only for a split second before he recognized the feeling. It was weightlessness, as though he was falling, but it was prolonged. He glanced down at his feet, which really should have hit the ground by then, but found that they were drifting down much slower than they should have.

He hadn't even gone very high in the air, and he was still taking so long to fall. Then, the goat's horns flared with mana again, and he suddenly plummeted, landing hard on the ground, and when he stood up, he felt like he was wearing a weighted vest three times his size. Gravity, he realized. The goat was standing strong, lowering its head toward him, clearly preparing to charge. Jonny grinned. This was not what he expected, but it was almost better than he could have hoped for.

His situation was dire, but for the first time since Igrette had even told him it was possible, he was starting to visualize what being heavier was like. And even if he couldn't quite figure that out right now, he was pretty sure he would at least be able to punch a lot harder.