Chương 428: (421) 6.35. It Started With A Whisper

The second floor of the Haven was similar to the first, although the hallways and rooms were a bit larger, and the only people he and the unnamed dwarf leading him passed were other apprentices wearing identical brown robes. Vin got quite a lot of silent, curious stares as they walked down the hall, and his core itched as he detected spell after spell being cast while the apprentices judged him with more than just their eyes.

This was the first time he'd really been surrounded by so many mages at once, and Vin realized that perhaps hitting someone with a spell without asking them first might be considered somewhat rude.

"The Whisperer is in here," the dwarf leading him said, stopping before the first room Vin had seen in this entire building with a sealed door.

"When you enter, be sure you are venting your mana continuously. Otherwise, you will be in serious danger."

"Venting, huh," Vin muttered, glad to have a name for the technique he'd just learned.

"Makes sense. You don't need to tell her I'm coming, or anything like that?"

"She will already know," the apprentice said cryptically, closing his eyes and turning his head once more.

"I wish you good luck." With that, the dwarf turned, silently strolling down the hallway and leaving Vin standing alone before the door. Peering at the door more closely, Vin realized it was enchanted. In fact, the walls the door was set in were as well. Tracing the magic with his senses, he was surprised to find that the entire room was enchanted. Well, that's interesting… Should I really be walking into a heavily enchanted room all by myself?

Sending a silent apology to his friends for his recklessness, Vin answered his own question by grabbing the doorknob and pulling it open, stepping into the room before he could second guess himself. The room itself reminded him of an old woman's foyer. There was a soft-looking couch in the center of the room, placed before a heap of glowing red stones that seemed to give off heat and light.

Glass-doored cabinets containing a fine assortment of delicate tools and polished stones lined the walls, along with a number of what looked like scrolls containing song lyrics. Vin was so busy skimming over a song that discussed living life in the shadow of the Burrow that he nearly missed the elderly woman standing off to the side. She was short even by dwarven standards, with the tip of her gray-haired bun barely reaching his stomach.

Similar to her apprentices, she also wore a nondescript brown robe, although hers was a far richer color, more akin to mud than to dried dirt. Noting his gaze, she smiled at him and motioned for him to close the door.

"Ah, sorry," Vin said, pulling the door closed behind him before turning back to face the fabled Whisperer.

"Hello! I'm Vin. I suppose I should start by thanking you for letting me keep my boots." As he made his greeting, he did his best to copy what he'd seen the apprentice doing, closing his eyes and turning his head so that his ear was angled toward the Whisperer. All the while, he made sure he was constantly pushing his mana out of his body faster than he could regenerate it. His newfound skill was a little bit tricky, but the longer he did it, the more used to the sensation Vin became.

He still wasn't sure exactly why it was necessary, but it was always fun learning a new magic-related skill. Though he realized the importance of said skill the moment the Whisperer opened her mouth." Welcome, child blessed by mana." Vin gasped and actually dropped to his knees as a literal wave of mana crashed into his front.

In an instant, that mild, annoying discomfort he'd felt during the apprentice's test returned tenfold, and it took everything Vin had to remain conscious as his newest skill was put to the test a hell of a lot faster than he'd expected. Vin bled mana from his body as fast as his newfound mental muscles could handle, slowly getting back to his shaking feet as he stared at the elderly dwarf in awe.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his eyes widening as he realized what he'd just asked and held up a hand to stop her.

"Wait, let me vent a bit more mana before you answer that question!" The old dwarf merely smiled and nodded, heading over to the loveseat and taking a seat as she patiently waited for him. Joining her, Vin stared at her as he sat down across from her in a small chair that matched the couch. In the event she did anything else he didn't understand, he wanted to make sure he witnessed it as it occurred. As soon as he'd emptied his manapool about halfway, he nodded.

"Alright, I think that's enough for now… How are you doing that?"" Why don't you tell me?" she whispered, the thrum of power in her soft words enough to shake him to his core despite the volume they were spoken in. That single sentence was enough to instantly restore almost a tenth of Vin's mana pool, and he shook his head in awe as he continued venting. At least now he understood why the apprentices gave people the test they did.

"You're imbuing your own words with mana… something I've only seen happen when people cast a spell," Vin said, still staring at the Whisperer as he tried to piece it together.

"Though I get the feeling it's less something you're actively doing, and more so something that is happening naturally. Otherwise your people wouldn't take such precautions with your entire existence." You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story." Smart. And correct," she whispered, giving him a knowing smile." I expected as much. I felt the caress of mana on your form the moment you entered our fragment.

Shifting that bird with a gust of wind to lead Hearshal toward you was the right call."

"Too much, too much!" Vin groaned, gritting his teeth as he vented mana like his life depended on it. He felt like his chest was halfway to bursting, and he breathed low and shallow as he strained to get the excess mana out of him. Total Resistance increased to lvl 20! 4, 000 exp gained. The more he practiced the new skill, the better he got at it. But even with his growing proficiency, every syllable the Whisperer uttered was like a slap to the face.

It was only his vast mana pool and newfound skill that was allowing him to stand firm in the face of her quiet voice. The fact that practically anyone else in all of Terra would almost assuredly just drop dead if they heard the Whisperer's voice shook him to his core. Perhaps Shia or Lumel would be able to withstand the sheer quantity of raw mana, but any non-mages would be utterly defenseless.

The Whisperer waited a minute for him to get to a comfortable, almost-empty mana pool this time before giving him an apologetic smile." My apologies. Even with my apprentices, it is rare when I am able to speak in full sentences with anyone."

"I can see why," Vin said, accepting the offered handkerchief from her as he wiped at his sweat-covered brow.

"Ignoring the whole bit about how you influenced a bird from over a mile away, which raises so many questions and frankly terrifies me, what do you mean when you say you felt the caress of mana on me? Are you talking about Manacraft?"" That is the term the Gods gave it," she nodded." But their System… it is merely a method of quantifying and building walls around a power that cannot truly be contained."

"Yeah, I already went through the whole world-shattering revelation that everything and everyone is simply mana given form," Vin drawled, earning a deeper smile from the old dwarf.

"How did you pull it off without melting? I had divine intervention on my side."" How else? Many years of meditation and introspection surrounding the concept of mana itself. Leveling the Runecrafting skill from 20 to 25 slowly and gradually, as the Gods always intended," she said, laughing softly at Vin's sheepish look. Even her laughter felt as if the very world was laughing with her. As though nothing bad could possibly happen across all of Edregon so long as she had a smile on her face.

"Yeah… I may have jumped the gun on that one a little bit," Vin admitted, clearing his throat as he looked to change the subject.

"Though if you'd already managed to achieve Manacraft… how are you actually here? From what I've been able to pierce together, anyone within their third prestige was left behind when their fragment was brought over to Edregon, and those who were within their fourth were given the option to come over in an isolated, divine sanctum. You're clearly not in a divine sanctum, but there's no way you hadn't managed to hit level 60 before all this. Not with how… wise, you are."

Vin said, changing his choice of words at the last second." You can say 'old', I won't be offended," she said, her smile never wavering in the slightest." As to the how… the mana warned me of what the Gods were planning. In response, I made a choice. I gave up my levels in order to come along for the ride and see what the Gods had in store for everyone."" What?!" Vin gasped, staring at her in shock.

"You can do that?! How?!"" It is a dangerous technique, similar to how you are venting your mana right this instant,"she explained, waving a hand at him." And it does not come without cost. Besides giving up much of what I earned from the System, I permanently crippled my body's ability to harness mana. I will never advance in level ever again, but it was more than worth it to ensure my people were not stripped of their leader along with their world. I am removed from the System now.

More akin to a magical beast than a person at this point." Vin held up a hand again, needing a few seconds to vent the surge of mana all her talking had thrown his way. He was beginning to breathe quite heavily now, and the handkerchief he'd been given was completely soaked through. It seemed even if he was mostly able to keep up with her, he was still too new to mana venting. A fact that she seemed to see quite clearly as she shook her head and got to her feet."

You have already surpassed all the expectations I had upon sensing one who had been caressed by mana. Let us pause here for today. Your body and soul will require some time to rest after filtering so much foreign mana through it, and I would not want to unintentionally harm you. I need time to listen to the mana myself. To decide just how much you and I should speak of with one another."

"A break sounds good," Vin gasped, getting to his own shaky feet and barely managing to grab the edge of the seat before he collapsed. It had been months since he'd felt this level of weakness in his own body. Definitely not since he'd gotten his endurance past thirty.

"When can I speak with you again?"" I will let you know," she whispered, giving him one last grandmotherly smile as she helped walk him to the door." Mana is a fickle thing. While there is much I would love to speak with you about, it is important I heed its whims, lest I get in the way of its desires. We will talk more later, don't you worry."

"In the most respectful way possible, I'd worry less if you stopped talking," Vin muttered, his head spinning. Leaning against the wall, he took a few ragged breaths, his insides starting to feel like a balloon that had been rapidly inflated and deflated one too many times in a row. Giving him a silent smile, the Whisperer opened the door for him, gently pushing him out and into the waiting arms of a new apprentice.

The young dwarf waiting outside didn't seem surprised in the least by the state he was in, and after closing the door behind him, she slung his arm over her shoulder, helping him back toward the stairs.

"Don't worry," she whispered, giving him a reassuring smile as they walked.

"Let's get you some rest."