Chương 436: (429) 6.43. That’s Some Staff

As it turned out, Vin and Shia hadn't spent the entire day working on the creation of the new artifact. They'd spent two days doing it. Both of them were utterly spent from the incredible effort they'd put into the construction of the grand artifact, and despite the fact that Shia clearly wasn't done talking about what happened and Vin wanted to test it out, each of them barely had the strength left to get back into Shia's house with Erik's help before they passed out.

When Vin awoke the next day, only to find Erik watching over the two of them, he yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he sat up.

"How long have we been out?" he asked, swinging his feet off the bed and blinking at the realization that he was positively famished.

"You slept for another full day," Erik said, causing Vin to recoil at the news." Seriously? Is Shia okay?"

"She is still sleeping. Most likely, she will need more time to rest and recover than you did. Splitting one's mind in half as she did for so long is no easy feat, and her endurance is nowhere near your own. She will be fine with a little bed rest, however, so don't worry."

"Well that's good at least," Vin said, turning and staring at the glowing staff somehow standing perfectly upright where he'd left it before collapsing into bed.

"... This thing is really something else, isn't it?"

"If I may be forthcoming with you, Vin," Erik began, his deep, brown eyes staring hard at the brand-new artifact as he spoke.

"What the two of you just accomplished? It shouldn't be possible."

"What do you mean? I've made artifacts before, and Shia's created magical plants," Vin argued weakly. He wasn't actually sure why he was bothering in the first place. He could feel the mana radiating off the staff from where he sat, which meant Erik had to be able to as well. With a start, he realized why he was hesitant to admit they'd done anything special. Despite Erik confiding in them that the magic crisis of his people had been solved, part of him was still worried the dryad would ask for the staff.

Erik himself seemed to read the expression on Vin's face, because the dryad smiled and shook his head.

"I am not going to attempt to take your newfound staff from you. Even if it weren't a bonded artifact, that wouldn't be fair to you. You and Shia poured your hearts and souls into the creation of this item and created something greater than the sum of its parts. Which is what I wanted to talk to you about." Erik hesitated, the millennia-old dryad looking almost unsure of himself for the first time as he fixed Vin with his ancient gaze.

Entire civilizations had risen and fallen in the time that this one being had been alive, and Vin couldn't help but shiver slightly under his serious look.

"... Precisely what Capstone did you receive when you reached level 50?"

"Friend of Mana," Vin admitted, not seeing any reason to hide the fact from Erik.

"Why do you ask?"

"As a magical beast myself, my relationship with mana is a bit different from that of a person's," Erik explained.

"I do not cast spells like you do, nor do I deal with runic formations. While I have learned over my long life to copy them somewhat when necessary, it is not my primary nor my preferred method of casting magic. Instead, I communicate my wishes with the mana directly. Convince it to do what I need done. The magic that you and Shia just pulled off… You were working with mana as I would. Directly, without bothering with runic formations."

"I was?!" Vin gasped, all but recoiling at the news as he glanced up toward the ceiling. He'd been informed under no uncertain terms by the Goddess that the act of utilizing magic without runic formations, such as how the Gods themselves used to throw their weight around, was what caused the corrosion and eventual collapse of the old System. It was why they'd gotten rid of the divine classes and classes such as Sorcerer, to ensure the problem wouldn't continue on Edregon.

"Isn't that really bad?"

"Not at all," Erik chuckled, calming him with his gentle, wind-like laughter and a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You misunderstand. We dryads do not wrangle magic into submission through sheer force of will. We essentially communicate our desires and ask it politely to help. That is what you were doing as well. Even if you did not realize what you were doing, you sang the song of the mana, and the mana listened. I will be entirely forthright in admitting that I do not believe myself or any one of the dryads could have done what you did any better. Friend of Mana indeed…"

"How could I possibly have used magic more powerful than what you guys are capable of?" Vin asked, still struggling to wrap his head around Erik's explanation.

"You've been around for thousands of years, and I haven't even hit my third prestige yet."

"You had more than a little help," Erik smiled, nodding toward the staff still standing perfectly upright beside the bed.

"I take it you didn't miss how it looks like a small version of the Tree of Ancients? The Tree of Ancients is a marvelous, living plant that has been home to me and my people for many millennia. The mana residing within the tree liked the idea of what you were attempting and decided to lend a hand to your efforts. This was as much Shia's work as it was yours, for the record.

As a Druid of Bonds, she was able to tap into the incredibly powerful bond between her people and the forest, along with the growing one between you and mana itself, essentially giving your own abilities an incredible boost. What you two created here is nothing short of a miracle, though I do not believe you would be able to recreate the feat anytime soon." This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"I'm honestly alright with that," Vin said, recalling the unnerving feeling of being turned into nothing more than a living conduit for mana to flow from the Sacred Forest into the staff. He somehow knew the mana didn't mean anything wrong by it. After all, what was his body beyond just another clump of mana given a unique shape? But even so, while he hadn't really minded at the time with his insane tunnel vision, now that he could think back on it, he was in no rush to be used like that a second time.

"Though I do feel a little bad that Shia won't be able to create grand artifacts for all of our friends like she did with me. I don't know, something about starting with a masterpiece and then realizing you'll never be able to top that sounds a bit disheartening."

"If that is what you think, then perhaps you don't know Shia as well as you think you do," Erik chuckled.

"You are forgetting that since she was a little girl, Shia has followed in the footsteps of the greatest mage the Sacred Forest has ever seen. Quite possibly the greatest mage our entire world has ever seen. From her very first spell, she has been attempting to climb an impossible wall. Seeing what magic is capable of does not dishearten her. It pushes her forward, and gives her the drive to continue improving herself to see just what she is capable of.

I can promise you, every time Shia sees that staff in action, she will be pushed to become an even more powerful mage. It takes a special kind of person to advance as quickly as you and your friends have been. You would do well to remember that you are not the only one advancing in levels at an incredible rate."

"You're right… Thank you, I'd nearly forgotten that," Vin admitted. The fact that he was the highest leveled of his friends admittedly made it easy to forget, but all of them were climbing in level far quicker than what was considered normal. Shia with her desire to catch up to her master and find a way to reunite the two of them. Lumel with her lust for discovery and wanting to crack the deepest secrets of reality itself.

Even Scule was driven by his want to both escape Tiny Town and make something of his life, along with the wish to keep his family safe, even if he'd never admit to it. And Vin had his own hunger to see just what this wonderful new world had in store for them and what kinds of magic he could learn rounded out the team. They all had powerful motivators pushing them ever forward, and working together side-by-side, they could grow faster than they'd ever be able to on their own.

His and Shia's latest creation was proof enough of that.

"I suppose I should allow you to get some proper rest," Erik said, squeezing his shoulder and glancing at the staff one last time.

"I will admit I am rather curious as to precisely what your and Shia's creation is capable of, so I would love it if you would drop by sometime in the future and fill me in."

"You can't tell just from looking at it?" Vin asked.

"I thought dryads had a unique relationship with plants and plant-based things, even more powerful than Druids do."

"Normally, we do. But that staff is a bonded artifact. I cannot glean any information from it beyond what my own two eyes tell me," Erik explained.

"The wood listens to you and you alone. In fact, if you so willed it, I believe you could convince the staff to withhold the power it is so clearly radiating. In the event that you ever wish to go anywhere without alerting every mage within a hundred feet to your presence."

"You know, that's a good point I hadn't thought about," Vin admitted.

"I was just planning to pull it into my Dimensional Sheath whenever I didn't need it, but good to know I have that option available to me as well." Even now, gazing at the staff standing ramrod straight by the side of his bed, Vin couldn't help but wonder just what it would end up being capable of. Unlike any of the artifacts he'd created, this time, he'd really just been used as a power source.

The spells held within would be entirely up to what Shia had originally planned for the staff, along with whatever ideas the mana had decided to throw in there. Seeing as it was a grand artifact, he had a feeling there was going to be at least one or two surprises in there for him to discover. Just looking at the staff filled him with the impression of sturdiness and reliability, which were both excellent traits to rely on when one was wandering the surface of Edregon.

"This should go without saying, but you are welcome to stay as long as you need," Erik told him as he turned and walked out of the room.

"Though knowing you, I imagine you've got plenty of things that require your attention you're eager to get back to."

"Thanks again for the help!" Vin called after him, his own eyes still glued to the staff. As much as he wanted to grab it and start experimenting right now, he had a pretty good feeling that he wouldn't be getting any sleep that night if he did so, and his body was still far more tired than he'd ever felt before. In an astonishing display of willpower, Vin forced himself away from the staff, rolling over in bed and getting back beneath his merider silk blanket.

He somehow knew without a shadow of a doubt that the staff would be in the exact place he'd left it when he woke up, and it was important he fully recovered before he let himself mess around. Though the moment he woke up, not even the stronghold of slumber's vice-like hold would be enough to keep him from playing with his newest artifact.