Chương 106: Chapter 103: Haste Drives a Man to Drink

Of all things, Ellesea was thinking about sweat. More specifically, how there was more than one way to make a person sweat, meaning there were different kinds of sweat. And yet, it all came from the same place, namely, her body, and now her forehead was starting to get raw from all the times she rubbed it with a cloth before the liquid could drop into her eyes. So what type of sweat was she suffering from? It was hard to say. For sure, it could have been a simple case of overheating sweat.

Certainly it was hot enough outside. But it wasn't, thanks entirely to the giant glowing rune floating in the air several feet away from her. Which itself was an entirely different story, so more on that later. There was an argument to be made that she was experiencing a cold sweat, brought on by fear or nervousness. After all, Headmaster Veloran was taking precious time out of his schedule to tutor her personally. Sort of.

Again, that was another ordeal which would sit nicely in its little box until it could be unpacked. The third kind of sweat that came to Ellesea's mind was over-exertion. Whenever she exercised (which was not often), she always ended up damp in uncomfortable places. Technically, this shared a great deal of overlap with the first type, but since she could be jogging in the snow and still end up sweaty, she felt it deserved its own classification. Finally, there was the sweat of concentration.

Maybe this, too, had overlap with another type, as it could be reasoned that concentration could be the result of or precursor to fear or nervousness. But in this case, it was not. If anything, the single emotion threatening to dominate every mote of Ellesea's brain was frustration. Her entire being seemed balanced on tightly strung wire; at any moment she could tip either way. And she really really wished she would! She was so darn close to finishing this puzzle! Left… straight… right… right… straight…

left- no wait, right! Arrrgh! Ellesea nearly threw the small piece of enchanted stone… but she kept her composure. Only just barely, but she was glad she did. She didn't want to appear ungrateful to the Headmaster. Not that he was currently paying her any attention. The man seemed split too thin, but he looked remarkably better than the last time Ellesea had seen him, in this exact same spot, no less. At the very least, he wasn't being kept artificially awake through magic and stimulants.

Instead, he had a small team of assistants attending to his every need, looking overworked. Each one seemed responsible for a different facet of the Headmaster's current obsessions, and he rotated through them like a [Jeweler] examining a precious stone. Which is to say, Ellesea had no idea what was going through his head, and she was grateful that he'd taken the time to personally enchant these puzzle boxes for her when he certainly didn't have to.

As for what Ellesea was doing, it started off with trying to understand Melia's [Spell Page]. Ellesea wanted to try to make some progress toward learning ancient Haste techniques, but the mischievous little gnome had wandered off in the morning. Jessica and a [Retainer] went to find her around lunchtime, and the last remaining [Retainer] told Ellesea that Melia would undoubtedly return to her lair in the early afternoon. So, she pocketed the page and went about her day.

After lunch, which was a delightful salad of freshly grown produce from the gardens, she made her way out to the dragon's den. She didn't immediately find Meliastraza, but she found the Headmaster, right back to work. To Ellesea's great surprise, he asked her if she'd come to practice her teleportation, and frankly, she was shocked that the man remembered what she'd told him. He didn't seem in any sort of state to remember little details like that, but apparently, he did.

So after a brief chat and discussion of her plans, the Headmaster produced several tools to help her focus. While these tools wouldn't directly further her understanding of any [Teleportation] spell, they would build a solid foundation to work from. And, truthfully, in Ellesea's early days as a [Mage], she'd played with toys very similar to these. Toys. Not fully-fledged learning tools. What the Headmaster had given her was a series of cubes.

They ranged in size from something slightly too big to hold in a single palm to a couple resembling a pair of dice. The larger they were, generally, the easier they were to complete, which wasn't doing their difficulty justice at all. You see, they were mazes, which might sound simple enough on paper, but these were most definitely made of stone. And they were a full 3 dimensions… a solid 3 dimensions.

The enchantment in the stone allowed for a [Mage] (or anyone with decent mana control, really) to channel their mana through the invisible route. Like a mundane maze, there were dead ends, blocked paths, and, sometimes, multiple routes. However, the difficulty of a magic cube quickly outpaced anything of common variety, especially if it was made by one of the premier [Archmages] in the kingdom. Headmaster Veloran's mazes were devious. They had timers. They had speed limits. They had switchbacks and traps.

If the person didn't solve the puzzles flawlessly, they couldn't complete them at all. For instance, in the easiest cube. Ellesea had to take a left turn at a certain point, stop at an intersection, retrace her steps backward to the previous intersection, and take the right turn instead. If she went any further on the first intersection, she'd trigger a rune that would fizzle the spell and eject her mana, causing her to fail.

If she went too slow, a "wall" would rise at the first intersection, blocking her path and making the puzzle impossible to complete. If she went too fast, an inhibitor would kick in and collapse the finish line. And on top of all of that, she had to do it blind. Ellesea assumed certain people might be able to see the Headmaster's magic through the solid rock, but she wasn't up to that level yet. She only knew where the entrance and exit were; everything else was done by feel.

So far, she'd completed 4 out of the 7 cubes he'd given her, and Ellesea was feeling very proud of herself. But… her competitive side wanted to complete the whole set, so she kept toiling away. At the very least, she felt like the practice would help her grow as a [Mage], if maybe not directly for fighting." Ooooooh," a deep, feminine voice sent shivers up Ellesea's spine as her most recent attempt to solve the cube failed." You were so very close that time!"

"Thank you very much." The reason why Ellesea suspected powerful people might be able to see the cube's magic? The dragon was lying down in her lair right behind her. Somewhere in the last several hours of toiling away at the mazes, Meliastraza had returned. And, while Ellesea was grateful for the dragon's return for many reasons, it did bring along several… complications. Not the least of which being major magical envy.

Ellesea wouldn't consider herself a jealous person, but it was impossible not to feel inferior standing next to a creature that made her look like a literal insect. So, yes, Meliastraza had provided a gigantic cooling rune that kept the entire clearing feeling like a pleasant day in late autumn or early spring, but it also came with the unexpected side effect of excitable [Scholars].

Ellesea had spent the better part of 20 minutes listening to Headmaster Veloran explain how the rune both was and was not the perfect example of cooling spellwork. On one hand, the rune did exactly what it was programmed to do: keep a set area at a set temperature. On the other… it was almost the perfect example of how not to create a rune. It was big, bold, flashy, and completely undisguised…

meaning people like him could walk right up and study it without having to break through any defenses or decode the language like a secret message. In fact, if Ellesea heard correctly, the rune only had two major definitions: cold and here. A few minor additives gave some clarity on how cold the rune was supposed to make the area and how large said area was supposed to be, but they almost sounded like afterthoughts.

So, while it did the job, nobody in their right mind would ever use such a technique to actually make a cooling charm. For one, they wouldn't likely be able to power it. The initial cost of bringing down the temperature was quite high, but it paled in comparison to keeping it there over the long run. It's why [Ice Mages] were in high demand… and their spells were closer to chucking hunks of ice at objects rather than freezing them solid. Unless a person had the power of, say…

a dragon or The White Witch, a rune like this was laughably inefficient and grossly opulent. But it was also the sole reason why Ellesea's sweat wasn't due to heat, so she couldn't complain. The other drawback of having Meliastraza lying right next to her was that Ellesea had a really huge dragon breathing down her neck. Intellectually, Ellesea knew Meliastraza wouldn't hurt her. Instinctively… she was subconsciously wondering how long it would be before she got eaten.

Thankfully, she'd just been out feasting, as Jessica explained when they got back. The [Hunter] may have even been given some of the spoils, because she was holding her gut and waddled away like she'd overindulged at too many food stalls.

"I'd say you're making excellent progress," the Headmaster said, looking over.

"To think you've made it to rank 4 and mastered a class evolution at such a young age…truly spectacular."

"Thank you very much, Headmaster." The man's praise made her blush, and Ellesea put extra concentration into her next attempt. Her current puzzle was the last of the "medium" sized cubes before the two dice-sized problems, and honestly she wasn't looking forward to them. She'd been stuck on this cube for about an hour and she was starting to feel the strain on her magical reserves. Just because her mana refilled quickly didn't mean she could continually cast spells every day at an unlimited pace.

Eventually she'd reach a point where magical fatigue settled in and she wouldn't be able to do anything until she recovered. Usually that happened after a good night's sleep, and Ellesea could already tell that as soon as her head hit a pillow tonight, she'd be out cold. After a few more failures, Ellesea decided to put the cube down for the time being. She wasn't giving up, but she could tell that she was only about ⅔ of the way through the puzzle and the remainder of her reserves would be better spent elsewhere.

She put the cubes away inside her inventory and took out her [Spell Page]. Unlike the puzzle cubes, this small slip of paper taxed her brain in a different way. Meliastraza had shockingly beautiful handwriting, but the problem was reading what she wrote. Ellesea only spoke Common, and she was almost certain this spell was written in at least 4 languages.

It was possible the various languages created a devious security system for the ancient spell, since one would need to be very learned to read the thing in its entirety. Most [Mages] guarded their spells closely, doubly so if they were custom or rare. Things that were taught in classrooms or stored in public records were another matter, but this spell certainly wasn't common knowledge. Ellesea stole a glance at the lazy dragon. No, that most certainly never crossed her mind.

If Meliastraza wanted something hidden, Ellesea had no doubt it would be hidden. Nobody would ever find it. But that wasn't the only feature of the spell that could be confused as a security measure, and this one truly captivated Ellesea. Meliastaza's [Spell Page] came with a diagram of the spell included, and it was vastly different than the one Ellesea was used to. She pulled up her own [Spellbook] to compare. [Arcane Blast], as far as she knew, looked something like a star.

It had several pointy ridges but was otherwise self-contained. Meliastraza's looked closer to a sailor's knot or something she'd find to tie a bunch of parcels together. Therein lay an intriguing difference. With a spell shaped like a star, mana flowed circularly, compounding on itself. Ellesea assumed that's where [Arcane Blast]'s power amplification came from. No matter how much mana she funneled through the star, it wouldn't get any faster, but it would continue to grow.

Like a sewer tunnel continually filling with refuse until it overflowed. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. … why did that have to be her reference point? Moving along. Now, the knot was different. It had an obvious entrance and exit, like two ends of rope. If Ellesea traced the line in entirety, it wouldn't create a feedback loop, but instead exit the system when the spell finished casting.

However, successfully casting this version of [Arcane Blast] was like pulling on the knot. With each tug, it got tighter. The mana flowed smoother, the distance seemed shorter. In essence… it was faster. Ellesea grew excited. She didn't know if her new class was entirely responsible for her new revelations, or if it was her advancement in levels, but she had a hunch that if she tried studying this spell in the past, it would've flown right over her head. Now? She was eager to give it a try.

She turned away from the [Scholars] so she wouldn't disrupt them and began casting.

"[Arcane Blast]." No, that was no good. The spell had been her mainstay and building block of her entire rotation. It wasn't something so easily changed. As soon as she brought it up in her mind's eye, it instantly reverted to the familiar, tried and true method. This was going to take some work.

"[Arcane Blast]. [Arcane Blast]. [Arcane Blast]!" Still nothing. Ellesea admired the buff on her status, which displayed her current amplification, but along with making her arcane spells more powerful, it raised the cost, so she had to let it run out lest she exhaust herself. As soon as her mana refilled, she tried again. And again. And again.

"Ooooh!" a small child's voice rang out excitedly.

"Look at the pretty fireworks!" Ah, that was another bizarre feature to this already strange day. Not long after Meliastraza had flown in, fully visible in broad daylight, nearly all the children in Abbyton had come running. Several adventurers had too, but they'd been stopped by the [Retainers] and other people who were in the know. The children, however…were treating Meliastraza like a playground. And the crazy dragon was loving it.

"As you can see," the Headmaster dictated behind her, "The children are fearless. Observe as they scale the beast as a [Climber] ascends a mighty mountain, unsatisfied until he reaches the lofty summit. There, the children reign supreme, until such time as they see fit to slide down the slick, black wings and try again." Headmaster Veloran was ecstatic to study Meliastraza again, and he was even more pleased to see her interact with people.

Dragons were so rare to see in the first place, even in a capital city like Horizon, and so their wealth of magic was like a mystery. Because he had so many various things to study… Meliastraza's rune, her barrier, her lair… Meliastraza herself… the man needed many ways to record his observations and notes. He had a dictation quill which listened to his voice and wrote for him. He had a [Scribe] seated next to him writing down everything he had to say, word for word.

He had 2 [Scholars] taking notes and adding their own thoughts and citations. And, of course, Headmaster Veloran had a notebook in his hand and his quill was moving in a blur. Ellesea turned to appraise the kids. They truly were fearless, weren't they? The first thing they'd done when they reached the dragon's lair was squeal in delight. They hadn't faltered at all upon seeing her massive size, her scaly visage… or her giant fangs in her wickedly smiling mouth.

Oh ho ho was all Meliastraza had said as they glomped onto her, one by one, like flies splattering on a coachman's mask. She nudged some of them playfully and watched them carefully as they slipped and slid around her ludicrous lair, burying themselves in her wealth and throwing handfuls of gold coins at each other. … In some ways, Ellesea pitied these children. When they grew up, they'd have absolutely no sense of value. But strangely… very few adults were willing to come near.

Perhaps Ellesea had gotten used to it, having been in the dragon's company for so long, but she could still remember the biting fear that wracked her body when she first laid eyes on Meliastraza's true form. Had that only been a couple of weeks ago? It felt like a lifetime. It wasn't, and Ellesea found herself gazing at the dragon fondly. Just as she admired the Headmaster, who was braver than she gave him credit for… or perhaps, blinded by academic greed.

He was one of the few adults that approached Meliastraza without restraint, and he'd done so… to quiz and survey the children on what they thought about sliding down the back of a magnificent magical beast. And then turn to his recorders and comment on how said beast, whose head was mere feet away and could swallow him whole, appeared to merely be lying in wait for the most opportune moment to eat everybody. Now, with the child's exuberant cry, the researchers were provoked again.

"As you can see," the Headmaster wrote frantically, "The children are excited. Their exuberance knows no bounds. Ah- exuberance. Ex-ooo-buhr-ance. Stupid scroll," he muttered, flicking the dictation quill and scratching out a line.

"Their joy cannot be contained. On top of being fearless, perhaps they have a future in studying magic? Let us observe. Small child! Yes, you! You say you like the fireworks? How about this?! [Arcane Blast]!"""Oooooh!"" Several voices cried out and Ellesea rolled her eyes. She didn't take the Headmaster as one to try and one-up her in front of small kids. But she could be petty, too.

"[Arcane Blast]!"

"Wah! That one's pretty!" Ellesea shot a look at the Headmaster out of the corner of her eye and smirked. Technically, almost all [Arcane Blasts] looked identical, but there were subtle differences that were mostly out of the caster's control. Such as the fact that Ellesea's [Blast] had more purple in it than most, while the Headmaster's was almost entirely white." How fun!" Meliastraza exclaimed, and Ellesea's smile died a quick death.

She could see the Headmaster's grin turn into a worried frown as the dragon began gathering power in her throat… but then he took on a manic gleam and moved closer, ready to observe. Ellesea shook her head." How about this?!

"Meliastraza boasted." [Arcane Bubble]!"

"Unfair!" She heard the Headmaster gripe.

"That's not a standard spell!" And yet, Ellesea watched, transfixed, as the dragon opened her mouth. Where, once upon a time, she might have expected a world-searing fire, Ellesea saw something completely unheard of. It was a bubble… a gigantic, clear, shimmering bubble that blew up from the back of Meliastraza's throat and grew to enormous proportions by the time it exited her fanged mouth. The huge thing, a quivering, prismatic sphere, had to be at least 10 feet wide.

It hovered in place, slowly sank to the ground… and bounced back up. It squashed comically as it hit the pile of gold she was lying on, but if Ellesea had to guess, that bubble was quite hard to pop. The kids, of course, nearly lost their minds. Some jumped up and down rapidly while pointing; others tugged on each other's sleeves. One brave little boy worked up the courage to approach… and actually touched it. He was immediately sucked in. Ellesea's eyes went wide with panic, but Meliastraza simply laughed.

Certainly, she'd never allow the kids to hurt themselves… right? The boy, as soon as the shock of getting eaten by a bubble passed, was over the moon. His energy level had to be at least rank 10. He was initially kneeling on his hands and knees, but he quickly stood up and started jumping around. Meliastraza grinned, turning her feral smile his way. Her huge eye pointed at Ellesea… and winked. She took a deep breath… and blew a puff of hot air at the bubble. The boy went cartwheeling away.

Again Ellesea's breath got caught in her throat, but thankfully, after about 30 feet, the bubble popped. And, because of course she was, a [Retainer] was standing underneath it to catch the boy safely. She then carried him back to the dragon and set him down by the others. Headmaster Veloran was madly scratching away while Meliastraza did a funny little dance where she tapped several of her claws against the ground while the tip of her tail thrashed about. Her head bobbed jovially and she blew several more bubbles.

This time, the Headmaster was ready. He instantly inserted himself into a bubble and used a spell to propel himself to greater heights, yelling at his assistants the entire time. Ellesea could only hope that he remembered to cast [Slow Fall] if he flew too high. The children saw the adult take off and were instantly envious, but Meliastraza refused to send them flying. But she did spend a good portion of the afternoon blowing magical bubbles for the children while Ellesea went back to practice.

Eventually, as the sun was setting and she was about to give up for the night, something clicked. She cast [Arcane Blast] just like she always had… but instead of following the tried and true star method, her brain switched gears and latched onto the rope-knot. She was so shocked, she nearly fumbled the spell, which would have caused it to fizzle. But she didn't, and it went through. To everyone else in the field (except, perhaps, Meliastraza), it was an ordinary [Arcane Blast].

But Ellesea's eyes instantly darted to her status, and what she saw left her speechless.

[Arcane Blast] Amplify spell haste by 1. 2 times, increase cost by 200 percent. Stacks infinitely.

Ellesea was so shocked, she let the buff expire. She stared at her shaky hands, as if she couldn't believe what they'd just done.

"Congratulations," Meliastraza's quiet voice whispered in her ear. The dragon's head was still turned to face the children, who'd tuckered themselves out and were wobbling unsteadily on shaky legs, but her eye was pinned on the [Arcanist]. Ellesea calmed her nerves and tried again. It was a success! She kept casting [Arcane Blast], over and over, faster and faster, until her mana pool was completely exhausted. Just like she was. Silent tears started pouring down her cheeks as her face lit up with a beaming smile.

Even though she'd only had it for a month, this goal felt like a lifetime achievement. A hand fell gently on her shoulder, and she looked up to see the Headmaster's calm, smiling face.

"Well done," he said quietly.

"How about you join me at my table?" Ellesea took his hand and pulled herself up. She followed the man back to the crude research station, which seemed to be a growing attraction around these parts. His assistants had already left, and it was just the two of them.

"It seems you've found a priceless mentor," the Headmaster said. Ellesea followed his eyes as they lay focused on Meliastraza.

"I'm sure I don't need to explain to you how valuable that is…or how rare." He sighed and shook his head.

"Dragons are possibly the most arrogant, greedy, self-entitled creatures on this planet we call home. And for good reason. They hoard everything: jewels, riches…magic. Their knowledge of the arcane is not something they'd part with so easily. I don't know why this dragon in particular has latched onto you and your friends, but you should cherish it. Don't squander it. Take what she gives you and ask for more. I'd say demand it…but you know her better than I."

"Do you…know who she is?" Ellesea asked. The Headmaster gave a contemplative hum.

"I have my theories," he mused.

"She loves children; this is obvious. She also favors the human lands, and this abbey in particular. Does that make her one of Celestara's offspring? She's more powerful than a demigod. That could mean she's a spawn of Letharion, though I'm doubtful. She takes the form of a gnome… which I find quite odd. With dragons, you must consider their Human form. Usually they'd become a human or an elf, something large and imposing. Size matters.

Which is telling, considering her real body there outstrips any Black Dragon I've ever seen by many times. So a dragon that takes the form of a gnome… who would do it? They'd either need a very good reason to, or they'd be so sure of themselves that they'd be beyond garden-variety conceit. They'd be so self-sure that no amount of envy or jealousy could ever begin to scratch at their confidence, and so they'd feel free to take on any form they want. Looking at Meliastraza there… it's certainly the latter.

Perhaps the former as well? It could be both.

"But there's another angle, another reason for her to become a gnome. Is she, perhaps, a reincarnation of Ghelt? I'm inclined to say no…if for the only reason that the God of Magic is exclusively depicted as a male gnome. And…while my heart tells me she is powerful beyond my comprehension, my mind wants to water it down. Is she really a god in mortal flesh? Is she perhaps a scion of Ghelt? A champion? Is she really a dragon?

"I've watched her closely over the last few days and I can only say that I'm conflicted. I've seen more dragonish things come from her than an entire rookery at World's End. And yet…she allows children to scale her like a mountain. She bestows gifts and encourages smiles. She both is, and is not, the dragon."

"Hmm," Ellesea nodded.

"You might be right on that last point. I admit, I know nothing of dragons. But if I had to guess? I would agree. The dragon is more fitting than you could guess." However… as much as she wanted to, Ellesea knew that Melia's secret wasn't hers to share. And yet, the dragon herself seemed to be able to read her mind, as Meliastraza's voice echoed between Ellesea and the Headmaster." You may tell him, if you wish," Meliastraza said imperiously.

Shiverers went up Ellesea's spine, and she felt strangely like she was given permission in a way that only certain beings could. Meliastraza's large, violet eye blinked." If you think he can handle it. And… what he does with that information is up to him, but if he should misuse it, there will be… consequences." On one hand, the fact that Meliastraza was willing to share the deadliest secret in the world spoke volumes for what she thought of Headmaster Veloran's character… and how much she trusted him.

Ellesea weighed the man in her eyes and found him fitting. Among the few people in power that Ellesea actually knew, he was one of the few who were truly good.

He'd dedicated his life to Humanity. Teaching them and raising up the next generation of [Mages] and magic users so that they wouldn't repeat the mistakes of the past. She found him worthy. Still… Meliastraza's true identity was a little bit hard to swallow. Ellesea turned to face Veloran and found him waiting patiently, his eyebrow raised speculatively. Well, if that's how he wanted to play it….

"You're partially correct," Ellesea admitted.

"I know little of the gods; for that, you'd have to ask Al. I don't know where she stands among them. But I do know her class, and as she says, she's willing to share that with you. I'll warn you: as someone who once had it told to me, it can break you. Is this a risk you're willing to take?"

"I've lived a long life," Veloran laughed.

"It was a good run." Ellesea smirked. It is what it is.

"Cower, mortal," Ellesea said dramatically.

"You stand before the [Destroyer of Worlds]." Ellesea saw the man's eyes widen as his head shot over toward Meliastraza. The magic of [Identify] flew away from him, even as Meliastraza let her class be known. For a while, the Headmaster simply… sat. And stared. Like a hollow husk of a man. Color slowly drained out of him as if he was steadily losing the will to live. But before Ellesea could truly regret telling him, he mastered himself. He looked a few decades older, but his smile was wry and strong.

He placed his hand on Ellesea's shoulder and nodded.

"You've achieved something great tonight," he said, seemingly changing the subject.

"How about a toast? And a drink? It's a fine night to sample Abbyton's excellent reserves…and to get absolutely hammered."