Chương 113: Chapter 14: A Measure of Strength - Part II

I look toward Darran, "So, my Adventurer rank remains the same?" Darran considers the question for a moment before nodding, "Normally, yes." I glance back toward the appraisal stone, "Then I'm still Copper."

"That should be the official verdict." The answer makes me look at him again, "What does that mean?"

"Your rank is determined by more than what the stone just showed us. The Guild considers completed contracts, reliability, experience and recommendations when deciding whether someone is ready to advance."

"I've completed several contracts."

"You have."

"Then what is keeping me at Copper?"

"Time, mostly." He gestures toward the stone, "The Guild hasn't had long enough to build a proper record around you. Your ability and your rank aren't the same thing." I consider that for a moment, "So even if the stone says I'm capable of handling Iron-level work, I'm still Copper."

"Normally." There is something in the way he says it that makes me look at him again, "Normally?" Darran's expression carries the faintest hint of amusement, "I said I'd make an exception." I stare at him, "You would?"

"I've seen enough." His gaze shifts briefly toward the appraisal stone, "The Rask colony. The bandits. The Veyrakh. Whatever else you've done that you haven't bothered telling me about. You've demonstrated enough to make an Iron recommendation reasonable."

"I thought the Guild was conservative about promotions."

"We are."

"Then you're going against that."

"I'm making a recommendation." He shrugs, "The Guild can decide whether to accept it." I can't help smiling, "And if they don't?"

"Then you remain Copper."

"That's reassuring."

"It is, isn't it." I laugh quietly. The idea of becoming an Iron adventurer feels strangely distant despite the simplicity of the conversation. I have never measured myself by the Guild's ranks, and yet I find myself wondering what it would mean to have someone else place a mark beside my name and declare that I am ready for something more. Darran has only seen what I can do now. He hasn't seen me at my peak.

If he had known me before Blackthorn, before the fire took the Grove and left me struggling simply to recover what I had once possessed, perhaps he would think his recommendation was far too modest. But even that thought doesn't bother me as much as it once might have. Because I can feel it. Every day, something returns. The strength in my limbs is slowly becoming more familiar.

Mana moves through my channels with less resistance than it did yesterday, and each morning I find myself capable of something that had been just beyond reach the day before. I don't know where that recovery will end, but I know it hasn't ended yet. Darran studies me for a moment.

"You don't look particularly excited."

"I'm thinking."

"About becoming Iron?"

"About what comes after." His expression softens slightly, "You've already started thinking beyond the next step." You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"I've spent enough time looking backward." Darran says nothing to that. For a few moments, neither of us speaks. The appraisal stone sits quietly between us, its surface now dull and lifeless, as though it had never shown anything at all. I look at it one final time. The stone has told me where I stand. It hasn't told me where I'll end up. Perhaps that is for the best. Darran finally turns toward the door.

"Come on." I follow him, reaching for the Hollowmane as I pass. I take another step toward the doorway when a sudden movement catches my attention. The Hollowmane springs forward before I have time to react, landing on the pedestal with its forepaws against the appraisal stone.

I stop immediately, watching as it lowers its head and sniffs the surface with far more interest than I would have expected from a creature that has spent the last several minutes being completely indifferent to everything happening around it.

"What are you doing?" The cub ignores me. Instead, a faint pulse of mana begins moving through its body, so subtle that I almost mistake it for the familiar sensation of the Grove itself. The appraisal stone responds before I can decide whether to stop it, its pale surface lighting beneath the Hollowmane's paws as thin lines spread outward from the point of contact. Darran stops beside me, "What is it doing?"

"I have no idea." The Hollowmane lowers its head further, and a small amount of mana passes from its body into the stone. The markings flare. Symbols begin appearing across the surface one after another, and I find myself stepping closer despite knowing that I have already seen this process once today. The first line settles into place. Species: Hollowmane I stare at it for a moment, "At least we know what it is." Darran gives me a sideways glance, "I was beginning to suspect that." Another line appears beneath it.

Growth Stage: Juvenile Then the measurements begin to form. Mana Capacity: Copper Mana Control: Copper Health: Copper Strength: Copper Agility: Iron Endurance: Copper Willpower: Copper I read through them slowly, "It has Iron agility." Darran nods, "Apparently so." The Hollowmane remains completely still while the stone continues its work.

I look at the cub again, remembering how easily it had disappeared through the forest, how often I had lost sight of it only for it to reappear several moments later as though the trees themselves had swallowed it and decided to return it. Perhaps the stone has simply given a name to something I had already noticed. Another set of symbols appears. Primary Affinity: Wind - High Secondary Affinity: Lightning - Low I frown, "Those are its affinities?" Darran leans closer, "Looks like it."

The final line appears beneath them. Special Affinity: - I look at the stone.

"No special affinity."

"Not yet, perhaps," Darran says. I glance at him, "Can it develop one?"

"If its affinities interact strongly enough, I don't see why not." That answer leaves me wondering how much of the cub's future is already written into its body and how much of it will be shaped by what it encounters. Then the markings change again. A final section begins forming beneath the others. Beaststone Assimilation: Active I stop breathing for a moment. Darran notices, "What is it?" I hesitate. There isn't much point hiding it now, "The Veyrakh Alpha." His brow furrows, "The Veyrakh?"

"The cub consumed its beaststone." Darran looks at me. Then at the Hollowmane. Then back at me, "You let it?"

"It didn't exactly ask." For several seconds, he simply stares, "It tore the stone out of the carcass and swallowed it before I could stop it."

"And you didn't think to mention that?"

"I wasn't sure what would happen." Darran's expression shifts as he looks back toward the appraisal, "That explains the growth." I nod, "Lorcan told me magical beasts can consume beaststones and use the mana within them to accelerate their growth."

"And you didn't know that before?"

"No." He gives me a look, "I was a seedkeeper."

"Hmm."

"My work involved plants."

"Hmm."

"I studied magical beasts."

"I know."

"But apparently not enough." A quiet laugh escapes him, "I suppose none of us knows everything." The Hollowmane's tail flicks once while the two of us continue staring at the stone. The final symbols begin to fade, leaving only one line behind. Potential: Silver I stare at it. Darran does the same.

"Silver," I murmur.

"For a juvenile." The implications settle slowly. The Hollowmane is still young. Whatever strength it will eventually possess has barely begun to emerge, and yet the stone already considers its potential significant enough to place within the Silver tier. I look down at the cub. It looks back at me.

There is no pride in its expression, no understanding of what the stone has revealed, only the same quiet curiosity it has shown since the moment it decided that following me was apparently a reasonable way to spend its days. The appraisal stone dims completely. The Hollowmane jumps down from the pedestal and lands beside me before immediately brushing against my leg. I stare at it, "You could have done that the entire time?" The cub looks up at me. Its tail flicks once.

I shake my head, "I suppose I should have expected that." Darran laughs quietly. I crouch and run my fingers through the fur around its neck, feeling the slightly thicker mane beneath my hand. The cub begins to purr. I look toward the appraisal stone one final time. It has answered several questions I hadn't thought to ask, while leaving me with several more than I had before. I rise and turn toward the doorway.

"Come on." The Hollowmane follows me without hesitation. As we leave the room, I find myself looking down at the cub again. I still don't know how strong it will become. I don't know what special affinity it will eventually develop, what traits it might inherit from the creatures whose beaststones it consumes or where its growth will finally stop. But I do know one thing. Whatever happens next, I am going to have to pay much closer attention. The Hollowmane purrs beside me as we disappear into the corridor.