Chương 128: 127 - Oldwater and Broken Wheel

Staring at the stone construct, Alexandra split her attention between the first Solar Burst she was preparing and the silver veins running through the construct. The veins, or the substance they were made of, were her real opponent. As she willed for her skill to activate, she felt a pull in her Solar Core. As she had hoped when she bought Solar Affinity, her bloodline had merged with the skill, finally giving her more control over the solar energy she'd been gathering for weeks.

An intense, bubbling mix of heat and pressure gathered in her palms. It was similar to Willow's spell, but the source of its power felt rougher, deeper. She fired, and what was essentially a fireball crossed the distance between her and its target in an instant. The stone construct shook. The silver veins retracted. She aimed for the same spot, expecting the same result. This time, the veins didn't retract. They thickened around the scorch mark. The thing was learning where to armor itself.

Alexandra shifted her next shot two feet left, catching bare rock instead. That one worked. Then the silver veins came back, and the construct started moving again. It only had the time to take one step toward them before Alexandra sent it reeling with another Solar Burst.

"How long can you keep that up?" Willow asked. Alexandra fired another spell, gauging how much it drained her core, how much she regenerated between each cast.

"It shouldn't be an issue as long as the sun is up."

"That much?"

"I didn't take on the solar affinity for nothing," Alexandra said as she kept up her barrage of fireballs.

"Solar affinity? What is that?" Willow asked.

"Hmm? It's the sun affinity." Willow kicked a stone that was flying for her and Kam.

"I know what solar means. I'm asking you about affinity."

"You don't know?"

"Should I?" Willow asked. Alexandra's next spell was noticeably stronger than the last.

"Looks like my skill leveled up. I'm surprised you don't know about affinities. It feels like something that should be common knowledge. It's a skill that turned my mana into solar mana."

"Alexandra," Willow said.

"Yes?" Alexandra answered, still facing the beast.

"This is unheard of. And I know a lot about magic. Mana affinities are not a thing." She paused.

"Well, nobody knew it was a thing. Until you."

"Are you sure? It seems improbable that no one would know about that. It's only a common skill." Willow parried a skipping stone with her sword.

"Alex, trust me, I would know of such a category of skills. I'm from one, if not the most, knowledgeable family in Laika."

"Then…" Alexandra trailed off as she pulled more energy from her core to fire another spell.

"The contribution point shop revealed a brand new skill to me?" The ground shook as her blast stunned the silver veins.

"Maybe," Willow said.

"But we should focus on getting out of here alive first."

"We're not in danger," Alexandra said.

"I have the thing on lock." Willow looked at her.

"Kam needs healing."

"Right. I also need to complete my daily. Can't spend all day here." Alexandra frowned.

"I don't think we can get to the source of the silver veins. It's too deep underground. I also don't know how long it would take for Drain Life to kill it." She paused.

"Let's just go." Willow nodded and hauled Kam onto her back, his arm slack over her shoulder.

"Cover us." Alexandra's palms were still smoking. Eyes on the construct, she fired another Solar Burst. It caught the thing mid-step, and the silver veins scattered, diving back into the stone.

"Go," she said. They went. Willow ran in the direction they were initially following, Kam's boots dragging a groove in the dust behind her. Alexandra walked backward, ready to stun the beast again. A scrape behind them. A stone the size of a fist peeled itself off the ground, veins threading through it, and rolled in front of Willow.

"It's pulling new material," Alexandra said.

"I noticed." If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Alexandra followed behind her friends, blasting any rock that looked suspicious. Perhaps the beast was tired of the stalemate, or it had noticed its lifeforce depleting, but it didn't chase for long. A few minutes after they fled, they found themselves alone.

"Are those things common around here?" Alexandra asked as she took Kam's other shoulder to help Willow carry him.

"No clue. I prepared for Hanton, not the Gray Basin."

"Then let's hope we don't stumble on another." Alexandra looked around.

"The tracks are going this way." The tracks cut through scrub grass, then into a dry riverbed that wound between cliffs the color of rust. Alexandra kept Kam's arm slung over her shoulder, his weight shifting with every step.

"How far?" Willow asked, carrying the boy's other shoulder.

"No clue," Alexandra said. They walked until the sun went past its midway point. Kam's breathing had turned shallow, a thin whistle on the inhale. Neither Alexandra nor Willow could help him. They had to get him to the Hands. With her free hand, Alexandra checked her journal. Solar Burst 1 -> 3 She'd seen better fights. She turned the pages, eager to find out how her skills had changed after picking up Solar Affinity. First, Mana Manipulation. Solar Manipulation – Common: Improves your control over solar mana.

Each level increases your control over solar mana. She frowned.

"Do you think it means my control over regular mana has gotten worse?"

"It does feel like it," Willow answered.

"But, again, this affinity thing is new to me."

"I guess I'll need to practice enchantment later." Solar Concentration – Uncommon: Your solar mana will naturally concentrate inside your core instead of radiating outward. Each level increases your solar mana density. Mana concentration hadn't changed. It was still doing the same thing as when her mana was neutral. It was a relief, but at the same time, she regretted that it wouldn't be enough to ensure her divine class wouldn't be detected.

She browsed the contribution point shop, hoping to purchase Stasis Core Seal again. No luck.

"Can you feel my mana?" she asked Willow.

"Let me see…" Willow took a few seconds to examine her.

"It's different. I don't have a god's blessing to detect divine classes, but I reckon a low-level Hand's senses might be too confused to see through you." Alexandra grimaced.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see. You go meet the Hands with Kam. I'd rather try something else before giving up my cover." All things considered, it was better than the day she lost her finger. The riverbed spat them out onto a plain of cracked mud, and there, finally, was smoke. Not much of it. A thin gray thread rising behind a wall of dry mud and scavenged stone, patched together. A watchtower leaned at the nearest corner. A figure stood in it, cradling a spear.

Alexandra made sure Solar Concentration was running at maximum power as they approached the gate. Perhaps it wouldn't be enough, but the less of her mana people could see, the better.

"Hold," the figure called down.

"We have wounded," Willow said.

"I can see that." The man spat over the rail.

"Doesn't mean you walk in. Wait." The man disappeared behind the tower and, a few minutes later, reappeared as he opened a small door in the gate. With him stood three other men.

"Who are you and why did you come here?" the man asked.

"We're travelers, looking to make a living in the Gray Basin. We got attacked by a beast on the way. Our friend needs medical attention right away," Willow said. Alexandra kept her mouth shut. Less attention was better, though her blue hair might make it difficult.

"Attacked by what?" the man asked, ignoring Kam's condition.

"Some sort of silvery substance that took control of stones," Willow answered. The men looked at each other.

"A stone elemental? And you made it out?" One of them asked.

"Barely," Willow said.

"It gave up on chasing us." The man with the spear rubbed his jaw.

"Lucky. Or your stone elemental was young. Old ones don't give up." He looked past Willow to Kam.

"Hands are past the well. I hope you have coins."

"Thank you," Willow said.

"Don't thank me. Thank the Seven who let you walk through the Basin with all your limbs." He stepped aside, and the other three shifted to let them through.

"Welcome to Oldwater."

"Any inn in town?" Alexandra asked as she walked through the gate. He jerked his chin toward a squat building near the square, its sign long since weathered blank, a lantern hanging beside the door.

"The Broken Wheel." Oldwater wasn't big. Alexandra counted maybe forty buildings from where she stood, most of them mud-brick and timber, roofs weighted down with stones. A few hundred people. Enough for a well, a forge, a row of pens holding goats. Every third person she passed carried a weapon in plain view. Nobody stared at Kam's slack body being dragged between Willow and the guard who'd fallen in to help. They'd seen worse walk through that gate. The smell was smoky and animal. Carried by the mud itself.

Willow had already shifted Kam's weight higher on her shoulder, impatient.

"Alex."

"Go," Alexandra said.

"I'll get us a room." Willow turned and hauled Kam toward the well, boots dragging twin lines through the dust. Alexandra watched them go until the crowd folded around them, then turned toward the inn. The Broken Wheel was empty and smelled like dust. A woman behind the bar looked up from a ledger.

"New," the woman said.

"That obvious?"

"Yeah." The woman closed the ledger.

"I need a room for three." The innkeeper grunted.

"Two silver a night."

"Fine." Alexandra put two coins on the counter.

"Let's start with one." The woman showed Alexandra the room. It was small, but had three beds lined up against the wall. As soon as she was alone, Alexandra summoned her journal. Find a settlement (1/1) -> Quest Completed: +10 exp, +1 PER Daily Quest Streak: 99 -> 100 Tracking 2 -> 3 Next milestone: 250 days. Achievement Upgraded! Insistent Quester III -> Insistent Quester IV Insistent Quester IV: Reach a 100-day daily quest streak. +10% All stats, 10% Skill experience.

Alexandra took a moment to appreciate her progress before moving on to the next item on her list. She wanted to find a way to hide her class, but first, she had to figure out how solar mana affected her skills. All her skills.