Chương 61: Chapter 53: Ritual

The following day, I began preparing for the ritual. I'd learned from the third book on mana that rituals worked best on mana vents, since the world supplied part of the power. The first thing I did was look for a vent. I spent half a day wandering around with my eyes half-closed, focusing on the mana. It wasn't even; some areas had thicker mana, while others had almost none. By the afternoon, I found a spot with denser mana and focused on the point it was coming from.

Dense bushes filled the area, probably thriving on the rich mana. I started cutting through them with a machete when a jurber leaped out and bit my hand.

"Oww! I hate those things!" I grabbed it by the neck and tossed it to the ground. That was the end of the jurber, and I quickly healed my hand, too annoyed to even convert it into a crystal. The red light started flashing, so I opened it to get rid of the annoyance. Jurber level 1 defeated"Yeah, yeah, I know," I growled at the system. I understood why Lis said I should take a fighting Class. If those buggers kept attacking me, at least I'd gain levels from them.

I kept cutting the bushes until the whole area was clear. Thinking back, I realized the last time I ran into jurbers was also near a vent. The mana there had been thicker, but I'd figured it was because of the jurbers I killed. Now it made sense; they spawned on vents because of the higher mana concentration. I hadn't seen this in any of the books, but it seemed logical. If I wanted to find a vent, I just had to look for a concentration of monsters. With the area cleared, I stood on the vent and felt the mana flow.

It was like a pipe from the earth, releasing mana into the air. The mana had a distinct flavor of stone and greenery, or maybe nature, a sensation rising from below. I set up my glamping tent over the vent, since it still rained every other day, and I didn't want the ritual getting washed away. The tent flooring was a small sacrifice for this, and the rubber was perfect for my needs. My first step was to carve two large overlapping rings.

The overlap had to be at least 15% but no more than 30%, and both had to be the same size. I thought for a while about how to do this until an idea struck me. I took an arrow, tied a rope to it, and stuck it in the floor. Heating a kitchen knife with a Heat spell until it was red hot, I struck it with a hammer to create a convex shape for carving a channel. Tying the knife to the other end of the rope, I moved around at maximum tension to create the outer circle of the first ring.

Luckily, I had a large enough margin for the overlap, so I could estimate it by eye. I moved the arrow and carved the outer circle of the second ring. Wrapping the string around the arrow several times, I made the inner circles about 8 inches smaller. Next, I mixed ash, salt, and soil, saturating them with mana flavored with Purity (slightly different from Purify's flavor, something that had taken me three days to learn during my mana exercises), and filled the grooves with the mixture.

The ash symbolized Spirit, the salt Mind, and the soil Body. I had prepared a large amount of the mix in advance, but hadn't expected how much mana it would absorb. By the time it was fully saturated, it had nearly drained me. Mana: 230/7, 600 I sat down to regenerate, practicing the Absorb Mana aspect to expand my channels and speed up the process. The channel in my left arm could already handle twice as much mana as the one in my right arm. Doing this on a vent was brilliant; the mana in the air was far thicker.

It was getting dark, so I hurried back to Lis's house and found Rue waiting for me with a "not happy" vibe. Oops! I forgot to leave him food. I scratched his ears.

"Sorry, buddy, I'll remember to leave you food tomorrow. My mind was too busy with the ritual." After we both ate, I sat down to regenerate some more. The next day, my mana was still not full, but I returned to continue the preparations, remembering to leave food for Rue this time. Adjusting to his new name was still strange, but Lis's advice made sense. I hoped it would feel less odd with time. Back at the tent, I poured the mixture into the grooves of the rings.

It was needed not only for its symbolic value, but also to create a mana filter to ensure the ritual only contained neutral mana. The mixture I made wasn't enough. Now I had to regenerate fully, which took two days. Once full, I mixed another pot, channeled Purity, and filled the last grooves. The next step involved sketching the runes inside the rings with a pencil, ensuring the distances were correct before actually engraving them.

I had to repeat four large central runes—Mind, Spirit (Emotion), Spirit (Astral), and Body—all the same size. Using a piece of cardboard as a template, I ensured the runes were the same size. The smaller runes—Connection, Meld, Relationship, Bond, Understanding, Link, Merge, and Blend—were half the size, and I used a smaller cardboard square for them. Connecting lines from the central runes to the small ones were specific: straight for Mind, wavy for the Spirit runes, and zigzag for Body.

When I was close to finishing the first circle, I didn't have enough space for the last rune and its connecting line. With a growl and a huff, I had to erase everything and redraw the runes more densely to make them fit. I repeated the process for the second ring, but there I had to reverse the order of the runes. At least I didn't have to erase and redo. By sunset, I'd finished sketching the rings, gone home, and had dinner with Rue. His new name still felt strange.

The following day, I explained to Rue, "For the ritual, we need blood from both of us. Give me your paw. I'll take some blood and heal you." He offered his paw without hesitation. I cut him, filled a cup with blood, and healed him. Then I did the same to myself, mixing our blood with ash, salt, and soil until it became a thick mixture. I was ready for the next step. Back in the tent, I had to purify the mana inside the rings, not with a spell but with mana itself.

Well, actually, the rituals book explained the Ritualist Class had a spell for this, but Wizards did it with free mana. That was nice to read and made me appreciate my Class—or maybe my heritage—a bit more. Not all ritual circles needed pure mana, only the higher ones, and the Familiar ritual was one of those. It belonged to the second echelon, the first being the highest. Finally, the mana was pure, and I could start painting the runes. I hadn't thought of buying a paintbrush. Another oversight.

Therefore, I had to improvise. I cut some yarn and tied it to a stick. Not pretty, but it worked, and that was all that mattered. Using this makeshift brush, I painted the runes with the blood mixture, channeling mana into each until it glowed. I had to regenerate before continuing after painting about 20% of the first ring. When I got home, Lis was back, sitting on the porch and talking to Rue. He waved with a huge smile when he saw me. I walked up the steps and leaned on the porch railing.

"How was your trip?" Lis stretched his legs out, looking relaxed.

"Nice. After a while, all low mana worlds start to look the same, but it is good to meet new people and enjoy the wilderness. How is the ritual coming along?"

"I've finished all the learning, and I'm painting the runes now. I think I'll have it done in five or six days, but I still haven't started building the cross in the center." I sat down beside him.

"Where did you go, and what did you do?"

"I went to the nearest capital city," he said, stretching his hands above his head.

"Enjoyed the bathhouse, ate interesting food, visited several taverns, met the locals, and even learned a new song about a boat on a river." With a laugh, I took out my guitar, strummed a few lines from "Boat on the River," and sang it in English.

"Is this the song?" He nodded.

"How do you know the song, and in English no less?"

"It's an Earth song," I said with a smile.

"I translated it into Shimoorian." Lis burst out laughing, shaking his head.

"The universe is endless, but sometimes something happens that makes it feel tiny." We sat on the porch chatting until he went to sleep, and I stayed to regenerate. For the next five days, I spent all day in the tent, painting runes and filling them with mana. By the second day, I had worked out a faster technique: creating mana with the absorb flavor in my left arm, drawing runes with my right, and channeling mana into them. I still needed breaks to regenerate, but they were less frequent.

During breaks, I focused on absorbing mana through my right hand to balance my channels. By the third evening, I had completed the first ring and made some progress on the second. On the fifth morning, as I neared the tent, something sticky wrapped around my hand. Startled, I jerked back, and a furry frog went flying. I cut the tongue with my knife and tried peeling it off, but it clung stubbornly. The frog retaliated by spitting a burst of fire that singed my pants.

Cursing, I swung my staff and knocked it on the head, ending the attack. Hopping Fire Spitter Level 2 defeated Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Do higher-level monsters get longer names? I wondered, tugging the sticky tongue free. I need to ask Lis. After a quick heal on my arm, I changed into a new pair of pants, healed my leg, and finally stepped into the tent. Good thing I wore jeans—the fire stung, but hadn't done too much damage.

I continued working on the runes, and by evening, had less than 15% left to finish the rings. Now I had to plan the inside of the rings. In the middle of each ring was a large cross with a circle at each end, and from these circles ran straight lines to all the primary runes in the rings. On the sides of the cross, I had to place two runes that represented me: one for my Class and the other for something that reflected me at this moment in time. Of course, the limiting factor was the available runes.

Above and below, I had to add runes representing the connection between me and Rue. Rue's circles were more straightforward—a mana beast on one side and a canine on the other. Both our crosses had to share the same top and bottom. It wasn't easy to decide. I had runes for Healer and Wizard, and kept switching between them. I was a Healer and doctor at heart, but this was a magical circle, the result of an intensive study in magic, so Wizard felt more appropriate.

After some more wavering between the two, I finally chose Wizard. The second choice was even harder. From the available runes, I felt that Growth and Self-Awareness were the most appropriate. Growth might help Rue, but for me, this journey was one of self-discovery. After a long deliberation, I chose Self-Awareness. I went to ask Rue about the other two runes and found him napping on Lis's porch. I scratched his ear.

"We need to choose two things that represent our connection. I'm thinking of love and protection because we both love and want to protect each other." He shook his head and sent me a wave of disagreement.

"So, what should the symbols be?" A massive wave of love and deep friendship nearly drowned me.

"Love and friendship?" He nodded.

"No problem, buddy. I think these are excellent runes." At dinner, I told Lis, "You're right about the fighting Class. Monsters keep attacking me. So if they bite and burn me, at least I'll earn levels." He laughed and set his fork down with a clink, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes, it is in their nature. Monsters are composed of tainted mana and exhibit aggression towards all entities. You can wait until you are in a world with dungeons or use the opportunity to get a fighting Class on Earth." I poked at the food on my plate.

"How? I fought with a bow and staff and didn't get a Class."

"Did you buy the skills with Ability Points?" He tilted his head, studying me.

"No, I trained and earned them." I shrugged, remembering the countless hours I'd spent practicing until my arms ached.

"Ah, good," he said with a slow nod of approval.

"But were you defending yourself or fighting to kill? And did this happen here or on Earth?"

"Only self-defense, and only here."

"You can get a fighting Class in such a world, but it is challenging. On Earth, right now, you have an amazing opportunity to do it, but you need to fight to kill to get a fighting Class."

"No other way?" He shook his head. I sighed.

"Try it a few times, and you will get the Class." Lis's eyes narrowed, his tone firm, but he hesitated before continuing.

"You could go to an area with criminals. If you show money, they might attack you."

"I don't want to kill people," I said quickly, shaking my head.

"Besides, criminals on Earth have guns. My bow or staff wouldn't help against guns."

"Then hunt animals." He tapped the table once for emphasis.

"I am sure there are places with overpopulation of certain animals. Hunt them, and you will get the Class."

"That's a good idea," I said, perking up.

"I'll search the internet when we get back." He sat up straighter, his face brightening.

"I heard about the internet but did not get the opportunity to learn about it."

"I'll teach you," I offered with a smile.

"There's a lot of engineering information there." His face lit up even more.

"Thank you." The next day, I finished the second ring and moved on to the crosses. The runes in the circles on the crosses had to be twice as large as the primary runes in the rings, and they drained double the amount of mana. Once I was done with them, I had to stop and regenerate again. At last, in the middle of the night, I completed the whole ritual. The following day, I rushed back to the tent to make sure everything was flawless.

I checked each rune and line for mistakes, sent small bursts of mana through sections to verify there were no blocked channels or imbalances, and ran a few other tests from the ritual books and the book about familiars. Everything. Was. Perfect. I was so proud. It was my first ever ritual, and aside from that first restart because of space constraints, I hadn't needed to redo anything. I couldn't help myself—I did a little shimmy and dusted off my shoulders.

With my head held high and a massive smile on my face, I went back to Lis's house and found him on the porch, reading a book with his feet propped on the railing.

"Lis, everything's ready. Want to come with me to the ritual site?" Lis lowered the book onto his lap, one finger still tucked inside to hold his place, and narrowed his eyes at me.

"Is your mana full?"

"No…" He pointed to the couch beside him.

"Sit and regenerate. Do not attempt the ritual without full mana. Rest, eat well, and only then begin. This type of ritual is taxing on both the body and the mana channels. You need to be in top condition for it to go smoothly." I felt a little scolded and glanced away. Heat crept into my cheeks, and I rubbed the back of my neck before forcing myself to meet his eyes.

"Thanks. I'll do it." He gave a slight nod of satisfaction and went back to his book. It took two full days before I was ready to perform the ritual. I didn't cut corners. I regenerated fully and didn't use any mana for anything; ate rich, nutritious meals with protein, carbs, vegetables, and fruits to give my body the best boost possible; drank so much water my stomach sloshed; and even took vitamins—because why not?

Rue received the same treatment, minus the vitamins, although convincing him to drink more water required some coaxing. Food didn't need any coaxing. Well, the vegetables did, but I buried them deep in the meat. Lis didn't want to join us. He patted my back and squeezed my shoulder in encouragement.

"This is between you and Rue. I will see you after the ritual." When we finally stepped into the ritual tent, my stomach was doing somersaults from excitement, and an entire herd of butterflies was performing aerial acrobatics. Only now did I feel the weight of what we were about to do. Up to this point, I'd known it was important and exciting, but with all my attention focused on the actual application and work, I hadn't fully let myself sink into what it really meant. Now, my whole body buzzed with excitement.

I was about to bind our souls for eternity and perform a very complex ritual. Me! I couldn't claim anymore that I knew nothing. Not after the long conversation with Lis, not after the questions I'd thought of these last few days, and definitely not after the books I'd read. Yet I still had to admit I was a baby Wizard, only starting his way into the art. And here I was, performing such a ritual. It almost seemed unreal, like something out of a fiction story.

The smell of salt, ash, soil, and blood carried a strange sharpness after being saturated with mana. It smelled of magic and expectation, a reminder of the hours I'd poured into every line and curve. The scent alone heightened my excitement, until my whole body vibrated with pent-up anticipation and raw energy. My chest swelled with pride, and I couldn't hold back my grin. I was a real Wizard doing wizarding stuff. Rue padded to his cross and sat down, watching me.

He didn't wag his tail, and I got the distinct sense he avoided it so as not to erase or ruin something. Smart dog. I lowered myself onto mine, legs crossed. For a moment, we just sat there, facing each other in the dim light, surrounded by the quiet hum of expectation. I placed my hands on the activation runes, drew a long breath, and began channeling mana. At first, it trickled out of me in a steady flow, threads of light crawling across the lines and runes, one to the next.

The symbols stirred and faintly glowed. With each pulse of mana, the glow spread wider and brighter until both rings shone with an ethereal purple light. The ritual drank greedily, pulling not only from me but from the very air itself. I could feel the ambient mana rushing toward the design. My chest tightened, my pulse quickened. I kept pushing, emptying myself of the last drops of mana. Still, the ritual demanded more, and the surrounding air poured its energy through me.

I wasn't drawing it in and passing it along. It entered me on its own, poured through my mana channels with a pins-and-needles sensation, and streamed out of my hands. That was when the pain came. A knife of fire jabbed into my head, sudden and blinding, followed by another lancing down through my chest and gut, ripping at my three power centers. I gasped, my whole body locking up, every muscle trembling. It hurt. Shit, it hurt. A weak whimper reached my ears, dragging me out of my haze. Rue. My eyes flew open.

He sat across from me, his body shuddering, his head low, eyes half-closed, whimpering softly.

"Rue…" I croaked. Another wave of agony ripped through me, and my vision blurred. I forced myself not to clench my fists, keeping my palms pressed to the activation runes. I didn't know how much time had passed. It felt like a lifetime. Finally, a powerful wave of fire tore through me from head to toe, surged back up, and poured out of my hands. With it, something else left me. Vapor streamed out of my three mana orbs, ran down my arms, and emptied me completely. I blacked out. When I woke up, my body felt awful.

My arms, legs, and even my eyelids felt like the day after an overly intense workout, following years of inactivity. Every muscle throbbed with each movement. The rest of my body felt like it was covered in paper cuts from head to toe. My head pounded as if I'd been drinking all night, and my mouth was as dry as the Sahara. The tent reeked of burnt air, like a bonfire that had been doused with water. The first thing I did was check on Rue.

It hurt to move my neck, the tense muscles screaming in protest, but I managed to turn enough to see him. His eyes were open too, which was a relief, but he looked… different. He was bigger. Not "maybe he grew a little" bigger, but at least thirty percent larger, maybe even more. His fur also changed. It had taken on the same strange white my hair had turned over the past year. No hint of blond left. It wasn't old people's white—more like silver. His fur matched that color perfectly.

Then I noticed his eyes, glowing purple and even more pronounced than mine. I frowned and pulled out a mirror. At least that didn't require moving much, but raising it to my face still hurt. Ouch. Correction: his eyes weren't brighter than mine. They were exactly the same. That's when I saw the last change. My own eyes had gotten way brighter than I'd realized. The purple was sharper now, with no trace of gray left, and the glow was far stronger than before.

What used to be a dim glimmer, almost like a trick of the light, now looked like I had light bulbs shining behind my pupils, just like Lis's eyes. Seeing that same glow in Rue's face was like staring at my reflection, only on a much furrier head. A trait of all Travelers? I waved the thought away. I'll ask Lis later. I identified Rue. Rue Bonded Familiar Level 0 Examining our connection channel, I felt it was wider and steadier than before, and it had become an actual two-way link.

Before, he could only send me emotions, and I had to speak out loud. Now I sensed I no longer needed to do that. We could communicate mind to mind. His presence brushed against mine, more solid than before, like a door finally opening fully in both directions.

"Are you okay, buddy?" I asked him mentally. A clear Yes reached me. It wasn't an emotion, and he hadn't spoken the word, but it was still a yes—something closer to a concept, a thought that carried the whole idea of agreement. That was going to take some getting used to. I tried to stand, but my muscles screamed in painful protest. Rue made the same attempt and ended up collapsing right back onto the floor. Mana: 9/7, 600 Yikes!

I regenerated actively as fast as I could, which was painfully slow, and cast Heal Muscles whenever I scraped together enough mana for it. I didn't bother healing myself fully, just enough to get back on my feet without my legs giving out from the pain and strain. Despite the pain, I hobbled to Rue, hugged him, and petted him.

"It's you and me against the world, buddy." He responded by sticking his tongue straight up my nose. Some things, even magic, couldn't change.