Radwin and I were dumbfounded by the whole ordeal that just took place. There was a giant beast on the Spire right in the middle of town, a light show, and then everyone went about their day like it was just any other day.
“What do you think that was, Radwin? I want to meet or fight something like that someday.” I was bouncing on the balls of my feet.
Radwin could only nod, his eyes never left the Spire. His jaw was practically brushing the ground with how wide it was hanging open.
His work station had gone dormant again with all the excitement. “Should we make you up a few more auxillary uses before we have to get ready for classes tomorrow?” His eyes shone at my idea.
“Ye, let's make a couple please. Can I borrow your Ice Slash a few more times, and the Distorted Shot? Oh and cold resistance as well, since I used that as the basis for that enhancement potion I saved you with.” He'd already got his Pocket Cauldron back out and active on the table.
I smiled and placed my hand against the table and let him get to work, changing the Card in my focus as he asked.
The whole time I was trickling a little extra mana his way to help with cost, and it wasn't too much of a dent at first with my recent mana advancement.
Radwin settled with about 15 Ice Slash potions, 13 Disorientation Shot potions, and 8 Ice Resistance potions. The last one was decided deceiving in name, it only harnessed the boost to Ice Skills and gave a one time free spell cast using the aura the bottle leaves behind about 20% of the time. I'd been lucky indeed.
Huffing and puffing, Radwin plopped on his butt beside his work station. “Somehow I don't think your Card costs are close to that low. That felt like almost 300 mp, and that's a whole other person's worth of mana.” He held a skeptical look at me before just shrugging it off
“Yer a strange one Syil, but I think we can work with that. Now I think we have some trainin’ to be doin’. See you at the commencement ceremony tomorrow.” Politely taking his dismissal, I returned to my room in the basement. My mind was awash with several ideas and a complete lack of knowing where to start.
Realizing I still hadn't tried casting all my skills yet, I turned on the room barrier and played around with the panel. I could change the configuration of the room based on what constellation I currently had the configuration set to. Currently, it was a constellation that looked like a man shooting a bow that I was unfamiliar with. In this set up, the room turned into a shooting range for spell testing.
“Maybe this is why I got a basement room. There is no way my room could be big enough to have a full range. This is absolutely related to my Space Affinity.”
I wasn't going to be one to look a Giving Drake between the fangs.
I started by pulling up my mana first.
Mp: 180/200(180)
My Snowy Hares Card was still holding mana even though I hadn't made a Contract yet. Dominic had given me a very important hint on how to use the Card, and I was itching to try and Contract my new friends, but I needed to understand the abilities that relied on me first before something only mostly in my control.
The range had four targets at different distances. The first was 2 meters away from the Shot line, the next was 4, then 8, and finally 12. The targets looked like basic scarecrows you'd find along river farms, covered in long water weeds and a large MeltMellon carved out for the head. They'd only scare small children and dumb birds.
For my purposes they were perfect and maybe they'd upgrade later. I held my hand towards the 2 meter target and prepared a Distorted Shot, a small ball of purple energy with subtle signs of other colors hidden below. I fired the spell and before it hit the target it popped with a puff of powder that coated the armor of the scarecrow. At first nothing happened, and I thought I'd gotten a mental effect when small swirls of Spacial mana were all over the armor, chipping away at the durability.
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In a bout of inspiration, I stared at the target hoping for something to pop up, but even after trying for 5 minutes, nothing happened.
“So I'm gonna assume Inspect isn't a general skill.” I could tell that I'd activated some status effect, but I couldn't even tell what the status was, and a new one hadn't been generated on the Card, though the Card is only common at the moment.
I tried the spell a few more times on the other targets. One time the spell flew as an arrow and when it hit, the thing burst into puff shrinking squares not unlike pixels, leaving the target much smaller for about 2 minutes. Another was a sleepy blue orb that when thrown turned into a sleeping mask that hunted the target down and put them to sleep for the duration of 5 minutes, 10 solid hits, or a natural insomnia. As I tested my Card more, I felt like it was speaking to me with every cast, but it wasn't in words, more like how the mana was shaped as it was sent my way. It felt like the Card told me how it wanted to be used, it liked the thrill of gambling its emotions.
“I guess Brimiri was right when she said all Cards seem to have a mind of their own. But at least I'll have a gist of what I'll expect before I fire the cast now.” I'd switched the room back to the sitting room configuration, there funnily enough was a pillow pit option but I wanted some stability before I tried my next actions. I could still feel the cold of the realm I walked Awakening my High Rare.
I felt at the connection I had to the Card, and I listened. I didn't know how long I'd sat there trying to feel something that I was surprised to find my surroundings were no longer the same. I was sitting in a forest, Hares of all sorts running through the various colored trees, through the air, popping out of the ground, and splashing in the little flows of water I could see. It was all breathtaking, they had their own little world here.
I looked around trying to spot a pair that had the right Affinities, but I was having no luck, all the affinities I ran across were more common to warmer climates.
“How am I gonna find you two?” I pondered as the pulsing of my core started up again.
A cold energy rippled out of me and Shot out, the land below me shifted and changed into a more cold climate, the trees thinned and sharp peaks broke into view. I was placed dead center of what appeared to be a giant frozen lake. The surface rumbled and knocked but I stayed still so no cracks neared me.
Giant glowing red eyes stared at me from the depths of the lake, the world consumed in red. When the world returned to normal I was on a snowy peak, staring down at the lake. I could feel a grip on both of my legs. When I looked down, my breath was truly taken this time.
Two majestic Hares held onto me, watching the massive lake below. They had blue silver fur with one bent ear each on the opposite sides. The one with the right ear bent had a green teardrop gem in its forehead and an icy pattern not unlike frigid winds along the blue hues. The one with left ear bent had a deep blue gem on its forehead and snowflake patterns throughout their fur.
When they noticed my staring they let go and stared up at me, and I crouched down. “Did you both save me?” I asked and they both nodded adamantly .
“Thank you,” and I opened my arms to thank them with a hug. They rushed in, then the world shifted and I was back in my room on the ice stuff couch. I was coated in a thin sheen of frost.
Contract sealed, congratulations!
It seemed that I'd succeeded, and I was certain that I'd almost lost my life during that advent. “Maybe wait till I've had some classes under my belt before I ever try that again.”
I felt a nudging inside me, like something asking to be let out and I let it. Suddenly the two Hares from my vision were in front of me. The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees, but was still very comfortable.
“Hey there again,” I waved and they took that as an invite to explore the room.
Letting them have their fun, I pulled up the updated description for their Card.
Growth criteria met
-Contract a being at least one rarity quality higher than current Rarity-
Tempest Hare Pair (partial Rare), T1R3.
Type:Contract/Summon. Affinity: Ice, Wind, Space, Storm. Contact:Tempest Guardians.
-Effect: You've recklessly explored the spiritual copy of the frozen wastes and almost came out lost, if not for a lucky encounter.
– Summon a bonded Tempest Hare Pair, the shapers of the blizzards in the Frozen Wastes. Are considered as protectors by people of the Wastes.
–Cost: Permanently lose 15% for the duration of time contracted in a Deck(only if in active Deck). Special: This Card can grow! Grow closer with this Card to learn new requirements for growth. (Stays Contracted even outside of Decks, Contract effects only take effect in active Deck)
The System really sealed it in there how close to the sun I flew.
I pulled up my status screen to see the changes over the last few days.
Name: Syilten Flykra.
Race: Human
Cultivation Path: Card Cultivator, (Error!)
Level:0. Error:?
Exp/Error: 7%/Error
Tier:0
Affinities: Ice, Space/Error!(Temporarily seal by the system)
MP: 175/200(175). %$^&#%×:$/:×2.
Regen: 5mp per minute.
Soul Card: Currently unstable and unformed.
Binder: 4/10
*Ice Slash (C),T1R1. *Cold Resistance (C), T1R1. *Spacial Shot (C), T1R1. *Displaced Spear (UC), T1R1. Tempest Hare Pair (PR) - Growth, T1R1. Asteroid Wall (R), T1R1. Unknown (HR), Error!. ?. ?. ?.
Deck 1: Unnamed Deck 6/20
Ice Slash (C), Cold Resistance (C), Spacial Shot (C), Displaced Spear (UC), Tempest Hare Pair(PR) Growth, Asteroid Wall (R).
General Skills: Pain Resistance, Homorage Resistance, Basic Blunt damage Nullification(U), Stable Care, Defensive Movement.
Inventory: 2/10 Nondescript sealed envelopes.
A lot had changed and not even a full week had passed since I'd awoken in this new world, and there was still so much more to see, just got school first.
I let the little ones play after I changed the room to the pillow pit and went to bed, not even taking a shower in my exhaustion.
