Chapter 79: Brilliant Health of the Adaptive Wellspring (Patreon)

We're back! Look for another chapter this weekend!

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"The Wellspring Which Waters Its Own Roots," Thomas repeated. "The System doesn't spare the flowery stuff when it comes to names, huh?"

His voice came out dry, but inside, his mind was racing. At a glance, the name implied some interesting things, especially "Wellspring." That had to have something to do with his mana.

"Generally, the more ostentatious the name, the more potential power in the skill," Akilah said. "You would be wise to remember that."

His ears practically pricked up. "Potential?"

While the corner of Akilah's mouth twitched, his expression remained very much that of a stern teacher. Thomas got the impression he'd just done something right by noting that word.

Instead of answering, Akilah asked, "What do you believe skills do?"

"Uh..." Somehow he didn't think that 'magic shit' was the answer Akilah was looking for. So he tried a more textbook version. "Skills are vehicles that allow you to channel your mana safely into structured spells."

Akilah nodded. "And do skills always act exactly within the rules of their sometimes rather detailed descriptions?"

Thomas almost answered yes on reflex, but Akilah's question felt rhetorical, as if the real answer was no. Though maybe that was a verbal trap. He thought for a moment and then shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've always relied on others to give me the details of a skill. I'm only level three, and my System doesn't show much."

"Let me reframe the question, then: You told me you gained a further Ability to sense using your Healing mana. Does that Ability work according to its description?"

"There isn't a description," Thomas replied immediately, feeling like he was catching on. "So are you saying..."

Akilah shrugged. "It is well known that the higher level you attain, the more you see and understand the System. Some say it is the opposite, and it is the System revealing further truths to the more powerful, but that is neither here nor there. The fact is, skill descriptions tend to expand as you gain levels. Those with the longer, more imaginative names tend to expand more than the ones with the simpler, easier to understand names."

"Is the skill evolving as you level up, or are you just able to see more into it?" Thomas asked.

Akilah smiled. "That," he said, "is a matter of much debate within academic circles."

He could only imagine.

It also wasn't hard to guess that Akilah was leading him somewhere with all this. He hadn't even told him what the skill did yet. Thomas looked down at the skill shard again, considering. Then he glanced up at Akilah. "What does Wellspring mana do exactly?"

He swore Akilah's yellow eyes seemed to sparkle. The man was really leaning into the Dumbledore schtick, but he could roll with it.

"Wellspring is a support-type mana that amplifies and renews the entire Light mana family. It is so potent that even we within the Dark Elf community can see its benefits. As you can imagine, it is highly coveted by Light Elves."

Ah, he was getting it now. "Let me guess: Healing is within the Light mana family?"

"A close, adjacent branch," Akilah corrected firmly. As a Dark Elf, it would probably annoy him that his chosen mana was so close to Light. "As is Adaptation mana." He paused for a moment to give Thomas a considering look. "So you can imagine my surprise when I learned what mana combination you were pursuing for Level 4."

"Is that going to be a problem for the Dark Elves?" Thomas wouldn't change his mind even if it was, but it was good to know.

"No, but it wouldn't be something I would expect to see from one striving to be a combat healer." Unexpectedly, Akilah pivoted the conversation back to the skill shard. "As you have probably gleaned from the description, the shard runs on Wellspring mana. It is exceptionally powerful, and if widely known, it would be much desired by those who cultivate Wellspring mana."

Meaning nobles and high-ranking Light Elves, specifically. This was Akilah's way of telling Thomas that he'd have a target on his back if he absorbed this skill shard.

Seriously, considering his Gift, what else was new?

Akilah continued. "It is, at its essence, a rejuvenation skill capable of healing both body and mind. The description for the initial levels indicates that the healing only extends to yourself. However, higher levels indicate that it is capable of doing the same for others."

"Uh-huh." Thomas was not impressed. Okay, actually he was a little impressed because this was a kick-ass overall healing skill. The problem was he already had a turbo kick-ass healing skill in the form of his Living Architecture. Granted, he couldn't use it to cure disease, but he could literally rebuild body parts. That had gotten him by so far.

Plus—and most importantly—he wanted a combat skill for his fourth level.

Akilah must have seen his doubtful expression. He leaned back. "Before you decline, I'd like you to imagine how such a skill could be pushed beyond its obvious healing uses."

Thomas snapped his mouth shut because he was about to tell him thanks but no thanks. "It... rejuvenates," he said slowly, thinking that the word 'rejuvenation' was the heavy lifter. So how could he use it for himself? Well, obviously if he tanked a hit, his Wellspring would come in and heal it real quick. Could it... overheal?

"Could it make me better, faster, stronger?" he asked, then glanced down at the shard, seeing it with new eyes.

Akilah looked pleased. "That is exactly right. Muscle fibers stretch experience excess tension through the course of heavy use, the body rejuvenates and builds more connections and thicker fibers. If you allow me to extend the metaphor, a natural wellspring can coax and build deeper waters through a rain and erosion cycle. Those waters, of course, go on to nourish roots and life all around it."

That was nice, but Thomas's mind was running away with the implications.

"You mentioned at the higher levels, the skill can be extended to other people..." Thomas trailed off. He could give people, like, super cancer with this.

Despite knowing he had a real fight ahead of him in order to get Jo back, something about using this skill for that purpose made him feel physically ill.

"You have seen the other applications," Akilah said heavily. Thomas could practically feel the elf's gaze on him.

"Yep," Thomas said. "I'm not sure I like how quick I jumped to it, too." Using a skill like this felt a lot more intimate than, say, shooting somebody with a gun. Turning someone's own body against them was... an assault on one of the deepest levels.

Akilah let out a breath. "I am relieved."

Thomas looked up at him, questioning.

Akilah shrugged. "I have told you before that the moral weight of the Burden is different for every healer. I cannot advise you on your boundaries. Only your spirit can determine what is right or what is wrong. But... I admit, turning someone's own self against them..." He shrugged. "I can barely think of it."

Thomas wondered if Akilah was one of the healers who couldn't raise a hand to defend himself, but didn't ask. Instead, he turned his questions inward and pictured himself really using this type of skill on somebody else. The answer he got, partly through guesswork and partly through sorting through his own uneasiness, was mixed.

Using a skill in combat like this was basically dancing on top of the ethical line.

Though... he thought he could do it.

"I'd only ever use it in violence to save someone else's life. Not my own," Thomas muttered aloud, hardly realizing he was doing it. However, the words felt right.

"That is a reasonable starting boundary," Akilah said. "Though life-or-death situations can become desperate. If you continue on with your dungeon diving, you may be pushed to make that decision sooner rather than later."

Thomas shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "I'll take that chance. Mostly, I’ll just be using this to make myself tankier, stronger and harder to kill."

With that, he realized that he had pretty much decided to take this skill as his own. Hey, he could build up muscle without hitting the gym. That alone made it worthwhile.

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Of course, he would have to level up in order to absorb this skill shard at all. With that in mind, Thomas headed back toward the conference room. It was a much better idea than trying to do this in the quarters the Dark Elves had assigned him. That would be full of three hyper nephews, an anxious teenage girl, and his personal murder unicorn.

The lights were turned low in the conference room, though Thomas still saw Zach sitting in the lotus position on one end, breathing deeply, surrounded by several red mana crystals.

Thomas took a plain office chair on the other end of the long table. Then he noticed something else had changed. A small, thin box had been placed on the table with a card on it.

Did somebody leave Zach chocolates? he wondered, and because he was feeling nosy, he looked at the card.

Thomas and Zach,

It is customary to deliver gifts upon reaching a new level. I hope you will forgive me for delivering mine early, since I fully trust you will both level tonight. Rest assured that I am handling the children's care in your absence. They are settling in well and will begin their classes tomorrow.

Talia

Thomas found himself grateful and a little ashamed that he had thought so poorly of Talia before. Well, of course she was still a spy, but at least she was making herself useful.

"Zach, we got goodies," he said in a conversational tone, then waited a moment to see if the other man responded. He didn't, just continued to sit up straight in perfect pose and breathe.

All right, he wasn't going to push.

Thomas opened the box and saw three purplish-blue gems sitting within. There was a second note.

These are holographic disguises meant to help you move naturally through Elven society.

Thomas's eyebrows went up, but of course they probably needed a cover story. The System was always watching. Creepy.

He picked up one gem and saw that it had a tiny little switch on one side, as well as a set of instructions. They were in elven runes, but thanks to more creepy System interference, he could now read those:

Dark

Wood

Ice

Light

They didn't need these to assimilate into the elven marketplace. This was for sneaking into light elf territory.

Thomas grinned, and with a feeling like a weight had been lifted off his chest, he carefully closed the box and settled down into the office chair. Then he gathered his mana crystals. With luck, this would be enough to get him to level four.

The first crystal he tackled was Adaptation. Yeah, he thought he had more than enough of the stuff thanks to his adventure healing Prinna, but now Thomas was going big leagues into level four. He wanted to top himself off.

Also, Adaptation was a bit of crystal courage for what was going to come next. By the time he absorbed it, he felt like what came next would be tough but totally possible.

With that in mind, he absorbed more of his Wellspring crystal. He was almost certain that it was above level five, and he could only barely handle taking metaphorical sips off the top. Thomas paced himself, breathed through it, and mentally encouraged the Wellspring and Adaptation notes to bind to his core.

Next were the two level-five Light mana crystals. Those were tough.

Adaptation and especially Wellspring reacted to the infusion of light, growing stronger and more potent. In fact, it wanted to boil over a little like dropping a Mentos into a bottle of Pepsi.

Holding a hand over his core, Thomas rested his forehead on the table and just tried to breathe through it. This was a good mix for him, but it was almost too much.

Then he absorbed the next crystal.

By the time he was done, he could practically taste Light mana on the back of his tongue. Funny thing. Light tasted like... light. Hard to describe, but it was one of those tastes he would never forget.

Now came the worst part. He reached for the level-five Healing crystals.

Yes, level-five Healing would make him more empathic. No, he decided that wasn't a weakness. Plus, he was about to walk into a full-on rescue situation, and he was going to grab for every mote of power that he could, even if it was emotionally uncomfortable.

By the time he was done with the first crystal, he was worried that he might be on the verge of exploding. Maybe he'd already be there if Wellspring, Healing, Light, and Adaptation weren't exceptionally compatible with one another.

He was so full that he was in physical and spiritual pain... and yet this mix felt so right that it shaded uncomfortably close to pleasure.

Dimly, Thomas was aware that he might be a little screwed up. Oh well. His shaking hand reached for the final Healing mana crystal, and he started to absorb it.

Something real weird happened as he did. It was like the four types of energies all suddenly bound together and then, as one, were sucked into his core, locking into place. The weight of it all compacted the layers underneath.

Eyes squeezed shut and teeth grit, Thomas could only shake and try to keep his body holding together.

Then, with a final mana spasm and a crunch, it was over, and he broke into level four.

Thomas gasped in a deep breath. He felt like he had just surfaced from being underwater too long.

He quickly checked his status, and sure enough, his sheet showed his combined mana layer's name:

Brilliant Health of the Adaptive Wellspring.

Kinda awkward in his opinion, but it got the job done.

Thomas was still bent over, his forehead resting on the cool wooden table. After going through all that, he should have felt pain or exhaustion, but he didn't. Instead, he felt refreshed. Slowly, testing his muscles, he sat up. Wow, he felt good.

Opening his eyes, he saw a Light Elf sitting across from him.

Thomas flinched and reflexively threw the box lid at the intruder. His own hand moved in a flash.

The elf was just as fast, caught it, and grinned in a very Zach-like way before the image flickered, revealing Zach himself. "Sorry, dude," he said, not looking sorry at all. "Had to test it out."

"Asshole," Thomas breathed. Then he did a double take and looked again at his friend.

Zach's features had taken on a sharper, more polished look. Annoyingly enough, this all made him more handsome. No one was going to look at Thomas twice with him around.

Oh well, he’d have to take the L and get over it.

"Congratulations on the level up," Thomas said, and meant it.

"You too, my man. How do you feel?"

Thomas rolled his shoulders and glanced inward. He felt rejuvenated, and he hadn't even absorbed the new skill yet.

"Feeling good," he said, standing. "Ready to go. How about you?"

"Yep, same here. Let's go get our girl."

"Do you mean Jo or Twitch?" Thomas asked and heard Zach's bark of laughter just before they teleported.