Shielded by Seals [Chapter 22] (Patreon)

ToC: https://www.patreon.com/posts/132353583

When I woke up, I found myself on a straw pallet. I straightened, resisting a wave of dizziness.

Only a corner of the sky still showed light. Toad and Toby were sprawled out on the nearby palette, their limbs entangled. Both drooled; I couldn’t believe I had rested so long through their snoring. My eye twitched. When did these two become so close…?

I addressed the notifications floating in front of me.

For completing a level of the Fang Stele, your Role Genius gains +5% Proficiency.

You have finished the Trial of the Fang Stele! Grading… Level 7, Stage 1, Unaffiliated

Due to your accomplishments, you have gained the Temporary Trait: ???? Learning. You cannot have two Learning Traits at once. Does not take up a Trait Slot.

???? Learning (0%): Learning a Skill via an esoteric inheritance method. Focus on the Trait to receive information about how to practice. Depending on the quality of practice and other factors, Trait Holder will gain a Skill of varying quality. Trait will vanish when Skill is learned.

I frowned and focused on the Trait. Suddenly, I possessed a general awareness of several exercise movements. From what I could tell, they were designed to improve agility. Excitement and bitterness warred in my heart. Increasing this body’s agility via a Skill would be ideal… yet… how can I execute these movements with quality, considering I possess the body of a toddler?

In the end, I could only sigh. It was a conundrum. I could wait for my body to improve… but that would take years. And in that time, I wouldn’t be able to gather another Learning Trait. Were Learning Traits common…?

Yet I didn’t need to decide now. Today was a whirlwind… but it was still my arrival day at the inner hand cloister. Over time, context would guide my decisions.

As I straightened and stretched a little bit, Toad and Toby woke up. Toad frowned over at Toby and kicked him away in retribution for waking him up. Toby scowled and produced a stone from his Storage and threw it. The projectile bounced off of Toad’s belly, but earned a squeal of displeasure from the hog.

Both leapt to their feet, ready to battle. I stepped forward and raised my hands. “Okay, okay, no need for this…”

Toad received a few Emit Mana’s in the mouth, while I pointed toward a nearby clump of flowers which Toby dashed toward and put into his storage. I rubbed my forehead; why were these companions of mine so childish…?

Well, Toby is a child, and Toad… how old is he?

I had wondered if we would need to sweet talk a nurse, but the more I inspected the environment… had we just been dumped in an empty old barn? I peeked my head outside. No one was around. I grimaced; convenient for now, but somewhat exasperating that our unconscious bodies were just hauled away, rather than cared for…

With the last few rays of sunlight slanting down on us, we trooped back across the bridge to the Inner Hand Cloister. The attendants at the door gave us sharp looks, but still opened the door as we went up. Even Toad was allowed through. Yet right as I was about to cross the threshold, a voice echoed out.

“Young Osiris.”

I pivoted and saw a stern-faced attendant. He gestured imperiously and I followed, wondering how I would be punished. He led me to the central tower, erected in the middle of the villas. Raising his hand, the intendant gestured and dissolved the seals on the door. Inside, an ancient stone staircase spiraled upward. I looked at him. He glowered and gestured, but led the way.

I began to sweat as I clambered after the adult, but didn’t make a fuss.

We reached a floor at the top of the tower. Rather than a door, there was just an arch. As I looked closer, my eyes widened with alarm. The entire thing was made of a single, continuous bone. Likely a rib from a massive monster. Even more ominous were the fiery red and black little seals that flashed in the corners of my vision. They vanished when you peered directly, but I couldn’t help but fear the thing whose bones would still maintain seals.

Inside, an aging man bent over a massive table. It was so high I couldn’t even see what was on it. He straightened, his gaze remaining on the table in front of him. “Ah, the new arrival? Come inside. Yes, yes, I’m sure you have so many questions, just give me a moment…”

As I moved through the arch, I pointed at myself. Was I talking…?

“Here. Put this on.” The old man rummaged in a drawer and then tossed a right several feet to my right. I instinctively reached out to grab it, but my toddler body still wasn’t very coordinated. Plus, the ring was too high. It flew past and clattered against the wall.

Thank god he didn’t just throw it down the stairs…

At the noise. The old man squinted, looking at me for the first time. “Now, don’t get uppity with me. This is for your own good.”

“What does the ring do?” I asked, even as I went over and picked it up.

The man harrumphed. “Tsk, typical. I give you the answer and you don’t even bother to listen… I can’t bother with you- ah, one last thing.”

Suddenly, the feeling in the room sharpened. I was so surprised I squeaked and slipped the ring onto my finger without thinking; the aura that radiated from the old man seemed every bit as vicious and deadly as the one I had sensed around Argyle when his eyes were pitch black. His gaze felt sharp enough to cut, slicing across my cheek-

Before worries could escalate, a notification popped up.

Mana Pool Seal activated.

Eh, what? My worries vanished at the nonsensical notification. I looked at the ring, which glowed with seals. My fingers tightened and I tried to tug it off, but the ring didn’t budge. Little emerald symbols shone, binding the ring in place. I felt fiery little bits of energy digging their way from my finger and circling my Mana Pool. Hoping I was mistaken, I tried to activate Emit Mana-

The burning seals flared to life. A ripple ran through my Mana Pool, but I couldn’t accomplish more than that, affected by the seals. My eyes and mouth widened further. Each attempt to grasp what had just happened slammed against one horrible realization- training my Skills… had become impossible.

“What the fuck?” I muttered without thinking.

The ancient man sneered. “As expected, crassness is the eternal refrain of errant youth. Begone.”

A wave of energy slammed against my chest. I felt my body thrown back out of the arch and into the platform at the top of the stairs. There was no door, but energy surged from those strange seals and a shroud of darkness filled the bone arch. And yet, despite the strange developments, I couldn’t care about the man at all. Did I really… lose access to Mana?

My eyes widened as I remembered Toby confidently saying that he couldn’t grind his Skills. I had assumed it was just nonsense from him… but was he just giving me the truth?

The journey down the stairs was a blur. My legs carried me back to the zero villa. The attendant gestured as he opened the door, telling me about the food available, but I couldn’t listen to the words. My eyes flicked from child to child, scanning them all. As I looked, my horror only grew. Because indeed, everyone in the room possessed a ring on their hand. The runes were activated on the hands of each toddler, keeping their Mana inert.

Suddenly, their idleness took on a strange cast. I stumbled over to the corner, my head spinning. “Will I… soon be like that…?”

*****

Back in his tower, Methak, head of the Inner Hand Cloister, flicked his fingers. A single drop of crimson blood floated up into his hand. Methak narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue. He hated being posted here, but it was difficult to find individuals whom Amainya could trust to manage the Inner Hand Cloister. 

For the continued reformation of the Fang Family, constant vigilance was necessary. Exactly for situations like this.

He might be largely disliked by the workers, but already whispers of strange happenings had reached him at the Fang Stele.

More than anything else, Methak was here for one reason: To intercept threats to the Feng Family’s new direction before they could shake the weak-spirited amongst the elders, unwilling to accept the resolve required to improve in this hell-touched world. He raised a pointer finger, the small drop of blood floating above it.

That puny child felt like nothing special… but we cannot simply ignore troublesome matters, Methak gestured. Through his connection with the Prime, several seals flowed together to create a small green marble. Especially considering the Holy Ax Empire has been so silent…

With great care, Methak brought the blood and seal marble together. The blood reacted, making Methak raise his brows. An verdant hue rose to the surface within the blood. From crimson to mud, to dark forest green, the blood responded to the seals of the emerald spider. Yet even as Methak felt alarm, the blood didn’t continue to change.

It remained forest green, not glowing, not nearing a gem-like emerald.

He released a breath. “A direct blood descendant… but just of normal quality. Acceptable. So long as he experiences an accident between now and his debut at 15… Tch.”

His hand flashed up. He clenched his fist, annihilating both the blood and the seal orb. Methak leaned forward and muttered to himself. “And my so-called ‘mole’ in the outer hand cloister, keh, wasting my time like this… an inheritor of the ancestor’s techniques? With such turbid blood? Impossible.”

*****In the morning, I looked at my hand, wishing yesterday was a dream. I willed my Skills to activate, any of them.

My Mana sloshed back and forth in my Mana Pool. I felt it bunching and gathering, but as I focused my efforts, the seals on the ring activated. The preparatory gathering within the Mana Pool still occurred… yet as soon as it passed beyond my Mana Pool-

The seals on the ring flared. They spiralled inward through my body, surrounding and creating pressure around my Mana Pool.

The flow of my Mana, which I had so long taken for granted, slowed to a crawl. It became sludge in my body, the frigid flows stalling out and energy lingering to sear my physique. Never had so much concentrated Mana been released in my body. Discomfort mounted to the point that I flapped my arms, trying to disperse the restrained Mana, but it did nothing.

Tears formed in my eyes. I probably would have begun sobbing at the horrible developments, had it not been for the notifications that popped up in front of me.

Due to your struggle against restraining seals, your Trait Mana-Adjusted Physique has gained Proficiency. Proficiency +4%.

The boost in proficiency is nice, but… My gaze was hollow. I shivered. The pain is so intense. And for my efforts… almost nothing…

The rest of the toddlers, kids even older than me, were waking up and yawning as the sun streamed in through the large windows of the solarium. The aides hadn’t arrived yet, but I was given to understand they would soon haul in breakfast with the dawn. Yet my eyes wouldn’t leave the ring on my finger.

Why am I even here…? I pinched my face together. I’ve been embracing this place because it took me out of Argyle’s shadow, but am I any closer to controlling my own destiny? And these bastards have sealed away my Mana. How can I grow enough to escape without improving my Skills?

I felt as small as the true age of this body, in the wide and hushed room.

I released a shuddering breath. Tears lingered in my eyes. Too much had happened without me processing it. In the end, I threw myself into the act of grinding because it gave me structure. It had allowed me to feel like I was improving, even if it was just a marginal step forward.

And it let me ignore all the very real emotions crashing back and forth in my heart.

Yet now-

I was alone. I was alone in a strange and dangerous world-

“Hunhhkkk.” Toad nudged me with his nose to make sure I was awake and then presented me with his wide-open mouth. Almost instinctively, my Mana began moving again-

“Ah!” My body curled like a shrimp. Notifications popped up in front of me as the proficiency of Mana Adjusted Physique continued climbing, but I had to survive my little pain coma. A few seconds later, the coldness of stranded Mana faded and I was left panting. I gave the confused Toad a shake of the head. “Unfortunately… I won’t be able to feed you for a while.”

Toad looked flabbergasted. To the point that I laughed aloud, some of the memory of pain fading; I had no idea how the hog managed to be so expressive. I waved my hand at him. “This ring… well, it seals Mana.”

To solve this problem, Toad huffed toward my hand. But I pulled it away as he first lipped at and then began to gnaw at the ring, with my unfortunate hand trapped in his jaws.

Toby thumped down next to me. “Good, Ossi, you are awake. Let’s start playing martial arts.”

I blinked at the kid. “Ossi?”

“Isn’t that your name?” He said. But he was so excited he forgot about my protest and continued. The toddler practically buzzed with it. “What sort of Skill will we get from learning? I know the images I see are just walking, but what if I kick more? Do you think I can have a Skill for moving and kicking at the same time?”

My gaze on Toby softened. Honestly… I feel pretty distant from the name Osiris. Father never even called me that. Ossi… well. For a second attempt at life, with all those trials and tribulations… maybe that’s a better name.

But I shook my head for now. “I need to rest a bit before we begin. I’m not used to the seal ring. I tried to use a Skill-”

“Idiot, you can’t use Skills with a ring on.”

Toby and I pivoted as someone else interjected. Nearby, a group of the older ‘kids’ sneered at us. Of course, everyone was under 6, so it was difficult to take them seriously. But the central girl leaned forward with a very superior expression. “Stupid Danna used to do that. Then they had to take her away, because she had Mana Poisoning. She was kicked out of the villa for it. Awful Ossi, you are going to be the next one to go, I bet.”

My lips twitched. Great. I just accepted a new name… and already I have a shitty nickname to go with it.