Shielded by Seals [Chapter 34] (Patreon)

Okay, finally catching up on life. Sigh, so exhausted lol. But definitely aiming for two today, two tomorrow. Because LoRG 12 will be out tomorrow!

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

Methak narrowed his eyes. “The boy Osiris is a destabilizing influence. This batch of inner hands… I believe they will need extensive retraining by the time they gain their first leg! It greatly weakens the whole of the Fang Family to house an insidious presence like this.”

In front of him, Prefect Nightflower kept her face neutral. “As you say.”

Methak felt irritation flare in his chest. The two stared at each other. On the surface, he had a great deal of power within the inner hand cloister. Final say on all decisions, and broad discretion when it came to punishments and rewards. However, his actions were constantly scrutinized for proof of favoritism. A sudden order to kick out Osiris Scowl would create complications.

Still, in ordinary times, he wouldn’t have a problem smoothing over a small problem like a zero legger. But he had overplayed his hand last month, when he arranged for an ‘accident’ to strike during the two-legger excursion.

Three inner hand cloister children under the age of 14 had died. But even more infuriating, the girl he aimed to eliminate had survived. 

His hands, for now, were tied. The action couldn’t be initiated by him. He glared at the Prefect, hoping she would voluntarily bring forth a suggestion he could endorse. She remained silent. The two looked at one another. Methak’s face became increasingly red.

“...then I suppose our meeting is adjourned,” He squeezed out through gritted teeth. The Prefect bowed and departed.

*****

I settled down into a crouch. Today, I would continue training-

Taboo seal has activated…

Due to special circumstances, individual has resisted the seal!

Annoying. My lips twitched at the notification. Apparently, my violation acted like some sort of virus. Because I had spread the name Emerald Spider, every time the other kids spoke it, I would be restrained. Of course, Child Role did an excellent job insulating me. 

But what would happen when the Child Role ran out? Luckily, I was younger than all the rest here, but if these kids spread the word to even younger individuals…

Hah, well, don’t worry too much. Won’t Argyle show up and drag me back for a sacrificial ritual long before that becomes a problem? There’s always a silver lining. I couldn’t help but giggle. Gallows humor always helped. I flexed a scrawny bicep and continued my daily training.

Your Skill Corrosive Leap has reached a new Proficiency! Beginner I-> Beginner II. Activating Skill takes less time. You possess more control over the landing. Area of disturbance around the landing increases slightly. Due to an increase in Proficiency, your Mana Pool deepens.

For increasing Skill Proficiency while a Child, the Role Child has gained Proficiency! +5%.

For increasing Skill Proficiency while a Child, the Role Genius has gained Proficiency! +2%.

…

Your Trait Mana-Adjusted Physique has reached a new Proficiency! Proficient II-> Proficient III. The boost from Mana Pool depth increases. Due to refinement, the density of your Mana slightly increases.

For increasing Trait Proficiency while a Child, the Role Child has gained Proficiency! +5%.

For increasing Trait Proficiency while a Child, the Role Genius has gained Proficiency! +2%.

I unleashed a powerful breath from my nose and paused. After a week of constant jumping, I had gotten my Corrosive Leap to Beginner II Proficiency and now was halfway to Beginner III. In addition, Mana-Adjusted Physique had finally broken through to Proficiency III. The effects of my Mana Pool were still minute, and my body was relatively undeveloped, but I did feel the difference in Mana density.

The cold has deepened. I felt somewhat helpless. Feels like I am digging a hole in my stomach and filling it with fresh snow melt…

The same notification had appeared when I increased Emit Mana to Proficient III. At the time, the effect was small enough I couldn’t be sure if the sensation of the Mana changed. But now every pinch of Mana I used went a little further toward fueling Skills. It made me shake my head further; I could understand the Fang Family’s methodology, but truly, could purity rival training?

Although a fire in my chest had been relit to continue training, the weekly excursion had come around. This time, my ears perked up because the attendant announced we would be visiting a delver base. As the group marched out into the forest, Toby bounced form one side of the group to the other. His mood even infected Toad, who began to cavort and throw his body against unlucky trees. 

However-

Our destination was a glorified warehouse. We wandered between tall shelves filled with various wooden crates and boxes. The delvers weren’t present. But the attendant did confirm, as they led us through the various shelves and weapon racks, that delvers possessed a very special role. 

“Delvers are those brave warriors who venture out beyond the seal wall,” The attendant explained. She pointed to a heavy iron spike, one of about a dozen, standing taller than a person and leaning against the wall. “They do this both to gather natural resources… but also to plant these grounding awls into the ground. They steadily purify the air, diminishing the influence of hell’s Mana in an area. Then, the true elites of the delving team can be dispatched: an establishment battalion.

“It is this battalion that can plant the seed of a core, which can be used to erect the massive seal walls that keep us safe,” The attendant continued. A small smile broke out across her face. “And in our entire defense alliance, our Feng Family experts are highly sought after for Establishment Battalions. Our Prime is peerless when it comes to the weaving of seals.”

One of Vernika’s little friends raised his hand. “When we get an apprenticeship, can we choose delvers?”

Many of the children seemed excited by the prospect. The attendant gave a noncommittal gesture with her hand. “While it is possible to take an apprenticeship with the delvers… these are the most sought-after slots in the compound. Both Inner and Outer Hands compete for them. And as there are only two spots a year, they always go to three-leggers.”

We moved from the equipment warehouse to the raw material storage. At that time, the attendant waxed rhapsodic about how our Prime was superior to all others. Because under the Prime’s leadership, we domesticated spiders and could sell their high quality silk, in addition to the gather materials. 

Yadda yadda, I yawned and glanced around at the warehouse. Secretly, I was glad the attendant insisted Toad stay outside, because what was clearly several boar haunches dripped blood up against the wall.

On the walk back, Toby crept up next to me, glanced around, and then whispered. “Look what I have, Ossi.”

He offered me an empty palm. Just as I blinked at him, he activated his Trait. In his hand appeared an awl. Inert carved seals glittered on the egg-shaped pomel. This was one of the Seal-rippers, which the attendant had rightfully glossed over during the tour; what did it say about the delvers activities that they had a tool for breaking into foreign sealwalls?

Toby looked left and right and closed his hand, returning the item to his Storage.

“You… took one?” Even I couldn’t believe his gall.

Toby nodded, suddenly smug. “How can we be heroes without secret weapons?”

I shook my head. Yet it did start the wheel of my thoughts turning. When we made it back to the villa, I checked the schedule scroll out of habit. The next special excursion at the end of the month was actually-

I looked up in surprise at the attendant. “We are fighting in a tournament next month?”

But the attendant shook her head. “Not you. Next month will be the two-legged tournament. The month after that will be the three-leggers fighting. Beyond that… it is a special year: the Fang Family will be hosting the Young Talent Tournament. Fighters from even the Holy Ax Empire will attend.”

I felt quite a bit of relief to know I wouldn’t have to fight. Yet simultaneously… I couldn’t deny I felt a bit regretful, too. I still had no real conception of what my training efforts amounted to. The image of that attendant suddenly glaring and attacking me with a knife-

I suppressed a shiver. Observing tournaments… it would give me an idea of the strength of older kids. So before that happened, I needed to improve myself as much as possible, so I had a baseline idea of strength.

I threw my body and soul into training. Each day was the same; Toby and I would climb down from the solarium, while Toad threw his body out the window and crashed into a bush. We would walk to the stalls and use some of my accumulated points to buy food for lunch. Then we would move away from the river and train at the edges of the forest, away from observation.

We would take a short break for lunch and then resume the honing process. Occasionally, if I trained my Mana based Skills, I would take frequent naps. Falling asleep took a few minutes longer to occur, but it was still workable. Then, as dusk approached, we would return to the villa. At night, I would flood my body with as much Mana as possible, improving my Mana-Adjusted Physique and Concentration.

Days flowed past, interspersed with notifications.

Your Skill Corrosive Leap has reached a new Proficiency! Beginner II-> Beginner III. Speed of the leap increases. Distance traveled increases. Due to an increase in Proficiency, your Mana Pool deepens.

For increasing Skill Proficiency while a Child, the Role Child has gained Proficiency! +5%.

For increasing Skill Proficiency while a Child, the Role Genius has gained Proficiency! +2%.

…

Your Trait Accurate has reached a new Proficiency! Usable-> Proficient I. Accurate activates at a farther distance. Accurate can be activated many times in quick succession. Due to an increase in Proficiency, your Mana Pool deepens.

For increasing Trait Proficiency while a Child, the Role Child has gained Proficiency! +5%.

For increasing Trait Proficiency while a Child, the Role Genius has gained Proficiency! +2%.

Your Role Child has reached a new Proficiency! Proficient III-> Proficient IV. Your Temp Trait Quick Learner (Locked) has become Very Quick Learner (Locked). Temporary Trait will vanish when you lose the Role Child. Your rudimentary ability to sense the Mana of others has grown more refined.

Very Quick Learner (Locked): When you earn Proficiency, earn 10% more Proficiency.

For increasing the Proficiency Tier of a Role, the Role Genius has gained Proficiency! +15%.

…

Your Trait Mana Hungry has reached a new Proficiency! Apprentice -> Usable. Your Mana is connected more intimately to your expression. The amount of Mana restored increases. You become marginally more sensitive to Mana.

For increasing Trait Proficiency while a Child, the Role Child has gained Proficiency! +5%.

For increasing Trait Proficiency while a Child, the Role Genius has gained Proficiency! +2%.

…

…

…

At the end of the month, I looked at my Status Screen.

Name: Osiris Scowl

Level: 4

Roles (2): Child (Proficient IV, 42%), Genius (Beginner II, 43%)(1 Year, 8 Months, 4 Weeks, 4 Days)

Score: B-, D, F

Traits 4/11: Mana Hungry (Usable, 3%), Mana Adjusted Physique (Proficient III, 34%), Accurate (Proficient I, 14%), Very Quick Learner (Locked)

Skills 5/11: Emit Mana (Proficient IV, 5%), Clean (Proficient III, 71%), Silk Shot (Proficient III, 23%), Concentration (Proficient I, 3%), Corrosive Leap (Apprentice, 91%)

Due to the boost from Very Quick Learner, the speed of grinding increased again. In terms of growth, the biggest movers was Concentration. Now it had entered the Proficient I Tier. Plus, Corrosive Leap almost broke through to Usable.

However, what pleased me the most was that Mana Hungry had grown to Usable. During this time, my Mana Pool kept deepening, almost catching up to the amount of Mana restored when the pool emptied out. But now once more, a huge flood of Mana filled me during my rest, a surge of icy energy that filled my Mana Pool and then percolated out through my entire body. With all that extra Mana, I turned my attention to my Skills, meaning to push them all to Proficient IV.

When you look at it, definitely, the Fang Family seems silly to ignore Roles, I thought. I took one last glance at my Status screen; my lips twitched as I got to the end. But the most confusing portion… is this guy…

Tamed Beast: Mud-Guzzling Hog Lvl 19 (Toad)

Relationship: Intimate

Potential: Talented

Fighting Ability: Lvl 51

I looked at Toad. “You can fight against someone at Level 50…?”

Toad hunhked in confusion; he didn’t understand my question. I tilted my head to the side and considered the hog. He may have gotten somewhat more rotund… but how did that equate to fighting ability…?

“Children, gather around,” An attendant spoke at the entrance to the solarium. “Today is a special day. In our world, strength is required to survive. Those without it… all will be taken from them. You will soon witness the older talents of the Feng Family striving for victory. Be prepared… because these inner hand cloister members are putting their lives on the line. Do not avert your eyes, because this is your future.”