Chương 7: [BL] 7. World of Mana [1]

Her body drifted above the mirror-like water that reflected the starry sky. She was half-asleep, but more awake than asleep. This runic pool did something to her. Her Dark Rune recovered to two. After asking Josha, it turned out Mage's outfit enhancement would still add the extra runes as usable as long as Willow's base form, which was classless, recovered them first. So she let the pool do the work and relaxed her body.

A bit far away from her, Shera still rested her body against the stone that rose out of the pool. The girl seemed asleep, yet her face scrunched in intense suffering. Nightmare? Willow let her be; she closed her eyes. A minute passed, and her body kept drifting until her head bonked against the edge of the pool, where a stone formation stood.

"Ouch," she winced.

"You all right there?" Josha asked from behind one of the trees.

"Did you peek?"

"Why does everybody question my honor?" He grumbled.

"I swear by my brothers' lives I did not peek."

"Brothers?"

"My parents are dead." Willow winced, put her feet down, and rested her back against the stone, which was almost big enough for her back.

"They died securing the Rift farm ten years ago. Thanks to their sacrifice, the Sheran village now has a constant Guard Class that allows us to secure an extra rift farm. My brothers, all of them except my youngest, have all been granted Guard class, one even evolved his class already, and—" He suddenly stopped.

"Sorry, you're not interested, right?"

"It's fine." Willow chuckled at his voice, which turned sheepish. She splashed water idly, and they glistened, being watched by the stars above.

"What is a rift farm?"

"Its meaning is literal. A rift has a lot of valuables that everyone needs, ranging from weapons and plants to, most important of all—Class Stones. Every monster has a chance to grow a Class Stone as their core. Maybe one out of thirty of them has an active one that can awaken a class."

"Isn't it dangerous, though?"

"Yes, it is. That is why the normal procedure is to build a wall around the rift, creating a small settlement to support the raid effort. We purposefully did not close the rift; for ten years it has given the Sheran a steady source of income—the Guard Class Stone favoured by counts, duchesses, even the king and the emperor. You felt its enchantment, didn't you?"

"Guard Honor?"

"Yes!" His voice perked up.

"Imagine an army of Guard class atop a town wall, each buffed with their own guard honor. Of course, the Class evolution! Warden, Guardian, and the most famous evolution of all, The Royal Knight and the King's Guard."

"Sounds fancy," Willow mumbled.

"So, Class can evolve? What should I do?"

"Reach level twenty, then forty, then sixty."

"That sounds easy enough." A chortle came from Josha.

"At an early level, sure Mera—" he cut off.

"—I mean, Willow. But the higher levels you get, the harder it'll be to level up." Willow nodded idly, ignoring the fact that he'd just called her Mera.

"Knight. Hollow Knight." A rustling sound sounded behind the tree. Willow looked toward it, and she could see Josha's hand gripping his sword.

"I have a brief memory of you guys going to this Hollow Knight's rift. That's the rift that produces this Guard Class Stone, isn't it? Where the knight in black killed your friends?"

"It is. The very rift my parents died securing too."

"All of you went straight to the Lich Rift… So it's not far, right? Why didn't we go to this Rift Farm to warn them first? Seems counterintuitive just to arrive at the village to send someone again into danger."

"We need to keep you alive—""How do you sneak into this rift when it's fortified? You must have some help." It took Josha a couple of seconds to answer, and he did so reluctantly.

"One of my brothers helped, and our friends who have a Guard class too."

"So, the reason we're not going there is that you don't want to implicate them?"

"Stars above," he sighed, voice defeated.

"You're really not Mera, are you?"

"No, I'm not," Willow said dryly.

"Sorry, it's just hard to accept. Especially for Shera over there. She always liked Mera, and it's an open secret."

"More than a friend way?"

"Yes."

"So that's why I got slapped," Willow scowled.

"Sounds like a mess. Didn't she have a fiancée?"

"It was a mess for a year or so," Josha said.

"Anyway, can you tell me why you and your group do it? Sneaking in to get the Class Stone. Based on what you tell me, it seems the villages should have enough of this stone."

"The Elder Council always decides to sell the stones. They long decided the money we got from it will be more useful than…" Josha's voice turned angry.

"Awakening weaker potential."

"Weaker potential?" Willow raised her eyebrow, glancing at her sword that lay next to the ruffling grass, tickling its leather-worn sheath. Weaker potential? Them? All of them fought like expert swordsmen for her.

"You're weak among the guards?"

"Well, not exactly." There was a moment of hesitation when he paused before he spoke again.

"I'm close to those who will receive their class stones, but by our calculations, chances are most will be sold, and there won't be enough."

"That's bullshit."

"Bull what?"

"With this apocalypse coming, there should be more monsters soon anyway, right? If you wait, you will get your class stone. You, along with Mera." This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. After a while, Josha spoke, "You're right. We're eager. And angry, seeing this… outsider being allowed to stand above Sheran's wall before us. We want to be there. Mera wants to stand with her father, and I with my brothers.

For Shera, her grandfather is one of the elders, and she wants to make him proud for being the only Guard in her family." At least he doesn't argue.

"Yes, we're stupid," Josha said, dragging his voice hoarsely.

"Most of us are dead. We're warned so many times. The elders, the guards, even the tier-two class holders have warned us." Willow let silence drift. She splashed the water on her face and plopped her face down, submerging her mouth and nose. She blew bubbles as her golden hair swayed around her. Maybe, maybe she was too harsh there. Her anger at just suddenly being plucked from her old life got the best of her.

But then again, as time passed strangely, she no longer felt angry; instead, despite everything, she was excited.

"I will think about it," Josha said. They stayed silent for a couple of minutes until Shera stood suddenly. The other girl locked eyes with Willow and let her dark hair cover her eyes. Did she hear that? She dived and made her way to Willow. When she was in front of her, Shera opened her palms above the water. Willow tilted her head.

"Don't you want to know? About your power. I will show you; I just finished visiting my world and met my spirit."

"What?"

"Exactly." She gave her a smug grin. Not seeing why not, Willow put a hand above Shera's.

"Close your eyes." She did. The darkness swirled; a landscape of ethereal blue slopes stretched across her vision. The air was still clear, yet it carried a brief taste of something sweet as it carried down the slope and up into a sky of fracturing violet. The fracture ran through in deep black spider-web, as if someone had just cracked the sky with a hammer. She looked around and nearly yelped when she found Shera beside her—Shera's body was luminous, almost invisible.

Her dark hair and face were still there, but underneath, she was just a body of pure white, just like Willow.

"Where. What? How—""Calm down! Don't let me go," she scolded.

"This is a world of magic, where spirits live. Look over there…" A young woman very familiar to Willow faced her. Instantly, panic overwhelms Willow as her old body stares at her with blankness, naked in a streak of white and violet. She almost let go of Shera when the other girl tightened her grip.

"That…"

"That's me, my, my old body."

"Oh, sorry I—We should have seen your current—I mean Mera's body. Wait, maybe that's why you can have two classes… More importantly, thanks to the stars, I was afraid you were some old woman transferred to Mera's young body."

"What is this place?" Willow demanded.

"And can she wear some clothes?"

"She can, but before that, let me give you an explanation." She coughed.

"So this is, uh, the Spirit World. What you're seeing now is your spirit. They're you, yet they're actually not?" Is that a question? She is really struggling to explain. Willow looked deep into her old body's face, or rather, her spirit. The eyes, instead of being brown like her usual color, were void, completely black. Shera swept her arm through the expansive fracturing sky.

"This is a world of magic—a world called Mana. Everything here is Mana. The source from which one could do what we do, cast magic. Can you feel it? The mana bearing down on you? Infinite wisdom that breaks your mind? Air so strong that you choke on it?"

"No." Shera nodded.

"That's right, we can't feel it. It's too dangerous to channel magic in its purity."

"Then how did we use it?"

"We don't, but they do." Shera pointed at Willow's spirit, who now turned and sat down, watching a faraway spirit like her playing around—five of them running in circles like kids.

"They lost their sense of self because of the overwhelming mana in here. Do you know what the purest stage of a being in one's life is?" The playing spirits jumped, locking arms, stepping through the musical grasses. The answer dawned immediately on Willow.

"Child stage?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Then why is she not playing with the others?"

"Because you're here. They're still a spirit, and you're the… real them. When you're here, their sense of self disappears, and they will follow you." Willow nodded along, still staring at the back of her old body.

"Because the magic here is so extensive, one needs to limit it—to contain it. And that's where class comes in. When you unlock a class, a spirit is born here. But that's still not enough. Even with the path of power decided, it's still far too strong, so ages ago, grand spirits made a pact that lasts to this age. The pact of Rune, the sealing of mana to what we know as Rune. A Rune is a suggestion of power.

Technically, Willow, you could use power beyond your runes, but that will damage your spirit, and you will lose access to power forever. So, better not to know how to do it." Shera said.

"Can you summon your guidance spirit? Oh, a guidance spirit is a free-roaming spirit that can access our world. They're like a mindless floating thing that phases between the world of magic and the real world." Name: Willow Class: [Guard—Level 2] [Wind Mage—Level 3] Rune: [Dark Wind 0/6] Spell: Scythe [2] Dismember [4] Enhancer: [Guard Honour] [Ravenous Wind] [Devour] [Ravenous Eyes] [Strong Strike]"I just did."

"Okay, now for the fun part. Focus on your Enhancer." Willow tapped into Ravenous Wind. In an instant, a hungry dark wind spun like a small typhoon, covering Willow's old body. The spirit jerked up and turned toward her as if she had just called her. This is kinda sad. She did it again with Ravenous Eyes; a dark, glowing etching spun around the spirit's eyes, turning into a cowl that pinned her dark hair up.

"Enhancer is like clothes for your spirit. The mana in this world responds to their growing existence by offering them clothes and sometimes accessories."

"By 'growing existence' you mean leveling up?"

"Exactly. Now, since Enhancer came from the world itself, the Spirit doesn't know how to wield them well; that is why the Guidance Spirit explains what they do. Meanwhile, Spells are a Magic that is born inside of your spirit; they intuitively know how to use it naturally as it is etched deep inside their body, and by extension, you know it too."

"I see," Willow mumbled. She reached forward, trying to catch the spirit hand, but her hand just passed through.

"We're just a projection here. This is their world, and they exist because of us, yes, but in the end, we're just borrowing their power." There was still something else she wanted and needed to taste.

"Guard Honour," Willow softly whispered, and Shera beside her watched intently. She drew an amazed breath as a shield suddenly appeared and was caught by the spirit. A steel kite shield. The spirit peeked its head up, looking at it with childish curiosity.

"It works! This proves your Enhancer connection between your classes!" Shera shook Willow's shoulder. I guess that's not normal.

"How about Spell?" Willow asked The spirit lifted a finger, and two dancing dark winds formed above her. One was thin like a knife; the other was numerous, swirling over each other.

"Scythe and Dismember," Willow smiled. How strange it was to be happy to see her spells; to be fair, the two had already kept her alive more times than she could count.

"I want to test if Spell is also connected between my class, too, but it looks like it's not," Willow sighed.

"What are you talking about? We haven't visited your other class."

"What? But I just assume they're combined."

"Aren't you listening to me? A spirit is born when someone consumes a class. By that logic, you should have another spirit waiting. Now close your eyes and—" The world morphed, and suddenly they were atop a peak. If Willow reached up, she thought she might be able to grab the star… An intense desire caught the star born inside her. What is this?

"No…" Ahead, with feet dangling over the cliff, was a young woman with golden hair, sprawled by the wind. Her eyes were void, and she stared up, not noticing either Willow or Shera. Mera's body didn't even turn to see them, like it had been waiting for something.