Chương 49: The Next Climb

The earth mana wouldn't cooperate. Enzo stood among the redwoods behind the house, weight on his left side, cane propped against the nearest trunk. He pulled more earth mana from his reserves and circulated it throughout his body. Heart first. Then outward through the limbs, the way Val had explained. It flowed. Through the channels, down through his arms, into his legs, settling into muscle and bone exactly where he directed it. The circulation itself was fine. No resistance except at the knee.

He focused on his forearm and willed the mana to reinforce. Nothing happened. The mana sat in his tissue like dye in water. Present, distributed, doing absolutely nothing. He released it and started over. Pulled fresh earth from his reserves, circulated, focused, willed. Nothing. He'd been at this for almost two hours.

"You're grinding your teeth." Kenzo sat on the fallen trunk behind him, eating an apple. He'd shown up half an hour ago, settled in without a word, and watched. Enzo unclenched his jaw.

"It's not working."

"I can see that." Kenzo took a bite. Chewed.

"Maybe you just need more practice. Circulation's still new for you." Enzo turned to face him.

"Watch." He dropped into a loose stance, pulled arcane from his reserves, and let it flow. Through the heart, down the arms, pooling in the fists. It moved without resistance, smooth and fast, responding to his intent the way it always did. He threw a punch at the open air.

"Burst." A sharp snap of purple mana cracked from his knuckles. Kenzo's eyebrows went up.

"When'd you figure out Burst?"

"Earlier." Enzo lowered his fist.

"Arcane Burst, anyway. I tried inverting the flows for Fire Burst and couldn't get that to work either."

"Huh. Took me a while to figure out fire mana. Still converts real slow for me." Kenzo tapped his chest with the apple.

"Earth, though. Earth loves me." Then his eyes widened.

"Maybe that's why you can't do it." Enzo waited. Kenzo took another bite. Chewed slowly. Enzo raised an eyebrow. His friend grinned at him.

"Well?" Kenzo swallowed.

"Well, fire and earth don't like you, bro."

"What does that have to do with anything? I can use them in spells just fine." Kenzo pointed the apple core at him.

"In spells that are mostly arcane. Reinforce isn't mostly arcane. It's mostly earth. Fire Burst is mostly fire." He shrugged.

"Maybe you can't do it because those types aren't really yours. They were converted by an enchantment. They don't have your signature on them." Enzo stared at him. He wanted to disagree on principle, but they still understood so little about mana and magic. And what they did understand didn't offer anything to rule out Kenzo's idea. All of his spells were built around arcane. For weeks, it was all he had access to. They were built on applications of force and resistance. Bolt. Spear. Shield. Telekinesis.

Even Pulse. Analyze, too, though that had been trickier. It relied on arcane mana's transient nature to permeate the target, then used force and resistance to reflect information back.

"I'll need to work around that. What about using pure arcane for Reinforce?" Kenzo shook his head.

"Reinforce is mana-intensive already, but earth is good at absorbing impact. Arcane is kinda brittle, and it's way more expensive to maintain." He tossed the apple into the bushes and stood up. Then he held out a hand.

"Here, hit me with a Bolt. I'll show you. Arcane Reinforce." Kenzo's skin took on a purple coating.

"You're kidding, right?" Kenzo shook his head.

"Normal Bolt is fine, bro." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Enzo hesitated.

"Alright…" He raised his hand, pointing index and middle finger at Kenzo's open palm.

"Bolt." The spell snapped across the distance and crashed into Kenzo's hand. His arm blew back from the impact, the arcane force splashing outward as the Bolt broke apart against the reinforcement. But the purple coating fragmented at the same time. It shattered from palm to shoulder to chest, then all across his body, motes of arcane scattering into the air and fading. Enzo recognized the behavior. Same thing that happened with Shield.

The mana absorbed the impact by breaking, canceling the force but destroying itself in the process. Maintaining it would require a constant flow of mana, which was effectively like recasting it over and over. Kenzo shook his hand out and flexed his fingers. Then he held up the other palm.

"Do it again. Reinforce." More mana passed through his skin. This time it was denser, textured, forming a layer that looked like cracked earth spreading across his body. Enzo didn't hesitate.

"Bolt." The spell crashed into Kenzo's palm. His hand blew back again, the force splashing the same way. The earth mana around his hand and wrist broke apart, flaking away from the impact point like dried clay, dissipating as it fell. But only the hand. The rest of Kenzo's body stayed coated. The earth reinforcement held everywhere the Bolt hadn't touched.

"See?" Kenzo asked, shaking out his right hand.

"Earth mana absorbs way better than arcane. I'm not saying having it couldn't be handy, but it's not something you'll want to use often. Plus arcane is expensive as fuck, bro. It's so inefficient compared to typed mana." Then the mana powering the technique ran out, and the rest of the protection flaked apart and vanished. Enzo nodded. He'd noticed the same thing since he gained access to other types.

"Maybe I can replace earth with metal then…" Kenzo coughed. Enzo looked at him.

"What?"

"I, uh… wouldn't use metal for Reinforce, bro. It ain't a good fit." Enzo's eyes narrowed. This would be good.

"Why not?" Kenzo sighed.

"I tried metal after you told us about it. I think I have a mid affinity for it. Thought it might be useful for Reinforce, too, so I worked it into the circulation and…" He rubbed his head.

"It'll be easier if I just show you." Kenzo shook out his arms, rolled his shoulders, and planted his feet. He muttered something under his breath.

"Metal Reinforce." The change was slow. A metallic sheen crept across his skin, starting under his shirt before creeping up his neck and spreading outward. It took several seconds, the surface hardening as it went, until Kenzo looked like he'd been dipped in liquid steel. Enzo watched, waiting for the demonstration. Nothing happened. Kenzo stood perfectly still. Then his eyes moved. That was it. That was the only thing that changed. Enzo cocked his head.

"Kenzo." He paused.

"Brother. Are you… are you stuck?"

"Yuhs." His lips didn't move. Enzo snorted. He tried to choke back the laugh. It burst out of him, almost doubling him over. He smacked his good leg repeatedly.

"I wish we still had cameras," he choked out.

"I would frame this and put it on my wall." The metal dissipated into the air, releasing Kenzo from self-imposed containment. Kenzo grinned.

"Probably shoulda let you try it, but I figured I owed you one after the Val thing." Enzo shuffled over and grabbed his cane.

"What was that about anyway? Normally you'd give me a heads up." Kenzo shrugged.

"I agreed with her. Everyone needed to know who was in charge." He eyed Enzo.

"You included. You've been too busy to realize just how much everyone around here looks up to your family, since you all stepped up to help. And your mom, Pops, and Val have all been telling everyone it's thanks to you."

"What? That's not true. We've all been—" Kenzo waved a hand.

"Nah, bro. They just mean you're responsible for getting everything started. Besides, you're like our magic guru, too. Making magic showers and shit." His eyes widened.

"Right, on that note." Kenzo bent down and grabbed something from behind the log where he'd been sitting. He held up a piece of dark leather, roughly cut, about the size of a dinner plate.

"There's this old guy, Gerald, lives on the edge of the perimeter. Used to be a leather worker before he retired. Tanner, saddle maker, the whole thing." He turned the leather over in his hands.

"He's been working with the hides the hunters bring back. Most of it's normal deer and such, but some of it's from Beasts." Enzo took the piece from him. It was heavier than he expected. The grain was tight, the surface smooth but dense. He pressed his thumb into it. There was give, but less than regular leather. It wanted to push back.

"Beast leather?" Kenzo nodded.

"From a boar. Probably still Tier 0, but Gerald says the hide is already thicker and tougher than any boar he's ever seen before. He's got a few pieces tanned and ready." Enzo turned the leather over, running his fingers along the edge. The material had a faint warmth to it that regular leather wouldn't. Residual mana, maybe. Whatever the Beast had absorbed during its life, some of it had stayed in the hide.

"Frank wants to know if you can enchant it," Kenzo said.

"I spoke to him after the meeting, and he said this is his number one focus. Getting the Watch into real armor, especially if we're heading into a fight." Enzo frowned.

"In theory, yes. But I've never worked with leather before. And I don't think a barrier enchantment makes sense if we're talking about a chest piece. I'll need to experiment with the process, the best materials to carry the enchantment, how to layer it into the leather. Then there's the matter of activation, seeing as it's for the Watch. It'd be much easier for a mage." He trailed off, staring at the material.

"I should experiment with Infusion, too. Maybe I can reinforce the leather before ever layering any enchantment into it." Enzo looked up to find Kenzo grinning back at him.

"What?"

"This is the other reason I let Val do her thing, even if it meant pulling a fast one on you. You love this stuff." Kenzo's grin faded, replaced by something more serious.

"I'm glad you've found your next climb, bro." Enzo blinked. His hand had gone still around the leather. The other gripped the cane tighter.

"Before you disappear though, you need to swing by next door. Val and Sumi need to talk to you." Kenzo clapped him on the shoulder as he walked past, heading for the house.

"Gerald has boxes of scraps. I'll bring 'em by the workshop for you later." Enzo watched him go. Then he took a breath and followed after slowly. Time to see what mischief his sister was up to now.