Chương 62: Now You See Murph

Enzo woke to the sound of birds outside the window. Early morning light filtered through gaps in the curtains. Murph was curled at the foot of the bed, still asleep. One ear twitched as he shifted, and then her eyes opened. She looked at him, blinked once, and put her head back down.

"Day off?" he asked. She chuffed.

"Fair enough." He sat up and looked across the room at the workbench. The fire battery sat where he'd left it the night before. His spellbook was still open beside it, pages covered in the flurry of sketches he'd stayed up too late drawing. The first issue was that he was in no way knowledgeable about armor. Or leather, though he'd worked up some simple solutions involving it.

He was certain there were matters to be considered in designing anything for long-term use, and that was before even considering that he wanted it to be actually protective. Infusion would solve some of that, but it still made sense to ensure that whatever he started with already provided enough protection on its own. Enzo rubbed his eyes. They were problems for later. He'd have to talk to the guy Kenzo told him about. Gilbert. Or Jerry. Or something like that. He looked at Murph.

"Want to hang out for a bit today? I need to head into the forest and practice some spells." He paused.

"Assuming Signe and Pops aren't back yet. Or Matt's scouts." Murph barked.

"Okay. Give me a bit to get ready. I need a shower first. I'm starting to smell." Murph nodded. Enzo stopped. Narrowed his eyes.

"Did you just nod?" Murph whined and tilted her head.

"Don't act innocent. I know what I saw." Murph barked.

"I am not imagining it." Murph growled and turned to look out the window. Enzo stared at her for a moment longer, then sighed and pushed himself to his feet. He left the cane leaning against the wall and headed down the hall. He came back five minutes later, toweling his hair, a second towel around his waist. The water had been cold, as usual. And as usual, it had reminded him that now that he could layer typed mana into enchantments himself, there was no reason the shower couldn't heat the water on the way down.

He added it to the list. It was getting long. Enzo got dressed. Comfortable clothes, well-worn boots, and the long jacket. Because of the pockets. Maybe that was why wizards wore long robes and pointy hats. Magical pockets. And heavy responsibilities. While he gathered the rest of his things, Murph was already opening the door and slipping out of the room. He followed, cane in hand. The house was quiet, though he was beginning to realize that didn't mean as much these days.

Val might already be at the admin building. Mom was probably already out in the garden. And Pops was still out with Signe. Though, hopefully they'd be back today. Which was why he needed to get some spell work in. Outside, the settlement was already finding its rhythm. People waved as he and Murph passed. Others were already lined up out the front of Jack's, which was what he'd heard the others calling it, though the sign over the closed garage read 'Distribution Center.'

Some were heading toward the communal showers. The construction teams had finally replaced the wire-and-curtain setup with a row of small wooden stalls. He approached the main gate. One of the Watch was lounging in a lawn chair beside the guard tower, feet up, a crossbow resting across his lap. He stood when he saw Enzo.

"Heading out, sir?" Enzo nodded.

"Need some space to practice magic in private." The man turned and waved at the guards on the other side. They lifted the heavy beam and began pushing the gate open. He turned back.

"You need an escort, sir?" Enzo gestured to Murph.

"Already got one." The man smiled down at her.

"Hey, Murph." Murph barked. He turned back to Enzo, the smile fading into something more apologetic.

"I, uh, still have to notify Frank, sir. Sorry." Enzo shrugged.

"That's fine. If my father and Signe return while I'm out, send Kenzo to find me. Tell him I'll be at the old clearing."

"Yes, sir." You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Enzo passed through the gate with Murph at his side, then turned right, following the palisade as it curved around the settlement's perimeter. The wall was rough but solid, logs stripped and lashed together. They found the old path a few minutes later. A beaten trail that cut into the trees, winding uphill through ferns and redwood.

His knee protested as they walked, but he kept the pace slow, trying not to aggravate it. Crystal mana had proven to be an exceptional type, capable of doing something amazing. Not that every other type of mana didn't have its own value. But he'd tested it on bone, bark, glass, metal, and crystal, and it was capable of reordering the structure of any material. In theory, he couldn't see any reason it wouldn't work on his own bones.

The initial tibial plateau fracture had been surgically repaired with plates and screws. When he'd broken it a second time, they'd repaired it as best they could, reinforcing the hardware where necessary. The problem was the damage he'd done to the articular cartilage. From what the doctors had explained at the time, adults couldn't naturally regenerate it because the tissues lacked a blood supply and stem cells.

Even if he could repair his own bone, and he wasn't sure how to even begin there, he couldn't repair cartilage. Crystal mana wasn't replacing matter, just reordering it, and with a minor material cost. At first he'd thought it might be working on the crystalline lattice that made up some physical matter, but the glass test had disproven that theory. Glass was an amorphous solid which lacked the repeating atomic structure that metals and crystals had. His hopes weren't dead yet, though.

Sumi had figured out mana conversion permanence. With that came the possibility that she might one day be able to develop a genuine healing spell, one that replaced flesh and blood and, hopefully, cartilage, as needed. And if not, there was another drastic, crazy idea that his hazy, sleep-deprived mind had considered right before falling asleep. It might be possible to replace the damaged bone with titanium and cartilage with… Something. That part still needed some consideration.

But with what they could already do, it didn't feel out of reach that a magical replacement could solve the problem. Enzo glanced down at Murph, clearly pacing herself slowly to stay at his side. He smiled. She'd changed a lot since the rain, but plenty remained the same. The little pup had always been patient with him and his snail's pace. It still worried him that he didn't understand the changes, but he wasn't sure what could be done about it.

"Hey, Murph. I'm going to cast a spell on you, okay?" Murph tilted her head to look up at him, her tongue lolling from the side of her mouth. Then she made a chuffing noise. Enzo reached down and pressed a hand against her rump while they walked. He really should have done this already.

"Analyze." He poured extra mana into the spell, making sure it picked up anything it could. Then the results came back, followed by a notification. — Tier 1 Unbonded Beast (Murphy) Type: Arcane, Body, Life,???,???,??? Description: A mana-adapted canine (Border Collie) undergoing active evolution due to sustained exposure to elevated ambient mana density. Physical adaptation is ongoing, with notable deviation from species baseline in musculature, sensory capacity, and predatory characteristics.

Murphy exhibits six native mana types within a developing mana core located in her chest. Warning: This is a Tier 1 Unbonded Beast. Unbonded Beasts are considered dangerous and unpredictable as cognitive and physical development progresses. Note: Additional information was willingly returned by the target of Analyze. — Enzo stopped.

"What?" Murph slowed, then turned back to look at him, head cocked. Almost as if asking 'what' right back.

"You have six types?" Murph grinned, and her tongue flopped out.

"That's not fair. I only have four." Murph barked, then spun in circles. Enzo started walking again, and Murph fell back into position, keeping pace.

"I wonder what your three mystery types are. Fire, water, wind, and earth would have shown up, because I included those types in Analyze, along with life and body." He was mostly talking to himself, but he didn't miss how closely Murph was paying attention.

"Mind might make sense. I'm guessing Beasts use mana differently, because you have a core. Whatever that is. Maybe it's like a reservoir?" She barked.

"It is? Okay… good to know." He paused. Then glanced down suspiciously.

"Does that mean you can do magic?" Murph started prancing, waggling her butt as she went. Her tail was zipping back and forth like crazy. Enzo stared.

"Like spells?" Her prance turned into a droop. She let out a long whine.

"What? No, of course not. You're a good girl even if you can't cast spells like me. Is it more like what Kenzo and Val do?" She chuffed and wiggled from side to side.

"Sort of?" She barked.

"Huh." They walked in silence for a minute. He had to keep shoving into the back of his mind the absurdity of having a full-blown conversation with his seven and a half month old puppy about using magic. It was weird, but he couldn't deny that as time went on he was somehow developing more and more of a sixth sense when it came to understanding Murph. Trans-bark-lation. Weirder things had actually already happened though, so he tried to ignore it.

"How come I haven't seen any of these abilities?" Murph growled.

"You haven't shown anyone? Why?" She barked. Then whined. Growled. Then turned and flopped her tongue out at him all without slowing down. He frowned. Maybe his translation power wasn't as good as he thought it was. Enzo took a stab at it anyway.

"You're still practicing, but you want to do it in secret so you can surprise people later?" Murph let out a very short bark, sounding almost like a laugh. Then raised her head with a chuff.

"Are you trying to gaslight me?" His eyes narrowed.

"You are! You were trying to save it until you could show off!" She whined. Enzo laughed.

"Don't even try. I'm onto you. This is all Val's fault." He shook his head.

"You have to show me, because we're a team. I need to know what you can do, in case we ever need to rely on your abilities in a fight." He sighed.

"Which seems more and more likely with every passing day." A distant Eater cry punctuated the sentence, as if the world was trying to make his point. Murph's ears turned in that direction, but she otherwise ignored it. A moment later, she let out a quiet bark, then turned to check he was watching, before slipping into the brush. Her fur rippled and darkened as she passed behind a bush. Enzo blinked. His dog had disappeared. A notification pinged against his awareness. He frowned. He hadn't done anything.

Enzo pulled the notification up. — Beastbonding (Level 1) Learned —