PftA Book 5 - Chapter 10 - Rebuilding Social Stamina

“That took you guys a really long time,” Kaylee commented when we returned to my demesne. “It’s been, like, fifteen hours.”

“I told you the time dilation was pretty strong,” I replied with a smirk. “It was less than an hour on our end.”

“Well, Dad, Caesi, Daniel, and Eve have already turned in for the evening,” Kaylee informed us with her hands on her hips. The pose made her look so much like Mom. “You didn’t specify who got which room, so Daniel and Eve took the one in the back corner while Dad and Caesi took one of the ones you set up downstairs.”

“That’s fine,” I said before glancing toward the space where the Soul-healing formation was still set up. “I guess Bell decided to sleep over there?”

My sister-in-law was the first to agree to our little gathering, and she’d spent most of her time in the formation. The actual injury had been healed for a long time, but she still hadn’t recovered her previous affinity ratings.

I’d suspected something like that might happen, but I was hoping that the healing formation would help minimize the loss. Unfortunately, it hadn’t worked out the way I hoped.

Bell seemed to think that using the formation would help, and I didn’t have the heart to deny her, even if the cost in mana was quite high.

“Yeah. She crashed out about an hour ago,” Kaylee replied as she looked at the sleeping woman with concern. “Did she get hurt or something? She said the formation was supposed to heal and strengthen her soul, but I wasn’t aware of anything happening that would require something like that.”

I nodded. “She suffered from a soul injury a while back. It’s healed now, but she still asks to use the formation occasionally.”

“When did she get hurt?” Mom asked, her voice raising with concern. Ashlyn stood next to her, looking at Bell with eyes suddenly full of worry.

“Months ago,” I answered. “She didn’t want anyone to worry, and it was a soul injury, not something that regular healing could fix. Even my Time magic couldn’t do anything.”

“Those nasty invaders use weapons that damage the Soul,” Ashlyn spat angrily. “We were told all about it right after the war started. The professors at the academy are still working on crafting a better Soul-healing potion. The recipe we have is barely good enough to numb the pain. It doesn’t really do anything for healing.”

“Yeah, we’ve heard about that at the hospital, too. Thankfully, the invaders haven’t attacked anywhere on our side of the globe,” Kaylee said.

“They attacked somewhere in China, right?” Mom asked.

“Beijing, I think,” Kaylee said. “They hit the same city twice a couple of months apart.”

As I listened, it occurred to me that all three of my closest female family members were Healers of one sort or another. Technically, I could qualify as such as well.

“I’m going to make a snack. Anyone want anything?” I asked as I headed toward the single counter that served as my kitchen.

I never really bothered to cook anymore since my MealMaker made performing such tasks obsolete. Because of that, I hadn’t even bothered to install manatech cooking appliances. I simply had no use for them.

“Can you make me something that’s Tier Seven?” Ashlyn asked hopefully. “I’ve gotten pretty used to eating food at that level, and anything less just isn’t quite as fulfilling.”

“I can do that,” I replied as I transferred the requisite materials from my storage into the device. “Anything in particular?”

“Seafood pasta with a light sauce? The MealMaker has a recipe for that, right?”

It did, so I quickly programmed the meal.

“That looks good,” Mom said when the door opened, and the plate of pasta was revealed. “Can you make one for me, too? I know I can’t handle anything at Tier Seven, but I’ve got some low-tier material you can use if needed.”

“No need. I’m pretty stocked up on a variety of different tier materials,” I said. Most of it I’d collected during my search of the realm for just such an occasion.

“Nothing for me,” Kaylee said. “I’ve been up for more than a day, so I’m going to get some sleep.”

After Kaylee headed off to one of the smaller bedrooms, I made a Tier Nine plate of the same pasta for myself and joined Ashlyn and Mom.

“This is really good. Most of the recipes in your machine are, though,” Mom said before glancing back at my kitchen area. “I see you don’t bother cooking anymore. It’s a shame to let your skill atrophy like that.”

“Who needs to bother cooking when you can have something like this with a little focus and some mana?” Ashlyn asked as she took small, carefully cut bites of the meal.

Her training in etiquette and fine dining was very apparent, especially when next to our Mom, who was eating far more casually.

“Everyone should know how to cook,” Mom countered. “What if something happened and she lost the device?”

“Then she could craft a new one,” Ashlyn replied almost challengingly.

Mom sighed and shook her head. “I’m sure that would take some time. It isn’t like something this complex is easy to make. Knowing how to cook manually is important. That’s why I made it a point to teach all of you.”

“I still know how to cook,” I interjected. “I just don’t see the point in bothering when I have something that can do it better in a fraction of the time. I’ll probably brush up on my skills before I ascend since I have no idea what the next realm is going to be like.”

Ashlyn’s eyebrows rose. “Is that something you plan to do as soon as you’re eligible?”

I chewed my food slowly as I considered my answer. “I’m not sure. I’m leaning toward staying around for a while, but with this new pressure for Pinnacles to ascend, I don’t know how long the realm will let me.”

“I’ve heard that some Pinnacles feel the pressure a lot more than others,” Mom said.

“That’s true, and I’m hoping I’ll be one of the lucky ones. I should be since I think natural life span plays a part in it, but I won’t know until I reach that point.”

“But you plan to stay if you can, right?” Mom asked. Her food was largely forgotten at this point.

“That’s my intent,” I said. “However, I have no idea how I’ll feel by the time that point comes. With the time dilation on Sira…” I sighed and shook my head. “Unless something drastic happens, I’ll still probably stick around for a while, just to help out the family and my sect where I can.”

“Are you going to take over the sect?” Ashlyn asked with curiosity sparkling in her eyes. “A lot of people think that’s your plan since the former Patriarch mentioned something about you taking his place.”

I shook my head. “He’s already got a replacement. I don’t have any desire to usurp that role.”

Ashlyn’s looked a bit disappointed by my comment. “Oh. Well, that’s… I guess I could understand not wanting to take over after you’ve been gone for so long.”

“I’m not really a leader,” I admitted as I twirled a bite of noodles with my fork. “Honestly, I’m more of a ‘behind-the-scenes’ kind of person. Attention isn’t something I enjoy. That’s why I usually only go out in disguise.”

Ashlyn didn’t understand my aversion to the spotlight at all. In fact, she was quite the opposite.

For the rest of the meal, I listened as Ashlyn talked about what she would do if she were in my place. She also bragged a little about the attention she got for having two strong affinities and lamented that she’d been unable to find a similar opportunity to gain a third affinity.

= = =

The rest of the mini-reunion went pretty well. Everyone was excited to see Ashlyn when they woke up since most hadn’t seen her for quite a while.

Even before the war, she’d been too busy with school and leveling to visit very often. And having everyone spread around the Alliance certainly didn’t make things any easier.

Bell seemed to be in fairly high spirits when she woke and exited the formation. She smiled a lot more than I remembered seeing since before Justin died, and the sight warmed my heart.

My sister-in-law spent most of the visit doting on Daniel and Eve, though she also made sure to engage with everyone else a bit, too.

The break was nice, even if I was starting to get a little antsy about starting my search for the Arcane mana well. I had no idea how much time I’d get before I was once again called on by the Council to assist in the war effort, and Anya had implied that I should find the well before the war ended.

Why? I had no idea. But as much as her meddling annoyed me, I trusted that she had a reason for her advice.

“It was nice spending some time with you,” Caesi said as I dropped her and Dad off at their assigned location. “I feel like we’ve hardly gotten to see anyone we care about since the war started.”

A flash of longing and sadness crossed her face before she swiftly suppressed it. It was easy to tell where her mind had gone. Nobody knew when the protections for the youngest, most vulnerable of the population would end.

I gave her a quick hug, followed by a longer embrace with my Dad.

“You both take care of yourselves,” I told them before asking, “Do you need some more cores for your weapons, just in case?”

“We should be fine,” Dad said as he stepped closer to his new wife. “We’ve been keeping them full using the arrays you gave us, and we’re both involved with regularly clearing one of the local rifts. It’s enough to keep things stable.”

“They let you go inside a Tier Five rift?” I asked with a worried frown.

“Of course. If I’m going to be here with Caesi, fighting as a Tier Five, I have to take on the rest of the responsibilities as well.”

There wasn’t much I could say to that since he had gotten permission to stay on the Tier Five world. I still didn’t like it, though.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, I returned to my demesne to grab the last of my guests.

Ashlyn had been the first to return ‘home,’ followed by Kaylee and Eve, then Mom and Daniel. Now, only Bell remained.

“It was nice of you to host a get-together, especially with everything that’s going on. I just wish that Lucas and Amie could have made it as well,” Bell said.

“Yeah, I wish they could have been there, too. Maybe next time,” I said solemnly. “And it wasn’t my idea to have everyone over. That was all Mom and Daniel.”

“Well, it would have been impossible without you,” she pointed out.

I made a dismissive gesture and asked, “Do you want to use the formation some more, or should I drop you back in your temporary apartment?”

Bell’s eyes darted toward the carefully placed formation plates with a hint of wistfulness before she slowly shook her head.

“No. I’ve gotten about as much as I’m going to get out of it,” she said disappointedly. “I don’t think I’m going to regain my former affinity ratings without taking a different approach.”

“Has there been any improvement at all?” I asked.

“A point in Force. That’s it. I checked a little while earlier with an affinity crystal I borrowed from the Enchanters’ Guild.”

I sighed in sympathy. Bell’s affinities had never been very strong, and losing several points in both had weakened her significantly.

“It’s not all bad. I’m still able to do everything that I was able to do before. It just takes a bit more mana, is all,” she said with far less bitterness than I would have expected.

It was a good perspective to have. I wasn’t sure I would manage to be so calm had I been in her place.

“I was going to do a little search of some of the uninhabited worlds in Collective territory. I’ll keep an eye out for Force and Light mana wells. Even if they are on higher tier worlds and you need a [Mana Barrier], you should be able to get something out of them.”

“Don’t go out of your way or anything, but I’m definitely interested if you happen to come across something.”

After I dropped Bell off, I spent several subjective hours alone in my demesne, recovering from the extended social exposure. I was gradually rebuilding my social stamina, but I wasn’t quite there yet, and prolonged exposure to multiple people was draining.

When I finally felt balanced, I used my demesne to discreetly travel to one of the Collective outposts I’d located during my recent search. After slipping through the wards and making my way away from the enemy stronghold, I teleported to the closest uninhabited Tier Nine world within Collective space.

From there, I started my search for an Arcane mana well. Hopefully, I’d get lucky and find my target quickly.