Draith

Chapter 42 - One With The Nets

Chapter 2/2 for today. If you've enjoyed the story, please remember to rate/review back on RoyalRoad.

Also, as requested, a list of affinities Perth has read about so far, though not all have been mentioned in the narrative. Nor are these all the affinities on Ro'an. These are simply the ones Perth is aware of at this point, based on the spells and theory he's read.

Common Affinitie...

Chapter 41 - By a Thread

Bonus chapter for reaching 1000 followers on RoyalRoad will follow in an hour. Chapter 1/2 for today.

...Mage Lord Isekai...

"Morning sunshine," I said, sitting on the edge of the desk.

Grivis groaned, rolling onto his side. Only then did he seem to realize he was bound and half naked.

"What… you can't do this to me. Do you know who I am?"

"Petty dictator? Mage i...

Chapter 40 - Hush

Chapter 2/2 for today.

...Mage Lord Isekai...

The nice thing about being a mage with a grimoire literally packed to the gills with first order spells was the versatility. With a little preparation, I could do a lot.

Such as use the librarian spell, Hush, to silence every noise we made.

Combined with Eagle Eyes and the cover of darkness, our approach to the village went w...

Chapter 39 - The Village

There'll be a bonus chapter in an hour to celebrate reaching top 10 Rising Stars on RoyalRoad. Chapter 1/2 for today.

...Mage Lord Isekai...

The walk from the watchtower to the village was the longest mile I'd ever walked. Paradoxically, it was the smoothest stretch of terrain we'd encountered since we arrived in my domain.

Yet the responsibility pressing down on me was heavie...

Chapter 38 - Giving Candy

"So, you're a soul killer, huh?" Tresla said first thing when we walked down from the top of the watchtower. Her shadowed form stood out stark against the tower wall, the setting sun failing to paint her, despite the glow of the walls around her.

"You were eavesdropping?"

"Dropping the what now?" Tresla asked, a glint of red escaping as she turned her hood toward me.

"I… uhh...

Chapter 37 - Lying In Ruins

Despite being right on the border of my domain, we decided to set camp early, planning to resume our journey in the morning.

It was a quiet but productive night. While Calbern fussed over Fang and Tresla made shapes with her smoke rings, I concentrated on my Astral form, slowly pushing mana through my channels, continuously saturating my body. As I went, I continued updating my model in M...

Chapter 36 - Stealing Sheep

The early morning sun managed to catch Vaserra's hair at just the right angle for it to seem like it was fashioned of blood. Though that impression likely had more to do with my shock at her referring to people as sheep.

And more likely, what it meant that Sarpit hadn't wanted to protect them.

A lot of things were being recategorized at that moment, and I think I ought to be forgive...

Chapter 35 - Flowery Language

It took me a few minutes to pull myself back together.

Seeing the car again had broken me in some ways. Reminded me of my loss. When I’d first built it, the car had been a reminder that it took work to keep my connections alive.

Now, it reminded me that those connections still existed, if only in my memories.

After a quick pat on its hood, I left the car behind. Then I lower...

Chapter 34 - Hobby Projects

The initial trip up the far side of the valley from the hot springs was a slog. Easily the most difficult since we'd built Fang. There was rarely a stretch longer than a hundred feet of even terrain before we had to wrestle her up.

Inertia's drakes actually helped a great deal on the ascent. They were slow and sluggish, somehow even moreso, outside of the springs, but they had a lot of po...

Chapter 33 - Inferno Drakes

While Inertia's fight and subjugation of the Inferno drake pack had been impressive, it did lead to new challenges.

Namely that she wouldn't let us kill them now that they were 'her' pack.

Which I could understand. But it also meant that we somehow had to lead them to my domain. Given their lazy attitude, just getting them to move was going to be difficult. There was more than one r...

Chapter 32 - Like Summer Ice

I panicked at first, when Vaserra called me an outworlder. Then I realized she'd used an old Elinder word. One that meant people from outside their home country, which for many was their world.

It had some other connotations, including a lack of cultural understanding and expectations of oafishness.

Elinder had some pretty subtle ways of being a dick.

Funny how much relief I f...

Chapter 31 - Frost Reavers

As we passed through the gates, a tension settled on my shoulders. One I hadn't felt in my entire time on Ro'an.

It's one I was familiar with though. Of being locked in a small space with a dangerous man. A man who you couldn't predict, but who could kill you with a single blow.

I hadn't missed the feeling.

The inside of the keep was full of life and warmth. There were only s...

Chapter 30 - Fangs Out

"Brake, brake!" I screamed at Calbern.

"It is fine, master Perth. Everything is under control," Calbern replied, his hand working the heavy shifter with deceptive ease. Before I could object, he pulled the bike into a controlled slide, bringing us to a stop within five feet of our camp, only a small puff of steam escaping the system.

This time.

His enhanced senses and reaction...

Chapter 29 - Magically Metal

The problem with planning to have a relaxing day while trekking through wild mountains is the ‘wild’ part.

When we arrived at the mountain lake, it was postcard perfect. Like I'd stepped right into one of those little placards at a gas station.

It was the absolute perfect spot for us to take a nice little break from the monotony of travel. Other than the giant serpent that had e...

Chapter 28 - High Road

The lessons continued, and while I listened, the fact that Forge Theory required a secret I couldn't touch unless I traveled nearly a quarter of the way across the continent, caused it to lose a little of its luster.

Thankfully, I was able to reach a compromise on writing down notes after I sketched out a functional hydraulic braking system that could be applied to the carriages common in...

Chapter 27 - Forge Theory

Nexxa and I exchanged a quick hug in the morning, and then we were off. Hash had left before we were even awake, running back on foot ‘to get meet land with better,’ as he’d put it the night before.

Atop the watchtower, Nexxa remained on vigil for the first few hours. Her departure was marked by a bolt of lightning streaking into the heavens, as she flashed back into her domain.

Chapter 26 - Parting Gifts

Thankfully I was able to steal Nexxa's grimoire for the rest of the day as she and Hash reviewed the most common monsters she could expect in the region. I listened in at first before finding out most of them would never come to my domain.

The mana density was too low.

I still requested a copy of her notes, but I focused on copying her second order healing spell, Bestow Health. It w...

Chapter 25 - Big Mistake

Nexxa came back riding a bolt of lightning shortly before dinner. It was as loud as it was quick, and she immediately set off to find Hash.

Making my way into the cabin, I cast Memory palace again, taking the rest of the Elinder books, which brought me to nearly the halfway point on the thermostat.

And sure enough, when I emerged, I had a headache. Hardly the worst I'd experienced, ...

Chapter 24 - It's just... Mana

There's a special sort of nostalgia I've only ever felt when returning to a place I once knew intimately that has changed while I’ve been gone. It elicits a sense of comfort and loss at the same time. That's how it felt when I first stepped into my Memory Palace.

Stepping out of it was, somehow, the inverse.

It was a stark reminder of how much my life had changed in two short mont...

Chapter 23 - Memory Palace

By the end of the day, I was surprised at how fluent I'd become. I'd been right about having the pieces, and working with Tresla had helped me sort through them. I still wasn't a master, but when Tresla said something, I could pick out every other word.

It was amazing how big a difference it was.

Enough to pick out the underlying meaning most of the time. Which Tresla assured me wou...

Chapter 22 - A Prodigy

Nexxa had won the bet, much to my chagrin. It hadn’t taken me the full two hours, but it had been close.

The rest of the night was spent with the captain and Hash trying to one up each other with the most outlandish bar room brawls each had been part of.

Neither of them topped mine. The night the little mermaid shanked Dumbo was one of my few sober nights in a pub. Craziest Hallow...

Chapter 21 - Astral Ascension

It didn't take long for Calbern and the sailors to erect a sturdy wooden building in the shelter of the outcropping, with only a little help from Nexxa to seal it tight. I had a spell that could’ve helped, but swapping them out still took me forever.

Before night fell, there was enough space for everyone to sleep inside, though actual rooms would come later.

I couldn't help but fe...

Chapter 20 - Inertia

Grinding out my affinities was a matter of tedium more than anything else we'd done. It proved to be enough of a challenge that we hadn't finished by the time we bid farewell to Books.

His domain lay up a separate branch of the river we’d been following, and there was a boat waiting for him. It was much smaller than the one we were on, barely large enough for two people. It also lacked ...

Chapter 19 - To Be An Archmage

Explaining I was approaching my ascension to Books, and that I wanted to spend my time preparing, Nexxa and I spent the evening working together as she explained how her own core formation had gone. For her, it'd been a slow process, since she'd been working her affinity for Storm up to fifty at the same time. An astoundingly high affinity for a mage-tier ensouled. The normal accepted limit was...

Chapter 18 - The Grind

Despite gaining access to Nexxa's spellbook, that didn't mean we slowed down on my spell cycling. In fact, with three impression slots, I was casting more spells than ever.

It was to the point that magic felt like a chore.

The second I realized that was when I called for a break.

"What do you mean, the wonder is gone?" Nexxa asked, tilting her head as she plopped down on the g...

Chapter 17 - Never Kick The Monster

The next morning, we introduced a new element to our routine. Or, more accurately, we reintroduced one. It was time to get back to practicing with our blasting rods.

It was a great day for it, since the rain was heavy, everyone was shivering and I could barely make out my nose on my face.

Books was standing at the exit to the lower decks, scrunching his nose up as if the sky itself ...

Chapter 16 - Fair 'nuff

After I finished scribing my last spell from the grimoire, Nexxa stuck to her word, having me cast Access Storage repeatedly while refilling my mana with her own.

It was even more useful than she'd promised. After a single evening, it felt like I was ten percent of the way to having my second impression unlocked.

We weren't able to continue in the morning, because I needed my wits a...

Chapter 15 - Secrets of Telthen

When Nexxa and I made our way out past the throne room, we found the snake back in the throne in its human form. I couldn't help but chastise myself for falling for the obvious setup. Of course a thousand-year-old wizard wasn't going to sit around on a throne all day. He had more important things to do.

Only when his personal attention was required did he spare time for us. Even that cou...

Chapter 14 - A Real Wizard

The next morning we were summoned to a private audience with Althon.

We arrived much like the day before, even down to the announcement.

But this time, there was no audience. Calbern had stayed behind, and even the young man announcing us left as soon as they'd performed their duty.

Which left Nexxa and I alone in a room with the most powerful mage on this side of the contin...

Chapter 13 - City On The Water

True to Althon's word, he held a citywide celebration.

Water was the theme of the day. There were races in the channels in our honor, followed by water dancers.

I had to fight to keep from taking notes as we watched the dancers. At the start, I thought they might simply be mortals, but as the dancers sung to the beat, the water moved with them, lifting them ever higher, and ever fas...