Fear Not The Elf Who Knows 10,000 Spells - Chapter 18

What Minus said rang in my mind like a bell and a judge's gavel at once.

A countdown that I can't—that I don't want to imagine had started.

Two hours till Ackerheim is besieged.

Two hours until Old Schroff is fighting. Because I know the old man, no matter how much he acts, no matter how much he tries to distance himself to things, to people he cares.

He grunted and grumbled while Flink was around, but he smiled and joked more while the Elf Archer was around. I wish I was better at making jokes.

What should I do?

What can I do?

What must I do?

The three questions rotated in my mind over and over again without an answer.

Because I wasn't answering them. I was just hoping for some answer to manifest from the ether.

Should I start preparing myself for mourning?

It was like my mind was tensing up for a rollercoaster that I experience emotionally, not physically. Yet later on you realize the emotions manifested as sensations in the body.

You're not suppose to lose people in a year.

It should be something like, losing an old uncle after not seeing them for a few months, telling yourself you'll visit them at some point, then one day learning that they've died and the funeral is the next day. It just comes as an expectant shock, with guilt an unwanted bonus.

Death was suppose to be from the companionship of time. Something in the distance that you can't do anything about, but can put out of your mind. Can revisit later. Or be a reason to cherish the bonds you already have.

"Trenn," Löwenjunges was there, kneeling in front of me, hands on my shoulders in a comforting way. Why is he doing that, and why does he look concerned now. The adults around us had also stopped, looking at me with sorrowful understanding. "Damn. I forgot that you're a kid." He said with a small, sad smile.

"Huh?" I blinked, then finally realized why they were all acting this way. My eyes were blurry, my cheeks were wet.

It's very likely that Schroff was going to die and I was never gonna see him again. The thought finally crystalized in my heart.

There was nothing I could do.

"What if I told you there's a way for you to get to the town your old mentor was in, in time?" Minus' words came like a devil's rope extended as a lifeline in a storm.

DON'T! Something inside me shouted.

"What do I do?" I said back, foolishly. "What do you want in return?" I remembered to say, as if that made my reaction smarter.

This is clearly a bad idea. Faustian idiocy. The voice telling me to stop was my logic. Plain and simple.

I knew accepting any bargain with her was wrong, but I guess that's why the devil was so convincing. Always winning in his deals. Because people's natures doesn't change.

Greek tragedies were about that too, weren't they?

"The battle is finally over, but it had costs us a heavy price. We must rest and gather out strength, but never forget what it took for us to survive. What the Coalition took from us." Löwenjunges began addressing the crowd. Standing up while holding my hand. I suddenly remembered that I was still just a kid in this life, and my tears fell harder.

Huh. I just realized we were in the city again, surrounded by building and all.

"For this first time? Nothing. Consider it me fulfilling a curiosity. If you impress me with what you can do with magic, to reach your mentor in time, then I'll consider this bargain fulfilled." Minus said.

"How exactly will you help me get there in time? And what would impress you? You're an elf. I assume older than I can imagine, I don't think there anything I can show you that would be impressive." I replied.

"Then be sure to be very creative then, young Trenn." Minus giggled. Which was odd. This communication wasn't like a telephone faithfully sending one's voice back and forth. You had to intentionally create your words with magic, so she intentionally sent me a giggle to hear. Weirdo. "As for how I will help? I'll replenish your mana."

A fired ignited in my chest, and I understood why hope was the last evil in pandora's box.

"Through the mana link you placed on me?" I asked, knowing I sounded a bit too eager.

"It won't be a simple thing I'm afraid." Minus said, sounding regretful, but I could feel the almost... that feel of a cat about to pounce and catch a mouse. I don't know why she's so focused on me. It definitely wasn't carnal, I don't feel any of that in her emotions. There was just this feel like I'm some kind of interesting puzzle she wanted to own/play with.

"What's the complication?" Because if it was that simple for people to share mana, it obviously would be a known practice.

"My mana isn't your mana. My mana is for my body, just as yours is for your own. If I infuse mana into your body, it will naturally be rejected, seen as an infection, and your body would react to it as such." She explained, and I waited for a punchline of all of this.

"So? What the solution?" Suddenly, I felt a feel of half-dread, half-vertigo. Like I instinctively knew the answer. My body will just have to get used to her mana, or something like that, right? But...

"There is a spell, a Curse actually, that can make it so your body can use my mana as simply as you use your own. Thus through the link I can replenish your mana quite easily whenever I want." She explained.

NO! REJECT IT! IT'S A TRAP! Instinct shouted.

"And what happens to my own mana? A living body naturally produces mana. If you use this method to kill me, it's really weird." I replied.

Minus laughed. As in, she sent it through the link.

"Ah, young Trenn, this is why I adore prodigies, you catch on quick. And no, of course I don't wish for your death." Minus said, but I... didn't understand her emotions when she said this. Like, it was a lie but it wasn't? Huh? "This method doesn't kill you. Directly."

"Joy." I deadpanned.

"Simply put, the moment your mana runs out, you'll have to seal your generation of it if you wish to survive, since for your body at that point, your mana will be seen as the infection and mine the normal default." Minus said, and the choice was laid to me.

My mind tried to come up with yeah to cheat this deal. To find a loophole, an immediately latched onto not depleting my mana.

But if that was simple, then she wouldn't have offered this deal wouldn't she?

What if it's like FGO with Paid and Free Quartz? You have to use the Free Quartz (My Mana) before using the Paid Quartz (Minus' Mana).

"How long would you keep my mana reserves full?" I asked, trying to see the good side of this.

"Oh, young Trenn, I'm not going to fix this situation for you. I will refill your reserves one time and that's it. From then on, you're on your own." I could feel the smirk on Minus' face, even if I can't see her.

This is crazy. I'm putting my life in needless danger for something I don't know if it will work or not! Logic dictated at me.

Immediately I felt guilty for wanting to throw away Schroff's life, thinking of it as "needless".

No, that's not what I thought but...

Even at a full tank, it would take three hours and ten to fifteen minutes to make it to Ackerheim, unless somehow we increased Jilwer's speed. Somehow! Logic argued once more.

We can't save Schroff. Realistically it's too late. I know that. Logic said in a quieter tone.

He's still alive. Schroff isn't dead yet. My heart argued back.

She's playing some sadistic game with your life. Logic said louder. Schroff is old. I have your whole life ahead of me. Do I really want to risk my whole mage journey for someone that won't be here for long? To either be a slave to an elf's whim (so you can't outlive her), and will need her mana to do anything, or... end my journey as a mage after saving Schroff, to retain my freedom...?

I thought out it. I really thought about it and I hate that my first instinctive answer was 'no'.

Magic to me was far more important.

And then once voice within me spoke far more clear that any logic, emotion or thought.

I imagined Schroff dying to the Coalition when I could have done something about it. Him died miles away, while I'm safe here in Schwanz knowing what will befall him, and the people of Ackerheim.

Is this the kind of person I want to be?

The question rang in my head, overpower any argument logically I could come up with.

I'm scared of messing up. Now if I got it wrong, I could lose magic forever, or my life. Or I might not even save Schroff or anyone.

I'm nine years old in this life.

If I do nothing, and live a long life... it will be a hellish life to carry genuine regret from right now till the day I die.

I can't help it. There's nothing I could have done. Right here and now, those statements would be lies.

I looked up to the sky, wondering how much faster it would be to do a fly up and drop. I would need a spell for air. Heiter could manage that for months (was it two months?), so I should be able to manage two hours of air, right?

I would have to have Jilwer on the whole time, and I would need a way to fly faster.

No. Maybe I don't need to fly. Just get through the distance. Slingshot?

I paused as I realized what I was doing. Thinking of way to do this whole thing already.

The reluctance was there. I don't want to end up depending on this stranger mad scientist elf lady for mana.

The fear was there. I don't want to fail and have to seal my own mana for good.

Yet I wasn't afraid to go through with this. I was worried for Schroff's life, but that worry lessened.

In my heart I already made my choice.

I smiled, letting out a single laugh. I'm an idiot.

Well, I have a great in-built excuse. I am a kid.

"Do it." This time, I replied out loud. I didn't shout, but Löwenjunges perked up and looked back at me in confusion and curiosity.

Especially since I let go of his hand and stood still.

"Did you say something?" Löwenjunges blinked at me, his eyes gleaming with worry and scheming. Likely catching on that something was odd. "Trenn?"

"Sorry, Löwenjunges." I smiled.

"Fremdfluss." Minus' words were cold. The mana that flowed through the link was cold.

My body started to feel warm. Fever warm.

"Trenn!" Löwenjunges called out, feeling my mana somehow refill in second. Or rather Minus' mana filling my reserves.

Obviously Löwenjunges would be familiar with her mana.

"I made a deal." I said as I saw his hand land on his sword's hilt.

"What? Trenn... what did you do?" Löwenjunges said, trying not to seem like he could switch to a combat stance.

"The noble leading that banner army... What was he called?" I said to Minus.

"Vizegraf Gierig." She replied, sounding like she was watching a stand up routine.

"Vizegraf Gierig, yeah him." I said to Löwenjunges who I suspect was starting to put the pieces together. "He pushed his army too much. They will be in Ackerheim in two hours." I said with a resigned smile. "I need to go there now. Schroff and the townsfolk are in danger."

"...How do you know this?" Löwenjunges asked, looking more relaxed, but I didn't think he was. He let go of his sword, but I feel it wouldn't have made a difference if he decided to attack.

I opened my mouth to answer, but then looked around at the people looking at us confused. People, some of whom, were part of the Elves Shield.

Accusing an elf of anything might be bad right now.

"Remember that story that told you, about that mage that I met?" I said. He nodded, realizing why I'm being vague. "Well, she kinda placed a link of me to be able to communicate. She was... worried about me." I said with a pause. I think Löwenjunges would have realized what I meant even without my shitty acting and implying.

"Why would she place such concern on you?" Löwenjunges asked.

I shrugged. "Dunno, maybe I'm cute."

Löwenjunges deadpanned at me. I could feel Minus' deadpanned at me.

Heh, worth it.

"I don't know." I said, non-jokingly this time. "I made a deal to get my mana refilled so I could make it there to help."

"Trenn, you don't know what you entangled yourself with. Please stop," Löwenjunges said, as he began walking toward me. "It's not too late. Let me help—"

"Sorry," I floated, as I cast the Flight Spell and the Speed Spell. "It's already too late. Take care of things here." I said succinctly, and blasted off before Löwenjunges could act or get a word in.

He had reached me in an instant, his hand about to grab my leg... and then didn't.

I think he also realized it was too late for me.

I flew upward into the sky till I was till I could easily see the whole city by looking down.

"Okay." I sighed. "Time to bullshit and make spells... and hope they work."

First the shield spell. I'm going to use Formed Spells, I didn't have time to split my focus.

I don't need it to make the barrier to be full power or survive a hit. I just need it to hold in air and not break from wind pressure.

The barrier loses some of it's thickness. It looks less like a ball made of hexagons, and more like a sphere with hexagons painted on it.

Okay, step one done.

I then focus on my faith in the Goddess, I focus on needing to breath, and let the magic guide itself into the oxygen spell to be generated inside the barrier sphere. Just like with the healing magic, I feel a kind smile look down upon me, as the spell locks in place. A cool wind passes by my face.

Step two done.

"Now, the actual flight." I look up to the dark night sky. The normal dread of seeing the void sky so big hit me. Then I noticed the stars. It wasn't so bad.

I shook my head. Time to focus.

I took all of my mana detection sphere, focused all of it to change it's shape for what I needed.

In the year since I trained with Schroff, my mana detection range went from 26 kilometers squared, I.E. 2.87 kilometers, to 103.72 kilometers squared. I.E. my radius was now twice what it was at 5.74 kilometers.

What is all this info need fore?

Because I took the area and volume of my mana detection, took all of that, and shaped it into a single line. A single line to extend my range as far as possible.

I could see anything else. I could sense anything else other than that single line.

Mana Detection: Line Mode.

It extended my range, allowing me to feel what was at a single point about 40 or so kilometers away. 40.5?

Point is I could feel the air 40 kilometers away at a single point.

And that was all I needed.

I should be able to see Ackerheim or maybe some landmarks of it, to eyeball my descent right?

If I'm fast enough maybe I could glide down?

Either way, this spell while experimental, would be far, far more easy.

It's basic high school science.

Magnets.

I imagined a ball of mana at the end of my mana detection. A ball of positive charge.

I imagined myself as the negative charge.

The spell formed as a line of mana between me and the mana ball at the edge of my detection range was forged.

The pull was instinctual. Positive and negative attracted.

However the pull was weakened by distance. Naturally.

So I strengthened the imaginary charge between me and the mana point.

The pull strengthened.

I kept focusing flying in place.

I kept increasing the charge, imaging the line between me and the mana point strengthen.

Again, and again, and again.

The pull became so strong I was fighting against it to stand in place.

Then I cast one last spell. Leichtstein, the spell to make things weigh less.

On myself.

And then canceled the flight spell.

"WOOOOOAH!" I screamed as I along with my barrier were shot into the sky.

The cloud was blown away as I passed by them.

The Magnet Slingshot Spell ended the moment I was launched. However I kept my focus on the same point in my mana detection as before, even as my range told me I could feel things much higher into the sky.

Noooo, thanks. I don't want to overshoot and fire myself into space.

I focused on that same point forty, well, now thirty eight kilometers away, and recast the Magnet Slingshot Spell.

Gonna need a name for it later on.

Once more I was pull and launched upward into the sky at insane speed.

I'm not even sure how Jilwer is affecting all of this, but I know that the world is blurring around me at an unbelievable rate.

The warm fever rose higher.

"Fascinating!" Minus said, almost startling me. "I thought I should tell you that this fever will increase for as long as your mana is still within your body."

So use up my mana so the curse finishes and my body changes to only using yours?

"Nah, fuck that!" I shouted back, and Minus laughed in turn.

Besides, as I cast the Magnet Slingshot Spell a few more times, I noticed the air grow much, much colder the higher up I went.

I was breathing more heavily now. Damn casting and upkeeping all these spells was hell of a work out.

But even with my internal temperature increasing, the cold wind was counteracting it, so all good.

At some point I felt a cone of air break around my barrier and I can to strengthen it as it started cracking.

Did I just fucking went sonic boom!?

I laughed with all my heart.

I cast the Magnet Slingshot Spell a few more multiple times. Eighteen total by my count.

Finally, I reached the mana point I marked and almost overshot it. I cast the flight spell immediately to stop myself and regain my barrings.

My vision was blurry. Weird, must be because I was so high up.

I look down at the world and...

"Wow." It really was so big, even from this high up. So beautiful.

And look! I could see a small little light made of multiple lights. I could tell Schwanz by the walls and river next to it. And right, no wait, east! From that was another collection of lights.

I saw another on lots of green land. No wait, I overshot, that's got to be Hochfeld.

So between those two was Ackerheim. I could focus with the hawkeye spell and I could see more details. Hills, valleys, large rock formations. Yeah, I got the place right!

Yes! Great!

My vision was getting dark, must be due to being so high up on the sky without a light source.

Time to glide down.

I felt lightheaded.

Why did my mana feel so sluggish? It felt so far away. Like I was grabbing air.

Air...

I heaved but didn't breath.

Wait, I didn't use up my oxygen right? No wait I still had the oxygen spell, it was... it was... did it fizzle out?

When... It was only minutes—

I eyes shut and refused to open.

All my spells fell apart like they were made of sand.

It was so cold.

Then it stopped bothering me as I fell into the sweet embrace of sleep.

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AN: Changed "Viscount" to "Vizegraf", since apparently Graf turned out not to be someone's name but an actual rank "Count" but in German. Frickin Frieren.