Magic-Smithing-Chapter 119.2

“So, what am I doing wrong?” Tabitha asks as we walk down a dark corridor.

The humidity rose the deeper we traveled. The grey brickwork was still solid in most places, but after thousands of years, parts had started to give way, allowing dirt to pour into the dilapidated structure and water to seep inside.

“The trick is to start small. Repeatedly open and close your status page, but focus on your soul while you do it,” I instruct.

“And that will work?” Tabitha was visibly surprised by the simplicity of my recommendation, but it was indeed the best place to start.

"Sure," I comment as we walk through a thin covering of wet mud on the floor. The section of the hallway we were walking through had started to sag, allowing the moisture to pool in one place. "Where do you think our status pages come from? It's our souls. The flame you sense is all the experience you’ve gained, and your soul projects that as numbers.”

"Fascinating," Tabitha mumbles with a far-off look in her eye, a sign that she's summoned her status page. “I wonder if Master is aware of such things?”

"Is it really that surprising?" I ask as we leave the muddy section of the ruins and turn down yet another dark passageway. "And would Pacore even tell you if he did?"

"I would think so." Tabitha started sounding confident, but her expression slowly slipped into something less sure. "But then again, Master has his secretive side.”

"But I thought you were his favorite student or something?” I direct us into an adjacent room.

"That's nice of you to say," Tabitha smiles from ear to ear like a schoolgirl talking about a senior she has a crush on. Gross. "But I’m not sure I can claim that title. Master has devoted much time to teaching me, but he is quite old, and I’m one of his newer students. Number 37, to be exact."

“That doesn’t sound like much,” I note. “I would think Pacore would have thousands of students.”

“I think you are confusing people he has trained with his students.”

"Is there a difference?” I asked as I led us down another flight of stone stairs, bringing us closer to the chamber below.

“Verry much so,” Tabitha says pridefully. “As one of the three strongest people in Scholl, Master is obligated to oversee and command countless people, but that doesn't make all of them his students. To be a student of Pacore the Deathless, you must display exceptional talent and be handpicked by him.”

"I get that, but shouldn't he be picking people with similar fighting styles to himself?” I’ve only met Tabitha so far, and while her fighting style was similar to Pacore's, it wasn't exactly the same.

"It's said in his younger years; he did," Tabitha educates me as we walk. “But as he’s grown older, he’s branched out and accepted more students with different fighting styles. Not all of us emulate Master’s path, but that doesn’t mean he has nothing to teach us, and most are just happy to be under his umbrella of influence.”

“Okay,” I nod along. “Then does that make me his 38th student?”

Tabitha chuckles good-naturedly," I am not Master's most recent student. Master Pacore has taken in three others since me, and once he returns to Scholl with you and introduces you to the king, you'll be his 42nd ward—the second student he's taken in the last ten years."

“Hold up,” I stop walking and turn toward Tabitha. “Are you saying Pacore only takes in a single student every ten years?!”

"Not necessary. It isn't like Master has a quota to fill, but it's about that," Tabitha confirms to my utter disbelief. "Maybe now you understand the unique opportunity you are being given." She can't help but smirk at me.

"You mean the opportunity forced upon me," I correct with more than a bit of sass.

“Please,” Tabitha rolls her eyes. “You must have realized by now that you couldn’t remain in that small village forever, especially for someone so eager to adventure in a magic-dense region. Either you would've gotten yourself killed trying and failing at going it alone, or people would've noticed a girl your age with your levels."

"You would've been forced to make a pact with someone; you should count yourself lucky it was Master who found you first. He loves nothing more than helping talented individuals like yourself grow even stronger; you'll fit right in."

"Maybe," I begrudgingly grumble. I hated to admit it, but Tabitha was making some excellent points. I've done everything mostly on my own until I ran into Pacore, but my growth has noticeably exploded since I met him and, by extension, Tabitha. I wouldn't be nearly the level I am now without her training and guidance; that was an undeniable fact.

“You’ll see,” Tabitha stares into my eyes with a certainty you rarely see in people. She truly believed I would do well in Scholl with all her heart, and arguing with that kind of devotion was pointless.

So, I urge us forward instead. "This way," I wave for Tabitha to follow me, which she does without hesitation.

“Are we getting close? That was the third flight of stairs,” Tabitha asks, her hand resting on her sword’s handle.

“Almost,” I look down and to the side at a random wall. "The entrance to the chamber is one more floor below us."

“Can you sense anything now that we are closer?" Tabitha follows my gaze but can't see what I sense, which is arguably very little.

"Just a mass of mana. The chamber itself is difficult to pierce, and the unusual mana is making things harder to pinpoint,” I inform Tabitha.

"But are there any enemies?" Tabitha does her best to hide her growing smile, but a battle nut like her isn't the best at hiding her emotions when she is excited. After days of rest, she was overflowing with energy and didn't care if she was still an arm short; she craved excitement.

I could sympathize with her. After everything that has happened to us recently, we could use a win under our belts. I'm not asking for another life-or-death battle, just something challenging to get the blood pumping that doesn't end with us almost dying or passing out in exhaustion.

"Possibly," I crack my knuckles. "When we reach the chamber, I'll use Meditation to boost my skills and see if I can see anything. That should give us an idea if anything dangerous awaits us inside." At least, that is what I hoped.

It was no secret that my skills have fallen disappointingly short lately. From not sensing things well in the crater to missing the winged serpent and the soul horrors lucking in the walls, we’ve been ambushed by almost everything we've encountered recently. That was why I double-checked and triple-checked our surroundings every few minutes.

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I refused to let another monster sneak up on us, but again, I had trouble sensing things due to weird mana interference. It almost felt like….

"Hey, Tabitha. What are the chances we will run into another monster that can utilize a mana zone?" I ask a touch nervously.

"Why; is that what you're sensing?" Tabitha’s eyes widen a fraction, and we both skid to a halt.

“Not exactly, but it is similar,” I tell her. Unlike with the winged serpent above us, there wasn’t a foreign mana mixed in with all the death mana, but it was still acting unnatural. "Is there anything that can perhaps draw in death mana, an enchantment perhaps?"

“It isn’t out of the realm of possibilities," Tabitha hums thoughtfully. "Seeing how old these ruins are, it could be any number of things, but I don't think it's another monster as strong as the lesser dragon."

"And what makes you say that?" I ask for her reasoning.

“Simply put, two monsters of that caliber wouldn’t be this close to one another,” Tabitha points upwards. “The snake might not come down here normally, but if there were a beast capable of threatening it down here, it would’ve cleared it out or left to find some other place to nest. So, I don’t think we’re dealing with another mana zone.”

“And you’re sure of that because our last encounter didn't go so well?” Again, I stress the importance of the matter.

“I’m 70% sure," Tabitha proudly states, like the number she just said was higher than it was. “If you’re nervous, we can turn back,” Tabitha offers with a challenging smile.

“Please, like you’d let us turn back after we came all this way,” I snort and shake my head in disbelief.

Tabitha’s grin widens, “You know me so well. Is the chamber open, or is it secure?”

Finally, a question I could answer confidently. “The chamber is closed behind two large doors; we’ll be able to see them soon; they're not that far away."

“Then lead the way,” Tabitha nudges me forward. “We’ll reevaluate when we reach the doors. If it seems too dangerous, we’ll leave. Simple as that.”

“Simple as that,” I repeat mockingly. “I think that’s the attitude that got us into our current situation,” I morbidly joke. Of course, both of us were at fault for getting tricked by the winged serpent, so I was making fun of myself as much as I was Tabitha, and she knew that.

"Then we learn from our mistakes," Tabitha tries to project an air of confidence and sound profound, but she overdoes it and just comes off as silly.

"Right," I smile along with her as I lead us to the deepest parts of the ruins. And as I said, it doesn't take long for us to reach the massive double doors leading into the chamber, absorbing all the death mana.

“That’s some impressive architecture,” I whistle at the massive stone slabs blocking our way.

"Indeed," Tabitha nods in agreement while her eyes scan every inch of the grey stone. "It's locked." She notes dryly.

“Not locked, enchanted." I use Sense Mana to look under the bland grey surface of the stone that had no noticeable handles at the profound runes hidden there.

"Still functioning, huh?" Tabitha looked slightly impressed, and for good reason. For whatever enchantment to still function today, the runes had to endure whatever destroyed the city that once stood here and thousands of years of wear and tear.

“Not all of them are still active,” I clarify, spotting multiple enchantments that had gone dark and were no longer active. “Still, though," I gaze at the 50-foot-something doors. What was this chamber meant for? A giant?

We were deep underground and hadn't seen what used to be a window for a few floors now, meaning this section of the ruins was probably always meant to be underground. T

The placement of the chamber was also odd. It was connected to the rest of the structure but also positioned off to the side, out of the way of everything else. Then there was how well everything was reinforced and how hard it was to sense with my skills. No matter how you look at it, the chamber is a massive vault.

Sense Mana couldn’t tell me exactly what was inside, but it gave me a clear enough view of the overall space. The room was circular with a domed ceiling spanning 94 feet across, making the one room almost 7,000 square feet overall.

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“Now that we are closer, can you see what’s on the other side?” Tabitha turns and asks me.

"Not clearly, but let me try with Meditation." I take a seat on the cold ground and close my eyes. I sensed Tabitha move closer to guard me while I activated my skill.

With my skills acting in unison, the world shifts around me and expands to new limits. Sense Mana and Meditation had leveled to 81 since the last time I tested my range, and those two levels made a world of difference, but breaking through bottlenecks will do that.

I could now sense the minute mana flow of all objects within 20 feet of me, and my overall range had increased to 912 feet. When I add Meditation into the mix, I can scan everything within 3,009 feet of myself. I could sense so much of the ruins around us; it was wild, and reaching the surface was easy.

However, there were two noticeable things. First, I was pushing my skills to their limit, but I still couldn’t spot the winged serpent hiding in its mana zone. The second issue was the chamber; I could force my senses past the walls of the chamber, but once I did, it was like everything became fuzzy—distorted.

There wasn't anything alive inside, but that didn't mean there weren't any enemies. However, there was one thing I was sure of: it wasn't the enchantments messing with my skills— it was something inside the chamber. But what? It was impossible to decode what the exact specifics of the various still working runes did, but from where they are placed, I was positive their only function was keeping the chamber sealed, not shielded.

I could sense the overwhelming amount of death mana inside the chamber and that it was all converging at a single point. "I think there's another undead inside," I said, opening my eyes and meeting Tabitha's inquisitive gaze. "All the death mana is being drawn into a single point on the opposite end of the room," I said, pointing at the stone doors.

"Oh," Tabitha lost some of the fire in her eyes.

"I thought you were looking for a fight?" I playfully nudge her side.

"If it's undead, then you can just use your skill to handle it,” she sighs but then notices my confused look. "You can use it, right? Without going berserk?"

"I should," I sheepishly reply. “So long as it isn’t too strong, I shouldn’t have a problem with it. I had trouble with the soul horrors because I was exhausted from escaping the winged serpent and healing you. But, ugh...." I stammer over my words. "With my new skill, I don't need to worry about absorbing too much as long as you're with me."

“I see," Tabitha nods in understanding. "So, you’ll transfer everything you can’t handle, like back then. But how are we to get inside?” Tabitha slowly draws her sword and takes a stance before vanishing and reappearing in front of the door. At blindingly fast speeds, she thrusts her sword at the stone doors—

And nothing happens.

“Damn,” Tabitha audibly curses, pulling her sword back. There was a faint scratch mark on the door from where she tried to pierce it, but that was all. "These doors are worse than the bricks," she audibly grumbles. “I even used a few of my skills with that strike.”

Even with most of the enchantments dead, the doors could still stop an attack from somebody above level 100. Impressive, but not unreasonable.

“I don’t think we’re getting in with brawn," I say, stepping up next to Tabitha and pressing my hand on the massive stone doors.

"Can you open them?” Tabitha raises a questioning eyebrow.

“I’m going to try,” I struggle to hold back my giddy expression. The runes were overly complicated, and though I couldn't copy them, they'll be a good reference for the future.

"And if you can't?" Tabitha smirks challengingly.

“Then I go with plan B, destroy the doors," I grin back.

"And how are you going to do that?" Tabitha looks at me skeptically. She probably thought I couldn't do anything if she couldn't, but I had a way in that she didn't.

"Yep, all I need to do is compromise the still-working enchantments. If I did that, the runes would go out of control, and the material would turn to dust." Or at least I hoped they did, but I don't mention that possibility.

“Then why not just do that first?” Tabitha sheaths her sword and crosses her arms in front of her chest, knowing how I would answer.

“Obviously, because I want to have a chance to examine the runes,” I playfully stick my tongue out at her.

“Figures,” Tabitha rolls her eyes and sighs dramatically. “Please don’t take too long.”

“Got somewhere to be?” I chuckle as I raise my other hand and channel my mana into the stone doors.

"Funny," Tabitha dryly remarks, not sharing my sense of humor.

I know I tease, but I wasn’t planning on making Tabitha wait long. If I couldn’t figure out how to open the doors by the end of the day, I would destroy them; the runes be damned. We are on a time crunch, after all. That said, I don't waste any time and jump right into trying to decode what each rune does.

An internal locking mechanism ran along the seam where the two doors met. If the mechanism were metal, it would've rusted by now, but instead, it was made from the same grey stone as the doors themselves. Every component fit perfectly together like the world's most complex jigsaw puzzle, and the doors were sealed so tight the only thing passing through them was mana.

There were countless runes to look through, but I focused on the ones on the locking mechanism. Since there were no handles, the doors had to be opened another way, and I was betting it was magic.

Of course, a skill might be required, but that would limit who could gain access to the chamber, hence a magic key.

Not literally, though magic keys might be a thing; I suspected the runes had to be activated in a particular order or a specific way to get the door to open on its own.

I spend the first hour examining how all the runes of the locking mechanism link to one another, and then, after two more, I figure out which rune I’m supposed to start with.

Hours go by, but it feels like nothing more than a few minutes to me because I'm having fun. But by this point, I'm rethinking the skill requirement idea because this is difficult even for me and my skills. Unless everybody used to have skills like mine thousands of years ago, I don't think many could've opened this door—

Or sealed it.

Each rune was a puzzle needing to be solved; they reacted differently to each other whenever mana was channeled through them and continued to change as more runes were incorporated. That meant I had to start with the first rune, decode my way through it, and press on to the next without losing control of my mana. If I stopped applying mana, the runes would shift back instantly, and I would have to start again.

It took me some time to make it two-thirds of the way through the lock, pushing my control to the limits. But on the flip side, I was getting better at decoding the runes.

The trick was observing the enchantment as a whole rather than getting hung up on each individual rune. After much trial and error, I could guess how the next rune would function based on the previous ones.

I could only imagine how ridiculous I must look standing in front of the doors with my hands stretched out for as long as I have, but thankfully, Tabitha didn't see fit to ridicule me. She probably recognized how hard I was concentrating; that, or she was waiting for me to finish.

It was also possible she was standing guard. If the doors opened suddenly, Tabitha was close enough to react in time but far enough away that she wouldn't bother me while I worked.

"Twelve's done, four more to go," I say under my breath as I work.

From there, my progress slows down a bit as things get progressively more difficult, but I continue until I'm just about done with the last rune. "Ready?" I ask over my shoulder. "I think this is it," I tell Tabitha with a smile.

"Really?" Tabitha raised a single eyebrow, the only sign that she was surprised that I had succeeded.

“Let’s see," I turn back to the doors and finish channeling my mana through the sixteenth and final rune. As soon as I do, colorful lines appear all over the previously featureless grey doors, and we can hear a rumbling from within.

The doors opened. We were in, but the question remained: What were we going to find on the other side?

It was time to find out.