Rolla had never been much of a town, economically speaking. Sure, all of the basics were present. You had a few bakers, a few butchers, and the like. But for anything more than that, youd have to go to Reito, which was seen as the Eastern capital of the entire country.
In this situation, however, I would have to work with what I had. As I was strolling through Rollas main street, the town hall to my right, and the local adventurers guild to my left, I wondered where I would be able to find a peace-making gift for Eri. She had only grown quieter after my mothers incessant assault. Evidently, my familys behaviour was doing nothing to calm the grudge she was no doubt nursing. Having experienced so taunting during the tournant myself, I understood how infuriating it could be.
That brought back to the issue of a present. There werent any large stores or specialised shops in Roa. We had a single shop that sold jewelry, but those were over-the-counter pieces. That could be seen as an insult
Eri seed to enjoy sweet foods, but there was nothing I could give her that she couldnt get from my parents for free. I had exhausted just about every option, when, suddenly an idea ca to mind. While expensive gifts were a great way to play it safe, when those werent available, you were best off choosing sothing thoughtful instead. That led to think how could I get my hands on sothing thoughtful? Maybe sothing that resembled what I appreciated about her? I didnt know my traveling companion all that well yet, but there certainly were a few things that sprang to mind.
What had drawn my attention to her at first had been the way she looked when she fought. Those elegant, yet deadly moves still gave shivers, thinking back on it. How could I Right! That might work! Not a mont later, I was racing off down the street, to the outskirts of Rolla.
A few minutes later, I arrived outside a small wooden shack at the edge of the forest. Grey plus of smoke drifted lazily out of the top of the chimney, and the sll of freshly roasted duck wafted into my nostrils. I always did like duck. After a montary pause to take in the sll, I knocked on the door. Hesitantly, the cabins occupant opened up, a wide smile appearing on the old mans face when he noticed it was who had knocked.
Art, ya little twerp! Its been ages! Yer not ere for another log, are ya? he asked with hake suspicion. Karmon was one of the towns old loggers, though he was retired now. His son had taken over his craft a few years ago, since Karmon had gotten too old to be out in the forests. Instead, he made small wooden figurines that usually served as toys for the kids in town.
No, Im not here for a log, old fart. Those types of training wouldnt work on anymore, anyway. I awakened a while back, rember? I joked.
Vaguely, vaguely. morys been failing lately Not too much longa and Ill forget the look a sons face! he said seriously.
Im sorry to hear that. I replied awkwardly, not sure how to handle this so suddenly. Instead of seeming sad, however, Karmon just started to laugh!
I cant wait, I tell ya! As if Id want to rember is ugly mug! Anyway, how can I help ya? Youve never been tha type ta visit for a chat he said accusingly, his eyes squinted.
Well, youre right. I need your help. I want to get a gift for a companion of mine, but I couldnt find anything useful in Rolla. Id like you to make a small figurine of her, if possible.
One of his brows rose and a small smile appeared on his face.
This companion of yours wouldnt happen to be a pretty young gall, would she? he asked mirthfully.
No, no. Its not like that. I just want to show my appreciation for her, is all. I felt it would be a thoughtful gift. I replied, shaking my head.
At this, Karmons smile only widened, while he nodded knowingly.
Right, right. A gift to show your appreciation, huh I can do that. But itll cost ya. I know youre rolling in gold these days, so Ill be charging you out the ear, ya hear? he said, obviously proud of his little rhy.
I nodded in reply.
Well? Whats she look like? Karmon asked.
Suddenly I felt a little embarrassed. How was I supposed to tell him what she looked like? I hadnt even considered the necessity
Oh! Right! Maybe thisll work I mumbled, raising my hand with my palm angled toward the sky.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the dark mana that flowed through , sending it coursing through my veins at increasing speeds. I absorbed more than my body could handle, before I felt the excess bleed out of into the real world, where I felt it manifest in a different way. Before, the mana had felt like water. Now that the mana had overloaded and left my body, however, its consistency more closely resembled that of oil instead. Despite this, I was determined to carry on.
I grabbed hold of the overloaded mana with my [Crawling road] skill, the upgraded version of [Overload aura], and gathered it above my palm, where I knew, even with my eyes closed, that it would beco visible to Karmon. Slowly, I twisted the mana into a human shape. The mana acted erratically and tried to escape the restrictions I had placed upon it, montarily causing to wince, but I held on. Slowly, the shape of Eri mid-battle started to form. A crude image of her thrusting her spear with all her might appeared, and I wasnt done yet. Carefully, I added detail. My mory wasnt spotless, but the increased wisdom and intelligence was helping get the details of her armor, equipnt, and flowing hair right. Eventually, I felt satisfied and opened my eyes. Sure enough, a small black humanoid figure was floating above my palm, thrusting her spear at an imaginary opponent. Every detail was accurate, from the crease in her cloth garnts hidden under her armor, to the way her face was twisted in concentration. Everything except for the colours had been replicated.
If Karmon had been impressed by my display of mana control, over overloaded mana no less, he didnt show it, because he was too busy inspecting the little figure I had created. He was examining it from every angle with an almost clinical look on his face, while I tried my hardest to maintain control over the ever-chaotic tendencies of my preferred mana type.
After a few minutes, Karmon suddenly turned around and ran to the back of the cabin, where he took a small round log from a pile before grabbing a carving knife and beginning his work. Taking that as my cue to leave, I left him to his efforts and headed back ho.
A few minutes later, before I had gotten back to the center of town, I rembered sothing. A retired tier 5 veteran was watching over my family from behind the scenes, and now that the situation had changed a little bit, I was left wondering if his protection was still enough to keep my family safe.
With this nagging doubt, I headed deeper into the forest, before starting to call out randomly. Soon enough, a woman covered in black clothing appeared, leaning against a tree.
You called, younun? she said casually. At least she wasnt as uptight as the last guy
Can I et with your leader? I want to talk about the recent developnts. I replied. Without answering, her form shimred and disappeared. About a minute later, an older fellow wearing an old red coat, that now bordered on brown rather than red, walked out of the tree line. My weak mana sense told more clearly than anything else that he had reached tier 5.
Im here now. Whaddaya want, kid? he asked lazily.
Youve been inford about the unknown threat? I asked more seriously.
Inford?! You dont know the half of it! Ive been up day an night settin up new formations around your house and Rolla as a whole! Your uncles been working like a slave! he replied furiously.
Slavery is illegal in Roa. I answered monotonously, to which the old veteran only huffed. I sighed. Just keep them safe, please I dont know what I would do without them I asked sincerely.
The older man looked at curiously, before nodding. You would live. He replied quietly. Not at first, but eventually.
I snorted. Id rather not have to find out at all, if possible.
The older man nodded once more, before walking off into the forest. Monts later, his mana signature disappeared as well.
Satisfied, I sat down near a tree and started to ditate. My parents would be fine, I was sure. I had to be sure
Once in my mindscape, I got to work repairing a small part of my shed. It was tough, though. Unlike the fence, no mindsets were helping keep the planks attached. Any nails I hamred in would quickly rust the mont I took my eyes off of them After a while, I decided to focus on sothing else first. Clearly, the shed represented the core part of my being, which changed and adapted far less easily than everything else out here.
I had started to notice that all future repairs would require materials. Nails and rope just appeared near whenever I wished, but wood and stone did not. I would have to source it from my little forest, but there was only so much wood I could harvest before my ntal space beca damaged. That ant that there was only one thing for it. I would have to take care of my trees, along with my other plants, first. By slowly growing the forest, I could work on the rest of my ntal space bit by bit, without lacking resources.
To that end, I realised that my trees werent that green. They were lacking water, of which I had little in here. Furthermore, I had no way of making more appear, as far as I knew How did people get water in places where there was none? Right! A well!
We had one in our old village, though it only pulled up stinking, grimy water. In here, though, making a well should be a piece of cake; though it would take a while. To start with, I would have to dig a hole until I struck a source.
To the side of the forest, where it cut off and turned into a dry expanse, I found a spot like any other, and started to dig. I had no tools, so I was using my hands at first. Quickly noticing that this would take a while, I made a wooden shovel and recomnced. Three ntal hours a broken shovel later, I had dug a hole a few ters deep. Even that was only because of my stats, so of which persisted in my ntal space. Sighing, I decided that this would be a long-term project, and that I would continue later on.
I opened my eyes in the real world and returned to Karmon the logger, who had finished the piece as if in a trance. In just a few hours, he had made a detailed representation of what I had shown him, down to the littlest details. I received it with care and paid him 50 gold coins for his work. He attempted to refuse this sum at first, since it was a life-changing amount to typical townsfolk, but eventually acquiesced. This piece was a master-work, after all. Now, I could only hope Eri would appreciate my gift. Otherwise, this would all have been for nothing
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