𝕾𝖕𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖘𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉

Chapter 3: Trial By Fire

After unwrapping the sleeping bag from myself, I exit the tent, and wake Waldheim with a jolt, who merely grunts before responding, "Wha- what is going on? Is someone- is someone here? Donovan? Why did you wake me up? Is something wrong? There's nobody-", interrupting him, I answer his question, "Short answer is that there's an enemy riding a massive bear towards us to the..." What direction were they in, again? To my amazement, the Sage responds, "Use the search spell I taught you. You have affinity for sound magic, it should be rather easy." 

Hurriedly, I put my palm to the ground as Waldheim, confused, starts getting his bearings. Looking back on our lessons, I output a set of special vibrations into the ground which only react to monsters and people, the strength of the returned vibration, and the time taken for them to return and the directions they come from all painting a picture of the surrounding area. It took half an hour to figure out, even with my affinity towards Sound Magic and the help of the Great Sage, but it was well worth the effort.

As they return to me, I note the heaviest vibrations and their origin, "So... they're to the southeast, and they're going to be on us in 8 minutes. Get your equipment ready, I'll set up some things for them to contend with." While he still sits in the tent in shock, I begin preparing the campsite with magical defenses. I use multicast, a technique where you envision one thing several times over at once, to create a minefield composed of rune mines with various effects.

Next, I summon a set of three rock golems, using a combination of conjured stone and dirt from the forest floor, which have been ordered to hurl projectiles from a distance, and focus on large creatures... namely the bear. Finally, leaving me with half my mana remaining, I summon my familiar, a small yet agile fox made of mist, formed from my distinct magyk imprint... or so the sage says. It should be able to cast the same spells that I can, but I plan to keep it in reserve so I don't waste it's strength.

Once he gets his plate armor on and his helmet affixed, he takes up his sword and shield, and explains his abilities, "I'm level 4 and have wind-based proficiencies, so I know how to perform Wind Cutter, Wind Gout, Tornado Top, and Spirit of the Seven Winds, which magically enhances my attacks with blasts of wind. When did you learn to use magic, though? Yesterday you had trouble dealing with glorified earthworms, so how did you learn so much seemingly overnight?"

Little time to explain, I decide to give him a concise explanation, "I'll explain that in detail when the fight's over, but basically, I used one skill to allow me to control my dreams, and another skill to learn magic using the time I spend asleep."

Taken aback by my decisiveness, or so I hope, he continues his explanation of his abilities, "Speaking of skills, I have 'Chivalry III' which increases my strength whenever fighting to protect another, 'Guardian III' which makes me take damage in the stead of close allies, 'Perseverance II' which will allow me to survive when I take a killing blow at the cost of mana, 'Grit V (5)' which heavily reduces how much pain I feel, and 'Flow IV (4)', which allows me to sense the flow of the wind with greater sensitivity than others..." They pause a moment, turning southeast, and after a few seconds, they turn to face me again, "...and you're right, I can feel that a large beast is approaching, and it will be here in... 30 seconds, brace yourself!"

My summoned golems and familiar, traps, and Waldheim having his shield raised, all at the ready, we wait for 30 seconds in tense anticipation, the stomping growing louder and louder, birds being seen flying away and other forest creatures scrambling to escape as they get nearer and nearer.

The Great Sage warns me, unexpectedly, his voice echoing in my mind; "They're here." Sure enough, a large bear crashes through the brush and trees on the east side of the camp, knocking down trees, and my golems are the first to respond, pummeling the bear and it's rider with rocks, missing the rider but scoring plenty of hits on the bear as the rider jumps off of them, sending a few daggers my way, landing at my feet.