Discordant Note: Crescendo | TBATE

Chapter 181: Changing Views

Toren Daen

I ran a hand along the midnight-black pelt laid out in front of me, surprised by its softness. It was so dark it seemed to reject any sort of light whatsoever, creating a spot of black within the small bit of firelight I'd conjured.

The Echo Vespertion's pelt–Aurora had put a name on the beast–was utterly contrasted by the snow-white fur of the time-stop yeti directly beside it. Both were won through hard-fought battles, and I felt a strange sort of reverence for these 'trophies.'

I need to make some sort of cloak out of these eventually, I thought. But it needs to be undertaken by a master craftsman. I have no doubt these materials can maintain magical effects better than most.

Aurora looked over my shoulder at the pelts, still occupying her large bronze relic. She tilted her head as she ran an inquisitive look over them both.

I was hoping that whatever effect was negating my sound spells was somehow tied to the fur, though, I thought sourly. That would be a useful ability to have.

Sensing my thoughts, the large metal phoenix behind me whirred slightly, orange-purple mist puffing from each crevice along its form. "The beast that I battled engaged a similar ability. Whenever my plasma sought to burn out its throat, the sound mana was disrupted by its oscillation. But the explanation of this ability is quite simple, as is the method to counter its implementation."

I turned to my bond, absorbing both furs back into my dimension ring. What do you mean? I thought, interested.

"It is an aspect of resonant frequency," Aurora explained. "The monster had a natural ability to detect the frequency of your vibrating spells, then matched that accordingly. Once the two resonances met, they naturally unraveled each other."

Like a singer raising her voice so high that it reached the natural pitch that glass vibrated at, causing the glass to shatter in resonance. This mana beast had managed something similar.

I blinked, surprised I hadn't thought of such an explanation myself. And I'm guessing you countered it by changing the frequency of your own mana? Make it difficult, if not impossible, to maintain resonance?

Aurora's avian head nudged my back comfortingly. "You are quick to understand, Toren. It required a bare bit more effort on my end, but nothing substantial. Once this was realized, the vespertion was simple prey."

I chuckled as I brushed my bond's metal neck, her asuran pride radiating over our bond. "Simple prey, huh?" I said aloud, allowing myself a moment to relax.

It had been a few hours since my battle within the cavern. Not far away, Borzen and Gruhnd sat around a fire, cooking a bit of bat meat on sticks. They'd both helped me strip each monster, retrieving pelts, beast cores, and what other useful reagents they could scavenge from the bodies. Unfortunately, neither I nor Aurora had been exceptionally gentle with our kills. There wasn't as much scavengeable as I would have liked.

I slowly loped back to the fire, quietly noting how Jotilda had been propped against a looming stalagmite. She was sleeping fitfully, a blanket thrown over her aged body. Borzen had done the woman a favor and peeled off her shattered leg armor, but that also meant she was more exposed to the cold.

It was quite chilly this deep in the caves. The sweltering heat I'd associated with the tunnels was only a result of dwarven mining and industry, but naturally? They were freezing.

I sat myself down around the fire, holding a hand out toward Gruhnd. He grunted, handing me over one of the long skewers he'd been roasting.

"Thanks," I said, sitting myself on top of a short rock. I took a testing bite from the meat, my eyes widening in surprise at the savory taste. "Did you put some sort of seasoning on this? It's pretty damn good," I complimented.