Darkness and Hellfire

Chapter 62 That I Can Work With.

Isaac and Lenna walked out of the smithy. Isaac squinted trying to make out what the old worn sign said. “Does that just say ‘Stan’s Smithy’ and nothing else?” Isaac asked Lenna.

“Yes.” She replied and the two of them started their walk back to their room. A block into their walk Lenna stopped. “We should go train.”

Isaac stopped as well. He turned around, shoulders slumped, and replied: “Do we have to?” He thought about it for a moment with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Actually yeah. Let’s go.” He said and started off towards the arena.

Lenna followed after him. “What made you change your mind?” She asked him.

Isaac sighed, not at her or her question, just a general sigh about their current circumstances and having to trust in Thomas to not snitch. “Using mana helps me relax. My mana pool is full almost constantly and having it not be full or at least being used lightens the weight in my chest. It’s actually like a pool or a lake in that sense. Stagnant water is unpleasant but a flowing stream is nice even if the water level never goes down.” He explained.

Lenna understood what he was saying, at least partly, for casters sitting on a full mana pool for too long often made one lethargic and in some cases irritable. She could only imagine how bad it could be for someone as connected to mana as Isaac. She mentioned an observation: “That’s why your steps are always silent.”

“Yeah. It’s not really enough though, but if I do any more than coat my boots people start to notice, it’s fun scaring people and all but like…” His voice trailed off as he tried to find the right words. “Making people who have power feel uneasy is something I take joy in… but the people who don’t have power don’t deserve to be frightened any more than they already are of the world ya know?”

“Yeah.” She replied. “I think, I understand.”

The two of them arrived at an empty arena and grabbed their training swords. The dulled blades were collecting more and more dings as Isaac’s training progressed. Each day Lenna would up the tempo a little and continue to find and capitalize on every weakness in his guard. She rarely actually hit him but instead kept a tempo where he could just barely keep up at all times.

She was helping him make his own style with his own weapon. A weapon type that was almost never used. To many people the blade was too heavy to be wielded one handed but too light to be wielded with two. For those with high strength they often preferred a somewhat larger sword like the conventional longsword which had a wider blade making it less brittle. Isaac’s sword being a mix between a thrusting sword and an allrounder made it awkward in most people’s hands. Isaac loved it. Just like his unique class he would also have a unique fighting style.

As they squared off against each other Isaac closed his eyes and coated his blade in shadows. He focused it and hardened it into the shape of the sword it was covering. The shadows were weightless so Isaac knew it wouldn’t slow him down. He also knew that he would never actually end up hitting Lenna and if he did, she had magical armor. With that in mind he focused the shadows into a sharp edge of the sword.

Isaac opened his eyes and inspected the blade. It was darker than black. The shadows ate light in its entirety. The edge was sharp but not to a degree that Isaac was happy with. He stabbed into the ground and frowned when he brought the tip back up. “It’s still not hard enough. I feel like I should be able to do it.” He said with furrowed eyebrows as his eyes bore through the blade.

“What are you doing exactly?” Lenna asked. She was no wizard but another mind coming at a problem from another direction was often exactly what was needed to make a breakthrough.

“I’m compressing the shadows into the blade and focusing them into the shape I want.” His face softened and he looked at her. “Any ideas?”

Lenna thought for a moment. “You’ve been reading about magic, yes?” She asked and Isaac nodded. “What is the difference between a first and second level spell?”

“The quality of mana used to power it, but I don’t see how… oh I’m such an idiot. Thanks. I should have realized this days ago.” Isaac complained and pulled all the shadows back into himself. He concentrated the dark mana inside of him and compacted it more and more. ‘That should be good.’ Isaac thought when he couldn’t compress it any more.

Isaac recoated the sword with shadows and focused them into his desired shape. The edge was perfect. He stabbed the tip into the ground and brought it back up. The tip hadn’t flattened in the slightest. “Qualitative increase in power.” He whispered more to himself than Lenna who now had a rather satisfied smile hidden away.

“You ready?” She asked him. Isaac nodded and entered his fighting stance. His stance was loose with his left foot half a step in front of his right. His right arm hung limply at his side with the elbow only bent a little to keep the sword’s tip off the ground. His left hand was only raised to the height of his stomach. Against any other opponent he would use that hand as an opportunity for an instant kill. If he could touch a person with that open hand when it was covered in death flames they would be in for a bad day. A short day, but still a bad one.

Lenna lunged and Isaac parried easily. The sword clash happened in total silence save for Lenna’s armor rubbing against itself. Isaac smiled as his blade held up and moved to strike at her. Lenna blocked and countered. Again and again their dance of swords continued in silence as they both enjoyed each other’s company.

—

After a rather quiet workout the two left their weapons on the rack and headed back to the inn. “Be honest with me.” Isaac said as they walked down the street. “How easy is it to kill me?”

Lenna frowned and thought for a moment. “A skilled assassin could finish you in one hit. Even with me here, if they are good enough.”

Isaac remembered the feeling from Kahtesh’s memories of his head getting chopped off. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Noted. Anything else?”

“Be careful of wide range magics.” Lenna told him. “They don’t need to know exactly where you are, only what room you are in.”

“That might be a bit easier to fix.” Isaac said while thinking about possible counters. “I can teleport while I am invisible so if I know what spell they are casting I can just move to a safer location. If there isn’t one I’ll need something else. I have a ton of mana. Maybe a mana shield of some kind? Shadows are super weak to a force of any kind unless I burn a shit load of mana.”

“Traps.” She continued. “Wizards specifically. Wards with precast spells and ways to cut off mana and magic from the outside.”

Isaac paled. “That’s a thing?” He asked worriedly. His mana and magic was the only real thing he could fall back on in an emergency. If there was a way to cut him off from that he would be fighting on borrowed time at best. At worst, entirely useless.

“Yes. Wizards are known for elaborate traps. The most notorious being the ‘poison bubble’. They aren’t good at naming things.” She commented. She continued without Isaac having to prod for more information because she knew it was coming. “It involves two spells at a minimum, Poison Cloud, and Force Bubble. The force bubble cuts off the area from all forms of travel. Teleportation doesn’t even work. The poison finishes the victim.”

Isaac winced. If he got caught and couldn’t teleport out he would be a dead man. Once he could heal his entire body with his death mana that might change but there was no way to know for certain. “You said a minimum of two spells. I take it it gets worse?” He asked.

Lenna nodded. “Globe of Negation cuts off magic. Any magic from inside will only work inside, and vice versa. It seals the magic within, separating it from the outside entirely.”

Isaac winced again. Even if he could heal himself through the poison he would end up running out of mana at some point if no new mana could get in from the outside. “Don’t piss off any wizards. Got it.” Isaac said grimly.

Lenna shook her head. “Wards are expensive and rely on magical senses. On one hand, low level wizards are short on both money and power. On the other, high level wizards have plenty of both. Time and preparation are their greatest strengths.” She explained.

“A wizard’s house is a temple to them and I would be wise not to enter unannounced?” Isaac replied.

Lenna nodded. “Yes.”

“Anything else I should be worried about?” Isaac asked. His confidence was quickly dropping with each danger Lenna opened his eyes to.

Lenna thought for a long moment as they walked. “Spirits. Maybe.”

“Oh?” Isaac asked with a raised eyebrow. “Why spirits?”

“They might be able to track you.” Lenna explained. “Many of them can sense souls. They wouldn’t be able to see you exactly. Just know what direction and about how far away you are.”

“That I can work with.” Isaac replied. “Wizards and other assassins… The area spell problem I can at least work with, as well as something being able to sense my soul.”

“Just…” Lenna’s voice trailed off. “Be careful.”