102 Chapter 102 This Is The Way We Melt Snow... (1/2)
”System, will I get anything special for that display?”
(NO, WHY SHOULD YOU? YOU'VE RAISED THE BAR SO HIGH, THE CHANCES OF YOU GETTING SOMETHING SPECIAL AGAIN IS PRETTY SLIM)
”Oh, come on! You have to admit that was awesome! No one's done those spells in forever!”
(2,450 YEARS, TO BE MORE PRECISE. WHILE ENACRA JOINED IN WITH THE APPLAUSE, I'M AFRAID YOU WON'T GET MUCH MORE THAN THAT.)
”Fine,” Joseph sighed. He was honestly alright with no extra rewards, but he felt he had to try.
It should have only taken two weeks for them to arrive at the barbarian valley. The key word being should.
Two days after they set out, a blizzard came roaring in. It was only November 11 and they had to slow to a crawl. Selena and Joseph were having to clear the snow in front of the caravan. It gave them a chance to talk some at least. Despite his progress, he was sucking in the mana around him as fast as possible to replenish what he was using. Selena's soul must have been a gate to the world of flames, as she didn't even register as using mana.
The good news was that the blizzard was so bad, n.o.body would be able to follow them. Joseph still managed to work on spells at night, after everyone fell asleep, and during the day, he talked to Selena about thaumatology. Her understanding was scattered. It was like talking to someone who knew calculus, but couldn't count back change, so he tried to provide her with a lot of basic understanding to support her theories. In return, she helped to tweak and discuss his advanced theories. All in all, it was enlightening enough that Derek, Stephan, and several of the other mages came out to listen to them when they got the chance, even if it meant freezing their b.u.t.ts off.
Thaumatology was now the first advanced skill Joseph had learned. If intermediate allowed complicated sentences, advanced allowed whole paragraphs. He spent much of his nights scribbling magical formulas, drawing spell circles and circuit pathways, and trying different rune combinations and rune strings. Once they set up in the valley, he would be able to start making enchanted items. As it was, they had been melting snow for three days, and if it wasn't for the company, he would have been incredibly bored with it by now.
(YOU'RE REPUTATION HAS INCREASED AMONGST THE MAGES FOLLOWING YOU, AND THE SHAMANS OF THE NORTHERN TRIBES.)
That was the third time today he had gotten that message. What was going on?
”Little Joseph, are you troubled?”
”Ah, no, not troubled. Just confused, Miss Selena.”
”Do I need to explain it differently?”
”No, I understood your explanation. I find it fascinating you are already approaching infrared lasers and pure radiation, but this is about something else.”
”If it is about young Stella, then I am not sure I can offer much advice. I am willing to listen if you require it.”
”No, I think I'm good with Stella.”
”Good, she seems to like you a great deal. Girls ignore or insult those they do not like. We only tease those we care for greatly.”
Selena made a series of little fire elementals that ran around in the snow ahead of them. Of course, the snow didn't last, but that was the point. Joseph was only able to keep melting the snow in front of the caravan, by pursuing maximum efficiency the entire day. Miss Selena could play around to her hearts content, because it was FIRE. The few other mages with any fire proficiency, were done within a half hour in the morning.
”Well, actually, it's not what confused me earlier, but mom seems obsessed with Stella. At first it was funny, but now it's a little much. You should have seen her face when mom said we would have to wait and see if Stella would have good birthing hips later. Dad almost choked during dinner, but fortunately I didn't drop my fork.”