Chapter 538: Teleportation (2/2)

“Oh you are but that doesn’t mean I cannot form an opinion on certain pairs,” Meadow said.

“You mentioned allies?” Ilea asked. “The only one from my realm I can think of is someone I can’t reach at the moment.”

“A convenient circumstance,” Meadow murmured.

“You’re reading too much,” Ilea said.

“Stories were terribly finite and uninspired among the Awakened that lived in Erendar. Your comfort provided by safety and a plentiful environment truly let your minds roam. It’s quite enjoyable,” Meadow said.

“You managed to insult both the creatures that lived here and those living in Elos. Well done,” she said.

“Thank you. I am learning from an adequate teacher,” it said.

“Don’t blame it on me. You’re centuries old. If anybody should be beyond childish behavior, it’s you,” she said.

“No, you fail to understand, Ilea. I merely adopted this personality to manipulate you into releasing my true evil power. My actual mind is something a mere mortal could not comprehend. You would go mad in an instant!” it explained.

“Are you having fun?” she asked, crossing her arms in front of her as the empty plate vanished.

“Yes. Very. Michael is so dreadfully theoretical. I believe he suffers from a mutation that removed humor from his very essence,” Meadow said.

“Well I do hope you don’t tell him, otherwise he won’t stop pestering both of us,” Ilea said.

“I would have thought you liked the prospect of my insights into magic. Isn’t that one of the very reasons you stated before for wanting me in Elos?” Meadow asked.

“Michael isn’t the only scholar in Elos. I’m not sure his methods align with what I believe in,” Ilea said.

“And you would take all that knowledge for yourself, to support those beliefs. Even if it means humanity would not advance beyond their crude magical theory,” Meadow asked.

“No, I’m just saving a friend from annoyance,” Ilea said. “But sure, if you’d rather want it that way, you can make a deal with Lys, Michael, and Gyffold. To have you close the gate from the other side and then they could build a temple or some kind of prison in the ruins of the city. Just for you… and all the questions of all the humans for thousands of miles would come to you. Pilgrims from far away lands would seek your wisdom oh all knowing! Oh master of magic! One healing touch… I beg you!” Ilea delivered all of it in a monotone voice, moaning slightly after she was done.

“You win this round,” Meadow said.

‘ding’ ‘You win – One Core skill point awarded’

Let’s not mention that. I won’t hear the end of it.

“About those allies then,” Ilea commented.

“Yes. I have mentioned the few who remain from the previous eclipse. Some have reached sapience, others… well they’re not quite there or simply refuse to open their eyes fully. There won’t be many that remain but I have to assume some do,” Meadow said.

“You don’t even know for sure? Can you find them, contact them? What kind of creatures are we talking about anyway?” Ilea asked.

“I do not know. I have told you that my eyes do not reach as far as you might think. Nor do I have a way to contact those beings, not without potentially alerting the spirits of my presence. They are powerful creatures capable of resisting both astral and death spirits. Some remain blind, others with a form of sapience. There are not many I have met who would help us, nor could I offer them anything enticing enough to change their minds,” Meadow asked.

“Well you can’t contact them in the first place,” Ilea said.

“No. But you can travel quite quickly. I have seen the speed with which your wings propel you through the lands. Perhaps you may find the owner of this,” Meadow said when a pale blue thin head sized crystal appeared in front of Ilea.

She caught the thing and looked at it.

[Elemental Tear – Primal Quality]

“What?” she said out loud. She identified the thing again.

[Elemental Tear – Primal Quality] – [Ice Manipulation – lvl 10]

“Again, what?” Ilea said.

“It’s quite beautiful, isn’t it?” Meadow asked with a sense of nostalgia. “It was given to me during the last eclipse, by a creature I’ve sheltered for a few decades. An Ice Elemental, as the look and name suggest. The few thoughts we exchanged back then were a pleasant distraction from the battles and the overbearing void of the frozen wasteland.”

“It’s the first item of Primal quality I’ve seen,” Ilea said.

“Truly? I suppose it would be quite rare to come across something like that. I have treasured it for millennia,” Meadow said.

“And I can use Ice Manipulation while holding this?” she asked.

“Yes. Though without related Classes, I suppose it’s quite useless to you,” Meadow said.

“Can you level it? Get the skill higher?” Ilea asked.

“Yes. However I had little success. It was at level one when I received it as a gift,” Meadow said. “I found that I had little talent in the magics of ice and cold. Perhaps you would fare differently?”

“No clue… I mean you can learn magic as a general skill too, right? Would this help me get it as a permanent skill?” she asked.

“Perhaps such would be possible. You need however extensive training and a high affinity to gain such skills as general abilities,” Meadow said.

“Would be weaker too… but that’s interesting to know. A skill associated with a piece of gear… that opens up so many possibilities… what other gear qualities are there? Do you know of others?” she asked.

“There are others on this level, yes. I have confirmed the existence of the Ethereal Quality. And that of the Divine Quality. The former is related to Spirits I believe, as I have only ever seen them used or left behind by high level Astral creatures. The latter may be a little more complicated,” Meadow said.

“You’re talking about gods? Items bestowed by beings so powerful they’d count as divine? Where would they reside? Can they communicate with us?” she asked.

“Well, yes. You see, I’m one such being,” Meadow said.

Ilea laughed.

“No you’re not,” she said.

“This is a little awkward. I’m not joking at this moment. There were items that gained the Divine quality bonus if created or enhanced by me,” Meadow said.

Ilea blinked a few times. “Okay. So can you enhance my armor?”

“I regretfully have to inform you that such is not possible. Not anymore. Not right now. I believe a sizable following is necessary, those who believe that one is indeed a god. There is more involved… once I made the discovery, it became more difficult to bestow such power to items. Almost like my awareness of the attribute’s existence rendered me unable to bestow it. Or perhaps my own inability to consider myself a god led to the outcome,” it explained.

“Damned. Do you have a bunch of those items left? What did they do?” she asked.

“Sadly they are lost, by now perhaps even decayed. There were items slightly enhancing various abilities related to my magic. They were so weak it all was useless to me but some of the Awakenedwore them proudly. The first awakened space magic wielder beside myself had reached understanding through a shield I had bestowed with power,” Meadow explained.

“I see. Pretty cool though… it means I might actually find something useful. Or perhaps I could have someone forge something with high level materials,” she said. “Back to the Tear, why give it to me?”

“It resonates with the Elemental. Even just moving it across this hall I can determine the direction of where it resides. You should be able to tell at least if you’re getting closer after a few hundred kilometers or if you’re moving farther away,” Meadow explained.

“An Ice Elemental… I mean I like the idea but how do you know it would help you? Let alone listen to me?” she asked.

“It isn’t particularly… talkative. However your arrival with the Tear should have an effect. I understood that it felt deep gratitude for the shelter I once provided,” Meadow said. “Otherwise… well you have managed to befriend me… and from our various conversations I take it I’m not the first powerful entity you have allied yourself with.”

“I mean sure. I can try to talk to the thing. If anything it could punch my second tier ice resistance to the third. Or it would allow me to level it at least,” she said.

“Yes, that would be enough. Though I suggest you do not anger it. I do not doubt your survival but it may be difficult to convince the ancient being after a show of animosity,” Meadow said.

“I’ll do my best,” Ilea said with a grin. “How long do you think I can train here until our prospects become seriously troubling?”

“They were seriously troubling long before you even arrived here. I suppose another one of your months won’t make much of a difference but we shouldn’t wait much longer than that. I also suggest you test bringing a spirit into your realm, if you can,” Meadow said.

“I’ll test it, don’t worry,” she said. “Do you know if there are any four mark spirits around that I could hunt?”

It would be quite an achievement to kill a four mark while alone.

“The Daughters are the only ones I know of who reach that level. With what I have seen, I doubt you can kill them,” Meadow said. “You have a chance of survival in a direct confrontation. Maybe. But you should not seek such creatures out.”

“Any dungeons here or places where other four marks reside? You must have met many in your time,” she asked.

“I have met a few, yes. The eclipse has already disrupted what would otherwise be dungeons. The four marksI know of have opened their eyes at least partially, thus I won’t tell you where to look for them, even if I knew, not with your intent to fight them,” Meadow said.

“Party pooper,” Ilea said.

“Thoughtless Barbarian,” Meadow returned with a mental shrug.

“Are the daughters awakened too?” Ilea asked.

“To an extent. More than some monsters but less than others. I won’t kill them if that is what you’re asking. Not that I believe killing them is even really possible,” Meadow said.

“Great,” Ilea said.