Chapter 733: Monastery (1/2)

Evan slowly stood up and made his weapon vanish. “You let my blade pierce but ignore its magic, my sand cannot catch you, your armor regrows faster than I can damage it. Even heavy impacts show no reaction, you are more durable than most monsters I have fought. And your bone… withstands my magic. I expected you to be powerful, Lilith, but that bit in the reports about your resistance training… I had taken it for a past time. Not a calling.”

Ilea smiled, her face revealed as well. “I do enjoy it quite a bit. Sadly the only thing I can get from you is soul magic resistance. At the moment that is.”

He can’t beat me. Shit is, the same is true for me. Dodges my spells and survives my fires. Plus in the end he can just hide again. His blade even got rid of my mark on him. Maybe if he didn’t have a healing spell himself but like this it’s just a battle of attrition. She trusted herself in that kind of battle but his soul blade gave her pause. She could teleport him away continuously but that would just prolong the fight and he would hide again. The only reason she got in hits was because he fought extremely aggressive. And everyone else he would just shred apart. Suppose the same is true again for me.

“Ah… you are exciting. Frustrating too, but it’s been a while, since a battle was quite as difficult,” he said. “I do not believe there will be a victor soon.”

Ilea smiled and looked up at the suns. “Yeah. I don’t think so either. But I don’t much care.”

His bone mask reformed over a broad grin, the sand under him spreading out once more. “Me neither.”

White flame covered a stretch of several kilometers of sand in a remote part of the Isanna desert. Onlookers might think it the result of a monster’s hunt or the battle of ancient predators. A good eye would reveal a single table made of bone, standing amidst the lingering fires. Two chairs, one of bone, and one of ash, stood with two people sitting down.

Evan poured two cups, setting down the kettle with a steady hand. He once again wore his robes, sitting opposite an ash covered Lilith. Her face was revealed.

“Thank you,” she spoke and received the cup, taking a sip before she sighed.

“I like to brew it fresh,” the man said. He looked at the brew with considerable suspicion before he took a sip.

“Storage items keep it at the same temperature,” Ilea said. “Well, most do.”

“That’s what I don’t quite believe,” Evan said. “Or perhaps it’s the act of brewing that I feel adds to the taste.”

Ilea raised her cup. “That I understand. Something about making things yourself. I’m not exactly the best cook or brewer though so I prefer to consume what others make.”

“You are young still. Plenty of time to gain expertise in whatever skills you may find an interest in. Not to the extent of a high level specialist but… close enough,” he said. “If that is, you continue to survive, and stop at some point.”

“Stop the fighting? I don’t know. Sounds boring,” Ilea answered.

“Well, either you die, or you run out of things to fight. Things that provide a challenge that is,” he said.

“Don’t talk about such a nightmare scenario,” she said. But I suppose I’d have to get another hobby if that turns out to be the case. Dancing seems alright. Maybe an instrument? Lilith, the legendary rock star.

“The suns will soon set. I will have to return to my affairs, and I assume the same is true for you,” Evan said with his eyes on the horizon.

Ilea sighed. “I wish you were wrong. But there are indeed things to do. Would you mind sparring again? I don’t have a training partner that could prepare me for humanoid sapients in the fourth tier.”

“You plan to face such beings in the near future?” the man asked, taking a sip from his tea.

“One never really knows,” Ilea answered as she stood up.

“I enjoyed our fight. I could offer you a few hours per week. Though I understand if the journey is not worth your time,” Evan said.

Ilea moved her fifth transfer mark to their current location. “That won’t be a problem.”

“I suppose a space mage would not need teleportation gates to move long distances,” the man said.

“Surprised?” she asked.

“No. It’s not unheard of, though near always extremely restricted. I would imagine such is not the case with you. Or not anymore,” Evan said.

“Speculations,” Ilea said with a smile. She stood up and stretched. “I’ll be there in a week or so.”

The man raised his cup. “Do not lose yourself in the dark.”

“I don’t need light to see,” Ilea said and opened a gate to Riverwatch. “It was good meeting you.”

The man gave her a nod. “Ilea.”

“Evan,” she said and stepped through the slightly shimmering space, closing the gate right after. Could use him to dump half a desert through a gate if I ever need one. Hey I can do that with water too. Pressure from the bottom of the ocean? Wait no… don’t want to open a gate to that hellzone.

She stood on the hill for a moment. Lava is too slow. Arcane storms are unreliable. Would gravity even apply? Or just momentum? A river could work but that’s not exactly going to be more than a shower. One with lots of water but if I want to kill level monsters I can do that with ash.

Either way she deemed the Meadow a more effective option. Magically enhanced elements were stronger anyway.

“What now. Still have some time until my meetings with Alyris and Helwart,” she murmured and quickly checked through the messages from her extensive battle with the Founder of the Foundation.

‘ding’ ‘Sentinel Reconstruction [Enhanced] reaches 3rd lvl 13’

‘ding’ ‘Arcane Dominion [Enhanced] reaches 3rd lvl 7’

‘ding’ ‘Sentinel Core [Enhanced] reaches 3rd lvl 15’

‘ding’ ‘Eternal Brawling [Enhanced] reaches 3rd lvl 8’

‘ding’ ‘Arcane Circulation [Enhanced] reaches 3rd lvl 10’

‘ding’ ‘Mantle of the Titan [Enhanced] reaches 3rd lvl 10’

‘ding’ ‘Tempered Seal [Enhanced] reaches 3rd lvl 5’

‘ding’ ‘Ashen Wings [Enhanced] reaches 3rd lvl 10’

‘ding’ ‘Avatar of Ash [Enhanced] reaches 3rd lvl 13’

‘ding’ ‘Embered Form [Enhanced] reaches 3rd lvl 5’

‘ding’ ‘Fires of Creation [Enhanced] reaches 3rd lvl 9’

‘ding’ ‘Fabric Tear [Enhanced] reaches 3rd lvl 3’

‘ding’ ‘Ashen Limbs reaches lvl 19’

‘ding’ ‘Soul Perception reaches lvl 14’

‘ding’ ‘Soul Magic Resistance reaches 3rd lvl 2’

‘ding’ ‘You have survived an earnest battle with the Desert Chosen – One Core skill point awarded’

Survived? What do you mean survived? Just need another hundred levels and that tea enthusiast is toast. That or a thousand years of training… the blade.Ah shit I forgot to show him the hammer. He might’ve been interested. Well, next time.

Ilea sat down in the grass and changed into comfortable clothes, summoning a meal as she watched the suns go down over Riverwatch. She could see the teleportation gate building in the distance, an entire company of guards standing around with various mages putting additions and walls up against monsters or other attackers.

Way to paint a target, she thought but didn’t really mind. If this was how Riverwatch decided to go about their first gate, that was that. I wouldn’t even have questioned the existence of teleportation gates if they had been here upon my arrival. With magic being real.

She finished and summoned her key locator. The arrow spun before it focused northwards. North I can do, Ilea thought and stood up. She teleported towards the clouds a few times before she spread her wings and charged them.

She flew until the Naraza mountain chain became visible in the distance. Storm clouds hung over the edges, lightning flashing from time to time as the lone winged figure closed in on the landmark that spanned beyond the entire length of the human Plains. The arrow turned. Westward but still towards the mountains.

Interesting. Closer than I expected. She entered the storm about twenty minutes later, wind and rain clashing against her mantle. Ilea followed the many mountain tops lining the spine like barrier to the North. She slowed down in an empty valley, kilometers of nothing in each direction. Patches of wild grass grew where she landed, white flowers clinging to life in the harsh climate. Snow still covered the mountain tops she could see. She had left behind most of the storm clouds but it still rained lightly at the lower altitude.