Ebony's Fable

The Grandmaster Swordswoman wore a loose black shirt and pants. Other than her boots and mantle, the rest of her clothing didn’t fit perfectly. There was no nervousness at the lack of defensive powers. So much that she didn’t even put her bodysuit on.

Their ride wanted to make a stop at Clatter Rattle and they didn’t have anything to say about it.

Ebony was intrigued to find that there was something called ‘impatience’ within him but he didn’t address it. He hadn’t been emotionless before, just numbed but impatience had to be brand new.

He thought he could see Mark but the man left a note saying he had gone home to take care of his mother who fell sick.

The two masked ladies and one mentally numbed couldn’t understand the concept of a sick parent immediately. It took some time for them to digest that people fell sick and that it was normal to put down one’s work to care for their sick relatives.

‘Right, sickness. I caught a fever back then so I guess we can still fall sick.’

Kong Jing left her house as it was so that Mark wouldn’t return to an empty plot of land. She shook down some merchants who tried to go back on their word on a trade.

The merchants were wrongfully robbed by some bandits, so the space mage tracked the robbers down 2 cities away and robbed them back with no remorse. She paid the merchant half the price and called the other half payment to get her order back by herself. That was already very kind of her.

Kong Jing didn’t have a good grasp of finances. She was not as rich as one would imagine since she rarely sold her crafts. Most of her mana was spent on improving her skills so charging mana ores with her mana wasn’t an avenue of profit for her. Her winnings from betting on him in the past had long dried up with her high expenditure while his own, smaller stack barely diminished.

The quest didn’t take more than an hour and they were on their way back to Arcta before they knew it. Kong Jing went on that quest herself.

He spent that time scrolling for bookstores to get Clovis souvenirs. Clatter Rattle was filled with all kinds of unique stuff. Including books. Ebony got a wide array of genres since Clovis hadn’t decided on an area of focus.

Elva felt different. The mana densities were slightly off and there was a hint of iron in the air. Blood.

They didn’t come across any big battles or large amounts of monster corpses so the hint of iron might be from somewhere further.

Looking towards the Tides, he was able to spot the ocean. The earthen battlefield was not present at Fifth or Fourth Tide. They were travelling too far from the ocean closer to Xienor and Tidal so he wasn’t sure if the Trolls were still fighting at the other Tides.

‘At least the corrosion cloud’s gone. That spell is a little too dangerous.’ Ebony wasn’t sure if he could survive being enveloped by the corrosion cloud for long. He’d seen Korta’s ice magic just dissipating up there. It did take longer to melt away than his spells but that said a lot about the corrosion cloud’s potency.

The continent of Elva, or most of its wilderness did not appear that dangerous.

Only Hoarfrost Glades, Vermin Paradise and Fragadal’s Sea seemed to take the most land area that had the biggest threat to civilisations. Smaller regions that were as dangerous if not more might be areas like the Garden of Deceased at Bubble Hills.

With the Empire’s current strength and control, dungeons and dungeon breaks weren’t the top priority in terms of danger anymore. The dungeons in the Glades and Fragadal’s Sea rarely had monsters running out but the wild monsters in those regions were in more danger than people. It was hard to say, perhaps the dungeons were the ones in danger from the wild monsters there.

When they finally got to the Glades, Ebony was still unable to see the village. The illusion wasn’t an invisibility spell, it didn’t just deal with sight. Even the ice mana and ambient mana densities were normal. His senses told him he was looking at an empty plot of snow and earth.

Kong Jing didn’t bring them in immediately. She landed and put them down. Then she waited.

Ebony’s skin prickled and a chill crawled down his back.

They were waiting for permission to enter. That was what his Calculated Hunch told him.

It seemed like Kong Jing wasn’t brash enough to ignore the threat. He wondered how she got permission previously. She wasn’t as close to the Frost Elves as he was. No matter how well the village treated him, that never fully translated to how the combatant Frost Elves saw him.

Foreign, chilling mana washed over them before it eased up on them. Kong Jing saw that as acceptance and changed his scenery to a familiar village.

‘That was just mana and it was colder than my conjured ice. Is it just Frost Elves’ trait at King-ranked or compounded by Fortifications.’ Ebony compared the essence with Ning Xin’s and Kong Jing’s.

It was difficult to put them in the same category. Both Xeng’s were heavy on the Vitality while Vent, the previous village chief, was heavy on mana.

Mana pressured the mind and just for Ebony, the whole body. So he theorised that overflowing Wisdom worked on mana chassis to be specific. At the same time, he was far more resistant to mana than Vitality.

If they were to pressure him with their aura consistently, he had a feeling he would be more troubled by Ning Xin’s overflowing effect instead. Luckily, she made use of Vitality for her strongest enhancement skill. The burning and blood-clogging effect would be gone when she withdrew her Vitality into her body.

Ebony wasn’t sure how other Domain mages do it, but if they did the same thing as him and flooded an area with their mana then the overflowing essence effect should always be in effect. His mana capacity skill was subpar compared to his compression. Unless he diluted his mana, he wasn’t able to extend a maximum power domain very far.

It was convenient that his mana at maximum compression was more viscous than honey. There was real, physical resistance when one moved inside his current domain spell. He could hinder Ning Xin’s speed to a great degree.

He didn’t care if it was considered a deformed domain. Ebony tackled that problem the same way he tackled most. Tossing more mana at the problem. With his method of pushing mana out from his body, even air is pushed out of his domain now.

Without the appropriate skills, he could just wait out any opponent that required oxygen or air in general. Sadly, most opponents that required him to use his domain were usually strong and had great lung capacity.

He took a final look at his status but decided not to linger on it. There were many changes compared to before his time with the Apex Apes but he browsed it enough times to know where he stood. There were more changes to come soon enough.

The Frost Elven elders, the combatants, didn’t appreciate the constant entry and exit. It challenged the purpose of closing the village off. However, they weren’t that offended. Kong Jing was confident of hiding her tracks and the Frost Elves didn’t think it affected them much. Five years of closure was extremely short to them and they had all the protection could ever need with Vent present.

Ebony was surprised to hear noises. The village was usually quiet. He took a moment to feel the vibrations to figure that not just the children but the village chief’s party was getting real combat training. No longer shooting targets or just casual sparring amongst themselves.

‘They brought creatures in? I have never seen that. Shape of a whale but smaller but fast and durable.’ Buildings obstructed Ebony but he could sense the playground. The playground was segregated for teenagers and the village chief’s party including Korben. Both were facing the same whale that could swim in snow and in the air but of different strengths.

There were about thirty ‘children’ and they appeared to be working on teamwork but they weren’t doing so well. Orren’s group were doing much better with Korben leading and giving well-timed orders.

Compared to the Frost Elves, Ebony was far more interested in the whale-shaped creature. They remained unharmed throughout the training and the adults weren’t exactly holding back the strength of their spells.

“Feel free to join if you kids are free. It’ll do them good to have different opponents. Especially training against fire magic. Ah, congratulations on reaching Grandmaster.” Christy floated over like a ghost and they exchanged greetings with tets.

The village chief’s party already wasn’t a match for Ning Xin before, they wouldn’t stand a chance now so she would have to go easy on them. However, Korben joined the training. The village guardian wasn’t as inexperienced as the rest of the party who were Masters.

With Christy around, they were confident that the village wouldn’t melt or burn away. Hence, Ning Xin took the opportunity to move her body. No matter how much of a genius she was, she hadn’t adapted to her new reach and range of motion.

For enhancement-heavy combatants like them, adjusting to greater speed or power wasn’t a big issue in comparison to accuracy and precision.

He didn’t know whether to be surprised or not that she lost. Mostly because of Korben. The village guardian wasn’t a craftsman or even half a craftsman. A full-time combatant that moved over to take care of Arcta wasn’t that easy to deal with just because of some heat or restriction to his ice magic.

Korben wasn’t quite level 500 but none present trusted levels as a measure of power.

The duel had been dangerously balanced. Korben’s spell and mana mastery was impeccable. He fought like how Ebony imagined a mage would fight. With just magic, he could keep Ning Xin at a distance and he could even see through her odd missteps. He made full use of her adjustments and landed a few potshots.

Orren and his party weren’t just standing there either. They might not be able to catch up with her but they could lay traps and guide her in a certain position.

Not being proficient in body enhancement magic didn’t hinder the Frost Elves' strength. Their fighting style was different and not necessarily worse.

Ebony easily noted that Ning Xin’s control with mana had improved but in a defensive direction. Maybe going weaponless for a few months forced her in that direction. She still couldn’t multitask and cast while buffing herself with the same elements but her blood magic was quite…intuitive.

She used her blood haloes as a container of energy. They could transform or rather, conjure fire, wind or lightning as required. Two of these rings would circle around her and act accordingly. They might be a defensive spell but they served as an allowance for her to get more aggressive in her charge.

To the Frost Elves and Ebony, these haloes were not very flexible. It was quite crude and easy to get around. Even if they could burn up, speed up or get zappy at a moment’s notice. They couldn’t swap between elements quickly and the blood haloes' actual speed and strength were quite pathetic compared to their spells.

Willow, the baby bear was wrestling one of those whales as well. They were not the whales that he imagined. They were Orcas. Chilblain Orcas.

Frighteningly, King-ranked creatures. Not just baby bear-sized opponents, all three orcas present were Kings.

Ebony knew the species.

The Apex Apes, intruders of the Hoarfrost Glades that made it their home because they liked the cold and general environment were the strongest race of Grandmasters. Chilblain Orcas were to Hoarfrost Glades what Jetfins were to the sea.

According to Gen, they were the most ferocious and aggressive creatures in the Glades. Ebony couldn’t see that. The Orca against Willow was just cuddling the baby bear. Letting the bear tackle its rounded beak without any aggression. It even sounded happy.

Ebony stayed to watch all three Orcas playing with the Frost Elves. From a baby bear to a large group of younglings to Korben, himself struggling. Ning Xin ran off to the Thoya’s where Kong Jing had already headed for earlier.

He understood why the Orcas were not aggressive after some time. They were just fooling around. However, their control of strength was impressive for monsters.

“Those are Vent’s hunting partners,” Christy informed him. She had been pressured earlier since Ning Xin threatened to melt the village during the spar.

The ghostly woman didn’t expect the fresh Grandmaster to have metal melting temperatures just wafting off her body. It wasn’t something she couldn’t handle but she was caught off guard.

“I see, like a hunting wolf. So he tamed them?” He nodded.

“Like Arti, they just followed Vent.”

“Hmm. Interesting.” Ebony knew that Koawe’s friendly bird Arti, followed him by its own accord. And these Orcas were similarly termed as monsters.

But they simply followed the Frost Elves by their own will. Did the Frost Elves have some kind of disposition that made monsters stunt their nature and follow them? Arti was intelligent and these Orcas were intelligent too.

What made them different from other monsters of the same race that simply follow their instincts to hunt and eat other creatures?

He didn’t join in and left once their session ended. He didn’t forget to bring candies for Kiva. The toddler would be jealous that her brother was the only one getting gifts.

When he arrived, he was once again greeted by a tiny toddler. Supposedly a few years old. She stood slightly taller than his knees now but still small and skinny. Clovis’s physical growth was almost non-existent. He still had 7 to 8 decades before adulthood. Perhaps his growth spurt hasn’t arrived.

The Thoya’s weren’t surprised to see them. Not after Kong Jing barged in once and received a call to fetch two.

“You humans. Always in such a rush.” Roya shook her head at him. She must have found out Ning Xin evolved when the swordswoman returned ahead of him.

“We’re not rushing. We’re just faster.” Said the swordswoman.

“And you’re here for the same?”

“I’m home, safe.”

Tets with the Thoya’s had been high fives for some time. They don’t just touch fingertips anymore. However, it seemed like hugs were part of the greetings now.

As for him and Ning Xin, they don’t share greetings.

‘Oh, she’s level 300 now.’ Ebony noticed Roya's change. He only bothered to Appraise them because her aura felt different. After asking for permission of course. He learned manners.

“Tonight?”

“Tomorrow. I could use some sleep and just catch up with the village. You guys too. I can see how far Clovis has come along.”

“Hal and Clo are at our new farmland.”

“Ah, finally managed to expand your land?”

“The elders helped and Mrs. Calhy was very understanding. It just took time convincing her husband that Hal’s plantings won’t affect the soil for their plums.”

“I see, that’s an important issue to account for. Can’t let anything happen to the frost plum harvest.” Roya smiled. Ebony focused on her facial expression.

‘Why does she appear resigned? Is that a good smile or a bad smile? I still have much to learn.’

Roya and Kong Jing were busy with their exchange and she didn’t deal with him any longer.

“It’s just you and me Kiva.” He hoisted her up and brought her to her playroom.

“Snacks!” Kiva yanked on his collar and redirected him to the kitchen.

Somehow, he became the one chopping onions while the chef was guiding Kiva on how to handle a knife and the different ways of preparing broccoli.