Magical Engineering [Progression Fantasy, LitRPG] (Book 3 Complete)

Maud

"So uh, what's your guild like? Is it full of mana beasts? Do you have any other cats? What about moose?" Maud asked all of the questions rapid-fire as they walked down the street. These were only the tip of the iceberg of the thoughts that had hit her since she left the rest of the group.

"The Guild of the Awakened welcomes all mana beasts. I'm not fully up to date on the total numbers of which lineages currently reside in our halls," he answered.

"Wait, does that mean you're an awakened mana beast? Um, is it rude to ask what kind? I have no idea how any of this works. I should probably figure that out before I make a fool of myself, shouldn't I?" Maud asked self-consciously.

It wasn't often she was totally alone in these situations. Actually, now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure she had ever been alone when meeting people off Earth before. Not that she was entirely alone now, but as the other three couldn't talk, it was up to her to represent her home planet.

"It's always okay to ask questions as long as your intent isn't hurtful. It's the best way to learn. That's one of the first things that a newly Awakened learns." He turned around and removed the hood over his head, revealing more of his goat like face. "My name is Billy. I awoke several hundred years ago as I strode across the lava fields with my herd of magma goats."

Maud hadn't missed the sadness in his last sentence. And considering everything she had learned about how mana beasts are treated within the Spiral, she knew better than to ask. Despite what Billy had said about questions, there were lines she wasn't willing to cross. Those thoughts had been enough to briefly distract her from the fact that a goat had just told her his name was Billy, but even as that nugget finally hit home, she managed to stifle a laugh.

Instead, she asked another question that had sprung to her mind. "Don't goats normally walk on all four legs?"

"Yes, but as we grow, we often adapt our bodies to better suit what we wish to do. Turning pages in books with hoofs is not the easiest thing, and most people prefer you keep your tongue off their property," he answered.

Maud opened her mouth, planning another question, when Billy stopped in front of an odd archway. "Awakened Guild." As the words left his mouth, the empty space of the archway transformed, taking on the same colors of the gates she had seen before.

"Oh, is the guild that far away?" she asked. She hadn't realized they would need a gate, and wasn't sure she liked the idea of being that far away from the others. But Squidlen had said she should go, so she wasn't backing out now.

"The location is kept secret. Even I'm not aware of exactly where the gate will take us, other than it's somewhere on the planet. There are many vulnerable people under our care, and it's important that we keep them as safe as possible," he answered.

There was the same sadness again in his voice. Why were mana beasts so hunted? Could their energy really be so powerful that people would hunt them to this extreme? Maud already knew the answer. There were enough monsters on Earth who were willing to drive species to extinction for their nonsensical beliefs, so of course, there would be a lot more willing to do it for real power.

She had met a rhinoceros once in a zoo when she was younger. It was the first time she had learned about poachers, and she had hated them ever since. That was something she hadn't thought about in a while, and it triggered a worry she hadn't considered.

Oh no! What was happening to the endangered animals back on Earth? Was anyone stepping up to take care of them? How hadn't she considered that? There had just been so much to worry about, but she should have considered them. She added that to her own duties once she returned to Earth.

She realized Billy wasn't standing in front of her anymore. How long had she been lost in her own mind? She hoped it wasn't too long as she stepped through the gate, the street vanishing around her as she emerged out the other side.

It had been replaced by a green field, surrounded by the largest trees she had ever seen. She wasn't sure why the scenery surprised her. She had just gotten used to everyone living in buildings or caves. It was a nice change.

"So where does the Jritotle live?" she asked, hurrying to catch up to Billy.

"The Jritotle is not here. Is that who you were expecting?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"But, that's who my quest said I was supposed to find! If they aren't here, then who wanted to meet me?" Maud was confused. She didn't have a quest to find anyone else. Though, why did she assume she had to have a matching quest?

She was going to be an Inheritor after all. So why shouldn't other mana beasts have their own quests to find her? Could she do anything for them before she met the Jritotle, though? She wasn't sure, but that wouldn't stop her from trying.

"Daisy, the Archmage of the Eternal Fires, Protector of the Puppies, Guardian of Vidack." He answered.

"Uh, if I'm supposed to recognize that name, I don't, sorry. Who are they?" Even as Maud asked that, she wasn't sure she had told the truth there. She had read everything she could on mana beasts since bonding the cats.

The name Daisy was scratching at the back of her mind. She had read it somewhere. But what had she read about them?

"She is one of the most powerful living primal mana beasts, and a key link in the chain that liberates our kind from the dangers they face within the Spiral," he answered.

"Oh, wait, I think I did read something about her once. Didn't she destroy a faction?" Maud asked, remembering a footnote about her in a book that covered mana beasts gaining classes, and just how rare it was.

"She prefers not to talk of that. I know I said questions are okay, but that is perhaps the only topic I'd shy away from," he answered.

"Sorry, sorry," Maud replied, feeling guilty for even mentioning it. She should have known that wasn't something anyone would want brought up. No one wants to be forced to remember the worst moments of their life.

"It's alright, you didn't know any better. Over here, this tree will lead to the meeting hall Daisy is expecting you at," Billy said, as they reached the edge of the plains.

He walked straight up to the tree, traced a finger down the trunk, and then traced it along the bark in several patterns. There was a quiet cracking sound as a large split opened in the tree. It continued to grow until it was big enough for even the moose to fit through.

"This is where I leave you. Good luck, I'll be waiting here to escort you on your return," Billy said, waving Maud and the animals forward.

"Thanks!" Maud replied, stepping through after the cats.

The only resident of the room she appeared in was a dog that reminded Maud of a beagle. They were sitting on a pillow that was raised up on one side of a table. There was a single chair and something that resembled a cat tree on the other side. The room really had been prepared for them. Maud was impressed. She'd never have thought to put a cat tree out for guests. She'd need to be more thoughtful of things like that with mana beasts in the future.

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"Hello, Inheritor Maud, please take a seat. We have much to discuss," the dog said, nodding her head slightly toward them.

"Thank you. Um, this might sound weird, but I was expecting the Jritotle. My quest was to find him. I didn't realize we were coming to see you until most of the way here," Maud said, the words spilling out of her mouth faster than she had intended. She was nervous and knew it was showing.

"That's perfectly okay. The fact that you have your quest at all is wonderful news. I was quite surprised when I woke up last night to find a System message informing me of a new quest. It has been a very long time since I've had one of those. So long that I thought I had retired from the entire concept, but the news of a new Inheritor isn't something to be taken lightly," Daisy replied.

"Oh, are quests not common after a while? I know you get them more often as a newly integrated world, at least I think that was how Pryte said it worked. But I didn't realize they become even rarer the longer you're in the Spiral." Maud wasn't actually sure if it was Pryte or Elody who had explained it to her. It had been back when she first got this quest, and she had been a little distracted at the time.

"It's not so much an age thing as it is a power thing. And while most of the powerful are on the older side of things, both within and outside the Spiral, it doesn't mean the old are always powerful. Very few people have what it takes to, by choice or force, unlock some of the highest tiers of strength. But that isn't the discussion we are here for today. That is just a reality of all people," Daisy said.

"Okay, what are we here for today?" Maud asked, not wanting to rush the dog, but at the same time not wanting to miss all the other sights of the planet. Plus, she didn't like leaving John with just the crew. What if he got into trouble?

"The quest I was given has four parameters. The first was to meet with the new human Inheritor named Maud and explain to her exactly what that entails. How much do you already know about the Inheritor class?" Daisy asked.

"Uh, well, I think it has something to do with preserving knowledge before it becomes lost. My friend Elody, she's a Paladin of Knowledge. She said that it's usually something a Paladin specializes in and that it's not generally a standalone class. I guess that's about all I know," Maud answered. She had decided to leave out the part about the faction wars and lost classes. That didn't seem important to the moment at hand.

"The Paladin is somewhat correct, but speaking from a limited frame of reference. She likely only knows about Paladin Inheritors. That is because most Inheritors do not have the protection of organizations behind them and are forced to act in secret to preserve what remains before it is lost. You would not be the first Inheritor of the Awakened, though what has happened to those who have come before you is unknown. With the way events are moving in the Spiral, you are likely the last chance many of my longtime friends will have to pass on their gifts before they leave this existence behind."

Maud saw the dog's tail fold beneath her and her ears drop slightly as she spoke. There was more loss there. Which meant Maud couldn't fail. She had to do what they needed. She would not become one of the lost Inheritors.

"I don't have the class yet, and I have no idea where the Jritotle is to be able to unlock it. So that could be a problem," Maud replied sheepishly. Her worries that she'd never actually complete the quest were bubbling back. She had to find that primal mana beast as soon as she could, but right now she also had to save William.

"Could you do me a favor and read me exactly what your quest says?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah, one second, let me pull it up. Okay. It just says Inheritor class. Speak to the Jritotle."

"Good, I was hoping it would be something like that," Daisy said, her lips curling into a very large smile. It was one she didn't think a dog could normally make. At least she had never seen one be able to.

Seeing the expression made her realize something herself. The quest didn't say she had to talk to the Jritotle to get the class. It just named the class and then told her to speak to them. How had she missed that? How had Elody missed it? No, actually, of course, they missed it. Why would anyone think differently unless they had another primal mana beast with their own quest pointing out the obvious? Maud joined Daisy in her smile.

"I see, you now understand as well. Good. That means we may begin. Please lay your hand on the moose."

Maud did as she was told, doing her best to suppress the excitement. Was she about to get her class? "Now what?"

"Focus on him. Take your core energies and use those to reach deep into his core. Find that energy there. Examine it. Look at how it differs from your own. Understand it."

Maud closed her eyes and gathered up as much of her own mana as she could. These were the times she wished she had her own Corey. Dave didn't know how easy he had it to have help guiding his mana flow across all his channels. She had to make sure she kept breathing while she slowly worked it all toward the hand she had touching the moose.

The energy sparked lightly as it left her. That was enough to form a small connection between her and the animal. It wasn't like what she had with Big and Hecate, but it was similar enough that she understood what to do. She guided that trickle of mana toward the moose's core, and as she probed around it, she understood what Daisy had wanted her to find.

The cats hadn't had much of anything when she first bonded them. Even now, their own cores were just starting to form proper wells of mana. Their soul-core reactions had barely started, if you could even call it started at all.

The moose, on the other hand, his core blazed with an inner fire. His soul-core reaction dwarfed her own. There was something deeper there. She could sense it, but it was hard to read exactly what it was.

Pushing another burst of mana into the moose, she again probed the reaction. It was the soul! He was connected to a web beyond himself. She tried to touch the connection and felt a burning surge of pain fire back through her. That wasn't her place. She was sure of it now. That was the connection and power source between all the primal mana beasts.

"Are you really all connected like that?" she asked, pulling her hand away.

"Only the primal mana beasts. Other Awakened do not share that same deeper bond."

"Oh no. That's why so many people hunt their primal mana beasts, isn't it? They want to steal as much of that power as they can!" Maud was horrified as she realized the implications of it.

"It is. What they don't realize when they do that is that they are draining that bond of life. Well, most don't, some just don't care. Yes, it will give them a boost of power, but it will also continue to weaken the greater soul mesh that holds so many mana bonds together. Eventually, the mesh will no longer be strong enough to spin out new primal mana beasts," Daisy explained.

"When you say eventually, how far out do you mean?" Maud asked, worried she understood something else.

"Your fears are warranted. The primal soul mesh is failing. The System has given you a chance to help rebuild it. And I will be the first to confer on you my aspect. But that is the fourth task I have to perform, as I will be greatly weakened following it."

"Wait, it won't kill you, will it?" Maud's eyes went wide with that question. She wasn't sure she could handle it if the primals had to die to do this.

"No, it won't kill me, but it will take me some time to recover. So before we do that, I need to give one last piece of advice. This one is for your Mr. Moose."

Maud hadn't expected that. But it looked like the moose had. He took several steps closer to Daisy after she finished speaking and bent forward, bringing his head eye level with hers.

"I understand you have bonded with that Human child, and trust me when I tell you I fully grasp the ramifications of what that means. The path you've chosen will not be an easy one. Do not shy away from your duties. I failed in my own, and it nearly broke me. But realize you are not alone. Should you need help, ask for it. It took me far too long to understand that."

The moose nodded its head before fully standing up again. "I apologize, young cats, I have no gifts for you. Please know that you will always be welcome here, though. Now, Maud, touch my head."

Maud reached her hand across the table and gently placed it upon Daisy's head. A surge of energy flooded into her. She was having trouble understanding what was happening. Her vision blurred as thousands of images of Daisy channeling, fighting, and even just resting zoomed across her eyes. As she fell backward, she spotted one last thing before she crashed to the ground unconscious.

The Paladins of Conservation offered me a place in their own order following what I had done. They even offered to protect me. I would not accept it. I had done the unthinkable in a blind rage. I would live with that. I would build something greater from my loss. Until I had saved more innocent lives than I had killed, I would not stop. I will make myself worthy of his friendship when we meet again in another life.

Recorded Memories of Daisy Archmage of the Eternal Fires, Protector of the Puppies, Guardian of Vidack