Solo Strategy

Rising to her feet, a slender young girl with beautiful, delicate features straightened up, smoothing the wrinkles on her pristine white pants with two habitual movements of her palms, and lifted her gaze as if witnessing such a natural phenomenon like sunrise for the first time. Taking a deep breath of pure forest air, tinged with pleasant hints of herbs, she stretched as if waking from a long sleep and bowed her head.

Her legs, clad in knee-high red boots, stood confidently on the dark green surface of a malachite cube, each side as long as a wide step. Any archivist from the Artifactors' Guild would easily recognize this perfectly shaped stone as a true altar of Magevra, the goddess of Magic in all Its manifestations. The goddess who had vanished without a trace, not leaving even an Echo behind.

For over twenty centuries, many adventurers and relic hunters had searched for this altar, lost even before the Fall—all in vain. Yet, the one who now stood with her arms raised to the sky had found it after merely a week of searching. Some would call it luck, others would argue that it was rather the work of a trained mind and a scientific approach to problem-solving. However, all these arguments were irrelevant. What mattered was that the malachite cube, devoid of power yet carrying profound symbolic and sacred meaning, had regained its place lost two thousand years ago.

The presence of this altar was not a mandatory condition for performing the Great Ritual of Redistribution of Elements, but in such high-order magic, there were no trivialities. The girl standing on the altar in the center of the intricate figure formed by human bodies and magical light sources understood this perfectly.

The gaze of her astonishingly pure green eyes swept over the unconscious bodies around the altar. Some, despite their state, had merely lowered their heads to their chests, maintaining steady, calm breathing. However, they were the minority—only five. The rest had collapsed where they sat as soon as the ritual she conducted gained momentum.

The main part of the magical ceremony had been completed, all processes initiated, and now how successfully things would unfold for each participant depended solely on themselves.

Sighing more calmly and lightly, the girl relaxed her previously tense back and simply sat on the edge of the malachite cube, dangling her slender legs down. She stretched her toes forward and—for the first time in many days—genuinely smiled.

A short mental command—and the visualization of the Core froze before her attentive green eyes. The uniform flow of spirally twisted streams of mana and prana was securely protected by a new shell. The semi-transparent surface of the Core seemed carved from a single, solid sapphire of perfect quality and purity. Obeying a barely perceptible movement of her fingers, the image resembling a three-dimensional holographic projection shrank to a point and disappeared. Her beautiful, sensuous lips formed a smile of slight superiority. The girl was fully confident that she was the first among earthlings to reach the Sapphire Step of the Great Spiral.

Such an achievement seemed far less significant than performing a ritual forgotten for a thousand years, yet somehow it brought her greater joy. Just yesterday, she had accomplished what seemed impossible, advancing from Wootz to Opal in three weeks. However, what the locals perceived as an incredible feat worthy of the great heroes of antiquity was marred by the fact that, despite all her efforts and even struggles, some earthling miraculously managed to cross the First Wall, separating the Metal Coil of the Spiral from the Stone, before her. But now, surely, no one would surpass her. She was absolutely certain of it, for climbing an entire step, especially on the Precious Coil, in one day—or rather, in twenty-four hours—was unheard of even in legends.

However, the girl sitting on the malachite cube regarded local legends with a fair amount of skepticism, and she had every right to do so. After all, the number of such tales that turned out to be false when she studied them in hopes of finding a clue to the mystery of the missing altar of Magevra was countless.

Dismissing these memories, the girl, who had taken the name Arien in this world, directed her inner gaze into the depths of her Core. With a scrutinizing "look," she searched for the slightest distortions: energy knots or chaotic whirls. Just yesterday, she could find such flaws, but today, no matter how hard she tried, she found none. Perfect harmony of the five Elements reigned within her Core. True, this perfection had its price, but the girl paid it without hesitation. Her abilities in mental and runic magic, as well as her potential in Light, Shadow, and Darkness spells—all were sacrificed for the five Stars of Talent in all manifestations of Elemental Magic.

Five stars across all Elements—a potential surpassing even the legendary heroes of antiquity. More precisely, none of the legends or Scriptures known to the girl mentioned anything similar.

Closing her eyes, Arien slowly exhaled. The mind of a scholar ruthlessly separated raw potential from real achievements. But humbly downplaying her own achievements also contradicted her nature. An expressive smile slid across her lips—a clear acknowledgment that modesty had never been among her virtues.

Stretching her toes again, the girl rested her palms against the malachite surface of the cube and tilted her head back. It might have seemed to an observer that she was intently watching the disk of Dairin—the Day Sister—rising above the treetops. But in reality, the sorceress was lost in her thoughts: analyzing how the ritual went, noting details that had initially escaped her attention, and listening in to the changes that had touched her Core.

The primary part of the Ritual of Redistribution, which required her direct control, went even more smoothly than she had anticipated. Only once did the magical flows seem to go haywire, "rear up," nearly tearing all the participants apart, but Arien had enough strength, talent, and experience to quell this unexpected surge…

A heavy sigh distracted her from these thoughts and observations. Apparently, one of those who had passed out when the ritual came into full force had already come to. Glancing around the ritual site, into which, thanks to her efforts, the main hall of the ruined temple of the Goddess of Elemental Magic had been transformed, Ariel Marshal initially thought she had imagined the sigh. At first glance, none of the participants in the magical ceremony had yet come to their senses; none had changed position. But, looking closer, she noticed that the rhythm of one person's breathing had slightly, barely noticeably, changed, becoming deeper and more even.

'Raven! Why am I not surprised that he's the first to wake up?!' Arien thought with slight annoyance.

She still couldn't quite figure out her feelings towards this man. He infuriated her to the point of teeth grinding, yet at the same time, she recognized his usefulness. It was he who helped her draft the ritual scheme. It was he who found and delivered the missing element, that very silvery-gray strand of fur no one else could find. Largely thanks to him, she changed the structure of her guild and began admitting not only mages but also fighters into the Ainuminati. Moreover, the usefulness of this change became apparent almost immediately. It was he who insisted that even mages start training with weapons, not just studying magical arts. More precisely, he didn't so much insist as clearly demonstrated and proved the benefit of such training.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

And as painful as it was to admit, without his help, she would never have stepped beyond the First Wall so early. Their clearing a Wootz dungeon of the third circle together, just the two of them, was proof enough. Just her and him. Recalling how those nasty slugs tried to get to her and, at the very least, ruin her beautiful clothes or, far worse, leave horrific chemical burns on her pure, young skin, she shuddered. And this was just one example among many.

Just a week ago, he reappeared in Katiyer. Seven days might not seem like much. But that only seems so to those who have never met this man. In such a short time, he managed to turn the life of the Ainuminati, which had just settled into a peaceful routine, completely upside down. At first, she simply let him act to see what he would accomplish. She even appointed him as a temporary strategist, placing him second only to herself.

Truth be told, knowing how complicated and headstrong the people in her guild were, the sorceress was sure that Raven would fall flat on his face while imposing his own rules on others. A couple of days later, she realized her mistake, but it was already too late. Even in such a short time, it had become exceedingly clear that all the changes he brought were beneficial.

'I wonder, if he called people to follow him today, how many would remain with me?' Arien pondered. 'No less than a third would go with him... No less than a third.' Such was the disheartening conclusion. And yet, not long ago, she had been confident that everyone accepted into the guild was personally loyal to her. 'Appearances can be deceiving,' the sorceress thought with a bitter smile, not even noticing how she had mentally uttered one of Raven's favorite sayings.

Yesterday, having crossed beyond the First Wall, she had, suppressing her ego, offered him to join the Ainuminati on a permanent basis. But he refused, as he had done several times before, citing some Path he was following. Though, his refusal had even pleased her. In this man's presence, she felt a bit uneasy. Whenever he approached within arm's reach, her body seemed to start living its own life—her breathing quickened, her pulse rose, and embarrassingly inappropriate thoughts persistently crept into her mind.

'It's all due to my Affinity with Nature!' she habitually dismissed these memories. 'Besides, I don't even like him as a man!' This lie had slipped into her mind for the hundredth time that week.

With a light shake of her head, Arien cleared her mind of untimely thoughts through a habitual act of will. This time, however, the familiar action did not come as easily as before.

'Perhaps Raven was right when he persistently discouraged me from elevating Elements at the expense of Mental,' she thought.

It was true. All the way from the Ainuminati's temporary camp to the ruined temple, he tried to convince her of the usefulness of Mental magic. She even acknowledged his arguments, but there was nowhere else she could get another half a Talent Star, and leaving one of the Elements at four and a half Stars seemed wrong to her, so she acted on her own judgment.

Sometimes, she felt this man wanted to help her personally out of sympathy, while at other times, she saw him as an unscrupulous manipulator whose correct speeches and solid reasoning hid an ulterior motive. Therefore, no matter how convincing his arguments seemed, she had no intention of becoming a puppet in someone else's unknown game. Perhaps by not listening to him, she made a mistake. Maybe so, but it was her conscious choice.

'He's so difficult.' Suppressing a heavy sigh ready to escape her lips, the sorceress thought. 'It's even good that, according to our agreement, he'll leave Katiyer before sunset today. He's certainly useful, but I'm so tired of him constantly interfering with his opinions, even when they're not asked for.'

The thought that "his opinions" were often quite justified, she chose to ignore.

'Strange, he clearly came to his senses after the ritual, so why is he pretending to be unconscious?'

Pondering this question, Arien looked more closely at the man sitting in the lotus position in the third row. She activated the Perception aura, cast the Eagle Vision spell on her eyes, and immediately noticed a previously overlooked detail: the barely noticeable twitching of his eyelashes, their uneven flutter. It was as if his pupils were darting randomly behind his closed eyelids.

'Gone for Elevation,' the sorceress realized, rolling her eyes.

A new heavy sigh, like someone emerging from the depths of water, interrupted Arien's thoughts. Turning her head, she easily spotted the one who awoke second after Raven.

This young man was dressed like an ordinary commoner—meet someone like that on the street, and you'd pass by without a second glance. A wide, cone-shaped hat pulled down low concealed his facial features.

"This one will also leave today," the sorceress frowned slightly.

While Raven's imminent departure brought her relief, she would have gladly kept this young man by her side. He was far from simple, and he had also refused to join the guild, preferring to make a personal cooperation agreement directly with her.

A Master of Shadows, a superb scout, and, let's be honest, an excellent spy who helped her cleanse the Ainuminati of any sprouts of possible betrayal. For this, she was immensely grateful. One might think he was merely at Wootz, but even that didn't prevent him from accomplishing tasks that locals wouldn't dare attempt at Sapphire. Unique and useful, yet also following his own path. Naturally, their cooperation wouldn't end when the one calling himself Rahu left Katiyer. Heading to Pentapolis, this young man, marked by the Night Sister, would conduct preliminary reconnaissance and provide recommendations, possibly even selecting a site for the guild's future headquarters.

No matter how attached Arien had become to this city, no matter what connections she had established among the locals, the sorceress had already begun to feel somewhat constrained here. Although Katiyer was considered a major trading center by local standards, she understood that it was still a backwater province. If she truly wished for her guild's growth, the Ainuminati needed to relocate closer to the "Center of the World"—as locals occasionally called the region marked on maps as Pentapolis.

Besides, she fervently wished to see Divino Mountain with her own eyes—the place where, according to legends, the palaces of the Fallen Gods still stood. The fact that humans couldn't approach those slopes due to the magical Fog surrounding them mattered little to the former chemist-scientist. She was confident: just as she had solved Magevra's puzzle and reproduced a ritual forgotten for millennia, she would somehow deal with the problem of the mysterious Mist.

The unnatural movement of shadows under Rahu's broad-brimmed hat made Arien frown, but before she could say anything, her personal spy raised his hand reassuringly—and the shadows calmed down.

Rahu and Raven—the two most ambiguous characters fate had brought her together with in this new world. Naturally, the sorceress watched them closely, and she noticed that the Master of Shadows had been diligently avoiding encounters with Raven ever since the Sheriff of the Book arrived at the guild's headquarters. He constantly slipped away whenever the crow-like man appeared nearby. If Raven was present at any meeting or training, Rahu always found a reason to be somewhere else. At the same time, Arien detected no negativity from Raven towards the Master of Shadows. Once, she directly asked her spy why he was so keen on avoiding the champion of the Alchemist's Tournament, but Rahu, like a slippery snake, evaded the question without saying anything specific.

Sometimes, the sorceress thought he was simply afraid of Raven — almost as much as the crazy bounty hunter named Scully. And that was strange because, according to Raven, the only time he met Rahu was during the second group trial. So, Arien couldn't understand why the Master of Shadows was wary of the sheriff, and this detail, as an experienced leader, made her nervous.

Her developed intuition suggested that if she wanted to avoid major troubles in the future, she needed to sort out this unclear conflict between two extraordinary individuals. She needed to. But later. For now, she'd be occupied with other tasks.

Completing the ritual was the top priority. Reassigning guild combat groups according to the altered Talents—second. Adjusting the training and education programs based on the ritual results—third. Preparing for the guild's relocation and transferring all affairs in Katiyer to local business partners—fourth. And this was without mentioning another dozen nearly equally important matters.

The heavy sigh that escaped Arien's lips sharply contrasted with the broad smile on the girl's face. Yes, the new world proved full of complexities and challenges, but none of it compared to the miracle she longed to comprehend with all her being.

The miracle of Magic...