Solo Strategy

We returned home around two in the morning. Katashi arranged with the master-artifactor to come to his workshop two hours after dawn. As for me, I was to meet Eddart at around the same time at Deytran's southern gate. He suggested holding our next training sessions on the hills three kilometers from the trade capital, which seemed a logical choice for practicing combat spells.

As for the Japanese's proposal to create a bathysphere, I would have dismissed anyone else with such a project outright. But since it came from the future God of Labor, it warranted consideration. He could achieve what others deemed impossible. Still, I had no intention of being the "pilot" in a sealed steel sphere. If the reward had been Affinity with Lightning, I might have considered it, but with Water... it wasn't worth the risk for me.

Ah! If only the Shards' luck extended to those who used the items they crafted! But I didn't recall anything like that from the Last Cycle.

The problem was that the Japanese was already fired up about the idea, and knowing his perseverance, I suspected he would eventually create this Da'Nnan's bathysphere. And I really didn't want for this to end the way it did with Morpheus, who claimed to have calculated everything and checked every detail, but still perished in a dungeon, his calculations useless.

But what if I suggested someone else to Katashi as the "pilot"? And who? It made sense to consider someone who would definitely benefit from it. The first name that came to mind was Miranda. An Affinity with Water would certainly be useful for her. The second candidate could be Raistlin; I saw him pass all the initial trials since I met him at the Second Group Trial. I "remembered" he had four Stars in Water, and I liked him as a person; he even saved the "past me's" life. The third option was Max Kramer, but I didn't know where he was now or if he was even alive, let alone whether he passed the initial trials in this cycle. The fourth was Clement, Nate's guardsman back then, and now the strategist of the Ainuminati. Unlike the first three, he was a warrior, but Water was his most developed Element. And unlike the others, I knew exactly where to find him. However, neither Clement nor Raistlin would likely agree to such an adventure. But Miranda and Max were adventurous enough to consider a dangerous descent.

But could I risk them? I needed Max as the "driver" for the Pride, and Miranda... I wasn't sure, but it seemed I had changed my attitude towards her in this Cycle and didn't want to risk her needlessly. If only Miranda were a Shard with their inherent luck, like Scully, then...

Wait. Like Scully? If anyone was reckless enough to stick her head even into a dragon's maw, it was her. And with the combined luck of two Shards, the chances of a tragedy during the descent would drop to negligible levels. Though, did Scully need Water Affinity? I didn't know. But if she did, and if she had a talent for this Element of about four Stars... Then... This fit perfectly into my strategy of strengthening the Shards. I just needed to find out about her talent in Water, how many Stars she had in this Element precisely. Besides, she was wandering somewhere nearby, and I could "summon" her by posting a notice on the Tunnellers' Guild Board.

All in all, it was not a bad idea.

"Kay," I addressed the young blacksmith when he brewed the tea and placed a cup in front of me, "promise me you won't climb into the bathysphere yourself."

"Yeah, I've kind of changed my mind," the Japanese waved dismissively.

Sure, as if I would believe him.

"At the very least, I want to be present when the bathysphere is created and tested."

"I don't..." the future God of Labor began, then waved his hand and said, "Fine."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Then I'll think about who we can take as the 'pilot,'" I said, acting as if I were doing him a huge favor.

"It should be a calm, balanced person," the Japanese frowned.

"First and foremost, you need a lucky person. Very lucky," I smirked.

For example, getting Dice drunk and putting him in the bathysphere—he'd definitely make it out even from the Mariana Trench. But no, I didn't want to get anywhere near Dice.

Katashi and I argued a little longer about which qualities mattered more for the "pilot," but in the end, the Japanese agreed to consider first the candidates I proposed. Which was already not bad. The main thing was to make sure he didn't climb into that steel sphere himself and weld it shut from the inside.

"Kay, why do you need this diving project anyway?" I decided to shift the future God of Labor's interest to something else. "Maybe aim straight for an industrial revolution, using Karilian's artifact drive as a basis?"

"An industrial revolution implies mass production," the young blacksmith replied confidently, revealing that he had already thought about this. "With such artifacts, mass production is out of the question. Firstly, it must be crafted by one master from start to finish, and no part can be delegated to others. Secondly, the extraction of Valirium and Avalonium in Ain will never become widespread, as they are only obtained in dungeons. And thirdly, as a consequence of the first two, the price per unit of notional power is exorbitant. Moreover, the user who infuses energy into the artifact must have Affinity with Metal."

After these words, silence fell in the courtyard. Slowly finishing the tea, which was indeed much tastier than what I usually brewed, I was about to get up and go to bed when the future God of Labor spoke again:

"Raven... The bathysphere isn't as crazy an idea as you think. Really. If they managed it in the thirties of the last century, we can do it too. Their bathysphere was riveted! Can you imagine, riveted! Whereas we have something akin to welding—magic. I can join metal so seamlessly that there won't even be any weld lines. Plus, we'll conduct tests. First, we'll submerge an empty bathysphere... Then we'll place something fragile inside and submerge it again. Later, like in the Soviet space program, we'll send dogs... I don't remember their names."

"Belka and Strelka," I said automatically.

"We'll even name these dogs the same," nodded the Japanese. "For luck, we'll call them that. After all, they did return alive. And only if the dogs survive, we'll send a person down."

"I do appreciate your thorough approach," I was genuinely scared of such a descent, "but I'm out. Don't try to convince me."

"Still, think about it," added the future God of Labor, showing no sign of doubt.

"Good night, Kay. Let's go to sleep. Morning is wiser than evening."

All night, I was haunted by nightmares. First, a suffocating tightness, oppressive and stifling like Darkness itself, closed in around me, turning into steel walls. I realized I was inside a smooth metal sphere, and each breath echoed dully in the confined space. The air felt heavy, smelling of rust and cold. Then came the sense of depth. Water, endless and crushing, enveloped the sphere from the outside, its mass so dense that you could almost hear it scraping against the metal. The steel creaked plaintively, as if alive, and each sound seemed a harbinger that it was about to crack.

I tried to move—and realized I couldn't even lift my hand. There wasn't enough space to straighten up, and with each desperate breath, the walls seemed to draw closer… and closer. Panic rose, my heart pounding in my throat, and my breathing became short, greedy gasps.

Images flashed in the darkness: the gaping eyes of the abyss somewhere beyond the steel shell, the movement of something enormous outside, the touch of invisible, monstrous fins. The pressure increased, and it began to feel as if the water itself wanted to penetrate inside, pour through the tiniest cracks, crush, smear, erase me into nothingness.

In that dream, I screamed, but the scream died in my own ears. I pounded my hands against the metal, but only a low, muffled shudder responded—as if the sea itself was laughing. And at that moment, it became clear: there was no way out; this sphere, created by the future God of Labor, was my eternal prison; water was stronger than any will, and the cold walls would close in, squeeze, crush, and take away the last breath.

I woke up in a cold sweat, having somehow managed to bite my lip to blood in my sleep. I lay in bed for about ten minutes, mindlessly staring at the ceiling, then remembered some breathing exercises and calmed my frayed nerves a bit. After that, I went down to the inner courtyard, practiced with my spear for half an hour, and, having filled up some water at the fountain, took off my shirt and began to wash up. Busy with that, I caught myself thinking that it would be nice to go to the public bath and soak in a hot tub.

The stubble had not grown back yet, but I already had a real overgrowth in my armpits, which I didn't dare shave with my dagger. However, recalling Eddart's lessons, I took it out and, using Wind Blade, got to work. For me, using combat magic this way was strange in its own way. But I was truly grateful to the former captain of the Trade League for showing me this application of the spell. Shaving in Ain had long become my most hated hygienic procedure, but now it seemed my attitude was about to change drastically.

When I was about halfway through, Katashi came down to the courtyard. Unlike me, the Japanese had clearly slept well and looked rested and refreshed. Seeing what I was doing, the young smith scratched his chin and asked:

"Are you practicing, or is it really convenient?"

"Both," I replied, finishing up.

"I should master that magic too," the future God of Labor said thoughtfully.

"How many Stars do you have in the Air Element?" I asked, sheathing Lightning Dagger.

"Three," Katashi didn't hide the number.

"That'll be enough for shaving," I assured him. "I can ask Master Eddart to teach you, as I'm afraid I wouldn't be the best instructor."

"Let me think about it," the Japanese nodded, then, after giving me a careful look, unexpectedly added, "And you, I see, aren't in a good mood this morning?"

What? Who had kidnapped Katashi, and who was standing in front of me now? Or was the future God of Labor showing wonders of socialization? Amazing.

"I had a nightmare," I couldn't help but smirk and elaborated. "In my dream, I was descending to the seabed in a steel sphere without portholes. Water was crushing it, it was creaking, and I was trying to escape, but the more I struggled, the more precious air I wasted."

"Yeah, I got it the first time," the Japanese didn't believe that I really had such a dream. "I won't try to convince you to become a 'pilot' of the bathysphere anymore."

As I thought, the future God of Labor wasn't planning to abandon his idea, no matter what he had said before. But maybe that was for the best: he'd definitely achieve what he wanted, even if there were sacrifices, which meant he'd gain another Adamantium Achievement. And by developing in a much more diverse way than in the Last Cycle, he might become a much better master. Though... how much better could he get?

After breakfasting on a simple ham and eggs, we discussed our plans for the coming days, and then each of us went our separate ways: Katashi to learn from Karilian and recreate the hang glider, and I to train with Eddart.

The former captain of the Trade League met me at the southern city gates looking quite disheveled. Moreover, he reeked of alcohol from a mile away. Nevertheless, he was in a good mood. As I gathered from our brief conversation, the Air mage couldn't sleep, recalling my flight and how the artifactor crashed. So, he decided not to sleep at all but to "sample" new wines he had purchased, having recently improved his finances significantly. Improved, of course, at my expense, and with the reward from the mysterious spies. No one else, incidentally, had bothered him about me since. This made me a bit uneasy, as I always had to expect a strike from an unknown enemy whose motives regarding me were entirely unclear.

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Once we left the suburbs behind, we settled on the top of a gentle hill, and Eddart, sipping from his travel flask, began to train me. We started by revisiting Wind Sense, focusing on controlling it without deep immersion in meditation. Thanks to my new Affinity, I was getting better and better at it each time. Then I tried mowing the grass using Wind Blade. After my record flight, there was noticeable progress in mastering this spell as well. However, full-fledged use of it in combat was still out of the question.

Shortly after noon, the former captain of the Trade League resumed teaching me the basics of Storm Sky Arrows. The theory I did grasp, but when it came to practice, everything went awry. No matter what I did or how I adjusted the energy flows according to Eddart's instructions, all I got was, at best, a colorful puff.

By evening, I noticed that even my temporary trainer was puzzled by my failures. I seemed to be doing everything right, not deviating even a step from the theory, yet there were no positive results.

I left the training with mixed feelings: on one hand, there was clear progress in mastering pure air magic, but on the other, a complete zero in practicing Storm Sky Arrows. Eddart and I parted at the city gates, agreeing to meet again tomorrow morning at the same time to continue.

Before heading home, I ran through the markets to buy food and then stopped by the new workshop, but it was empty. Katashi wasn't home either, and half an hour after my return, a courier arrived with a message from the Japanese that he would spend the night at Ger Karilian's. Most likely, the two masters were so engrossed that they didn't plan to sleep at all tonight.

To avoid cluttering my head with needless reflection, I trained with the spear until late at night, adding Wind Blade practice to my usual routine. I even got a bit tired.

Then, before bed, I took out the First Feather and told it what had happened in recent days. I hadn't risked talking to the blade lately, as its creator was staying in the same house and would surely think I'd lost my mind. The training and the leisurely storytelling allowed me to fall asleep without additional meditation and sleep peacefully, without any nightmares.

I woke up at dawn, went through my usual training, and, skipping breakfast as I wasn't hungry, headed to another meeting with my trainer.

This day flew by as if it had never been. Just like yesterday, I slightly improved my mastery of Wind Sense and Blade, but again completely failed at mastering Storm Sky Arrows. The former captain of the Trade League looked very thoughtful, even puzzled. Before we parted, he asked if I would mind if a good acquaintance of his attended our next training session. I simply replied that he was the trainer and knew best what his trainee needed. With that, we parted ways.

Unlike yesterday, Katashi did come home to sleep today. Moreover, the Japanese clearly was in a good mood. And when he made us tea and started to speak, I understood the source of his cheerfulness.

"Unlike you," said the future God of Labor, sipping his tea, "Ger Karilian is really excited about the idea of creating an artifact capable of taking a person to great depths."

Pf-f-f! Why was I not surprised? Especially after the artifactor decided to test the glider himself.

"The only thing he still doesn't understand is how it's possible." The Japanese couldn't help but smile slightly. "But when he heard from me that such things were practiced in my 'homeland,' and I have a rough idea of where to start, he promised to set aside all his tasks and help me with this project."

"And did he promise to fund it?" I grimaced.

"No," the future God of Labor admitted honestly, his mood plummeting. "But it's not that expensive! About ten times cheaper than the glider! Even valirium or avalonium is unnecessary; just regular steel will do. The main costs will be for the lift mechanism. There, to ensure a safety margin, it's better to use alchemically treated ropes."

"Not chains, but ropes?" I clarified.

"Yes, magic ensures sufficient strength," Katashi replied confidently. "Ger Karilian confirmed it."

"How much?" I asked, sighing heavily.

"A thousand gold will cover the entire project, considering that Ger Karilian and I will work for free."

"Let's say I have that money, but what's in it for me?" I placed my mug on the edge of the table and looked the Japanese straight in the eye.

"Well, we're partners, aren't we?"

At those words, something inside me clicked. Katashi delivered the line without blinking, with a serious face, and I couldn't hold back. Laughter burst out of me, wild, ragged, hoarse. I laughed so hard that even my tea went down the wrong way. Katashi looked at me in complete bewilderment, while I nearly doubled over, choking on my laughter, with only one word spinning in my head: "Partners"! Oh, God... why did this word now make me think only of Scully and our "partnership with benefits"?

"Sorry," I said, wiping the tears from my eyes after calming down. "Personal associations, don't mind me. Fine, I'll allocate the funds. But only after I receive my hang glider, along with a spatial artifact to store it."

"The glider is already drying and will be fully ready by tomorrow," the future God of Labor shared the good news, glancing at me from under his brow. "As for the spatial artifact, Ger Karilian's apprentices are already working on its preparation."

"Alright, I'll get a glider—you'll have your money," I nodded.

"Umm..." Katashi hesitated. "Can I get part of it today?"

"What, have you already ordered something?!" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Yes. And I've put all my money into the new project. I'm short three hundred for the first stage," the Japanese said quietly, dropping his gaze even lower.

Well, what did I expect? The stubbornness of the future God of Labor was known to me since the Last Cycle. "I see the goal—I see no obstacles"—this phrase suited him more than anyone else.

"Listen, maybe Ger Karilian will be the first tester?" I asked, holding my breath. "Look how eagerly he tried out the glider!"

"Ger Karilian respectfully declined the honor," the Japanese replied grimly.

And again, I wasn't surprised at all.

"How about some training before bed?" I suggested to Katashi.

"Alright," agreed the young blacksmith, clearly feeling obliged for the gold I promised.

For my frayed nerves, I put Katashi through a rigorous session, his hammer being far from the best weapon against Striking Whisper. Satisfied with my petty revenge for a spoiled night's sleep, I calmed down even more and went to bed in a much better mood.

In the morning, after the usual warm-up and breakfast, I handed Katashi three hundred gold, and he immediately ran off to the master-artifactor's workshop. After all, even if my memories from the Last Cycle made me forget this at times, the future God of Labor was not even twenty yet.

At the training session outside the city, there indeed was an acquaintance of Eddart present. A mage of about his age, though already having stepped into the Diamond rank. For three hours, this acquaintance, whom the former captain of the Trade League introduced as a master of two Elements named Strob the Blinding Gust, silently observed my attempts to master Storm Sky Arrows. Then he burst into a booming laugh and said he understood what my problem was.

In fact, it proved simple—if you knew where to look. Due to my Affinity with Air, my mana and prana wove into the Air Element much more easily, whereas with Lightning the process went as before. This caused a disproportion, which was why I couldn't balance the elemental components of the energies correctly.

After this hint, in just an hour, I managed to find the right proportion by trial and error and release the first five Storm Sky Arrows from my fingers. Of course, they were weak and dissolved into a weightless cloud after just five meters, but it was definitely a real breakthrough.

I heartily thanked Strob the Blinding Gust and didn't forget to add ten gold to my gratitude. I thought the Diamond mage would refuse such a small reward, but he just nodded and took the money without a word. Well, that lesson was definitely worth ten gold coins.

A couple of hours before sunset, I bid farewell to my temporary trainer and new acquaintance and headed to the city, while the pair of mages stayed on the hill to discuss something. Maybe even to gossip about me—who knew.

Before heading home, I stopped by the Tunnellers' Guild. First, I touched the Book of Ishid but felt nothing. Then I asked for five small sheets of paper, some writing supplies, and penned a short message: "My Wombat Partner, if you're interested in obtaining an Affinity with the Water Element, find me; with your abilities, it shouldn't be too hard." I wrote this, of course, in English and paid for a week's posting of this notice on all the Boards of Pentapolis. If Scully saw it, good; if she didn't, we would look for another volunteer for Katashi's experiments.

After that, having dined at a decent tavern where they served excellent shrimp cooked in olive-garlic oil, I headed home.

To my surprise, Katashi was already there.

"What are you doing here?" I expressed my surprise. "I thought you'd be glued to Karilian's workshop!"

"Well, I wanted to work on some designs in quiet," the young blacksmith said, showing me sheets covered in circles, spheres, and formulas that seemed straight out of a high school physics course.

"Any success?" I hoped my sarcasm was well-disguised.

"It's hard to recall school knowledge," the Japanese admitted.

"If you're afraid of making mistakes in your calculations, you know who to turn to," I smirked.

"You remember physics and hydrodynamics that well?" the future God of Labor was genuinely surprised.

"Me?! I remember some, of course, but I wasn't talking about myself," I shrugged.

"Then who were you talking about?"

It seemed I had managed to confuse him.

"Pf-f-f. About Edi, of course," I decided not to play any more guessing games.

"Oh! Right!" Katashi's eyes lit up with a familiar fire. "We should invite her to Deytran."

"You can try, but I'm sure she won't leave her group," I shrugged.

The Japanese clearly wanted to object, but then there was a knock at the door.

"Are you expecting someone?" I asked.

"No," Katashi shook his head.

"Grab your hammer and stand behind the wall; I'm not expecting anyone either," I commanded, adjusting the sheath of Thunder Dagger so I could draw it in one motion.

Making sure the future God of Labor had taken a suitable position—one where he couldn't be seen from the entrance but could cover me in one leap—I sharply opened the door.

And froze in some confusion.

At the entrance stood a girl who looked very unusual. She was young but had such a tired look as if she had worked for several years in the mines. Her dark hair, cut short and singed at the ends, stuck out in uneven strands, as if burned not by the caring fire of a hearth but by a ruthless flame. Her eyebrows were barely discernible—scorched, leaving her face strangely open and vulnerable. Her cheeks and forehead were crossed by purple streaks, giving her appearance a sternness and, at the same time, a sad fragility. Yet, there was something attractive about her: the contours of her cheekbones, her stubbornly pressed lips, a gaze in which a lively spark burned despite all the trials. Her simple clothes hung loosely on her, without ornaments or tricks, but it was this simplicity that emphasized her beauty—quite battered, yet still present. Her palms, visible from under the sleeves of her shirt, were covered with blistering burns. They seemed alien compared to her pretty face: the hands of a craftsman or a martyr forced to hold a fire she couldn't control. The only weapon she had was an ordinary table knife hanging from her belt.

Noticing me, the girl lowered her gaze and quickly asked:

"You are Sheriff Raven, right?"

"Yes," I replied concisely, trying to remember where I had seen her before.

She definitely looked familiar, but because of the bruises on her face, I couldn't recognize her. But I was sure she was an earthling—that was the association that came to my mind.

"Forgive me, but I saw your notice in the Tunnellers' Guild," she spoke quickly, almost swallowing her words, as if afraid I would dismiss her. "I understand that I'm not your partner and certainly not a wombat partner, whatever that means. But I really need to get an Affinity!"

Having said this, the girl looked up at me for the first time during the conversation. And immediately, genuine fear flashed in her eyes. She recognized me! Recognized and was truly, sincerely scared. But only for a split second—then this fear was replaced by stubbornness, which seemed to me no less than Katashi's when he decided to bring another of his projects to life.

It was by that look that I recognized her. With that exact expression she had stood opposite Skorzeny during the First Group Trial and confronted the bandit, for which she immediately paid the price, getting knocked out cold.

"Come in, let's talk inside," I stepped aside.

At the same time, I signaled to the young blacksmith that everything was fine.

The girl, lifting her chin and clearly overcoming her fear, crossed the threshold. Why was she so afraid of me? Apparently, she remembered well that I was the first to approach the fire and take a Rod of Life. And she didn't know that it was I who saved her by stuffing one of those rods into her clothes while she lay unconscious.

When we reached the inner courtyard, I pointed to a chair, and she obediently sat down. At this moment, the Japanese appeared, and the girl shrank, clasping her hands on her knees and clenching her fists.

"You know me," I began as calmly as possible. "Raven, Sheriff of the Great Tunnellers' Guild. On Earth, I was a gymnast." I gestured toward the Japanese. "This is Kay, we've known each other since the Second Group Trial. An excellent master and a natural-born blacksmith. Kay, I know this girl from the First Group Trial. Remember, I told you about her? She was the one who stood up to the bandit twice her size and tried to distribute the Rods of Life more fairly. Unfortunately, I don't know the name of this heroine."

"Erin," the girl introduced herself.

She tried to say her name clearly, but it came out more like a squeak.

"So. I think I understand why you've come," I said, sitting down opposite her and gesturing to Katashi that it would be nice to make some tea. "You failed the questers' task to obtain an Affinity. That's why you have burns on your face and bruises."

"That's right, but..." the girl stammered, flustered.

"I've already met one of those who, like you, failed this task," I tried to put Erin at ease. "So, I have a rough idea of how you nearly got yourself killed."

Impressive! She had reached Steel with such a debuff! And she was still fighting—it was clear from her condition, she hadn't given up.

"That's true," she said, calming down strangely as the young blacksmith began preparing the tea.

"And, after reading my notice mentioning the Affinity, you somehow found me," I raised an eyebrow, inviting the girl to explain how she managed it.

"It wasn't hard at all. I asked the steward in the hall who had left the notice. They told me it was Sheriff Raven. I asked how to find you, and it turned out you left your address at the Guild. I just had to confirm I was from the sortudo people by placing my hand on the Book of Ishid. But since I had read your old notice yesterday, I knew what it was about," her voice grew more confident with each word.

"So, the Affinity..."

I didn't get to finish. There was another knock at the door.

"Erin, hide behind the fountain!" I began giving orders. "Kay, grab the hammer."

To her credit, the girl didn't ask any questions, immediately hiding behind the fountain.

Approaching the door, I didn't open it right away.

"Who's there?!" I asked.

"A package from Ger Kiadi of the Great Alchemists' Guild for Sheriff Raven," came the reply from behind the door.

Ah, right, Joanna's grandpa's notes about the Righteous Elevation Sect. Gesturing to cancel the alarm, I opened the door and froze in place.

"Sheriff Raven, your package," said a very familiar young man, handing over a sealed wooden chest.

"Mr. Schmeichel!" I beamed. "When I left a request to meet in Deytran, I didn't expect it to happen so soon. Please, come in."

Stepping aside, I gestured for Ronin to enter.