The Wandsmith [LitRPG, Isekai, Harem]

"You said he was abusive?" Ori asked, dragging the stunned Fenwynn to the side of the village square, the elven man's muscles locked in a stiff rictus by the self-perpetuating magic of Ori's Greater Stun.

"He and Ariadne, a friend of mine—they were together last summer, but after a month or two, she confided in me how he used to smack her around after one too many cups. Why are you asking? Are you… You're not going to kill him, are you?" Tess asked, following behind, her voice quietening as she approached the end.

"No, but I'm certainly going to profit from this muppet before letting him go," Ori said, righting the elven mannequin beside the spot where he had treated Strafhollow's patients earlier.

"Tess, there is a lot Ori can learn from studying a healthy, living person like this, knowledge that could later help someone else," Seraphine said, her voice hanging in the air between them.

"Oh, okay."

"Ori won't hurt him, though he should." Ruenne'del stared at the man, no doubt her Seer class peering deeply into the warrior's fate as Freya's glowing sprite form buzzed around the group before landing on Ruenne'del's head. Rue gave the sprite an annoyed glance before she sighed, "Come with us, sister."

"Me?" Tess turned to the fairy.

"Yes, there are some things me and the Pixie must teach you."

"What is it?" Ori asked, curious.

"Later," Rue said, before pulling the blonde elf away, her turquoise eyes darting towards Ori in panic as she was led into the forest. Ori smiled, giving her a reassuring nod. His expression turned serious as he returned his attention to his erstwhile love rival.

It was raining the next morning as Ori sat beside the man he had poked and prodded with mana and magic all evening. A light orb hung above them in the predawn, as Ori continued to catalogue all the similarities and differences between human and elven physiology. It was fascinating, with the main, consistent differences being the overall proportion of organs devoted to metabolic function, such as marrow, kidneys and liver, being larger in humans than in elves. Paradoxically, as the elven counterparts were more robust and efficient, their size had shrunk, likely leading to the longer lifespans of the elven race at baseline. Ori wished he'd known of these biological innovations during his evolution, as he could have incorporated them into High Humanity at a far lower point cost.

Beyond that, there was evidence of the divergent origins between the two races. On the surface, most would be forgiven for believing all humanoids across Fate had common ancestry. In reality, the bio-magical markers painted a different picture. In unevolved elves, their hybrid fae-elemental ancestry was clear, with many traces of incongruent and often clashing vestigial mana structures throughout the body, structures Ori knew from healing High Elves either didn't exist or had been developed into synergistic elemental nodules that enhanced bloodline affinities and elven magic.

"Biologically, these structures offer little value; however, together with the soul, they underpin the differences between common and high elves," Seraphine explained.

"If I made these nodes the same, couldn't I enhance their natural affinity for magic?"

"Yes, though such a feat is easier said than done. Or at least it should be for any normal person," Seraphine sighed in mock resignation. "In High Elves, the consistency and synergy of these residual elemental organs are the measure of talent. They are completely biological, hereditary, and likely the result of countless generations of careful breeding and intermarriage. This is of importance to you, Ori, as with the evolution from High Human to Arch Human, you will focus on forming a permanent bloodline, one capable of propagating downwards even through your lower-ranked descendants."

With Vision of the Progenitor, Ori, guided by Seraphine, had virtually dissected the person, inspecting not only the Mana, Grace, and Breath flows throughout the elven man's body, but also the physical body's connection with its soul, and the subtle currents of peritia flowing around them, somehow just out of reach.

"What next?"

"Restore muscle function, then analyse the conscious and autonomic effects as control is restored," Seraphine said aloud.

Ori restored function to the man's face, watching closely as Fenwynn's blinking gaze suddenly unfroze.

"P—please, please let me go, I promise—" Fenwynn began after blinking furiously and stretching out his facial muscles.

"Please be quiet, the more you distract me, the longer this will take," Ori said, his Split Mind focused on Seraphine's words.

"Alright Fenwynn, I'm going to let you go, but first, an oath."

"An oath?" The elven man asked nervously.

An overcast daylight had transformed the early dawn. The rains had turned the once-imposing Greater Ranker into a drowned rat with pointy ears. Thankfully, Fenwynn had remained a quiet participant during Ori's explorations and now, after seeing the first signs of serious metabolic stress caused by his spell, was ready to let this man go.

Suddenly, a gust of wind and a shuddering ground caused the frozen elf to rattle and almost stumble, as a Dire Strix landed beside them.

"SPIRITS PRESERVE ME!" Fenwynn all but screamed.

"This is Lucas, he's my familiar, and he's also at the Immortal Rank. I tell you this because if you were to leave here without the oath I ask you to offer, no doubt you would get a lot of people killed, likely including yourself."

"O—okay!" Fenwynn stuttered. "W—what's the oath?"

"That you will leave Dremshire and never come back," Ori said, walking towards the taller elf, his eyes hard, his voice cold. "...that nothing you've seen or heard from this village will be passed on to anyone else, that you will never harm, work or plot against me or anyone I care for, swear it thrice upon your soul and I'll let you leave."

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on in that pretty head of yours?" Ori asked.

Ruenne'del drew a slow breath, anxiety and anticipation flickering through their bond as she steeled herself. Ori waited, bracing for whatever might come.

"It's about the infernal nest," she said.

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"Oh?" Ori prompted, curious.

"When we clear it, only Tess, Freya, and I will fight," Ruenne'del said. Her shoulders hunched slightly, bracing against the empathic surge between them.

Ori studied the fuchsia-haired Leanan Sídhe, feeling genuine concern over the effect of their empathic bond for the first time. He realised just how much strain the empathic link placed on her, even though she rarely voiced it.

After sending Fenwynn on his way, Ori had sought Ruenne'del out. Though it had only been a couple of days since their date in Redharrow, so much had happened that he felt the need to check in. The empathic bond had carried flashes of jealousy, frustration, pride, joy, and more than a little arousal from her. Yet beneath all that, Ori sensed a heaviness, the weight of plans and possibilities churning in the mind of someone whose foresight normally allowed them to hold fate in their hands.

Ori resisted the urge to argue. He knew Ruenne'del understood the risks: they would be facing an Immortal rank and several Sovereign demons.

"All right, I trust you. But why?" Ori asked, wanting to understand.

Ruenne'del offered a brief smile, warmth flowing over their bond. "Thank you. As for why—because it's a trap, and your focus will be needed at the gate."

"A trap? Reinforcements at the gate?"

She nodded.

"And you want to go in, just the three of you? Are you sure you can win?"

"No, nothing is certain. But with more, the plan will fail."

"There's more to this, isn't there?"

"I'm close to class advancement—and Sovereign rank. Freya is, too. If we succeed, Tess will become an Irregular and gain enough Peritia to ascend as a briar queen."

"And if I interfere?"

"They trigger the trap."

"What if I join after breaking their gate?"

"We fight to buy you time."

"You think it will be that hard to break the gates?" Ori asked, concern rising.

"As you are now, you'll be unsuccessful if you try."

"Really?" Ori was surprised. He knew he was no expert enchanter, but believed he could break enchantments quickly and safely. The implication of extensive countermeasures was not surprising if this was all a trap for the Demon Bane. "So that's why you took Tess out for training?"

Rue shrugged. "That's… more about after."

"After?"

"Awakening. Freya and I gave her some… gifts, and helped her understand them."

"I'm almost afraid to ask."

Rue shook her head, her voice scratchy. "A surprise."

Ori chuckled. "Fine. And what about Lucas and Lysara? Couldn't they help?"

"Too much," Rue shook her head.

"They could wait far away, and I could summon them as backup if things go wrong?"

She shrugged, her emotions suggesting such a plan was unreliable.

"The three of us winning on our own would be best."

"All right. I was planning to head there in the next few days. If you think the plan would fail now, would a delay help?" Ori asked.

"It would be best," Rue agreed.

"But there's something else? More plans?" Ori said, feeling the odd anxiety bubbling through their bond. "Also, are you all right? Are we all right? Sometimes, when I'm with Tess, you have moments of intense jealousy or envy and—well, it's understandable, I just thought—"

"No, it's not what you think." Ruenne'del cut him off, likely sensing his guilt over the bond.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not jealous of her being with you."

"Then what is it?" Ori pressed.

"It's silly. I envy how you're both commoners—how class never got in your way. Becoming friends came easily to you. That's never been easy for me."

Seeing her voice quiet and her expression downcast, Ori was overcome with an urge to wrap the fairy in his arms. Pulling her close, she reciprocated the hug as Ori's hand rubbed at the delicate flesh bridging normal skin with fairy wings.

"You'd be surprised how bad I used to be with people. Even now, I feel awkward, and the things I say don't always come out the way I mean. I think we have more in common than you think, and I was lucky you found me and saved me." He kissed the top of her head as she buried her face in his chest. "And it would be a stretch to believe the last few days with Tess have been anything like an easy friendship." Ori chuckled. "I feel she fears me more than likes me."

"She adores you, but she doesn't know what to do."

"Oh? She likes me?" Ori held her out, surprised and gauging her reaction. "And what do you mean she doesn't know what to do?"

"She said she gets butterflies around you," Ruenne'del smirked, watching Ori's reaction. "But she doesn't know how to proceed. She never learnt such things from her mother, always assuming she'd figure it out with time."

"Oh."

"Freya thinks it's an internal conflict between her matriarchal heritage and her preferences."
"Preferences?" Ori asked.

"For you to chase, for you to lead and set the pace," Rue said, forcing Ori to recall the hints Tess made towards that fact during their late-night talk at the lake.

As they continued, they teased apart more plans from the tangle of schemes in Ruenne'del's mind, settling their priorities for the next few days. First, drawing on his experience with Ricoh, Ori would build his makeshift cabin and gather more information about Dremsway. He hoped the donations from the villagers he had healed would be enough to buy books and enchantments for research. With selling his enchantments currently off the table, the option of quickly earning money that way was, for now, unavailable.

Tess would continue training with Ruenne'del and Freya. Freya would provide foundational lessons in awakening, while Ruenne'del would later teach her presence manipulation, just as she had with Ori.

Speaking of which...

"Show me," Rue asked after Ori had detailed his progress manipulating his presence.

"Well, it's with one of my new spells, Prismatic Mist, I can kinda weave my presence into it, and even without the spell, I've managed to, well, use the spell's structure as a template for shrouding my presence. Like this." Ori said, as Split Mind focused on turning what should have been an intangible aura into something capable of bending light and sensation around him. Unlike Ruenne'del's perfect ability to turn her prodigious presence against itself into a true invisibility, Ori's presence shroud was a conceptual boulder in the river, one that forced the water, or in this case, light and all other sensory feedback, to flow around him.

It wasn't perfect, and far from the fairy's ability to vanish in front of people, but it showed a mastery that caused yet another spike of anxiety and, this time, arousal from the fairy.

"What is it?" Ori wondered.

"I'm debating…" Rue said coyly.

"Debating?" Ori said, playing along.

"I'm debating… whether to teach you something that could ruin both me and Freya." Rue's smirk grew.

"Oh, now I'm curious?"

"Fae glamour is presence, shaped by will. The more presence you have, the stronger the effect. The greater your will, the easier it is to control."

She closed her eyes, and Ori felt the air shift. "Bend presence far enough and it becomes something tangible—something fate can no longer ignore. It is how we disguise ourselves, hide ourselves, intimidate, embellish or seduce, and much more." She swept her hand through the air. Her greatsword, once sheathed on her back, coalesced before Ori's eyes. With a single step, she slashed. The sword's edge seemed to extend, a horizontal cut towards a tree a couple of metres out of reach. The blade flashed, the cut was clean and almost too perfect, as the natural tilt of the tree gradually caused the modest trunk to topple. For a moment, Ori recalled Ruenne'del among the angels, her greatsword cutting not only through the bus-sized, Sovereign-ranked Galroga, but seemingly through reality itself.

"To the fae, glamour is a kind of wealth," she continued, turning the sword in her hands as it faded away, returning to her sheath. "It is its quality as much as quantity. The richer your glamour, the higher your standing. In the Faewylds, quality alone determines your station. An arch fae can produce food with a thought using glamour alone, as could you." Ruenne'del locked Ori with the intensity of her gaze, her voice quiet as he felt her excitement rise over the bond. "And that's why I'm terrified, and excited. Teaching you this would be like offering myself up—letting you shape me like clay in your hands. I'm already in love with you, and this will only make it worse."