179 - Grateful Student

Speck liked the Platinum man named Arlen, and it could feel Alexandra did as well, to a limited extent. Specifically, she liked looking at him.

That wasn’t why Speck liked him. To be honest, it didn’t understand why looking at someone was of any interest. The reason Speck liked him was a lot more grounded.

Conceptual truth.

Now, it went without saying that Speck would have come to understand this truth without the man’s help. It would have taken longer, but an elemental had no lack of it.

Still, like it appreciated the old ghost for teaching him, Speck was grateful to Arlen.

It was unfortunate that the man had to attack Alexandra. Speck didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but defending its bond took priority.

The elemental was quite fond of the woman. Leaving the cosy darkness of its deep underground dwelling had been a little chafing at first, but she’d already led Speck to two great teachers. The hair growing all over her body was disgraceful, but it wasn’t egregious enough for Speck to allow her to perish here.

The followers of the Seven were not as competent as they prided themselves, so Speck decided to act.

Yet, as it quietly crafted its spell, Speck was sad. It wasn’t something it would admit out loud, but the man named Arlen was strong. Stronger than Speck. Yes, such a thing was possible.

Naturally, it was only a matter of time before it stopped being so, but the present waited for no one. This was the current state of affairs, and it was deplorable.

Speck was only Silver, and while every meal and every conceptual truth it understood brought it ever closer to the next rank, the man named Arlen was a Platinum.

Still, Speck was confident. Arlen might be stronger. He might be a great teacher. But his actual command over darkness was—Speck suspected—limited to a skill.

Pathetic.

The Platinum didn’t even have an affinity skill.

But Speck was a compassionate elemental. Its teacher taught it, and it would teach back.

There was only so much it could do to a Platinum, but throwing him into the very illusion he had created for them would do. Add to that a temporary memory loss, and there should be enough time for Alexandra to make some distance.

Speck shuddered in anticipation. Darkness of the mind had more potential than it had initially imagined.

For good measure, Speck enthralled the man named Valon too. This one was considerably easier.

“Run,” Speck said, letting its familiar know it was done.

Alexandra started running.

Speck slipped its source out of her body and eyed the many darkness elementals still trapped by Arlen.

If it had lips, it would have licked them.

With Speck out of the charm and its prey in, it took but a moment to collect them all. It sneaked back inside Alexandra right as she crossed the threshold to the outside world.

It was her turn to do her job and carry Speck to safety. As for the elemental, it would rest, consume, and, the system willing, evolve.

*

As was too often the case these days, Alexandra was running. This time, her misfortune took her down the slope of the mountains surrounding the basin, along the path she took in the morning to go up the pass.

With her were the four surviving Paladins: Kyle, Erik, Alicia, and the last one whose name turned out to be Regis. He was helping his injured captain move, while Erik took care of Alicia.

Nobody was talking.

They all knew Speck’s magic would only last for so long, and they had to make the most out of it.

Soon, they reached the stone fields. If Arlen were to follow them in, he would go for Izrum or Oldwater. Unless he had a way to track them. But if it were the case, they wouldn’t be able to escape anyway, so it wasn’t worth worrying about.

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So they decided to head toward the territory of the solar elemental. Escaping from a Platinum to jump straight into the open maw of another was certainly a choice. However, they believed that if they stayed on the outskirts and only tried to cross when the sun fell, they would have a decent chance.

Then they’d be in the mud wastes, and should be able to reach Balrum alive.

Alexandra was still worried about Zeynep, but she was in no position to help right now. She could only hope Torak’s rescue mission would succeed.

They stopped for a break in the stone fields, hiding behind a large rock. When she could have kept going, the others were spent, especially Kyle and Alicia, who were still badly injured.

She let Erik and Regis apply first aid to their comrades and checked her journal to see how bad the sickness was.

You are suffering from the sickness of abundant pelage.

Could be worse.

There was not an inch of skin that wasn’t covered in hair, and with the colorful effects from the sickness of the lost sun, she had basically turned into a beacon broadcasting her position to everyone who would listen.

That was the reason she didn’t want to rely on Life Curse. It hadn’t even worked all that well.

At least, her skill had made some progress, bringing her slightly closer to an eventual upgrade that may or may not solve the issue.

Life Curse 13 -> 14

Dark Bolt 13 -> 14

Giant Slayer 11 -> 12

Rays Of The Sun 5 -> 6

Solar Collapse 1 -> 2

Familiar Contract 7 -> 8

Solar Collapse Training Quest Completed x 1 -> 100 contribution points

Contribution Points: 6,620 -> 6,730

She raised an eyebrow. She’d gained ten more points than expected. Someone in Balrum probably had completed the beer quest. The council had forbidden people from taking it, but they couldn’t stop those who had done so on that fateful night and failed to get drunk.

Since it only happened once, she doubted many people were in this situation.

Alexandra sent her journal away and rubbed a hand over her forearm, grimacing at the texture. A thick, dense layer of fur had sprouted across every inch of her skin. Worse, it shimmered from white to blue like her hair.

She focused her mana inward, probing at her core to find the affliction. It was rooted deep in her mana. She could unravel it. She knew it. But the process would be agonizingly slow. It would require at least several hours of uninterrupted focus, and the fur wouldn’t fall by itself. She’d probably have to wax it.

She grimaced.

Right now, sitting behind a boulder in the stone fields with a Platinum cultist potentially hunting them, she simply couldn’t afford to. The glowing fuzz would have to stay. She pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders, trying to smother the light radiating from her body.

A few paces away, Regis was kneeling beside Kyle, his hands skillfully maneuvering a needle as he knit the torn flesh of the captain's shoulder. The quiet Paladin wasted no movement and spoke no words. Beside them, Erik was tending to Alicia, applying a foul-smelling poultice to a deep gash on her side.

His jaw was clenched tight, his eyes fixed firmly on his work. The crushing weight of their losses weighed heavily on their shoulders. Where Alexandra had seen proud soldiers ready to take command of the situation, they now looked exactly like what they were: young, terrified trainees who had just witnessed more than two-thirds of their squad be slaughtered by the Architects, then the cultists.

Alicia hissed as Erik pressed the bandage tight. “Careful, idiot,” she spat. She leaned her head back against the cold stone, her breathing ragged. “We shouldn't be sitting here.”

“You're in no condition to move, Alicia,” Regis said softly, not looking up from Kyle's shoulder.

“I don't care,” she shot back, her hands curling into fists. “Arlen killed them. He slaughtered them like cattle. We are warriors! We don't just run and hide when our squad lies dead. We fight. We make Yshar proud.”

Erik sighed. He wiped a mixture of blood and poultice from his hands onto his trousers. “Fight a Platinum? Have you lost your mind? Did you not see what he did?”

He glanced sideways at Alexandra. The doubt in his eyes was still there, but it was heavily overshadowed by a reluctant gratitude. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew exactly who had saved them.

Well, he thought he knew. Alexandra was aware that Speck was the real hero.

Alicia looked like she wanted to argue, but a cough racked her chest. She grunted from the pain.

Kyle finally spoke. “Erik is right,” the captain rasped. “We march at sundown. Nobody goes back.”

She placed a hand on Regis’s shoulder, silently thanking him, and slowly pushed herself up from the dirt. She swayed for a moment before finding her balance. She motioned for Erik and Regis to spread out and keep watch over the perimeter, giving Alicia space to rest.

Then, moving with deliberate slowness, Kyle limped across their hiding spot toward Alexandra.

She watched the captain approach, her luminescent, hairy arms crossed over her chest. She could see the gears turning in her head.

Kyle stopped a few feet away, leaning heavily against the rock face. She stared down at the glowing, multicolored fur peeking out from beneath her cloak.

“Please don’t stare,” Alexandra said. “It’s embarrassing enough.”

Kyle met her eyes. Her expression was a mix of exhaustion, sorrow, and command.

“We owe you our lives,” Kyle said, her voice low enough that the others couldn't hear. “Specifically to your familiar. Please thank it for us.”

“You hear that, Speck?” Alexandra asked.

No answer.

“I’m sorry,” Kyle said. “But I will ask you to confirm your identity.”

Alexandra frowned. “Alexandra. You know that.”

“That’s just a name.”

Alexandra didn’t say anything.

Kyle exhaled.

“Alexandra Ward?”