The Harvester

Chapter 132: Aquarius

Rakna turned back into a therian after his three ‘passengers’ jumped off and looked around with a scowl. If this place was dangerous, his instincts would be telling him so but it wasn’t the case. The only thing that worried him was the self-destruction mentioned in the ordeal description.

“Higure, how powerful would the collapse of this array be?” He asked out loud.

“{Hm, frankly? You would survive. To be exact, you could use your Cold Star Reinforcement and come out rather unscathed. Tyran might also be able to survive if you give him enough mana to heal himself with death energy. However, Pronos and Evelyn… might not be so lucky,}” the lioness responded and was sensible enough to share that information to everyone concerned through her telepathy.

“{Even if the young lady uses her barrier magic, a spatial collapse of this array would render it useless with her current ability,}” she added and Evelyn looked down.

“Well, I guess we can only try to exit somehow or find that ‘secret’. Do you think it has something to do with the person who built this oasis? The Exalted Quill?”

“{Perhaps. Still, Fray Brazwein… I have the odd feeling that I’ve heard that name before but no matter how much I try, I cannot seem to be able to remember.}”

“Try harder.”

“{I’m already doing that.}”

Rakna sighed and aimlessly walked around the place, circling the few trees that had grown on the fertile soil of the oasis. “Too fertile in fact,” he commented to himself as he grabbed a bit of dirt and let it seep through his closed hand. “This isn’t something you can find in the middle of a desert. It is artificially made. I guess Fray Brazwein wanted this oasis to be as alive as possible…”

“I agree,” Evelyn said as she placed her hand on the trunk of a tree. “The bountiful life in this place is picturesque. Almost as if this was straight out of a fairy tale…”

Rakna hummed and took another look at his surroundings before extending his hand. “[Scan Life, Fortune Search,]” he intoned and two circles appeared under his palm, one golden and the other white. They expanded and covered the entirety of the oasis. They then returned to him and his head snapped toward the water.

“{What’s wrong?}” Higure asked. “{I share your senses but not your skills’ feedback.}”

“Scan Life didn’t have any results but Fortune Search provoked a faint reaction from the water.”

“So… a treasure underwater?” Evelyn asked as Rakna stepped on the water of the oasis and calmly used Flash Step to walk to the center. He stopped and waited for the ripples to go away. His eyes flashed and turned golden as he stared right below his feet.

He squinted his eyes and disappeared in a blur before reappearing several meters above. He stood in mid-air and looked at the oasis. “Evelyn, turn around for a moment. I’m going to do something I’d rather like you don’t see. Though, it’s just more for you than me.”

The succubus was surprised at first but nonetheless turned around. When he confirmed that she was indeed not looking anymore, he pulled a dozen of low-level hearts he had preserved and ate them all. His mana and stamina that had been depleted by his flying were immediately recovered and he promptly gathered cold energy.

“It’s fine now,” he said as a small sphere formed at the tip of his finger.

When Evelyn turned around to the sight of Rakna placing a second cold sphere while the first one remained in stasis. “What are you doing?”

“Clearing this place. Tell me, do you know how oases are formed?” He asked back as he placed the third sphere. “It’s really simple. You see, there are what we call aquifers underground that are layers of water-bearing rocks like sand or gravel. Water flows through them and sometimes surfaces to create oases. They are generally very shallow and have both an entry of water and an exit.”

As he continued his explanation, the count of energy spheres rose to nine. “However, just take a look at this oasis. A single glance and you can tell something is wrong.”

Evelyn approached the water and gazed at it together with Pronos and Tyran. “You’re right… it’s too deep. I can’t see the bottom.”

“Correct. And after I looked with Fabled Sight, I saw something quite interesting,” Rakna snorted as he placed the twelfth and final sphere. They then all rearranged themselves optimally and released a large amount of power. “Move back,” he instructed and Evelyn grabbed the two pets before taking her distance.

“[Star Monarch – Aquarius.]” With his words, the constellation shone brightly and fused into one spot to form the figure of an enchanting young man carrying an amphora. His appearance wasn’t just all azure and actually seemed real at first glance if you didn’t mind the fluctuating outlines.

“Take it out,” Rakna ordered and the man flipped his container upside down.

Evelyn managed to see something glow inside of it before an inverted whirlpool emerged from the water. It rose until making contact with the amphora and began to be sucked inside of it at a fast pace. She watched as the oasis was slowly but surely drained dry, all of it being absorbed into the vase of the star entity. It was as if the water was being flushed out.

When the process was over, the young man flipped his amphora back to the right side and silently stood behind Rakna with an empty expression. Meanwhile, the therian was raising an eyebrow at the empty oasis and his three companions were also gawking at what was inside the now empty tank of water several tens of meters deep.

With a Flash Step, he returned to Evelyn’s side and looked down together with her; the young man made of star energy still following him.

“Incredible…” The succubus whispered. What laid at the bottom of the oasis was a large mansion made of some sort of bluish wood. There was an entire garden around it, full of life and colors. The walls of the empty oasis were also encrusted with countless precious stones of all kinds. The light of the sun was being reflected on them, giving the place an enchanting feeling.

“{I have to agree. It is grandiose,}” Higure commented.

Rakna didn’t say anything and simply jumped down. “Let’s go,” he said as he jumped down. The first to follow him was the manifestation of the constellation and Evelyn watched them curiously before also jumping down with the two pets in tow.

They all landed softly with Tyran being helped by Evelyn since he didn’t have a skill for this kind of thing and walked to the front door of the mysterious mansion.

“Um, Rakna?” The succubus raised her voice and he glanced at her. She meekly pointed at the man walking with them with his amphora under his arm. “Who… what is he?”

“Well… you could say he’s a legend,” Rakna replied vaguely and opened a skill window. “You can look at this to understand,” he said and shared the details of the spell with her.

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Aquarius (T.7): A constellation associated with Ganymede, a beautiful Phrygian youth. After being spotted by Zeus, he was brought back to the heavens after the gods happened to fall in love with him, in order to work as their cupbearer.

When this constellation is invoked, a representation of Ganymede will be summoned. He will have the ability to collect and produce water with the amphora he carries. The manipulation of external water is impossible for him at the low variations of the constellation but the water that he pours out of his vase will be completely under his control, and by extension, the caster’s.

Additionally, if Ganymede collects water after being summoned, he will be able to use that water afterward at no cost until it is depleted. This evidently does not carry over from one instance of summoning to another.

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Twelve Star Variation Cost: Fixed 100 MP + Variable. (Primal Soul Core’s Correction: 70 MP)

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Note: The constellation of Lyra possesses 97 focal stars. This is a spell that doesn’t require mana to stay active. Once cast, the apparition of Ganymede will manifest and stay at the caster’s side as long as he is not recalled. It is only when collecting water and producing it out of nothing that mana will be required.

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Evelyn read everything with wide eyes. “So… he can stay here for as long as you want? And all the water that he just collected; he can just pour it out without problem?”

“Yes, and yes. There is absolutely no drain on my mana right now,” Rakna said as he took a glimpse of the young man next to him. “Other than the 170 MP it took me to drain all the water, nothing is being used up. Though, I assume he will be dispelled if I fall unconscious or just go to sleep.”

“That’s… actually an incredible spell,” she said. “How powerful would his attacks be with the water from the vase?”

“That’s something to experiment with. Perhaps it scales to how much water he has stored in total or it could directly depend on my MA,” Rakna answered and stopped walking as he reached the doorstep of the mansion after using the paved path of the garden. “Anyhow, this is more important at the moment. Should we knock?”

“{Really? At this point, kicking that door down wouldn’t make any difference,}” Higure snickered.

Rakna shrugged and used Soul Sense to see if there was anything in there but nothing came out in his vision. He tried to open the inexplicably dry door, as if there hadn’t been tens of cubic meters of water above it a moment ago and discovered that it was in fact unlocked.

The entrance opened silently and they looked at each other before entering. The interior was clean and without a single trace of dust. The floor was covered by red carpet and the furniture seemed very expensive at first sight.

The hall they were in had a large dining table placed to the side but the rest of the space was mostly occupied by all sorts of artwork from paintings to statues.

“{Hm… Rakna, could you use the Construing Rune on this mansion?}”

“Sure,” Rakna replied and channeled mana into his finger. “[Scripture,]” he intoned and wrote a few characters in midair; Area, Read, Nature, Material, Write. The characters fused to form a rune and he flicked it to activate it.

Immediately after, the rune glowed and words began to be written under it. “Main material; Deep Sea Wood. Nature; Fake? Age; 698 years. The area is a magical construct. Magic Used; Tale Magic. Maker; Fray Brazwein. Conclusion; Resting Place of the Exalted Quill,” Rakna read what appeared.

The Construing Rune was basically an alternative to Appraisal. It would use the caster’s wisdom as a benchmark to analyze everything around and come to different conclusions. While Appraisal was certainly better to get particular insight on something or someone, this rune would outshine it when someone broader was involved.

“{Tale Magic!}” Higure shouted and everyone heard her. “{I remember now! The Brazwein! They are an ancient family of which every generation inherits the Path, Scribbler of Tales. It gives them access to Tale Magic. A superior form of Word Magic, that creates miracles through the making of tales. The more meaningful the tale, the stronger it is. This entire place; the oasis and the mansion must have been built by this magic. It’s just like what the young lady said; it’s a fairy tale.}”

Rakna scowled. “Do you know anything about this Fray then?”

“{Yes. I’ve heard of a son of the Brazwein with immense talent back when I was alive. His magic was apparently so powerful he could create and destroy life by just telling stories. I never knew he had a title such as the Exalted Quill, but that fits him well. In short, Rakna, this means that we have stumbled upon what is probably the legacy of one of the most legendary mages and storytellers in the System’s history. One that was said to be a divinity in everything but race.}”