Focusing his consciousness inward, Seth turned his attention to his Well, meticulously examining the five groove networks within it with his newly enhanced awareness. Three were relatively small, their patterns simple and quite familiar to him, having sent aether into them countless of times in the past months: Identify, Haste, and Dark Shocking Strike.

The other two, however—Link and Share—were on an entirely different level. Their labyrinthine grooves were impossibly complex, with thousands upon thousands of lines weaving and intertwining to create mesmerizing structures. These weren't mere Iron or even Silver spells. Unlike the others, these two had no singular pathway; aether could travel through countless channels to reach its goal, each twisting and branching into infinite possibilities.

Seth focused on Link. The spell had been carved in his Well for months, always present, yet distant and indistinct, like a shadow just out of reach, but not anymore. Thanks to his breakthrough, he could now sense aether trickling through its grooves—a subtle, continuous flow that seemed perfectly balanced. It wasn't depleting his Well's reserves at all, as if the spell was self-sustaining.

From the intricate patterns, he could now feel and see two distinctive connections tethered to his core, one of them extending like a bridge to Nightmare's Well. Seth immediately stretched his awareness further, and for the first time he saw the direwolf's grooves with full clarity. The less-sophisticated one, with about half the lines and turns of the others, was undoubtedly Shadow Bite, Nightmare's sole Iron spell. The complexity of the remaining three left no doubt in Seth's mind—both Link and Share were way higher than Silver Tier.

Seth frowned. Aren't Revelations supposed to be spells from our current Tier?

Opening his red eyes, Nightmare lifted his head and turned to Seth. 'What're you doing?'

'I'm Iron,' Seth said with a broad smile, showing his attributes and subclass to the direwolf through their bond.

'Beastmaster, huh?' Nightmare mumbled. 'That's absurd. You are not my master.'

Seth chuckled. 'Oh, come on. Tamer wouldn't have been any better—no respectable beast wants to be considered tamed.'

'Or have a master,' Nightmare huffed.

Laughing, Seth ruffled the fur on the direwolf's head. 'Can't you just be happy for me? For us? I got a freaking subclass and a Revelation, Nightmare!'

'Yeah, yeah, I'm happy. Now find a new necklace to hide that subclass, or else I can't be your partner anymore. '

'And how exactly am I supposed to pay for another concealment artifact?'

'Not my problem,' Nightmare answered, raising his muzzle proudly. 'That's my final offer. Take it or leave it.'

Seth rolled his eyes and pushed the direwolf, knowing all too well he wasn't serious. Leaning against the rock behind, Seth then moved back his focus inward, projecting his consciousness into his Well. It was time to figure out what the new spell could do. As he examined Share's fresh grooves, he noticed a continuous flow of aether inside of it and a faint thread connecting the spell to his core. Could it work like Link? Did I need a direct connection to Nightmare's Well for something to occur?

Intrigued, Seth took hold of the string with his mind and dragged it, following Link's connection. As the thread entered Nightmare's Well, it was immediately drawn to the grooves of the direwolf's spells, as if pulled by an unseen force. Then, it struck Seth.

Will it let me use one of his spells? he thought as he hesitated for a moment.

Both Shadow Step and Illusionary Emptiness were powerful and could be incredibly useful in the future. But the latter one specifically… it could bring a massive advantage into rescuing the man from the Fishlords' village. Unlike Professor Reat's pocket watch, the spell wouldn't have a time limit, and its low aether cost would allow him pretty much to vanish whenever he wanted.

But what if this choice is permanent? What if I can't switch the spell later? This decision could change my way of fighting, and my Path, forever.

"Damn it," Seth muttered under his breath. A man's life was on the line—this wasn't the time to hesitate. Shoving doubt aside, he immediately sent an image of both groove networks to Nightmare. 'Which one is Illusionary Emptiness?'

'The one on the left,' the direwolf answered.

'Thanks.'

With caution, Seth guided the string toward the center of the spell, and as it attached itself, a shift rippled through his body. Share's intricate maze of grooves began transforming: some sections faded, becoming almost imperceptible, while others deepened and solidified, taking prominence in Seth's Well. The change happened so rapidly that he could barely keep up, and within seconds, a perfect replica of Illusionary Emptiness had formed inside his body.

A massive grin spread across his face, and without wasting a moment, Seth channeled aether into the freshly carved trenches, his focus razor-sharp to avoid any mistakes. Nearly a minute later, his body blurred, fading almost entirely from the physical world.

"Hell yeah!" Seth exclaimed, turning to Nightmare. 'Thanks for the spell, Nightmare!'

The direwolf snorted. 'Not sure how I feel about that.'

'You know it's great! Think about how effectively we can hunt now!'

Phasing out of Illusionary Emptiness, Seth focused on the direwolf's Well and tried pulling on the mysterious thread to see if he could move it to another spell, but the thing refused to budge. Shit.

'Thanks be to the direwolf god,' the direwolf mumbled with a sigh of relief.

'Maybe it has a cooldown,' Seth teased, messing up all his partner's black fur. 'Or maybe later I'll be able to copy two spells.'

Nightmare immediately sprang on his paws and moved away. 'Not Shadow Step. Please, anything but that. That one is mine!'

Seth burst into laughter, shaking his head at the direwolf's obvious displeasure over sharing his new baby. 'Danger Sense and Shadow Bite are useless for me. So, I won't have any other choi—'

'Then let's find a new beast for Link!' Nightmare exclaimed. 'That way you can steal one of its spells instead of mine!'

'It's called Share, not Steal,' Seth answered, still chuckling as he glanced inwardly at the new thread going from his Link to his core. 'And we'll see if we find any good candidate out there.'

'Fine,' Nightmare grumbled, padding back to his initial spot.

With a faint smile, Seth shifted his focus to the next task on his list and began rummaging through his leather bag before pulling out his Endless Pouch. He'd been waiting for this for almost two weeks. Finally, he could use it.

Grabbing a beaststone, he channeled aether into the purple sack when suddenly, he sensed something inside—six corked potions floated in the pocket domain alongside a piece of parchment. Using the method he'd learned in class, Seth reached inside and, channeling aether, drew one of the vials into his hand along with the piece of parchment before casting Identify.

Fine Healing Potion

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Consumable

Tier: Iron

Grade: Uncommon

Effects:

- On consumption, heals all minor and major injuries over 3 hours.

- Restriction of 1 every 6 hours.

Seth then turned his attention to the yellowish piece of paper. Unfolding it, he immediately recognized Marcus' terrible handwriting.

Consider these a loan. There will be a monthly interest on them as well, so if I were you, I'd pay it back as soon as possible.

Marcus

Seth couldn't help but grin. He had learned the true value of Healing Potions at Trogan and knew the old Alchemist had always been giving him enormous discounts. It was clear that the grumpiness was only a façade.

Satisfied, Seth slid the Healing Potion back into the Endless Pouch and began to empty his leather bag, transferring the beaststones over one by one. Finally, I won't have to fight with that weight on my back.

A few minutes later, once he was done, he reached into his pocket for the last one: the one from the Aquamancer Fishlord. But as his fingers grazed the blue crystal, he sensed an unusual pulse of aether inside it, so he immediately used Identify.

Fog Shroud (Decent)

Spell-shard

Tier: Iron

Grade: Rare

Affinity: Water

Restrictions:

- Elementalist, Primalist or Rogue

- 55 Arcane Power

'N-Nightmare!' Seth stammered, sharing the description to the direwolf through Link while shaking him. 'That's a freaking spell-shard!'

The direwolf turned to him with little to no enthusiasm. 'How much is it worth?'

'I don't know,' Seth answered before frowning. In his mind, taking the risk of turning it into spell-scrolls was simply not an option. The fifty-fifty chance of getting nothing out of it was just too much of a gamble. He couldn't afford to waste something this rare on luck alone. 'But… why aren't you excited?'

Nightmare let out a low rumble and dropped his head back down. 'Why should I be? It's a useless spell for us now that we both have Illusionary Emptiness.'

'Come on, don't be grumpy like that.' Seth sighed and pushed the direwolf's large body, trying to cheer him up. 'Maybe it'll, like, hide our aether print even more!'

'Fine,' Nightmare grumbled. 'But you're learning it. It has a water affinity. It would probably mess up my Well.'

'As you wish.'

Seth shrugged, then glanced at the shard in his hand. He was a little surprised the spell didn't require a Water Affinity to learn—most elemental spells in the Iron Tier had strict affinity requirements. But he also remembered Professor Storm mentioning that a minority of them didn't.

Lucky me, he thought before crushing the blue crystal in his palm.

Instantly, a torrent of aether surged from the spell-shard, spiraled up his hand and arm, and plunged into his chest. The remains of crystals disintegrated into a glimmering cloud, and a searing heat flared in Seth's Well.

New grooves began to carve themselves alongside the existing ones, forming angles and curves that eventually interlocked into a carefully balanced system. The process unfolded steadily, neither rushed nor sluggish, but with a natural, almost inevitable rhythm. As the final design took shape, it rivaled Shadow Bite's complexity, but instead of having a dark aura, Fog Shroud shimmered with a soft azure glow.

Eager to test the spell, Seth began channeling aether into the new furrows. As the energy coursed through his body and reached his palm a minute later, he recalled the Fishlord dramatically raising its clawed hand to the sky. Mimicking the gesture, he smirked. It probably didn't make a difference—but it looked badass. Devus would love that.

As if answering his call, a dense fog emerged around him, expanding rapidly in every direction. It was identical to the Aquamancer's: opaque, obscuring sight and seemingly blocking some of his aether's print. Seth focused, and his eyes immediately adapted. The spell's veil melted away from his perspective, leaving everything crisp and detailed, as though it weren't there at all.

Seth glanced down at Nightmare. 'Can you also see perfectly through it?'

The direwolf looked around then nodded. 'Yeah.'

"Perfect!" Seth said aloud with a grin.

With a single thought, he then dispelled the spell, and the artificial fog dissolved into faint wisps before vanishing entirely. Turning his attention inward, he took stock of his Well. The casting process had consumed a little less than a sixth of his total aether. Now that he was Iron, each point in Well Capacity represented six uniums instead of four, meaning Fog Shroud had used approximately sixty uniums.

That's a lot, he thought, comparing it to the mere ten of Dark Shocking Strike and Haste's twenty-two. Even Shadow Step uses less than that.

As the sun started dipping below the horizon, Seth took a deep breath. 'Let's go scout that Fishlord village.'

'We are heading into the swamp at night?' Nightmare said with a mocking tone. 'Someone found some courage with his breakthrough!'

'There's a man's life on the line, that's different,' Seth retorted, rising to his feet. 'I can't let him die.'

'You sound like an honorable knight,' Nightmare replied with a chuckle, also standing up. 'Too bad Elena isn't here to see that side of you.'

Seth pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Seriously, if you like her so much, you should try to use that communication orb to chit-chat with her.'

'I'm only trying to help,' the direwolf answered, nudging him. 'You have zero talent with females.'

'They're not my priority,' Seth replied with a shrug before casting Identify on Nightmare.

Nightmare (Tenebrous Direwolf)

 

Potential: Silver Tier

Rank: 23 (Low-Iron)

Affinity: Darkness

 

Bonded to [Seth]

 

Strength: 65

Arcane Power: 66

Toughness: 43

Well Capacity: 37

Agility: 75

Regeneration: 43

Spells:

- Illusionary Emptiness [Silver〜Epic (Crude)]

- Shadow Step [ Silver〜Epic (Crude)]

- Danger Sense [Silver〜Rare (Decent)]

- Shadow Bite [Iron〜Rare (Standard)]

'You're only two points away from Rank 24,' Seth said while making sure his dagger was well secured on his thigh. 'If we see one or two Iron Fishlords on our way back, we can ambush them and get you to Rank up again tonight.'

Nightmare nodded in agreement. 'Sounds good to me.'

The sun completely disappeared behind a lone tree as Seth and Nightmare moved cautiously through the swamp. After vanishing in Illusionary Emptiness, they crept toward the Fishlord village located in the middle of a giant patch of dry ground. Reaching the tall wooden wall that encircled the place, they were surprised to find the entrance unguarded, the flickering torches mounted on each side casting a dim, eerie glow.

'Why is there no watchm—watchfishlords?' Nightmare asked.

Seth peered around warily. 'They probably don't think anyone's dumb enough to attack them. Look at the size of this place—there must be a hundred of them inside. Who would dare face that?'

'Us when we come back in a few months,' the direwolf retorted, glaring at the village.

A faint smile tugged at Seth's lips as they snuck through the entrance, their invisible forms like whispers in the wind. The silence inside struck them immediately—the only thing they could hear was the crackling of the torches' flame.

'It's way too quiet,' Seth thought aloud as they inched deeper into the village. Not a single Fishlord in sight. The huts and all the other wooden buildings were completely empty, almost as if they had been abandoned.

'You're right,' Nightmare answered. 'Feels like a trap… but Danger Sense is barely tingling.'

They pressed forward, each step heavy with tension, the oppressive hush of the village feeling as though the very air was holding its breath, poised for an ambush. Then, a faint noise rose in the distance.

Seth's head snapped toward its source, and without a word, they started walking in that direction. As they advanced, the acrid scent of smoke soon reached them, and the distant muffled sound turned into a loud, rhythmic chant that made the ground tremble beneath their feet. When they neared at the village's heart, Seth came to an abrupt halt, his body frozen at the scene before him.

More than three hundred one-finned Fishlords and around four dozen two-finneds were gathered in a circle, their bulging eyes locked on a young Fishlord barely three feet tall brandishing a spear at the center. Off to the side, Seth spotted human prisoners—five in total. His gaze was drawn immediately by the slumped one in the middle: the man from earlier that afternoon. Then, Seth's attention shifted to the blond-haired youth beside him, also recognizing him.

The Elementalist, he thought, recalling the three adventurers at the Rift's entrance. The youngster's smile was gone, replaced by a grim expression and his leather jerkin hung in tatters, yet he was still in a better state than the others. Probably the last to be captured.

Before Seth could investigate further, a colossal Fishlord emerged from a hut beside the prisoners, its towering figure casting an imposing shadow over them. The gigantic trident strapped across its broad back and the three fins jutting out from its head amplified its menacing aura.

Seth's fists tightened as the humanoid creature unsheathed a dagger shaped like an oversized fang. High- or Peak-Iron. How am I supposed to kill that thing?

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