PATRIARCH FOWL
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Casual Heroing, Chapter 156
🕑 Added 2023-08-02 19:09:14 +0000 UTCRemember that reading on Patreon means you are missing colors in the text and some formatting when it's present!
Next chapter comes out Thursday, August 3rd!
FINDING NEW IDEAS! š”š”š”
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Chapter 156 - People-person
āBut at this current speed, I wonāt be able to wield that sword in ten days.ā
Magister Mulliganās frown deepens.
āI ran the math as I was training,ā I tell him. āAt this rate, thereās no way I can lift a sword that heavy in any less than ten days. Which would leave me, what, three and a half days to train against the puppet? So, either I give up on the sword, or we find a better plan. I know the sword is enchanted and whatnot, but this is what reality looks like.ā
āThe Puppet is going to use a Vanedeni sword, young Luciani. If you donāt use the same weapon, you are guaranteed to lose,ā Magister Mulligan says casually, but it sounds more like a life sentence verdict than an off-hand remark.
āYou canāt stack more runes on top of each other, can you?ā I ask the man without really hoping for a positive answerāhe would have already done so if it was possible.
āNot without a class. Young Luciani, I feel the need to be more honest with you since you seem to believe that your current rate of progress will not be enough. It is likely that you will obtain a class with the āRunicā prefix. [Runic Warrior], in your case, would be the easiest. A class with āRunicā in it means the runes on your body will be more efficient. I canāt give you a number since I canāt predict which skills youāll receive, but it is very likely that, in two days at best, youāll be advancing between 20-35% faster than you currently are.ā
āI already factored in something like that,ā I frown. āAnd I thought that the bonuses would be better than that. Heh, whatever.ā
Magister Mulligan stares at me with an eyebrow raised.
āWhat?ā I ask. āI donāt want to die, dude. What the hell am I supposed to do? Just take it? I donāt want to train mindlessly if itās not going to make me win. The rate of advancement of the puppet means that I need, at the very least, around fifteen levels in a good class, right? If the puppet is my potential as a level 20 [Champion], I would need at least a level 15 [Runic Champion], no? And why were you even withholding that from me?ā
āNot knowing things, as we already demonstrated, can lead you down wondrous paths, young Luciani.ā
āYeah, it can also lead to my death. Anyway, I was thinking about a solution to, you know, avoid becoming a shish kebab on the last day here.ā
āYou donāt think that training, even with these weights of yours, will be enough? What else can you do, then?ā
I look at my arms and the old man.
āIf you mastered the Dreamscape technique, you could probably overcome your natural limits.ā
āIfā¦ couldā¦ I donāt like those words when my life is at stake, you know? Iām pretty sure that there are better options than relying on some old technique that only psychopaths mastered, even among your people or whatever. Heh. Noā¦ I have the seed of something in my mind. But it feels like itās still just a bit too far. I feel like a prisoner in jail with the keys to their cell just an inch from what the cell bars allow his hand to reach.ā
āI am not aware of any other technique that might provide you with assistance, Joey Luciani.ā
āListen, about that,ā I say, āthat [Mindful Clarity] is still active?ā
āIt is.ā
āAlright, can you make it stronger? Like, is there a superior version of it you can cast? I just need five minutes. I am seeing things in my head, thinking of peopleā¦ putting the dots together. But I canāt work it out just yet. It feels like Iām in waist-high, solid mud.ā
ā[Mindful Clarity] is already a perfected spell that requires the finest control of magical theory and the most elegant handling of the spell matrixes thatāā
āIs there a stronger version or not?ā I ask.
āYes,ā Magister Mulligan sighs. ā[Mindful Clarity] can be enhanced further into [Crystal Thoughts] and [Threading Mind]. There are drawbacks to using either of the two. The first is an enhanced version of [Mindful Clarity] and simply brings even more clarity to your thoughts, whereas the second brings your mind above its limits. I had it as a permanent skill. I could cast it on you, but it would last barely five minutes, and thereās a concrete risk that it could forever damage you if your mind is not strong enough.ā
āWell, that wonāt be a problem,ā I say, blinking a few times, āthis brain of mine was already good back on Earth. If itās latent power that the skill goes against, Iām going to be fine. Otherwise, Iāll fry my brain instead of dying. A swifter death like this might be better; who knows.ā
For the first time since we got into this dimension, Magister Mulligan seems hesitant.
āYoung Luciani,ā he speaks with a hint of doubt in his words, āI have faith in your talent, but intuition and raw processing power are two different things. A mind like mine could handle it because it was forged by the continuous usage of extremely complex magic. Yoursā¦ I donāt know if it will be able to withstand the pressure of the skill for even five minutes. You might actually die.ā
āArenāt I already risking death anyway? Whatās one more gambit?ā
āYou werenāt this sure about yourself before,ā the old man explains.
āI wasnāt,ā I say, acknowledging the obvious, ābut so what? Youāve got me to sign a magical contract after having me say, āIām special.ā You put your faith in me by pitting me against a deathly puppet that, apparently, is one grade below being some nightmarish powerhouse that could levelāTerminator, basically. Iām fighting the beta version of the Terminator, and I have accepted the duel from a racist piece of shitā¦ā
I stumble on my words.
āMagister Mulligan,ā I say, clearing my throat. āIāve got a bunch of mess out there. Irene, the girl I kind of like, thinks that I kissed Flaminia. Flaminia, one of the most talented Bakers Iāve ever met, thinks sheās in love with meāwhich sheās not. The [Soldiers] and their superiors want to see me dead. My mother died three days before I came to this world. With all thatās happened to my family, my friendsā¦ I canāt really refuse my duties anymore. I need to believeā¦ā
āAnd out of all trials I could have asked forā¦ one that needs me to prove my brain functions better than I ever gave it credit for? Please, Magister Mulligan, trust me. Itās my duty to step the fuck up and show that Iāve got a solution.ā
Magister Mulligan stops his hand in his beard mid-stroke and looks at me with pursed lips and narrowed eyes. I have no doubt heās reading my mind or doing something to ascertain what I just told himāeven just to make sure I believe my own words.
Which I do.
Never before have I believed in myself this much. Never.
The pain, the sufferingā¦ it unblocked something in my head. Looking at the power of the runesāthinking of the people I love and lovedā¦
I know thereās something in the back of my mind that I needto reach. Thereās something much bigger than all Iāve done so far. These runesā¦ Iām feeling something. Iām onto something that could very well save my damn life. Itās so close, but so damn far. I wish I was the same child prodigy I had been back then so I could easily grasp this solutionā¦
But as things stand, I need Magister Mulliganās help to achieve it.
Comments
Really_Big
Thanks for the chapter. The pacing in this chapter is quite good.
