Skilled craftsmen:
1 worker with Construction skill, Journeyman or higher
1 worker with Crafting skill, Journeyman or higher
1 worker with Farming skill, Journeyman or higher
1 worker with Bowmaking skill, Journeyman or higher
30 soul stones per month, filled with common souls or better
Before finalizing the treaty, Hisako warned him that her builder might not be completely effective in the village. Because Richter was a human, she thought his settlement might be considered “human.” Sprite buildings were often grown as much as built, so while her builder would be able to create buildings, the magical perks might not take hold. Richter thought about her words, but then remembered how his Limitless ability seemed to be bleeding into various facets of village life, research being the latest. He told the Hearth Mother that he wanted to give it a try. She just shrugged and acceded, but also reminded him that the treaty couldn’t be cancelled for half a year.
Richter felt like it was a chance worth taking. He also had something else on his mind, because, in addition to finally creating a trade treaty, he had received a new skill!
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Diplomacy. As the leader of a settlement, your words and deeds have the ability to affect hundreds. Perhaps one day, millions. Increase this skill to improve the regard other leaders have for you and your policies. Diplomacy can be advanced by representing your settlement in dealings with other settlements, factions, guilds or powerful figures as well as holding to other deals that you have already made. You may now earn diplomacy points. “Diplomacy is the art of telling people to go to hell in such a way that they ask for directions.”
Current Diplomacy Points (Mist Village→ Hearth Tree):0
Not even leveling made Richter as happy as gaining a new skill, and this one seemed like it could help his entire village! He was also eager to learn how Diplomacy points could be used. A moment later, a thought occurred to him, though. Did Hisako already have the Diplomacy skill? He had thought he was getting the better end of the deal, but now he was starting to wonder. His swords were Core forged after all… Richter narrowed his eyes at the Hearth Mother for a moment, but then just let it go. The truth was, the trade treaty would benefit them both. It was also a sign of just how far his relationship with the sprites had come.
Hisako had always been fair, but when they had first met, she had also almost sentenced him to death. Through his words and deeds, he had increased their relationship from neutral all the way up to ally. Richter was positive that neither the treaty nor the spells he had just received would have happened without their close bond. It was just another example of the unspoken laws of The Land exerting themselves in his daily life. Sometimes Richter felt resentful at having his actions unknowingly dictated by unseen forces, but then he realized it wasn’t too different than his life on Earth. In The Land, it was just more readily quantifiable.
He started to leave, but she put a hand on his elbow. Though she didn’t grab him, he still stopped moving and looked at her askance. Hisako pursed her lips before speaking, “As I was assessing you with my spell, I noticed something strange.”
“Speak freely,” Richter said.
“You may not know this, but the mana for your magic comes from an intangible reservoir within you. This is called your mana core.”
“I hadn’t heard it put in exactly those words,” Richter replied slowly, “but I do feel something inside me being harnessed when I cast spells.”
“Yes. You are feeling your mana being pulled from your core. A magical field permeates your entire body and the bodies of all living things. It is often called an aura. The magic can typically only be utilized once it coalesces in your core. Some call it a mana pool and some call it a reservoir. No matter what the term, it is the repository for your magic. When you increase your Intelligence, your mana core grows larger. It also makes the mana it holds more condensed. That is why increasing Intelligence makes spells slightly more powerful and harder for others to resist. When you increase your Willpower, you increase the refill rate of your core. Your entire magical field becomes more vibrant which makes it easier to harness usable magic. A secondary effect of strengthening your magical field is that it increases your general arcane resistance slightly. Are you following?” she asked.
Richter nodded. Nothing she was saying was terribly surprising, but it was still good to have a concrete understanding of the power he wielded. Seeing his eagerness to learn more, she continued, “One thing that we sprites do to our young magi is circulate this energy through their bodies, especially into their hands as most spells are focused there. Doing that reduces the risk of spell miscasts and makes the casting of higher level spells easier. What I saw when I was assessing you with my spell was that your mana pool is only loosely connected to the rest of your body. You have some channels that have formed by your spell casting or when you imbue arrows, but they are very inefficient. If you like, I could use my own magic field to manipulate yours. This is something I would not generally recommend, as it leaves both parties vulnerable. Because I regard you so highly, however, I am willing to do this.”
Once again, his relationship with Hisako seemed to be coming into play. Not really seeing a downside, he nodded. Seeing his assent, she raised both arms, but this time she just held her hands upright, palms flat. She motioned with her hands, and Richter did the same, placing his larger hands flat against her own.
Hisako, the Hearth Mother, would like to access your mana core. Do you wish to allow this? Yes or No? Alert! Doing this can allow the other party to cause you great and irreparable harm!
Well, she did warn him, Richter thought with a grimace. Still, if you can’t trust a sorceress that looks like a cross between a Scottish druid and a Japanese geisha, who can you trust? He chose “Yes.”
Hisako nodded, somehow aware that she had been granted access and said, “This might feel… a bit weird.” A strange tickling began in both of his hands and traveled down his arms and into his chest.
“That’s not so b-” was all he got about before pain slammed into his mind like a semi crushing an ice cream cone. All he knew was black.
CHAPTER 19 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 15,386 EBG
“Ow. Ow! Oooowwwww! What the fucked just happened? Who’s been kicking me in the head?” Richter shouted as he regained consciousness a few seconds later. It had felt like she had ripped his asshole up through his body. His arms throbbed as if he had tried to grab lightning and his head felt like he had been drinking shitty vodka all night.