PftA Book 5 - Chapter 4 - Let the Healing Begin

Since I had an actual mission to do, I didn’t want to spend too much time working on side projects. Still, Anya had specifically mentioned studying the dagger, so I didn’t feel too bad about the hours I had dedicated to the task.

“I really need to increase my Arcane affinity,” I said with a frown as I struggled to cast the modified spellform. “It’s barely worth even learning with how much mana it takes to perform the original task.”

Arcane was undoubtedly the most versatile of the affinities since it could basically mimic the effects of every other mana type. Without guidance, the mana behaved like a stronger version of neutral mana, which every person had access to.

“Perhaps another visit to the Arcane mana well is in order?” Lisa suggested as I finally got the spellform to fully manifest for the fourth time.

Each successful attempt made the process just a bit easier, but it was still a struggle to manually shape and control Arcane mana.

“I’m not sure how much use I’m going to be able to get out of a Tier Four mana well,” I stated. “I wonder if there is another one on a higher-tier world. Maybe I should keep an eye out for something like that during my search for the enemy.”

Mana wells were pretty rare, and the one Ros had stumbled upon in the other timeline was the first Arcane mana well I’d ever heard of. That didn’t mean there were no others, but it made it significantly less likely that I’d locate one.

Still, I had as good of a chance or better than anyone else, given my affinities.

“I finally got the spell to register, though it shows up as Sever,” I said with a sigh of relief after reading the notification that had popped up shortly after my last successful casting. “It’ll probably work the same way as Soul Shear, though I’ll need to test it. Maybe I can pop over to one of the uninhabited worlds while I’m out and about.”

I nodded to myself as I decided to do just that. It wouldn’t take much time, and testing the spell was important.

With the spell now registered by the system, I moved on to translating the original and modified spellforms into enchantments. The process went much faster than the initial modification and officially learning the spell, but that was to be expected since creating enchantments didn’t rely on affinities.

I was also much more comfortable working with enchantments and runes than spellforms and the glyphs that they were comprised of. While runes also included glyphs, there was a distinct difference between the two forms of magical language.

The closest I could come to describing it would be comparing block lettering to calligraphy. There was overlap and a general similarity in some ways, but they were fundamentally different languages.

“Are you going to adapt that into a soul healing array after you verify it works?” Lisa asked once I put the finishing touches on my new [Dagger of Severing].

The dagger was one I’d acquired at some point since Smithing wasn’t a skill I was particularly talented or interested in.

“There’s no real reason to,” I said as I examined my work. “With weapons like this in play, I have a reason to purchase a [Soul Healing] formation. I won’t have to explain Bell’s injury, and I’ll be able to let her heal here where nobody will notice her injury.”

While I had confidence in my magic, I’d only ever experienced soul damage when I used the formation to return a piece of my soul to the past. The pain was beyond description, and I doubted I would have been capable of casting a spell in that condition.

Maybe I’d manage to trigger the E3 talisman, but I couldn’t be sure. And I hadn’t designed the talisman to register soul attacks. It simply hadn’t been something I was consciously registering at the time I’d designed it.

Even now, I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to incorporate it since I’d need a source of Soul mana just to add that feature.

I’d always just instinctively avoided foes with access to such magic. Those that I couldn’t avoid – like mobs in wave trials within the dungeon – I made sure to target first, keeping my distance the whole time.

So far, I’d been lucky enough for it not to have been an issue. But I couldn’t count on my luck holding.

I really needed to meditate and modify my Compound Barrier to specifically enhance defense against soul attacks.

Besides, even if the E3 talisman triggered, I couldn’t guarantee the damage would be reverted. Souls didn’t always stick to the normal rules of magic. It was why attempts at resurrection were always a crapshoot.

Large-scale Time manipulation was the only real exception, but now that that was no longer an option…

“There are only four items listed on the Alliance net that claim to be capable of healing soul damage,” Lisa informed me.

Her connection to the outside world was not hampered by our location within my demesne since I constantly maintained a micro-portal to my apartment in Aegeas whenever I was physically present in the space.

“Order the two best options I can afford, and let me know where to pick them up.”

A moment later, the Mana Intelligence smiled and said, “Done. The closest linked kiosk is in the sect’s general store.”

With barely a thought, I exited my demesne and teleported to the general store. It took less than a minute to retrieve my purchases from the networked device, and I immediately returned to my pod to examine my purchases.

“A formation and an artifact,” I said thoughtfully as I examined the items.

[Tier 8 Soul Mending formation – Crafted from high-quality materials, this formation is designed to heal severe Soul injuries when access to a Soul Healer is unavailable. As with any form of soul healing, the process is not immediate. For best results, power with Soul, Arcane, or neutral mana. Target should remain within the formation’s boundaries until healing is completed.]

[Tier 8 Targeted Soul Numbing Vest – Upon receiving soul damage, the enchantment imbued into this item will selectively numb the connection between the brain and the soul, making it possible for the wearer to trigger any escape or life-saving artifacts they might be wearing. The effect only lasts twenty-five seconds. No long-term memories will be formed while the effect is active.]

“Yes. I figured the formation would be stronger and more appropriate for full healing, while the vest would work better for combat. It doesn’t actually do any healing, but I figured the numbing effect would be more valuable in a combat setting. It should allow you to cast Restore and, hopefully, heal whatever damage you incur before it’s too late.”

“That makes sense,” I said as I equipped the vest under my robes. “Hopefully, I won’t ever need it, but better safe than sorry when the enemies are using such horrifying attacks.”

The avatar next to me smirked. “Is it really any different from Time magic?”

“Sure. Time magic doesn’t cause pain like Soul magic does,” I said before shivering at the memory of that brief moment when the fragment that carried my memories was ripped away from the rest of my soul.

That was what Bell would feel as soon as I released her from stasis, but it was necessary for her healing. Perhaps I could force her mind to slumber while her soul healed?

Ideally, the formation would include a feature that kept the target sedated until the healing was complete.

Since there was no reason to delay, I started setting up the healing formation in an empty corner of my living space.

As I worked, I paid attention to the runes used in the formation’s construction. Happily, I noticed several runes that would keep the target comfortable while they underwent healing.

It wouldn’t keep Bell unconscious, but it incorporated aspects of the [Soul Numbing] feature my new vest used to keep the pain from being unbearable.

As soon as I had the formation up and running, I moved the short, dark-haired woman into the center of the formation and infused Arcane mana into the intake rune.

My sister-in-law was still unconscious from the initial injury, but I could see the healing happening in real time.

Hers was not a peaceful slumber. Bell’s face was twisted into a grimace as she lay unconscious, her long, curly hair having come unbound at some point.

I was tempted to use Restore, but I stopped myself. I knew the effort would be wasted since Bell’s soul fragment had either successfully integrated with another version of her in a new timeline or gone to wherever untethered souls went.

Trying to reverse that damage would do little good. It wasn’t like a missing arm or blood loss. Souls just didn’t behave like other parts of the body.

Probably because they weren’t, truly.

I still felt a little guilty as I watched Bell’s soul gradually heal. It would take a while – likely days – for her soul to be made whole. But that was still significantly faster than what was possible without such a formation.

Even a dedicated Soul Healer would probably take hours of focused effort to restore the damage.

“I’m going to get started on searching for the enemy’s hidden bases,” I told Lisa after watching for several minutes. “Can you let me know when she wakes up?”

The purple-skinned avatar tilted her head slightly at my request. “Sure. Do you want me to manifest the map over the table again?”

“That would be great,” I said with a tired smile. “It might come in handy while I study the invaders’ belongings. Since some of them were escaping with teleportation talismans, I’m hoping maybe I’ll be able to figure out a rough starting point based on the range of the artifacts.”

A three-dimensional map appeared above the table, with each attack location highlighted. Two additional locations also appeared, making me raise a brow.

“Recent attacks that are still ongoing,” Lisa explained. “I’ll let you know if any cities housing your loved ones are attacked.”

I thanked my questionably sapient Interface Assistant and got to work examining the artifacts I’d recovered from the invaders.

Hopefully, I’d find something that would help me pinpoint where the attacks were originating… or at least where the attackers were escaping to.