A Soldier's Life - 170 - Staying Grounded

Chapter 170 Staying Grounded

I was looking forward to seeing my progress. I felt healthy and completely recovered after a week of full meals and the ring of sustenance increasing its effectiveness. I had not been training in my spare time, but I still felt like most of my strength and clarity of thought had recovered. I was not expecting too many gains as the period since my last reading was minimal. I was mostly focused on the illusion affinity. How much had it increased from just a single major essence?

I reviewed the left side of the tablet first, moving my food prep items out of the way to read the results.

Physical

Strength (+4/+0)49/80

Power (+1/+0)47/84

Quickness (+3/+0)33/49

Dexterity (+2/+1)41/61

Endurance (+3/+0)67/95

Constitution (+3/+0)45/69

Coordination (+2/+0)44/63

Mental

Intellect (+2/+2)31/56

Reasoning (+4/+0)48/61

Perception (+2/+0)52/61

Insight (+1/+0)33/49

Resilience (+2/+0)47/71

Empathy (+2/+0)14/22

Fortitude (+1/+1)49/90

Magical

Aether Pool (+0/+0)16/22

Channeling (+6/+1)27/58

Aether Shaping (+0/+0)8/8

Aether Tolerance (+3/+1)35/51

Aether Resistance (+0/+0)8/19

Prime Aether AffinitySpace

Minor Aether AffinityTime

My physical attributes had normalized to their relative levels before we were chased into the elven ruins and nearly starved inside the library. My mental attributes had benefited from a few essences, showing modest gains. The magic attributes were the most impressive gains, with channeling increasing by six points and aether tolerance by three. I assumed it had to do with the ley line being so close to the dungeon and the rate at which I could recover my aether.

My two glaring weaknesses stood out like a sore thumb. My aether pool and ability to shape aether. So far, in this dungeon, I have not discovered any essences for either magic attribute. There was nothing I could do about my poor luck, but I had enough essences to last me weeks. If the opportunity arose to leave the dungeon, I was going to seize it.

I moved everything to the other side of the table to read my magical affinities. The only change was with my illusion affinity.

Rare Magics

Space98

Time90

Displacement61

Materialism9

Worlds88

Void22

Convergence74

Unaffiliated Magics (Uncommon) 

Charm (Mind)5

Illusion3

Clairvoyance0

Protection (Guardian)30

Necromancy0

Celestial0

Abyssal0

Elemental Magics (Common)

Fire0

Air0

Water0

Earth6

Lightning (Energy)8

Spirit (Healing)23

Nature (Plant)0

I had gained three painful points in the illusion affinity, raising it from zero to three with a single major essence. It’s not even remotely close enough to gain a new spell form and half as effective as the apex earth essence had been in awakening the affinity. Still, the awakening of the illusion affinity had been just as painful and unpleasant. I still smelled like dried vomit even though I had left the soiled clothes behind.

Sighing, I started to work on dinner, shaving some bear meat with Maveith’s skinning knife. I decided it was time to experiment. I could only take one essence a day or risk being overwhelmed. I realized I had told Maveith and Raelia to do the same. But Castile had told me in my first dungeon so long ago that you only needed to wait an hour between consuming similar essences, but it would be unpleasant. I would have to moderate what Maveith shared with other people and hope Raelia, once I release her, doesn’t have loose lips. I actually considered not releasing her, but my internal boy scout had promised her. I would deal with that problem when confronted with it.

Could I raise one of my magic affinities high enough to imprint a new spell form? Should I pursue illusion or earth essence? I had two apex and one major essences of illusion remaining. For earth essences, I had two apex, six major, and one minor essences. Also, there was the possibility of getting more earth essences from the sand scarabs. I also had books in my dimensional space for reviewing spell forms for both.

The meat started sizzling. I cooked them in small batches and sampled each one. The cooking was more for Maveith since I had the ring of sustenance. Maveith rolled at the smell to face me. Sleepily, he asked, “Did it work?”

“Did what work?” I asked stupidly.

“You took out the tablet table, Eryk. I know you don’t want me to see your results, but it is obvious you wanted to see if the suffering you went through worked.” I had to remember that Maveith was not dumb, and I was being very transparent.

I admitted calmly, “Yes, I awakened my illusion affinity. Do you want to try to awaken one of your affinities?” Mavieth sat up, his nose wrinkling at my lingering scent.

“No.” His voice echoed in the room. “I am happy with improving my physical prowess. How long was I asleep?”

“More than two hours, less than three.” I didn’t have Maveith’s uncanny ability to know how much time had passed. “After you eat, you can go back to sleep. The ring has reduced my sleep to just two or three hours now. Although I do want to use the amulet at some point.”

I started frying slices of purple potatoes in the remaining bear fat while Maveith quickly devoured two pounds of shaved bear meat. I drank water and popped a few slices of purple potato into my mouth. Even if I burned my mouth, I could still heal the blisters easily enough. I was starting to use magic without even thinking now. Finally satiated after eating four large potatoes, Maveith asked, “Are we going to pursue Castile?”

“Yes. I want to harvest the sand scarabs one more time.” I admitted, “I want to try and increase my earth affinity high enough to imprint a spell form for earth on my aether core.”

Maveith’s eyebrows danced excitedly. “That would be amazing, Eryk. I would suggest my earth spell form, shape stone. It has been extremely valuable and would give us something in common.” His green eyes sparkled eagerly.

“I will see when the time comes, Maveith. I still need to raise my earth affinity high enough to imprint a spell form.” Maveith ate some apple-berry jam before going back to sleep.

I turned my attention to the coffee cherries. I was not a coffee addict, but I enjoyed a morning cup on the way to work a lifetime ago. I husked all the berries, giving me a handful of white slimy beans. I took a moment to slip into my dreamscape amulet and find the passage for cava, the dessert drink made from beans. Unfortunately, there were no directions on how to prepare the beans for roasting. I tried heating them in a pan, and they smoked fiercely but eventually browned.

I ground the beans up and added boiling water when the beans were dried. I let the sediment settle and tried a sip. I spit out the bitter-grassy-tasting beverage. My heart thudded in my chest, and I felt the turmoil in my aether core. Thankfully, I hadn’t swallowed my brewing endeavor. These coffee beans contained raw aether. They were an alchemy ingredient, not a wake-me-up beverage.

Maveith was still sleeping, and I didn’t disturb him when I cleaned up. I removed my armor and went through my sword forms. I was only mildly rusty. Even with consuming essences, I needed to start getting into the mindset of training both in the dreamscape and out of it.

When Maveith stirred again, he rose to do his business in the corridor, and I set myself up for a nap with the amulet. As he returned, I channeled aether into the amulet. I first confirmed in my dreamscape library that I had the book for the earth spell forms. It was here, but I would wait to study it until my affinity reached a sufficient level.

I opened the scorpion room up and spent three hours practicing with Konstantin, Xavier, and Maveith. It felt good to focus on fighting people instead of monsters. I admit that I also missed Konstantin’s repeated encouragement. Zorana also wanted to fight with me, but I declined her requests and let her play with Oscar.

I sealed everyone in the scorpion room again as we were getting close to finding Castile. I was guessing she was going to want to utilize the amulet. On an impulse, I created a likeness of Raelia. She immediately rolled away, drawing her weapons, and started swearing, “Where am I? Who are these people?” She pointed at me, “Legionnaire, what treacherous space have you sent me to now!” She pointed her legacy blade threateningly at me.

I had expected Raelia to react this way, her form and personality drawn from my subconscious. Maveith moved to calm down the agitated elf. “Welcome to the dreamscape Raelia. We can talk another time.”

“What is a dreamscaa…” she started to say, but I was already exiting the dungeon. One step took me to the exit, and I left through the door. I sat up and was disappointed that the acidic sour bile smell still lingered on my body. Maybe I could use the mouthwash as a body wash to eliminate the smell? No, it was best to save the mouthwash.

Maveith was rolling his essences in his hand, probably trying to decide which one he should consume. “You can take another one, Maveith. Everyone is different on how long they have to wait between essences. If your stomach gets upset, you know you have found your interval between consumption.” What I told Maveith was the truth from my perspective. Maveith took another quickness essence and put it in his mouth, savoring the effect.

“Has it been a day since we killed the scarabs?” I asked Maveith.

“No, Eryk. Still, about four hours before a day has passed.” Maveith grumbled out. We walked back to the sand room and waited in the corridor. Maveith snacked while I studied the dead scarabs, waiting for the dungeon to absorb them.

They were gone in a blink, and two small swirling sand funnels formed, then a third, a fourth, and a fifth. “Maveith, it is time.” I stood and cracked my knuckles. It went the same way as last time. I killed two scarabs in the sand but did so closer to the corridor this time. It allowed me to use the collector on the sand before the other scarabs returned. I took two major earth essences and three minor earth essences.

I now had a sizable collection of earth essences. Back in the safe room, I slowly placed one of the major earth essences in my mouth. Flashes of the pain made me reluctant to consume my second earth essence. This was another test. If I had truly unlocked the earth affinity, then I shouldn’t have to go through that pain again.

The grainy earth essence dissolved in my mouth and was hard to swallow. My stomach suddenly cramped, “Shit!” I said, and Maveith moved to steady me. I held up my hand to hold him back. “No, I am fine. Just a little upset stomach. It is working.” It took a few minutes before I felt the assimilation of the essence was complete. I took out the table tablet, and Maveith turned his back, making me feel guilty for not trusting him.

I used the table, reset it, and returned it to my space. “Okay, Maveith. Let’s go find Castile.” As we walked into the unknown corridor, I smirked. My earth essence had increased from six to eight.