Wandering Agent

Machinist of Mana Chapter 3 Terrible Toddler

“Go!” I enthused as I was picked up.

“Now, now Percival, stop giving Mrs. Lutte so much trouble,” my mother chided, as she carried me.

I let my little legs wiggle, careful not to hit mother as I worked them.  She was the only one in the house who could catch me now, able to move far, far faster than her dresses would imply.  To my dismay I'd never developed the magic that my father displayed.

No, I couldn't throw fireballs o...

Chapter 289 Moving Forward

Lena

I swore under my breath as I tried to patch up some of the injured elves.  My group was strong, but they acted as if they were immortal, diving in with no real plan, no idea what they were going to do.  Worst were the elves desperate to prove their worth, always being places they weren't supposed to and doing things that would get them killed.

My mana wasn't infinite, and I'd been running through it as fast as I could over the past few days. &n...

Machinist of Mana Chapter 2 Baby Life

Alright, several weeks in and I had come to a number of conclusions.  The first was that this was definitely not where I was from, the styles of clothes were different, vastly different, and the house I was in was frankly massive.  It was hard to tell exactly how big things were, and I would admit that I didn't get the best views of everything, but that didn't mean I couldn't see anything at all.

My mother, for she had to be my mother, was far younger than my father...

Elevation of Mana Chapter 76 Happy Customer

“Greetings again youngling,” Atal said as he looked over the items I'd set out.

He and his entourage had just arrived to the place I'd been directed, and I couldn't help but notice the several bound and struggling beasts pulled along after them.  Going to the palace once again and asking if there was a way to get him or someone like him to test a few weapons had gotten me a very, very quick response and an open stretch of sand right near the beach.

�...

Machinist of Mana Chapter 1 Field of Nightmares

The lathe spun, and carefully, bit by bit I removed the material.  It was a delicate thing, time consuming, but meditative as I worked the small piece of steel into the exact shape it needed to be.  I had notes of course, and measurements, and the original bit sitting on the bench nearby, all to get this metal the right size.

As I pulled back I heard a voice shouting.  “Making another six-shooter there Liam?”

I turned and after confirming m...

Chapter 288 Besieged

Amara

The day we met up with the second group of refugees we walked down the road for hours.  There should be more people, so many more people, than we'd seen.  I wasn't sure the others realized it quite yet, kept as they were in their towers and libraries, but the roads were too empty.

Only one answer presented itself to me, that this disaster had been on a scale the world had seldom seen.  The reason nobody was around, was because they were h...

Elevation Chapter 75 Testing Phase

Atal had promised great rewards if I could make him a weapon, but that didn't mean that I was going to hand over my best work immediately.  I'd seen the man rip a woman apart with just his fists and not so much as blink about it, so I had to consider that he might not be that good a guy.  I also wasn't quite sure what exactly he would need, and wasn't going to be bringing out the big guns first.  After all, it was better to keep some things in reserve.

I was going to star...

Chapter 287 Worries

I was ready to curse, having just barely evaded discovery.  The girl had caught me off guard, completely off guard, but I knew she was out there somewhere.  Really with my luck I should have just guessed that I would be meeting her sooner or later, it's just that here was rather unexpected.

I'd left the princess with the Order of The Shield years ago, and intentionally avoided contact.  When I later found out that they knew who she was that was a surprise, but ...

Elevation of Mana Chapter 74 Work Order

I stood where one of the assistants had directed me, waiting for what might be my last day in this world.  I didn't know what Atal wanted of me, but I did know that his sense of justice was much like that of the ancient world.  Punishments were meted out and rewards given by what he seemed to sense was fair.

There were few of the court proceedings after mine, but plenty of business.  A number of people approached, seeking permission for this or that.  Seve...

Chapter 286 Hello Again

Rodrick Penumbra

“Stop fucking getting in front of Amara!  If you die, I can't heal you!” screamed the angry priestess from the back, she really was a breath of sunshine that one.

I kept channeling, kept pouring mana into my spells.  There was one thing about being a bard, that it was slow, but if you could get things going... well, that really did get going.  Earlier in the day I'd been going for defensive measures, but when it became clea...

Elevation of Mana Chapter 73 Justice

As my spell went off I thought about how odd it was that I hadn't had anyone attempt to rob me earlier.  Coming from my previous world I understood how I was now quite well off, and how many people would have wanted some of that wealth, but it had taken so long.

Over the years I'd played with multiple setups for protecting my stuff, but this was the first I knew of that had been needed.  Originally I'd just kept everything put away, which I still did of course, but ...

Announcement and NaNoWriMo

All good things must come to an end, and some of you have noted that Melody is heading that way.  It is sad, but true, that soon enough Alana's story will be told, and I will move on to other things.  Elevation is one of these, but I like to have multiple stories going at once, so I will share my thoughts.

For November I'd like to try adding another story to the universe, all posts would take second priority to normal posts of Elevation or Melody, so I'm not sure that I'd get ...

Chapter 285 A New Plan

Crown Prince Omos

The sun dawned on a new day, which would have been magnificently fresh if not for the small rock hut full of refugees I found myself crawling out of.  I was tired, physically, mentally, and magically, and quite ready to get home.  That of course wouldn't be nearly as easy as I'd hoped.

Our portal was gone, and that was not a small issue.  Without it the only way home would be by ship, a long, arduous, and often dangerous journ...

Elevation of Mana Chapter 72 Break-in

As I wandered through one of the districts near the market I griped about the lack of a mail system, or of a written language.  At some point someone might have made a written system, but if they had, I'd yet to find it.  It would make things so much easier to do, so very much easier, but most people didn't seem bothered.

I could make my own written language, but I feared it would go the same way as farming.  People would understand it, but most wouldn't care, ...

Chapter 284 Shelter in the Storm

Crown Prince Omos

The world was filled with dark blues and greens as I was thrown, tossed around the room like a ragdoll.  Some last ditch ward, some protection had managed to redirect the most of the momentum of the blast of water that would have pulped me, but I'd not caught much of it.  The water was still here though, and still trying to fill the room.

Almost as quickly as it had come, the wave left, falling back or dissipating as it spread.  A brief pull toward...

Elevation of Mana Chapter 71 Armor 201

It was easy to stand back and admire my work, the satisfaction of a job... well I wasn't yet sure how well it had been done.  Things seemed to be going well, but really the whole reason I was here was to check on this.

In the courtyard Ian and a friend of his were sparring, spears flashing forwards at speed.  These of course were training weapons, and not properly sharp, but they felt like the real thing, and the guards liked to practice with them.  While the o...

Chapter 283 Run for the Door

The ground flowed under me at speed as I ran towards the dinner building, throwing my protections and stealth back up.  If I got spotted so be it, I needed to get to where my students were, and I needed to be there now.  I briefly considered teleporting, but held back for now, the mana cost on those might well be spent elsewhere.

Only instants after the flares, clearly some form of warning, had been sent up the city lit like a bulb.  Something had struck the ci...

Elevation of Mana Chapter 70 Armor 101

Unsurprisingly a couple of days after my conversation with Ian I got full approval to build the first section of sewers for the city.  I knew he'd gone and told his grandfather what I'd said, maybe even giving a demonstration.  That was fine as this bit would only really connect Shorin's house and a few other spots before taking the waste away, but it would serve as an artery that could then be expanded upon when the powers that be realized how good it worked.

That ...

Chapter 282 Storm and Sea

The storms continued, through the night and well into the morning.  By the time everyone began breakfast it was clear that the demonstrations for the day, which had been planned for one of the outdoor areas, would have to be moved inside.  That was a bit of a shame, as the winding brick paths and large grassy centerpieces were really relaxing, but it was what it was.

Like the magical academies back home, this one too had an arena, something I'd not properly institut...

Elevation of Mana Chapter 69 Customer Compaint

Chien stood by as I worked, now in the normal shop.  I poured more and more of my mana into the fire as the copper began to melt, knowing that the little crucible formed of magical force could take it.

“The men selling this should be beaten,” I declared, not even fully done yet.

“Okay... why?”

“See all the black stuff forming on the liquid there?  Those are impurities, and this copper is loaded with them.  It's like t...

Chapter 281 Evening Out

The restaurant was wonderful, and it was clear that the elves were really trying their hardest to show off.  Everything from the tablecloths to the floor was perfectly in place, and the smells coming from the kitchen, a mix of sweet and meaty scents that drifted subtly around the building, but not into the dining area.

I skirted along the edge quietly as my students began to take their seats, watching them all like a hawk.  To my relief it seemed that all of them ha...

Elevation of Mana Chapter 68 Workshop

After leaving Shorin to his business I returned to mine, heading home.  I'd never moved from that first place I'd bought, though I had gone about purchasing some of the houses around as my money flow came back, and making a few... improvements.  No longer was it a single small dwelling, but now a complex to rival even Shorin's, with a few buildings around a larger courtyard.

Chien left me, when we returned, heading off to one of his work-spaces, something I'd added....

Chapter 280 Old Friend

“Why don't you take a seat?” my new companion asked, pointing towards one of several around a larger table.

We were in some kind of meeting room, and one look alone told me that this was one of the unused parts of the palace, and an older one.  Oddly it had the same feel as Justin's lab, something about the magic that seemed to be constantly cleaning it along with other background enchantments.  Something about the way he had flippantly opened the door had alarm...

Elevation of Mana Chapter 67 The Dangers of Water

“I understand you have questions,” I said to the elder Shorin.  “I hope that I can assuage them for you.”

“As do I, though the biggest of which is, why?” he replied, looking up from the small cup of what passed for tea here.  I noted that both the cup and the pot it had been poured from came from my supplied pieces, and wondered what they'd used before.

“Why?  Surely you can see the uses for what I propose?”

“...

Chapter 279 Museums

I walked off to the side of my charges, watching at the oohs and aahs.  The morning had begun with museums, then continued with much of the same.  The elves took my foreign students through several different ones, all devoted to various parts of their culture.

Personally I found that the first of them was by far my favorite.  This museum had a zoo mixed in with it, displaying various animals, both magical and non, that were found throughout the Atali lands. &nb...

Elevation of Mana Chapter 66 A New Day

A/N:  Short time-skip as this is chapter 1 of book 2

Slowly I returned to consciousness, letting the scents of the city drift into my nose.  It had been roughly twenty years since I came to this world, and while it was still beautiful, there was still much to do if I wanted it to be like my old one.  One day I felt I would get there, but rushing more than I was seemed both foolish and near impossible.

The long tips of my ears brushed...

Chapter 278 Some Low Key Racism

The first few days of the field trip were fairly boring.  Mostly the students were shown around the school grounds here and went on some basic lessons.  There were a few things here and there, things I would need to address later, but nothing major.  One of the boys was getting very touchy with an elven girl, but she seemed into it and they were quickly hiding in some lost corner of the school.

Atal had one of the best academies I'd ever seen, the whole place l...

Elevation of Mana Chapter 65 Homeward

As I made my way home I began to contemplate how my life had gone so far.  This new life was something I could never have expected, and the world of magic it had brought me was, while sometimes tiring, still... full of potential.  There had been struggles sure, but so too was there hope.

One day this world would see magical wonders and beauties the likes of which its people couldn't yet understand, and if I had my way I would be at the forefront of it.  We coul...

Chapter 277 Arrival

After the children and their 'official' chaperones had made it through the gate I slipped in, moving behind them quietly.  Well, pretty much everything I did was quietly, since there were spells in place canceling the noise of my feet and clothes, and making sure that there was no incidental noise heard from me.

Over the past many years I'd steadily improved my spells, particularly when it came to stealth.  After failing so many times because of being spotted I'd dedicated a b...

Elevation of Mana Chapter 64 Farming Take Two and a Big Hole

Over several hours of trying to negotiate I learned that this elder's name was Ina, and the village was of course Inatol, Ina's home.  We weren't really getting anywhere, but that seemed to bother her little.  One thing I began to seriously hate about older elves was how patient and hard-headed they could be.  Ina wanted my help killing her foes before they managed to poison all the water around, and I wanted nothing to do with her little war.

“You frustrate ...