Chapter 52: Of Sap and Spores

Chapter 52: Of Sap and Spores

Two meditations later, Emilia finished carving the lines. Now it was Fjorn's turn to instruct her on how to apply the paste into the carved grooves. She had to use her mana in a specific way to "seal" it and bind it to the wood. This was a slow process, as Emilia had to partially tune the aura of the paste, attempting to align it with that of the wood.

After she completed the lines around the first glyph, Fjorn took over the work. In this world, the application of glyphs was not as simple as it seemed.

Emilia recalled the children of the moon, Vano, and the lessons of old Emir.

"Glyphs originate from the celestial language and are specific words," he had explained. "That is why the one who draws them must know and hold their meaning in their mind. The more complex the glyphs, the more intricate the concepts the master must hold in their mind."

Emilia had not held back, knowing how different her own concepts of things like fire could be. She had posed many "strange" questions, confusing old Emir with her strange ideas. Finally, he had interrupted her with a simple reminder:

"If you do not understand the corresponding concepts, or if, like you are doing now, try to alter it too much, the glyph simply will not work. That is why different glyphs exist for the same thing—those for beginners require a simpler understanding, while the advanced ones demand more complex concepts."

He had then continued directly: "...It is precisely because of this that a glyph cannot simply be copied. And with slightly more complex glyphs, it is almost impossible for two masters to work together. Therefore, apprentices must take their knowledge directly from their master to be able to adjust and work in sync."

From all this, Emilia had understood one thing: for the glyph to work, you needed specific mental concepts. One glyph allows for one type of fire, another for a completely different kind. This was the reason a glyph was a projection of a mental concept, not just a blueprint. Also, more complex glyphs required more mana and mana-rich materials to power them.

Fjorn selected one of the exploding acorns and several carefully chosen mashed herbs, using them as the core for the first glyph. He placed them slowly, tracing lines of mana to modify and balance their aura. Emilia tried to support him, noticing the exhaustion in his eyes and the sweat on his forehead.

After every glyph, Fjorn had to rest. "If any other master sees me struggling with a simple glyph, I will lose face and won't be able to show myself in the nearby towns for at least a year out of shame."

He remembered one of his first teacher’s friends, who often overindulged in the mead he brewed himself from the honey of giant bees. He would get so drunk that he couldn't even draw a straight line, let alone a glyph. "Those were good times," he smiled.

The work progressed slowly, but it progressed nonetheless. Twice, they completely lost certain glyphs and had to restart specific steps.

Finally, however, after many hours, the formation was completed, and Emilia powered it with her mana for an hour until all the lines illuminated in her senses. At last, a weary Fjorn activated it. Ethereal mana began to pulse over the lines, and the glyphs sharply began to absorb mana from their cores.

Fjorn directed the chaos of auras and stabilized the various forces. The heavy earth mana in the tunnels significantly neutralized the chaotic energies, and soon, cracks formed on the root's surface, and sap began to exude. It was caught and purified by the formation, and Fjorn placed a bottle to collect it.

Emilia spun around, admiring the complex glyphs, and like a little butterfly, dipped her finger into the dripping liquid. "It's very tasty," she said.

Fjorn smiled. "It's tasty because it's rich in mana due to the formation. But perhaps the root itself has a lot of mana too. Go on, fill a cup for me."

Emilia could never quite understand why some adults carried strange things like a "cup." Fjorn's, at least, was special; it was made of silver and entirely inscribed with strange symbols.

Emilia poured some sap and handed it to the formation master. Fjorn did not rush to drink. He first examined the liquid for a long time, swirled the cup, and periodically activated some of the symbols etched into it. Finally, visibly satisfied, he took a large gulp and wiped his mouth with a wide smile.

"We hit the jackpot. This root is not just rich in mana; it's almost on the level of an Earthly Treasure. Maybe after another one or two thousand years, some roots might become one. These juices will not only quench our thirst but are also highly nutritious. One or two cups of this sap can replace an entire meal. Moreover, one cup of this juice can replace a whole week of meditation!"

Emilia quickly poured herself more sap. "A whole week? Uncle Fjorn, we need to gather more herbs and start tapping sap from more roots. Maybe we can sell them in the city afterward."

"It's not that simple. If it's not sealed in special containers, it will quickly lose its properties. Now rest, and then I'll help you draw talismans."

A few days later, Emilia worked hard, drawing talismans all day long. With Fjorn’s help and the mana-rich private space, she reached almost 80% success rate. Unfortunately, the monster blood was also nearly depleted.

"Uncle Fjorn, wait for me here. You are still injured, and your mana is unstable. I think I'll be able to sneak around more easily by myself."

Initially, Fjorn did not want to let her go, perhaps because he worried about her, or perhaps because he didn't want to be left alone. In the end, Emilia demonstrated some of what she had learned with Cassian, and Fjorn reluctantly agreed. After all, could they really abandon this sap-rich root and just wander off blindly without first scouting the area?

Emilia left a few of the talismans with Fjorn, and then cautiously headed toward the tunnels. She walked slowly, taking care with every step. Cassian had often trained her on how to manage her mana in such a way as to step completely silently. She tried to breathe lighter and walked warily the entire time. This manner of walking expended mana and effort, and she stopped twice to meditate.

During her second rest stop, she sensed a strange pull with her senses. She tried to discern what exactly was happening and realized that her Soul Sense was tugging her somewhere. She hesitated for a moment and then allowed the feeling to guide her. As she walked, Emilia mentally mapped the tunnels. In addition, she frequently left various markers. She scratched on the walls with stones, drew in the dirt, and arranged debris in a specific way.

After a few turns through the tunnels, she found herself next to a giant mushroom, as tall as her brother Kael’s room! Next to the mushroom were ten strange-looking creatures—they resembled clay figures and moved in an odd, jerky fashion. She watched them for a few minutes, trying to figure out their actions.

They're taking care of the mushroom! she finally decided. Indeed, they were constantly digging around the roots with their hands and transporting the moisture that seeped out using large, mossy leaves.

Where do they get these leaves? Emilia wondered.

She continued to observe them, still hesitating. She wasn't sure about the strange feeling she had, and besides, she didn't want to simply attack these clay creatures.

In the end, however, she couldn't resist. Can I really just pass by this huge mushroom? I'll regret this missed opportunity for years. Boss Titus risked his life, as well as his wife's and his group's, for far smaller rewards.

While she was still wavering, one of the creatures sensed her and immediately ran toward her. How did that thing see me? she wondered.

The "thing" hadn't precisely seen her; she was hidden, but the general mana in the area had slightly increased because of the time she spent observing.

These creatures had lived here for unknown ages and knew the area perfectly. The creature didn't know whether something was happening or not; it was simply following its instincts and wanted to check the anomaly.

Emilia, however, did not know this. She prepared for battle and cursed her bad luck.

Just seconds later, the creature approached. Emilia sprang out in front of it and activated two of her talismans. They required almost no mana but taxed her mental energy, especially since she wanted to subtly guide the fireballs.

The creature did not hesitate for a moment, let out a strange hissing sound, and rushed toward the small child.

The two fireballs appeared above the talismans and, guided by her power, flew toward the strange creature. It made no attempts whatsoever to protect itself, and one of the balls struck its head while the other hit the center of its body. A strange sizzling sound and the thud of a light explosion were heard. The creature sharply fell to the ground, and a wave of steam rose above it.

Huh, this thing really might be made of clay or dirt, Emilia wondered, looking around and preparing the rest of her talismans. There were three more creatures that also headed towards Emilia. She judged their speed and activated two more talismans. They're pretty slow, I can outrun them, she grinned predatorily.

The two fireballs found their mark, and Emilia didn't even slow down to check the result. She quickly moved away to give herself a moment to recover and to increase the distance between herself and the clay creatures. Then she activated two more talismans and sent out two more fireballs. Finally, only one creature remained, and after some maneuvering, she managed to destroy it. The battle was relatively easy, but the price she paid was not small at all.

I hope this strange mushroom is worth it, at least.

At that moment, she heard the voice of the Great System.

"Mental attack resisted." Two seconds later, again. "Mental attack resisted." Emilia stopped and looked around. Her gaze settled on the mushroom. Could it be... this mushroom is attacking me?

Emilia didn't know what to do.

Dispelling Ignorance, she mentally activated her skill, and her gaze quickly settled on several small "tentacles" at the very base of the mushroom, which were scattering fungal spores. A few spots in the mushroom cap flashed with their mana, apparently directing the spores toward the fallen clay people.

Emilia did not hesitate for a moment. She made a wide detour and ran toward the mushroom from a new direction. The mushroom somehow sensed her and continued to send out targeted spores. Emilia had to turn three more times, but finally, she managed to reach the base of the mushroom and quickly pierced the tentacles with her spear. Cassian had trained her relentlessly to hit various targets not only with a spear and knife but also with her hands, feet, and even her head. Once she had joked whether he would start making her bite the targets... The next day, there were 10 targets in the labyrinths that she had to bite while running through them. Since then, she had vowed to be careful what she said around Cassian. That demon was ready to do anything to make the training more "interesting."

Emilia hurried out of the mushroom's range, then stopped and observed for a while. After that, she paused for a short meditation and slowly returned to the mushroom. She had activated Dispelling Ignorance again and was keenly watching its actions.