TravelingDreamer
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B5—Chapter 48: An Unexpected Negotiation
🕑 Added 2025-02-12 15:10:42 +0000 UTCOn the way to our building, I checked my Storage and came to a halt. After unloading over a dozen tons of food for the settlement, I’d freed up some space—but the humongous calamari filled it right back up.
The tree-swinging octopuses we encountered during the mana occurrence had already taught me I couldn’t loot them. Unfortunately, my looting spells only covered herbivores, snakes, crops, predators, and bugs. Squids were none of the above. During the occurrence, I even tried arguing with the spell that the octopuses were predators, but it didn’t agree with me for some unexplained reason.
That meant I’d have to process them by hand.
Later.
Still, that didn’t solve my space issue. I had about 20-25% free, but I had a solid suspicion I’d need more. Much more.
“I need to take care of something,” I told the gang, turning back toward the settlement.
“What?” Mahya asked.
I answered telepathically, excluding Rue—he loved calamari too much. “I have huge squids in my Storage and need to unload a few to free up some space.”
“Just enlarge it,” she said. Again.
I rolled my eyes and kept walking.
It took me an hour to find out where to unload them and another ten minutes to calm the people who panicked at the sight of the squids. Sure, they were big, and yeah, they looked a little scary—but sheesh!
Now, I had about 80,000 cubic meters of space. Still not enough for the planned nightly activities—or at least, I hoped it wouldn’t be. It was a lot of space, but I had a lot of plans.
After all the selling I’d done in the cultivators' world, the storage halls in my house were relatively empty, only holding the stuff we’d all bought on Earth. The problem was, I hated storing things there while the core was still in my Storage. The mental gymnastics of it gave me a killer headache—one that, for some reason, Healing Touch didn’t fix.
I went looking for Roda to unload more food. It would be a hassle, but we could always gather more from the endless fields. And with the growth spell, it wouldn’t even put a dent in the local food supply.
I pushed open the office door, stepping inside as Roda glanced up from her desk. Her lips curled into a smile, the kind that wasn’t weighed down by wariness or duty. “I thought you went home to machinate.”
The warmth in her expression caught me off guard. It was the first time I’d seen her smile like that—unguarded, open. A small victory. My fingers twitched toward my shoulder, itching to dust it off in satisfaction, but I stopped myself.
“Yes. But our machinations need space,” I said, leaning casually against the doorframe. “So I came to offer you more food.”
She tilted her head, eyes narrowing in curiosity. “How do you store all that food?”
I shrugged. “It’s a merchant skill called Inventory.”
Her brow arched. “I thought you were a healer?”
“I’m both.”
She shook her head with a chuckle. “A man of many talents.”
I grinned. “As I said before—you have no idea.”
She waved her hand. “You’re familiar with the distribution warehouse. Leave it there, and I’ll send people to handle it.”
I nodded and left.
In the warehouse, I got to work, unloading nearly everything I’d gathered from the fields. Stacks of grain and legumes, crates of vegetables, and boxes of fruit filled the space, row after row, rising higher until they formed towering walls of food. By the time I was done, only a few crates of each item remained in my Storage—just in case.
Even after that, my Storage still held over fifty kinds of meat from the occurrence and everything I’d bought in Liliatas. But now it was half empty.
Yeah, about 160,000 cubic meters should be enough.
Before leaving the settlement, I made one last stop at Roda’s office, poking my head through the door.
She glanced up from her work. “Need anything else?”
“Yeah. When your people finish distributing the food, I’d like to get the containers back—not just the crates and boxes, but the sacks too. And if possible, from the previous shipment as well. I’m running low.”
She gave a curt nod. “You’ll receive them.”
I shot her a thumbs-up.
She frowned, visibly puzzled.
I waved it off. “Never mind. Thanks.”
Then, without waiting for more questions, I ducked out and left.
On the way back, I glanced at my red light. I’d gotten so used to ignoring it that I actually had to remind myself it was still blinking.
Back when we first started the dungeon runs, I checked it after every monster just to clear the notification, but that got old fast. Later, I only checked it after each dungeon, but even then, the constant blinking got on my nerves.
The mana occurrence had been a masterclass in ignoring it. The spawnies weren’t monsters, yet I still got a notification for every kill. After six months of nonstop blinking, I’d trained myself so well to tune it out that now I had to actively remember it was there to notice it.
When I opened the message, I skidded to a halt, dust billowing around me. The shock hit so hard that I stumbled forward, barely catching myself. Thank the Spirits I wasn’t running at full speed—otherwise, I’d have gone tumbling at least twice.
The first surprise was the presentation. This wasn’t the usual transparent screen—the message was on a golden background, adorned with intricate runic decorations and written in a flowing calligraphic script. I’d seen one of these before, way back in Lumis, when I received the Spell Weaver ability.
My stomach twisted at the memory. That had been years ago, and I still hadn’t figured out how to use the ability consistently. I’d made some progress while dealing with the aftermath of Aggressive Clean, but those were just the first steps. I sighed and shook my head. Not the time for that.
The second surprise was the message itself. I’d expected something about what I did for Roda—how I’d helped her. That much made sense. But the actual content?
That threw me off completely.
Behold, Healer of the Soul!
Through intuition and mastery, you have reached beyond mere flesh and bone, weaving magic into the unseen wounds of the spirit. The raw essence of healing has answered your call—not as mere mending, but as restoration of the self.
In this pursuit, you have re-attuned to one of the fundamental facets of magic: the resonance of emotion and essence. No longer bound by physical boundaries alone, your magic now touches the core of this force.
For this breakthrough, the arcane acknowledges your brilliance. A path once blurred now unfolds, and with it, a spell born of your will and understanding.
Now, Healer, name your creation—a beacon of solace that shall echo through the ages.
Enter the name of your spell: [________________]
I scratched my head, utterly confused. The words made sense—I understood them just fine. What didn’t make sense was re-attuned. How could I re-attune to something I’d never known in the first place?
Then there was creation. How had no one done this before? Mana had helped me purge a lot of pain from my system—I’d just copied the phenomenon. So why had nobody else figured it out?
Yeah, I had no clue—and I doubted I’d get one. So, I tossed it onto the growing pile of things I didn’t understand and moved on.
The name was easy. Emotional Healing. I filled in the blank and submitted it.
The red light was still blinking, and the next message caught me just as off guard as the first.
Emotional Healing
Fill out the spell description
Mana Cost: Varies, based on the length of channeling.
I blinked at the screen. I had to write the description? That had never happened before!
After some thought, I wrote: Channel the spell to release stuck negative emotions and bring about a catharsis. Then, I submitted it.
Apparently, the guidance didn’t approve—maybe it thought the description was too short or lacked detail. Right in front of my eyes, the text shifted.
Emotional Healing
Channel this spell to release deeply rooted negative emotions, guiding the mind and spirit toward catharsis. Through a steady flow of mana, suppressed pain, grief, and turmoil rise to the surface, allowing for release and renewal. The longer the channeling, the deeper the effect, easing emotional burdens and restoring balance.
Mana Cost: Varies, based on the length of channeling.
My spidey senses were tingling—loudly. I pulled up the Spell List and scrolled straight to Life Magic, to the Healing spells subsection.
Nothing.
Bummer.
Wait!
I checked Nature Magic next.
Still nothing.
Double bummer.
My fingers hovered over the list. I was sure the system asking for a description meant the spell would be listed. I almost closed it out but hesitated. The system’s wording nagged at me—guiding the mind and spirit toward catharsis.
I took a wild guess and checked Mind Magic instead.
And lo and behold—there it was!
I whooped, jumping like a lunatic and pumping my fist in victory. I put a spell on the spell list! Yay me!
Then I stopped.
A new line caught my eye—one that hadn’t been in the original box:
Cost: 1 Ability Point.
I squinted at the sky. “Don’t you think I should get the points, not you? You didn’t do anything!”
A wave of reprimand surged through the connection, a sharp mental shove that felt entirely undeserved.
I bared my teeth—Rue had taught me a thing or two. “Don’t get uppity with me! I created it! It’s mine! You can’t just profit off me. Or, at the very least, I should get a cut!”
My red light started blinking.
Level up
+3 to all stats
Wizard Battle Master level 13
I threw up my hands. “That’s not enough, and you know it!”
Frustrated, I jabbed a finger at the sky. “I’ve got enough fighting stored up for, like, twenty levels or something. The missing part is the wizarding stuff. Well, this spell was definitely wizarding stuff, so yeah, I deserved the level. But that’s not the point!”
I crossed my arms, scowling. “It’s not nearly enough compensation for handing you a spell to slap on the list and rake in points—whatever it is you actually do with them.”
My red light blinked again.
New Trait Unlocked
Tenacity
I went to my profile and pocked it.
Tenacity
This Trait does not have physical or mental aspects.Tenacity is the unyielding force that drives persistence, endurance, and sheer willpower.
Tenacity is the refusal to break, the strength to push forward despite hardship, and the relentless pursuit of one’s goals, no matter the obstacles.
Tenacity also includes unwavering resistance to external pressure, the ability to stand firm in the face of adversity, and the grit to endure where others falter.
Tenacity is the fire that fuels determination, forging resilience and unwavering resolve.
I tilted my head, considering. Yeah, I could definitely use that.
With a satisfied nod, I gave the sky a thumbs-up. “Alright, you’re off the hook. Bargain accepted.”
A faint ripple of amusement came through the connection.
I waved it off. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. You know I was right.”
Comments
TravelingDreamer
Something like this. There’s a reason he gets vertigo
Dylan
I did some google math on his storage space one or 2 storage levels ago. It came out to almost 4 million square feet. Or about 70 American football fields. Or one of those huge 5 story amazon fulfillment centers.
