Chapter III.XIII (3.13) - Roku’s Answer

  Roku laughed. His icy demeanor melted as he tore the cloth off from over his eyes and gripped the hilt of the sword jutting from his calf. The metal blade unsheathed from his leg with a squelch. He transformed his ice sword into a globe of water, then ran it across the metal, wiping away the red stain. He dumped the water into a bucket on the edge of the dojo.

  “Let me see your leg,” Shiroi said, approaching from the corner where he’d been watching the duel.

  Roku waved him off. Then knelt and set his hand on the wound. It clotted and scabbed over.

  “It didn’t slice through anything important,” Roku said. “A scab will be enough healing. It’s better if I keep the pain as a reminder.”

  “A reminder?”

  “Not to underestimate the Kagas. I was using this as a training exercise and got cocky.”

  “You were using soul perception to track me,” Kizu said. “There’s no way you only used your spellsense.”

  “Ha. Do I look like a necromancer? No. But you are correct that I made a conscious decision not to use my spellsense. I’m an elementalist. I tracked you through your blood.”

  “You can do that?” That had never even occurred to Kizu.

  In answer, Roku lifted a palm and formed another bubble of water.

  “This is water in its purest form, created through magic. It would take a relic from the World Dungeon to filter normal fresh water down to this level of purity.”

  Roku lifted his other hand, drawing up the bloody water he’d placed in a bucket.

  “And this is dirty water. I can still manipulate it with spells, just as I can with water from the ocean or a river. However, the less pure the water, the more difficult to control. While the creation of water costs more in blood than using water from a puddle, the manipulation of the pure water created is far easier.”

  As a demonstration, Roku transformed each of the globes into miniature ice sculptures of swordsmen. The pure ice sculpture was incredibly detailed, depicting a swordsman posed to strike, concentration written across his face and wielding a slender blade with a dragon’s maw crafted as its hilt. The bloody ice formed into a nondescript man with a lumpy bald head who looked to be holding a stick.

  “Someone specializing in both water and earth, could work with the earth particles inside dirty water. They’re referred to as mud mages. However, I decided not to split my focus. I use a bit of wind shaping spells to propel my spears with greater speed, but I am mostly dedicated to the art of water. Specifically in relation to ice.”

  “Shouldn’t you know all this already?” Shiroi asked. “This is pretty low level elemental spell theory.”

  “I was in the Elemental F class,” Kizu said sheepishly.

  “You’re dumping elemental?” Roku said with a frown. “Unwise.”

  “No, it’s not a dump class. I just had no experience with the branch of magic.” Kizu didn’t really want to go into details about why he had so many holes in his knowledge, so instead he barreled on with more questions. “Does this mean you could control a person using their blood? Could you tear it out of their body?”

  “That’s a more morbid guess than most people make,” Roku said. “But it’s a question your sister also asked. No. Again, I’m not a necromancer. Blood is directly related to a person’s soul. You’d need both a master of soul magic and an elementalist with a specialization in water to hope to gain any control over a person’s blood while still in their body. What I did was control heavily watered down blood that was both external and belonging to me.”

  Well, at least Kizu didn’t probably need to worry about someone taking control of him like that. He supposed, if it was easily feasible, the crone or one of her friends would have tested it on him as a child.

  “What’s your question?” Roku asked.

  “About elemental magic?”

  “No. Your prize. What do you want to know about Anna. One question. However, I am ignorant in many things, so if you ask a question with an unknown answer, I won’t count it against you.”

  “Is she alive and safe?” Kizu blurted.

  “Probably and probably not. I don’t know. Try again.”

  Probably alive. Probably not safe. Okay. But there were a lot better questions he could ask. Kizu bit his lip and considered what to ask. There were holes in Roku’s knowledge but he knew about Otochi.

  “Where is Anna?”

  “Again, I don’t know.” Then he considered. “But I do know where she went.”

  That was a bait. Kizu considered it.

  “Okay. I already know she spoke to my family and returned to the World Dungeon. Where did she go after?”

  “West.” He smiled slightly, and for a moment, Kizu thought that was all he was going to reveal. “She accepted a secret job from the headmaster and traveled to his homeland. West of Edgeland, beyond the deserts. I don’t know any more details than that. In the one letter she sent me, she didn’t say anything more about the place.” Then he considered. “Actually, she did complain about a magical creature possessing the sands. I believe it was technically billions of grain-sized creatures in a hivemind who looked like sand. I suppose that technically falls under my knowledge of her location.”

  That was an actual lead. Kizu smiled. It was far away, and he wasn’t likely able to find a way over there soon, but he could at least research the creature mentioned. He happened to know someone extremely well-versed in magical creature knowledge.

  “Thanks,” Kizu said.

  “I enjoyed sparring with you. It was nostalgic.”

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  “I’d be careful,” Shiroi warned. “There are a few known nations beyond Edgeland, and almost none of them are friendly towards our government. The desert is a vast, extremely dangerous, and lawless land. I wouldn’t go wandering off in that direction without more information.”

  That matched what the headmaster had said about where his sister was. He’d said he wouldn’t reveal Anna’s location because going there would result in Kizu’s death.

  “I won’t rush off to the ends of the world right now,” Kizu reassured him. “If I had a more exact location, maybe, but as is I need to be careful before I leave on any extended expedition.” Plus, he needed to keep Anata safe. He couldn’t drag her off into danger on a whim.

  “Good.” Shiroi nodded his approval. “Treat this like a delve into the World Dungeon. Do research, approach it all rationally with a level head and dozens of back up plans to fall back on. And never go alone. Build a team.”

  “What kind of team do you recommend?” Kizu asked.

  “You’ll want at least a couple strong fighters, with different strengths to cover for other weaknesses. Close range, long range, enhancement, elemental. You’ll also want a navigator. A diviner who can scout and detect danger would be invaluable. Especially if the diviner can double as an illusionist and conceal your trail. In my delving unit we had a mage like that who both looked ahead and covered our backs. It’s probably ideal if you can get a local guide to fill a role like that. Unlike the World Dungeon, you’ll be able to use diplomacy to get you out of many scrapes. You’ll also want transportation. A summoner who can conjure multiple beasts of burden.”

  That was a lot to figure out. Kizu debated how much he could manage to do alone. He needed to get Ione to help train him in summoning. She had said the process to conjure nonmagical creatures was pretty simple. He should be able to at least figure out a horse or giant lizard by the end of the next semester.

  “Do you want to go look at some delving supplies?” Shiroi asked. “You shouldn’t leave on a journey like this for a long time, but it’s good to familiarize yourself with survival gear used by delvers. Roku can show you his family’s business.”

  “That sounds great.”

  “I’d need to close the dojo,” Roku complained.

  “Do you have any students coming today?” Shiroi asked.

  “No.”

  “Excellent, I’m glad it’s not a problem!”

  Roku grumbled but escorted them out and across the street into a store. He unlocked the front door with a wave of his hand.

  Everything was neatly organized into categories and separated by utility. The most common items were lined up in the front of the shop.

  “Because you’re not doing a delve, your needs will be slightly different,” Shiroi said. “For example, you’re less likely to need to rappel crevasses but you’re more likely to need protection from the sun, which is pretty niche in the World Dungeon.”

  “Why would you ever need sun protection in a dungeon?” Kizu asked, confused.

  “There are rare occurrences where the dungeon acts like a mirror,” Roku said. “It amplifies the sun rays and can create unique hostile environments. And a few different creatures also use abilities that result in similar effects as extreme sun exposure.”

  “Both the environments and those monsters are extremely rare with only a few recorded instances,” Shiroi continued. “So Roku’s shop has them in the back. But there’s tons of stuff. Feel free to ask either of us any questions while you browse.”

  Kizu crouched over at a crate of potions. They looked to be the same sort of potions he’d used when he’d gone into the World Dungeon looking for Anna and found Anata. He’d stolen them from the academy. Each vial was supposed to fill a stomach with a day’s worth of food. Though he noted these had flavors written on the side. Strawberry, Dough, Pine. On the other side, he noticed the price. 15,000 yennies. For one vial.

  “I don’t have this sort of money,” Kizu said, carefully placing the strawberry flavored vial back in the holder.

  “Don’t worry about that,” Shiroi said. “Just window shop and familiarize yourself with the kind of gear you’ll need.”

  Kizu explored the shelves, looking at different enchanted items.

  There was a fair amount of clothes, designed to do a wide variety of things. Like a vest that reduced the user’s weight and a pair of boots designed for hyper buoyancy water walking.

  Then there were the gadget items. Like a long strip of cloth designed to extend out in the direction pointed and wrap around the first thing it made contact with. And wooden bracers that could become any number of objects crafted from wood. From a pole to a shield to a shed.

  And then there was the explosive section. It was all sealed behind thick, enchanted glass. But the amount of bombs in there could blast Shinzou Academy to the moon. Most didn’t even resemble explosives, instead looking more like metal cans and odd goos. A few were even purposefully designed to resemble mundane objects. He spotted a cart wheel that was primed to explode on its thousandth time around.

  But the area that Kizu found himself drawn to was of course the potions. It looked a lot less flashy than the other equipment, but each potion was labeled with a detailed description. Most were combat or survival focused, but he found a couple strange ones like a potion that deaged the drinker ten years.

  “It’s for older delvers,” Roku explained. “It helps them push beyond the limitations of their body.”

  “It’s popular with some members of the nobility outside delving as well,” Shiroi said. “There’s a woman in the Inari family who drinks three a day, every day, to keep herself 30 years younger. It’s not an actual form of immortality though. Your body can still fail on you.”

  “And if I drank it?”

  “It’s not designed for your age group. It would likely not be as potent. You’d likely end up as somewhere around a ten year old, not a five year old. It’s not like an infant drinking it would just wink out of existence.”

  “I would not recommend drinking it,” Roku added. “There are less than savory side effects. Shiroi’s cousin risks overdosing if she’s drinking three a day. And I suspect her nights are filled with internal pains.”

  Kizu turned his attention to a potion that shifted the user into a gaseous form. That seemed incredibly dangerous but he suspected it involved ingredients that might help with the soul unifying potion he was working on for Professor Knoff.

  “Who’s your supplier?” Kizu asked.

  “For potions?” Roku considered. “It depends on the potion. We receive supplies from all over the world. We have a network in place with several trading families. We only sell high quality products, so many potion breweries seek us out as a stamp of approval on their potions.”

  “Are there any here in town?”

  “A few. I believe there’s a specialized brewer that works with illusionists for glass and light manipulation. We sell a few different varieties of invisibility potions made by him. But don’t expect him to work with you. Brewers of his caliber are extremely secretive and protective of their recipes.”

  As noon approached, Roku’s staff came into the shop and began to officially open it for the day. Kizu was admiring a pair of gloves similar to the ones he’d designed for his Enchanting C midterm, though these were meant to specifically keep tools magnetized to hands, when more customers began entering the building.

  Someone gasped and Kizu looked up to see a vaguely familiar face. A girl roughly his age wearing a dark green cloak was staring at him. Her hood was up but he still spotted hair as white as snow and wide eyes. Kizu couldn’t place her, but assumed she must be a classmate visiting for the festival. A couple of his classmates from Tross had more unique hair colors.

  He lifted a hand in greeting, but she ducked out of sight. Which was fine. He was finishing up and needed to head back to the palace. Aoi was planning to show Anata her family hot spring under the palace soon and he’d promised to tag along.

  He thanked Roku for everything. Even if the ice mage was still concealing information about Anna, he’d bent and broken the rules enough that Kizu was incredibly grateful.

  “If you find Anna,” Roku said as they parted. “Send word to me. She was…my friend.”

  Kizu agreed and returned to the palace with Shiroi.

  Ten chapters (5 weeks) ahead of Royal Road.