The next two days were spent very much like the first for Viv. She and Marruk would run errands in the morning to make their space more livable, then Viv trained in the afternoon while Arthur prowled and Marruk stood guard. The Kark warrior would join them on occasion by practicing movement and strikes as well. The only major change happened on the night of the second night when Arthur climbed on Viv’s lap as she was reading. She sniffed the image, then turned her crimson gaze to her human.

Viv was still unclear on how smart the creature was.

Ah, whatever.

“It’s a book. It shows creatures. Look, this is the harren we saw yesterday,” she said, turning to the relevant page. Arthur followed her explanations in silence. Viv felt a bit silly until she realized that explaining stuff would help her memorize anyway. So. Might as well.

“And here is a revenant. Remember the revenants? Revenant. It says here that revenants form from dead, uneaten humans who did not receive a proper burial. That means they were just left there on the ground. Look how ugly it is...”

On the dawn of the third day, Viv and Marruk put on their armors and headed to the town center, with Solfis on the sled as insurance in case things went south. Viv worried about Arthur, fearing that the tiny dragon might not want to enter the deadlands again. They would see when it came to that. Sadly, she had no plan B. Nobody could be trusted with a creature who had clearly only imprinted on her. Even Arthur’s relationship with Marruk was a tenuous truce, at best.

They made their way to the main plaza, with the massive tree as enchanting now as it had been on the first day. Viv filled her lungs with the last fresh air they would get for a few days while they waited by the temple’s entrance, as planned. The statue of Neriad, with his golden eyes, seemed to scrutinize her as she leaned against the sled. Eventually, Farren arrived, wearing light leather armor covered in anti-black runes, and a backpack. He was also armed with a mace and circular shield.

“Errr,” Viv said, looking at Marruk. Alas, she found her own confusion reflected on the Kark’s broad face.

“Good morning, Bob, Marruk, I apologize for the delay. I had an emergency marriage to officiate.”

“Emergency marriage?”

“The father of the bride did not want them to marry. The bride took the groom behind Old Griska’s clothier, where she banged him silly. The father agreed to a prompt marriage.”

“I, ok, but that’s not what I want to talk about. I thought you had a guide to bring us to that cave you wanted cleared?”

“Yes? Me?”

Viv crossed her arms and stared at Farren.

He was not the right choice to accompany them on this mission.

He was definitely not the right choice. At all. She knew he had access to temple guards, though she had not met them on her first visit. Those were elite soldiers and best suited for the task. Accompanying Farren was like taking the head administrator and VIP of a city on a visit to the minefields. It was beyond retarded.

“Does the church even know that you are off.”

“Yes.”

Their eyes met, neither one yielding to the other. Farren’s immediate and firm answer was all Viv needed to understand the little twit’s plan.

“And where, exactly, do they think you are going? And with whom?”

Ah, got the little fucker. Viv was not born yesterday.

“Alright, you win. My intervention is not sanctioned.”

“Can’t you at least bring an escort?”

Farren gave her his most innocent expression. It dripped with pure-hearted incomprehension. Viv wanted to slap him.

“But Bibiane, you are my escort.”

“Tell me what this is all about or I’m heading back.”

“Fine! Fine, hold on. I can explain. I am cooped up in here. I want to get out and see what this is all about. I have directed the Kazar temple for a year and a half and do you know how often I have been to the deadlands? The place we are all about containing? Zero. Zero times.”

“And you think going there by your lonesome is a good idea, oh inspired leader? One wrong move and you can die. At least go get two temple guards to protect you or something.”

“If I do that, I won’t get within ten paces of a single revenant with one arm and a crooked back. I can fight. Let me get one. Just one.”

“...”

“I have militia training at intermediate two.”

Marruk gasped. Viv figured that what he had done was akin to whipping his dick out to show he was male. Or something. He had just revealed something very personal.

“You honor us with your trust!” the mighty Kark woman roared with tears in her yellow eyes.

For fuck sake.

“Listen, I appreciate what you did, but just imagine the reactions if you go with us and end up being hurt?”

“I can get us horses. One per person. And one to drag the sled, free of charge.”

Fuck yes.

“Welcome aboard!”

Farren wore a hood and guided the pair, plus sled, to the gatehouse by the city entrance. There, he borrowed a few horses clad in anti-black intrusion clothes. Viv saw the glint of gold being discreetly exchanged between the branch head and a taciturn member of the guard.

[Horsemaster, not dangerous, a man who—]

Yeah ok.

They were led into the stables, and Viv noticed that Marruk clearly disliked the great beasts. She asked Farren about it in a low voice.

“The Kark do not use horses on their steppes. They have great pack beasts called Pakar who fulfill this role. They are an important aspect of Kark culture, while horses are used by the Pure League.”

“I see.”

Despite her clear wariness of those beasts, Marruk gritted her teeth and climbed on. The horses did not seem to care. Viv did not know if it was a skill or something that made them that way, but she had never seen horses so docile.

With three mounts, plus one dragging the sled, they made good time through the fields and up the road heading back to the deadlands. Viv had her own horse, and just hoped they would not have to gallop anywhere. Arthur looked a bit despondent, and sometimes stared at Viv to make sure that, yes, the human wanted to head back into the desolate wasteland like an absolute moron instead of playing in the woods.

They left the marker stones behind and soon, the feverish caress of black mana assaulted Viv through her cape. It was still mild, and it carried with it a certain… appeal, despite the lethality. Black mana liked Viv, and she liked it in return. The two were bound tightly through nature and circumstances. Even if she had been born in this world normally, she thought that she might have enjoyed this color. Even with a much lower affinity.

With so much power available, Viv started to work on manipulation. Solfis had advised her to work on shaping mana in complex patterns as it would help with runes, and she did. It was also much less exhausting than drawing the runes themselves. Such a method was more efficient when mana was plentiful.

She had asked Solfis how her progress was going and he had told her not to worry, and that she would become a powerful caster before magic killed her.

Farren stared with wide eyes when she managed to twist a strand of mana into petals around a circle. It was possible to control her mana even outside of her body, so long as it was still connected to the inside. The farther the strand was, the harder it got.

Farren looked away and the flower dispersed. She drew a dick instead, erased it, and drew a smiley.

Then the first revenant was there.

Marruk was at the head of the formation, with Farren and Viv behind and the horse plus sled following at a sedate pace. The revenant was heading north, but ‘she’ turned around when she perceived the coming prey. Viv had a look. It was a dead young female peasant with no obvious wounds. She could have died from starvation or exposure, given how thin the cadaver was.

“Well, here is your time to shine, church boy.”

Marruk sputtered and Farren placed a gloved hand on his weapon, a mace with a circular head. Without a word, he climbed down his ride and approached the monster. He easily batted the revenant’s awkward attack aside with his shield, and cracked her across the head.

“In the name of Neriad!”

There was a flash of golden light, and the revenant fell to ashes.

“Wow. So that’s how they normally do it,” Viv said. Farren turned and gave her a broad grin.

“Your turn, witch! Show me the prowess that made lieutenant Cernit sing your praise.”

Oh, the young twerp was growing confident. Viv turned around and saw another revenant lurching towards them at a distance. He was probably forty to fifty paces away. This one had been a woodman, and he still had desiccated hands grabbing a rusty axe.

“Hey, see that revenant over there?”

Farren turned and immediately spotted who she meant.

A black spear of energy crossed the distance and stabbed the woodsman in the same moment. He pretty much disintegrated into a small pile. Viv had refrained from saying the spell for added cool value. She was so familiar with it that the mnemotechnic help of the incantation was no longer necessary.

Farren turned back to see Viv leaning forward casually on her saddle, face covered but eyes filled with amusement. She splayed her hands and channeled her inner joker.

“It’s… waaah, it’s gone.”

She allowed herself a small smile at Farren’s gawping expression. He looked so young like that, far from the prodigy image he seemed to otherwise cultivate.

After that awesome display, they kept going with Viv simply erasing the revenants they found on the way. Their population was sparse this close to the edge, and so she used the rest of the day to practice shaping. Interestingly, she learned from the way the black mana became hers.

Mana absorption: beginner 2