15

Nira exhaled, "Good."

"My mother made the right choice then." She smiled faintly.

I couldn't help but ask, "So, there's hundreds more people like you? People who can… Use Spells?" My eyes gleamed with excitement.

I wasn't sure how many Spells I could learn, but Orion did call it a Spellbook, which I felt was promising.

Ihka wiped her face on her sleeve, "Right." She paused as she continued to clean herself, "I've been targeting and rescuing Remnants for years after all."

I looked at her with suspicion, "How could so many people as strong as you be captured and kept as slaves?"

Ihka looked at me dubiously, then glanced at Nira - who shook her head.

"I think you're underestimating humans, Abel." Nira commented.

Ihka slowly nodded, "She's right. We creatures of Mana had the advantage in power for thousands of years until recently. It wasn't until ten years ago…"

I raised an eyebrow.

Ihka reached into her pack, "Actually it's better if I just show you."

She pulled out a simple silver necklace.

The necklace didn't appear to have a clasp and was large enough to simply fit it over one's head. It looked like the one Nira was wearing, except shinier - hers was covered in dirt and blended in with her skin.

When Nira saw the necklace, realization dawned on her face.

I connected a few dots as well, but still wanted confirmation, "So these necklaces helped humans win the war?"

Ihka frowned, "We don't call them 'necklaces'. They're called Inhibitors."

"They prevent Mana from leaving the body." She added.

I glanced at Nira, "I'm guessing you can't take it off?"

She shook her head.

"We've been researching the Inhibitors for years back at The Hold. From what we've discovered, there are only two ways to remove it." Ihka looked at the silver necklace in her hands with disgust. "You either kill the human that activated it, or find one with a Key."

She removed a black key from her pack. "One like this."

Ihka stared at me.

"You can only imagine the difficulties we went through to acquire one of these." She said in a solemn tone.

She held the key out.

I reached out and took it nervously. I could feel the weight of her trust in it.

Ding!

[You have discovered a Spell. Do you wish to learn it?]

My heart thumped. I had a feeling this would happen, but seeing it and understanding the possible implications behind it felt heavy.

I focused my thoughts.

'Inspect.'

[Black Key - A simple black key. Imbued with Spell of Dominion, Spell of Expansion, and Spell of Liberation.]

[Spell of Liberation.

Cooldown: 1 hour.

Cost: 8 mana.

Cast time: 1 minute.

Invoke method: While in contact with the target, recite the required Vir'il to remove a curse.

Vir'il: Li'Cur]

I stared at the black key in my hand.

'There are three Spells but I can only learn one?' I sighed regretfully.

"Only humans can activate a Key." Ihka paused, "It seems to have multiple Spells imbued within. We believe those to be Spell of Dominion, Spell of Expansion and Spell of Liberation."

I looked up at Ihka, "Expansion? Dominion?"

She nodded, "Simple Spells really, albeit somewhat rare. Humans have probably destroyed most if not all copies at this point, after the Eradication."

"Spell of Dominion was created by the Traitor." Ihka murmured. "From what we know, it specifically causes your human's Magic Tools to only respond to humans." She paused, "Spell of Expansion on the other hand is much simpler, it just increases the size of an object by a designated amount.

"But it's a truly nefarious combination in this case." She added.

Ihka held up the silver necklace in her hand, "The Inhibitors should have a similar combination. We can't remove them even if we want to."

Ihka stared into my eyes with a measuring gaze, "That's why they're also called Slave Collars."

She held the silver necklace out.

My heart thumped, and I accepted it.

Ding!

[You have discovered a Spell. Do you wish to learn it?]

'...Inspect.'

[Inhibitor Necklace - A silver necklace. Imbued with Spell of Dominion, Spell of Curtail, and Spell of Denial.]

[Spell of Denial.

Cooldown: 24 hours.

Duration: Infinite.

Cost: 12 mana.

Cast time: 10 minutes.

Invoke method: While in contact with target, recite the required Vir'il to confine the target's Mana to their Manart.

Invoke restriction: Target must be unconscious.

Vir'il: Rev'Ana]

I exhaled heavily.

Looking at the silver necklace, I understood. 'This is how humanity turned the tables.'

'Twelve Mana though, I can barely use it. Still, yes and yes.'

[Spell of Liberation has been learned.]

[Spell of Denial has been learned.]

"So that's how it is…" I looked up from the silver necklace back into Ihka's eyes.

She nodded, "That's how it is."

"So even if there are humans who wish to help…"

"They can't." Ihka finished my sentence, then added, "Unless of course they have a Key."

Looking at the Key, I couldn't help but wonder aloud, "How did you even get this?"

Ihka looked down at the dead Dusksworn and said, "Sacrifice." with a heavy tone.

"I see…"

We stood in silence for several minutes, the atmosphere heavy.

Eventually, Ihka looked back at me.

"Will you use it?" She asked.

Her question caught me off guard, leaving me momentarily confused.

She must have seen my confusion, because she pointed at the Key - then Nira.

My eyes widened.

Without hesitation, I walked over to Nira - who was staring at me with swirling emotion in her eyes.

"Of course I'll use it. But first I want to try something." I raised my hand and rested it on Nira's shoulder.

She gave me a strange look, but didn't complain.

I took a deep breath.

"Li'Cur." I recited.

I could feel the cool sensation of Mana traveling through my body, down my arm, and into my palm - then it kept going. I could feel a slow stream of Mana continuously leaving my body. Nira must have felt something, because she looked at me in shock and excitement.

Ihka walked over and stared in bewilderment.

"To think you really…" She mumbled.

A minute later…

[You have liberated target Nira from the Spell of Denial.

Mana -8]

I removed my hand and exhaled tiredly. It was notably more exhausting to feel my Mana constantly leaving over time rather than all at once.

Nira's eyes sparkled as she looked at me, and I nodded.

She smiled, the corners of her lips reaching new heights.

Nira turned and stared at Ihka's neck, where a small gash still remained. She walked a couple circles around Ihka in silent contemplation, then stopped and held out her hand.

"Min'Hel." I heard her whisper.

Faint blue light formed in front of her hand, before shooting into Ihka's neck. The small gash was gone a few seconds later.

'So it wasn't an issue of Mana after all.'

I looked at the necklace, still wrapped around her neck.

'The necklace is still there though? I removed the curse but won't it just come back next time she sleeps?' I couldn't help but feel like this was indeed the case.

With that in mind, I walked over and held the black key to Nira's neck.

She looked at me curiously.

"The necklace is still there." I stated.

She reached up and touched it, "You're right."

Ihka was rubbing her neck gingerly while watching us.

I pressed the black key against the dirty silver necklace, similar to how the huntress had pressed her Mana Tool against her companion's wound. When the Key touched the necklace, the necklace started vibrating. Slowly at first, then faster. Finally, it expanded.

I carefully lifted the necklace. Nira's hair rose alongside it, then fell as the necklace came completely free.

"There you go." I smiled.

Nira touched her neck, rubbing the discolored skin that was left behind.

"Thank you." She murmured.

I turned to Ihka and held out the Key and both necklaces.

She reached out and took them slowly, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Abel." She paused, "You can learn the Spells imbued in Mana Tools?" She queried.

I hesitated, but nodded, "I believe so."

"But I only learned Liberation and Denial in this case." I added.

Ihka raised an eyebrow, "I see."

"I think we can make a deal then." She nodded and said to herself.

'I don't like the sound of that.' I thought, remembering the plan she mentioned.

I sighed, "I'll have you know I value my life."

She chuckled, "Hear me out."

Taking a deep breath, she explained, "As you know, I've been tracking a slave caravan. That caravan is traveling south from Darkheart stronghold to the Paruven Capital. There is… a certain someone… amidst the slaves whom I wish to rescue. Her identity is slightly complicated, but you can understand her as… well… Shal'Iri royalty."

Nira interjected, "What?! Who is it?!"

Ihka gave her a measured stare, "Nobody you know of. Calm down."

Nira furrowed her eyebrows and fidgeted uncomfortably.

'Royalty?' I pondered.

"Anyway, like I was saying," Ihka continued, "The girl is incredibly important. I had planned to slowly take care of as many guards as possible over the next few days before extracting her, but meeting you two opens a couple more possibilities."

'Here it is…' I thought.

"If you two pose as a Dusksworn and slave, join the caravan, and work with me - we might be able to save all the slaves." Ihka stared at us eagerly.

I shook my head while Nira tilted hers in contemplation.

"Miss Ihka, I don't know if you know this… but I'm incredibly weak." I said.

Nira looked at me and said, "That's true."

'Ouch.'

Ihka laughed, "Yes of course I knew that. I did say this was a deal though, remember?"

She reached into her pack and removed what looked like a bronze bracelet.

"We found this Mana Tool a couple years ago… and let me tell you the human that dropped it gave us quite a bit of trouble. I'm not certain which Spell is imbued within, but I'm confident it should protect your life if you accept my request." Ihka held out the bracelet for me to look at.

I started to reach out but she pulled it back, staring at me. Her intentions were obvious, this was the deal.

Her words were dripping with temptation, I couldn't help but wonder what Spell could manage to give even her trouble, and she had said we.

Although I had just acquired two new spells, they seemed to be of little use at the moment. They certainly did not increase my combat ability at all, which was at the top of my list of current goals. This bracelet though, might.

I gulped, but still hesitated. If it turned out to be useless, I'd be up shit creek.

"Actually there's another method." Nira suddenly spoke up.

Ihka looked over at her, "Oh? What's that?"

Nira smiled evilly, "You see, Abel here has met an Arkos recently."

I looked at Nira incredulously, 'Surely she's not suggesting what I think she is.'

"Face to Face." She added.

'She is. My god I knew she couldn't be trusted.'

Ihka jerked her head in my direction with wide eyes, "And you're still alive?!"

I chucked weakly and rubbed the back of my head. "There were some casualties to keep it that way."

Nira nodded, "Right, but the point is: The Arkos has his scent."

Ihka slowly nodded in realization, "So you're saying we use that."

I groaned. "Listen here. I'd rather join ten slave caravans as an actual slave than fight that thing."

It was suicide after all.

"Well, you're smart to think that way." Ihka agreed. "But you don't have to fight it."

This time she held out the bracelet for me to take without forcing me to agree.

I hesitated, but accepted it.

Ding!

[You have discovered a Spell. Do you wish to learn it?]

'Inspect.'

[Feather Bracelet - A bronze bracelet that feasts on mass itself. Imbued with Spell of Weight Reduction.]

[Spell of Weight Reduction.

Reduces the caster's weight and everything they touch by half.

Cooldown: 5 seconds.

Cost: 1 mana per second.

Invoke method: Recite the required Vir'il to toggle the Spell on and off.

Vir'il: Fea'dan]

I studied the Spell's description, considering the usefulness of the Spell.

'It's good of course, the question is how good?' I thought to myself, 'Yes though, I definitely want this one.'

I was starting to wonder why Orion even asked, were the Spells out there I wouldn't want to learn?

[Spell of Weight Reduction has been learned.]

Ihka looked at and asked, "Did it work?"

I nodded.

"Do you know what the Spell is then?" She asked.

I nodded.

"How?" She looked extremely curious.

"When I touch the item, I just know. I can't really explain it." I gave a vague excuse. I wasn't going to reveal Orion to anyone. Ever.

She stared at me with furrowed eyebrows for a few seconds, then sighed.

"Alright then… So what is it?" Ihka relented and asked.

"Spell-"

"Wait!" She cut me off.

"Let me try and guess." She paused. "Spell of Acceleration?"

The look in her eyes suggested she was very confident in her guess.

I smiled, "Wrong."

Her eyes widened, "Then it really is Spell of Time Warp?"

I shook my head. "Wrong again."

She frowned, "What is it then?" I could hear annoyance in her tone.

'Why ask me if you're just going to get annoyed?' I sighed internally.

"Spell of Weight Reduction." I revealed.

Ihka and Nira both looked visibly confused.

"Spell of Weight Reduction?" They looked at eachother. "Is there such a Spell?" Ihka questioned.

"Apparently there is." I replied.

'From the Spells she guessed, it seems that reducing my weight will make me pretty quick?' I could only test it.

"Fea'dan." I whispered to myself.

My mana had already recovered at this point, so I should be able to keep the Spell active for seventeen seconds with my Mana recovery - if I was willing to use all of it. As it moved closer to zero the exhaustion would mount, so I could probably only realistically use the Spell for thirteen or fourteen seconds maximum.

[Spell of Weight Reduction Activated.]

I felt the cool sensation of Mana travel throughout my entire body evenly.

I lifted my arms, feeling like they were practically floating. Of course I could still feel their weight, but it was so much lower than I was used to that they seemed weightless.

I took a step.

The reduction in weight did not mean a reduction in muscle. Combined with my level five physique, the step felt very different.

It felt slow, but it wasn't.

My brain was used to walking with a certain amount of resistance, and built certain subconscious expectations to match.

Reduce them by half - and it was a whole new world.

My heart thumped. The possibilities were now obvious.

I looked over at my spear, which was still stuck in the ground about twenty feet away.

Flexing my leg muscles with a smile, I lowered my body - preparing to sprint.

A second later, I pushed off the ground - and flew.