B3—Chapter 23: Breakthrough (Patreon)

We spent the next five to seven weeks in the valley, and nothing particularly noteworthy happened. It was difficult to determine the exact time that had passed because, without monitoring a calendar, the days blurred together, melding into an indistinct flow of time. Bottom line, it had been quite a while. The rain came more frequently, and when it started, it wasn’t as short as an hour or two, but usually lasted at least two or three days. At first, we spent the “wet” days at home, but after we finished the second jet ski, we started playing with it on the lake, even in the rain. We got wet from the lake anyway, so a little rain from above made little difference.

Rue didn’t like that his jet ski took three full days to charge, so he convinced me to charge it. It took 8,500 mana to charge it fully, and I blessed the regeneration in Lumis every time. It only took four hours and change to be full after I emptied my mana into the jet ski.

On the “dry” days, we went down to the gorge and continued to advance through it. Yes, I was still the elevator, and they enjoyed teasing me about it. The fighting became increasingly easier, thanks to our growing familiarity and continuous training. Twice, the birds surprised me. The first time, a bird scratched my head with deep gouges, and the second time, one bit my shoulder. After the second time, I figured out how to change my mana sense field from a sphere to a dome. Even though the dome had a limited range of about seven or eight meters, we were no longer caught off guard from above, unlike when I had to sustain an almost twenty-meter-wide sphere with some effort. I developed a method that, as soon as a bird entered my sensing range, I would cast exude mana on it, causing it to fall, and then I’d break its neck with my foot. Simple and to the point.

Al requested an alchemist’s lab, and after consulting with him, I asked the house to create a large room for his needs. We set up the work surfaces, cabinets, and all his equipment inside. I quietly instructed the house to seal the lab completely. Knowing what he was using, I didn’t want to be around those fumes. And I didn’t care that they thought I was an idiot. They finally convinced me the house couldn’t be affected, but I had no intention of getting high myself.

The days grew colder and colder, and even with my increased constitution, I needed a long-sleeved shirt and a jacket. The water in the lake also got progressively colder until we had to give up using the jet ski. Al reluctantly accepted that we would have to wait until spring to visit the swamp. Visiting a wet swamp clearly wasn’t a good idea with the plummeting temperatures.

To compensate, he started conducting all sorts of experiments with plants he collected in the gorge, the mushroom valley, our valley, and various seeds he bought on Earth and I had in Storage, attempting to graft something interesting. I was nice and gave him one bag of coffee seeds. I had seven crates—still, coffee.

He started reading some alchemy books from Lis and soon after wanted me to triple the size of his greenhouse, create areas with different mana levels, and even establish a dark arboretum. I had no idea what he was trying to achieve, and when he attempted to explain, I almost fell asleep and left it at that. His explanation caught my attention when he mentioned poisons are commonly used in beneficial potions. Something about two negatives creating a positive reminded me of how poisons are used on Earth to treat diseases. It also reminded me of the large stock of poison from borrowers and scorpy-wolves from Tuonela. I gave him all the poisons, and he thanked me for three days straight.

I was still trying to learn how to fly, but with little success. When I was in the air, I tried willing my body to move forward or intending for it to move, but nothing happened. I even attempted to mimic swimming motions, hoping that might help, but still no luck. Mahya saw me do it and burst out laughing, literally falling on the grass, rolling from side to side, and kicking the air. I didn’t think it was that funny, but she clearly disagreed.

The breakthrough caught me off guard, and it was so simple that I spent two days facepalming and shaking my head in total incredulity. I was in the air, trying again to convince the wind to move me forward. Of course, she didn’t cooperate, her joy clear in the whispers on the breeze. While levitating, I spotted something shimmering on the shore across the lake and wanted to go there to investigate.

My body shot forward out of nowhere, racing toward the shimmering spot. Panic set in as the ground came rushing up.

No, no, no, I don’t want to hit the ground!

I stopped midair, just hovering.

What just happened?

Suspended in the air, I tried to figure out how I’d flown. I went over everything: I tried convincing the wind to push me; she laughed at me; I got annoyed, and that was it.

Hmm, what was I thinking?

That I wanted to reach the sparkling spot on the beach.

My body slammed into the ground, leaving me dazed for a minute. When I finally sat up, I noticed a thin layer of frost covering the ground, sparkling when the sun hit it just right.

It can’t be that simple. It just can’t!

I floated in the air again, staring at the house, and wanted to go home. My body shot toward it. This time, I wasn’t quick enough to think, “I don’t want to hit the house,” and crashed into it at full speed. At the last second, I jerked my head to the side, so I only hit with the side of my head and shoulder, not the top. Rolling down the roof, I landed on the grass, completely dazed and disoriented.

Mahya’s face appeared above me, her eyes wide with concern. She said something, but it didn’t register.

“Whah?” I managed to mumble.

She repeated her question, but my mind was still foggy.

“What?” I said again, blinking up at her.

Mahya sighed, then took out a vial and gave me a drink. Instantly, my body kicked into high gear—my heart rate increased, my muscles tensed as if ready for a fight, and I started to sweat. But my head cleared.

“What happened?” she asked, her voice sharp.

“I crashed into the house,” I replied, wincing.

“I saw that. Why did you crash into it, and how did you do it?”

“I figured out how to fly but haven’t mastered all the kinks yet,” I admitted.

“You have a concussion. Your eyes look funny. You better heal yourself.”

I cast Healing Touch on myself and felt much better. My head cleared completely, and I felt a click as my shoulder snapped back into place.

Ouch!

“Did I imagine it, or did you give me one of Al’s drug potions?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

She laughed, shaking her head. “No. I gave you a potion, but not a drug potion.”

“I thought those were the only potions he had right now.”

“Maybe. But it’s not from him. Remember Lis gave us health potions before he left?”

Right.

I nodded, feeling sheepish.

“What exactly happened?” she pressed.

“I figured out how to move myself. But I must still learn to do it right without bumping into things.”

“How?”

“Before this, I constantly tried to will myself to move or intend to move. But I never thought about where I wanted to move. I just thought about moving in general. It turns out that what’s needed is wanting to get to a specific place. Lis kept telling me that magic follows intent. My mistake was not giving it enough thought and considering all the implications and ramifications. It’s not enough to have intent; it has to be actual intent. You need a desire to get to a specific place, and then it’s an actual intent, with substance.”

“Huh!” she said and looked dumbfounded.

“My thought exactly.”

We continued to sit on the grass, both lost in thought. It was so simple that I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I facepalmed and shook my head, still in disbelief. I just couldn’t accept that it was really that simple.