Chapter 34 – Harmful Times Gone and now Better at Work
Chapter 34 - Harmful Times Gone and now Better at Work
“Haha!” Valmyst cheered as a barrier appeared around Catcher. “My magic has finally reached the next level!” It had been a long time coming, and to Catcher’s credit, he gave Valmyst exactly what she needed to advance. Many moments of advice, the opportunity to integrate into the city, and assistance in getting work, among other things.
He clapped and cheered with her. “Congrats! You’ve managed to really do it.” He tapped the barrier and felt the resistance. He took a few steps and the barrier moved with him. “Can you make it bigger or stronger?”
“Yes to both.” Valmyst used [Reinforce] to improve the barrier, which made it glow; however, she stopped it soon after. “The barrier size is better set on use, but I can improve the barrier’s strength in bursts when needed.”
Behind the cheer, Valmyst looked at her friend. The wounds hadn’t completely healed.
Hidden beneath his shirt was an ugly scar, and the area of his upper left arm had been filled in with noticeably smaller muscle.
Valmyst complained, ‘Was that really the best that could be done?’ He was alive, yes, and maybe from a cursory glance he seemed fine, but the scorpion was forced to watch all the slowness in his every motion.
Two healers that had been on site had died in the chaos. They also happened to be the two healers brought along for this mission, which meant the time between the injuries happening and the healing mage actually arriving to use their skills was greatly extended. Healing magic could be powerful, but the majority of skills that could regenerate missing segments of the body usually required to be performed soon after the incident. The more time lapsed, the greater the difficulty would be.
There were exceptions, and apparently this incident didn’t count as something the guilds or city would use their favours to try and bring an advanced healer over. Valmyst knew it may not even be physically possible, but she wished to see her friend up and about sooner.
It really hasn’t been long…
The incident from a few days ago truly had caused Valmyst to rethink many things. Her goals for everything intensified. She needed levels to begin stronger. She needed to increase her [Intelligence] to improve the development of her skills. She needed money to buy and collect more books. And she needed the peace to be able to read all of said books!
Positive goals really made reality more pleasant.
With the quick showcase complete, Valmyst brought over lunch for the two of them. Today was supposed to be another quick training session between the two of them. Well, mostly Valmyst training while Catcher provided pointers. He couldn’t do too much with his injuries, as even the doctors told him to not stress himself for at least the next month. So helping his junior occasionally with training was a good use of his time.
The moment Valmyst had gotten back from the trip, she immediately dove deep into two activities. Digesting the improvements she gained from her trip along with practising all her skills, and a whole lot of reading to simply enjoy herself.
Both activities gave her a good amount of joy. Reading was fun, and self-improvement was hard to not smile at.
Outside of [Barrier], which she could now use on targets at most thirty metres away, she also had improvements in her other skills.
[Reinforce] could also be used on other targets more easily. However, there was a small hiccup between it and [Barrier]. For one, the range for other targets was only a metre, the one exception being [Barrier] itself. Perhaps it was because they were both her skills, or since she had been using them together basically every time.
With assistance from Catcher, she had been testing it on other people. Repeated practice like this did feel like it was helping improve her efficiency with the skill. Having a second opinion also allowed for a deeper understanding of the skill.
Catcher explained that, along with improving his general [Endurance], it greatly reduced the stress of certain skills he had on his body. This was an area Valmyst hadn’t explored and, without guidance, potentially would never have learned. While with her limited range this perk of her skill couldn’t be used on others yet, the possibility was something to look forward to as it would assist in marketing herself as a useful ally.
[Force Pull] also reached the stage that she dreamed of reaching. She now could ‘pull’ from a distance to a second target. Whether that meant pulling something’s foot to the ground so it found difficulty to move forward, diverting a swing, moving a projectile, or even assisting an ally in striking a weak point, it was all possible! With the minor downsides of ever-increasing cost. Having either target not being herself or her barrier increased the burden; so did the range from her, the range between the two targets, and the duration she used the skill for.
Certainly painful downsides that nearly caused her to faint in practice, but being able to do it was a big step forward.
The two of them enjoyed their lunch. The painful mission did mean both had acquired a good amount of funds. The people in charge did at least try to reward people, especially after a number of people died and the recovery for some was going to be even longer than Catcher's.
I should’ve probably saved some of those funds…
The scorpion had unfortunately spent quite a large portion of her reward money on buying books. To the point where she couldn’t afford to do zero work during this time. Catcher, while kind and even thought about shouting lunch a few times, decided to allow the young lady to pay the price for her decision.
The elephant that had left the room was Henry Morrow and his silly little squad. Valmyst did not see anyone from that group after everything was completed. Catcher mentioned seeing them in the cave and later outside the mountain. Valmyst decided it was for the best. She wasn’t sure what to do if they ended up in front of her again.
The mission against the Iron Army was declared a success, which the scorpion hoped was true; she didn’t want to deal with another swarm of those pests in the future. She had more exciting prospects to look forward to, like being a much more desirable teammate!