The Great Chapel was surprisingly crowded, filled with all sorts of priests, adventurers, and knights. Regardless of who it was, they imdiately made room and allowed us through.
"The hero!"
"Shhh, be respectful,"
"Bless my child!"
"Long live the Sun God!"
Soltair smiled benevolently, exchanging pleasantries with all who reached out to him, but sohow kept moving steadily forward. The Shard of Omniscience glead brilliantly, flashing with runes all over as people touched it.
We were given a spot by one of the attending priests, who then took the liberty of clearing away any spectators. A Hero's power was a tightly guarded secret, and it was all too easy to read what was displayed on the Shard.
"You go first," Soltair said, guiding my hand onto the Shard. I relaxed as the warm strength of the crystal perated my body. I called my mana and shivered as it reacted with the Shard, and runes materialized on the surface.
Na: Xiviyah, Hero of Fate
Race: Demonkin
Status: Sun's Divine Curse; Fate's Blessing; Slave Contract: Sun Hero
Abilities: Magic: Fate (9th); Adaptive Resistance: Holy: (2nd), Curse (3th), Lightning (1st), Fire (1st), Ice (1st); Eyes of Fate;
"Curious," Soltair said, narrowing his eyes as he peered at the Identification.
"Looks like my abilities increased?" I asked. The Adaptive Resistance had obviously changed, increasing the level of the original resistances, and adding a few new types of magic entirely.
Soltair studied my face carefully, his eyes lingering so long I nearly blushed. Right when it was getting awkward, he blinked and turned away, as though finally realizing he'd been staring.
"Sorry. I was just wondering what sort of magic those priests used that attacked you."
I shivered, recalling the various spells they'd attacked with. "Sun was definitely the most dominant type of magic, and it was also the only one to actually hit . I blocked the rest with magic. Curse magic wasn't involved either, so if that theory is correct, why would the level increase?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "But it looks like your resistance grows every ti you experience a type of magic. If only we had more evidence."
I didn't like the look he gave , feeling too much like a rat in a cage. "I'd rather not." Getting burned by Sun Magic once was bad enough. It did make curious though. Would the Divine Star, the floating sun that weakened demons, be as effective now?
"Well, regardless of the chanics, we didn't learn anything new. Guess I'll go next," Soltair said.
He placed his palm against the Shard, closing his eyes. Driven by curiosity, I activated the Eyes of Fate and observed the process. I regretted it almost imdiately, as the Shard shone brighter than any sun I'd seen. Every ti soone touched it, a new blossom of light would erupt from the crystal and join with the person's personal mana. It would cycle through their body and return to the shard, at which point a series of runes would appear. The process was so swift and clean I had to watch it several tis, and soon it beca very clear. The invasive mana had no interaction with the individual, just simply read what was there.
Absorbed by the shard's functions, I jumped, startled, as Soltair touched my shoulder. "Everything alright?" I nodded quickly, feeling ashad of his concern. What, did he already finish? I wanted to see his stats...
"Let's go. We don't have much ti till the duel starts," he said, pulling along with a smile.
"Okay. Do you have any ideas?"
"Maybe, but it's pretty risky and requires you to use a fourth-circle spell."
I stopped short, jerking him to a stop. He looked back at , and I realized he'd been holding my hand this whole ti.
"Xiviyah?"
I shook my head and brushed the red from my cheeks. "I don't know if I can do that. Third is the highest I've done, and even if I could, it takes weeks to learn a single fourth-circle spell."
"I know, but it's our only choice."
Seeing him so earnest tugged at my heart. Soltair had nothing to lose here, yet chose to worry about . "I can try," I said, almost unable to et his eyes. "How long do I have?"
"About an hour. Let's get to the library."
A hero on the move was a force to be reckoned with. Hallways cleared as priests dove out of our way, and we arrived within a few short minutes. Thron looked up as we barged into the Great Library, frowning in disapproval at the commotion. He relaxed slightly when he saw who we were.
"Ah, it's you. Sun Hero, it's rare to see you in these hallowed halls. Co to brush up on your magic? I assure you, we have just the right-"
"Not now, Chief Librarian. I rember hearing about a spell called 'Link Ability.' Do you have it here?"
"Hmm, that sounds like a Fate spell. I'm afraid our catalog contains simply too many spells for to know them all, but allow to assist you." He paused, then looked up sharply. "Wait, don't you have a duel soon?"
"That's why we're here," Soltair said, fidgeting impatiently. "That bastard of a hero plans on fighting dirty, and this is our only option left."
For so reason, I was reminded of Fate's words. There was always a choice. Was this what she was talking about?
"I see. Then let's get going. I'd hate to see one of our regulars disgraced by such a man." Thron said. He pushed his glasses up with a sniff and led us to the magic elevator.
"Amazing!" Soltair breathed, looking over the edge as we ascended. "It's just like an elevator back ho."
"Uh, is this your first ti here?" I asked tentatively.
He laughed and scratched his head sheepishly. "I'm not one for books."
"Then how did you learn your magic?"
He looked around to make sure Thron wasn't too close and leaned in close. "I didn't. I started off with Sun Magic, 5th, which everyone knows about. However, about a week in, the ability underwent an evolution and beca Sun Mastery. I had barely begun dabbling in magic by then, and entirely outgrew the need. Sun magic obeys my thoughts, shaping itself to my will. I fake the chants, and the magic circles appear on their own. I'm only constrained by my mana capacity."
I felt awash with disbelief. "And no one's noticed?" That was actually similar to what I had done my first ti, when I cast chantless. Wasn't that supposed to be dangerous?
"I fooled you, didn't I?" he chuckled. It was infuriating to think he'd never told , but at the sa ti, I was relieved he trusted enough to let in on his secret.
"We're here," Thron said, casting a sidelong glance at us. Although his eyes glead with curiosity, he had enough restraint to avoid eavesdropping.
I ran to the Fate Magic section, careful to avoid running into any of the priests or mages who were busy studying. They wouldn't be near as tolerant with as they were Soltair.
"No running!" Thron called, but could only lower his voice as Soltair took off after . He grumbled sothing else, but I ignored him and found the fourth-circle spell section.
"There's so few spells here," Soltair remarked. Despite our hurry, his breath was light and even. I envied his constitution, but could only pant until I caught my breath.
We looked frantically through the scrolls and tos, nearly knocking them off the shelves in our fervor. After a few minutes, I jumped as a heavy hand fell on my shoulder.
"It's here, hero," Thron said, holding a thin to up. "Please, don't make any more of a ss."
"How did you find it?" I asked, pulling the book into my hands.
"I am the librarian, after all," he said proudly. "Also, the books are categorized by complexity and code, so it's easy to find once I know the na."
"Oh. You'll have to teach that code later," I said, avoiding looking at the ss of paper in our wake. I made a ntal note to apologize later, but now wasn't the ti.
I sat down and opened the book. The spell wasn't too difficult to morize, especially with my knowledge of chant and runes. Most of the to was comnts and experiences in regards to casting it, but I barely skimd those. But, the more I read, the more I grew concerned. This isn't right at all. Who had written this spell?
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