Magicraft master a mass.., p.22
MagiCraft Master: A Mass Isekai LitRPG, page 22
Then the king rose even higher in the air. “ ‘Tis an omen! Yes! A good omen! Our alliance with the Tall Folk is blessed!”
“Uh yeah, about that,” Freya said and cringed. “We’ve hit a bit of a snafu.”
“A what?” the king asked, stroking his beard.
The crowd murmured at the word.
“She said ‘snafu’?”
“What a great name!”
“How come we never thought of it!
“I am with daughter, on the third moon, as you know!” one of the young Faelves said.
“Name her Snafu!”
“Oh, you must, Flirra!”
Freya sighed. She couldn’t help but laugh at their enthusiasm, but this lot clearly needed Adderall.
Freya explained what a snafu was, but Flirra was still going to name her child that, simply because they all loved the sound of it. Freya wouldn’t argue against it. Afterward they returned to the topic at hand and Freya explained to the king and his court about Malcolm and his deal with the Dorves.
“Grave, grave news,” the King said, shaking his head. “This will increase the Black Rains. It will not be safe for our [Explorers] or [Gatherers].”
“Will you be alright?” Freya asked.
“Our home is safe. Very rarely do the spawns of the Great Thief get through the swamp, for the creatures which dwell there are aggressive to intruders, as they are allies of ours and our friends. ‘Tis why you were not attacked on your way here, for Logan is our friend.”
The court was outraged.
“But the Felfel mushrooms!”
“And the wild pigs! Oh, how I love their milk. The fiends will murder them!”
“Murderers! The Dorves are murderers!”
King Sluikumar bellowed out. “Silence!”
“I am here for two reasons,” Freya said. “At the request of Logan, for my safety, if you are indeed being truthful. And I am here to verify that what you told Logan is true.”
“You are here as a guest and a friend,” Sluikumar said. “But we cannot uphold an agreement and alliance if you Tall Folk don’t keep to the bargain.”
Freya hung her head. “I will tell our leader what you told me. Maybe if Logan and I tell the same story, it’ll be enough to convince him.”
“Perhaps,” the king said. “But the Black Rain will surely fall soon. You will stay here and be safe.”
“Wait, I can’t leave?” Freya asked, alarmed.
The court laughed and King Sluikumar’s face was pure outrage. He let out a loud exhale. “What is this, a joke of the Tall Folk? Of course you can leave, you young fool. But you should not. We have many tales to tell, many cups to drink, and it is dangerous out there—more dangerous than before, now that the Dorves have made their move. You will leave when ready. But first, my friend, it is time.”
“Time? Freya asked. “Time for what?”
“Time for you to meet the Spirit.”
CHAPTER 45
Unfortunately, Logan got no levels from his latest craft. It was a simple design, so he wasn’t surprised, but it was a little disappointing. It had only used 3 percent of his internal Numa, which he had charged up when visiting the Faelves. It seemed to be a durable asset.
Logan was still very happy with his creation. It was a makeshift megaphone, made of two large, thick, leathery leaves, essentially duct-taped together with a jungle-vine. The green cone had no handles, but Logan had made a hole in the device and cinched it with a piece of vine over his shoulder.
Of course, the crafts project was nothing more than a cone made of leaves, and a shoddy one at that. Of course, it was modeled after Tumor’s optimal designs, but Logan had decided against using [Transmutation] on this, as it would be a throwaway item. And of course he had [Enchanted] it to be voice-amplifying. Logan had made it so that a voice spoken into it would carry clearly by a hundred yards, and that the [Enchantment] didn’t need to last for longer than two minutes of continuous speech. Even with the latter stipulation, it had still chunked his internal Numa by 8 percent, bringing his charge down to 89 percent.
After making the megaphone, Logan had asked for Tumor to give him a map of the surrounding area. It was about time he asked for it. Tumor agreed but wasn’t surprised that it had taken Logan so long. That made Logan smirk. He had to admit, he kind of liked the AI’s passive-aggressive snark.
Logan examined the red hologram in front of him. The current base was five miles (4.86 miles, according to Tumor) to the east from the Faelves and three and a half miles north from the waterfall and the pond. The ruins with the bug infestation was about eight miles southwest from the camp. It was very likely the Dorves were somewhere in that direction, but who knew? It seemed there were a lot of ruins around, and Logan hadn’t even had the time to look for them properly.
He and Tumor went back and forth for a while on the most optimal place to settle a new camp. Logan liked the area where the river turned into a waterfall, but it was uncomfortably close to the camp—not only due to the potential monster attacks, but also because Logan would prefer to be as far away from his father as possible.
But we’ll need fresh water, and who knows what’s up north. The devil you know and all that …
“Alright,” Logan said, trepidation lacing his voice, “let’s do this.”
He started scaling the tree. It was an easy one to climb because of the many vertical branches. This was of course the reason Logan had chosen the tree. He wasn’t a bad climber, being generally athletic and having had a stint of bouldering with Freya during a winter they spent in Prague. But he’d rather not take undue risks, so he weighed his every step. Of course he had also told Tumor to mark the optimal foot and handholds with red, but that wouldn’t go in Logan’s memoirs.
With some grunting and elbow grease, Logan finally made it up twenty feet in the air. He was overlooking the base from a hilltop, so he actually had more altitude than the twenty or so feet. The camp with Den and two other buildings looked busy and small, like a really rundown ant farm.
Logan placed a finger on his temple.
Well. Let’s cast that die, I guess …
“Listen to me. It’s Logan Specter. I have information you need to know.”
Logan’s magically enhanced voice echoed over the land. A few busy ants stopped in their tracks.
“I have visited a race of beings who have lived here longer than our new friends, the Dorves. They are called Faelves, and they say that if you use the technology given to us by the Dorves, that big monster in the sky, Levemoth, will appear again and rain down monsters.”
Logan looked down from his perch at the camp. People stopped what they were doing and looked around to see where the distinct sounds of a megaphone were coming.
“I’m not telling you what to do, I’m just telling you what I learned. You have two options. Abandon the camp, your shiny new toys, and the leadership of my father, Malcolm Specter. I suggest this option. If you choose to stay and be thralls to the Dorves, who are using you to farm Numa, for the love of god, at least build walls, craft weapons and traps, and prepare.”
Logan took a deep breath and braced himself for the last bit. His resolve pushed him to say to the rest.
“I suggest we settle at the waterfall by the pond. I’ll be the leader, if you guys want me to. Honestly though, I don’t want to lead. There are plenty of skilled agents who would surely be up to the task. Or maybe someone else. Point is, we don’t need or want an egomaniac CEO leading two dozen people. We need someone grounded and experienced in hands-on leadership.”
Logan was about to put his makeshift megaphone down, but he added one more thing. “So uh … This is mostly for the agents, but also for anyone else it might concern. I know I’ve been an asshole and you might wonder why you should listen to me. You’re right. I’m just some rich brat, and a pretty annoying one at that. But I don’t know … I’ve discovered something new here. Anyway, that’s not the point …”
Logan took another breath and looked at the megaphone pensively before continuing.
“The point is I’m being earnest. I just want you guys to know what kind of deal you’re getting here. I’m not looking to stir up shit or split us into different teams. By giving this information to you guys, I’m now banished from the camp. So I’ll settle by the waterfall. If you guys don’t want to join me, I totally get it. But if you do, I’ll tell you more about what I know and what alternatives we might have. Bye.”
With that Logan tossed down the megaphone. It had served its utility and barely had any charge left anyway. He started climbing down.
[I think that went well. You can be rather eloquent for … well you know … for you.]
Logan smiled wryly. “Thanks, Tumor.”
There was a sense of calm to Logan. A sense of certainty. Oh, the outcome of him stirring the beehive would be anything but certain. Logan wondered if anyone would even come. But he knew it had been the right thing to do. For the first time in his life, he felt he had done something right. It felt pure and beautiful. It made his throat constrict and his eyes well.
Logan felt freedom.
He really hoped, whatever happened, that no one had to die. Malcolm Specter would surely keep some of the people under his thrall. And Logan would be more than willing to trade with those people and cooperate on common interests, such as growing crops. But he would never again be controlled by his father. Never again would he bargain for his fate. For the first time in his life, Logan was free.
Logan hopped down on the ground and wiped the sap from his hands against the tree’s rough bark. A little squirrel-monkey watched him curiously and gibbered. Logan smiled at the thing, then started making his way toward the pond.
He got two paces into it before someone knocked him out.
CHAPTER 46
Freya brought up her status screen every five minutes and looked at it, as giddy and excited as a schoolgirl. She had gotten a class and apparently a special one. This one hadn’t been on her list of available or suggested classes, she was sure of it.
It was so unique that King Sluikumar had even sent [Scouts] to the other Faelf communities to tell them what had happened. Apparently she was now some kind of a priest of the Spirit Goddess of Numa. She had even gained two skills in the process; [Bloom] and [Bless].
I’m going to level up hard and show up Logan! Oh, I can’t wait to tell him. He’ll be so proud.
Freya went up to the seed she had planted but two hours earlier. It was placed in the middle of the grove, next to Logan’s seed.
“[Bloom].”
[Skill Level Up!]
[Bloom Level 2]
[Attribute Level Up!]
[Harmony: 2]
[Potency: 2]
A sprout with a dark olive stalk and a few tiny silver leaves pushed up from the ground. Freya was alone, which was a blessing unto itself. Surely the excitable Faelves would have lost their marbles over this. Freya felt her heart racing. How could it not? With her class, she could give life.
For the umpteenth time, Freya brought up her class interface.
Freya Beckstein - [Spirit Wife Level 1]
Attributes:
Potency: 2
Spirit: 1
Harmony: 2
Numa: 1
Vitality: 1
Subclasses:
[Cultivation]: 1
[Priestess of Numa]: 1
Class Skills:
[Bloom]: 2
[Bless]: 1
General Skills:
N/A
That minty fresh feeling was absolutely delightful. She wanted more of it. Reaching for the Numa inside of her, she brought a hand over Logan’s mound of dirt.
“[Bloom].”
[Sub-class Level Up!]
[Cultivation Level 2]
[Attribute Level Up!]
[Numa: 2]
Damn, that feels good. I want more.
Freya still had a solid 90 percent left of her internal Numa charge. And in any case, the Faelves had told her that she could eat some Numa fruit to level up her class if she wanted to. This was the best she had felt in years! Freya suddenly understood the change that Logan had gone through.
Well, that’s not fair. He’s become a much better man for far more reasons than just having a class.
In a fit of guilt, Freya shuffled closer to the mound with Logan’s seed and placed both of her hands on the cool dirt.
“[Bless]!”
But nothing happened.
“Huh,” Freya muttered to herself. “I suppose I should first decide the manner of blessing?”
That felt right. It wasn’t exactly an external feeling, like the whisper from the Goddess which she had received when she got her class. But it felt intuitively like a good idea, in a very strong way. Like how the sight of a spider made her intuitively want to kill it and run away at the same time. Okay, maybe not that strong.
Goddess? I’m sorry, I don’t know how this works, so I’m probably bad at it. But here goes. You listening? Oh god, this is stupid, isn’t it? Stop saying that. Okay, focus. [Bless] this sapling with strength, vitality, and luck. Give it the same love I give to Logan.
[Skill Level Up!]
[Bless Level 2]
[Sub-class Level Up!]
[Priestess of Numa Level 2]
[Attribute Level Up!]
[Spirit: 2]
[Potency: 3]
The ground under her hands glowed a soft, faint blue for a moment before it vanished. Freya checked her internal Numa charge. It was at 72 percent.
Damn, that baby sucked me dry. Thanks, Goddess. Oh no, was that disrespectful? Thank you? I don’t know the rules!
Regardless of that, it seemed like she had the goddess’s grace on her side for now, so it was time to get cracking. Freya extended her hands, interlaced them, and cracked them as well as her neck. Logan hated when she did that, but he wasn’t here.
Freya was in the middle of thinking of what else she could do and what would be next, when a shy tinkling voice called, “Hello?”
Freya turned. It was a male Faelf with glossy porcelain skin. He smiled at her uncertainly.
“Hi,” Freya said and smiled. “What’s your name?”
“ ‘Tis Snoff, O beautiful one,” he said. “I am the one who found your mate and brought him here.”
“You’re Snoff! I’m so happy to meet you!”
“Likewise, Freya,” Snoff said and shook off some of his timidness, as he clearly found her approachable. “I just came back from watching the camp of you Tall Folk. Oh, how painful ‘twas to see. You have allied yourselves with the fools of the deep. I tried finding Logan to ask him about this but could not. There was a big commotion at the camp, very chaotic.”
“I’m sure Logan’s fine,” Freya said. “He’s out there adventuring, finding Numa and whatnot.”
“You should not seek Numa unless you have the proper classes,” Snoff reminded her.
“How about a [Spirit Wife]?” Freya asked and grinned.
Snoff looked at her for two seconds, as if not sure if she was joking. Then his face burst into a wide grin. “Surely not?! Truly? That is amazing! What a class! So rare! The mother of my mother told me that the king before the king had one such consort with such a class. You are truly blessed like your mate, who planted the A-grade seed.”
Freya gave Snoff a mischievous smile.
“What?” Snoff asked. “What is it? Tell me!”
“I also planted an A-grade seed.”
Snoff actually stumbled backward. He brought a tiny hand to his naked chest and gasped. “Surely not? You Tall Folk must be truly amazing creatures!”
“Uh … I guess?” Freya said. “We are pretty awful sometimes, actually.”
“Surely not!” Snoff said. “To be blessed by the Spirit like this … You must be even more attuned to Numa than Logan is!”
“I don’t know.” Freya shrugged. “I’ve been watching Logan’s back all this time.”
“Is this something Tall Folk do with their mates? Is it a position for—”
“No!” Freya said and blushed. “And don’t remind me. We haven’t been able to … you know … ‘watch each other’s backs’ since we got here.”
“Oh ho!” Snoff’s eyes went as big as saucers. “I shall make sure you find a time and place to strengthen your bond as mates! ‘Tis a promise! But what is this ‘watching of back’ that you Tall Folk have?”
“It’s just an expression,” Freya said as she gently fingered the silver leaves of Logan’s sapling. “We all got transported into this world. And don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful world, if dangerous. But we had lives on Earth—good lives. And suddenly we have nothing but the clothes on our backs.”
“You Tall Folk have a strange fascination with back metaphors,” Snoff said and nodded sagely. “What does this have to do with Logan?”
“He just picked up the next moment like nothing happened,” Freya said and sighed. “I always saw something in him. He’s always been gentle and good. Yeah, he can be an arrogant jerk, but it’s mostly a show. I always saw something in him. I always brushed it off as chemistry. But now I know what it is, and why I think he’s the most valuable human.”
“Tall Folk rank people in value?!” Snoff asked, clearly offended. “That’s barbaric!”
“That’s …” Freya said and wrapped her arms against her knees. She missed Logan already. “Never mind. Point is that we don’t really know who’s who before we are tested, right?”
“Now this is an expression I can understand!” Snoff said, clearly pleased with himself.
“We were all tested. Still are. And Logan has not given an inch. He picked up the slack and charged forward when the rest of us were still trying to find our feet. I’m so glad I found mine, but damn, he’s something else.”
“You love your mate,” Snoff said and smiled softly.
Freya nodded.
“I like him too!” Snoff announced. “He saved my life, and for that I am in debt. And I shall start the rectification by providing you a secret place to mate!”
“Snoff!” Freya said and punched the Faelf playfully. Snoff got excited at that and the next moment he was dancing and skipping around Freya, poking and tickling her.
