Melissa sniffed as a loose strand of hair tickled her nose.
Her father's office was bright, magical crystals lighting the room, as they had been for the last 2 days straight. Open books were strewn about the office, her father's bookshelf looking almost barren.
She dragged her focus down to the page in front of her again, her eyes wandering back to the book in front of her. It was about 30 seconds after that when she realised she wasn't able to read the words in the book, even with her glasses on.
She was exhausted.
Her hair was a mess, having been pulled out of the tie she had it in about 17 hours ago. Her fingers were practically raw from how many pages she had turned, her joints ached from sitting for so long, and the bags under her eyes could probably carry horses.
But she couldn't sleep. Not yet.
Her father's study was the most complete archive of information about magic and Mana in all of Mustafu, having linked copies to tomes held in the capital that most people didn't even know existed.
They didn't have a [Greater Restoration Potion] on hand. And hell, they didn't even know if a [Greater Restoration Potion] would remove the [?] debuff from him after being affected by it for so long.
So, if there was a way to stop whatever the hell the debuff was from hurting her father, then she didn't want to rest until she found it. But now, two days into her search, she hadn't found anything, and her body was running out of steam.
A shaky hand came away from the pages of the book she was trying to read, a green rune appearing above it. "[Minor Restoration]"
The aches in her body faded slightly, allowing her a break from her soreness, but it hadn't done anything to her mental tiredness. Frustration built up inside of her, her hands balling up into fists as she brought her menu up in front of her face.
"Why… why did this happen? No one has even been made to fight a double incursion before. So why now? And why did this happen to father?"
But there was nobody else in the office to answer her. Tears appeared in her eyes, blurring her vision, and after a moment or two of struggling, she finally was beaten by her need for sleep.
There was a soft thud as her forehead hit the pages of the book she had been attempting to read, and her tears ran from the anti-water enchantment on the paper, hitting the floor. The crystals lighting the room automatically turned off, sensing that the only occupant of the room was asleep.
She wasn't awake to see her menu fuzz for a moment, nor was she awake to feel the aura of apology that escaped it when it did.
Izuku hummed to himself, staring at the basic menu above his palm.
[4:27 PM]
[Status Screen]
[Friends]
[Party]
[Descriptions]
[Notifications] [1]
He moved into the [Notifications] tab, going to the only one that he hadn't checked yet.
[Notice!]
[Some abilities have undergone changes due to the extreme amount of Mana and Level bonuses present during their use. Would you like to review these changes?
[Yes] | [No]
He couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face as he pressed on [Yes]. His menu went blank for a moment before messages started appearing. "Alright, Rumi. I'm bringing up all of the abilities that 'underwent changes due to extreme amounts of Mana and Level bonuses'. I'm still not sure what that means though…"
Rumi moved to sit down next to him and he automatically went to make a [Earthspike] seat for her, so that she was at equal height to him, and grunted when the seat appeared quicker than it ever had before.
Rumi seemed to notice as well, a smug-looking grin on her face. "Well, usually when a message similar to that shows up for me, it's an upgrade of some sort to an ability that's falling behind my levels… So that's probably what it is for you, too? Just… scaled up to your hero power or whatever the hell Shield told me about was."
He glanced at her and she blinked, whistling softly to her. "Damn, how do I get one of those boosts? I could do with some upgrades. Might help me finally catch that birdbrain and put him in a headlock."
As Izuku nodded and turned to the list, reading down it, his breath caught in his chest.
[Double Strike] has evolved into [Triple Strike]
Your attack does triple damage, before any reductions.
3 Stamina per Attack.
Rumi let out a snort at that, shaking her head. "That one is a good one, right there. People underestimate how much more 'triple' is when compared to 'double' but trust me when I say it rocks."
Izuku nodded, still a bit too excited to speak. Rumi clicked her tongue. "It's insane to think you got it at just Level 20, though. It only evolved for me when I hit got to Level 50."
She shook her head again, mumbling something Izuku didn't catch.
[Lunge] has evolved into [Earth Strider]
Instantly travel a distance up to the equivalent of 1.5 times your [Agility]
Able to generate [Earthsculpt] or [Quicksand] on the path taken, up to the user's discretion
4 Stamina per Attack
[Earthen Shield] and [Defenders Shield] have merged to form [Earthern Vanguard]
Halves the damage for a single strike that hits you, and completely negates [Earth]-type damage for a single hit. Costs 5 mana for each hit.
When activated, you can grant all allies within 20 metres this effect.
Izuku's eyes were wide as he read the descriptions, and Rumi just brought her hand up to her eyes. "This is fucking bullshit. All of this… You're one lucky motherfucker, Izuku."
Izuku couldn't help but agree. "[Earth Strider] is incredible! [Quicksand] is fairly self-explanatory, so being able to put that down and avoid damage at the same time is great And with [Earthern Vanguard], I can directly protect people! And against [Earth]-type monsters it negates the damage!"
Rumi let out a sigh, and nodded. "Yep, these are already pretty damn good. Let's just quick-fire the last of them so we can get onto practise, alright? We just need a general idea, we can look into the specifics later."
Scrolling down the menu, Izuku nodded. "Alright, here are the last few notifications."
[Protection of the Earth] has evolved into [Aegis of the Earth]
[Passive]
All armour you wear is 50% more effective, and 20% lighter.
[Earth]-type magic armour is 75% more effective, and 50% lighter
[Earthspike] has evolved into [Earthsculpt]
The [Earth] has acknowledged you; together, you conquered the storm.
Allows for the shaping of nearby earth, both for direct combat and for the construction of obstacles and basic shapes
Variable Mana usage.
[Identify] has evolved into [Identify+]
Allows you to see the stats and abilities of anything below a danger rating of 3. Costs 2 Mana per use.
Skill does not consume mana if the target is an [Earth]-type monster or item.
All evolutions have been acknowledged.
Would you like to view newly gained abilities for reaching Level [20]?
[Yes] | [No]
Izuku quickly tapped [Yes], and another small list appeared.
Arcane Armaments [Level 16]
[Passive]
Magical Weapons, Armour, and Trinkets are 50% more effective when wielded by you.
[Earth]-type Magical Weapons, Armour, and Trinkets are 100% more effective when wielded by you.
Quicksand [Level 16]
The [Earth] envelops your foes
Create a patch on the ground where enemies will sink slowly into it. Flying creatures are immune while in the air, and resistant while on the ground.
You are not affected by this pull.
15 Mana per use
Stone's Endurance [Level 19]
[Passive]
When you reach 10% total [Stamina], instantly regain an amount equal to your [Strength] and [Endurance] combined.
Has 1 use, this use resets at midnight.
Tectonic Surge [Level 19]
The [Earth] is unyielding, and so shall you be.
Your [Endurance] is tripled for a minute, and your [Strength] is doubled.
20 Mana per use
Izuku still wasn't mobile enough to use many of his new abilities, but he was already vibrating in his rolly chair in excitement about being able to test them out.
BOOM
Izuku flinched as a nearby training dummy exploded from the force of Rumi's kick. He was getting slightly used to the sound though, as it was the third or fourth that Rumi had detonated.
Izuku could tell she was working through some stuff. Potentially jealousy, which concerned him. Rumi was not someone he wanted to be on the bad side of at all, even if it wasn't really her fault.
Rumi was breathing deeply as she stood, staring at the shattered remains of the training dummy, but Izuku knew it was more about anger management than tiredness. After a moment where she seemed to be considering paying for another dummy, she shook her head and turned to him.
"Alright. That helped a little bit. I'm still… seething slightly after seeing all of those upgrades… but I'll just have to cope with that."
Shaking her head, she rolled her shoulders and glanced over at him. "Well, seeing as you're already injured we can't go testing them in the Dungeon, so just show me the ones you can use in the chair, like [Earthsculpt] and [Quicksand]."
Izuku nodded, looking out into the empty training area and focusing on a patch of plain dirt a few meters in front of him, and activated [Earthsculpt], a shape already in his mind. It started out quickly, 4 cylinders appearing out of the ground like stabbing spears, but slowed down considerably as Izuku tried to make them grow into an actual shape.
It was clear that he was still going to have to practise a lot if he wanted to make anything other than spikes and walls swiftly.
After about 10 minutes of trying to wrangle his newly gained control over the shape of the stone he was sculpting, a small statue of Sir Ratsudon stood in front of him and Rumi. He glanced up at her to see what she thought and saw her seemingly deep in thought.
"Hmm, this is similar to the stuff that [Magic Mason] and [Mage] multi-classes usually get around your level. I think I saw some guy in the capital able to do something similar, actually."
While she was talking, Sir Ratsudon padded up to his doppelganger and started sniffing at it, looking at Izuku in what he could only describe as 'confused but grateful.'
Glancing down at him, she shook her head again. "I don't know why the system upgraded you to some buffed-up version of a crafting ability, but by now I think I know that you'll find some use for it."
Izuku couldn't help the grin on his face as Rumi stepped forward and around Sir Ratsudon and his likeness, moving a few meters away from them before turning back to Izuku. "Alright Izuku, [Quicksand] next."
He nodded, focusing on the ground underneath her, activating the new skill, and watched as it actually changed colour and texture. Rumi let out a small huff as she started slowly sinking, a frown on her face.
She then pulled her feet out with seemingly no effort whatsoever, and Izuku allowed the ability to fade away. "Hmm. I could definitely feel it trying to drag me down… but I think I just out-level you too much for it to do anything to me."
Izuku nodded, having honestly not expected his ability to be able to contain someone almost 50 levels higher than him.
Rumi grinned at him anyway, patting him on the shoulder. "But get yourself up to my level… and that's gonna be some dangerous shit to use on your enemies."
Izuku couldn't help but grin back, nodding. "I'll just have to catch up to you then so that I can finally win a practice match."
Shaking her head, Rumi laughed, a smirk on her face. "Ha! I'd usually say something like… 'I'd like to see you try' but after the shit you do you pulled on that dragon… just don't go breaking my record, alright? Shit gets me a lot of contracts."
Sensing that they were likely done practising for the day, Izuku allowed Rumi to drag his rolly chair along behind her as she left the training area, and headed back to the Inn. Even though he hadn't done much today other than getting wheeled around and testing his new abilities, he was already pretty exhausted.
But as they were moving, Izuku spotted a familiar head of pink hair running through the streets, and Mei stopped for a moment when she noticed the two of them as well.
"Izuku! Good, I don't have to find you. Quickly, follow me, apparently, Melissa collapsed!"
Mei then started sprinting towards Shield manor again. Izuku nodded to Rumi, who started jogging after the pink-haired blacksmith. Worry creased his face at Mei's words as he gripped the armrests of the rolly chair.
'I hope you're ok, Melissa!'