All the information Mystogan had just told me about Edolas was bouncing around in my head as we searched the forest for our prizes. This job was pay per piece with certain items being worth more than others in proportion to their rarity. We had a list to go off of and Mystogan already knew most of what we were looking for so it went easily enough.
"We want to get a good amount, but we also need to leave enough that the next year's batch will be large." Mystogan explained to me as he caught the Kree nuts I threw out of the tree at him.
He had been telling me about potion making as a whole as well, since I'd asked him.
"Potions are something we in Edolas can make. One either needs an inherent store of magic to imbue the creation with the effect you want, or you need to use magical ingredients."
"I thought you said only the Exceed had magic in Edolas."
"The Exceed can't use magic in the same way that wizards here do, they live off of what they have and have some left over to work as they please or by their natural talents." Mystogan corrected. "No, there are some plants that have magic energy that is simply unharvestable for use in magic weapons. They were useful in potions, but unfortunately they were considered useless in defending the country. Almost all of them were exterminated in the fighting."
So wait, there were plants with innate magic in Edolas? Could their being wiped out have something to do with the shortages of magic power in that world? And what's more, could it be reversed?
I know there are certain plants that contain magic here, but the risks of transplanting an alien invasive species in a foreign world-
I put that little thought on the shelf. Mystogan had a knack for telling when I was thinking about something crazy and finding some way to derail it. I'd see if there was a way to bring magic back into Edolas some other time. A world without magic, a life without it, was something I could scarcely comprehend and thinking about it made me sick with vertigo.
A world without magic was a world without Fairy Tail. My Fairy Tail, and that wasn't a good thought.
"Ok, quota filled, Fae, no more." I jumped out of the tree then. I had my shock absorbing seals on my ankles, so dropping the 20 some feet didn't do anything except scare Mystogan a bit. He just sighed and let it go without scolding me.
"What's next?" This little job had been fun, and instructive in multiple ways.
"Just our little trip to the rocks." Which meant it was time to get ready to fight! I felt myself start to get excited.
I was no Natsu, I didn't fight for the sake of fighting. I liked growing. I liked testing myself. And there were only so many things I could test in my mental simulations.
I unslung my staff, giving the runes a quick check over.
"Ready!"
"Good. Now put this on." He handed me a small pin and I secured it to my jacket without question.
"What's that for?"
"You'll see."
-vVv-
Of course, fighting the imps was easier said than done.
The moment I entered the clearing, the imps had swarmed out to attack me. And I froze, not sure of what to do, memories of past battles ringing in my head. They took full advantage of my distraction and I had to do some quick dancing and jumping to get clear when they came at me. Once I got my head straight, I began searching for some kind of weakness I could exploit. I wasn't feeling like making this a straight up brute force melee. It really wasn't my style...
Shale Imps use and live off of Earth Magic. Their connection with the ground makes them stronger and more durable.
And then I had an idea.
I had been on the back foot for a bit before I found words to help. Unusual ones, but they did help. I grinned at the tiny rocky creatures, screeching like miniature avalanches.
"Let's see if we can get blood from a stone."
It didn't give me any real boost, but saying the line did help me focus.
Surrounded on three sides with Mystogan at my back. I need some space. They're made of rock, but they're still less than three feet tall and really skinny.
"Fire Cyclone." I muttered visualizing what I wanted and jabbing my staff out. A tornado of fire shot out at the enemies that were trying to close a circle around me to my left. I wanted to get away from the rock pile that was their home. I didn't like the idea of having my back turned towards it while I was pretty sure there were still some inside.
I had no real wind magic incorporated into my staff, so I had to power the spell directly, at least to start. But fire, and heat by extension, rose, so...
The tornado lifted four of the dozen imps off of the ground. I then activated the other seal testing bands on my ankles and darted forward at high speed.
All of the walking and impacts I had been putting on my legs all day was taking and storing a tiny bit of the kinetic energy of my movements. As such, I was able to zip around and smash the four airborne imps before they hit the ground. They hit the ground and remained motionless.
The other imps chittered uneasily at the display, but I wasn't letting up.
I used a copy of Macao's Rainbow Fire, as it was easier than using another tornado, to swat another two imps into the air and eliminate them. It was going pretty well, I thought.
At least until the massive pile of rocks started to quake...then started to rise.
I barely had time to blink before Mystogan grabbed me and pulled me out of the way, moving us both to a safe distance before putting me down.
"The imps inside have found the old relays that first animated the golem and are powering them. The more of them put their power into that thing, the stronger it will get." He told me quickly. "Don't let them get in." My heart was pounding with adrenaline. The fun exercise hadn't been what I expected but...I had an assignment. I had something I could do and the ability to do it.
I nodded firmly.
"Got it!"
Then Mystogan rose, unslinging another staff that seemed to warp the air around it. He threw two more to opposite sides of the clearing. They landed hard, planting themselves into the ground and their tips starting to glow.
Air Manipulation staff.
He's gonna be cutting pieces of it off, and the Shale Imps powering it, until he reaches the core and can dismantle the runes powering it.
Which left me outside to deal with the other six Shale Imps and keep them from getting inside.
They shrieked at me loudly, but made no attempt to run to the golem, instead they appeared to be swarming their fallen kin...
Oh no.
They fed on Earth Magic and lacrima. They were cannibalizing the fallen to get stronger!
They were here to eat the Golem, and decided to settle in it instead. Bigger body, bigger kills.
I knocked three imps away from eating the corpses, snatching up the glittering lacrima that served as their hearts and primary magical source. They were like rough marbles, as big around as my thumb. I pocketed them quickly, watching as the other imps I hadn't managed to stop twitched, and then suddenly grew to be about...my height. They were covered with more spikes and were about twice as bulky as they had previously been.
My height at least, made of rock, and looking mad. Not a good combo for me when I was still outnumbered.
The assignment of keeping them from entering the golem suddenly got a lot harder.
I reached for my flight rune, but it kept on eluding me. I dodged around the imps, who weren't really small enough to be considered that anymore...
Rock Goblins then.
I was trying to get my wings out, fly and get clear. It would make them throwing rocks a concern, but I at least wouldn't be worried about being surrounded.
But the words weren't coming. For some reason, I couldn't visualize, or feel, the air and freeness that I had been centered in when I first found the spell in me.
As the goblins swarmed in, I was forced to block several blows with my staff. It worked, but I felt an ominous creaking in the wood that suggested it might not hold up to this sort of abuse much longer. I had to get in the air, fast!
I jumped over one goblin, using him as a springboard. I felt the wind, I felt the yearning to fly in the back of my mind, but-
It didn't come.
I needed a cheat word, something to help me get it out.
"Think of a wonderful thought...Any happy little thought."
Wings formed on my back and I barely evaded another goblin trying to grab my leg and shot into the air.
Better!
Mystogan had managed to cut off about a quarter of the golem in various bits and pieces. I suspected it was taking him a longer time since he was trying to keep an eye on me as well as fight his own battle.
Which meant I needed to find a way to beat these larger creatures and soon so Mystogan wouldn't be too distracted.
But they didn't seem to be too happy that I was suddenly out of their reach. They threw a couple rocks at me, but I dodged them easily. Earth magic spells, while powerful, had one drawback: If the effect separated from the ground, it lost power very quickly. Something like earthbending was actually pretty hard to pull off since the wizard would have to power the spell directly rather than drawing on the latent magic in the ground itself. Thus, hitting an airborne opponent was extremely difficult unless you could channel enough power to raise an entire section of ground whole.
I started a hit and run tactic, darting in and out, two or three hits and a time, one blast of fire to knock them up into the air, and then a few quick hits that they couldn't automatically shrug off. Then back in the air and out of their reach. Dodge the salvo of rocks, maybe or maybe not use a barrel roll to do so, and repeat. The goblinoid constructs\monsters were getting more and more frustrated as I kept this up. I had more mobility than they did, and their bulking up had made them slower even if it had made them quite a bit stronger.
I managed to get one down, reaching out and snatching its lacrima out of it's chest. It screamed for a moment before it crumbled, the magic holding it together dissipating as I removed its power source. This lacrima was twice as big as the others, but I still shoved it into my pocket, taking a tally of what I still had to face.
OK. I started with twelve little ones. Took it down to six little ones. Then they ate the corpses and I ended up with three little ones and three big ones...
I counted them all quickly, frowning.
There were only two small ones left trying to knock me out of the air.
Where did the others go?
As I thought about it, their tracks glowed on the grass, showing where they had gone. They were leaving their clearing and charging headlong into the forest. The remaining imps shook their fists at me in rage but soon broke and started running when I heard a cry.
It was a boy yelling in surprise and the sounds of a fight.
There's someone else they decided to go after!
A ground bound target was in their power, in their territory. Ever since I had taken flight, their chances of success were swiftly dwindling.
About half of the remaining golem crashed to the ground.
I started flying after the goblins and imps, intent on intervening in their hunt for whatever they had decided to go after. They had changed targets because I wasn't convenient anymore.
"If you're gonna fight, then finish what you started, damnit!" I yelled, smashing down on another goblin feet first. I let my kinetic runes absorb the impact and then kicked its head off with the resulting stored energy before soaring back up again. It started to stumble around blindly, searching for its head.
"What the-" The boy, who honestly looked like Laxus reverted to a child, got distracted, and this almost let one of the imps swat him, knocking him off balance. I fired off a quick bolt of fire from my staff over his shoulder to knock the stone creature down.
"Concentrate!" I yelled. He growled and started to hit the remaining goblin. He was only a little bigger than I was, and getting into a slugging match with something made of rock was a criminally stupid idea, but...
"You can't hurt them much so long as they are touching the ground!" I called, increasing my speed to tackle another imp to keep it from flanking him. My momentum carried us both into the air and I transferred energy again to punch the imp into fragments before it could fall to the ground again. My knuckles were bleeding from the impact, but I didn't have time to acknowledge the pain.
No wonder Natsu has got so many calluses from punching things!
I snatched the lacrima from the dusty shards and sprang back into the air, smacking another imp aside to keep it from flanking my spur of the moment ally.
With a yell of effort, the boy heaved the goblin into the air with a might uppercut, following up with a hard hit that cracked its chest open exposing a gleam of crystal. I stabbed the lacrima out of its chest with a spear of fire and let the pieces fall to the ground.
There were two imps and the headless goblin left. The boy tossed the imps into the air with an impressive show of raw strength and I used fire to crack them open and remove their lacrima.
Then as the dust began to settle...we saw the headless goblin run into a tree, still trying to find its head.
I couldn't help it. I started to laugh at the ridiculous sight. Clutching my stomach and staff as it stumbled around, literally blind. A moment later, the boy joined me. Only he was still on the ground and I was drifting around on my wings. The moment was ruined by the boy wincing and holding onto one of his arms momentarily.
Severe bruising around the shoulder joint. Almost dislocated from behind.
"Ouch." I remarked, after reading that. "You gonna be alright?" His laughter dissipated and he scowled at me.
"I'm fine!" I absently scratched my ear as I drifted towards the last goblin.
"You know, I don't tend to believe people when they shout that." I spun my staff, focusing on creating a fire blast beneath the blind enemies feet to lift it into the air.
I then dropped my heel onto it's chest in an axe kick and cracked it wide open. I retrieved the last large lacrima before I turned back to the boy. He seemed to be examining me with narrowed eyes.
"Are you a wizard?" I rolled my eyes.
"No, I'm a fairy, can't you tell?" I asked a little sarcastically, gesturing at my wings with my staff. "Yeah, I'm a wizard. And guessing by how you were throwing those things around, you are too."
"What's it to you if I am?" I would say he sounded defensive, but his tone was way too aggressive for that. I landed in front of him, out of arm's reach, just in case he started swinging.
"Not much. Just wanted to say nice job and thanks for the assist. It would have cost me a lot more power if I needed to beat them up by myself." This seemed to catch him off guard. There came a final rumble through the ground, which told me that Mystogan had finished dismantling the stone golem.
I kinda wanted to go back to him, but I noticed something about the kid who stood before me.
A patch of sunlight filtering through the lingering leaves overhead was resting on one of his bloodied hands. And it seemed to be healing him. It was slow. Really slow, but noticeable to my eyes.
"Does light heal you?" I asked. He jerked back, but I saw a thin scratch on the back of his hand seal over.
"I get magic power from light..." He muttered as though it were some kind of confession.
Cool!
Hey, I knew two people who could get magic from chowing down on fire and metal. Someone absorbing sunlight and getting magic from that? That was nothing. I shook my head, putting aside the various jokes I could make about photosynthesis.
"Just sunlight?"
"Natural light gives me a little. Magical light gives me a lot." I had an idea then. A way of paying him back after he needed to get involved in my fight.
"Ok, tell you what; The Shale Imps were coming after me, but they decided I was too much trouble since I could fly and changed targets to you. I'll make some light to help you heal since you got caught up in my fight." He seemed as though he wanted to protest, but I was already picking up one of the remaining lacrima on the ground and wedging it into the nest of thin wooden roots at the top of my staff.
Tapping it on the ground and concentrating once made the crystal start to glow. I shifted my focus until it was being emitted in a narrow beam and turned it on my companion.
Now the gradual healing was much faster and noticeable. He seemed surprised, breathing in sharply as the light touched him.
"Aren't you a fire wizard? How can you make light?" I grinned, focusing on feeding my magic into the light. Since the lacrima had it's own energy, all I needed to do was convert the energy from Earth magic into some simple light. And because light was also a specialty of Gandalf's (Just look at Moria) I could feel the basic enchantment was covering most of the drain.
"I never said I was a fire wizard. You're just assuming I am."
"So what the hell are you?" He asked bluntly, looking at me somewhat distrustfully.
"I work with runes." It was accurate and true, even if it didn't cover everything that I did. The light my staff was emitting flickered out, the lacrima had vanished, its energy spent. I grabbed the second one from the ground and repeated the process. But the time I'd run through it, the boy looked perfectly normal, if a bit dusty. His shirt had once been white, though I doubted it would ever be again and I think his vest had once been orange. But I was focusing on a less visible aspect of him.
He's got a lot of magic for being a kid... It had taken two lacrima to fill him back to where he had been, and I got the impression he could have put out a lot more than he had. And could have kept going long afterward as well. He had more overall magic than I did. A lot more actually.
"How come you can hold so much magic?" I asked, putting my staff back into its sheath. His shoulders tightened slightly.
"I'm a Dragon Slayer." As if that explained everything.
Which it actually did.
My eyes got big and I felt a surge of excitement flood over me. Oh yeah! Another one! Maybe if I could ask him about his dragon, I could figure out where Igneel and Metalicana went!
"You are? That's so cool! What's your dragon's name?" He seemed somewhat taken aback that I had believed him without any argument.
"Weisslogia." His tone seemed to say he didn't want to talk about him. Now he asked a question. "You know what a Dragon Slayer is?"
"A super rare kind of magic. The only way to learn it is from a dragon or to having a lacrima with a dragon's magic planted in your body." I said cheerfully. I suppose it was a little rare to know the difference between the two types. But our guild was weird in the sense that it had both. Or, you know, we did at least before Laxus left.
Then it hit me and I laughed triumphantly, pointing at him.
"That's why the imps went after you! You're the kind with the lacrima in you, aren't you? I bet you are. They sensed that and changed from chasing me to attack you because they wanted that lacrima!"
"How would you know that and what would they want with it?" He asked defensively. I just pulled another of the fallen lacrima from my pocket, the last small one.
"This lacrima is from one of the little guys." Then I pulled out one of the three larger ones. "This is from one of the big guys, who used to be little until he ate one of the other little guys I killed earlier. They eat Earth magic and lacrima, because it's a crystal, works like a super buffing protein for them. They get a really big boost out of eating it, because they can absorb whatever magic is stored in it even if it isn't Earth Magic."
The boy rubbed his chest absently with an odd expression on his face which got even weirder when it looked at me. I suppose it was one thing to think that monsters were going to eat you and quite another to hear that was literally what they were going to do.
I needed to get back to Mystogan before he worried, I stuffed the lacrima away, trotting over to pick up the mostly intact Rock Goblin head as a war trophy.
"I gotta go, but it was nice to meet you! It was a good fight!" I turned and started away.
"W-Wait!" He yelled suddenly. I paused and looked back at him. He seemed irritated about something as he stomped closer to me, holding out his hand. He didn't meet my gaze.
"Give me the head, and tell me your name, and I'll say we're even about the fight." I pouted briefly, but sighed and handed it to him.
"I'm Fae." He nodded sharply, tucking the head under his arm.
"I'm Sting." He then turned and stomped away without another word. I was upset at not having a cool monster part to bring home to show. But at least I got to keep the lacrima. I could probably do something with them to help make my equipment awesome.
-vVv-
It was getting later, but we stopped before we went home and Mystogan showed me another of his magical tools, which he called a Chain of Eyes. The pin he had given me was actually recording my fight and let him see how I had done, and give pointers.
"The fight alone went well." He told, observing the battle in his crystal. "You didn't get hit even once, and it was done in good time." Then he paused as Sting appeared inside the lacrima. he was silent as he watched and listened to the rest of the proceedings.
"Sting, huh?" I nodded, sitting cross legged and repairing the nicks in my staff from bashing them into pretty sharp rocks.
I expected him to ask more about him. Random Dragon Slayer boy I met in the middle of nowhere, no explanation why or anything. But he said nothing and instead turned his attention to the list of supplies we had been here to gather.
"We came away pretty well for a day's work. All in all, not bad for your first C-rank." I burst out laughing.
Of course! Of course, that's why it escalated like this and why there was a little Naruto clone! It was a C-rank!
Mystogan politely waited for my hysterics to peeter to a stop before speaking.
"I saw you managed to test both of your prototypes in your fight. How do you feel about them?"
I grinned.
"They did great! I can't use the staff for anything other that light or fire spells, and the kinetic relay runes only hold a little charge. But they worked!" He hummed, tapping something against my forehead and glancing at it in his hand.
"You burned through about 80% of your safe magic supply as well. If this Sting hadn't been there to help cut the amount of work you needed to do, you'd be almost at your limit. While I'm sure you're excited to refine your runes, you'll need to work on refining your control to help your stamina in combat."
Yeah, I wasn't surprised by that at all. I had given Freed his focusing tool back, so I had been needing to ham hand my own control. It just wasn't as easy to do, but I had made it through.
"But I feel fine!"
"You're still excited and running on adrenaline. Wait for twenty minutes or so, and then tell me how you feel."
-vVv-
Mystogan carried the sound asleep young wizard back into the guild hall with a smile on his face in spite of himself.
Fae had fought bravely against her weariness, but had eventually succumbed about two minutes after he picked her up. Makarov was waiting up with Erza, waiting for them to return. Mystogan gently handed the girl over to the crimson haired wizard who accepted her with a smile that was rarely seen by anyone else.
"How did she do?"
He nodded.
"Very well. She fought wisely, kept her head when outnumbered twelve to one and adapted to her opponents. Before she even engaged, she waited until she had an opening to exploit. I would guess she read that they are much more durable when in contact with the ground since her whole strategy was about knocking them into the air and dealing as much damage as she could while they were vulnerable."
"She threw some punches too." Erza observed, glancing over her bandaged knuckles.
"A few." Mystogan admitted. Given her relationship with Natsu, I don't think she's ever going to shy away from hand to hand combat.
Both Makarov and Erza seemed pleased and proud of the child. Erza rose still carrying her.
"I'll take her home." This left Makarov and Mystogan alone.
"You told her about Edolas?" he nodded simply. "How did she take it?" He was amused in spite of himself.
"She apparently read some of it out of my personal history years ago, but didn't think to ask what it meant. She wasn't all that surprised and accepted it."
The short man mused over this information for a few minutes more...then nodded.
"Very well. Fae is very nearly ready to take the mark if this is any evidence. She fought well, and was compassionate and courteous to her unexpected ally. Her heart is ready, but her skills will need some more polishing before I will allow her to formally join. I'll leave final preparations to you, Mystogan. It does mean you will need to stay close by in order to finish teaching her. I wanted Freed to finish her training, but she has dissolved their relationship and I will respect that."
Yes, the Rune Wizard had been quite distraught over that. Makarov had taken him aside quietly and privately to explain that he would not have Fae continue to study runes with him after her bad experience in the Battle of Fairy Tail. Being told that his beloved apprentice would be handed over to Mystogan to conclude her preparation to take the guild mark and become a full member of Fairy Tail had been quite hard for him to accept. But accept it he had. He hadn't had a choice. To press now would be to go against Fae's wish to distance herself from him, and Makarov's order.
"I'm not saying you can't teach her, Freed. But determining her readiness will now fall to another. Your intentions were noble, and an attempt to keep her safe from the fighting. But she is a wizard, and sheltering her from every hardship will only be detrimental to her."
On that account, Makarov had been thinking about who to ask to take over. Mystogan, meeting with him after the battle, had offered to take Fae with him on jobs and see how she performed.
"Understood, master. I feel that skillswise she is more than ready, but her hesitation at the beginning of the battle was partly preparation, but mostly nerves in my judgment. Against most other enemies, especially other wizards, it could have been a critical mistake. I will continue to take her with me for short range jobs, and the encounters we do run across will help build up her confidence."
The short master sighed, suddenly looking very old and tired.
"Once she's working, there will be nothing I can do to keep the Rune Knights from approaching her about using her talents to help them."
"I wouldn't worry about having her recruited away from us." Mystogan said dryly. Natsu would use an ice spell before Fae willingly left Fairy Tail.
"Oh I know. But it's also not the Rune Knights that worry me the most." He folded his arms, frowning with deep concern as he looked at the door which Erza and Fae had passed through as they left the hall. "It's the nobles and other wealthy classes. They will either want to buy Fae's services exclusively for themselves in order to exploit her talents to their advantage, or discredit and dispose of her out of fear for what skeletons she might uncover in their closets. Fae could ruin someone's life with a handful of words, or show anyone exactly what kind of person someone is with her illusions. She already has read most every secret this guild has without even trying. And only now does she have any idea of how to not read something or someone's past."
Yes, Mystogan had thought of that as well. He may have not been a prince for many years, but he still remembered some aspects of court life.
"She'll be as prepared as I can help her be. And she won't be alone." That was the single greatest strength Fairy Tail had, here and in Edolas in Mystogan's opinion.
They were loyal, loyal down to the core of their being to each other and their standards of work and living. If one of them threw a punch, then the rest would be behind it. If one of them was assaulted, the rest would respond to protect and defend their own.
Fae was a guild child, raised if not born. At the first hint of potential danger, she would have friends ready and waiting to back her.
She would be alright.
-vVv-
By the next morning, everyone knew about how my little adventure with Mystogan had included a fight. Though some people seemed to think that I'd been the one to fight the golem, which needed to be corrected. Then again, some people didn't want to be corrected since it gave them an excuse to drink in the morning.
"I didn't go near the golem after it woke up. Mystogan handled it." I told Lucy and Levy as I worked on my kinetic runes. Since their test run had gone well, I wanted to play with them more and make them better before I made a more permanent item.
And it was time to test if the staff could handle another rune.
Busy, busy, busy.
"They'll take whatever excuse they can to celebrate." Levy comforted me. "And we're all proud of you. Twelve Shale imps is nothing to sneeze at, especially if a few of them managed to double up."
"I'm still amazed that he let you take on twelve of anything alone." Lucy said, picking at her breakfast.
"I am too, to be honest. But it was...educational." I was reasonably certain I would have made it through the fight without Sting's help. But if using so much power was going to be a regular thing, then I would definitely need to get a partner, or continue going on jobs with a more experienced wizard to cover my bases until I got my control perfected.
I got...nine of them alone, I think. Two were an assist and Sting beat one of them by himself.
Killing nine imps and goblins, plus healing Sting and fixing my staff, equalled about 80% of my magic power. Especially considering that I didn't lose much energy to fix Sting up... It would have been very, very close if I'd needed to face all of them alone. And then, if my staff had broken, it would have cost me everything and I'd have needed to retreat. That was a vulnerability I hadn't really considered.
I definitely need more buffs. The staff and the leg bands helped even the score, but I need more.
I knew it was somewhat foolish of me to compare myself to my friends in the guild. They were champion fighters, tried and tested with years of experience. But...it wasn't really stopping me from looking on how to improve.
I pulled out my syllabary and started to scroll through what runes I had already discovered, looking for which ones I could turn into a reasonable magical item...
Lucy was examining my staff, which during my repairs, had gotten a lot more weathered looking.
"You only finished making this the day before yesterday. How does it look this old already?"
"Magic." I replied distantly. "I made it to mirror Gandalf's staff, and his staff is about as old as he is, so it's really weathered. I don't get why fixing it after the fight made it look like that. Maybe it's just my magic making it look more like what I imagine it should be."
"Are you gonna start performing Lord of the Rings like you do the Legend of Zelda?" Levy asked, also examining my staff. "It's got the potential for some amazing visuals, and you've clearly already got some of them in mind."
"That would be a pretty long term project and we're barely halfway through the first one." That and narrating Lord of the Rings wasn't an appealing notion to me. I wanted to iron it out to the point where I would simply supply the story in my mind and it would play like a movie. (It was a concept that was fairly new still. There was mostly focus on theatre in Fiore instead of innovative ways to apply magic to entertainment.)
I had woven my story up through the three different temples, with Link in pursuit of Zelda and continuously running into Ghirahim. I sometimes could manage telling a whole dungeon in one sitting, depending on my magic levels for the day, but if there was anything plot heavy going on, or any sort of character development, then it took longer.
I'd started adding an interactive element to the story, pausing in certain points and letting people in the audience try their brain at the puzzles that were such a key part of any story. It was very popular with the younger crowd, and sometimes, the not so young as well.
My finger stopped on one rune in my syllabary. It read balance, but that wasn't what had really caught my attention.
I had come through the fight with the Shale Imps pretty much ok, my only real mistake was not having good enough control to be conservative about my magic use. That was something that would come with practice. Without an actual physical focus, that would mean I needed an exercise that accomplished the same.
Naruto was a good source of energy control techniques, and since my overall defensive capabilities naturally were kinda...lacking. My best bet at lasting in fights would be to keep doing what I'd done; Not getting hit in the first place. But the potential of drawing from Naruto...It was also making me think some more...
The main character is himself a literal monster in terms of stamina and staying power from childhood on. Almost all of his abilities revolve around getting in close and whaling on his enemy until it collapses. But it's physical fighting, physical contact in many cases.
He had lousy control to start with, but made up for it with having so much power to throw around that it didn't matter if he used four times as much power as the next guy because he could afford it.
I couldn't, but that was what practice was for.
Drawing on Naruto's abilities meant grace and power because of his long arduous hours of training. It also ought to grant a decent level of stealth, since the guy literally wore bright orange and still managed a ridiculous amount of stunts without being seen until the deed was done. But most importantly for me, he had stamina, lasting power in a fight and the ability to bounce back from most any injury like a rubber ball. And even at a low level of strength, he had also possessed a low level fast healing ability. Even as a green rookie ninja, his hand had healed from a deep, rough stab wound meant to bleed out poison.
Ok! Target acquired!
I started to go through my runes and select which ones could apply to making a ninja enhancement.
The fast healing effect will be the hardest I think...
While healing magic was not unheard of, it was uncommonly rare and draining to use. My only wanting to heal myself ought to make it a little easier to hash out...
My mind felt like it was working at lightning speed as I pulled out simple words that I could use to craft Naruto as a character. And as for an appropriate focusing tool...
Where did Mystogan get that bandana with the forehead protector and who can I get to etch it for me?