Ch203: A New, Old Power

“A perk?” The Dwarf quickly questions, carefully lowering herself back down onto the pleasantly padded moss of this expansive bed, stout legs tucked beneath her incredibly well-endowed body.

“Yeah. It might be a trait, it probably is a trait, but...” Krvavy softly exhales. “You know what? I’ll just read out exactly what it says.” She gives her precious puppy’s fur-covered hip a light pat, that gesture helping to steady her nerves, and clears her throat. “Would you like to accept the Touch of the Ancients? [Y]/[N]”

Beryl’s brow shoots up, worry and surprise written across her face. “Tha’ sounds rather ominous...”

“Is there any information about what this ‘Touch of the Ancients’ is?” Inanna immediately inquires, not giving any of the others a chance to speak up. She may be quite the patient woman, really rather calm and composed, but her curiosity is currently too great for her to simply sit by and quietly wait.

“Kind of... A description pops up if I focus on the italicized part. But it... well, it was entirely blank when I looked at it before. All because I ‘didn’t have a tier three class’... Oh, good.” A relieved sigh escapes past the now only lowercase b barbarian’s lips as soon as she brings that window into focus. “Looks like it has been filled in now...” She gently shakes her head and, much to the relief of her inquisitive Dwarf, wastes not a second more before reading that description out to her girls.

Touch of the Ancients: Creation stirs, and the primordial powers of old begin to awaken within you. Increases the potency and efficiency of natural magics that you channel, at the cost of decreasing the potency and efficiency of all of your other magics. Increases the capacity of your mana reserves, at the cost of decreasing the rate in which your mana regenerates. Increases the rate in which you heal and boosts your resilience, at the cost of greatly reducing the benefits you receive from personal magical barriers.

Each subsequent sentence sees the shortstack’s dense coal-black brow furrow even further. “How interesting...”

“Yeah, that... huh...” Krvavy presses her pale lips together and carefully rereads that popup, just to be safe. “I’m not sure what I was expecting, but... it wasn’t three separate buffs with matching drawbacks all bundled together like this.”

“The particular details likely ‘changed’ to fit your new Class, hence why you could not see what it did earlier.” Inanna states that theory with a fair bit of certainty and confidence. “They do, after all, fit the mix of magic and melee that a ‘Spite-Fang’ supposedly specializes in. Perhaps not perfectly, but well enough for the similarities to be noticeable.”

The Wood Elf’s long and pointed ears tentatively twitch, her tanned arms tensing just enough to squeeze a soft squeak out of the Halfling she is holding in a half-hug. “When it says ‘natural magics’... is it talkin’ about Nature magic or somethin’ else...?” She hesitantly asks, sounding – and looking – rather concerned with how vague that so called ‘description’ was.

“I... don’t really know.” Krvavy admits, frowning as she finds herself quickly rereading that presumed trait’s description, again. “But... I kind of feel like it is talking about something else.”

“Mm. Yes. I get that feeling as well.” Inanna agrees with a nod, that subtle motion causing the voluminous mass of her hair to bob with her head. “This ‘perk’ is quite clearly tailored to you, my Ushumgal, and Nature Magic is far from your most commonly used school. Boosting its effectiveness over, and at the expense of, say, your Earth Magic would be... unorthodox. Thus, the logical conclusion is that ‘natural magics’ refers to, as both you and your Elf put it, something else. And, if I were to guess, I would presume that it refers to a combination of the methods in which the spells are cast as well as the essence behind said spells.”

Beryl lightly nibbles on her bottom lip, idly cuddling closer to Adeline. Who wouldn’t exactly complain about that, even if that bunny-mouse is blushing a fair bit... “Aye... Tha’ makes sense... And if tha’ were the case, then Ah wouldn’t expect it ta negatively affect yer current spells. They’re all quite natural in ‘essence’, as yer Dwarf put it, bein’ tha’ they’re all elemental or o’ plants, beast, and blood. And ya don’t do anythin’ too special ta cast them either.”

Thea blankly blinks her soft-blue eyes, looking back and forth between those two very differently shaped women, one a tall and thin tomboy, the other a very busty shortstack. “Are we all just going to ignore the odd way that description starts?” The brat asks, her tone equally dry and incredulous.

“These things always have a bit of flowery flavour text at the beginning.” Krvavy answers with a shrug. Both her Elf and her Dwarf nod in agreement.

“Ugh, fine... Then if the magics that you currently have are natural, what would be considered unnatural magics?” A faint frown fills the silver-blonde brat’s face as soon as those words leave her lips, almost as if she is immediately regretting having asked that question. She just knows that the answer is not going to be quick or exciting...

“That is a question in which we have no clear answer, for we do not know what qualifiers are used to determine if a certain variety of magic is ‘natural’ or not.” Already, Inanna’s steadily spoken explanation has coaxed a groan out of that noble girl. “There are some schools which would be easy to place on either side. Elemental magics, for instance, could be safely assumed to be ‘natural’ due to their close association to aspects of the world around us. And Necromancy, to take a well known example, would be one which could safely be assumed to be ‘unnatural’ due to its foundations being an affront to the cycles of life and death. But what of Arcane, the magic of magic itself? That school has little bearing in physical reality, yet it plays an integral part in how our world works all the same.”

“Well, this is all coming from my patron,” Krvavy almost cautiously comments. “So it is probably going by what a dragon god would consider natural and unnatural.”

“Mm... Yes, you are right, my Ushumgal.” The grey-skinned Dwarf taps the tip of her index finger against her thick lips, taking just a couple seconds to adapt her answer to that information. “It is very likely that age and complexity are the greatest factors in determining what magics count as ‘natural’, with the latter being inversely correlated, of course. Thus, anything which could be considered an ‘old magic’ is likely to benefit from this trait. The first sentence, as vague as it is, hints towards that as well, I suppose.”

“But just ‘ow old are we talkin’ ‘ere?” Beryl wonders, a hint of worry audible in her voice. Rather absentmindedly, she pulls the Halfling right up against her slim body, squishing one of her pert tits into Adeline’s face. Which, understandably, causes that girl’s cheeks to turn a shade of red which rivals the colour of Krvavy’s crimson hair. “Ah don’t think tha’ our dearest love would appreciate ‘avin’ ta relearn ‘ow ta channel mana and form it inta spells just ta do it all as the ‘ancients’ would’a done it.”

The Dwarf considers that question, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side. “I do not believe that it would go beyond the current system, for that would need to circumvent or even supersede the work of numerous Gods. Which is a tall task for someone who is merely level twenty-five.”

“Aye, suppose ya’ve got a point there.” The tanned tomboy of an Elf shrugs, unable to argue with that.

“That said...” Inanna takes a step back, verbally speaking, and returns more directly to the topic of this newly available trait. “I do believe that the methods in which the mana is shaped and the spells are formed would play a larger role than the essence of the spells themselves. Barring extreme circumstances such as Necromancy, of course. After all, there are numerous ways in which you could cast magic that could be considered ‘unnatural’.”

The back of Thea’s head rather roughly bumps into the similarly sized breasts of both the Were-Beast and her barbaric lover, exhaustion and exasperation obvious in that action alone. Though, of course, that brat isn’t one to keep her petty frustrations to herself. “What are you going on about now...?” She tiredly sighs, dread and despair creeping into her voice as she stares blankly up at the ceiling above, sensing another incoming lecture.

The grey-skinned shortstack simply ignores that noble girl, possibly even too caught up in her own thoughts to have even heard that complaint. “Take Fire Magic as an example, and let us contrast two different spells with each other.” She immediately begins, getting right into it. “One creates numerous motes of extremely condensed flame which appear in the air around the caster, motes which can be launched towards their target with a mere thought and which explode violently upon hitting said target. And the other spell infuses energy into the air that the caster exhales, turning into a focused plume of fire. In other words, the second spell is Krvavy’s Blazing Breath. For simplicities sake. Now, does the first spell feel ‘natural’ or ‘unnatural’? And what of the second? They are both of the same magic yet very different in execution.”

“Ah see wha’ ya’re gettin’ at.” The tomboyish Elf leans even heavier onto the adorable and increasingly flustered bunny-mouse that she has all but dragged into her lap, caramel coloured cheek coming to rest atop of Adeline’s head. “The ‘old ways’ use the body, or other physical foci, rather than simply conjurin’ the spell inta existence.”

Krvavy quite slowly blinks her emerald eyes. “I... feel like both of you are overthinking this.” She hesitantly comments, idly scratching the base of her horns with her free hand, the one not holding onto Khalia’s wide hips. “You’re really focusing on just two words.”

“Yes, but those two words are quite important.” Inanna simply states, her intense gaze meeting Krvavy’s own... only to soften slightly, a second later. “That said, you do have a point. It would do us no good to continue on into speculation and conjecture. Especially not when that trait – it is a trait, yes? – still has other aspects for us to discuss. Such as its mention of ‘personal magical barriers’ and what that could entail.”

To say that Thea merely groaned as she heard that would be an understatement. The brat slumps in her squished seat, making a sound not unlike the last gasp a person takes before their life slips away.

“Don’t worry, that is not anywhere near as ambiguous. The inclusion of ‘personal’ clarifies it quite a bit.” Inanna’s words do very little to reassure the noble girl. “Additionally, this negative is far less consequential than the first. So we need not dwell on it for nearly as long. After all, our Krvavy currently has no spells which could be considered a ‘personal magical barrier’.”

“Does Oakflesh not count?” The barbarian wonders, nibbling lightly on the inside of her cheek. She doesn’t exactly want her main defensive spell to become useless. “Maybe not entirely, but enough to get weakened even a bit?”

“No.” The Dwarf shortstack confidently replies. “Were that trait worded differently, then perhaps it would. But the term ‘magical barrier’ is quite straightforward in its meaning, as it is simply a barrier formed of magical energy. Thus, a ‘personal’ magical barrier would be one formed closely to or around a persons body.”

“I might not have any spells like that right now, but I might eventually get one. That sort of thing sounds pretty useful to have.” Krvavy plainly points out. “Having a kind of magical armour that can protect me without covering up my body would work quite well with Naturists Blessing.”

“Perhaps.” The grey-skinned Dwarf noncommittally shrugs. “But it would also make much, if not all, of your current defences redundant. A magical barrier would be able to absorb any damage dealt to you, provided that you have the mana to maintain it, but that damage would not be reduced by your Base Armour, Resistances, or the True Defence afforded to you by your blessing. Nor would your Health Regeneration – which this trait will further boost, need I remind you – matter nearly as much, on account of this theoretical magical barrier keeping your Health from taking damage. Provided, again, that you have the mana to maintain it.”

“Alright, fair enough. And it’s not like I really have the mana for that sort of thing anyway.” Krvavy idly nods her head, before abruptly pausing as her brow furrows slightly. “But, wait... What about the runes that you painted on me before? They didn’t exactly make a barrier around me, so I’m not too concerned with that part, but are they ‘natural’ enough for the first drawback? Though... does that even matter? This thing is talking about my magics, and I didn’t make those runes...”

Thea rolls to the side and buries her face into the barbarian’s breasts, groaning into that pale valley of cleavage. And while the almost pained sound that she made is still audible, Krvavy feels it more than she hears it.

“Mm...” A rather contemplative expression fills Inanna’s face. “You have asked some good questions.” Her tone may be a bit bland and boring, but a hint of praise can still be heard in her words. “Those particular runes would not count as a barrier, though other arrangements could project one. And the utilization of runes is one of the oldest forms of magic that there is, so I imagine that they would count as ‘natural’ for this purpose. As for the effects of magics that you have not cast yourself... that could only be answered with practical testing.”

“And just in case ya were wonderin’, Turbulent Shroud shouldn’t count as a magical barrier either.” Beryl adds, idly stroking the Halfling’s soft and floppy bunny ears. “Tha’ spell uses magic ta compel the wind inta swirlin’ around ya in wha’ could be considered a barrier, loosely speakin’. But Ah’d say tha’ it is closer ta a cloak spell than anythin’. It doesn’t form a solid shield, nor does it directly do its job wit’ mana, instead coercin’ the wild wind inta protectin’ ya.”

“And the last part is, thankfully, even more straightforward.” Krvavy gives her beautiful brat and her precious puppy each a reassuring pat, as both girls are getting increasingly... disinterested in this conversation. She is pretty sure that the Were-Beast started to zone out shortly after hearing the description of that strange trait get read aloud. Which was... a little while ago. “It just increases my total mana and lowers my mana regen.”

Inanna bobs her head in a single quick nod, one with enough force in it to send a slight tremor echoing through her expansive breast. “Which is quite the good deal.” She assuredly states. “That drawback, far more so than any of the others, hardly matters.” That serious shortstack adds, pausing for a brief moment before actually explaining her thoughts. “There are two scenarios which encapsulate the effects of this particular aspect of this trait: the first is in the middle of combat, and the second is outside of combat. In the heat of battle, the rate that your mana regenerates is negligible. Unless, of course, it is high enough to be in double or preferably triple digits per second. But you are far from that, being solidly in the per hour range, and I do not expect your new Class to have changed that.”

Khalia pulls away from both the barbarian and brat. A rumbling sigh escapes past her plump lips as she flops down onto the soft moss bedding, remaining relatively still for just a few short seconds before finding enough energy to push herself up onto all fours. After just a short crawl, she presses her strong body into Krvavy’s back and curls into a ball, nestles right up against the base of her Mate’s thick tail.

“The second scenario, your everyday life, is similar in its indifference. Though in different ways.” The Dwarf continues on, unconcerned with the fact that half of her audience has long since given up on listening. She isn’t saying this for Thea or Khalia’s sake. Or for Adeline, if that girl is even still following along. “The rate that your mana regenerates determines how long you must wait for your reserves to fill up completely. Ignoring how patience can mitigate that issue, you already have a number of alternatives. If you needed more mana on short notice, then you could withdraw what you require from the quartz crystals that we keep for that very purpose. Or you could seek the aid of Thea’s magic, which has already been your go-to strategy.”

“Right.” Krvavy slowly nods her head, carnivorous teeth lightly gnawing at the inside of her cheek. “And if I need more mana in the middle of a fight, I can just use Transmute Blood. Might be a bit of an issue if I’m fighting an enemy that doesn’t bleed... but, hey, I still bleed.” She lightly shrugs, letting her hand slip down to her fiancée’s lower back. “Guess I could use that whenever I needed to, really... But I doubt any of you would really like the idea of me bleeding myself dry just to build parts of our home...”

“Mhm. And do not forget that the Synthetic Heartstone which has joined with your Soulbound Weapon also generates mana.” The grey-skinned shortstack reminds her Draconic lover. “And since its regeneration is independent of yours, I believe there is a very good chance that it will not be effected by this drawback. Though it is connected to your soul, so perhaps it will...?”

The barbarian takes a very deep breath. “Okay then.” She gently claps her hand against her brat’s back, making a satisfying noise... and making Thea grumble into her breasts. “So... If I accept this trait, then my ‘natural magics’ will become stronger and cheaper to use, I’ll have more total mana, and I’ll become harder to kill with higher health regen and greater resistances. But I’ll also have a harder time doing any magic that isn’t ‘natural’, will have less mana regen, and can’t use ‘magical barriers’.”

“Personal magical barriers.” Inanna corrects.

Krvavy lazily shrugs her shoulders at that, disturbing both the brat and – to a lesser degree – Were-Beast cuddled close to her body. “Does anyone have any strong feelings about me taking it or not?”

“Yes...!” Thea’s loud, grumbling shout is muffled slightly on account of the fact that she doesn’t even bother lifting her head away from Krvavy chest. “Just make up your damn mind and get this over with already...!”

“I would understand if you do not accept this trait,” Inanna speaks over that exasperated brat. “Though doing so would be, in my opinion, a waste.”

Beryl lets out a soft sigh. “Aye, Ah agree wit’ yer Dwarf.” She slowly states, putting enough care in her words to make it clear that she truly means what she says, though not quite enough to wipe away her accent. “None o’ the drawbacks are much o’ a problem fer ya right now, and the most severe ones can be avoided wit’ foresight. It’ll make ya stronger and ‘elp give ya direction as yer powers develop.”

The Drakling turns her gaze down towards Adeline, meeting the bunny-mouse girl’s big hazel-brown eyes. “Eeeie...” That timid squeak seems to be all that Krvavy will get from the Halfling, her little fingers quickly grabbing onto her floppy bunny ears before bringing them up to hastily hide her face.

“Okay,” Krvavy nods her head, not even bothering to look back over her shoulder and ask her precious puppy’s opinion. She knows that if Khalia had something to say, then it would have been said already. “Well, guess tha–”

“Wait.” The Dwarf holds a single hand up. “My Ushumgal, I would like to see how great of an effect this trait has on your mana. But to make such a comparison, I need to first know how your newly acquired Class has altered those values.”

The barbarian blinks. “Right...”

The familiar yet still slightly invasive feeling of someone using Inspect on Krvavy pokes and prods at the edge of her awareness. She lets those attempts at scrying through, eager to share this information without having to manually relay it all herself.

A bit of pride wells up within the Drakling as she looks over her stat sheet. Sure, it isn’t like she did much to really earn this increase in her stats – all she really did was mentally click a button – but it is still nice to see all of those numbers grow. Well, all of those numbers except for Endurance, which went down by nearly three whole points thanks to losing the bonus she got for being a Barbarian. But, other than that, pretty much everything else is up.

She has over three-hundred more points of health. Her stamina went up by over fifteen points, despite the minor drop in Endurance. And her total mana increased by over three-hundred points. Her mana regen also increased by nearly ten points per hour, but that’ll be going back down very soon...

She feels just the faintest tinge of annoyance at the fact that the total amounts of her Might and Toughness are no longer equal, but that feeling passes pretty quickly. After all, her Soulbound Weapon increases her Might by five percent when it is manifested, so it isn’t like those stats were truly equal beforehand.

Inanna raises a single one of her thick eyebrows, glancing back towards the (former) barbarian. “You already allocated your attribute points?”

“Yup.” The Drakling answers her Dwarf, sounding just a little sheepish. “Before I even picked a class, actually. Five points into Guile and one into Willpower. I nearly put that extra point into Endurance, but figured that I might as well have two stats hanging around at twenty-six. Not like a single point matters all that much. Either way, I’ll get that last milestone trait next level.”

“Are ya goin’ ta bring all yer attributes up ta fifty next?” The tomboyish Elf asks, slowly coaxing the tiny blonde from the comfort of her soft and velvety ears with a gentle shoulder massage.

“Uhhh... No.” Krvavy’s tone quickly shifts from uncertain to rather resolute. “A part of me would like to, but... It just doesn’t seem worth the time and effort. I’d need to level up around five times just to raise a single one to fifty. It’d be better if I put those points towards stats that are actually useful to me. Especially since it is starting to take a bit longer to actually level up...”

“Yes, yes...” Thea repeatedly bumps her forehead into the Drakling’s chest, treating Krvavy’s collarbone almost like a drum. “Just accept that ominously worded trait already...”

A warm smile spreads across the barbarian’s face as she pats her impatient brat on the back.

Inanna’s dense black brow furrows ever so faintly as she takes note of the few numbers that have changed. “Curious. Your health now regenerates exactly three times as quickly. Your total mana has exactly doubled in capacity. And your mana now regenerates at exactly half the rate it had before. Those values are all far too convenient to have been the result of a mere flat increase. They appear to instead be affected by final multipliers, though are said multipliers static or related to your level? Twenty-five does fit quite well into three-hundred percent, two-hundred percent, and fifty percent...”

“Only time’ll be able ta tell tha’ answer.” Beryl idly comments, her voice little more than a soft sigh. “But if it is tied ta our dearest love’s level, then Ah ‘ope tha’ it doesn’t grow ta the point where ‘er mana regeneration starts ta go down.”

“That probably won’t happen...” The barbarian weakly bites down on her bottom lip. “Especially not if I increase some of my mental stats to fifty so that they weigh more in whatever formula is used behind the scenes...”

The Wood Elf woman winces, regret and remorse filling her face “Ach, Ah’m sorry, my dearest love. Ah didn’t mean ta make ya worry.”

“No, no, it’s fine. If those multiplier do scale with my level then I would have had to think about that eventually.” Not wanting to make her sweet berry feel bad, Krvavy brushes that minor issue aside and moves on. “If it multiplied my health and mana, then I wonder if it did the same to my ‘resiliences’?”

“Ahh... no,” Krvavy slowly shakes her head, “it doesn’t appear to have.”

Seeing her girls’ curious gazes – or, well, seeing Inanna’s curious gaze – she decides to get straight to the point and tell them how her resistances have changed. The fact that Krvavy is completely naked and isn’t benefiting from anything but the base level of Naturists Blessing is pretty helpful here.

“My physical, disease, poison, and base magical resistances have all gone up by ten percent. I now have fifteen more points of base armour as well, and my true defence went up by five percent. Overall, not bad, but it definitely just feels like a flat increase instead of a multiplier, and it probably won’t be going up as I level either.”

Inanna slowly nods. “Mm... Ye–”

“Ugh! Enough of this...! Can we just shut our brains off and c-cuddle...?” Thea’s grumbling and groaning tone catches in her throat as she makes that embarrassing request.

“Sounds like a wonderfully good idea ta me~.” A teasing glimmer fills Beryl’s blue-green gaze as she looks towards the bratty noble girl. “Wha’ about ya, sweetie~?” She gently nudges Adeline. “Would ya like ta cuddle wit’ our dearest love~?”

The Halfling shudders, her round cheeks flushing a rather rosy hue once more. “Y-y-yes...!”