Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 348: Night Lodgings

Chapter 348: Night Lodgings

One eye closed, Kazi made a ksepana mudra: hands joined together, thumbs crossing over with the index finger pointed downward. Several magic circles appeared on the ground a small space away and the selected rocks transformed into wood.

The reason for his adeptness in transmutation was because of the Sorcerer Class and the Class Skill Sorcerer’s Whims. It combined Circle Mastery, Magic Resistance, and Alchemy Synergy. That latter skill increased the results of all alchemy transactions by ten percent. This wasn’t solely a matter of completing, however. It was about understanding them. It was about learning what each hand sign did. He hadn’t been able to incorporate hand signs into his spells so being able to do it with magic circles was intriguing.

’I don’t have to make the hand sign. However, when I do it, the magic circle materializes ten percent faster. If I add another...’

Kazi didn’t need to read or learn about Buddhist hand signs. Once, he had stayed with a group of Tibetan monks. They were being attacked by mercenaries who wanted to steal their land. Kazi ended up catching the monks meditating and when Kazi saw something, he never forgot it. So he siphoned through Buddhist hand signs and experimented.

Some were utterly useless and in fact caused issues rather than improvements. Kazi ended up returning to making the ksepana mudra. The magic circles appeared as fast as he desired.

’No new skill appeared in the System. Guess this is something you either can or can’t do.’

Long-range magic circles that spawn in the ground. He saw the young mages at the tournament use these, particularly Theo. Like electricity through wires, their mana flowed through the ground, taking shape, and then materialized. The three steps sounded simple in principle and they were to Kazi. He had no issues controlling the shape of his mana.

’I don’t want to limit myself to just rocks.’ He eyed up the human-sized boulder a little ways away. Currently, he was at a clearing in a path leading to the shores. Close enough that he could run over to the workers in a minute. Far enough that they could do his own thing in silence.

Kazi made the ksepana mudra hand sign and winced when he attempted to widen the magic circle to encompass the boulder. Its length and width was approximately six feet.

"The lines get too thin," Kazi said to himself. "Probably has to do with the Principles of Lines: Durability, Correction, Amplification, Resonance. Hm...Marta was muttering about it but I never got an explanation. Guess I’ll have to wing it."

So he unequipped the Sorcerer Class to try and figure it out manually. In a couple hours, he more or less intuitively figured it out. He jotted the differences for when he had the Sorcerer Class equipped and how they helped. Why they helped. The logic behind him going from several magic circles to two magic circles became clearer and clearer as he experimented.

For example, different environments muffled magic circles in different ways. Manifesting a magic circle on sand was unexpectedly more difficult than soil. The grain was an ineffective foundation, so easily disturbed by mana that it was perhaps the worst place to draw a circle. Practice was then necessary to compensate. Practice, practice, practice.

***

Night arrived. Five out of the twenty ships were completed. The men and women were back at their lodgings. Kazi, Jackson, Kibiwott, and Remmy were discussing combinations and their current assets.

"The Thunderstrike Brothers made these things pretty nicely."

Twang! Twang! Remmy showed off the bow and pulled the string back.

"Think it’ll last ya?" Jackson asked.

"The string is high-quality," Remmy noted. "They say it can withstand the sea."

"The fishermen use it for their fishing and to keep canoes connected," Kazi explained.

"One of the guys told me that it takes an hour for their spears to rip it apart."

"I checked the spears. They are D-rank and their durability isn’t suited for magic," said Kibiwott. "If you use them, I suggest carrying a couple."

"Agreed. The arrows are the same. Super low quality," Remmy added.

"Ain’t there any of ’em blacksmiths?" Jackson asked.

"It doesn’t matter even if there were." Kazi crossed his arms. "The materials on this island are lackluster. I did some experimentation with transmutation though. I should be able to cultivate enough steel in the three days we have. However, manufacturing them into weapons might take longer."

"The Thunderstrike brothers might be able to help," Remmy said. "Although, hrm, they are a big help with the ship-building."

"A huge help," Kibiwott corrected.

"There’s what? Thirty of them? We have a hundred players and a hundred fishermen. Making weapons for them all is going to take more than two or three weeks," Kazi stated. "It’s impossible."

Two or three weeks...that was too long. Not too long for Kazi but for humans. Players with ambitions. Fishermen with vengeance. They wanted to move on to the next as fast as possible, consequences be damned. Kazi was the same. He had to return to Marta and William.

"There’s no timer for this gate," Kazi said. "But I don’t think anyone here is willing to stay that long."

"You’re right. I prefer to move onto the next gate fast," Kibiwott agreed.

"But!" Kazi leaned in. "I can at least make stuff for you guys. Better stuff."

"Really?" Remmy stared at his bow. "I had to buy this for this. A thousand points."

"A thousand? You got ripped off, man," Jackson said.

"Thank god we have Kazi here to carry us then!" Remmy joked. "I’m gonna give this back."

Kazi just chuckled. "Do we?"

"You specialize in water magic, right? We’re gonna be in the water during the battle. You better pull your weight, brother."

"I’ll do my best."

"Just don’t go too overboard," Remmy said, jabbing a thumb at Kibiwott. "He’ll get pissed if you steal all the XP."

"No, I won’t." Pause. Yeah, even Kibiwott knew he would. "I won’t be that pissed."

"So ya will be pissed."

"By the way..." Remmy squinted. "I only noticed now but where did you get that cap, Jackson?"

"Alrighty! Time to hit the sack!"

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