Magic-Smithing-Ch: 10

Magic-Smithing-Ch: 10

Dwarfs were real—I meant Stone Kin. Shoot, that sounded bad even in my head; I was going to need to change how I referred to them fast.
It sucked because I was conditioned to call them that, thanks to all the fiction from my previous life, but at least my Tolkien fantasies were alive again, even if I could never use the term dwarf again— Probably for the best, really.
Regardless, I could hardly believe I'd been reborn in a fantasy world and forgot to ask if other races than humans existed. I wanted to kick myself for my stupidity, but that would have to wait until after Father introduced me to the man in question.
Now, if only we could get there sooner. Glancing behind me, I watched Dad walk at a pace that made me want to tear my hair out. I wanted to yell at him to hurry it up and put some pep in his step, only to be reminded of the humongous backpack of wood he was carrying and why we were heading toward the Stone Kin's house at all.
We weren't on a field trip; this was my father's job, and he had to be hauling at least eight hundred pounds of firewood on his back, maybe more. It's just he made it look so easy that I forgot why we were out here in the first place.
Dad wasn't moving faster because he couldn't; he was conserving his Stamina. And judging by the goofy smile he was giving me, he thought I was silly for not following his example but was too nice to say anything about it—
That, or he was waiting for me to collapse from exhaustion and make fun of me for doing so.
Yeah, that sounded like something he would do.
And now that I stopped for a moment and actually watched him, he wasn't actually moving that slowly; he just looked like he was. I hadn't noticed it because I was always looking forward while rushing ahead, but for every three steps I took, Father only had to take one to cover the same distance, and it made me feel even sillier for trying to rush him.
"Finally calmed down, eh," Dad playfully smirked at me as he easily caught up to me. "This isn't a race," he reminded me.
"If it were, I would've won," I hang my head and grumble childishly in an attempt to hide my embarrassment, suddenly much more aware of the weight I was carrying.
I wasn't carrying nearly as much as my father, but that didn't mean what I was doing wasn't impressive by Earth's standards. If I had to guess, my backpack had to weigh over a hundred pounds easily, and I could barely feel it other than a slight tugging sensation when I moved. I was ten, carrying more than a modern soldier in head-to-toe gear like it was nothing.
I couldn't have been able to do this a few days ago before I distributed my points. Back then, I already felt like a star athlete due to my skills; now, I almost didn't even feel human.
I've grown up seeing adults perform superhuman feats thanks to their stats, but now that I was experiencing it for myself, it felt almost otherworldly— It was amazing.
"It feels good getting out of the village. Stretching out the limbs. I'm happy you decided to come out with me." It was physically impossible for my father's smile to get any bigger.
"Me too, Dad." I lovingly grin back at him while reaching over to hold his hand, and I swear, I don't think I've ever seen anyone happier in either of my lives.
Everything seems to fall away as we walk together hand-in-hand. I don't think about my father's Stone Kin friend or the people who were rude to me yesterday back in the village. I just enjoyed my time with my father, making small talk while we walked.
"So, what will you do with the rest of the wood we didn't bring?" I ask, referring to the neatly stacked pile we left at the base of the tree he cut down.
"Oh, nothing much," my father shrugs his massive shoulders without jostling his cargo. "I'll make another trip tomorrow, possibly two if necessary. Either way, I should be done before dinner time," he confidently tells me.
"Because you'll be faster without me," I pretend to pout as if offended.
Without missing a beat, my father smiles at me playfully. "Exactly; who knew our little rabbit was so slow?"
"Ugg," I groan loudly and roll my eyes. "You know how much I hate that nickname."
"Why, it's cute? Though you're not as small as you used to be." He teases me some more. After that, Father takes a moment to collect himself before giving me a more honest answer. "In all seriousness, we're actually making really good time. I thought because this was your first time in the forest, you'd have a harder time with it—I was wrong," he smiles proudly before informing me that I was a natural.
"As for why I'll be able to make two trips tomorrow, it's because we've already cut down and processed the tree. Which also went a lot faster thanks to your help," he added.
"Makes sense," I smile along while enjoying the view. Even though it was fall, most of the trees in the forest stayed green long into the season. The sun was still having difficulty piercing the canopy, making it feel later than it was.
We'd been walking for what felt like a few hours now, and I was afraid to admit that I'd lost track of time. Also—where the heck were we?
"Hey, Dad?"
"Yes?"
"Out of curiosity, where are we? I mean, how far from the village are we, and will we make it home on time? I know you said that we were moving faster than you thought we would, but will that be enough?"
While camping could be fun in certain situations, I preferred the comfort of my bed over roughing it in the woods. Plus, I'm sure Mom would be pissed at both of us if we missed dinner.
Thankfully, Dad didn't look worried. He just continued to smile as if everything were going to plan. "You don't need to worry," he reassured me. "If we continue following this path, we'll make it to Del's in a few hours. That gives us plenty of time to unload and make it home before the sun goes down."
Path: what path? All I see are trees and plants littering the forest floor. "And how could you possibly know that?" I give him a skeptical look. "You aren't just making this all up to sound cool, are you? Let me guess, it's a skill."
"I wish," my father boisterously laughs as if I told him a funny joke. "Sadly, your old man was never that lucky. Some woodsman skills let people naturally sense directions or familiar landmarks, but I never unlocked one myself. No, I never had any talent for skills like that." He smiled self-deprecatingly.
"Then how do you know your way so well?" I ask him, genuinely curious.
"Mainly, hard work and a lot of skill—The old-fashioned kind," he tells me proudly. "There are signs everywhere if you know where to look. For example, our village is in that direction," my father points confidently a little ways to our left.
"Del's house is next to it, that way," he gestures in the direction we are heading. "Then you have north, south, east, and west."
For a good minute, I stared at my father in amazement. As a former city kid who didn't know the difference between East and West before reincarnating, what my father did just now was tantamount to performing magic. I was hooked immediately.
"Can you teach me?" I blurt out without thinking, causing my father to pause mid-step.
For a second, neither of us says anything to the other; we just stare at one another with mixed emotions. Finally, the moment is broken when I watch my dad wipe at his eyes emotionally.
"I would be happy to," he finally tells me when he lowers his sleeve, his voice cracking as he does so. "I'll do my best to teach you everything I know."
"Thanks, Dad," I lean in and give him a quick hug.
"But first, we should get moving. We're wasting daylight, after all, and neither of us wants to piss off your mom," he chuckles, but I can hear a slight twinge of fear in his voice.
"Agreed, we should hurry."
"Now, there's no need for that," Dad says, stopping me from running ahead with a firm hand on my shoulder. "First lesson: When in the forest, it's best to ration your Stamina as much as possible. Everything might seem peaceful at first glance, but you never know what you might encounter around the next tree."
"Match my pace the best you can, and if you need to, we can stop for a break whenever."
I nod my head while doing my best not to blush. My habit of running everywhere was backfiring on me, but Dad was right: slow and steady wins the race—At least in this situation.
"Come on," Dad waves for me to follow him with a massive grin on his face. "Let's keep chatting while we walk."
"Okay, about what?" I follow his lead.
"Well—" My father hums thoughtfully and scratches his stubble. "Considering we're talking about passing down knowledge, when are you going to let your mother teach you about housewarming skills? From what I hear, they're pretty useful," he leans in leadingly.
"Did Mom ask you to say that?" I deadpan.
"What! Of course not! I would never," he reels back nervously, refusing to look me in the eye. "It's just that they're good skills to have," Dad does his best to deflect, but we both know better than that.
"I'd rather get stuck in the woods," I joke.
"Careful what you ask for." My dad smiles back at me. "Now, about your mother—Perhaps you could...."
Maybe running off into the woods alone wasn't a bad idea after all. Please, gods, if you're out there, send a distraction. Anything will do.
I take it all back!
I don't need a distraction. I swear I'll listen to my dad and take Mom up on her offer!
But my pleas don't do anything to change the situation we found ourselves in.
I should've known better than to jinx us, and the massive monster in front of us was the universe's way of getting even with me.
I was, of course, referring to the staggering twelve-foot-tall furry monstrosity standing a couple of dozen feet in front of us. The beast looked like something out of a horror movie as if a mad scientist purposely fused together two fully grown brown bears in an amalgamation of teeth and claws.
The bear-taur creature's spine visibly perturbed out of its back like spikes while its beady black eyes zeroed in on us with laser focus.
We had just crested a small hill, and there it was in all its monstrous glory.
The beast in front of us made bears back on Earth look like Winnie-the-pooh by comparison, and judging by the way it was drooling in our direction, he was hungry for something other than honey.
Just looking at the beast made me weak in the knees, with my instincts screaming at me to run as fast as I could and not look back.
"Why is a karhu this close to the village?" I could hear my father curse under his breath as the bear monster took a tentative step toward us. I could see its massive muscles tensing under its thick cloak of fur. I knew practically nothing about the animal licking its monstrous teeth in front of us, and even I could tell it was moments away from charging at us.
"Follow my lead and back away slowly." My dad gently pulls me backward with him before I can process what he whispered to me. If it weren't for him, I would've crumbled to the ground in fright then and there if he wasn't supporting me with his big, strong arms.
The last thing I wanted to do was cause problems for my father in this situation, but my legs seemed to refuse to work by themselves.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. the violation.
Under the supporting weight of my father's titanic grip, we manage to take a few hesitant steps back. Unfortunately, we only managed to increase the distance between us and the karhu by a few feet before it started huffing loudly and clawing at the ground with its four hind legs like a bull ready to charge.
"Damn," I don't need to strain my ears to hear the panic in my father's voice as he was no longer bothering to remain quiet.
"Aaliyah, Sweety, I need you to listen to me carefully. I want you to drop everything and run as fast as you can. We're maybe thirty minutes from the village, but I know you can get there faster than that without me slowing you down." I didn't like the tone of my father's voice. He was telling me to run, but to my ears, it sounded like he was saying goodbye.
"Tell the hunters a karhu is close to the village," he instructs me calmly, and with that, he steps in front of me, shielding me from the bear monster's hungry gaze.
"But what about you?" I ask dumbly, already knowing the answer.
"I'll hold it off until the hunters arrive," he proclaims proudly, sending a shiver down my spine.
I knew immediately that he was lying; what he was saying was he was going to sacrifice himself so that I could escape.
"No, you can't," I try to say, but my words are drowned out by the loudest roar I've ever heard. The karhu's cry shakes me to my bones, and I can't help but bring my hands up to my ears to try and get them to stop ringing. That had to be a skill.
Then all hell breaks loose.
In one swift, practiced motion, Dad flings his log backpack to the side and draws his axe with both hands.
I don't even have time to process what's happening before the karhu sprints up the slight incline towards us like a fury, murderous, runaway car.
How was something that big able to move that fast!?
I try to follow Father's instructions, I really do, but I can't even shake off my pack before the beast is towering over Father with its massive frame, swinging its dagger-like claws at his head.
My ears were still ringing, but I could clearly hear Dad screaming at me to run over the high-pitched whine in my ears as he blocked the karhu's swipe with his axe.
The karhu seemingly takes my dad's screaming as a challenge and roars back in his face even louder than the first time and much closer.
I wanted to say so many things to my father in that moment. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him and thank him for being such a good father figure to me and Richard. I wanted to say it should be me sacrificing myself; after all, this was my second life.
I wanted to say so much to him, but I was already running. With tears streaming down my face and ruptured eardrums, I sprinted toward the village, my body moving on its own.
Instead of telling my father I loved him, I left him behind to die alone.
It was impossible to describe how realizing that fact broke something in me, but I didn't stop running. I couldn't.
I cursed myself for being weak, for not having the courage to stand by my father's side when he needed me the most.
I don't know when, but I started to shout for help at some point. Pleading to any deity to save my father at any cost. I couldn't hear myself due to the damage to my ears, but I kept shouting even as my voice grew hoarse.
Faster.
Faster!
FASTER!
I had to get close enough to the village so somebody could hear me. I needed to tell somebody to save my dad!
But the world isn't a kind place.
While in my manic state, I missed the figure jumping out of the nearby bushes to tackle me, sending us tumbling across the forest floor.
"What was?" I groan as I struggle to get up once I finally stopped rolling.
A few feet away from me, a similar-sized figure does the same thing, but unlike me, it isn't human.
Large round red eyes, disproportionate to its face, stared back at me with a viciousness I wasn't accustomed to.
I had never seen a goblin before, only heard them described to me by my parents, but it wasn't a stretch to match the description in my head to the greyish-green, pointed-eared creature in front of me.
Its skin saged like old wrinkly leather as it bared its sharp, pointed teeth at me with a disturbing grimace. I barely had time to process the fact that the goblin was naked, with his grotesque bits dangling for all to see before he lunged at me with what I assumed was a war cry.
The goblin leaped on me like a demonic monkey, scratching and clawing at me with its yellowed fingernails.
Instinctively, I raise my arms to protect my face, but that doesn't stop the sharp, discolored nails from digging into my flesh.
My eyes dart around for a weapon, but it quickly sets in that I messed up big time. In my haste to run away from the karhu, I not only threw away the wood I was carrying but also the axe father lent me— A mistake that could very well cost me my life.
I could feel my arms bleeding and my shirt soaking up the blood as I tried to wrestle the goblin off me. That's when I felt something hard poking against my leg.
Was this little shit getting aroused by attacking me?!
OH, HELL NO!
A strength I never knew I had begun bubbling up from deep within me. I had no idea if goblin stereotypes were the same here as back on Earth, but I wasn't about to let myself find out.
With a strength born out of desperation, I bucked my hips like a bronco and, at the same time, dropped all pretense of protecting my face to shove the savage goblin off me.
To my immense relief, my desperate struggle worked, and the goblin was launched into the air, flailing its arms desperately.
I could've used the chance to run away like I did with the karhu, but I didn't. Not this time.
I was done running!
This little green shit thought it could kill me! Me!
Dying once was enough, thank you very much.
I could feel my mana churning violently, along with my emotions. I was seeing red, literally. In the brief moment it took me to throw the goblin off myself, it landed a lucky slash across my forehead, which was now dipping copious amounts of blood into my eyes.
But none of that mattered.
With a ferocity backed by two lifetimes, I flipped the script on the unsuspecting goblin. Now, it was my turn to be the attacker.
With my 50 Strength, I threw myself against the goblin before it could regain its balance, and now that I was the one on top, I went for the throat.
I wrapped my ten-year-old hands around the goblin's spindly neck and began squeezing with all my strength.
Of course, the goblin didn't lie there and let me strangle it without putting up a fight. It tried to throw me off as I did to him, but I refused to let go, no matter how hard it scratched and shoved me.
When that didn't work, the desperate creature clawed at my chest in an attempt to stop me from squeezing the life out of it, only—It wasn't enough.
I didn't let go, but I could feel the goblin slowly overpowering me. Its stats were a mystery, but it had more Stamina than I did, meaning I was fighting a losing battle.
In my fevered state, ears ringing, my mind desperately searched for a solution. There weren't any rocks or sticks big enough nearby to bludgeon him with, so finding an impromptu weapon was out.
The next thing that came to mind was my skills, but at first glance, nothing could immediately help me. All my best skills were mana-based, but none had anything to do with physically damaging anything. The only thing I could do reliably was release my mana in a concentrated burst, but would that be enough?
It had to be!
With no other options in sight, I gather as much mana into my tiny hands as possible. Once it is all concentrated there, I start expelling it from my hands, which are still wrapped tightly around the struggling goblin's neck.
At first, nothing happens. The mana just slipped between my fingers and dispersed into the air, but I didn't let that stop me.
Using Mana Manipulation, I do my best to hold onto control of my mana as it escaped my grasp and force it into the skin of the goblin under me. And finally, I get a reaction.
It felt like I was shoving my mana against a barrier of some kind, but it was slowly giving way as the goblin's skin under my fingers became hot, and he started screaming, though I couldn't hear it through the ringing in my ears.
Slowly, the veins under the goblin's leathery skin started to turn blue as I channeled more of my mana into the struggling monstrosity. The goblin's face was writhing with fear, but I didn't hesitate to continue. I continued to force-feed the goblin my mana until I felt lightheaded before channeling more for good measure.
Eventually, the goblin under me stops struggling and goes limp in my hands, but I keep squeezing long after that, even though I don't have any more mana to spare.
After who knows how long, it finally registers to me that he was dead. Even so, I still hesitate to remove my hands from the corpse's throat, half expecting it to be some goblin trick.
It wasn't.
Once I finally let go, it became obvious the goblin wasn't getting back up. Half its neck was burnt away, with the rest turning a deep shade of blue and flaking away like woodchips in the wind. The affected area was spreading quickly, and with it, the goblin disintegrated faster.
I won. I could hardly believe it.
Sadly, the sense of accomplishment never came because I still had a job to do. I still needed to make it to the village with word of the karhu so they could send somebody to rescue Dad. That was the only thing that mattered—
So why wouldn't my body move?!
"Move, damn it!" I shout in my head, but the words refuse to leave my lips. Even my tongue was too tired to form syllables.
No matter how hard I struggled, my body refused to listen to me as the edges of my vision grew blurry and dark.
The last thing I remember before everything faded away is falling head-first into a pile of goblin ashes, knowing I failed.
For what feels like an eternity, I'm trapped, teetering on the edge of an abyss. On one side was light— warmth; on the other, there was endless darkness— death.
The light was calling to me, but the sinister voice from the darkness was louder, telling me I didn't deserve it. The voice loved pointing out how I let my father down, how I was his only chance at survival, and that I threw that all away to kill a single goblin. Pathetic.
Worse of all, I couldn't argue with it.
How was I supposed to face my mother or Richard after this? They would say that they forgive me, but I would know the truth.
It would be so much easier to fall into the abyss.
But in the end, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Despite all the pain that would come along with waking up, I wanted to see them again, even if they hated me.
So, I stepped back from the edge. Someday, I will be back here, but not today— not like this.
I let the light wash over me, and suddenly I was awake. And what was there to greet me when I did but a very startled healer standing over me.
"Gods, I hate it when they do that," our village healer Anastasia grumbled above me with glowing gloves, infusing me with healing magic.
It took me a second to realize I was no longer in the forest but back in the village, and when I did, I immediately tried to sit up.
"Stop moving, you stupid child," Anastasia hissed at me while pushing me back down with one of her gloved hands. "The more you move, the longer this will take, and I'm not made of mana."
I wanted to push back, but a single hand was all it took to keep me in place. Just trying to sit up had drained what little energy I had. I felt empty— weak—Just like I had before I passed out.
At least now I could hear again and hopefully talk. "How long was I—" I try to ask, but apparently, even that counted as trying to move in Anastasia's book.
"I said, don't move; that includes your jaw muscles," she hisses with the worst bedside manner I've ever seen.
"But I have to ask," I try again, defiantly, only to be cut off again by her.
"I can't deal with this." Anastasia loudly complained before looking over her shoulder and yelling. "Silvia, wake up and tell your daughter to follow my orders!"
"Mom!" I couldn't help but call out in a panic. She was here? The way Anastasia stood over me blocked my view from most of the room, but I could hear someone jumping up from a chair in a hurry behind her.
"Aaliyah, thank the gods. I'm here, Baby. I'm here," My mother wailed as she ran to my bedside. She immediately started brushing my hair reassuringly with her hand as tears formed in her eyes.
"I'm so happy you're safe," she smiled down at me in a way that broke my heart and made me start crying, too.
"But I failed," I sniffled and twitched to Anastasia's dismay. "I left Dad to die," I whined.
Mom looked like she wanted to say something heartfelt, but Anastasia beat her to the punch. "Your father isn't dead, brat," she shouted over me. "He's fast asleep in the other room, very much alive."
"Really?" I could hardly believe my ears, like doing so would lead to more disappointment later.
Anastasia rolled her eyes at me but answered nonetheless. "Yes, I should know; I examined him just a few hours ago."
"But, he—The karhu?" I stammar.
"Thankfully, a group of nearby hunters were returning for the day and heard the karhu's roar." Mom expertly pieces together my murmurings and answers a few of my many questions. "They also heard you shouting for help but figured because you were heading straight for the village, it was better to stay and help your father."
"If they weren't nearby—" Mom left the rest unsaid.
A miracle, that's what it was, plain and simple. I know I should be happy, but I can only feel disappointment in myself. Everything worked out this time, but what about the next?
"How bad was it?" I ask after a moment of silence, causing Anastasia to groan and throw her hands into the air in defeat.
"Sure, nobody listen to the healer," she ranted, but Mom and I ignored her.
"Your father suffered some deep cuts to his chest and about a dozen broken bones," she said solemnly. "He's more bruise than man at the moment, but he's alive and getting better by the day, thanks to Anastasia."
"Just doing my job," Anastasia grumbled loudly, looking slightly embarrassed at being praised. "I usually deal with skinned knees and common fractures. I rarely get to set broken bones."
"And we're incredibly thankful to you." Mom bowed her head deeply. She may not have been Anastasia's number-one fan after the other day, but she was grateful—We both were.
Anastasia focused on me to avoid looking at Mom, and that's when I administered the finishing blow. "Thank you for saving my dad," I sniffle at her, making her turn slightly red.
"It's just my job," she repeats in a much softer tone than last time, looking away. "And I told you to stop talking."
"Doesn't matter," I tell her firmly. "You saved him, so I owe you one."
My proclamation made my mother smile, but Anastasia just rolled her eyes. "And what could you possibly do for me?" She huffed.
"I don't know, but I'll think of something," I tell her proudly, and I meant every word. She might not think saving Dad was a big deal, but it was everything to me.
"How about you recover enough to stand on your own first before you go making promises you can't keep," Anastasia spat, but there wasn't any real heat behind it.
"She has a point," Mother added. "You've been out for two days."
"That long?" My eyes widened in surprise.
"You pushed yourself too hard," Anastasia tells me simply.
"After the karhu incident," Mom continued emotionally. "People noticed you weren't yet back in the village. You scared a lot of us."
Mom had to wipe her eyes with her sleeve before continuing. "The hunters tracked you from where they fought the Karhu. At first, you were running straight towards the village, but you slowly veered away from it and ended up running parallel to it." She tried to make it sound like a joke, but she couldn't hide the worry from her face.
"Where did they find me?" I ask, not really sure if I wanted the answer.
"You were ten minutes outside the village," Mother brought her hands up to her chest worryingly. "They said you didn't so much as twitch when they found you and that you were covered in your own blood. They thought you were dead until one of the hunters noticed you were still breathing. What happened?"
"I thought I was running toward help," I admit, mentally kicking myself for missing the village as I did. "I wasn't paying attention, and a goblin tackled me to the ground."
"Oh, Aaliyah!" Mom bent over and kissed my forehead.
"What happened to the goblin?" Anastasia wasn't as easily distracted.
Now, I have a very important decision to make. I could use this chance to tell people about my mana skills or lie—
I chose to lie. I know, I know, I'm weak, but after everything that happened, I didn't want to add on the pressure of telling everybody about my skills and the myriad of questions that would come with it. And judging by how it sounded, the goblin's body fully disintegrated before anyone found me.
"I managed to fend it off before collapsing." I couldn't hang my head in shame while lying down, so I closed my eyes, doing my best to look sad, hoping Acting was coming in clutch.
"Oh, Honey," My mom was convinced immediately, but she wasn't the one I was worried about. Thankfully, it seemed my luck was turning around, at least partially.
"Sounds like both you and your father got lucky today," Anastasi half congratulated—half berated me. "Must have been a pretty weak goblin if it ran away from a child."
"Anastasia!" My mom shouts in outrage.
"What, it's true," Anastasia didn't care about my mother glaring at her; she just shrugged and continued to heal me as if she hadn't said anything. "We'll have to tell the headman," she added as if an afterthought. "The karhu was bad enough, but if goblins are skulking this close to the village, we might have a problem."
Mom didn't look like she wanted to, but she nodded in agreement. "They're growing more bold every year."
"Good, then you can do that while I take a nap." Anastasia dropped her arms suddenly, before turning around and began walking away.
"And where are you going?" My mom asked incredulously.
"I see where your daughter gets her listening from," Anastasia sighed, rubbing her face tiredly. "I said I'm going to sleep," she repeated grumpily. "Your husband is out of critical condition, your daughter is awake, and I'm running low on mana. I won't be useful to anyone if I don't rest and recharge my mana reserves. Not unless you want me to pass out, too."
"That can happen?" I ask, trying not to seem like I was fishing for information.
"Worse," Anastasia crossed her arms. "If a person expends all their mana, there's a chance they can die. Passing out is nothing by comparison. Also, I'll have trouble absorbing mana for a time if I do, making recovery even slower."
"That sounds bad." I tried to sound like a dumb kid, but inside, I was trembling. I always knew you got tired when you used too much of your mana, but I didn't know you could die from it. Yikes!
"Anyway, there isn't much more I can do," Anastasia tells us. "What both your daughter and your husband need now is rest. Depending on how she feels, she can leave tomorrow," she says, pointing at me. "Your husband will need a few more days, but a big guy like him with his physical stats? He should be able to walk out of here in a few days. So go on and about the goblin to the village headman," Anastasia waved my mother away.
For a second, Mom looked like she wanted to throttle the healer, but then her eyes turned to me, and her murderous expression slackened. "Are you sure?"
"Why does everyone feel the need to second-guess me?" Anastasia complained to herself before turning to my mom. "They'll be fine," she assured her. "Let your daughter rest, and you can visit again around dinner time. Bring her some soup with soft vegetables and no meat," she instructed.
Mother nodded, but she didn't immediately leave. "I'll be back soon," she leaned down and whispered to me before giving me another kiss on the head. "I love you."
"Love you, too," I whispered back as she pulled away.
Anastasia didn't stick around for our teary goodbyes. So, after one last wave from Mother, I was left alone in my recovery room with my thoughts.
I almost died three times today between the karhu, goblin, and overusing my mana. I dwelled on that thought for a long time before I distracted myself by pulling up my status page.
LV: 38 Experience: 20,721/ 48,950
Health:
829/1000
Stamina:
54/666
Mana:
117/500
Vitality:
100
Endurance:
50
Strength:
50
Dexterity:
50
Senses:
50
Mind:
50
Magic:
50
Clarity:
50
Status Points:
106
Skills:
Sense Mana (LV43), Acting (LV25), Meditation (LV40), Expel mana (LV27), Charm (LV32), Running (LV31), Cleaning (LV12), Mathematics (LV26), Writing (LV12), Mana Manipulation (LV5), Wood Carving (LV6), Drawing (LV3), Axe Skills (LV2), Inject mana (LV1)
Wow, I guess nearly dying three times was good for something, after all, I cynically think to myself.
Ignoring the fact that I had two new skills, Sense Mana, Expel Mana, and Running, all leveled together— two of them multiple times.
If this were any other time, I'd be jumping for joy, but I could only sigh at my status page. All these skills and status points, and I nearly died to a single goblin. What a joke.
I had no idea what grade my two new skills fell into, but whatever they were, they weren't worth nearly dying over or losing my father.
I needed to do better— To be better.
The next time my father needed me, I wasn't going to run; I was going to fight.
To do that, I was going to need to do some training, but first, I had to heal. My Health wasn't as bad as I thought, but my Stamina and Magic were practically at zero compared to how many days I had to recover, but I guess it's better than dying.
I should use this opportunity when no one is around to check my mana network. Closing my eyes, I activate Meditation and feel out what little mana I still had, and boy, was it bad.
My mana network was a mess, to put it lightly. My mana was flowing chaotically at not even a fourth of its usual capacity. It was naturally straightening itself out and returning to how it was, but it would take time until it returned to its usual flow. That meant no practicing with my mana skills, damn.
I was going to have to fill that time with something else productive. But that could wait until tomorrow. Anastasia might have terrible bedside manners, but she was right about me needing to sleep.
I would need to heal first, but it was back to the grind once I did. I also never met Dad's Stone Kin friend, which was a shame. I would have to remind him that once he was better. I never liked leaving a job unfinished, and I wasn't about to start now.
But first, rest.

.
!
Ch: 10