Chapter 401 - The Price

Chris

Fort South

My body was an absolute wreck, and the brief respite from the two levels I'd just gained didn't last long. The essence coursing through me did more psychologically than physically to repair my condition.

I had just enough Spirit left to use it as a crutch to limp back toward Vanessa's Fort 'whatever'. Rachel had relayed the names of all of them, but I hadn't kept track. There were way too many for that.

For one of the first times, it wasn't wounds that were stopping me. It was pure exhaustion. Sure, there were a few places that were sore or cut up a bit, but nothing life-threatening.

The stab wound from Tasunka was still a constant aggravation, but it had clotted with the help of [Frozen Patchwork].

It was the run that did it. [Glacial March] had drained more and more from me the faster I got. The skill worked wonders to reach the speeds it had, but it had taken a commensurate cost to do so.

The stamina drain from running for a week straight was... substantial.

My mana wasn't doing so hot either. Freezing the lake, even for as small an area as I did, still drained me over the long distance. An entire day was spent just running over the water.

Then I'd thrown around skills aplenty that drained me further.

After already coming from a battle where I hadn't recovered to full.

My Spirit was even worse off, only behind Stamina in how low I'd forced it. The amount I was using to remain upright would leave me bottomed out by the time I arrived.

My head pounded both from mana deprivation and Law overuse. Using my Ice Law to enhance myself had taken its toll. I'd briefly used my Wind Law to increase my speed, but the strain was too much to make it feasible.

The concepts I'd used to forge my Wind Law didn't lend themselves to speed easily, or at all, really.

Thinking on it, Tasunka had a concept in his that was speed-related, but the battle hadn't gone on long enough for me to ferret it out. The slicing concept I'd felt intimately, but whatever else he'd used would remain a mystery.

The only thing I could still wield if it came to a fight was my Bloodline. The run was far too long to call on it for the entire journey, and I'd only started to burn it once I got close. The fight had only taken minutes, which left a lot in the tank in case I needed it.

I dearly hoped I didn't. It felt like my arms would fall off if I had to swing my hammer again.

The distance between the Fort and the camp, which I had previously covered in seconds, took minutes this time around. The entire time, people atop the walls pointed and stared.

A few raised bows, but were quickly admonished by someone I couldn't see. Most were just scared stiff.

When I was within earshot without yelling, a male voice called down. An undertone of fear was hidden well, but I'd heard it in people before after battles. "Christopher Zalenski, I presume?"

"That's me," I huffed. I didn't have the energy for much else than that.

"Open the gate!" The same voice ordered.

I was thankful the back and forth ended there. I needed some reprieve and a good night's rest before going on to the next spot. I hoped there were decent beds in this place.

As the gates opened outward, an interesting choice, I saw a plethora of people standing inside, staring. I didn't have to use [Aura Detection] to know they were fearful. It was written clearly enough on their faces.

A man in light, leather armor, wielding a staff, greeted me with a poorly armored woman by his side. The armor itself wasn't poor, at least it hadn't started out that way, but it was definitely poor now that it was falling apart. It had done its job, though, and the woman was still standing, even if the armor would fall off soon.

"My name's Zach, and this is Jillian. We're in charge of Fort South."

I nodded as politely as I could, "Howdy, forgive me for being terse, but a nice cold bed is calling my name right about now."

"Sure, sure," he said a bit too quickly, "I'll show you to a room you can use."

"Isn't it a nice warm bed..." Someone mumbled, but I ignored it.

I then followed after him as he led me deeper into the Fort. It wasn't that large, objectively speaking. Four strong walls encompassed a large, rectangular three-story building, and that was about it.

It was all constructed of strong stone, and I could tell high-level Masons and Engineers had gone at it with their best. I'd seen similar work from Phillip's guys. The fact that it only had divots and craters and not in complete ruins was a tell-tale sign of that much, at least. Any less, and the attacks would have overwhelmed the structure.

"Here you are," Zach opened the door to a very spartan room with not much furnishings besides a night table, and blessedly, a wide and comfortable-looking bed.

"Thank you," I said gruffly, "and now if you don't mind, I'll be taking a nap."

I dropped my hammer beside the door and began unsticking my armor from my skin. The outer layer of ice from [Glacial Plate] had already been shed, now I needed to get out of the bloody and broken metal. The only good thing was that the sweat was minimal.

My body was strange with the changes I'd undergone, and sweating less was just one of the few things I'd grown used to. Turned out, if your body was already running cold, it defeated the purpose of cooling off through sweating.

And if I did start exerting myself that much to where I needed to, my mana did more than a little water ever could.

My side wound reopened, and I grunted through the pain. Tasunka had done worse than I thought he would. The power he could dish out while mounted was impressive. I hadn't taken a wound like it in a long, long time.

And he did it through my armor, [Glacial Plate], and [Jotun's Resistance].

It made me wonder what grade Class the man had. Fortitude was my second-highest stat, and it wasn't that far behind Strength.

He was riding at me with the momentum of both him and a thousand-pound beast.

"...uh-um," Zach cleared his throat from the hallway, "If you need it, I can call a Healer for you."

His eyes were glued to the chunk missing from my side that was currently dripping blood on the floor.

"Ah, that's all right, I'll heal up fine. Sorry about the floor." I waved him off and channeled some mana through [Frozen Patchwork] again.

[Cold Meditation] would speed up my healing, especially now during winter, but I just didn't have the energy. Sleep was calling me. I'd figure it out in the morning.

This shows I need a better way to deal with it, though, I thought. I was so used to being around the Frostheim and having Ashley on hand to fix me up.

"I'll... uh... see you in the morning then," he said, and hesitantly left.

It wasn't that much longer until I was blissfully in dreamland.

___

I woke up confused. I wasn't sure where I was, and nothing around me looked familiar. My hammer was by the door, and my armor was spread across the room without a care. My pack was missing, and-

Oh, I was at one of Vanessa's Forts.

It took my groggy mind a moment to register everything that had happened. It was a lot to think about, and I chose not to for a few moments. The bed was comfortable, and I didn't feel like getting the day started just yet.

I knew what it would hold, and it didn't fill me with joy.

A few moments later, I caved and brought up the notifications I hadn't looked at.

~~
You have slain-
~~

I pushed those away quickly. I didn't want to see them, read them, or look at them all that much. It was proof I didn't need, and I would leave it at that.

~~
Congratulations! You have leveled up.
Congratulations! You have leveled up.
~~

Those were better, but still left a touch of bitterness. It hadn't needed to come to this. It hadn't needed to-

I pushed the negativity away. It had happened. It was going to happen again. And there was nothing I could do to change it.

With those cheery thoughts to start the day, I got up and groaned. Not from pain, but from remembering that my pack, the pack that held all of my things, things like extra clothes and supplies, wasn't in the room.

I'd buried it before everything happened, and now I needed to go get it.

Exiting the room and venturing through the building was confusing, but I found the exit eventually. At first, it surprised me that not many people were up, but it made sense after some thought.

They'd just gotten done fighting nearly constantly for over a week. Catching up on some sleep was more than understandable. Luckily, finding my pack wasn't all that hard, and I was back within the walls before half an hour was up.

It was surprisingly easy to get the guards to open the gate for me.

As I re-entered the building, I heard voices. Familiar voices, as one of them was Zach's.

"You should have seen it," he said quietly, "A chunk was missing from his side. I could see his insides."

A woman spoke next. One I didn't know, and her tone was confused and astounded, "And he walked back like it was nothing? Why didn't he ask for a Healer?"

"No, no, you don't understand." Zach spoke again, "The wound was old. Like, a few days old. It wasn’t from the camp."

"You're saying he had it before coming all the way here?" the woman asked.

I had a feeling who the two speakers were, and I wasn't going to stand around eavesdropping on them.

"Good morning," I announced my presence before stepping into the common room.

Only the two of them were in the room. Zach and Jillian, looking much better after some sleep and a shower. I hadn't had the second part yet, but I was getting there. Everyone else was still sleeping, most likely, or somewhere else.

"Uh, Lor- uh," Zach stuttered, trying to find the right way to address me.

"Christopher is fine, I don't partake in any of this Lord nonsense," I said with what I hoped was a friendly smile. I wasn't entirely sure what my face looked like, nor was I one hundred percent sure there was no blood on it. Or dirt. Or- I'd leave it at that.

Neither of them seemed comfortable with what to say next, so I tried to ease some tension.

"Do you have any water I can use?" I asked, holding an empty canteen. "I ran out."

"Yes, yes, here." Without standing, Zach manipulated some water that streamed from a large barrel in a side room I couldn't see clearly and into my canteen without spilling a drop. The control was impressive.

"A Water Mage, I presume?" I commented and thanked him with a slight nod.

"Yeah, it's why I'm here in the south." He answered almost on reflex, "Can't have me up north with the fire flingers."

It had surprised me that the area was lacking burn and scorch marks. It made sense to separate people into effective groups when you were splitting up already.

I rummaged around and took a small pouch from my bag. The beans were bordering on stale, but they were better than nothing. Grinding them was easy with my strength, but I took out a handheld grinder anyway. It was more uniform than doing it myself.

A cup was retrieved next, along with a French press. It all came together quickly from practice, but I was missing one thing.

"Do you mind heating this for me, please?" I turned to Jillian for the first time. I had a way to do it without her help, but it was slow and annoying at times.

Thankfully, it didn't come to that. She reached out and pressed a finger against the French press and channeled some mana. Fire mana, specifically, which got the water heated up nicely in a flash.

She eyed the etchings and rune work on the device suspiciously.

Alright, my way wasn't that slow and not as annoying as described, but it was a good way to break the ice, so to speak. And it worked.

"Is that coffee?" She asked.

"Yes, it is," I said gladly, showing it off like it was a prized possession. "Rachel got it for me from all the way down in the Golden Isles, or what used to be called Florida. Would you like some?"

"I would love some," She said with longing in her eyes.

"Hold out a cup, then." I'd made enough for three, but Zach didn't comment. More for me.

"How come you're not up with the other 'fire flingers'?" I asked.

"I, uh, came here specifically," She said, eyes shooting toward Zach briefly, "Plus, I don't really fling it like the others do. I can swing my sword anywhere that's needed."

Ah, I gathered what I'd first overlooked. Good for them.

"Why don't-" I started.

"How did-" Jillian began.

We spoke at the same time, but I waved at her to go ahead.

"How did you do it?" She said fervently, "I mean, you're lower level than I am, yet you wiped them out like it was nothing. How?"

My smile dimmed, being reminded, but I gave her an honest enough answer, "Level isn't everything. You should know that by now."

"I know that, but there were thousands of them!" She went on, "You went in and bam, it was over in seconds. It takes-"

Zach put a hand on her shoulder to rein in her enthusiasm, "Maybe we can wait on that, honey. What were you going to say?"

I gave him a thankful nod and sipped my coffee. "Why don't you show me what you have in terms of maps for the area? I don't really know where I'm going, and I only got here because I was directed."

Rachel's 'turn left', 'no that's too far, go back right,' '10 degrees right, and over the spring,' had been fun exactly once. I didn't look forward to it happening again. I wasn't even sure how she was tracking me.

"Maps? Why?" Zach grew confused. "I thought you were sent to reinforce Fort South?"

"I was, and I have. Now I go do the same thing as yesterday as many times as I have to." I said somberly. Not regretfully, but my voice was devoid of any eagerness or excitement.

As I had felt when I woke up, I didn't look forward to what I had to do today.

I had been called, and I had answered.

This was the price.