Chapter 323 - State of Things

Chris

Anna was obviously jumping around and ready to start practicing her new Skill. It was quite funny to see the young girl vibrate so hard while trying to contain her excitement.

"Well, come on then," Abigail knew her daughter wouldn't be able to wait, "Let's see it."

It wasn't so much the Skill that we were all interested in, but the color of mana it took on. Through training, Anna had been able to slightly manipulate mana outside of her body and even see it occasionally, but she had not been able to externalize her own mana at all.

That made knowing what type she had impossible.

Sure, we tested and experimented in order to get an idea, but no one knew definitively. The running theory was it was Cold-related, but no one knew if that meant Ice, Snow, Blizzard, Glacier, Arctic, or any of the other Affinities that could present like she had.

Even knowing the color, we wouldn't know her exact affinity until it was tested. Lilly, when she externalized her mana, revealed a Water Affinity. Not surprising given that was Ashley's affinity. Dennis, her father and who was no longer with us, had Light, which didn't seem to be represented in her.

Anna proudly started building mana in her hand. It was... amusing to watch her struggle with it like we had once done. My first skill was [Power Strike] and I still remembered how bad I was at directing mana into my weapon.

At the time, it had felt natural. I had nothing previous to compare it to as mana had literally just become a thing, but now that it was half a decade later, I knew it for what it was, poor.

Anna still hadn't gotten comfortable with how to wield it and that would only come with time. Time and knowledge. Affinities had to be treated differently. You could bend Fire to your will but Wind was impossible to force. Manipulating Ice was different than Water, and Water different from Light.

She would get there eventually.

I wasn't sure which Skill she had picked first but after the build-up of mana was complete, she turned to me and swung her fist. There was no threat to her blow, so I stood there and let it land.

The blow did what it needed to. Everyone saw her fist light up in a hazy light blue and Rachel and Gabriel were already analyzing the mana she had leaked. It was different from ours in that it was so... weak. The mana involved was paltry compared to some of the Skills we now threw around.

Her small fist slammed into my torso and the mana tried to do... something, but it was far too minuscule to accomplish anything on my body. Even if I didn't have a Body of Copper now, my stats alone would have stopped it.

Anna, though, was undeterred from her failure and had a wicked grin on her face. The light blue only further confirmed what most already assumed.

Her Affinity was Cold-aligned in some way.

Her eyes darted over to Gabriel and Rachel, but both were still focused on figuring it out.

"Hints of both Water and Ice... a mixture or two separate ones?" Gabriel muttered, deep in thought.

Rachel had a similar result, "Snow, maybe? It's hard to tell."

From the hit, I knew there was a hint of Cold in it, but not to what extent.

"Yes!" Anna shouted happily, as it seemed she was hoping for it. Even if it wasn't exactly clear. Abigail and Jonathan both looked unperturbed, as it seemed they weren't saddened by her taking after a different Affinity than their own.

We'd noticed it was hereditary in some cases, but not in all of them.

"What was that skill, Anna, it tickled," I smirked and rubbed my stomach where her fist landed like it was nothing. Even my wool shirt was undamaged. The fact it had come from an E-rank sheep probably had something to do with it.

"[Crippling Strike]!" She said with a smile.

A good first Skill. The Skill Orbs were already prepared for her to get [Power Strike] and [Piercing Strike]. Her parents had also gotten her [Extending Strike] and [Fortified Body] in shard form as a Birthday gift.

Austin had gotten her [Spear Mastery], if she chose to go that way while a few others had gotten Masteries of their own weapon.

Honestly, we were more worried she would run out of room more than anything.

She didn't know that yet, as her gifts were currently unopened, but she was in for a bunch of Skills right off the bat. Just like Lilly had been. Finding her Healing skills had been difficult, as everyone under the sun wanted them, but we did it.

People thought having a low-grade Healing skill might save them even if they weren't Healers.

"Come on, show us again," Austin demanded, similar to how Anna once had way back when.

Anna then ran around firing off the skill every chance she got. Well, until she grabbed her head and groaned not five uses later.

"And that's what we call a Mana Exhaustion Headache." Abigail chuckled.

Anna gave her mom an annoyed look, but went back to alternating between staring off at her screen and bouncing around the party. She couldn't have sat still if she tried.

The party was in full swing and now that the big event was out of the way, I grabbed myself some food and a tankard of ale. The brewers' improvement was one of the best things that had happened over the half-decade.

I even contracted a few of them to make my personal beer. It needed to be much stronger than the rest and required only the best grain we grew, but it was oh-so worth it.

I had another trying to recreate Guinness, but it was harder than it looked. Getting the ingredients was difficult.

With a drink in hand and my belly satiated, I wandered around checking in with everyone. We'd been busy the last few years and it had been some time since I'd seen some of them.

Austin especially, but he was off goofing around with Anna. I would sit down and catch up with him later. I wanted to hear of his travels, especially concerning the West.

Rachel was closest, so I started with her.

"Rachel, how are the Falls treating you?" I asked, kicking off the conversation.

"As good as it can be," She answered, "There were a few tiffs with Zuri over a border Dungeon, but nothing serious."

"Oh? Do you think it will turn into something?" I asked. The two New York Factions fighting was news. Most of my attention had been directed closer to home.

"I'm not sure," she said, "Vanessa's drawing a hard line in the sand over the Dungeon. Zuri has ties with the Admiral which already puts her ahead when it comes to resources."

The Fire Witch versus the Star Mage. That would be a battle I wanted to see.

"Will you get involved?"

Rachel hesitated, "Probably not, but I'm not sure. As of now, no, I won't"

I nodded, "Do as you see fit but don't draw us in unnecessarily. We already have Marcus's War to consider."

Over the years, Rachel had gone back and forth between Frostheim and the Eternal Falls a few times but she had started staying there more and more often. Being near the Fire Mana was easier and more beneficial for her than traveling all the time.

Strengthening her Bloodline, trying to advance her Fire Law, and continuing her Mana and Body. Her time was better spent there than it was here.

The trip had shortened, but it still wasn't quick.

As she had stayed, our ties to Vanessa and her Faction grew stronger. It helped that she was at odds with the nearest Faction to her and didn't have a whole lot of other options.

The Canadian Faction had tried to draw her in, but Vanessa refused to give up leadership and that was a deal breaker for the new 'Prime Minister'. It was hardly an elected office anymore if there was no election and there hadn't been for half a decade.

I wasn't sure how he was swinging that, but I honestly didn't much care. As long as Ashton stayed in his lane, everything would be fine. After Lakeshore... Well, he didn't complain much.

"She's calling on the Great Lakes Alliance, but I don't know if they'll answer. They're afraid the Admiral will get involved, and with his new title, not many want to stand against him." Rachel commented.

Ah, the new Viscount. Fitzwallace was one of the first to push for it. Baron was already a bar some couldn't reach, and now Viscount was the new height of power.

Rachel glanced at me a few times but didn't bring it up. Her comment was twofold.

"Yes, with everyone here, we'll do it." I nodded.

With everything going on, pushing for the new Title wasn't a priority for me. We'd pushed our Pylon ahead a few levels, but not to the point of jumping up a Tier.

We were at the peak of Small City now, our next upgrade would push us into Large City territory, and that brought the option to move up a Noble rank.

"Good," Rachel smiled, "I have a few new Spells I want to try out." A flame flickered around her fingertips and I could already picture the firepower she was imagining. "Now, if you don't mind, I haven't seen my baby in a while and need to catch up with him."

The fire in her eyes and her hand died as she stalked off toward Hal. Hardly a baby, he's pushing forty. He was closer to thirty than forty, but it was fun teasing him.

Rachel herself was pushing... you know what, no. The last time her age was brought up she seared the person a nice shade of red.

Seeing my tankard empty, I went for round two and ran into Jonathan doing the same.

"You should try some of mine." I smiled and offered him a sip.

"Oh, no. I don't know which is worse, the freezing cold or the burn as it goes down." He pushed it away and picked up one of the more moderate ales. It wouldn't be a children's party without booze.

The grains involved were Winterized which gave the drink a chill to it, but the alcohol provided a nice burn. I thought it tasted great, but others weren't of the same opinion.

"How've you been, Jonathan, I haven't seen you in..." I trailed off trying to remember. He was gone when I left, making the last time I saw him, "Before the Solstice." Which was many months ago. Over four now.

"It's good to be back. Dealing with Patrick was good, and I gained a lot, but it isn't the same as home." Jonathan said with a smile, looking out toward where Anna and Austin were fussing around.

"Anything noteworthy to report. I still haven't been to his city. What's it called again." I asked.

"Harbordeep." Jonathan said, "And it was fine. Nothing that we didn't expect. They pushed for more mana crystals but didn't have much to give for them we didn't already have."

As news and travel between cities became easier and happened more often, information spread with them. News of our Crystal Mine reached nearly everyone it felt like, and based on the response, it was a rarity.

I knew of only one other and Fitzwallace got his hands on it as soon as it was found.

"How did the Lakes treat you? Do some swimming?"

Jonathan laughed, "Hell no, it was winter and I don't fancy a polar plunge."

"Did you at least do some ice fishing?"

"Seeing as I don't have a death wish, no, I did not," He shook his head, "Even if the lake's iced over, the monsters will easily breach it if they have a reason. Sitting atop it like a tasty snack usually gives them that."

"What, scared of getting wet?" I joked.

"Underwater fighting is not my forte," he said, "Not to mention that monsters of the deep should stay in the deep." He shook his head like he was ridding himself of a memory. "They have to have a constant garrison along the shoreline to protect the city."

"All for some fish?"

Austin, with his insane perception, heard my comment and shouted from the other side of the courtyard, "They're more than just fish, Chris. They make your Northern Dire Bears look like fluffy bear cubs."

Intrigued, I continued, "Oh, but you've never fought one, Austin. As I remember it, you ran with all haste last time you ran into one."

My hand grazed over my chest where a four-lined scar ran from shoulder to hip. The wound was from such a 'fluffy bear cub', as Austin had called them.

He walked over so we weren't shouting and joined us in conversation, "Bah, that was long ago, and I'm more powerful now. Don't dismiss them just because they're fish. They're probably some of the most dangerous monsters I've run into. Take the ones from the river and multiply it by a hundred."

"That bad, eh?"

"The Lake is huge, like the size of an Ocean. It's probably the biggest Lake in the world now that a few of them connected." Austin said, "The shit inside it isn't to be messed with."

The three Eastern Lakes; Huron, Michigan, and Superior all connected after the terraforming, becoming one massive Lake. What was once the Five Great Lakes, became the Three Great Lakes. Or one Giant Lake and two add-ons, as Erie and Ontario looked tiny compared to the combined thee.

It had turned Michigan into a giant peninsula with Harbordeep at its Northern tip, completely cut off from its Northern Peninsula.

"Is that why we still trade over land even though we gave Patrick the ship designs?" I asked. Patrick had traded us for them after our return, but even though he had them, we still traded over land rather than by water.

Even if the water route would have cut down on travel significantly.

Jonathan nodded, "Yes, they're still working it out. Even staying along the shoreline doesn't help. There was one ship that they claim got eaten by a Kraken, but there were no witnesses to confirm it."

No witnesses meant no survivors.

I wonder how I'd fare against a Kraken? My hardest foe now were the Polar Bears in the North. They were a great source of Essence, even if I had a few new scars from them.

"Alright, enough shop talk," Jonathan commented, "I need to go see where my wayward daughter ran off to."

He took his drink and stalked off toward where we saw the girl last, leaving just Austin and I.

It was time to figure out the state of things. From the brief communication I'd had with him, he'd traveled far and wide over the years.