Divine Apostasy Book 12 - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Both were resources.

Name: Desiccated Rainbow Shard

Quantity: 7

Description: A dull, multicolored, rice-sized crystal that when exposed to a solution creates a localized rainbow.

Effect: 50% chance to level up associated skill.

Effect: 30% reduction in the solution’s failure rate.

Effect: 10% chance to increase the solution’s quality by one tier.

Name: Four-Leaf-Clover Seed

Quantity: 777

Description: Each seed produces a seven-foot patch of clover useful in many recipes.

Effect: Each patch has a 0.1% chance per day to attract small creatures from the Creation Realm to the clover patch.

Ruwen placed the loot in Inventory and extended his Perception. While he couldn’t detect the leprechauns directly, in their agitated state they weren’t as careful about not disturbing the surroundings.

Three hundred feet upstream, one of the leprechauns paced nervously across the water, its feet moving so rapidly they barely touched the water’s surface. Survey displayed a pile of boulders half blocking the river and Ruwen altered the dimensional space between himself and the rocks. He teleported to the location, appearing directly behind the pacing leprechaun.

Ruwen scooped the blowpipe-leprechaun up with his Void Band as the combination of Harmony and his Sacral chakra found the nearby treasure. He dismissed the warning about keeping living beings inside his Inventory and gave the leprechaun the Lylan special.

The leprechaun launched upward out of Ruwen’s Void Band in a green blur. A high-pitched scream slowly faded as the scout accelerated into the sky.

Desperate protectiveness oozed from the boulders. The rocks formed a natural dam and created a small pool where the river current slowed. Ruwen used his Architect Role to shift the stones, pushing them to the sides as if opening curtains. He incinerated a pile of moss and twigs revealing two handfuls of rough emeralds and sapphires. They sparkled in the sunlight for a moment before he clenched his fist, shattering them. Just to be sure, he pulverized the fragments into fine dust, which drifted onto the pool and created a sparkling rainbow across the surface.

Five hundred feet above, a loud scream of horror was quickly followed by an explosion. Ruwen glanced up to see a green starburst.

The counter advanced again.

Desiccated Leprechaun Scouts (3/25)

Ruwen Blinked to the side of the falling green cloud of blood and claimed his loot. Two cards this time. Identify didn’t provide any additional useful information so he stuck them with the others. He noticed the four cards didn’t stack in his Inventory.

To the south Ruwen detected a burning avarice that scraped against his newly Activated Sacral chakra like nails on slate. The remaining two leprechauns had seen him destroy the treasure of the other three, and it had amplified their emotions to the point Ruwen could sense them from hundreds of feet away.

Ruwen glided over the dense growth using his Divine Domain. His Mental Domain alerted him to the multitude of bugs below along with an occasional jaguar or caiman.

A small clearing allowed sunlight to reach the forest floor. In the center stood a massive twelve foot termite mound. Made from reddish clay its surface crawled with the countless insects that called it home.

“Seriously,” Ruwen muttered.

The source of the avarice radiated from somewhere inside that mound. Ruwen approached cautiously, his senses alert for the leprechaun that guarded this cache. After a few seconds he decided the leprechaun was inside the mound, guarding their treasure like some sort of dragon.

Ruwen sensed a small wooden chest, its lid open and filled to the brim with flawless diamonds. He transmuted the structure turning them into lumps of coal.

The leprechaun howled in anguish right before an explosion sent ants, coal, and leprechaun mist in an expanding sphere. Ruwen leaned to the side as the leprechaun’s pick hurtled past

Desiccated Leprechaun Scouts (4/25)

Ruwen retrieved another card and a rolled-up parchment the length of his hand. He placed the card with the others and looked at the parchment’s Notification.

Name: Ceardai Clan Resource Map

Fragment: 1 of 7

Description: A partial description of hidden Ceardai Clan treasures in their Creation Realm lands.

When Ruwen dismissed it, another Notification appeared.

Compatibility detected.

Do you wish to merge this fragment with the Voyager’s Weave?

It took Ruwen a few seconds to recall what the Notification meant. He found the item in his Inventory and removed it to refresh his memory on its properties.

Name: Voyager’s Weave

Effect: Once every 30 hours, touch a location to see a real-time view of that area for thirty seconds.

Description: A tapestry-like map, woven with threads of gold and silver, that expands and contracts with only a touch.

Ruwen had won this map from an arrogant princeling’s group. The prince had tried to intimidate Ruwen into handing over the Divine Wings of Rebirth pill he’d created during his Grandmaster Alchemist leveling. The pill’s healing was so powerful it could bring someone back from the dead. The princeling thought he deserved it and counted on the high-level babysitters with him to be enough to take the pill when Ruwen didn’t want to sell it. The map had come from the group’s Ranger, and Ruwen hadn’t thought of it since.

The fact the Voyager’s Weave had some type of compatibility with the fragment meant the map had been created with at least a little Creation Realm magic. The rolled up map stretched from the tip of Ruwen’s finger to his elbow, and he slowly opened it.

Instead of parchment or hide the map had the feel of cloth. As Ruwen opened it his surroundings were displayed with intricate accuracy. Instead of ink the map used different colored thread to model the environment. It looked more like a priceless tapestry than a map.

Ruwen placed the leprechaun map fragment between pressed lips and used both hands to study the Voyager’s Weave. It mirrored the surroundings in fantastic detail. The description had mentioned using his fingers to change perspective and he shifted his left arm onto the map to keep it open while he used his right finger to trace the nearby river.

The map shifted to Ruwen’s touch. As he swept down the landscape followed his finger. He experimented with two fingers and learned how to zoom in and out. The map had faithfully detailed all the places Ruwen had traveled here including the brief encounter with the hydra.

Ruwen found Master Pine’s avocado grove, touched the beautifully stitched house, and willed himself there.

Without any detectable movement, Ruwen stood in Master Pine’s living room. Ruwen used his Divine senses to determine if the map had teleported him, but confirmed his surroundings hadn’t changed and he stood in the middle of an illusion.

Master Pine looked worried or maybe nervous. He had one hand out in front of him and held what Ruwen now knew was a phone with the other.

The old man shouted at the phone and Ruwen wondered if the phone had caused Pine’s obvious frustration.

Master Pine took a deep breath and slowly spoke at the phone. “What. Is. Radiant. Faction.”

A woman’s voice replied quickly but the answer didn’t please Master Pine and he lowered his other hand to poke at the phone’s screen.

Master Pine held the phone close to his face and spoke loudly once again. “Hallucinations. Computer. Screens. Vision. Cause.”

The woman promptly provided a reply and Master Pine threw the phone onto the kitchen table. He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. He mumbled to himself. “I don’t have an aneurysm or brain tumor.”

The illusion disappeared and a counter appeared in the upper left corner of the Voyager’s Weave. It counted down from thirty hours which matched the cooldown on the ability.

Two things occurred to Ruwen. One, the map contained powerful magic, and two, the activation of the System’s quests had also unlocked displays for the universe. That would definitely add to the confusion. People needed to work through not only the Radiant and Luminara quests, but how to navigate their displays as well. He should probably try and finish these quests quickly so he could return and reassure Master Pine.

Ruwen removed the map fragment from his mouth and pressed it against the Voyager’s Weave. Then he accepted the offer to merge the fragment into the map.

The map’s threads that detailed Ruwen’s surroundings turned into a sea of tentacles. They encased the fragment and pulled it into the map.  A heartbeat later the map displayed the surroundings once again.

Another Notification appeared.

Synergy identified: Voyager’s Weave, Survey.

Required Domain detected.

Do you wish to integrate Voyager’s Weave with your personal map utilizing Survey?

Ruwen considered it for a moment. The only Domain change since getting the Voyager’s Weave was his Mental Domain. It made this combination possible, and he accepted the merge.

Voyager’s Weave faded in color and the threads frayed. In moments the entire map had crumbled away. Ruwen’s map in the upper right corner of his vision pulsed.

A new display option appeared when Ruwen opened his map. The slider had “Default” on one side and “Voyager’s Weave” on the other. “Default” provided a basic map and visual overlay he’d always had. “Voyager’s Weave,” however, created real like images and overlays. In this state, if he moved his map to a new location he could view it as if he stood there for real. The counter was displayed as well, which meant every thirty hours he could view and hear any place he’d mapped as it currently was.

Happy with the upgraded map, Ruwen turned his attention to the last leprechaun.