Phit cheatsphit cheats

And the first arc draws to a close.
Enjoy! :D
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“Hey Azure. Still in a daze?” Zivka lifted an umbrella against the glare of the sun and chuckled about him lying there outside of the city walls, on a hill, feeling like he had finally hit his limit. “Three weeks of partying might do that to you, yes.”
“Three weeks?” Azure echoed with a yawn. “I thought it was just three days.” He managed a grin, but even so, everything felt heavy and comfortably sleepy. “Learned a lot, though. Not regretting it.”
While it hadn’t been too diverse what he had learned, it was still useful. His Cooking skill had progressed in leaps and bounds, as had his Mobility skill. Noxian and Crespian Common were like native languages to him now, which also meant that he could understand everything Zivka said. He just sometimes puzzled over where a saying had come from, exactly, because that was something that the libromancy books could not really adequately explain.
“How many dictionaries did you pick up from the Libromancer, anyway?” Zivka asked. “They said something to the effect of you having taken a whole shelf row with you.”
“That is completely overblown”, Azure said with a laugh. “But, okay, I picked up nine different books. Three to top up the languages that the others taught me, and the others because they looked like they could be useful or just interesting.”
Zivka fought hard to keep her surprise under control, but ultimately, that was a losing battle, and she began laughing heartily. “You’re really trying to get to a polyglot stage, aren’t you? What did you even pick up?”
Azure pulled the books out of his backpack, and let Zivka have a look at it. She carefully placed the three languages he had started learning on one stack, then divided the six remaining equally. Unsurprisingly, there was a certain theme here.
“So, I understand these three” - she lifted the middle stack - “because these are languages of the Crespian region, but” - and here, she lifted the three books that looked notably worn, probably because they had been sitting in the stock of the libromancers for a considerable time - “these here? I don’t get these. Even half vampires are extremely rare on the Noxian third.”
Azure shrugged, then chuckled. “Okay, I admit, the Noxian Libromancer looked a bit desperate to finally get rid of them, because they apparently don’t sell. And maybe they are useless, but I just thought it would be interesting to have a good primer on more unusual languages, too.”
“Well, you certainly will accomplish that”, Zivka muttered, then handed him the books back. “But you know that this will take forever for you to learn?”
/C/ Don’t mention the language bonus. I know you wanted to, but don’t mention it.
/A/ Unusual feature?
/C/ Very unusual. You would have to be a natural polyglot, and that is something Philtis would have picked up on. We like to call this “evolving polyglot”, and that is about as rare as, well, the Focus ability. Pretty sure the two are connected.
/J/ At the rate the dictionaries impart knowledge, it should take you an actual 1000 days to learn the languages. I’m not joking.
/A/ Those from scratch, you mean?
/J/ Exactly. But with your growing bonus, those from scratch will take under 400 days. Still, a considerable amount of time, but far faster than should be possible under normal circumstances.
/A/ Woah. This feels almost like cheating.
/C/ Intended feature, not a cheat. Speaking of which, you didn’t use any Focus lately. Your Reserve has been full since the past 10 days.
/A/ I know, but I just can’t bring myself to do much with it. I don’t think Zivka knows about my ability yet, and there wasn’t really much of a need for it lately, to be fair.
There was assenting grumbling from both Jade and Crimson, and Azure could focus back on Zivka. “It will take forever, yes, but it’s better than learning nothing, right?”
“I can’t argue against that”, Zivka said with a chuckle. “Okay, okay, good point. But, more to the point, do you still feel exhausted?”
Azure shook his head, which apparently completely stunned Zivka. He felt a bit more mellow today because the past three weeks had been such a whirlwind, but this had nothing to do with exhaustion. Actually, the only time he had really felt exhausted in any appreciable way was after he had tackled Zivka out of her stupor and consequently accidentally got a stick to the head, which with his low Stats had meant an immediate Stun.
“I was actually wondering if we were going to head for the Crespian Ridge soon”, Azure added, sitting up and looking eastwards, where the mountain range rose. Compared to the mountains south of the Pathless Woods, they looked impossibly huge. “Are you doing better by now?”
“Yes”, Zivka said, her initial bewilderment melting away. She now looked like she really missed the Ochre Citadelle. “I just worry that I might not get Misava what they wanted me to look for. If that was even it.”
“Still no clue why you were sent here?”
“None.” Zivka sighed deeply. “And by this point, it is unlikely I ever will remember, unless Misava tells me directly. Seeing as they didn’t instruct Philtis to relay that information to me, I suppose it was a very specialized mission.”
Azure gently squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her, and that seemed to crack something in Zivka. She started crying quietly, which prompted him to pull her into a hug. It had come a bit out of left field, but on some level, he understood. She had left the Ochre Citadelle probably months and months ago, she still struggled to recall what she had been sent out to do, and to top it all off, Zivka probably had been putting up a brave front for far too long. Solo Adventuring couldn’t be easy, and even less so when going through such upheaval.
Zivka rested her forehead on his shoulder for a long while, even after she had finally composed herself again. It was probably comfortable with the mantle resting there, bunching up to offer a soft place for her.
“Aren’t you warm in this?” she finally muttered, prompting a chuckle from Azure.
“Strange to worry about that, but, no. I know I should be melting under this thing, but it feels comfortable all the time.” Azure patted Zivka on the back. “And yes, it took me an astounding amount of time to realize that there probably is an enchantment on this mantle. Even if I have yet to find it.”
Zivka began chuckling, then laughed into his shoulder, still hiding her face. He let her laugh all she wanted, as Azure was just relieved that she felt a bit better now. After what felt like a small eternity, Zivka slowly pulled back, wiped over her face, and took a deep breath.
“I’m better now. Promised.” She sighed quietly, then looked towards the Pathless Woods for a moment. “I just wanted to ask … do you still want to accompany me? It is a huge ask, you haven’t even completed three months as a Support, and this is all a bit much, no?”
“Don’t worry about how long or how short this has been so far”, Azure reassured her. “I want to accompany you, I want to see more of this continent, I want to experience more of this world. And maybe learn a couple more abilities.” He gestured towards the deer skull that rested against his shoulder. “Which might be easier without every enemy being what feels like a thousand Levels stronger than me.”
Zivka chuckled, gesturing at herself. “Then you might be traveling with the wrong person. I’ll attract strong enemies too. Though.” She fell silent for a moment, thinking it over. “This might just work out. If we are not a larger group, but just two, we might just skirt below the somewhat arbitrary line of when enemies grow stronger in general.”
She then shrugged, before they discussed how they wanted to travel. Zivka saw some merit in catching a merchant caravan to the Crespian Ridge. From there, though, things apparently had gotten a bit complicated, as she had learned from some of the merchants that had come to the Gray Citadelle. The Fastways through the Crespian Ridge seemed to have been compromised, which happened occasionally, but had now taken place at an unprecedented frequency and intensity. Apparently, most adventuring groups from both the Gray and the Ochre Citadelle were completely tied up with just taking care of the incursions along the Fastways.
For Azure, the biggest question was if there was any merit in taking a slower route to the Crespian Ridge. Zivka did admit that they might come through a couple more cities and villages with interesting wares, especially towards the Crespo-Luxian border, as there were several renowned Libromancers settled there. They didn’t just impart languages, but could in some cases also create tomes that would impart both Active and Passive skills beyond Class boundaries. Not every constellation worked, to be sure, but it was apparently worth a shot.
/C/ That could actually benefit you. If you have a book to teach you, you could technically use Focus to hurry along the learning process.
/A/ I thought this was limited to once every 100 days?
/J/ For active Focus skills - the reason for which should be obvious. But passive skills are usually not that limited, and can be more fine-tuned. It might work on the dictionaries, too?
/A/ And you didn’t tell me when I had the Focus to spend because …?
/J/ Because I honestly forgot. Besides, you seemed more than happy to just enjoy the moment. And that is worth something, too.
As much as Azure wanted to be annoyed with Jade, he couldn’t be. There was merit to what Jade had said - sometimes, he really needed to just enjoy himself, too. And still, it felt like an opportunity that had been utterly wasted.
+++++
“So, tomorrow, we set off”, Azure concluded, and Philtis nodded slowly. He looked a bit tired, which was probably due to the particular intensity of the celebrations last night. “And I wanted to ask about the situation at the Crespian Ridge. What exactly is going on there?”
“We don’t quite know either. It seems to have calmed down for the moment, but there is still an unusual number of enemies spawning nonetheless. There is even mutterings that the entire Ridge transformed into a Dungeon without us noticing.” Phitlis chuckled quietly. “We would have noticed that right away. And it is not the first time that the Ridge has had trouble. It is, however, the first time that it is this bad, and this sustained.”
Philtis fetched a map of the area, and showed Azure where the main Fastways were at the Crespian Ridge. While doing so, he also briefly illuminated a second layer of the map, which showed Mana Flows where they were thickest and confirmed to exist. Azure furrowed his eyebrows when he looked at the Ridge from a bit of distance. There were plenty of flows that seemed to go from Luxian to Noxian areas and back, but none that followed the north-to-south orientation of the Ridge. When he mentioned this to Philtis as seeming somewhat odd to him, Philtis looked highly uncomfortable.
“There once was a Mana Flow going along the Ridge. But … a couple of years back, it suddenly ceased to exist.”
/C/ It WHAT?!
/J/ Ceased to … exist. Ceased to. This is impossible. This is not. He must be mistaken.
“What do you mean?”, Azure asked, completely baffled. If he had learned one thing about the Mana Flow - and that was what had been hammered into his head by now - then that it was everywhere. Like an enormous network of finest roots, it suffused everything. Humans, animals, even stone, it all was drenched in Mana.
“It blipped out of existence. As if it was grabbed and torn from this world”, Philtis said. His voice was shaking, and Azure realized that Philtis probably had been there, or at the very least known someone who had experienced it first-hand. “It took a whole year just to restore the Fastways to some working order. In that time, the Quartz Dwarves of the Ridge lost about half their number. The Moon Elves went into a collective frenzy for a while, long losing themselves in utter rage and terror. It was … a rough time.”
/J/ Rough is understated. The loss of so much Mana at once is unthinkable.
/C/ I still don’t believe it. How…?
/A/ I don’t want to be rude, you two, but please. Be quiet.
“Do you know how this happened?” Azure asked quietly. Philtis shook his head, clenching his fists, then pulling a black leather pouch with silver embroidery from the desk and placing it there. “What’s this?”
“This is what happens when a Mana Flow ceases to exist. Take a look at it.”
/C/ Oh no.
/J/ Oh no no no, this is bad…
/A/ Should I not touch it?
/C/ We don’t know what will happen. So, be careful.
With the utmost care, Azure opened the leather bag, then recoiled from the feeling that came from what was inside. It was a gray mass - this absolutely nondescript, perfectly between white and black gray, and it felt dead in every appreciable way.
Philtis suddenly smiled, though it was a sad smile. “I knew it. You couldn’t be a Mana Brandt.”
/C/ This mother-
/J/ Crimson, control yourself! But yes. This here is …
“Lifeless stone. That is what we call it.” Philtis came over to him, and carefully pried the leather pouch apart further, so that Azure could really look at what it was. At first, it seemed impossible to discern anything, but then, Azure realized that it was a piece of some crystal, a small rock and lichen all baked together, but now devoid of Mana. “This is what was left behind in the underground. Just an endless fault line of lifeless stone. The Fastways go below or above, but they give it a wide margin.”
“And I see why.” Azure took a shaky breath. This was causing him the same cold feeling that he had suffered with for some time since the whole debacle with the group. “It’s just disgusting to even look at. It’s so wrong.”
Philtis nodded faintly, then, very hesitantly, said something that Azure would never have thought to hear from him. “I was hoping that you could reverse it. Because, well, Vilas’s accusation made me think that…”
“Think what?” Azure interrupted, a bit too forcefully. “Why should I be able to reverse this?”
“Because you might be the opposite of a Mana Brandt. A Focus Bearer.”
/C/ How in the world…?
/J/ This might have been a part of the agreement. But, that would be a bit far-fetched.
/C/ No no no, we’re being thick here. He is a Coordinator for the Adventurer Guild. He is most likely to know something like that!
/J/ But Focus never showed up on his divination crystal.
/C/ Yes, but Philtis has a working thinking sponge between his blabber receivers. And he should know that Signis Bags don’t grow at such a rapid pace.
/J/ I … have to concede that you are correct.
“So you knew all along?”
“I had my suspicions. When you returned from the Expedition and seemed completely free of exhaustion, minus the good accidental thrashing you had gotten, well.” Philtis chuckled. “I just didn’t want to believe I could be that lucky. So.” He cleared his throat. “But you still are an official Support. Focus Bearer is not really a Class that is recognized. So your secret will remain safe.”
/J/ One thing, at least.
>> Focus Bearer confirmed verbally. New abilities unlocked.
>> HP Flow learned.
>> MP Flow learned.
>> Stamina Flow learned.
Azure looked down at the lifeless stone, then realized that new Knowledge flooded his brain. Lifting his hand, he drew on an amount of Focus he never had used before, distributing it amongst the three Flow abilities. A green spark began to twinkle between the palms of his hands, and he felt reminded of the strange room that he had seen right before he first woke in the Pathless Woods. It didn’t look impressive, all things considered, but he gently fed the spark into the lifeless stone.
And then, he watched in amazement as the stone came back to life.
Philtis sputtered, then he produced a sound that could only be described as a breathless squeal of excitement. The first to recover was the lichen, a mass of bright blue matter, which seemed to expand and contract for a moment, as if it was taking a first, shaky breath after who knew how much time in this inert state. Then, the stone beneath lost the nondescript color and turned a fiery red, which Philtis barely could keep quiet about. And finally, the crystal became see-through and suffused with silvery veins, completing the transformation back to living matter.
/C/ By the Pantheon. You actually did it.
/J/ I’m staggered. I’m simply staggered.
With extremely shaky hands, Philtis grasped the once lifeless crystal, lifting it higher and to his face, as if he needed to confirm to himself that he wasn’t just dreaming. Azure, meanwhile, needed to sit down. He had channeled three quarters of his Reserve just into this. A staggering 300 Focus Points, to bring life back to lifeless stone. Accordingly, his knees felt like they were not quite up to the job for the moment.
“Are you having second thoughts about sending me away with Zivka?” Azure finally asked.
Philtis immediately and emphatically shook his head. “No. If anything, you are needed elsewhere. It would be irresponsible to keep you confined to the Gray Citadelle.”
​
~~ End of Arc 1: The Citadelle ~~
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