"Fine, I can see what you mean, but that is just one spell, and I could have defended against it if I had been prepared," Listenia said, and I sighed.
"There are multiple spells that could land you in trouble if three or more people ganged up on you. Magic beats out strength every time; that's just the way it is. You can always bring more people to use magic, and there is only so far that natural resistance goes," I explained, and Listenia looked down.
"Why do I feel like a child sitting next to you?" Listenia asked without looking up.
"Because I am much older than I look, in experience. I have lived countless lives, yet I remember none of them. I am connected to Tallia somehow, but I don't understand how, nor will she say. The only memories that I do have are in my muscles. I have knowledge of everything that I have learned at the tips of my fingers. I still have to train to catch my body up to what I am capable of," I explained, and Listenia looked up at me wide-eyed.
"You need to get stronger? You already are the strongest person in this world, save the goddesses!" Listenia declared, but I shook my head because I knew better, even without knowing.
"There will be people that are hidden that are stronger than you, and some that hide their strength. On top of that, there are very likely to be monsters much stronger than me, and I want to hunt them down," I said with a smile, looking up at the blue sky.
"I enjoy fighting monsters occasionally, but it seems like you live for it. Aren't you ever worried that you will die?" Listenia asked, and I laughed.
"How do you think I made it to this life? I am sure that I bit off more than I could chew, but then who knows. It is not important, but getting to this forest before lunchtime is. I am going to let you sit on this for a few days, and then I will ask you one more time if you would like to learn. After that, I won't offer again because I will be more than likely leaving. Not to place an ultimatum, but if you are not willing to bind yourself with me, I will be leaving you behind," I said, not wanting to, but it was the blatant truth.
If push came to shove, I could forge my own weapons. I could probably do it better than Listenia, even though she was probably a much better smith.
This was because of the magic I could fuse into it and the spells that could be carved in.
"Am I really worth that little to you?"
"This has nothing to do with worth. This is because the highest level of weapon you can forge will be useless against stronger foes. I could crush your blades with my bare hands and a steel skin spell. For you to continue as my smith, I need you to be able to use powerful magic, which requires much more Mana than you will ever have," I explained.
"And you are saying that you will teach me how to do this? All I have to do is sign my life to you? You make it sound so simple," Listenia sighed, and I stood up, offering her a hand.
"You have some time to consider things," I said as she took my hand and got up.
The two of us ran to the forest at a reasonable speed, but not like before, and slowed once we got to the interior. We were coming in from the east side, but the forest seemed to spread more the farther you went south until it touched the mountains.
"So, do you plan on fighting with your bare hands? I had the weapons delivered for you yesterday," Listenia said as we jogged, and I laughed.
"Today, I will be! I did forget it, but I think I will be more than fine, but if we run into a big undead, I might need to borrow one. I explained that monsters in forests tend not to have weapons other than their natural ones," I explained.
I was more than okay with using my bare hands, but Listenia reached in her pouch and pulled out a red sword. I slowed down and turned to examine the blade as she handed it to me.
I thought it might be a fire blade, but there are three runes on the blade, Blood, Iron, and Consume. There was no way that she made a weapon like this.
"I was given this in a trade a long time ago. I haven't sold it because of its magical properties, which make it very hard to use. Every cut that draws blood makes the sword between five and fifty pounds heavier. It all depends on the depth of the cut, but the weapon is hard to get used to because of the way the weight changes. I have used it a few times, but even for someone like me, I find it better to use something that keeps the same weight," Listenia explained, and I nodded with a smile.
"I like the concept, but the problem is that it is missing something to make it a hundred times better," I said with a smile, and Listenia coughed.
"One-hundred times better? Is that even possible?!" Listenia asked, and I flipped the sword over and nicked my thumb with the sharp blade.
"What is this sword's number one problem?" I asked as I created a rune for Dispel and dripped my blood on the blade.
"Dispel… Really?! Just like that? You just placed a rune on a weapon without any words? How do you activate that?" Listenia asked in a flurry of questions, but I was ignoring her.
Whether or not I could do it didn't make this any less complicated trying to gather Mana into the hit and Dispel rune. I was forcing them to make a connection, and I burned an activation rune into the handle, sucking my blood into the Dispel Rune and then absorbing it into the Activation Rune.
"Sorry, that just takes immense concentration to force a connection in an item that has already been enchanted or Runed like this. Still, now there is a release button that will dispel the effects on the blade. Coincidentally, anyone else's weapon if you use it when in contact with it," I explained, admiring my handling work, but then I realized that Listenia wasn't making any noise.
I turned to look at her, and she seemed to have a horrified yet overly curious look frozen on her face.
"Are you going to be okay?" I asked, and Listenia looked away with a blush.
"You are just teasing me with this power you control! I am not going to give in and sign my life over to you that easily… I don't think I am… Urgh! I don't even know anymore! How can you do that?! It is impossible! I didn't even realize what you did until after you did it! That is a magical item from a chest! Not forged! You can change the spells or add new runes!" Listenia exclaimed, and I smiled.
"No, you can't. I am a grown-ass man, and I do what I want! Magic is my bitch ain't nobody going to tell me what is and isn't possible! There isn't one thing I couldn't do with magic, but that is the blessing and curse of the stuff. On the one hand, you can create life, and on the other, you could take it all away. There is no limit to magic, just how well you understand it," I explained, and Listenia screamed and ripped her shirt open.
I blinked and just started. Listenia wasn't showing me her tits, just her heart.
"I can't take it anymore. I am not going to have you talk to me like I am a child when there is a whole new world for me to discover! I don't want to do this, but I can finally understand why you are asking this of me. I, Listenia, High Elf, and daughter to the Elder Elf, Elfinia, open myself to you, and accept the conditions that you lay out before me, and forfeit my life is I am to reveal them," Listenia declared.
I reached forward to place my hand over her heart.
"I accept you and bind you to my own heart until you stop breathing. You shall never reveal the secrets that I teach you unless I tell you that you can. With this, I bind you to me, Galio," I said, and invisible strings connected the two of us together, making Listenia suck in a sharp breath. "It is done."
"So, how did you do that when you have barely any magic?" Listenia demanded, and I shook my head with a look of unbelieving spread all over my face, tossing a hand in the air.
"You are fucking kidding me, right? We are here to kill some monsters! I will teach you some magic in bed at night; now, let's get the hell moving!" I growled, and Listenia's shoulders slumped. "The magic isn't going anywhere, but the goddamn sun is!"
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