Touch of Fate

Chapter 285: All About that Life

Building the structure itself was pretty straightforward. After all, he only needed a place to store tools and something resembling a table to craft on. As a result, he used Earth Magic to raise a simple rectangular building with two rooms, one for a workspace and the other for storage. Next, he added an open section with a covered roof that would house the forge.

Since the demi-realm currently didn't have any form of precipitation to worry about, he could have technically worked in the open, but found that idea somewhat distasteful. If he was going to spend some time putting together a workshop, he intended to go all the way.

After adding a bit of simple stone furniture, he turned his attention to putting together the forge itself. The process was slower for this part, since he was having some trouble maintaining the image of it in his mind. However, with much trial and error, he was eventually able to cobble together something that both looked, and functioned, as he intended.

Finally, he began making the other specialized tools he'd need, using Earth Magic to produce the raw materials and then shape them in the form he wanted. Despite it being a massive drain on his mana, he nevertheless ended up with a fully kitted smithy after a few hours of dedicated work.

Although he was eager to get it fired up and try it out officially, Mike first went back to the cabin to check on the others. They'd largely left him alone while he was working, and he was starting to get a bit suspicious about the lengthy silence.

William, Tal, and Reber were working in the backyard. By all appearances, their intent had been to start adding fertilizer to the soil, however, they seemed to have derailed at some point, since the butler and the druid were in the middle of a somewhat heated argument.

"Though I may not have the same kind of expertise as you, Sir Reber, I can say with absolute certainty that such a thing is unthinkable. Nay, even to speak of it is near blasphemy." William was stating emphatically, his usual professionalism overcome by a rash of emotionality.

"How can you say that? There are very few absolutes in this world, but that is one of them. Argue as much as you want, but you know it's true."

Mike watched them go back and forth in this manner for a few minutes before turning to Tal, who was pointedly ignoring the two as she continued the work they'd largely forgotten. Before he even had a chance to open his mouth, she muttered tersely, "Don't ask me."

He paused for a few seconds, but couldn't contain his curiosity. "You say that, but what are they even talking about at this point?"

Without looking up, she explained in her usual emotionless manner, albeit with a hint of annoyance added into the mix. "We were discussing the possibility of raising some crops here, and the two of them began suggesting options for what to plant first. At some point the idea of producing alcohol came up and they started disagreeing about whether to grow wheat or barley in order to make beer. William is apparently a fan of the former, while Reber is a die-hard supporter of the latter despite no longer having the ability to drink it."

At this point the tree man was saying, "Wheat by itself has no body, no substance. Even the best wheat beers add in some barley to give it some real flavor."

The butler shook his head, "I'll admit that barley is an important component of high quality beer, but you can't rely on it alone. To detract from the value of wheat in favor of your chosen grain is foolish in the extreme."

[I guess everyone has to have their passions]

"That's...huh. I feel like I don't want to get involved in that."

"Wise."

"How's the work going otherwise?"

She sighed and stood up. "Slowly, even with their argument. The soil here has lacked attention for a very long time. It is dry and sterile, and would not be capable of growing anything if not for Reber's magic. Quite frankly, it may be easier to simply import dirt from outside."

Mike squatted down and really examined the ground for the first time. Based on what he recalled, he knew that there were several factors that played a role in creating healthy soil.

[Water is a given, but what else was there? I feel like density was important. Like you had to have a certain amount of air, even underground.]

As the beginnings of a plan started forming in his mind, he reached out with his will and tried to get a feel for the ground under him. With his Earth Magic serving as a medium, he could tell that the demi-realm was a perfect sphere, but the soil itself was little more than compacted dust and lacked even the most basic requirements for life. It would need to be completely reformed if he wanted to change that.

[I feel like I can probably use a combination of Water, Earth, and Air magic to change the soil composition into something that would work better, but I feel like something is still missing.]

Glancing over at a bag of fertilizer, he realized what it might be.

[I remember watching a sci-fi movie where the main character was trying to grow crops on Mars. I think he used his own feces as a fertilizer in order to do so, because it contained bacteria that was somehow vital for plant growth. If I take that into consideration, the solution becomes clear. Implementing it might be a bit more difficult, though.]

He walked over to one of the bags of fertilizer and reluctantly pulled out a handful of the pungent material. Sending a bit of Healing magic into the clump, he tried to feel for something alive. At first, it didn't seem like his idea was going to pan out, since he couldn't sense anything from it, and he began to fear that his skill treated microbial life as an enemy due to its propensity to cause illness. However, he finally started to sense the barest flickers of something responding to his mana.

With an effort of will, he tried to invest these flickers with a modicum of his energy. He quickly discovered that if he tried to add too much, the specks of life would disappear, so only by giving the microbes the barest hint of mana was he able to avoid such a fate. Unfortunately, it didn't appear to be doing anything, even when he was successful.

[I feel like I'm on the right track, but there is something missing. Reber was able to use his mana to cause plants to grow, and even though that was probably some kind of unique skill, there should be some way to do it myself.]

Based on how he figured Healing Magic worked in the first place, he'd thought it should be a simple matter to get bacteria to reproduce at an accelerated rate. However, it seemed slightly different.

[Could this be the limitation of my skill? Like it's only capable of restoring something to its original qualities.]

By this point, Tal had stopped what she was doing to walk over and observe him. Somehow, she managed to guess what he was attempting to do, and offered a few words of advice. "Forcing it will accomplish nothing. The trait of life is that it operates independently, without the need for outside interference. If you relax and allow your mana to flow as it wills, I believe you will have more success."

Concentrating, Mike allowed his mana to creep out of his body in a slow stream, but made no effort to direct where it went afterwards. For a long moment, it didn't appear to have an effect, but then he noticed that the energy was being subtly tugged towards something within the clump of manure. As he watched a small green sprout emerged from the substance, and continued to grow at a fast rate.

[There must have been a seed left behind, but I guess this works.] He could tell that the microbes in the manure were also multiplying rapidly and vigorously, so he dropped the clump and used Lifestyle Magic to clean his hand.

[I feel like I achieved a greater understanding of how Healing Magic works. Maybe it ranked up while I was wor] Mike checked his [Status] and found that the entry for his skill had changed rather dramatically.

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- Life Magic (Tier 4, Rank 1) - (EVOLVED)

A form of magic only accessible for those who have walked the path of healer, this skill harnesses the power of the fifth basic element, Life. Practitioners can use their command over this element to control, empower, and even create living things. Within the realm of its influence, there are no forms of magic more dominant, but it cannot affect things that never held the spark of life. Higher levels of skill increase mana efficiency and the power of magic produced.

Rank 1 Effects: Healing Mastery

- Healing Mastery -

Life Mages arise only from those who have a fundamental understanding of organic beings. With this understanding comes the knowledge of how to treat the many ailments and injuries that such beings encounter over the span of their life cycles. Includes the effects of all Healing Magic skill ranks of Tier 4 and below.

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[...This is good, I think. Not sure really what I should feel about this.]

"Hey, Tal. Have you ever heard of something called Life Magic?" He asked quietly.

She stared at him for a few moments, and then shook her head. "I know it is considered one of the Basic Elements, but as far as I'm aware, there is not a skill designed to manipulate it directly. If you have unlocked such a thing, it is probably something belonging to the realm of Tier 4s, and therefore outside of the scope of common knowledge."

"I see...Well, in any case, I think I've come up for a solution to our soil problem." He commented absently while taking a few moments to explore his newfound understanding of how mana interacted with living things.

He realized he'd never given much thought before. How could so much energy be stored in a person's body without causing some kind of horrible side effect? It would have been easy to write it off as the effect of the System and the divine powers that created it. After all, if anyone could perform the miraculous, then actual gods surely could.

However, he now knew that it was more complicated. Mana, as he understood it, suffused every aspect of this world to a greater or lesser extent, but it tended to concentrate in certain areas, one of which was the tissues of living beings. Based on what he could tell from the small plant growing out of the pile of manure by his feet, and comparing it to the mana in his own body, it seemed that the more powerful one was, the more mana was concentrated inside of you.

In fact, as he glanced over at Tal, he could tell that, while her body contained a surprisingly large amount of mana, it still was nowhere near his. He tried moving a large chunk of mana out of his body and then observing the aftereffects. Even though he shifted close to a quarter of his reserves, the mana contained within his body barely changed at all.

[Is mana perhaps the vehicle the System uses to enhance people as their skills increase? Considering that it's a mysterious energy source whose properties are unclear, I guess that makes about as much sense as anything else. Now, how can I use this]

Putting aside the exciting possibilities for the time being, he returned his thoughts to the task at hand. He wove together a stream of elemental magic drawn from Earth, Water, Air, and Life, and sent the resulting mana into the ground.

Within seconds the dirt started to change, taking on the appearance of a soft, loamy soil. He watched the effect spread, eventually expanding to include the entire demi-realm. Once he felt that it couldn't go any further, he relaxed and allowed his remaining mana to dissipate.

[Hmm, that cost me about half of my reserves. I guess trying to use four different kinds of magic simultaneously was a bit much. Come to think of it, this means my Dual Casting skill must have ranked up as well]

Mike's thoughts trailed off as he realized that everyone was now staring at him.