After Maya woke up, Austin got started on making a meal for the group. It was a good thing that Austin learned more about enchantments before he left Artas’s domain because he found that each scroll held enough food for several meals. Luckily, he had learned how to activate a scroll in a way to bring out the amount of food he needed and keep the rest within the scroll.
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Austin handed out plates to everyone in the group. Each plate had slices of bread, a thick cut of meat, and green leafy vegetables. While Josh and Elliot were excited to eat, they were not nearly as excited as Maya. Her eyes lit up as Austin handed her a plate, and she seemed to resist the urge to just dive straight into eating.
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“Real food,” Maya sounded like she was caught in a trance. It reminded Austin of a zombie searching for brains.
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“I know you missed it,” Austin said as he sat next to Maya with his own plate.
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“You have no idea,” Maya said as she already had a mouthful of bread.
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“Oh, I definitely do,” Austin laughed. If there was one thing Austin knew about his wife, it was that she loved food. She was not one to overindulge, but she loved the flavors of food. She probably was more affected by the foraged food than Elliot.
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“This is so good!” Maya exclaimed before she let out a squeal in excitement. She shoveled a large bite of meat into her mouth before she continued. “You should have led with the food! Then I wouldn’t have doubted that elf guy.”
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Josh leaned over to Austin and asked, “Is she always like this with food?”
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“Uh, not exactly,” Austin replied. “She does enjoy trying new and delicious things, but I have never seen her act this excited. It’s probably just because we have been eating the same things here.”
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“I can hear you two,” Maya glared at Austin and Josh. “Can’t a girl be happy to eat something good that’s not mushrooms and berries?”
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“Yes, you can be,” Austin smiled before he kissed Maya’s head. “I think Josh was just a little shocked.”
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“Sorry, I didn’t mean anything bad by it,” Josh said to Maya.
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“It’s fine,” Maya smiled. “I can’t be mad while eating this yummy food.”
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As the group continued to eat, Austin started to explain the more technical parts of his time in Artas’s domain. Specifically, he talked about how Maya and Josh could reach Copper level and how to discover their affinity. He also let them know that his affinity was metal. The group decided to switch their activities to a strict training regimen after Austin gave them the details. Now that they had plenty of food, they could focus more on improving their Essence.
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“Which also brings me to the next gift from Artas,” Austin said as he laid out a scroll. He channeled his Essence through the scroll to release several vials and a bag of pills from it. “These will help enhance your growth. The elixirs will help push your Essence further, while the pills in this bag will help stabilize it. A little warning, though, the elixir can be sort of intense at first. Also, the pills will put you right to sleep after taking one.”
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“So kinda like when we ate the fruit?” Maya asked.
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“Sort of, just a little more intense. At least it seemed that way to me,” Austin replied before he clapped his hands together in realization. “That reminded me! Elliot can eat his fruit! Artas explained to me that since he is young, it won’t have the same effects as it did on you. Also, it could be really good for his long-term growth!”
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“Oh, I see,” Maya did not sound too sure. “Are we sure that is something we want for him? Doesn’t that sort of resign him to a life of fighting in the future?”
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“I don’t see it that way,” Austin said. “He doesn’t immediately have to start training, and it just helps ensure he is safe in the future. The world will be very different from the one we knew.”
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“I get what you mean. I just don’t want him to be forced into a life of fighting,” Maya replied with a sad tone. “Doesn’t that just encourage that sort of life?”
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“I understand your concerns. And I will do everything I can to protect him from danger in the future,” Austin said. “But isn’t it better if he knows how to fight and never has to than if he doesn't know how to fight and has to? I feel like the second option puts him in more danger.”
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Maya frowned and lowered her head. “You are being logical about this. I just…never wanted him to have a life like that. I wanted him to live safely.”
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Austin grabbed Maya’s shoulder and looked at her with intense eyes. “I will do everything possible to make sure he is safe. This just happens to be one of the ways we can make sure he is.”
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Maya looked up at Austin, her cheeks wet with tears. “You won’t force him to fight if he doesn’t have to?”
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“Of course not,” Austin replied. “We will take it as easy as possible.”
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“…we can do it,” Maya sighed. “Your argument just makes too much sense.”
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“Thank you,” Austin said as he let go of Maya’s shoulders. “I really appreciate your understanding. I only want what is best for him.”
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“I know, we both do,” Maya said. “So, should we do it now or what?”
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“No reason not to,” Austin said as he set his plate on the ground and stood up. He approached Elliot and placed a hand on his head. “Hey buddy, do you want a dessert?”
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Elliot’s eyes lit up as he responded, “Dessert?!”
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“Yep,” Austin said as he showed Elliot the fruit. “Isn’t it pretty?”
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“Oooo,” Elliot’s eyes entered a trance as he took in the fruit’s appearance.
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Austin handed the fruit to Elliot, which looked comically large in Elliot’s small hands. Elliot immediately bit into the fruit. A smile came across his face as he ate the fruit and took more and more bites. It did not take long for Elliot to devour the whole fruit.
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“Yummy! Thanks, daddy!” Elliot smiled broadly.
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“I’m glad you liked it,” Austin said.
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“Can I have more?” Elliot asked before his mouth opened in a wide yawn.
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“I’m sorry, buddy. That’s the only one,” Austin replied. “You can have some berries, though.”
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Elliot’s eyes started to grow heavy. He rubbed them to try to force the feeling away, but it did not work. “Sleepy.”
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Elliot seemed like he could barely stay awake, so Austin picked him up with one of his arms. Elliot slumped in Austin’s arm as Austin carried him to his sleeping bag. As Austin lay Elliot down, he checked to make sure that Elliot’s vitals seemed okay. It was an oddity for Elliot to be so ready for a nap, and it worried Austin. Luckily, Elliot seemed okay besides just being very tired.
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“Don’t worry,” Austin said to Maya as he noticed her worried expression. “The fruit probably just made him tired, but he seems to be fine.”
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“As long as you think he is okay,” Maya replied. “I just never have seen him willingly fall asleep.”
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“I know, it is strange. But it’s better than the intensity you went through,” Austin pointed out.
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“Oh, definitely, I’m kinda scared to try out one of those elixirs,” Maya confessed.
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“Don’t worry about it,” Austin smiled as he pulled Maya close. “It’ll be intense at first, but after that you'll be fine.”
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“Right, if you can do it, then I can,” Maya said. “If we are going to make sure Elliot is safe, then I need to try my hardest too.”
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“That’s more like it. That’s the positive thinking woman I married,” Austin smiled.
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“You better watch out,” Maya teased. “Now that I really know what I’m working towards, I’ll catch up and beat you. All the motivation I need is Elliot.”
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“I won’t complain if you surpass me,” Austin laughed. “You going to get started then?”
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“Yep, can’t let you get too much of a head start,” Maya nodded.
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“Good, because Josh is already meditating,” Austin turned his head towards Josh’s direction.
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“What?! He can’t get a head start on me!” Maya groaned.
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Maya scrambled into a cross-legged position and started to meditate. Austin controlled a laugh as Maya eagerly entered position. He did not realize until that moment how eager she was to get better. It seemed their discussion about protecting Elliot lit a fire underneath her.
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As Maya and Josh meditated, Austin tidied up the area. The pair went into meditation before doing anything with their plates, so Austin had to spend his time cleaning up. Not that Austin minded, it gave him something to do while his companions were occupied.
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After Austin finished cleaning up, he went to his pack filled to the brim with scrolls. He searched through the pack until he found the one he was looking for, the scroll with books on enchantment. While Maya and Josh worked towards Copper, Austin could work on studying enchantment.
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Austin revealed the books from within the scroll and was surprised to see stacks of paper and what looked like a stylus on top. In between the stacks of paper and pen was a folded-up note. Austin opened it to read it:
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“Supplies so you can practice. Hope you have lots of fun.
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-Your Wonderful Master”
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Austin felt a mixture of relief and gratefulness at the supplies. He had worried about how he would get the items to practice in this forest or even when they left. Now that was another thing that he did not have to worry about. He was especially grateful for the stylus, which would have been the hardest item to obtain because it was specifically designed to channel Essence to allow someone to write enchantments.
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Before Austin could start writing enchantments, he still wanted to get more familiar with the characters. He wished that he had a regular pen so he could practice writing the characters because of how specifically written each symbol needed to be. He thought that maybe if he did not write a full enchantment, then the character would not activate. There had to be some sort of information on that in the stack of books that Artas provided him.
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Austin organized the several books in front of him. There were seven books in total. Each book was the size of a textbook. Austin was not shocked by the size of each book and how many there were. He was sure there was even more to learn than just in these books. Essence use had been used for a long time before it reached Earth. Austin imagined that research into Essence and the crafting derived from it had to be an unfathomable amount. Even then, he felt lucky that he was given the books he was given.
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The books were divided into volumes of beginner, intermediate, and two advanced books. The other three books were on specializations. The specialization books were basic weapon enchantment, basic item enchantment, and affinity enchantment.
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Austin put all the books to the side, besides the beginner volume. He did not think it would do much to start reading the more advanced books and instead decided that he needed to master the beginner book before he moved on. Austin opened the beginner book and began to move through the pages at a rapid pace. While he had been taking the book slowly while he was in Artas’s domain, now he decided that he needed to find if there was specific information on practice. He hoped that he could find information on how to practice with the stylus without causing any detrimental effects or accidents.
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As Austin browsed through the book, he finally found what he was looking for. He was happy to see that he could practice, and it was recommended. If a person took their time to write out characters without linking them, then they did not have to worry about any effects manifesting. It was even recommended to do this so a person could get used to the amount of Essence they needed to use to enchant. After reading this, Austin took his stylus in hand and began to work on writing down characters.
