The first night had been easy. They ran over the mountains, following the trails. In mid-January, darkness held for fourteen hours, and they hadn’t stopped for any break, food, or water. It was a pleasant surprise for Rowan to see how much effort his Awakened body could cope with. So many hours of uninterrupted running, and it felt like a light jog.

  During the day, they slept around a campfire, but a few hours were enough to get them back in shape, and for the rest of the daylight, the group played cards or talked. Rowan let himself loose talking about Bourbon until he noticed the young elves showed signs of boredom. It was the first time in his life he felt “old.”

  After the second night of running and a total distance of five hundred and twenty miles, they stopped short of the border, at the entrance of another forest reservation. A few people were waiting for them. Fay, Inglotal’s wife and the tribe’s all-around chief, but also Grace and Lizzie.

  [Grace to Rowan]: Don't act surprised, I told her it was your idea. Five days away and just a phone call saying you’re going on a hike? No way. Lizzie’s an attention-soaking sponge.

  [Rowan to Grace]: Thank you… How are things back home?

  [Grace to Rowan]: Cora's upset you're sending her to Africa to trigger a core. She had to delay some projects. I told her it was a sign of how much you trust her.

  [Rowan to Grace]: Thanks. I would be lost without you.

  [Grace to Rowan]: Let’s play with Lizzie. She’s looking forward to it.

  "Sweetie, look, a bicycle rental," Rowan switched to talking. "Wanna go for a ride?"

  They hugged, then he took his wife and daughter on a short bicycle tour. After Grace and Lizzie teleported away at noon, Rowan mechanically ate whatever game the elves had hunted and then slept for the rest of the day.

  In the evening, Inglotal shook Rowan’s shoulder, awakening him. A gate opened in the Border Forcefield. They walked through, then stopped when the war chief raised his hand, turning toward Rowan.

  “The Earthlings translate our name incorrectly,” Inglotal said. “We’re not the Dark Elves, and Swarthy is just the hue of our skin. Know, Thane Allinder, that we’re the Elves of the Night. The cold night of the Septentrion is our father, and the shadows of the Boreal forest are our mothers. Nottie, show the thane your skills!” A young girl stepped forward, and the shades of the night deepened. The darkness emanating from the girl enveloped them, going around in a wide circle about fifty yards in radius.

  Without any warning, Inglotal started to run. They followed, and so did the obscurity. It was colder outside, and the lights of hamlets or towns shone far away, dimmed by Nottie’s AoE. The effort of running was greater, and Rowan’s muscles were working harder.

  One hour later, Inglotal yelled: “No potions allowed!”

  Potions? Potions for what? Oh… What the fuck?

  His Mana Pool was dropping at an alarming rate. It had a one percent per minute refill. Still, if the inflow was slowed by a low-mana area, his body consumed his Mana at a higher rate than he could regenerate.

  You have made a Discovery. Your body constantly processes Mana, refining it into a higher form and storing a portion in your Mana Pool—a part of your Mana Body. The excess Mana is vented out, contributing to the overall Mana quantity on Earth. Town Cores, as well as any Awakened plants or animals, do the same.

  Quest: Train yourself to control your Mana Flow. Learn how to use your passive CHA Perk 3 to slow your body’s Natural Mana Consumption by +25% and increase your Mana Regeneration by +25%. Reward: 1 AP

  Quest: Train to reduce the amount of Mana you spend on Spells, Skills, or Perks. Reward: 1 AP

  So, there was hope. Slowing his Mana consumption felt like putting a plug on a leak, and the expenditure slowed to a trickle. The pain and tiredness, on the other hand, increased. In another hour, it became atrocious. He clenched his teeth and willed his Sensorial Filtering on, muting the sourness in his body.

  “Slow down, half an hour or walking,” Inglotal shouted after looking around. There were sighs of relief around, which meant Rowan was not the only one in pain. That was the good part. The bad part was that the Elves were kids. He was supposed to be tougher.

  Ingotal slowed down, coming near him, and beckoned for Nottie. “Walk together. Her AoE enhances Mana's regeneration, the closer you are to her, the better.”

  Two hours later, a notification came:

  Quest cleared. You have learned to Control your Mana Flow. +1 AP

  Your Mana is now regenerating at 1.25%/minute in a high mana environment, or per hour in a low one. The amount of Mana you need to consume per minute for your optimal body performance is now 0.75%. The difference (excess) can be expended to momentarily enhance your body or will naturally vent out.

  Rowan noticed a considerable drop in his Mana expenditure. Nottie’s AOE doubled his Mana Regeneration to 2.50/% / hour in a low-mana zone.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Is that darkness thing a passive?” he asked.

  “No,” the girl shook her head, walking without looking at him. Since she could keep it on without appearing exhausted, Rowan assumed it cost little Mana, and the girl was efficient at it.

  “We run, but slower,” Inglotal commanded. The light jog lasted for a couple of hours. Rowan allowed himself to burst to full Mana use capacity for a minute every half hour to take the sting out of his painful joints and muscles.

  A new walking session arrived, and it lasted for forty-five minutes. Rowan’s Mana was at twenty-five percent, and he stopped his Mana outflow. Walking was something he could do with his normal body abilities. Soon, questions started nibbling on his mind. He could do many things with R?svelg, like pushing Snowstorm into a cone AoE when needed and imbuing it on weapons. Was it possible to find a gentler use for it, like Nottie’s AoE? However, considering how potent the skill was, it was not something he could try near friends.

  “Guys, I’m going ahead to test something,” he yelled and dashed ahead. He consumed one percent of his Mana, but after a minute, he was far enough to try it. Closing his eyes, Rowan exhaled, imagining frosty clouds spreading from his body like one of those special effects machines at concerts.

  Fuck! For a second, it looked like he failed. A harsh wind had erupted out, blowing the top of the snow away. Yet, it was soon clear it was not the deadly blizzard he was used to with Snowstorm. The wind calmed down, and fog appeared. After a minute, everything around was so calm it didn’t look like anything was out of the ordinary.

  You have discovered R?svelg: Cold Breeze. Spreads out an AoE field with a twenty-five-yard diameter, soothing your allies (+25% MP and HP regen) or debuffing your foes (-25% reaction speed and healing) simultaneously. Effect and area can be improved through training. It consumes 1/10 of your overall R?svelg cost per every minute instead of every second.

  “YEY!” That meant he had enough of it for eighty minutes. Rowan waited for the others because running back meant consuming more mana. “Guys, look what I have unlocked,” he yelled proudly.

  “You lucky bastard! That’s sick!” Nottie yelled, getting out of her reserved Emo-rocker persona for a second.

  “That’s not the proper way to talk to our Thane,” Inglotal scolded her.

  “Thane, get your ass here, and let’s see if the effects stack,” the girl dismissed the scold with impertinence.

  Teenagers! Rowan snorted. But the buffs did stack. Moreover, they worked together extremely well, to twelve percent Mana Regeneration every hour.

  Alternating full running sessions with walking and jogging, they made it through the night, doing one hundred and ten miles, only ten miles short of their aim. His MPs were under half a percent, and Rowan collapsed on the ground near a campfire that miraculously had been constructed in under a minute by Inglotal.

  “It’s daylight. Potions allowed!” the War Chief yelled.

  For three hours, Rowan slept like a log. A strong shove on the shoulder woke him up.

  “Take one now, then another in half an hour, then two at the same time,” Inglotal gave Rowan a box of pills.

  Rowan furrowed his brow. “Won’t I get Potion Sickness if I take more potions than the cooldown allows?”

  “Indeed, you will vomit, and feel sick. Yet, before tomorrow night, the interval between your potion chugging will be halved, and your poison resistance will double. There is a reason we train in lower Mana areas.”

  Rowan didn’t puke but felt like shit, Sensorial Filtering or not. But after an hour and a half of pain, he could sleep again. Before they started running, he was allowed to take another potion and another at midnight.

  It was much better now. At full Mana and knowing how to work together with Nottie, they kept going on. There was only one walking break, and they recovered the lost terrain from the previous night. And the notifications were magnificent.

  For maintaining a R?svelg: Cold Breeze perk active for a long period and harmonizing it with Embracing Darkness, you can now add the Darkness element to your spells, perks, and weapons.

  By maintaining a R?svelg: Cold Wind Aspect facet active for a long period and optimizing its Mana consumption, you have now reached the best optimized Mana cost for this perk: 15 Mana/second (Charisma Perk 3 applied).

  You have unlocked a Second Aspect, Fire Wind, by achieving optimal cost for your R?svelg first aspect and unlocking 4 out of 7 possible facets of your first Aspect (Cold Wind).

  “Wait!” Rowan blurted as Inglotal prepared to light the fire. “I got a fire perk now.”

  “Which one?”

  “I unlocked R?svelg, Fire Wind. Let me test it.” The youngsters cheered.

  “Be my guest,” Iglotal gestured toward the firewood. "Youngsters, get back. With our Thane, we better be safe than sorry."

  “Err… maybe get ready with a shovel or something? Just in case it gets out of control?” Rowan suggested.

  Snorting, the Elf produced a large fire extinguisher from his inventory. “We’re not savages.”

  “I’ll aim toward the river,” Rowan said, preparing to let the perk out. He did it only for a fraction of a second, aiming his palms at the fireplace. A stream of fire and smoke burst out, formed itself in a ball, hit the firewood, lighted it, and then bounced twice more, starting two secondary fires on the dead branches lying near the river. Inglotal’s fire extinguisher made short work of them.

  You have unlocked the Camping Fire facet. Current cost: 20 MP/second. 1/7 facets of Fire Wind discovered.

  You have unlocked the Forest Fire facet. Current cost: 20 MP/second/bounce 2/7 facets of Fire Wind discovered.

  “Well… it's a little underwhelming, but it works,” Rowan sighed.

  “Forest Fire was among the most appreciated spells in the Elven Dark Ages,” Nottie said. "Imagine besieging a fortress and starting multiple fires around it."

  “If we ever besiege a fortress, I’ll keep that in mind,” Rowan promised. “I wonder… is it possible to unlock something like dragon fire?” he asked, with hope shining in his voice and eyes.

  "Dragon Fire is a specific attack applied by a Dragonoid. Humanoids can unlock Flamethrower or Fireball," Inglotal crushed his hopes.

  “Say, Inglotal, do you know how many facets and aspects of the winds are and what each does?”

  “No one had unlocked R?svelg in centuries, but you should be able to unlock three aspects and seven facets for each. There are more, but that's the consensus on how many one can master. Here,” the War Chief searched his inventory and threw him a booklet. “Mythical perks for dummies, it’s in our curricula. I’ll go hunting, and you can rest a little and take some potions. I want your sickness gone before lunch.”

  Sitting on a log, Rowan opened the book. To his disappointment, it was written with weird rune-like characters. He took a mental note to ask Cora to translate it and put it into storage. A few minutes later, Nottie came and sat near him.

  "Thank you," she said. "Because of you, I can now add Cold to my Darkness."

  “Nah," Rowan smiled. “Thanks to you, I can add Darkness to my Cold.”