Beers and Beards: A Cozy Dwarf Tale

Book 3: Chapter 41: Magic is Hard

As soon as I made it into the brewroom, I grabbed a mug from the office and poured myself a glass of barista brew. I specifically wanted a stout for this, but our local porter would do. I activated my [Manasight] again, and peered into the depths of the mug. The Mana of the brew was mostly white, with hints of blue and yellow. According to ‘Professor’ Richter, that indicated the presence of gaseous Aethers and liquid Aethers, as well as some minute solids.

The elements in Erd were different from back home. There was no periodic table, and certainly no fantasy concepts like Earth, Fire, Wind, Water. Instead, there were the fundamentals, which were split into the Fundamental Elements: Aether, Matter, Nether, and Mana, and the Fundamentals of Life: Chaos, Law, Spirit, and Spark.

Mana was a building block that defined how the other Fundamentals acted. So, for example, Nether that was infused with Gravity Mana pulled things towards it. Our bottling system used Void Mana aspected Nether. Fire was Aether infused with Fire Mana. Light was Chaos Mana in Aether. So on and so forth.

To perform magic, you took Mana from your own body, and using a standardized formula of Sigils, or in Berry’s case, music, changed it to a different kind of Mana. Then you pushed the modified Mana into a surrounding Fundamental, changing its form to match the new Mana.

For example, a person who focused on fire spells might take their personal Mana, change it into fire Mana, then push it into the Aether of the air around them. Fire mana in Aether made pure flame, resulting in a jet of fire. If they instead infused it into the ground, they’d get something more akin to lava. There were limits of course, with some Mana types repelling others, and the Mana of other sentient beings being nearly impossible to affect.

Each use case required a different Sigil with modifications for everything from distance to how you wanted the new Mana to act. As a result, learning how to do anything beyond one or two spells was hard, especially since you were usually forced to learn the sigils without the [Manasight] necessary to do the magic in the first place. Students at Archis Academy studied for years to gain Archis’s approval and the Blessing necessary to see Mana.

I reached into my desk and pulled out a simple beginner wand that looked like a pen with a ruby on it. I’d been working on a specific Sigil with Richter for the past few months, drawing it on the table and then in the air with nothing to work with beyond my wand. It’d been hard, and often boring work, but it was now paying off.

I glanced down at my hand with [Pete’s Poor Manasight] again. Bright green rivers flowed up my arm, lazily tracing paths beneath the skin. The confluence of all those rivers was my heart, making it the best place to pull Mana from. Not too much, of course! I wouldn’t want to remove so much Mana that I wasn’t me anymore. I placed the ruby on my chest, and with a deft twist, caught a wisp of Mana and pulled.

Then immediately dropped the wand, swearing. “Ow! Slaggin’ elfin’ friggin’ fraggle’ rock’n sunnuva-nannygoat!”

It was… an interesting sensation. Kind of like touching a van de graaf generator, or rubbing my socks on a shag carpet – a tingly feeling that reached down into my very soul. I shuddered as I placed the ruby to my chest again, this time prepared for the sensation. I slowly moved the wand away from my heart, pulling the green Mana out in front of me. The line of green traced my motions perfectly, leaving glowing lines hanging in the air, and I simply watched it for a while, marveling. I switched off [Manasight] and the bright lines disappeared, only to reappear when I switched it back on.

I restarted once more, and began tracing my first proper Sigil. As I added more and more Mana to the Sigil, the light grew brighter and brighter, until I could see it even without my [Manasight].

With joy in my heart, I pushed the Mana into the glass of beer beside me.

Aaaaand, nothing happened. I’d screwed up the sigil.

I swore and tried again.

And again.

And again.

I began to feel lethargic, and with herculean effort, forced myself to stop. Using up the body’s Mana could be deadly, and Richter’s instructions were quite clear – stop when you feel tired.

As I sat in the office waiting for my Mana to regenerate, I popped open my status again. I had a lot of Milestones. You only needed 5 to Specialise and I had… significantly more than that.

Barck had told me to Specialise using [Pete’s Poor Manasight], and now seemed as good a time as any. I chose five brewing related Milestones and then took a moment to consider my selections.

Specialisation Possible!

Please select 5 Milestones to combine into a Specialisation!

You have selected [Check Quality], [Infuse Mana], [Pete’s Poor Manasight], [Rapid Aging], and [Extended Bottomless Barrel].

Merge Milestones?

Yes/No

I had a relatively clear idea for where I wanted this Specialization to go, so I didn’t put [Pete’s Miniature Remembrance] into the mix. I was hoping for a magic focused Specialization, and I didn’t want to chance giving up on something good because it got rid of [Remembrance]. I was doing my best to power-level that Ability, and hopefully it would soon let me summon bigger or better stuff from my memories.

The first time I’d Titled, Specialised, and gotten an Ability choice, I’d waffled over it for hours. Later, Balin had told me that most Titled immediately knew what they wanted and went for it. In general, by the time you reached that point you were experienced enough to be sure of your place in life. That was how you became Titled in the first place, and it was doubly true for Specialised individuals.

Now that I had a better idea of how life on Erd worked, and more confidence in myself, this should be easier than the last time.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

I held my breath and hit ‘yes’!

Specialisation Gained

You have decided to Specialise! Specialisation is an important decision that will guide your future growth. Your selected Milestones will combine to give you powerful new Blessings that will help you down your chosen path. Choose wisely, for what you choose will come to define you.

The following four Specialisations are available to you.

Otherworldly Elchemist

Chalice Keeper

Otherworldly Arcane Crafter

Otherworldly Glutton

Possible Specialisation: [Otherworldly Elchemist]

Combine [Pete’s Poor Manasight] and [Infuse Mana] into the Blessing [Transfer Mana].

Combine [Check Quality] and [Rapid Aging] into the Blessing [Elemental Extraction].

The Milestone [Extended Bottomless Barrel] is not affected.

As a [Brewer] you have always sought ways to add and remove different elements from your brews. With your new ability to see Mana, you seek to manipulate your brews further, and becoming an [Elchemist] will aid you in that pursuit.

[Transfer Mana] – You gain the ability to see the mana flow in yourself as well as anything else within 1 metre.

You can use Mana outside of your body to power spells. You cannot change the type of outside Mana as you use it.

This Ability is always available and can be turned on and off at will.

[Elemental Extraction] – You can extract an Element of your choice along with the Mana inside it from a non-living item you are touching. The resulting Element is placed within 1 meter of you. You can affect no more than 1 cubic meter of material at a time.

This Ability can be used once per hour.

Possible Specialisation: [Chalice Keeper]

Combine [Pete’s Poor Manasight] and [Extended Bottomless Barrel] into the Blessing [Manawell].

Combine [Infuse Mana] and [Rapid Aging] into the Blessing [Lifewell].

The Milestone [Check Quality] is not affected.

You have a long road ahead of you as a [Brewer], and you know it. There’s so much to do. If only you had more time, more mana, more everything. But, as you hold forth your cup to toast your fellows, so do the Gods reach out their Chalice to you. As a [Chalice Keeper] you choose to drink deeply from that ever-flowing font and are duly rewarded.

May you live long, young dwarf, and prosper.

[Manawell] –You gain the ability to see the mana flow in yourself as well as anything else within 1 metre. This Ability is always available and can be turned on and off at will.

Your own personal Mana is greatly increased.

[Lifewell] – Your lifespan is greatly increased.

Possible Specialisation: [Otherworldly Arcane Crafter]

Combine [Infuse Mana] and [Extended Bottomless Barrel] into the Blessing [Lesser Mana Crafting].

Combine [Pete’s Poor Manasight] and [Check Quality] into the Blessing [Lesser Crafter’s Eye].

The Milestone [Rapid Aging] is not affected.

As a [Brewer] you always sought ways to improve yourself and your brew. You have a good eye for the craft, and as an [Otherworldly Arcane Crafter] you can use Mana to improve your crafting capabilities with comparable ease.

[Lesser Mana Crafting]–You can infuse and manipulate Mana within your crafted items directly, without the need for a medium. Additionally, you can infuse your Mana into Enchantments.

This Ability is always available.

[Lesser Crafter’s Eye] – You gain the ability to see the mana flow in yourself as well as anything else within 1 meter. Within the same range, you can instantly spot any flaws or weaknesses in any materials you are using or items you have crafted.

This Ability is always available and can be turned on and off at will.

Possible Specialisation: [Otherworldly Glutton]

Combine [Extended Bottomless Barrel] and [Rapid Aging] into the Blessing [Endless Barrel].

Combine [Check Quality] and [Infuse Mana] into the Blessing [Arcane Feast].

The Milestone [Pete’s Poor Manasight] is not affected.

As a [Brewer] you were driven largely by your own love of food and drink. What would it be like to have an endless supply of your favourite treats? As an [Otherworldly Glutton] you are able to feast upon your favourites as much as you desire.

[Endless Barrel]–You can touch a container that contains no more than forty-eight litres of non-magical liquid and grant it a touch of infinity. From now on, any drink you pour out of it does not reduce the liquid level. If the liquid is not poured into an appropriate container or imbibed within twenty-four minutes, it disappears.

Each time you use this Ability any previous uses end.

This Ability can be used once per hour.

[Arcane Feast] – You can extract an Element of your choice along with the Mana inside it from a non-living item you are touching.

This Ability can be used once per hour.

Score! I’d been hoping for an Arcane Crafting Specialisation like Copperpot had, and there were a couple options that fit the bill. That should’ve made this an easy choice.

But, I was tempted.

I had about five or six hundred more years left to live as a dwarf, which was a lot, but who wouldn't want to live longer? Maybe [Chalice Keeper] was how that evil, wine-hogging, elven vintner had lived so long. And if I Specialised further in [Chalice Keeper], would I eventually live forever?

And more importantly… did I want to?