[A Sudden Meteor]
The final notes explain a bit about the small 'differences' and perhaps 'impossibilities' that may have occurred in this chapter. Enjoy the reading!
[Chosen World: Frieren: Beyond Journey's End]
[Words: 4.112]
----------
[Mythical Era] - [250 Years after the last appearance of the Goddess of Creation]
[1st Year]
Another night had begun, causing the Monsters to intensify their heinous acts and triple their aggressiveness against any and all living beings.
The starry sky seemed to ignore the cruelty that filled the World 'abandoned' by the Goddess of Creation, reflecting a beautiful starry landscape for all who faced it.
In a vast and dark forest, a small golden figure walked carelessly facing the darkness head-on; she seemed unfazed by any potential danger that lurked in these areas at night.
"Just a few more plants and I should have everything I need to finish my experiment," the small figure with long golden hair thought monotonously as she walked.
Anyone who encountered her at this moment would think she was a lost child rather than one of the First Great Mages to come into existence: Serie.
She was an Elf, a species known not for their physical development but for their longevity, which was so great that they were considered practically immortal.
The amount of Mana contained within her underdeveloped body was large enough to implode a village without the slightest problem; fortunately for the World, the threat of the 'Newly Discovered' Demon King was already enough.
...
Serie had been searching for a few hours for some good materials to complete another small part of her Research; after all, now that she had officially become a Great Mage, she could intensify her efforts to create even more powerful spells that were rarely seen.
Her efforts in search of these materials were proving quite fruitful, as more than half of the sought-after materials had already been found, making her feel 'in a good mood' (even if she didn't show it).
"And here we have one of the several necessary plants," she thought as her enhanced vision allowed her to see a purple plant with small red details.
Serie made a small 'joyful' noise with her monotone face and approached the plant, touching it before enveloping it with Magic. Instantly afterward, she released the petal of the plant before continuing on her way; she had already analyzed its structure and could now replicate the plant whenever she wanted.
As the elf continued her search for new types of materials, her body tensed slightly as her instincts warned her that something absurd was about to happen.
Her eyes widened before her gaze became more serious due to the amount of danger detected by her, causing her hands to emit a circular blue glow as if she were preparing for a possible large-scale battle.
Several seconds passed, which quickly turned into minutes, leaving Serie extremely confused.
"Where?" Her eyes scanned the surroundings with great precision, detecting various animals at almost hundreds of meters away but nothing that seemed to be the source of her instinctual reaction.
As Serie was about to start moving to search for this strange sensation, a huge blue light appeared in the sky, illuminating the entire vast forest and possibly several kilometers away.
Serie's eyes quickly moved to the sky as she conjured a simple spell to allow her to levitate above the forest trees to provide herself with a better view of what was about to happen.
When she finally rose above the trees, her eyes widened with great disbelief, setting aside a hidden fear that seemed to grow with each moment she observed the origin of the blue light.
A huge blue sphere descended from the sky, leaving behind a purple trail that seemed to cut through the stars reflected by the dark sky, heading toward the center of the forest.
"A meteor so large?! The amount of damage this will cause to the forest is ridiculous!" The safety of this forest was the only thing on Serie's mind for now; it was in this location that all the precious materials she needed were.
A sense of urgency and a newly discovered determination forced the Elf to act, causing her to head in the direction the meteor would fall, which she discovered after some simple calculations.
...
When Serie finally reached the impact area, she began to release a large amount of Mana from her body; the meteor had already completed half of its trajectory and seemed to be getting faster.
"[Mistilziela]!" She quickly tried to force the application of her Reflection Magic on the huge blue meteor, which she theorized (by herself) to be a kind of Magic cast by an unknown mage.
After all, it would make no sense for the meteor to simply appear out of nowhere without being seen by anyone else before, especially being so close to finally colliding with the ground.
A series of runes and bands appeared around the meteor after the conjuration of her main Spell, but these effects were quickly obliterated as the speed of the meteor increased even more.
"Did it absorb the Mana from my spell?!" A look of realization appeared on Serie's face as she watched the meteor's speed increase, causing her to grit her teeth in frustration.
She quickly made her choice as she moved away from the Impact Area and conjured some barriers around her, knowing that she would not be able to move away in time.
Due to perhaps poor decisions, she would have to rely on some magical barriers to try to survive after the Meteor Impact, which was getting closer and closer to the ground.
And so, in a few moments, the Meteor approached the height of the trees as they seemed to tremble as if in the presence of a hurricane before a huge explosion of dust and earth occurred, causing the Elf to instinctively close her eyes.
The Dust and Earth Explosion engulfed almost the entire forest before a blue light emerged within the raised Dust and Earth Cloud.
This blue light seemed to have a strange effect that caused all the effects generated by the Meteor Impact to regress, while a large amount of Mana was felt by Serie.
In a few seconds, everything had disappeared, and Serie had already opened her eyes, looking around in disbelief.
"An illusion?... No, the barriers are stronger than when I raised them; it's as if that large amount of Mana was partially absorbed by these barriers." Like a Great Mage and an extremely experienced Elf, Serie quickly made some conclusions in her mind before her eyes moved to where the Meteor would have collided.
She swallowed hard before she gathered the courage to approach the impact area; her instincts were warning her that there definitely was something there, and it wasn't simple.
...
After a strangely long time, 4 minutes, Serie finally reached where she felt there might be some clue about this strange event.
Her mind had long been captured by this phenomenon, causing her not even to try to consider 'moving away' or focusing on the search for materials.
Her expectations seemed to have been met when the Elf found a strong blue coloring at the bottom of a vast lake that did not exist previously in this region.
"Did the Meteor create this Lake? Or was it that strange effect of Mana?" Serie theorized as she observed the Lake, which seemed to have extremely crystalline water, allowing her to see that the Lake was completely filled with water and empty, with only the origin of the Light at the center of the lake's bottom.
Her 'levitation' spell was gradually canceled, causing Serie to slowly descend to the nearest ground of the Lake before she landed completely.
Being a good Great Mage, Serie wouldn't simply try to touch the water of a lake generated by Mana until she was sure if it was dangerous or not; thus, she conjured a magic circle above the Lake, preparing a variation of a spell that would later be known as 'Mikheit'.
This variation was quite simple; instead of analyzing the contents inside a Chest, it would analyze the structure of the water. It was something thought and done on the spot by Serie; it wasn't so complex as to require much study or learning for such a simple thing.
The circle emitted a strong glow before disappearing completely, providing Serie with the information she sought.
"A kind of Water that is filled with Mana, enough Mana to allow the use of Great Spells in sequence without any consequence." Seiren's eyes widened in admiration for the composition of this strange Water.
"All the Mana provided to the Water seems to be coming from that blue glow at the bottom of the lake. If somehow any spell comes into direct contact with this supposed absolute mass of Mana, perhaps some bad reaction could be generated, resulting in an explosion or something worse." Serie definitely wanted that Mass of Mana at the bottom of the Ocean for herself, but she couldn't simply risk interacting with it.
The best way to take advantage of this Mass of Mana would be to take advantage of the Lake, which did not seem to react to Magic in any 'bad' way if previous interactions with her 'Analysis' Magic were not proof enough.
"I could simply ignore this Lake, which would be the most logical action if I don't want to end up dying from a possible unknown reaction from the mass of blue light. But that would mean leaving this Lake behind, and it's certain that the Demon Lord's Sorcerers must have detected this huge amount of Mana that reversed the 'reaction' of the meteor impact."
"If the Demon Lord's army can somehow abuse the power of this Lake, they would gain a tremendous boost in strength..."
Serie's mind was working at its fullest, thinking of a possible solution to the case. It was necessary to mention that this lake was almost 700 meters, and each corner of this lake contained more Mana than Serie herself currently had.
Anyone who managed to get their hands on this 'miraculous water' or on the blue glow that was the cause of the appearance of this miraculous water would gain a ridiculous boost in strength and perhaps even some strange type of knowledge.
If you add this to the almost purely destructive spells of the demon lord's army, this Lake was basically the 'key' to the World being conquered by the Demon Lord. And Serie definitely didn't want this; a world ruled by the demon lord would not only be a world of 'pain,' but also a world where she couldn't do what she most desired.
Thus, she ended up coming up with a single plausible solution.
"I will make this Lake my home." The Elf declared aloud as she stared at the Lake, looking quite confident in what she said.
[2nd Year]
A year had passed since the sudden appearance of the mana meteor and Serie's decision to build a sort of home around this Lake.
Serie had built a simple house after planting several trees and forcing them to grow together with a bit of Magic before altering the structure and interior of the large tree to finally have a place to live.
She surrounded the lake with wooden walls and other types of defenses like various barriers that prevented anyone who wasn't skilled enough from approaching the lake without Serie detecting them, as well as preventing them from sensing the enormous amount of Mana in the lake's water.
Initially, none of this was easy because Serie discovered that the Mana the Lake had was causing the air around the lake to become unstable, so absurdly filled with mana that it caused instability in the formation of most spells.
Thus, the Elf was forced to look for possible solutions to this specific problem. In the midst of her search for Solutions, her control over Mana ended up becoming even more phenomenal due to the influence of the Lake and the difficulties it provided her, a person who greatly relied on Magic to do most things.
This ended up making this Great Mage even stronger than she already was, increasing her fascination with the Lake and the blue glow at the bottom of the lake.
Currently, Serie was sitting inside her home while writing some notes; she seemed quite focused on what she was doing.
-[And with that, the 367th Day of study about the Magic Stone at the bottom of the lake was concluded, resulting in a further 2% advancement in understanding the composition of the Magic Stone.]-
When the last line was written, she dropped the quill and closed the 'book' she had created, resting her back properly on the wooden chair she was sitting on.
Serie took a deep breath before turning her head to the side to gaze at the Lake with a lost look; she had only been in this lake for a year and had already discovered so many interesting things about it, so many potential uses.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that this Lake was the most fascinating thing Serie had the opportunity to witness in her short life (271 years).
During this short year she spent trying to study the Lake in every possible way, she managed to understand a few things about the lake.
Firstly, what was at the bottom of the lake was not simply a 'solitary concentration of mana,' it was some kind of 'thing.' Serie didn't know what was inside that Light, but she knew there was something there and that this something was causing the massive release of Mana, the Mana of this 'something' was so uncontrolled that it had crystallized around it.
On the day Serie discovered this, she was fascinated and at the same time, scared. This amount of Mana was not possible to feel within a Mortal Body, so she theorized that it was possibly something involving the Goddess of Creation, who had disappeared not too long ago (250 years).
Secondly, the Mana contained in the Lake and the atmosphere around it was extremely pure. The purity of this type of Mana was great enough that all the nature around it was affected, making things grow much faster than usual while more 'material' things like trees, soil, and stones were tremendously fortified.
The existence of this Lake alone was enough to bring prosperity to a Kingdom if the Kingdom were built around it.
Thirdly, the intensity of the Light at the bottom of the lake seemed to be decreasing over time. It wasn't something that could be perceived even if one stared at the light for a month straight; it took a full year for Serie to notice this, and it's necessary to take into consideration that she is a Great Mage, her perception is already hundreds of times superior to that of most living beings.
Serie theorized that when the Light disappeared completely, she could interact with this Crystallized Mana and perhaps it would be the time for whatever was there inside to be released, which brought a bit of anxiety (negative) to Serie. She didn't know if the 'thing' inside would be a threat or not.
Thus, Serie used a short month to make some calculations and estimates to get an idea of how long it would take for the Light to decrease, and this made her realize that in the Fifth Year, when she turned 275 years old, the Light disappeared completely.
It wasn't the best news, but it was better than nothing.
This year was filled with peace and tranquility for the Elf, who spent the whole year isolated from society, something she was already accustomed to (voluntarily).
She spent all her time doing research and studies involving Magic and the Lake itself, trying to make the most of it.
Her 'Base,' or rather, her home had developed quite a bit compared to the simple tree that had been shaped at the beginning.
(Appearance here)
She was now planning to build and develop some other areas around the lake that would help in her research as well as allow her to prepare for something potentially dangerous approaching.
Serie had calculated that soon (1 to 2 years), at least one member of the Demon Army would approach this Lake, after all, it took about a year and a few months to go from the Demon Region to this lake through constant 'Flight.'
In this way, she had decided to prepare for this fateful day.
[3rd Year]
The Second Year passed quickly, and Serie was now 272 years old.
Her studies involving the lake had recently stalled because she was unable to understand how Mana crystallized and what effects it would have on the Lake, causing her to be stuck on this issue for Months before she could finally progress.
Thus, the Elf was forced to develop other areas that she had not been using much until now. She improved her [Mistilziela], keeping in mind that the arrival of a demon in this region was closer than ever, as well as improving her mana control by a large margin.
With each passing month, Serie felt stronger and the region seemed more protected, giving clear signs that the Elf did not seem to 'lose heart' or 'become saturated' with this Region, perhaps it had something to do with the abnormal time perception of the Elves or their 'inability' to generate intense emotions? Who knows.
...
In a specific period of time, halfway through the third year, Serie had finally detected something. Unfortunately, it wasn't something involving the Lake but a Demon.
She could feel the malevolent energy rapidly approaching the lake region, it seemed to be flying.
'So finally the envoy has arrived, as predicted they sent only one.' She closed her notebook before getting up, reaching out her hand to force a wooden staff to appear in that same hand and gripping it tightly.
Knowing she needed to hurry, Serie used her levitation magic to pass through the window of her house (faster than going through the door in this situation) before confronting the Demon envoy.
Serie's small figure floated in the sky as she waited for the Demon at some distance in front of the lake, to prevent him from having too good a view of what she wanted to protect.
Both sides had already seen each other, causing each to tense in their own way before they approached for a possible 'interaction.'
"It was to be expected that an Elf would be involved in such a major Mana event," the Demon spoke dryly as he gazed at Serie, he did not seem at all 'pleased' to see an Elf.
"I didn't know you demons were stupid enough to consider that any other species besides Elves could generate such a massive Mana event," Serie responded to the demon disdainfully, aiming to provoke the demon.
"You...!" The Demon didn't seem to have the most intelligent mind; he was easily caught by Serie's insult, causing her to smirk at him with contempt.
"So besides being new, your 'Demon King' is stupid, to think he sent someone as simple as you to investigate an event of such astronomical scale." She threw fuel on the fire, aiming to offend the Demon King even more to further stoke the demon's anger.
"Enough!" The demon extended his hand as a circle formed in his palm, sending a black-flamed arrow in Serie's direction.
Serie responded to the Demon's attack by generating a 'simple' barrier, completely stopping the Fire Arrow before materializing a circle in front of her staff.
'[Nephtear]' Dozens of ice spears were generated around Serie before she shot these spears in the direction of the Demon, who was surprised by the speed of the spears.
"KGH!" The Demon generated several separate barriers to try to protect himself from the spears that seemed endless, it was evident that the Demon was not very proficient in defensive Magic due to the cracks each spear created in his barriers.
Serie took advantage of the sight of the Demon being obstructed by the vast amount of Ice Spears, pointing the staff down at the demon with a slightly sadistic smile on her face.
'[Waldgose]' A strong gust of wind was generated, quickly taking the form of a Tornado, engulfing the demon and the ice spears around him.
"How-!" The demon was surprised by another spell being cast by Serie while the previous one was still active, causing him to be quickly swallowed by the Tornado, generating several cuts around his body.
The Ice Spears were swallowed by the Tornado while its spell finally ended, causing the current spears in the tornado to be the last ones generated by Serie's spell.
The Tornado, which now had a grayish appearance with bluish tones due to the Ice Spears, was cutting and hurting the Demon inside it, who, although not a low-level Demon, was still unable to fight properly against a Great Mage like Serie.
"You...!" The Demon whispered quietly before black flames erupted from his body, pushing away the tornado while melting the Ice Spears.
"Be sure that I will burn your whole body, you cursed elf!" The Demon roared in fury before extending both hands in Serie's direction, sending a torrent of black flames that increased the temperature around the environment.
The Elf's eyebrows furrowed seeing the environmental reaction to the Demon's spell, so she reacted quickly by generating a circle at the tip of her staff.
'[Judradjim]' A massive beam of Lightning shot out from the tip of the staff, engulfing the black flames and consequently the Demon in the blink of an eye.
The last thing the demon saw was a yellow lightning eclipsing his black flames before everything went completely dark.
The Beam of Lightning crossed half of the forest in a matter of 'distance' before disappearing, fortunately everything was untouched due to the height at which they fought.
When the beam ended, Serie saw with satisfaction that nothing was left of the Demon, not even a speck of dust.
"Deserved, he almost ruined my house with those black flames." She commented to herself a little annoyed as she turned around, returning home.
'I wonder if I'll be able to find any demons in the future with those flames again? Maybe I can study it and somehow replicate it.' Serie returned home thoughtfully, her mind once again filled with possibilities during this new night to come.
...
...
...
[4th Year] - The years were quickly passing in the blink of an eye, especially for Serie who was completely focused on her studies. Thus, before she realized it, the 4th Year had ended while she was stuck in her studies and new theories regarding the Lake.
...
...
...
[5th Year]
Finally, the Year in which some of Serie's theories would be answered had arrived.
The Great Mage who had just completed 275 years was quite excited and at the same time, anxious (negatively).
It was time to put into practice what her last years of research and theories had taught her to finally discover once and for all what was in that mass of crystallized mana.
END
-----
I've rushed a bit these past years, but I believe I did a minimally enjoyable job in the early years.
I genuinely liked this new writing style, and it will serve to keep things at a pleasant pace. Long years for when I develop things fully and short years to make time pass.
I tried to avoid filling everything with explanations, and in the end, this came out. More enjoyable than the previous writing? Less enjoyable? Equally? I'm curious.
Anyway, some things are definitely different from the original Material. Mostly these uses of Spells that shouldn't exist, but I needed Names... so attribute this to an 'AU', here Serie instead of learning and memorizing all existing Human spells, she created most of them herself.
It's not a very different/absurd feat, especially considering the influence of the Lake, which is definitely greatly enhancing her overall Mana understanding.
Vesper will appear soon, probably in the Next chapter. So don't worry too much, I needed some 'background' instead of just having Vesper show up and be friends with everyone, you know?~
(In terms of timeline, we're currently almost at the beginning of the 'Era of the Great Mage Flamme', with only a few years left before the Demon Lord starts a genocide on the elven race, as well as in 1 year+ humans will begin to consider Magic a Taboo.)
Until next time!
Have a good day/good afternoon/good evening!