"Intelligence and Wisdom are the most misunderstood statistics listed by the great gift which is the System. Unlike Strength, Dexterity, Charisma or even Constitution whose names speak accurately about their functions, unlike the two previously listed statistics. Intelligence and Wisdom are often described as mistranslated by the System for our benefit, causing even a backwater peasant to understand the general purpose of each statistic in his status.

Intelligence is the individual's ability to understand and comprehend new spells. Although, Intelligence primarily influences the potency of each individual spell and increases the speed of casting.

Wisdom influences the individual's memory allowing him to remember dozens of spells but it primarily affects the cost of the spells and lowers the limit each mage has of how much mana he could use without fainting.

Normal humans faint if 20% of their mana is used but trained mages can increase their true mana capacity to 50 or even 60%. Some of the archmages suggest that Wisdom also influences the capacity of a spell to hold more mana."

Extract from "On Magic"

 

 

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"Iris, do we have to walk today?" The girl finally said after a long moment of silence had passed, with one side of her face illuminated by the silvery moonlight shining from above.

 

"Of course, we don't have to." The tall elf replied, causing the corners of the girl's mouth to rise a little. 

 

  Kia raised her hands in front of her and began to whisper quietly. Expecting something to happen, Iris leaned over to get a better view of what was about to happen. 

The girl furrowed her eyebrows, she looked at the elf before snapping her head away.

 

"You stopped?" 

 

"I can't concentrate." The flustered mage said, trying not to look at the naked elf.

 

"Ahhh." Iris realised why the girl was distracted and reached for her white shirt before a comfortably cold hand stopped her outstretched hand. "Mmm?"

 

"J-just... step behind m-me." The risen turned around to see the girl biting her lower lip while staring at the frozen ground beneath her.

 

  The elf happily obeyed the petite mage's order of stepping behind her. The long black hair enveloping the mage's head from behind seemed to lift slightly as she casted a spell onto the ground in front of her.

A dirt golem rose from the ground and stepped forward. Just like Kia's other summons the golem's brown body was interlaced with blue veins which slowly grew all over it. The soil-forming its body began to take finer shape causing the golem's head to become more skull-like alongside its body now resembling something familiar to the elf.

 

  Iris's body shuddered as she remembered the giant black stone construct with long curved swords coming at her while dripping with the blood of the most powerful humans in existence with barely a scratch on its body. Her race's immense mental resistance seemed to not work against her own mental attacks as she started to relive that moment.

 

"Iris." An angelic voice pulled the risen from her nightmarish thoughts before she is pulled from the darkness by the girl's shining blue and golden eyes.

The tranquil moment quickly fades away as a loud rumbling overpowers the girl's aura.

 

  Around the necromancer's outstretched arm, a pale sea-green magic circle rotated in place, causing the ground in front of her to slowly open. The chasm grew a little bit enough until it could fit two adults sitting opposite to each other inside before the girl let go of her arm allowing them to drop to her side.

 

"I am not good at Earth magic" The necromancer explained as a small droplet of water appeared above the makeshift bath.

 

"Kia, you have to bake the soil first." Iris quickly said stopping the inevitable deluge hiding in the small water droplet.

 

"Baking?" Kia tilted her head at the unfamiliar word. "Are you going to make mud cakes?" To the risen's surprise, the girl's eyes glistened in anticipation.

 

"Of course not, I mean baking the earth so water will not drain away instantly." The tall elf explained. The girl still looked confused so Iris decided to show the girl what she meant.

 

  The empty hole was turned into a fiery pit by the hoplite standing at its edge, dousing the earth with orange flames. The now-hardened earth had a strange glisten to it when the elf had finished casting her spell and looked inside. The girl leaned over the edge with a confused expression before slowly filling the hole with steaming water.

 

"I hope we won't get a mud bath." Iris commented as she watched the great cloud of white steam rise into the night sky, not sure if the hot water didn't just turn their bath into a mud pit.

 

"Looks good." The girl crouched at the edge and put her hand in the crystal clear water. "Hot."

 

"Why did you make him." Iris asked as she stepped into the water.

 

"To guard us," Kia replied with a shrug, she stood up and was about to undress before she stared at the grinning elf looking at her while enjoying the conjured water. "Turn around... please."

 

  Iris shook her head before she complied with the mage's adorably embarrassed request and turned around. The girl made an adorable squeak behind her, probably noticing the lack of her underwear.

Iris turned around as she felt Kia stepping into the bath, causing a purple light to illuminate the clear water around them.

 

"Haa~" The petite girl sighed in relief as she relaxed in the warm embrace of the water just as the chilly northern wind rolled above them.

 

"Magic is amazing." Iris said as she too relaxed in the warm water in the middle of nowhere. "This sure feels nice, I could sit like this forever."

 

"Really?"

 

"No," Iris lifted her head to look at the mage. She lazily stood up and grabbed the soft pearly doll in front of her before sitting back down with the girl sitting on her lap. "Now I could."

 

"Iris, I..." Kia jerked as she bit her lower lip before she laid down on the warm risen.

 

"Are you still feeling it?" The curious elf asked the strangely acting girl.

 

"Mhmmm." The girl nodded in confirmation as she glowed in the aftermath of the elf's previous game causing the elf to smile playfully and kiss the girl.

 

  The mischievous undead decided to indulge herself a little as she began to trace the anchor mark on the incredibly soft kitten's body while burying her nose in the soft onyx hair on top of the feline's body.

Her favourite earthy-floral smell started to make her feel cosy and snug under the ancient undead, she felt her right hand being taken away by the girl to feel the rough skin on her palms.

 

"Do you smell something bad?" Kia's on-edge voice echoed in Iris's ears.

 

"You smell wonderful." Her free hand wrapped around the girl and pulled her closer.

 

"I smell?" The girl looked up at the risen with a puzzled frown.

 

"Thankfully, you do." 

 

"What do I smell like?" Kia tried to sniff herself but she seemed to not feel what the half-submerged elf did.

 

"You smell like a... field of otherworldly flowers on a freshly ploughed field." The elf replied after a moment of trying to pick the right words. 

 

"I don't know what that smells like." A glom voice replied to the tall women's description.

 

"You smell like home." The pale elf's voice quietly escaped from her mouth. Her old home didn't smell like that but the wonderful smell felt homely to the elf. "What do I smell like?" She quickly tried to change the subject.

 

*Sniff* 

 

"You smell like blood."

 

"Thanks, you little parasite."

 

  The two women returned to indulge in each other and as time passed and the water cooled down, the purple light pulsed from the crystal in Kia's torso as the water around her hands began to boil. Causing the homely smell to intensify.

Intrigued by the mysterious jewel lodged inside the mage's body the elf began to gently touch it.

 

"Don't," The necromancer quietly said as her delicate hand grabbed the curious elven fingers exploring the crystal's surface. "It feels weird."

 

"Why do you have a crystal in your body?"

 

"I don't really know... Your mana links are damaged." Kia swiftly changed the subject of their conversation. Through their connection, the elf felt the undead mage's desire to drop the subject. "Give me your hand." She demanded.

 

"What are you going to do?" 

 

"Fixed them?" The puzzled girl answered, causing the elf to feel awkward.

 

  The magical being grabbed Iris's wrist and drew a magic circle above it which spun slowly. The elf's amethyst eyes widened in wonder as under her skin, veins in the colour of hot embers began to glow. Her forearm was quickly covered in a dense spiderweb of red strings which began to fade as they got further from the levitating circle. 

 

  Kia's hands were shrouded by a whirlpool of darkness with blue and golden lines intermixing. She began to slowly nit the scattered strings together into one large rope with flowing motion. In about an hour, the silently working mage managed to fix both of the elf's arms, causing the strange feeling of ants biting her wrist to disappear.

 

"Do all mages have to do this?"

 

"No, mana linkages heal themselves over time but I decided to fix them for you." The serious-looking undead mage responded while she dismissed all her spells, causing her hands to return to their soft porcelain colour.

 

  Seeing how exhausted the girl looked, Iris couldn't bring herself to be angry at the lovely girl for wasting her mana in case they were attacked. 

Kia nestled herself on top of the elf's lap and began to play with her hand. Feeling they were about to leave, Iris asked the mage for the white fabric of the tent she looted from a human camp to use as a towel.

 

  As the clouds overhead the two passed over them, they exposed the naked sky beyond which was filled with thousands of small white, red and green stars which twinkled on the night sky. 

 

"Wow!" Kia reached toward heaven as hundreds of stars began to fall from their heavenly perching spots while growing long tails which spanned the entire sky in the short moment they existed. 

 

"Indeed." 

 

  The night sky seemed to come to life as dozens of falling stars began to fill their sight with each one, living only for an instant before disappearing under the horizon.

The otherworldly spectacle played for an entire bell before the clouds shrouded the sky under their dark bodies. Iris shifted to the side feeling the water becoming colder and saw Kia sleeping on her back with her face stuck in an expression of awe.

 

"What do I do now?" The elf asked herself as the girl suddenly kicked the water causing a large slash.

 

  The tall hoplite stood up with the girl in her hands, their bodies glistened in the dim light as water began to drip off them. She lay Kia on the sheet of white fabric before she went back into the cold water and cleaned herself properly. Later on, she dressed herself fully before deciding to rest a little and lay beside the slumbering kitten while covering her in the thick white fabric.