Restart Again: Volume 2 by Adam Scott (best adventure books to read .TXT) 📗

day to day. We continued our friendly tradition of sharing facts and stories about our lives in our downtime, but she often filled her free moments with more practical inquiries. She asked countless questions on a wide variety of topics, from combat maneuvers to magic and weapon types. I usually had the answers she was looking for, but we had a rapidly growing list of things to test and learn together. Her constant questioning eventually led us to another new discovery on the magic front.

We had just broken for lunch when Lia voiced the innocent thought. “Do you know all of the combat enhancements, Lux?” She leaned back with a relieved puff and took a small bite of bread. “Are there any more that you haven’t taught me?”

“I know every technique I encountered in Alderea, but I’m sure there are plenty more I don’t know,” I said as I rubbed some dirt from a bruised apple. “In terms of combat enhancements, I’ve shown you all the ones I know.”

“Hmmm.” She seemed dissatisfied by the answer. “Do you think we could make up some new ones? Maybe we could try saying a bunch of words and see which ones do something.”

I stopped just short of my first bite of lunch as I pursed my lips. “I wouldn’t recommend that, Lia. While magic is certainly an amazing tool, it can also be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.” My hand twitched reflexively as the memory of my tests in the dungeon came back to me. “When I first tried to make fire with magic, it spread down my sword and immediately burned my hand. If I had done that without using an implement, who knows what could’ve happened. It might have burned me from the inside out.”

Lia looked at me with a mixture of alarm and disappointment, and I felt guilty for rejecting her idea out of hand. “Maybe,” I added more cheerfully, “We could come up with a list of ideas that would be safe to test today. No combat magic, of course, but some simple enhancements couldn’t hurt, right?” Her face lit up with excitement as she nodded. We worked for the next hour on a carefully curated group of potential abilities, and when the testing was complete, we had two new enhancements in our roster: Strength and Pain Reduction.

Although the idea of the abilities was relatively straightforward, our circumstances limited us to proof of concept experiments only. Strength enhancements required a feat of strength to test, so I resorted to picking Lia up with various levels of mana usage. Before the enhancement it was a simple, though slightly awkward task to pick her up in a classic bridal carry. After using Lesser Strength, I could raise her up with a bicep curl with what felt like an equal amount of effort.

Testing Pain Reduction was a less appealing task, but much simpler. I summoned my sword and cut my thumb on the edge of the blade, healed the injury, and then repeated the process while using the new enhancement. I was surprised with how effective it was with the tiny amount of mana it used, but I wasn’t confident enough to test the effects any further. Lia was adamant that I shouldn’t be the only one to test the new ability, and after a long discussion, I begrudgingly lent her my sword so she could test it herself.

Between our hard work and constant conversations, it was easy to forget what waited for us at our destination. Our days were full of laughter and self-improvement, and sleep was easy after our intensive training. Commander Savitz continued to keep us out of the heavy shackles from our initial arrest, much to the obvious chagrin of the rest of his unit. He hardly spoke when he brought us our rations or let us out to relieve ourselves, but the mix of scorn and fear on his men’s faces spoke volumes. Still, for our roles as captured criminals on the way to face judgement, we enjoyed a comfortable existence.

On the day we finally arrived in Yoria, the full gravity of our situation set in quickly. A few hours past dawn, the familiar sound of our cart’s wheels shifted to a harsh clatter of wood and metal against stone, and I knew we had passed through the city walls. I could see the recognition in Lia’s eyes and, although she masked her feelings well, I could tell she was afraid. As the wagon continued its noisy journey down the city streets, I calmly crossed the aisle and sat down between Lia and the door. I took her hand and intertwined my fingers with hers, and together, we waited for what was to come.

When our procession came to a halt, I heard a group of soldiers arrange themselves at the exit to our cart. The door squeaked open to reveal Savitz, who held two sets of manacles, and a retainer of six guards who stood behind him with their weapons drawn. “Lux,” the commander barked out, “approach the door and allow yourself to be restrained. Any failure to follow orders from here on out will be considered an act of aggression against the Golden Throne, and will be punishable by death. Are we clear?”

“Yes sir,” I replied, my voice cool and even. Gently, I dropped Lia’s hand and moved to the door with my wrists held out before me. I noticed the quality of the manacles was significantly increased compared to my previously destroyed pairs, which I found deeply amusing, but I resisted the urge to laugh. Once my arms and legs were chained, I was hefted down from the wagon by the nearest two guards and led forward a few paces.

I found myself in a dim stone alcove lit by a single, sputtering torch. Before me was a large iron double door, guarded by two men in different uniforms than the men under Savitz’s command. They wore intricate padded doublets over their chainmail