The Strongest Spellblade

I was eating dinner with Healer Melon at one of the restaurants around the College. I liked looking over the edge. The view was growing on me, and it felt calming. Like I was above everything else and could fly away from my problems.

“This tastes bad.” I heard someone shout and looked over. It was Xyon Fullbright. His skin looked pale and his eyes were sunken into his skull. “What are you all looking at! I am Xyon Fullbright!” he shouted and stood up waving at everyone.

“Sir, we will remake your meal, no need to get upset,” a server said.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! Incompetence! You are trying to kill me! Traitors!” He staggered slightly and gripped the back of his chair.

“Sir, we will have to ask you to leave,” an older waiter came over and said.

“I won’t leave. I paid to be here. Me! I paid! Garbage!”

I looked over at Healer Melon who shook his bald head. “The end of Pic addiction. Soul collapse. It is never pretty.”

“I am the best! Me! The very best that ever was and will be!”

“Can you do anything?” I quietly asked Healer Melon who shook his head.

“No one can do anything now. Not even the best soul mage from history would be able to do anything. His soul is collapsing, and his body is realizing that as his various senses go haywire.”

“Don’t touch me! Power Fist!” A waiter went tumbling away, smashing into another table. “Enemies! Enemies!”

Guards from the College rushed into the restaurant. “Sir, please calm down so we can take you to the hospital,” the lead guard said.

“No! NO! I am the best! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Then his body exploded. It was horrible and several people screamed. Thankfully I was far enough away, that I wasn’t hit by anything.

“Horrible,” Healer Melon said. I got up and so did Healer Melon. Neither of us had the appetite to eat after seeing that happen. We left the restaurant with the other diners.

“Why did he explode?”

“His soul ripped itself apart and burst out of his body. It quickly decayed since its structure was completely ruined. But if he was more powerful, had higher stats, the explosion would have been greater.”

“I…should I have said something to someone?” I asked Healer Melon who shook his head.

“There are resources here at the College to help students, but ultimately it is a person’s individual responsibility. If they choose Pic, it is their own fault and that is the end they can expect,” he replied.

“That was awful,” I said.

“It is. But there is no good way to regulate and stop such things. If a person wants Pic they will get Pic. It is sad, but the addiction isn’t that bad like other drugs. But people use it because it gives them a sense of power and allows them to quickly advance skills,” he explained.

“So, someone could use it to quickly advance a skill and quit,” I said.

“Technically yes. But leveling skills after that becomes harder with the damage to one’s soul. So, the person will take more Pic. Eventually the damage becomes too much, and you have soul collapse with the ending you saw in the restaurant. An awful way to go,” Healer Melon said.

“I am surprised more people don’t use Pic around this place,” I said.

“They don’t because they see the end result.” I could understand that. After that horrifying scene, I was glad that I had avoided taking any Pic. If that was the result of Pic I didn’t want anything to do with it.

The Dark Cabal was like Pic. It might help me out at the start. But in the end, I would be screaming and exploding like Xyon Fullbright. I had other people and had killed them, but there was just something different seeing someone die like that.

“Justin,” I paused with Healer Melon and we both turned. It was Judy.

“Judy, what are doing here?” I asked. We had scheduled our weekly auxiliary class together every week at the same time.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I work as an assistant chef at that the restaurant.” That was why she had recommended it. “I wanted to say hello, but then…well…”

“I understand. Why don’t we enjoy a walk at the edge. The view is great. We might even see some land in the distance if the cloud cover breaks,” I replied.

“I will let you two have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Healer Melon. I might have respected that statement more if he hadn’t told me about how he was a bit of free spirit in his younger years.

I didn’t take Judy’s hand. We were friends at best. A deeper relationship wouldn’t work long term. Maybe one day I would want a family like my mother. Even something casual would just lead to heartbreak.

“The edge always makes me nervous. Reminds me that we are flying through the sky,” Judy said as we slowly walked towards the edge together. The College had done a good job of redoing the edge of their flying fortress. The wall was now a walkway and the land past it was being carefully sculpted with plants and other greenery.

I wouldn’t want to tend to those plants and the drop off just beyond them, but they were used to help supplement the food supplies of the College. Other methods had been taken to help make the College more self-sustainable.

“You aren’t…sorry,” Judy said.

“Hmm, go ahead ask,” I replied.

“You aren’t using Pic are you?” she asked me.

“No. I would probably die instantly. The risk is too much with everything else that I have done. I am avoiding ingesting anything Alchemical for the rest of my time here at the College,” I answered.

“That’s good. I don’t want to lose my cooking partner,” she said.

“I didn’t know you cooked for a living,” I said.

“I do it to earn some side money. I do want to become a professional chef in the future,” she said.

“Well, you have a lot of talent and not just high skill levels,” I complimented her.

“Thanks. I really like desserts. I wanted to make you one,” she said.

“Desserts,” I perked up at that. That meant sugar. The one crystal I would never say no to.

“Confectioning is a skill I have picked up. It is about making desserts,” she said.

“Well if you make them, I will eat them. Its my secret weakness, don’t tell anyone,” I joked.

“I won’t. Oh, do you have the skill Sweet Tooth?” she asked me.

“Guilty, why?” I asked.

“Only people who love desserts and sweets, have that skill. Really a junk skill like that?” she asked.

“It counts. I need to level it up. Got to get all those skill levels,” I can I joked as we approached the edge of the College.

“Really? Sweet Tooth?”

“It lets me appreciate sweets more. How can there be a better skill?” I asked in mock outrage.

“Stop being ridiculous. I can’t believe everything is kept so nice at the College. You can’t even tell unless you come to the edge,” Judy said as we looked out at the amazing view. I was coming to appreciate the view more and more. It truly was relaxing seeing clouds fly the College.

“The work crews have been doing good job fixing everything up,” I said.

“Hmm, I heard they still have a lot left to do. The outside is fairly stable now, but there are some key stress points they are working to reinforce. My father is helping evaluate some of the security as a stealth expert,” she said.

“I can’t imagine how much construction is happening beneath us. I know there are a lot of storage areas down there,” I said.

“Gardens, monster pens, farms, and specialized research facilities. The forces and stresses have shifted since the College started flying. Everything was prepare ahead of time, but there are still issues.”

“The farms have to be new, right?” I asked.

“Some of them, but most were there before. The College was focusing on its independence of Undercraft for quite a while. Imports aren’t cheap.”

“Look, you can see a ship down there,” I pointed at the small wooden ship. Its crew was probably looking up at the flying College in amazement. The Mathemancer really outdid all the supreme legends before him with its creation. It would be recorded in history forever. Especially since the history books were written at the College.

“I wonder what new foods we will get at the next city,” Judy pondered.

“Probably some kind of fish or fish sauce since it is a port. I guess there could be some wines from the continent. It isn’t that far the Burnstock Duchy. A range of grains would be available.”

“Your farming experience?” Judy teased me.

“Just growing up in the main food producing area on the continent. There is even a Farming School there as well.”

“That would be interesting. Managing crops, you could look at creating certain varieties for unique dishes,” she said with passion. “With the recent advances in equipment, we are looking at a food revolution in the future. The production of sugar has always been difficult, but recent advances in harvesting and processing, specifically of beets has helped advance culinary knowledge of recipes using sugar.”

“Well, when I get back from the dungeon, I expect the best possible meals wherever you set up a restaurant,” I replied. I noted her tail twitch slightly in happiness at that compliment.

“I have a long way to go. There are a lot of support skills I need to get. Dagger Skills are something I have to work on,” she said.

“Me too. If you do take an auxiliary course for that skill, let me know,” I replied.

“I suspect you don’t want it for food preparation,” she said.

“Weapons Mastery, a tier 4 skill. A long-term goal. There are a lot of weapons,” I said.

“You are an overachiever. I hear the rumors. The greatest student in over century, possibly of all time. And now a monster pet,” she said. Ozy looked up and waved his head at her.

“He is friendly,” I replied.

“I would hope so, since he is around your neck. He is quite small.”

“Well his level is low right now.”

“What does he eat?”

“Monster meat, or Mana infused meat. But he doesn’t need it. But it makes him happy and content.”

“Any special preparation?” she asked.

“No, why?”

“The College is looking into pets a bit more. And if people have pets, custom food would be a big deal. I know that there is a research going into food to help adventurers gain stats and skills faster. But with pets, and Mana based food, well that is something new and exciting,” she said.

“Getting caught up in the hype of this place,” I teased.

“You live here all your life you get used to these things. The trick is doing what you love,” she said, and I nodded at this.