Chapter 87: Field Trip To Tyros

POV Eliza

“Next, I'll explain the advantages and disadvantages of dark magic.” <Freyna>

“I'm listening intently, master.” <Eliza>

“Dark magic is seen by the users of light magic as an exact counterpart and is therefore forbidden here in the Empire. In many areas of magic, light and dark magic are two sides of the same coin. Light magic creates light and illuminates the surroundings, while dark magic extinguishes and darkens light. Dark magic is often seen as more offensive and aggressive, while light magic is more passive and works in the background. However, this is not always the case. Many light magic users like to be the center of attention and shine in the truest sense of the word. Their magic includes many buffs and improves various stats. Dark magic, on the other hand, includes debuffs and reduces stats.” <Freyna>

I nodded.

“Dark magic also has spells to improve stats, but the corresponding abilities are stealthy and mainly serve to be inconspicuous. Strength and charisma are typical characteristics that are enhanced by light magic, while agility and intuition are enhanced by dark magic. The spells I have taught you so far are mainly for this purpose.” <Freyna>

“I understand, master.” <Eliza>

“Other major differences exist in the other specialized forms of these magics. While elemental magic only allows you to combine two elements from master level upwards, some parts of light and dark magic are separated out and specialized. In light magic, these are healing, support, purification and summoning. As a user of the basic form of light magic, you can do a bit of everything, but nothing really well. The exception is attack magic. It can only be found in basic light magic. The specialized magics go much deeper and therefore have the potential to become much more powerful in this area.

The specialized magics of dark magic are necromancy, curses, shadow and summoning magic. Put simply, they are the opposite of the corresponding light magics. As you may have noticed, both forms of magic have summoning magic. It allows you to summon certain monsters, which then obey you and can perform simple tasks. The higher your rank, the more powerful the monster of the type you summon becomes. Both magics have relatively few spells, one per monster type. Light and dark magic themselves also have one summon spell per rank, which randomly summons a monster. Which one it is cannot be predicted, so its usefulness is uncertain.” <Freyna>

“What are typical monsters that can be summoned?” <Eliza>

“Unfortunately, I don't know any special summoning magic, so I don't know much. Basic summoning can summon rats, bats and wolves, among other things. Undead of all kinds are excluded, as this is part of necromancy. I should also mention that every summoned monster costs upkeep in the form of mana for the time it exists. In light magic, as far as I know, these are creatures like falcons, dogs or horses.” <Freyna>

“Will you teach me that, master?” <Eliza>

“That will take some time. The spells are worth a lot because of their variety, but I plan to teach you one or two of them after the expedition to Tyros Dungeon.” <Freyna>

“I'll be patient until then, Master.” <Eliza>

“But what I will teach you first is the basic form of shadow magic. This magic is extremely helpful for our tasks. But the spells for it will have to wait. They are my insurance that you will remain loyal to us for a while longer.” <Freyna>

“I understand, master. I plan to stop by here regularly anyway, even when I start traveling again.” <Eliza>

“Always remember that light magic is both the greatest weakness of dark mages and the most sensitive to them. The same applies vice versa. Internalize that well, Eliza.” <Freyna>

“Yes, Master.” <Eliza>

Afterwards, we discussed the excursion and what tasks I should take on. The aim was for each of the children who came along to gain combat experience and, if possible, learn poison resistance. A decision was then made on site as to whether the first boss fight was realistically winnable. We were accompanied by Brinna and she was in charge. If in doubt, she would also intervene. I was surprised at how much trust was placed in me and that I was given most of the responsibility for the children. Tamina was particularly motivated and insisted on being allowed to come along. She needed some convincing, but was then allowed to go.

The small group set off at night and left the city via the sewers. We first traveled south along the river and then turned off towards Tyros. However, we didn't head straight for Tyros, but traveled directly to the dungeon. We wanted to avoid the city as we also had Beastfolk with us. As we therefore avoided the streets, it took us longer. On the other hand, we didn't have any unexpected encounters. It was an advantage that there are no monsters in the central empire.

The children were excited before and during the trip and were already looking forward to their first dungeon. The only exception was the youngest, who was in Brinna's care. She made sure nothing happened to him while I looked after the others. Along the way, I showed everyone the basics of surviving outside a city. This included setting up a camp, lighting a campfire, where did I even find water, boiling water for a hot tea, etc. All the children except Tamina had never been out of town before and therefore had no experience of the outdoors. For their first time, they didn't do too badly, especially Tamina. Was she trying to prove something to me?

We spent a few days outside and were lucky with the weather. It was warm and we had no rain. This made the excursion feel like a school trip. When we finally approached the dungeon, I had a small camp set up in the forest about half an hour away. We had planned in advance that we would use this camp as a base station and go into the dungeon from there every day. However, we had slightly underestimated the duration of the trip and the children's appetite and could already see that we wouldn't get there with the provisions. So Brinna suggested she took care of the children and the camp. In the meantime, I should go into town and buy new provisions. I agreed, as I knew my way around the town and knew where I could buy everything we needed. But I still felt uneasy because I didn't know if Lynn and the others were in town. I hadn't yet been able to decide how much I should and could tell them. I wasn't allowed to mention that I was going to the dungeon, but without them. I could only hope that I wouldn't bump into them in the dungeon.