Chapter Twelve: The Fiery Sphere of Magic

As soon as Conti’s feet touched the ground, the Savage Badger charged at her from behind. Fortunately, Jamie arrived just in time, colliding with the beast like a flash of silver lightning, forcing it to halt its pursuit of Conti. Jamie weighed only half as much as the burly badger, so even her full-force blow merely made the creature stagger back two steps. The thick layer of fat beneath its pelt absorbed much of the impact, quivering violently like rolling waves. Jamie herself was bounced back by the resilient fat, tumbling into the snow.

The Savage Badger quickly regained its balance and turned to lunge at Jamie, but a sudden chant rang out nearby.

“Ringa!”

From behind a large tree, Joan extended his forefinger, unleashing a “Ray of Frost” at the beast. The ice-blue beam struck its right eye, and the surge of magical frost instantly invaded, forming a thin, brittle shell of ice over the moist, soft eyeball.

The icy foreign object caused the Savage Badger excruciating pain and limited its sight. It thrashed its head wildly in the snow, desperate to shake off the freezing cold.

With Jamie and Joan stalling the beast, Conti seized the opportunity to complete her spellcasting. Harnessing the power of nature, she conjured a fireball the size of a ripe watermelon, which, under her mental control, hurtled into the Savage Badger like a blazing boulder, erupting with a thunderous roar.

The “Scorching Sphere” left the creature scorched and wailing. It rolled frantically in the snow to extinguish the flames, then struggled upright, limping as it tried to flee into the dense forest.

Conti, maintaining her spell’s focus, fixed the badger with a deadly gaze. With a subtle gesture, the fiery sphere obeyed her will, veering with a howl to strike the beast once more.

Boom! The Savage Badger was knocked flat on its back, legs flailing in the air.

Jamie did not let the chance slip by. Like an arrow released from the string, she pounced and bit deeply into the beast’s unprotected, soft throat. The half-blood winter wolf’s fangs radiated supernatural cold, freezing the flesh around the wound until it was as brittle as a wafer. The more the badger thrashed, the wider the wound tore and the more blood it lost. In less than two minutes, its convulsions ceased, and life left its body.

Once Jamie was sure the prey was dead, she bared her bloodstained fangs in triumph and let out a proud howl.

“Jamie, enough!” Joan cut off the winter wolf’s dominant roar, scolding impatiently, “Go put out the fire!”

Jamie whimpered grudgingly, ran to the blazing bushes ignited by the “Scorching Sphere,” took a deep breath, and exhaled a thick cloud of icy vapor.

The roaring flames died instantly beneath the assault of cold air. The scorched branches were now wrapped in a layer of crystalline frost, the remnants of fire and ice glinting together in the midday sun.

Joan approached the carcass of the Savage Badger, grasped its stout tail with both hands, and strained to drag it. Conti hurried to help. Each took a front leg, and together they managed to haul the nearly four-hundred-pound beast to the cabin door. Joan was left panting from the effort, and beads of sweat glistened on Conti’s fair forehead.

“This thing is far too heavy. We need a way to get it home!” Conti peered into the cabin. “Is there a sled inside or anything similar?”

Joan shook his head, regretting not bringing the sled today.

“What about carpentry tools? All we need are a hammer, some rope, and a few nails,” Conti asked.

“We have those,” Joan replied, and soon returned from the cabin carrying a toolbox with everything she needed.

“The tools are all here. Now we just need some wood,” Conti said.

Finding wood was easy; there were plenty of trees nearby, and a stack of firewood was piled behind the cabin. Joan guessed Conti intended to craft a makeshift sled and took up the hatchet to cut down a tree.

“No need for that. The firewood will do just fine,” Conti said with a laugh. “The sled doesn’t have to be big, just sturdy enough for the badger.”

Half convinced, Joan helped her carry over a large pile of firewood.

Conti selected the thickest logs from the pile and stacked them before her. Rather than start carving, she performed a series of spell gestures and began to chant a hymn in praise of nature’s essence. Divine energy flowed smoothly, and golden light suffused her hands.

With her spell-enhanced hands, Conti stroked the uneven, rough wood. The hard material seemed to melt into pliant clay beneath her slender fingers, reshaping itself in moments into an orderly stack of uniform, smooth planks—each with perfectly formed joints and slots already in place.

The rest was simple. Conti assembled the wooden pieces like building blocks, and in less than ten minutes, a finely crafted sled stood before them.

“What spell is that?” Joan asked in astonishment.

“Woodshaping,” Conti replied, wiping the sweat from her brow, her lovely face tinged with a rosy glow and an innocent smile. “With this second-level nature spell, carpentry becomes a breeze.”

Joan nodded, genuinely impressed by her skill. Counting the “Woodshaping” and the “Scorching Sphere” she’d used on the Savage Badger, Conti had already cast two second-level spells today, meaning she must be at least a third-level druid. Joan himself was not yet a proper mage and only knew a few cantrips. Compared to his peer, the gap felt immense, and a pang of self-doubt crept into his heart.

“I must work even harder,” Joan resolved inwardly.

Conti seemed oblivious to his mood, cheerfully hammering at the sled, affixing two iron runners underneath to reduce friction, and finally attaching the ropes. The sled was done.

Together, Joan and Conti hoisted the Savage Badger onto the sled, called Jamie over, and hitched her to the harness. The sled creaked as it started, then picked up speed, gliding smoothly over the snow.

Conti clapped her hands with delight, cheering Jamie on. Joan, in high spirits himself, took out some rations and a water flask from his backpack and handed them to Conti.

They sat by the cabin window, eating their lunch. Seeing that it was just past noon, Joan asked Conti if she’d like to nap indoors and rest a bit.

“I’m not sleepy. How about you?”

“I don’t usually nap,” Joan replied, then added, “There’s a valuable black oak tree in the woods nearby. I want to check on its growth.”

“I’ll go with you!” Conti said, her eyes shining with excitement.