Aethelgard: The Survival Game (Chloe) novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Flora Whisperer’s Cap

A ripple of blue light washed over her screen.

[Congratulations! You have obtained: Aqua Sphere Skill Tome!

[Quality: Premium

[Upon use, there is a chance to learn the Aqua Sphere skill. Requirements: Magic 4+, Energy 4+. Water Elemental Affinity required.

[Learn? (Note: Even if all conditions are met, learning may still fail.)]

‘Elemental affinity? What’s that?’ Chloe thought. The system panel offered zero explanation.

None of that mattered. She was dead weight in a fight, and this was her first real offensive skill. Of course she was learning it. Every girl deserved to live out her mage fantasy.

The skill slotted into her panel the instant she confirmed. Raw knowledge flooded her brain like a dam breaking, the pressure like steel nails being hammered through her skull. Her knees nearly gave out, and her energy bar cratered.

[Congratulations, Player Chloe Bennett! Skill learned successfully!

[First basic magic skill acquired. Talent resonance detected. Reward: 2 Talent Points!

[Aqua Sphere (Basic)]

Her head was splitting. Close to 10 minutes crawled by before the pain loosened its grip enough for her to read the notifications.

‘Wait, learning magic gives attribute points too?‘ Chloe raised an eyebrow. She had four in total now.

The headache didn’t stand a chance against the excitement swelling in her chest. One more day, and she would hit five, enough to imbue an item with magical properties.

A grin crept across her face. She pulled up the aqua sphere skill page and found a built–in tutorial alongside the description.

Following the guide step by step, she focused her intent and let the spell fly. Water orbs materialized above her open palm and launched forward like slingshot rounds, punching craters into the dirt on impact.

Casting demanded more concentration than Chloe had expected. The system handled part of the aim, but the rest came down to her own skill. She would need practice.

Her energy bar had taken a visible hit from just that one attempt. Monsters would show at nightfall, and she still needed stamina to build the grill for trading later. Every fiber of her wanted to keep going, but she forced herself to stop.

The rush of channeling magic lingered in her fingertips. Even with the system doing the heavy lifting, she had felt real control over the water, bending it wherever her thoughts directed.

Nothing in her life had ever come close to that sensation.

The damage spoke for itself. The craters in the ground looked like someone had hurled boulders at the dirt. Serious firepower for a beginner spell.

An achievement chest still sat in her inventory. She cracked it open.

[Congratulations! Obtained: Random Stat Card x1

[Congratulations! Obtained Special Equipment: Novice Mage’s Staff

[Novice Mage’s Staff

[Quality: Common

[A spellcasting medium crafted from specialized materials. Enhances magic attack power. [Congratulations! Items received: Slime Essence Sapling Seed x1, Dinner Rolls x3, Crackers x3

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Chapter 7 Flora Whisperer’s Cap

[Slime Essence Sapling Seed

[Quality: Unknown

[A Special Seed drawn to sources of magical energy.

[Aqua Essence Crystal

[Quality: Epic

[Traits: High–Mana Energy Medium / Pure Element / Rare Conductor]

*****

Everything she’d pulled in today was top–tier. The aqua essence crystal alone was epic–grade, radiating a soft purple glow that screamed value. Chloe stashed it in her system inventory without a second thought.

The real win, though, was water. All those slime kills had flooded her with drops, and her total reserves now sat at over a gallon. Between that and the dew collector running in the background, water was the least of her worries for now.

The sky had started to dim and the heat was finally easing off. Chloe stowed her rod. Her energy had bottomed out at 30.

She lit the grill and tossed yesterday’s rabbit meat onto the rack. The system handled the prep on its own. One tap of the confirm button and the meat cleaned itself, locked onto the spit, and began slow–roasting over hot coals.

No seasoning, though. Not even salt.

Chloe emptied the dew collector first. Today’s slimes had all been water–types, so the collector had been working overtime. One day’s haul came out to nearly ten fluid ounces.

Every muscle in her body ached. The collector’s description had mentioned something about mild healing properties, so she poured the dew into an empty water bottle, took a long sip, and saved the rest to wash down the rabbit meat later.

The effect hit instantly. Her energy jumped from 30 to 60.

She’d had some that morning too, but the back–to–back slime fights had kept her too distracted to notice the numbers. Now that she was paying attention, the boost was impossible to miss.

‘This stuff is liquid gold, Chloe thought, her eyes lighting up.

She made a mental note to save the dew strictly for daily endurance recovery. Regular water she could afford to trade for resources.

The rabbit meat sizzled nearby, filling the air with the rich smell of charred fat and smoky juices.

Chloe had survived on crackers yesterday and nothing but bread today. Two days without a bite of meat, and even unseasoned rabbit smelled like heaven.

The grill’s timer showed fifteen minutes left. She settled in to wait and pulled out a special item she’d picked up earlier.

[Flora Whisperer’s Cap: A hat that enables basic telepathic communication with plants. Due to environmental and material limitations, its functions have significantly deteriorated.

[Quality: Rare]

It was a rare planting cap. The day had been nonstop, and this was her first real chance to test it.

The moment she put it on, a faint green tint washed over her vision, like peering through tinted glass.

Most objects faded to gray. Her tent and the dew collector dissolved into blurry silhouettes, barely more than set dressing. The campfire dimmed to a muted amber.

The soil kept its natural color, but dark specks peppered the surface like ink stains. Something about the sight

made her skin crawl.

The only thing that stood out was the carrot seed she had planted that morning. It pulsed with a vivid green

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Chapter 7 Flora Whisperer’s Cap

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