5 Chapter 2.3 - Lord Koni
A lot happened all at once. Serin expended the entire bag of Magical essence they had collected, much more than they were going to need to dispatch the Lich. Serin estimated about five times as much. It was all used.
The command was a thundershock. The Lich, Lord Harkonin, tried to resist. At first under his own command. Then by the efforts of burning his own undead thralls to ash, but there were not enough under his direct control. And they were too weak. And finally, his knee hit the ground. Serin watched as a tattoo burned itself into the lich's neck. Two links of a chain appeared under his left side of his jaw.
Jericho was shocked, "What did you do boy?!"
Allister stood blinking, then started to laugh. Then thought about it and just smiled.
Rachel didn't understand. "What is going on?"
Rachel looked up, and understood. The entire time they had been in Walden Cemetery, it had been cloudy. No sunlight shown on these lands. But not now. The dead stopped moving.
Serin looked at his spell. Lord Harkonin was indeed his thrall. And the only one. The limit however had shot up 1/250
"My undead control limit is 250." Allister smiled at this. "Serin, look at the associated Spell affinity and your Dark Magic Skill.
Serin looked and was shocked. Both "Command undead" spell and the Dark Magic skill had asterisks next to them.
Allister smiled, "go ahead and upgrade them. We can keep watch of these immobile undead"
Serin did so, felt another wave of nausea. Then described what he saw. "I have two things. My command undead spell has transformed into the "Greater Command undead". And the Dark magic skill still has another Asterisk next to it."
Jericho looked at him. "Look at your perks then. You must have gained one."
Serin looked and Jericho was indeed correct. There was a new Perk.
Undead Mastery (Legendary) - upon unlocking this skill your dark magic skill is brought up to master, regardless of its current rank. All undead creature types have a lower resistance to your enthrallment, and those that are enthralled are enhanced.
Serin looked at his Dark Magic skill, and updated it. Then updated it again. After a nauseating few minutes he looked to see it at Rank Master lvl 1. His greater command undead and greater deny undead skill were affinity 100.
Serin looked at the three, felt a pain taking over his head. And looked at the other three. "Lets go back to town and rest. I am tired and i have a headache." And with that Serin saw darkness envelop him.
***
"Our Master is waking up." It must be a dream, Serin thought, because it sounded like a politer version of Lord Harkonin.
"He is your master, he is our friend."
"Regardless, child of the wood, he is waking up."
Serin woke up to familiar surroundings of their hostel. Rachel was using the fletcher as Serin had shown her, crafting arrows one at a time. Jericho was sharpening his blade, a large canister of some liquid next to him. And seated at the foot of his bunk, was Lord Harkonin, the lich.
"Thank god you are awake. We have been stuck in here for four days."
Serin looked over to see Jericho. I have been out for four days?"
Jericho scoffed. "Yes, and we have been stuck here with you, you damned fool."
Serin looked at Jericho, "Why have you been stuck in here with me?"
At this point, Lord Harkonin spoke, "By your order master, I have escorted you and your companions, and detained them here while you rested."
Serin looked at him, "what?"
Jericho looked at Serin, "your last statement was perceived as an order. You should work on how to command your new thrall Serin."
Allister's eyes never left the Lich, "I agree. I have had years in the art of magical law and rules. I have done summonings. You have now bound one of the strongest undead types to your will. You should really learn how to keep your new pet on a leash."
Serin blinked. "Lord Harkonin, The people in this room are never bound to my will. Do you understand?"
Lord Harkonin looked at him, "by your order Master."
Rachel was the first out the door. She mumbled something about the public baths. Allister continued the study of Lord Harkonin, "Serin, can you give me permission to touch the lich? Without it I am sure he will turn me to dust."
Serin looked at Lord Harkonin, "Do not attack anyone without my permission. Allister wishes to study you, assist him in these endeavors. I wish for you to wait here for my return. I have things i wish to take care of."
And with that, Serin headed to town. First Baths.
Serin wished to bath alone, so instead of the public bathing area, he paid for the executive bath. It was fully tended to with oils and soaps for washing. There were even bathroom attendants that assisted with the cleaning. Serin had heard they were Homunculi. They wore a maid outfit, but their faces were obscured by a mask. They didn't seem to have a gender.
'If this didn't cost 1000 credits i would do it every day.' Serin thought.
With that Serin wanted to review his information
He was stunned.
It seems I was credited with the defeat of the Lich, as well as all of the levels increased bringing a novice skill to mastery level.
Serin Level: 46 Class: Boundless
Affiliations: Adventurer's Guild Iron Member
Strength: 27(+)
Agility: 43(+)
Endurance: 19(+)
Intelligence: 180(+)
Willpower: 45(+)
Charisma: 33(+)
Luck: 100(+)
Points to assign: 96
I hope the item Jericho ordered comes in soon. Serin looked at the perks he had acquired and laughed.
Magical Secret (boundless) - Choose a spell or power from any class rare or below. You immediately gain this spell or power.
Forward Initiative (Boundless) - Choose any perk Rare or below. Immediately gain this perk.
Serin would have to discuss with the group what to pick with these items. He would also have to figure out what to do with the quest rewards. It was time for him to definitely cash out.
Total Points = 25031
Points Redeemed = 0
Points Remaining = 25031
Rewards
50 = 1000xp boost
250 = 10,000xp boost
500 = 1 Common Magical Item
1000 = +5 to any attribute
2500 = +15 to any attribute
5000 = One Upgrade Stone
10,000 = 1 Rare magical item
25,000 = 1 Attribute Topped
Serin didn't know what Topping an attribute was, but he would ask Jericho when they met up for dinner.
***
Jericho had recommended everyone meet for dinner early. Now the tavern was basically empty, save one or two young adventurers talking in a corner.
"It's twilight now. Best time to hunt goblins. So the three large groups are not here right now"
Everyone started discussing their plans. Jericho started.
"We will need to find a place to set up a guild building. I don't recommend Walden. When we are done we will have made too large of a splash."
Serin looked at Jericho, "What do you mean?"
Jericho pointed at the request board, where the extermination quest parchment now shined with a golden hue.
"When we turn in that quest, we will need to leave. I recommend tonight after dinner."
There was a bit of upheaval at the table. "What about supplies for the road?"
"I purchased foodstuffs to get us two weeks, enough time to travel to a remote burb or even a large city. I had a standing order with Kincade for a few thousand rounds for Serin and a few dozen arrows for rachel for this time. I picked them up. "
"What about our gear?"
"I have packed it"
"Lord Koni?"
Everyone looked at Rachel. She responded, "its a lot shorter than 'lord Harkonin' and i don't think it's smart to openly call him lich."
Jericho continued. "I have acquired traveling clothes for him, as well as boots and a hooded cloak. And gloves."
"Won't he be hot in all that?"
Allister responded, "no. he's dead."
Jericho then settled everyone, "Is there anything that MUST be done here?"
Serin spoke, "That magic item with 'false identify' on it?" Jericho threw him a bracer, "congratulations Serin, you are now a level 15 reaper. Try not to look too smart."
Jericho continued, "When we turn in this quest, since we four were the only ones to participate, and we now all belong to the same guild, we will be rewarded with 100% of whatever the bonus rewards are."
"Serin, you will also have to pay to register your thrall with our guild. Not as much as a new member would cost, but without it, he would be burned by divine flames should he go anywhere the divines controlled. "
Serin nodded, "I understand your reasoning and logic, and I agree. But before we do, I want to cash out the points I earned and get my rewards. I wanted to ask what an attribute top up was."
And for the first time, Jericho was stumped. "I do not know myself. But the divine caretakers of the adventurer's guild will know. We should go. We will be given a private room to collect our winnings. Serin can ask the mechanics of that reward there."
The four of them got up, and moved over to the divine caretakers. They did not address Jericho, as the highest level, but instead looked at Serin. "Good Evening Serin of the Bone Arrow guild, how may i\I assist you today?"
Serin looked at the others, "I have a few questions, and we wish to turn in the completion of this extermination quest."
The smile the caretaker had was clear. "Congratulations to your guild, Serin. We have a private room available where you may review your winnings for this quest. I can also answer any questions you have there."
The caretaker escorted the four of them to what could only be a broom closet by its size. The Caretaker pulled out a golden key and inserted it into the lock, then as the door opened Serin saw rows upon rows of lockboxes in front of a large table, in a room that could not possibly fit in the space.
"Its a pocket dimension Serin, just go with it."
The four of them entered.
As they stood around the table, the caretaker stood near them, "The quest notice please."
Jericho handed the golden quest notice to the caretaker. She slid it towards the lockboxes, and it burst into flames. A lockbox about thirty feet from Serin, three rows high popped open.
"The contents here are to be shared evenly among the top 20 participants of the extermination quest. As there are only four of you, you will have to evenly share the rewards. Any rewards not available to be evenly shared will be distributed by the member who has the highest personal point score, in this case Serin. Upon completion of this quest all members went up one rank in our system, regardless of their current level."
Jericho, Allister, and Rachel started going through the box and pulling out items. While they were busy examining the loot, Serin looked at the caretaker.
"Caretaker, i have some questions and need assistance."
"I would be glad to help"
"I wish to register a thrall with my guild."
"Of course, 200 credits were deducted from your account. Lord Koni, has been registered as a minion of the Bone Arrow Guild.
"I would also like to cash out. Before I do, i wanted to ask, do i have to spend my rewards in order?"
"You do not."
"And what is the 25000 point reward. I have never heard of a topped attribute."
"First, congratulations as the first person to receive this reward. It has never been claimed in our system. To answer your question, a topped attribute takes one of your three lowest attribute scores, and brings it up to the level of your highest attribute score. You will receive any relevant perks or benefits from passing any relevant thresholds."
Serin blinked. Behind him everyone had stopped moving. Serin had no idea how to process that.
"So that means i can bring one of my skills up to that of my intelligence?"
The caretaker smiled, "Yes you can. But you can only pick one of your lowest three, so strength, endurance, or Charisma"
Serin had to ponder this.
Serin looked at the group. They were still staring at him. "I don't know what to pick"
Jericho looked at him, "I do not recommend strength. Although it affects health, you will become a hulking mammoth like those brutes in the tavern. It will draw undue attention"
Serin looked at the caretaker, "From the time I cash out, when do I make my choices?"
The caretaker looked at him, "instantly"
"Does the offer expire?"
"Technically no, but the moment you turned in the quest, you set a timer. You have until the rewards are distributed and approved by you to select these personal rewards, or you lose out forever."
Serin thought about it.
"Jericho, I can get a rare magical item and a common one. What do you recommend?"
"What trait are you looking to pick?"
"Endurance"
"Then i would pick the common item of Folly's Axe. for the rare item i would pick a Quartermaster's bag"
Serin looked at the Caretaker.
"I would like to cash out now."
"Excellent, what is your first choice?"
"I wish to top up endurance"
"Next?"
"Please put both my 5 and 15 point attribute bonuses into luck"
"What items do you wish for sir?"
"I wish for Folly's Axe, and a quartermaster's bag"
"Very well. Here is your bag, your upgrade stone and your axe."
The caretaker produced the items from behind her back.
"I recommend taking a seat as your body adjusts."
Serin had to sit. His heart was racing. His lungs seemed to pull in more breath. He felt his muscles get lean and taut. He felt his heartbeat in his head. Then as soon as it happened, it was over. He felt as if he could run a marathon. Then reviewing his stats, he realized he probably could very easily. He would have to look at his skills later. He tied the bag to his waist, and looked at the table.
When he awoke, the other three had already completed their second cash out.
Jericho looked at Serin. Not much had changed about him, but he could tell there was a change and Serin could perceive that. Jericho spoke "Items have been set into equal piles for 4. The 5th pile is one off items that you decide who it goes to, per the rules of the prize."
Serin looked at the piles. 4 equal piles. Each contained two chits for ten thousand credits, A 'title card', two vouchers for homunculi, and one rare item voucher.
Off to the side there was the 5th pile. "I believe the obvious way to do this is to take turns. We each pick what we want one at a time of most importance until there is nothing left. I will pick last each time.
"Jericho, you have gotten us this far. You pick first. Then Allister, since he lost out on getting his thrall, then rachel, then myself."
***
"With that complete, this quest is officially finished. The Bone arrow guild is the guild of record for accomplishing this quest. Your vouchers are redeemable at any adventurer's guild. Additionally, they may be traded for the item locally, and the vendor will be paid out the sale price of the item. They cannot be transferred to other people though, this is to ensure appropriate behaviors from other third parties."
It was a good split of gear. Jericho took the least that he could, and that consisted of four picks, the 2 credit chits, and the 2 homunculi. Its good to know that these were the least valuable.
Rachel picked a small wristband first, a rare item voucher, and finally a small sculpture of a bear. Serin would have to ask about two of the items.
Allister picked three rare item vouchers.
Serin didnt want to be greedy as well. But he did see vouchers for skillbooks present.
"If i pick the vouchers for Advanced level or below skillbooks, do those transactions get recorded?"
"The only knowledge that is recorded is that you exchanged a voucher for a skillbook. Whichever you pick is up to you."
Serin then decided and took the three skillbook vouchers he saw.
The caretaker smiled "With that the quest is now complete. Please make sure to collect your items and earnings as you leave."
***
"Out of all the greatest magics and skills, The [Gate] spell has to be the most powerful" Allister continued his rant. "Not only can you use it to travel between any points you have ever visited, with high magic you can make gates permanent. When the magic was discovered, the only known caster of this magic set himself up for several lifetimes of wealth."
They had been travelling a week, and it had been 2 days since they had seen another traveler. Because they now had Lord Koni, everyone was able to rest, as he took the entire watch to himself, and took that time to make food for the group. Jericho was at first hesitant to eat the prepared food, but after a few days, and incredibly good smelling food, he gave in. It seemed that Lord Koni had mastered the [Culinary Arts] skill, and took time to teach everyone his skill as best as he was able. Which is how they all sat around a small campfire, with the first snows of winter falling. Serin had prompted a discussion about Magic and it devolved the stories of the greatest casters in all of time.
Rachel disagreed with Allister however, "Gate is powerful, but it is something that with time and energy can be accomplished with a pair of feet. The most powerful magics are held by the life clerics. The magics that resurrect the dead have earned the Life clerics almost near immunity from harm, as no one in their right mind would ostracize their magics. "
Allister rebutted. "And how many people have they used their magics on? And unless the caster is willing to give his life in the process, It is a high magic only spell requiring immense magical essence. The better bet is to get out of trouble before people need the magics to bring them back from death."
Rachel and Allister looked at Jericho, "what do you think old wolf?" Rachel winked as she used his old nickname. Jericho thought. "As much as those two spells are realm shattering, in my opinion, the most powerful magics still belong to the people of this land. The farm folk cast their quiet rituals every day, and although the magics are simple, their consistent magics cast on their same burbs lead to us as a nation never needing to worry about food. You three may not know much about the world outside of the Northern Kingdoms, but a lot of places have tried and failed to learn our farming methods."
The three of them looked at Jericho, "What can you tell us about the lands outside the Northern kingdoms?"
Jericho pondered, "So you know that there are different burbs, and a dozen or so make up a District, what was once under a king, now a magistrate. There are 5 of the northern kingdoms, and we are in the uppermost one, the Froste Kingdom. We border the Laks Kingdom to our West, and the Shor Kingdom to our Southeast. South of those are the Mont Kingdom to the Southwest and the Forest Kingdom to the Far South. Farther north there are no known nations, only wildlands of barren frost and mountains.
As we are currently heading Southeast along the old road, we will be hitting the Frost Kingdom capital of Ston within another week. A few weeks after that we would reach the Northern Kingdoms' Grand Headquarters. If we continued about a month after that, we would reach the Grand Wood Alliance. If we instead headed West, in about six months we would make it to the Sarween Technocracy. They developed the rifles adapters we use for magic.``
Serin asked the question, "Why don't we just leave the northern kingdoms if its such a large threat?"
Jericho smiled, "Well, without a formal invitation, quest, or trade agreement, we would be considered invading forces. It takes a lot of power to establish a nation, and that combined power grants us some level of protection from the other nations."
Jericho laughed, "Not that they wouldn't attack to take our technology, or the grand general take theirs, but there other thing is that all the space in between, thousands of square miles of land, is considered unclaimed by the divines. Anyone can create a right to the lands."
Serin then pondered, "why don't they?"
Allister smiled and answered before Jericho could, "because the skillsets of power to create a nation like that are being used to improve our own. And until a stake can be made, whatever lands that are claimed will be constantly invaded by enemy forces attempting to return it to the chaos of the wild."
Rachel also pipped in, "A successful burb, that is self sufficient and well maintained takes a lot of work. My father told me on how in his early years he was sent as part of a team to establish a burb. it was a lot of work, and had they not enlisted several small guilds worth of various adventurers, the settlers would have all died.
Serin then posed the question, "I haven't brought it up yet, but I was granted another Magical secret because my intelligence passed 150." Everyone looked at him, Jericho replied, "and you are just now bringing it up? Serin laughed, "well yes. I was granted the Magical Secret of any Spell or skill from any class, and a perk called 'forward initiative', which grants me any Rare perk or below. Its why i have been holding onto my upgrade stone."
Jericho shook his head "I am starting to see why Marcus thought he could justify himself. Serin already has immense combat ability, and with his additional utility, he is an absolute insane force to deal with."
Serin spoke up. "My goals are simple. Survive, as best as I can and definitely find a safe place we can hang our heads, which will probably cost a lot of money."
Jericho had a quiet smile come up. "Building up the guild would be a smart way to create a safe haven for yourself. Larger Guilds have a lot of perks, so that might be a way to do just that. And if so, I have an idea where we can find many allies willing to join us, who hate the grand general, and have proven combat ability."
Rachel looked at him, "where would we find that?"
Jericho smiled as he answered, "We can bring them back from the dead, as Marcus caused all of their deaths."
***
Serin decided his course of action, and after he clicked Magical Secret, he unlocked that Master spell "Bring to Life". Serin was immediately both excited and disappointed.
Serin was disappointed, because the spell was greyed out, as it was too complex for him to cast until he reached a higher rank in Life magic. After having all of his novice life spells constantly running, Serin reached intermediate level, but his leveling from these constant skills had slowed down.
'I will need to get my hands on higher level passive life magic spells.'
The silver lining was his willpower just moved past 50, granting him the first willpower perks. 'No more brainburn for me.' Serin mused. He also noticed that thanks to his Doubled Perk, he gained the other Willpower perk choice as well, meaning the rate his magic regenerated effectively doubled.
Jericho had also answered his question of what to use his forward initiative perk for. "If you don't know what perk to pick, there is a great one from the assassin class called [greyman]. I have never seen it in action but I have heard that it is possibly the best way to stay hidden in an urban setting. Rangers still own the woods though."
Serin thought about it, selected [Grey man] and then realized he had an upgrade stone. Without a second though he activated the stone and upgraded the perk. He read the description.
Perk (Rare – Assassin) – Grey Man II
-While in public, in crowds, or in cities and towns, the user is difficult to notice, and tends to blend into surroundings
- This effect extends to up to 3 people within 3 feet of the User that are willing targets of this effect.
- While alone the user can blend into environments he should not normally be allowed in. This effect is cancelled if the User interacts with other people or objects of importance.
And with that, Serin was confident to enter the city. Which was good, because they were going to be getting to the capital of Ston in the evening.
***
For an hour prior, Jericho had them on guard. Getting to the capital of Ston required passing through the outskirts, buildings destroyed by the great calamity and had become nesting grounds for various monsters. Because of this, there was always work for adventurers in larger cities.
Serin had heard about the capital of the Froste Kingdom, but he wasn't prepared. As snow began to fall around him, he saw an amalgamation of the pre-shift architecture that had survived the great calamity, built around its marvels of stone and wood. The city existed on two sides of a river that emptied into a small harbor. From higher up in the land, Serin could see that beyond their harbor was the great ocean.
The city itself existed where three different rivers met the sea, and they had built giant jetti to ensure no enemy could sneak into the city by the waterways. The rivers were gated, large enough for people to get through, but too small for boats and larger creatures.
I wonder what perils this city faced in its past to warrant such defenses. Serin mused.
Jericho met with the gatekeepers.
"State your business."
Jericho answered for the group, "We are adventurers passing through. Might pick up a job if the offer is right."
The guard scoffed, "the four of you? There might be something in the outskirts. Dangerous work for a small and, ahem, 'fresh' group such as yours. But your labor is welcome here. The Hostels with stables are towards the city center, off the main road. You can park your autocart there. The entrance fee is 20 credits per person, and that is good until you exit. Be warned though," the guard looked at their odd attire, "We don't like loiterers, don't abide vagabonds, vagrants, or the like."
Jericho thanked the man and they headed towards the city center. In Walden burb there were about 10 shops, on the walk to Hostel they passed dozens.
"There are so many shops!" Serin said aloud. Jericho smiled, "Just wait until we get to the Bazaar district."
They dropped their bags and rented their room, and left Lord Koni to watch their equipment. Rooms in the capital were more expensive, costing the group 40 credits per person per night, about twice the cost of the previous hostel for the relatively same furnishings.
Serin had explained that his skill could only hide the four of them, so Lord Koni would stay.
Serin then spoke, "I recommend we stop by the local adventurer's guild. Also I would like a few maps. The city, the District, the Kingdom, and the known lands we inhabit. And i would like to look at the available quests."
Jericho looked at them, "That's a fine plan. And maybe then you can use that map to find your way around the city. But be wary and take your weapons with you."
Serin looked puzzled. Jericho explained. "When a burb is small enough, it has a level of divine protection, kind of like Walden Burb. However when it grows large enough and expands, that protection starts to fade. That protection not only protected you in Walden Burb from incoming creatures, but also from the violent tendencies of more ill aligned adventurers."
Serin then asked, "So people can attack us here?"
Jericho nodded, "and they often do. Keep your wits up. Also when a burb transforms into a city like this, the townsfolk have the right to take control of the adventurer's guild from the divines, which they have done."
Serin then looked confused, "How would we exchange our rewards vouchers?"
Jericho laughed, " There is usually a private room where that is done. Its pretty automated."
Serin would have to think this through. "What about you, While we are out and about, what is your plan?"
Jericho shifted, "I have to do some work alone. I want to see if any of my old contacts are alive, and if so maybe get some information. I will be fine. I am a walking curse to any who would attack me. Plus I need to sell off a lot of the loot that has started dropping from the enemies Serin slays. Most of it is non-magical items and books, a few small credit chips, and some alchemical ingredients. So it's worth it to find a good buyer.
Serin then pipped up, "before we leave, due to the Endurance Topup, I was given a quite a few levels, and as a trickle down effect, i now have enough points to surpass the 150 mark in Luck. I just thought i would let you know."
Jericho laughed, "You waited until now to tell us this? We could have taken advantage of our time on the road."
Serin quietly explained, "I was so focused on my skills and abilities and our future that I sort of forgot I had skillpoints to spend.
Allister looked, "you forgot. About dozens of skill points. More points than most commoner folk see in their lifetime."
Serin laughed, "well yeah, I was given a one time take of any magic spell in the known world, you could imagine where my thoughts left me."
Rachel was a bit flustered, 'well out with it then, where does it go from here?"
Serin brought up his screen and willed it to be visible to his team, a power he innately learned through practice. He then looked at Luck, and willed the points to be expended.
Serin honestly started to feel different. When he surpassed 150, it felt as if he could here the strings of fate being plucked, and could almost see what would be happening.
Serin Looked and saw only one new Perk. then he saw a Skill had been developed and his eyes grew wide, almost as wide as his the rest of the group when he showed them.
Perk -(Legendary - General) - Bad Timing
The first time someone attempts an attack, it always misses.
As shocking as that was, the more shocking part was the Skill.
Precognition (LCK)
- This skill allows the user to see the strands of fate, and interpret them as best they can. This skill can only be attained by reaching Luck level 150. No other skill can give or take this skill away.
o At Novice Level, the user can sometimes see strands of fate connecting people, places, objects, thoughts, wills, and magic. Simpler connections are able to be read by the user. This skill develops as the user gains levels.
o Intermediate: Locked
o Advanced: Locked
o Master: Locked
o Grandmaster: Locked
Passive ME cost for this skill: 1000ME
Serin didn't waste any time. He never had to worry about brainburn, so he could overclock his mana store. Activating this skill put his mana usage at roughly 30%. Instantly Serin could see wisps of smoke hanging off of everyone. There was a tight bond of green that connected him to Allister, Jericho, and Rachel. A Black and white swirled chain link connected him to Lord Koni, who dutifully scrubbed away at the roadworn equipment with a brush and a bucket of water.
The view was almost overwhelming, so he began to purposely unfocus, and the amount of information lessened, the lines of green faded to barely a glow around them. Serin wasn't sure what use this was, but he would keep it active. It was a passive skill and luck based. Something Serin had been told didn't exist. So He would keep it active for the additive effect it had on its base skill alone.
Serin looked at Jericho, and as if Jericho knew what he was going to ask, answered. "I have never heard of this skill, nor was I aware of any Luck based skills in existence. But we all should strive for this skill. It would truly be a game changer in our work. "
Serin then laughed, "I still have some points left….and now that i have a luck based skill, I have no idea how to use them. "
***
Serin decided that for the immediate future he would save his points. He noticed a lot of his lower passive spells he had always had active had capped out at novice. As such the speed in which the skill gained him skill experience had slowed. He would have to find ways to upgrade these spells to their next form. He knew his options included the spell tomes or upgrade stones.
The three of them didn't have any issue finding the adventurer's booth. After buying a warm meat bun from the vendor, he was more than willing to point the way to the guild and Serin reached it there no problem. Serin, Allister, and Rachel then walked up to the counter, and instead of meeting the piercing gaze of the previous guild steward, they were met by the eyes of a smiling young girl, not much older than Serin.
"Hello and welcome travelers to the Ston Capital Adventurer's guild. My name is Lilly and I would be happy to assist you today. Are you already members or are you here to register?"
Serin was taken aback by this girl's demeanor. Maybe it was spending most of his time around other Adventurers and almost all adults, but here was this kind and charming girl, and Serin felt a little melted by her smile.
Rachel however, was not, and spoke up. "We are already registered members." And with that she stuck out her arm over the scanning globe. The girl seemed to review something that was not there. "Alright then, Welcome Rachel of the Bone Arrow Guild. She then smiled and looked at Serin, Serin then seemed to snap out of his daze and place his arm over the scanner, "Welcome Serin of the Bone Arrow Guild." Allister then followed suit. He was not dazed like Serin, but instead was interested in figuring out what just happened, and if it was magic, what kind. His expression seemed to imply his study skill didn't give him any useful information. Serin inquired about a map of the city and was given a small pamphlet with the larger locations recognized by the town authority, as well as small advertisments for certain shops in the district.
Their hostel was a bit on the thrifty end. But it seemed that this area was meant for more seasoned and experienced adventurers.
The Adventurer's guild was in a courtyard that also housed a regular Inn with a few rooms for Nobles, a Tavern and restaurant, and finally some place called a "brothel".
Serin and Allister didn't know what a Brothel was, but Rachel was quick to get them on task and take them over to the board.
Serin looked at the board. Most of the quests were marked Radiant. He knew from the pamphlet that radiant quests were quests that were not going to ever go away, and like extermination quests, gave out rewards based on how much was accomplished.
The three of them scanned the board, and soon enough they found jobs.
Rachel took a quest entitled "Map the outskirts" Serin read the quest, and it was strictly a recon quest. When Serin frowned about the danger, Rachel pointed something out. "Look here, the guild places a spell on you each time you head out. If you take physical damage, it instantly jumps you to the Life Cleric's temple to the divines for treatment, and you are given free medical treatment.
Serin then laughed, as he showed the quest he pulled. "Heal the wounded", "Basically i get points based on what level of healing i can provide, as well as what skills I am given. Because it seems that there are always too many wounded for the number of healers available."
Serin and Rachel looked at Allister. He shrugged. "Since Serin's [Life] magic is what is priority, I thought I would spend time in a Mana factory. Since I acquired the Terramancy Spell [Extract] I can practice that spell at a mana factory. It is a special facility that pulls the magical power out of a cast spell and turns it into mana, which then is crystalized into a fuel that runs most of the technomancy devices around here."
Rachel looked, "why [terramancy]? Your specialty is life and dark."
Allister smirked. "I didn't know it until after i acquired the skill, but the terramancy skill 'extract' is considered within the family of Necromancy class skills. This is because many alchemical components for darker magics come from minerals deep in the ground only able to be pulled out by magic. Also because its parent attribute is Will, and If i can bring my willpower to 50, my mana pool effectively doubles as I won't have to deal with brainburn."
Serin smiled at the ingenuity of it. Allister continued. "And on top of the small stipend I get for living expenses, I also get points towards rewards. Which i can only assume are low to mid level magic related items."
So they smiled and they laughed, and sat down to a late dinner. They had picked quests that allowed them to not stand out. No one would bat an eye at young adventurers taking on simple radiant quests.
They got back and Jericho had left a note.
[I will be gone for a while. Don't do anything dangerous. Trust your judgement and work together. And don't have the lich move about freely, there are enough high level adventurers that someone will recognize what he is. Room is paid up for the month. Allister should gain Aura control by then if he is as smart as I think he is. Rachel should take a bit of time increasing her Stealth related skills for the future. And Serin, I know you want to increase your [life] magic skill, but whatever you do, don't draw attention. I left a stone to swap out on your bracelet. It will identify you as a Level 10 "Battle Medic". It should help justify whatever quest you plan on taking to increase your skills. Be Safe, stay vigilant, and above all, don't talk about sensitive topics outside the room. I had the Lich ward it.
Jericho]
***
Serin arrived for his first day of work at the "Life Cleric temple of the divines". Despite the name, Serin knew it was still just a guild.
His bracelet was on and it changed his identity just as expected. Serin walked in and the first person he met was a bit unnerving. Serin stared at the glassy eyes and quiet smile of a Content.
"Good Afternoon, how may the 'Life Cleric temple of the divines' assist you today?" Serin didn't know how best to respond, so he help up a copy of the quest he activated, "I am here for the healing quest."
The Content continued, "The temple welcomes all healers that wish to practice and pursue their arts, as by doing so they reduce the burdens of those who are in pain. Please tell me which skills you have from the list below. Serin reviewed the list of skills. There were several skills listed at each of the five levels. A spell was cast over it to obscure the data in the master and grandmaster category, so as hard as Serin tried to read it, he just couldn't make out what they said. The Content answered the question that hung, " You will not be able to see the secret magics of the Life Cleric temple, this is a divine decree. " 'You mean guild rules...' Serin mused
Serin then reviewed the spells he could see. "I can cast the [Heal], [Recover], [Magelight], [Detect Poison], [Detect Magic], [Purify], and I have the [Observe] skill"
The Content put a box in front of him, "Please confirm your spells by casting them on this globe."
Serin did so, casting one at a time. Afterwards he focused on the orb with his Observe Skill.
Afterwards the Content pulled back the box. "Skills verified and Account registered. I have tied your account with the Life Cleric temple to your adventurer account. You only need to update your account with us if you add or upgrade a skill, and after review we will update your file as necessary. The content handed Serin a sash. On the Sash were small identifiers, which Serin could only assume were the spells that he could cast. "Please take a right and go to the area marked 'recovery'. There you will be given instructions on how to continue. "
Serin followed the instructions given by the Content and arrived in the area marked recovery.
When he arrived he was greeted by another Content, who was very helpful. "Greetings healer, do you know how to use the recovery area?"
Serin shook his head,
The Content answered, "First you walk up to the room, if the small illuminator glows, it means you have all of the skills to treat the individual as it is marked on the chart. Each chart describes the injury and required treatment to recover the patient. Additionally there is an expected mana expenditure. Treatment does not need to be completed in a single day. If you have any questions, please let me know and I can do my best to walk you through."
The Content went back to staring off in the distance.
"Will the patient see me?"
The content answered the question, "The patient is in a magical sleep. This will wear off within a few hours of their recovery completing. For now it is for their own need, as the pain of their injuries would be too great."
Serin walked up the first room. Serin had the minimum magical skills to assist.
Patient suffers from numerous internal bruises and heat exhaustion.
Recommended course of action: [Heal], [Greater Heal], or [Full Heal]; [Recover], [Greater Recover], or [Full Recover]; [Observe] until Health and Stamina bars are full.
Serin walked in and began to work.
***
Serin wiped his brow. Other than a break for dinner, he hadn't stopped working. He left a note with Lord Koni to deliver to Allister and Rachel. He wasn't going to stop until all patients waiting for recovery recovered.
Normally the amount of Mission points earned would be proportional to a level, however Serin was a much higher level than the average user in the recovery area, and therefore he was making relatively quick work for the patients. However, the spells were just not strong enough to work quickly. Serin would have run out of ME several times over, but thanks to his Willpower perk doubling his ME regeneration rate, he was able to keep working.
***
Serin wasn't sure how many days passed when he finally finished. He had cleared the recovery room of every patient he could treat. Only a few cases remained, people in stasis waiting on disease cures, poison remedies, and more advanced life magics to heal.
It wasn't easy, he watched after what must have been two days his stamina bar started to drain as exhaustion was starting to set in. even with a ridiculously high Stamina, he was still starting to see the effects. After a few more days he would quite possibly pass out, regardless of his endurance.
'This is a good test for when I am fighting in the wilderness.' Serin thought.
Serin was just starting to wrap up when the Content that warded this floor came over. "Your presence is requested. Please follow me." Serin wondered if it had to do with how much he has healed others
Serin started to follow him, "why do you need me?"
The Content answered, "There are only three healers in the temple at the moment, and you are currently the only one that is not currently treating a higher priority patient."
Serin followed him and soon they were in a hallway full of moaning people. Serin could tell that several of them would die if they did not receive life saving healing measures immediately.
Serin arrived, and met a man with dozens of marks on his sash, "By the divines is your plate still shined? Get over here. I need you to keep a [magelight] spell running while we excise this infestation."
Serin didn't ask questions, he simply put his hand up and cast [magelight]. The patient that was previously squirming on the table stopped moving, and Serin could see that there were tiny worms that had infested the patient. The ones that crawled away from the body were burning in the light of the spell.
As Serin watched the Operation, the older person was kind enough to explain what was happening. "You know boy, these are Corpser worms. If you fall into them, you better get them all off you, or find your way back to a high level healer quick. They attack those with low endurance like mages and clerics and commoner classes." The man continued to cast spells. "The first thing that is to shine bright light on the patient to ensure the worms go dormant, otherwise the patient is extremely volatile. I was doing that before you arrived, but its a waste of my expertise."
The man started to cast the same spell, "Now i am casting a spell called Purge. It removes foreign objects from a body and destroys them. The spell works for worms as well as it works for arrowheads, bullets, and broken horns." Serin watched him cast the spell over and over again, and he watched with his observe skill that the status that looked like a worm next to his health was starting to fade. Serin also felt the familiar burn of a new skill and pretended nothing was happening, but his Hard lessons skill must be taking effect.
Soon the worm identifier was missing, "He's cleaned of the worms. Now its time to clean out the infection the worms left in their wake. That is what the spell [Cleanse] is for. It removes infections, diseases, and poisons from a target. Also removes the effects of a hard night of drinking." The cleric winked at Serin, and started casting the [Cleanse] spell. "It would do you well to get this skill. Your combat skills must be top notch because as a level 10 battle medic your medical knowledge is sorely lacking. Every healer should have these in their arsenal." As the cleric continued to work, Serin felt the familiar burn, indicating he had learned this spell as well. 'If i worked underneath this guy i could learn every skill he knows.' Serin thought.
Serin continued to watch. The Senior healer then began "You can stop casting Magelight, all of the worms are gone. Right now i need you to start casting recover on me and start feeding me stamina. Otherwise i will pass out before the process is complete and the patient might die." Serin cancelled his magelight spell and activated recover. He watched as his ME drained slowly as the high priest's stamina stayed at maximum.
"As you know, Heal just speeds up the body's natural ability to heal. It does not heal missing limbs or severely damaged organs. That is where this comes in. The spell [Regenerate] repairs organs, regrows limbs, removes scar tissue, and can even fix a damaged brain. It usually takes several casters spending ME at once, but we are going to get around that. " With that the Cleric focused on a bracelet of two serpents, and Serin watched as the bracelet bit into him. "Keep feeding me Stamina, as when my magic runs out thats the first thing to start being burned by this bracelet, then its my health."
Serin watched as this cleric started to cast Regenerate. Serin watched as his mana was being slowly topped off, but his stamina was draining. Within a minute the Cleric was starting to look woozy, as his Magic and Stamina were both dangerously low. And with that Serin got worried.
'Although the body on the table is repairing, i don't know if it will last in time before this cleric passes out. And he said he might die if that happens.' Serin thought.
Serin stealthy reached his non casting hand into his pocket and pulled out one of the dead hearts he carried around.
Hopefully they won't notice. He smashed the deadheart in hand and supercharged his recover spell. The stamina and magic bars by the cleric jumped up to full and with that he put his all into the regenerate spell. Before Serin knew it, the process was complete, and the patient was breathing calmly.
The life cleric looked at Serin, "Good job boy. Now Follow, we're getting a drink on me"
***
"I know what you did, and I am thankful" The cleric said.
Serin got worried. Did the priest figure out about my ability to cast high magic?
The Cleric continued, "I know you can't cast [full recover], but i saw you grab something from your pocket. I am thankful you used a spellstone on me. I know they are not cheap."
Serin now had to pretend he knew what was going on, "I don't know…"
"Its ok Boy, i will get the temple to get you a stone. Even better i can see about getting a copy of the spell for you."
Serin just smiled, "Thank you. My name is Serin."
The Cleric smiled, "My name is Matthias, Life Cleric of the Temple of the Divines. And after a hard days work, I need a drink. "
Serin sat with him, "Is that where you work?" Matthias smiled, "Yes. I work 4 days a week and am on call the other 3 days. Its a fairly good gig but I was given it because I am purely a cleric, not a combat skill to be had."
Serin smiled. He knew it would be best to do less talking, more listening.
Matthias started talking, "Let me guess, you newly joined a guild, and they dropped you off here in this town to train up your medical skills right? The fact you are already level 10 with almost zero medical ability past novice means your combat skills must be fairly developed. "
Serin laughed, " That's pretty accurate".
Matthias snickered, "you aren't the first. And you won't be the last. Plenty of folks come through our temple to learn to heal better. And it's for the best. We always need assistance. Ston city is always looking towards expansion. Expansion requires quite a bit of effort on the adventurer's part, and it seems that the more of the world we discover, the greater the dangers we discover."
Serin looked, "I know that if you are out mapping the outskirts, you get teleported to the temple of the divines"
Matthias scoffed, "Yes this is true. This is one of the last protections of the divines awarded to the lower ranked adventurers. But it's a false hope. The creatures of the outskirts have grown smart, so they just kill the adventurers in a single blow."
Serin's smile left. He got up immediately and ran towards the hostel. Matthias called out after him "Come tomorrow morning to the Temple and ask for me."
***
Serin arrived just to meet Rachel heading out for the night. As he caught up. He took the time to explain what he had overheard. She looked a bit curt. After his explanation she responded.
"That explains what i found while i was out there."
Serin looked at Rachel. Rachel continued.
"While I was out there, I was keeping my [Lurk] Skill active. It made slower movement, but it was safer. I was always sure I was being watched though. So I kept Resist and Shield active. I was definitely being followed. So that is why I decided to come out at night."
Serin responded, "The cleric at the Temple i spoke to says the more dangerous creatures come out at night."
Rachel cracked a smile, "Good. Better for my observe skill"
Serin then looked at her, "But what happens if you are attacked?"
Rachel smiled "I am not too worried about it. But should it happen, I have a plan."
Serin then cocked his head. "What are your stats anyways?"
Rachel smiled, winked, and let Serin in on her Stats. Serin was surprised how much she had kept up.
Rachel Level: 29 Class: Ranger
Affiliations: Adventurer's Guild – Copper Member
Guild: Bone Arrow
Strength: 33
Agility: 56
Endurance: 49
Intelligence: 93
Willpower: 48
Charisma: 12
Luck: 89
"So that explains your lack of tact" Serin barely had the words out before Rachel punched him in the mouth. She had turned a bit red at the thought.
***
Serin arrived back at the temple after a good night's sleep. When he arrived, instead going back to work he walked to the front desk. It was the same Content as before. "Good Morning, how may the Life Cleric temple of the divines assist you today?"
Serin replied, "I have been requested by Cleric Matthias."
The Content seemed to accept this order, "Please take a left, head up the stairs, and you will find him in the Emergency Bay. As Serin arrived, he found Matthias already at work. "Ah welcome Serin, perfect timing. If you could, I need a bit of help here."
Serin walked in to find a see a grumbling boulder of a man, stuck through with at least 100 weapons.
"This is what happens when you try to solo a Goblin encampment."
"There was no 'try' about it Mattias" the man said, "That goblin encampment is destroyed. I just have a few pig stickers stuck in me. "
Serin Observed the goliath of a man. He was currently negative health.
Mattias commented, "Take note our local legend Falmar. Due to his class, he can take additional damage past the point where he should die, but he is required to finish his fight."
Serin thought about it, "So he is immortal?"
Mattias laughed, "Hardly. His health will continue to drop, and if he hadn't come straight here, he would be dead within the hour. Serin, practice healing on him. You pump as much of your healing power into him. As you do, i will remove the stuck weapons one at a time and do localized [regeneration]."
Serin got to work.
***
Serin sat with Mattias after their shift. "You really need to learn some higher level healing magic. And an XP stone might be worth your time. Something to speed up your level gain. Health magic is in your class domain so it would be worth it."
"You are right! Do you know anyone who does private sales?"
Mattias' eyes narrowed, "Why not purchase the spells from a local dealer?"
Serin grew a bit shifty. He would have to dance well around this sensitive subject. "I have heard that when you get higher level healing skills, guilds try to recruit you. Some of them have been rumored to do so aggressively. I don't want that stress."
Serin wondered if the lie worked. Technically it wasn't a lie. The guild would be the Grand General's old guild, and chaining boundless would be the aggressive recruitment techniques.
Serin felt the familiar burn of learning a new skill as he noticed Mattias' vision soften.
"I forget how it is for you folks fighting out in the wildlands. I spend my days protected by tall city walls and my temple letter of good conduct." Mattias took a gulp. "Lets call it a night early. I will reach out to some of my more colorful contacts. You just get some rest and if you have any goods you wish to sell, bring those as well. Tomorrow, meet me at the temple steps and we can go shopping."
Serin smiled, grabbed up his weapons, and headed out for the evening.
***
Arriving back at the hostel, he met up with tired Allister. "How goes the ME Farm Allister?"
Allister just looked exhausted. He did crack a grin. "Got my wisdom above 50 yesterday. I can now push my spells longer and harder" he coughed, "However I am not built to be a battle mage. Standing and casting all day takes its toll on my endurance."
Allister spoke "I have heard that there is a skill to help with repetitive casting, but i don't have it. Whenever Jericho returns we can ask him."
Serin smiled at him, "Its good work, and its public service to farmout ME. How many points are you trying to earn?"
Allister smirked, "The rewards are well known and they change every month. I am earning roughly 50 points a day plus a few hundred credits for my work. All of the rewards are slanted towards spellcasters. At 250 points you can get a novice spellbook. At 500 points you get an intermediate spell upgrade. And at 1000 points you can get a permanent Intelligence point. Its a pretty popular reward." Allister then showed his teeth in his wolfish grin. "But thanks to our Jack of all trades perk, i can get 4 intelligence points and 4 spells for what other people are doing for 1 intelligence point. Then i can share those spells with you, and you with rachel and jericho, and 20 days of spells turns into 16 intelligence points between the 4 of us. A quite efficient use of time if I must say so."
Serin smiled, "I will be doing my best to increase my Life magic skill, and I will be learning quite a few skills as i do that. Even just tonight I learned a charisma based one called [deception]."
Allister furled his brow quizzically. Serin responded, "Long story, but needless to say I have made a local contact."
Serin then smiled, "Also if you want me to let you in on a secret, I am passing 200 intelligence today, and thought you might be interested in the perks."
Allister showed surprise, then responded, "absolutely"
Greater Magical Secret (boundless) - Choose a spell or power from any class. You immediately gain this spell or power.
Magical Mastery - Novice spells are cast for free. Intermediate spells and above are reduced in cost by 50%
And with that, Serin came up with an idea. He instantly got to work using his [magical skrivner] skill.
***
Honestly i don't think its balanced. Serin thought about the skill. Normally the [magical scrivener] skill is used for lower level spells, because the amount of time it takes to write the spell is based solely on Intelligence.
Serin had spent all night creating a magical tome for the Bring to Life spell.
Serin still wasn't high enough level to cast the spell, even with high magic and the cost reduction. But he could copy the spell into a spell tome.
He had to purchase Materials from a skrivner, and those materials alone cost roughly 5000 credits. Serin's explanation that he was running errands for 'his guild master' was a good enough lie that it worked. He also said it was for a master level spell, but didn't identify which one. Then he thought about it.
Serin tucked away his skill book into his [quartermaster's bag]. The [quartermaster's bag] that he received as a reward for the extermination quest was a magical item where the inside was larger than the outside, and it reduced the weight of the contents to near zero. Additionally, Serin could put items in it and they became near impossible to scry, and since the bag was a divine quest reward, only he could use the bag.
Serin met up with Mattias on the steps of the temple.
Mattias smiled at Serin, looked down and saw the bag "Something worth money in there i hope?"
Serin smiled, I might have an item or two from my adventures that I can sell."
Mattias just smiled, "I don't want to know. Private sales are mostly done on the black market so I will be making the introduction, then going in to work. Since you are a guest worker, you are not beholden to work any specific day, but hopefully I will see you tomorrow."
Serin and Mattias went to the shops district. Serin had made a few runs there, purchasing raw minerals to later convert into ammunition, and most recently the night before purchasing the materials needed to make a higher magic tome.
The shops district itself was easily the size of the entire Walden Burb. There were areas where they sold normal housing goods, foods, and textiles. They quickly walked past that section. Soon enough they were to the adventurer's area, which dominated the market. Shops with weapons, magical items, and supplies for the road.
There were shops for every level of adventurer. Bolt rifles, bows, staffs, and spellstones were in the window shops. Blacksmiths hammered away while crafters tinkered. A few spellcasters worked their magics, all to the plain view of the passerby.
Mattias smirked, "they put on a show. There are more crafters than needed in this city, so they sort of make their craft a spectacle."
Serin smiled, "are they actually crafting goods?"
Mattias smirked. "Of course! And for extra money they can make the item in front of you while you wait."
Serin laughed. After his business transaction today, he was going to be spending quite a bit of time in this market watching and learning.
Serin then saw a row people performing a small act.
"Alright folks, we are here for one more night. Tomorrow the grand carnival leaves for the next capital. So reserve your seats now for the greatest show on earth!"
Serin took a flyer, "I will take 3 tickets please."
The Caller smiled and charged Serin the posted 60 credits. "You won't be disappointed Sir! See you tonight."
Mattias tugged at Serin, "We have an appointment to keep, boy."
Serin took his flier and walked with Mattias down a side street. Still crowded with different shops. These looked a bit more second rate. Then he moved them down another side street. Winding and curving corridors brought him in front of a Store called "Edwin's discount spells"
Underneath was a posted flier, "Under order of the Grand General, all exchanges of spellbooks or skillbooks will require proper paperwork filed on the recipient."
Mattias saw Serin reading the flier, and when Serin looked up at him, he gave him a half smile and a wink.
They entered the front room, full of glass shelves with books on display. They had to be several dozen spellbooks of various levels here. There was also a counter. Inside was a pale man, his age was unknown to Serin, but he appeared to be in his early 50s.
"Welcome, you must be the guests that Matrona spoke of. Mattias the healer and one of his students. My name is Edwin, and this is my store. How may I help you today?"
Mattias answered, "My friend here is in desperate need of more advanced healing spells."
Edwin's smiled, "Why not get those spells at the temple?"
Mattias frowned, "The guilds have eyes everywhere, and Serin would prefer to keep his full capabilities hidden"
Edwin smiled, "Then Mattias, as a representative of the temple of the divines, I must insist that you go about your business. I am sure you would prefer plausible deniability."
Mattias gave a wave and patted Serin on the shoulder, "You will be fine boy. The most danger you are in is getting a bad deal. "
And with that Mattias chuckled and left the building.
Serin then watched as Edwin flicked his hand. The door behind Mattias locked, and the Open sign in front of the door changed to closed.
Serin gasped, then looked at Edwin, "Just a bit of harmless telepathy" Serin watched as Edwin made a patting motion on Serin's head, felt a pat on his head, and then a familiar burn on his left arm. 'Thanks for the skill, my new friend.' Serin thought.
With that, Edwin motioned Serin to follow him to a backroom. In the corner of a backroom there were two guards and a small boy, who was spending time trying to light flames on a candle.
"All the books you see up front are serialized. All sales are instantly reported to the Magistrate. Besides being a bookseller, I am also an instructor in the city. The nobles know that learning to Scrivner books is a valuable skill, so they send their sons and daughters to me to learn. Sadly, they ruin so many materials in the process." Edwin then pointed to books in the back. All of which seemed to be perfectly usable skillbooks and spellbooks. None with serialization.
They walked into another backroom. This room was full of students. All of which were toiling under the instruction of apprentice spellcasters. "I also happen to run the cheapest magical cram school in the city."
Serin looked at him, "Magical cram school?"
Edwin smiled, "due to the increased safety of city walls, there has been a noticeable uptick in the number of children being cursed as Content. Here we force several years of magical study in just a few months."
Serin then felt it. It was as if his ME was being slowly regenerated in this room. He then saw Brainburn potions lining the wall.
Edwin continued the walk. They ended up in an almost library of books. Edwin then smiled. "I have probably the largest collection of spellbooks and skillbooks in the nation. I know because I ensured I am the one who makes copies for the grand general's great library.
Serin was shocked. He could become a near god by simply reading everything here.
Serin looked at him. "I have something for sale, two things actually. But i will require contract magic to continue. I want to make sure that all transactions given and received today are kept under strict confidentiality, including my identity."
Edwin was intrigued. "I can agree to those terms. Strict confidentiality is a must. We each can name who we wish to keep this from. Due to the grey legalities of the possible transaction, I would request that the grand general, his magistrates, and any other lawful governing bodies be kept from knowing. What about you?"
Serin smiled, "All persons who would mean me harm"
Edwin smiled, "Smart boy. A conditional contract like that makes it near impossible to violate. Alright, what is the penalty? Curse? Disease? Disfigurement. Memory loss?"
Serin didn't blink. "Death. The penalty would be death."
Edwin's sharktooth grin showed through, "Oh my. You must have something very interesting to sell. Edwin motioned to a small side office. Serin entered. Edwin pulled a scroll from the wall.
"Its a magical contract that will abide by the terms we set. It will then incinerate. There is no expiration. It costs 1000 credits and i will need payment now." Edwin then looked at Serin, "This contract is very one sided. As a small safety measure to make sure we both don't accidentally die. Should we even think about breaking the contract, a small burning mark will appear in our vision. This is more of a safety protocol."
Serin smiled. The contract was then filled out, and signed in a drop of blood from each party.
Edwin then smiled. "This is a sealed room young Serin. What do you have to offer."
With that Serin produced the book he had made. An unregistered spell tome that taught one of the Life Cleric's most guarded magics, [Bring to life].
Edwin turned white as a sheet. "Where did you get this?"
Serin, without lying, "A member of my guild produced it."
Edwin then started inspecting it magically. "It is not the best work, but it will in fact teach the spell. This object is priceless, and we would both be dead men if the temple found out." He was astonished. He then looked at Serin. "What is it that you wanted?"
Serin looked at him, "I want a copy of every spell and skill book in your entire library that my guild does not already have access to."
Edwin turned white. "Are you crazy? You could put me out of business."
Serin smiled, "There is no intention for the books to be used outside of our Guild."
Edwin shook his head. "You are talking about hundreds of millions of credits of spells."
Serin replied, "And I offer one priceless one."
Edwin had here a rare opportunity to add a Master spell to his library. Only two other members of his family's shop were able to do this. And it hadn't been done in generations. Not since groups began hoarding knowledge to control power.
But for a copy of everything he had in his library? It would take the efforts of several members of his shop to recreate the inventory. And he would have to do it without breaking the contract.
Edwin then stood in shock. "What is the second thing you offer?"
Serin smiled. Serin then pulled up his list. "I will offer the knowledge of any skill you see here."
Edwin looked at the list. At the very bottom he saw [regenerate]. This was another high level skill. Other than a quest reward, the only way to attain this was through the temple, and they were extremely stingy with who learned it. Especially those who could create magic tomes.
Edwin then had his answer. "You have a deal. But I do have a few questions. First, how will you be transporting the books? That much magical material will leave quite the trail. You will most likely be robbed within 2 minutes of leaving my shop. And also, how are you going to impart this knowledge to me."
Serin smiled, "both answers are with my guild's secret power" And with that he produced the second object he made. In reality it was a glass orb that faintly glowed with magic. Nothing more than a parlor trick. Serin held it out. "Now hold out your hand. As we shake on the agreement, i will use this orb to transfer the skill from me into you."
Edwin gasped. Serin felt the burning sensation of his deception skill rising. And as they shook on the deal, Serin broke the orb in his hand and used Hard Lessons to teach Edwin the Regenerate skill. Edwin didn't show the signs of brainburn. He must have wisdom over 50.
Edwin then figured it out. "You figured out a way to transfer skills from one person to another! So the spell books you take today, you will walk out looking no different than when you walked in."
Edwin smiled, "A deal is a deal. Everything in this library is at your disposal. There are only two master level skills though. Still a good deal for us."
Serin then figured it out. The balance of the skill is not broken. The economy of this world is.
***
Serin spent the morning going through book after book after book. He pulled one of each skill and spell he did not already have, since he was a living library of skills. He then activated them one at a time, adding them to his list.
So many books. When he was done, he had increased his Agility and Charisma past the 50 threshold, learning [Dash] and [Lowlight] powers from Agility, and [Trick] and [Command] powers from Charisma.
He left Edmond's and continued back to the Hostel. When he was there, he left two of the tickets and a message with Lord Koni to let the two of them know he was going to the Carnival tonight.
Then he headed off to the Temple for work.
***
"Place your hand over the orb and cast the spells so they may be added to your identification."
Serin Cast [Purge], [Cleanse], and [Greater Heal] into the stone. He elected to not identify knowing [Regenerate]. He may make a few less credits for his work, but it was better for his anonymity.
This time though the Content gave a different answer, "Your skillsets have shown your capability to work in Initial Care. You will be meeting with patients with non-life threatening injuries."
Serin was excited. He had updated the stone how Jericho showed him to show he was now a level 12 Battle Medic. 'Gotta keep up the lie' Serin thought.
Serin moved and began to see patients. He could work for about 2 or 3 hours before he had to call it to make it to the Carnival.
***
"You were not who I expected to see as my last patient."
Rachel was there, and she blushed. She was mostly covered with superficial cuts and bruises, and the only real wound was the knife in her leg.
Serin looked at her. "I will fix you up better when i get you back to the hostel, and you can explain on the way what the hell happened."
Serin cast greater heal and brought her health up.
***
"It was horrible" was the first thing Rachel said. Serin and Rachel were back at the Hostel. Serin was applying Regenerate to remove any of the scarring from the wounds she received.
"I was being hunted. And they were smart. They waited until I was cornered and all of them attacked at once. Spears and arrows should have done me in but thanks to shield and resist, the damage was mostly blocked. I stabbed myself to get out as soon as possible."
Serin looked at her, "Did you see what it was?"
Rachel nodded her head, "Trolls. Large as Ogres, clever as goblins. I made my report. It was noted. But I am a nobody here, so other than filing a report with the adventurer's guild and again with the Intake Content at the temple, no-one questioned it.
Serin finished up regeneration. The skill used a lot of ME, but Serin was aware that it was increasing his skill quickly. Serin had also purchased XP stones. They grew very expensive past the intermediate level, but for Serin, they were only around 500 credits.
Serin then saw the door open and an exhausted Allister came in.
Serin smiled, "Not to change the subject, but I bought us tickets to the carnival. I thought it would give us an opportunity to relax."
Allister pipped in, "And let you observe AGI skills"
Serin confirmed, "And let me observe AGI skills."
All three smiled.
***
Serin smiled at the sight he beheld. It was definitely a few hundred extra credits. Serin, Allister and Rachel sat and watched not just the show, but they had front row seats.
And while Serin was sure that the salesman thought he just swindled a few unsuspecting new customers, Seri kept his smile. Besides having the best view of the carnival, he was able to watch with full detail all of the skills the acrobats and entertainers were showing off.
Serin felt his familiar burn of a new skill writing itself five times during the presentation. 'I will have to review those later.' Serin then realized this was the first evening in a few weeks where the three of them were together and simply relaxed.
Serin then realized that Allister had been in one place for a long time. So as acrobats weaved through obstacle courses while juggling torches, he looked over to Allister and said, "Allister, how long until the dead start coming for you?"
Allister smiled, "We are good. I learned Aura control weeks ago. It was unlocked when my intelligence passed 50 and level passed 25"
Serin then looked at him, "So what are your plans?"
Allister laughed, "Being next to you is a free seat of a grand feast. Why would I go back to eating potatoes?"
Serin grinned. Allister was always kind of hard to read, but he was not stupid. Allister would follow Serin, who had become his free lunch.
***
It had been a few months and there was still no word from Jericho. Serin had continued to upgrade his healing spells while Allister worked at the ME farm. Rachel wanted to work on her Resist skill, so first she had Serin push spells using Hard Knocks until she raised her intelligence to 100. Then she raised her Willpower to 50. With an increased ME pool, a greater increased ME regeneration she felt she was ready.
With those out of the way, she began entering Brawling matches. Serin hadn't heard of these, so Rachel explained, "its not a quest, its like the arena. But its unarmed, and it is to knockout, not death." Serin then looked confused, Rachel looked at Serin, "unless you have a better idea for increasing damage resistance spells and skills?"
Serin drew a blank, but he definitely had to plan something. He was in the same boat as Rachel. No matter how strong he got, his weak defenses meant one well placed shot and he would be killed instantly. He then laughed at his memory of the [Bad Timing] perk he received. Well, two shots.
But for now, increasing his life magic skills are the most important.
***
On the other side of the city, Jericho was sitting in a blackmarket silent auction. Currently there he was bidding on an old book that was not catching anyone's attention. In fact, nobody seemed to care about most of the products passed writing an initial wager. He had learned that one of the chapters from the fable 'User Guide' was for sale here. He had thought there would be more competition. But there was not.
That was because a very special book had entered the auction. For the first time in written history, a skill book for [Bring to Life] had come to the market. And although the Silent auction is supposed to be a relatively hands off affair, fistfights had started over wagers.
So without much issue Jericho left with his prize in hand. He had been looking for a copy for years, and he didn't have to spend a tenth of what he expected.
'Besides upsetting the world order, the mysterious benefactor just saved me quite a few credits.' Jericho thought.
With his prize in tow, Jericho headed off towards the messenger house. He had a message to send.
Things will start moving quickly.
Jericho smiled a bittersweet smile, hoping that Serin had spent this time wisely.
***
Another exhausting day. Another day of spells. Serin was amazed at how many people came through for healing. After reviewing case files and talking to some of the triage members, it became apparent that these people were guild-less, solo adventurers trying to make a name for themselves.
There were only a few guilds in the city. As a way of paying for Civil services, This city's magistrate had decided to impose a tax on the guilds, making it difficult for guilds to afford to take on weaker quests, as the fee was based on guild size, not quest reward.
'There has to be a better way of governance than this.' Serin grumbled. He knew that these individuals who had no backing had a high rate of mortality. Thinking back to what the magistrate first told him. Serin was glad he hadn't taken on any group quests. Since they were all doing city volunteer quests, they were allowed to register individually.
Allister came back every day looking mentally exhausted. Rachel came back every morning and needed healing. Serin got to train his Life magic skill from the time he woke up to the time he went to sleep.
As for his rewards, he cashed out his points whenever he could afford a Life Magic XP stone.
Serin returned with a smile on his face. "I have reached Advanced Life magic, and can finally cast 'Bring to Life'." Serin chuckled, 'even if i am limited to only casting it as a high magic ritual.'
Serin was also excited to celebrate with his teammates. He must be the youngest person in history to surpass level 50, a rank usually reserved for seasoned adventurers and the peak of what normal folk can expect in a lifetime.
Just as the three of them planned on leaving to pick up dinner, Jericho burst in the room.
Looking flustered, he simply looked at Serin and said, "Did you make a copy of [Bring to Life]?"
Serin gulped.
Jericho's smile showed the beginnings of panic.
"If that's the case, we leave this evening."
***
"So you see, three black market dealers have had their businesses burned down."
Jericho finished. He had explained what happened.
It seemed that the ownership of that book was being tracked. Each time it changed hands, it created a new link in a chain. The Life Temple had petitioned the magistrate to perform an inquisition, to root out who had stolen it's 'holy magics'. They had threatened to shut down their temple until the thief was discovered.
And with that the purchaser at the silent auction was caught and imprisoned.
Then the place the silent auction was held, The Lonely Lantern Backroom was burned to the ground.
The home of the Auction transporter was seized for 'possible seditious activities'
Serin explained he had used contract magic to hide his identity.
Jericho shook his head. "When they get to that point, they will send a request for a mage who can cast the master spell 'contract cancel'. And when that happens, the grand general will be involved.
Hence their quick departure.
Jericho did smile. "I was able to purchase a chapter of a very special book."
He then handed it to Serin, "I cannot read it. No idea why. But I know it is called 'Foundation'. It describes how to petition the divines to grant a guild autonomy in the world."
***
Back on the road, Serin sat in the laden auto-cart, being pulled by Lord Koni.
Serin sat and tried to read it. At first it was in a language he couldn't read. Then he saw his guild tattoo shining. After bringing up his guild window, Serin saw a strange message,
[To unlock the Foundation Manual, There is a mandatory quest. Push quest to guild?]
Serin thought about it. 'Why not. Sure.'
Then he saw Jericho, Allister, and Rachel stop moving and look at their guild mark. Jericho smiled. "Figured it out huh?"
Serin smiled. Everyone was given the same objective.
[Lay claim to the wilds.
Throughout the wilds there are many hazards and dangers. But there are many rewards. The most important of these is the right to self rule. If you feel you guild can, seek out a land not claimed by another nation. Create the symbol found in the book, perform the ritual, and the land will be yours.
Recommended locations. LAT...LON…]
A long list of coordinates were listed,
"Jericho what are these?"
Jericho smiled, "These are coordinates that the divines recommends for us to start out new home in."
Serin focused on the list. He could see slight colorations in the letters, and he knew it was his luck. He saw several in dark red and black. Serin innately knew that they were dangerous. Serin then smiled as he looked down the list, and saw one location marked in blue and green. He innately knew this would be the best bet.
"We go here"
Jericho nodded, pulled out a strange map, and then muttered "translate information".
The map showed several outlined areas that had the names of capitals. Additionally it had a few traderoutes marked. Then a bright dot started to shine in the middle of the map.
He then touched the map and cast another spell [Locate self].
Another dot glowed on the map. Fairly far from the other.
Serin looked, "How far do we need to go?"
Jericho smiled, "We have quite the hike."
