033 Hook, Line, and Sinker 

Once the trio separated James put on the Mask of Illusion to cover his face. While it would not hide his name anymore it could at least hide his face. With his face hidden he might be able to make a persona with the Mask.

We walked through town towards the Fire Tower to talk with Alfred. He held his breath as he went hoping that no one would take the time to read his name.

When he arrived at the Tower he continued right in. The Tower had returned to normal due to the smaller influx of new players. James walked right past the secretaries, who were trying to get his attention.

"Sir! Sir! You have to check in first!", yelled one of the secretaries. Since it seemed like James wasn't going to follow procedures she falled for security. They had almost caught up to James when he suddenly disappeared. James had used the secret portal to teleport to Alfred's office.

When James magically appeared Alfred jumped a little and then started to cast a spell. "Who are you?!" He quickly stopped his spell and was no longer on alert.

"Blaise! How have you been?" He was happy to see a friend.

"I've been doing well!" James looked around the office, it was much dirtier than last time. Alfred had scrolls, books, and manual scripts littered all over. "It seems like you have been busy, is this a bad time?"

"No no, not at all. Sorry for the mess; I have been looking for answers about the changes in the library and the world. The monsters have gotten stronger all of a sudden and have become restless."

James felt a little guilty. He coughed to clear his throat, "That was my fault."

Alfred didn't believe him, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. I doubt you could have caused the change. There is ancient magic at its source, magic so old it barely has any records left. What you see here in my office is the only information we have on the magic of olde."

James shook his head in disagreement; he then started to draw a spell matrix in the air.

Alfred was speechless and was engrossed with what he saw before him. A young mage, still wet behind the ears, forming the bases of a spell in the air before his own eyes.

* Ding *

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You have created a tier four spell matrix, the spell's information is below.

Spell Name: Flamethrower

Level: 1

Effect: While channeling, a stream of pure fire is shot out in a desired location.

Maximum Targets: NIL--- Damages anything in its path for 20 damage a second.

Cost: 5 mana per second

Save spell to open spell slot or matrix memory?

[Open Spell Slot] [Matrix Memory]

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He had been observing the spell matrices from the Devil's Ivy fight and learned the water stream spell matrix that the Water Vines used. He converted it to a fire element to hide his class's true power. He wanted people to believe that he was limited to fire spells.

He saved it to an open spell slot; he had finally filled his last original spell spot. He had unlocked another one for every five levels he got; thus he has 4 more open spell slots remaining.

Alred slumped over into his office chair and looked defeated. A greenhorn just did something he could only dream of like it was as natural as drinking water. "How?"

James put on a smile and sat down in another chair. He slowly explained how he got his Spell Weaver class.

"What! Your Teacher said that my Aura spell is a joke?! That is my life's work damn it!" Alfred was upset hearing about James's teacher's opinion about his spell.

"I know that it is upsetting but I can't lie to you Alfred. After experiencing what true spell creation is, your spell is a small trick. Don't get me wrong though; it is a very useful and powerful spell. It has saved my life a few times already. You should be proud of your accomplishment." James gave Alfred a harsh truth.

Alfred sat in silence for a few minutes; each minute that passed made James feel guiltier and guiltier.

Alfred finally broke the silence with a big laugh, "I am still a frog in a well! There is so much more still to learn! I feel reenergized after all these years. I started to fear I was becoming stagnant and was slowly losing the will to continue in my learning. Blaise, thank you for telling me your tale!"

James was thrown for a loop, "You're not upset?"

Alfred was ecstatic, "No my boy! Not only have I learned that I still have a lot to look forward to learning about but I got to become friends with someone who will shock the world! You will change how magic and runes are viewed in today's world. You will bring forth a wind of unstoppable change."

James saw the yearning for knowledge in Alfred's eyes and felt happy. He then turned serious. "Alread, I can't give you the knowledge in my Teacher's book but I can give you some of my own discoveries."

James took a blank book from Alfred's desk and spent just over an hour writing down some of what he learned. He was careful not to write any information on 'them', god beasts, and most of the legends. He wanted to keep those a secret due to his Teacher's warnings.

At first Alfred tried not to peek at what James was doing but eventually he could not resist. He had started to peak over James's shoulder as he was writing. There were many times where he wanted to rip the book out from under James's pen and study but he forced himself to resist the temptation.

James needed to wrap up his visit with Alfred since he still needed to prepare for the meeting with Totem. He cut his writing short and turned to look at Alfred. "I'm sorry, I don't have time to write down everything I wanted. I have an important meeting to attend soon. I will return to complete the book in the future."

Alfred, who could no longer wait, snatched the book out of James's hands and looked at the first few pages. He was practically drooling. "It is no problem at all! This is more and enough to keep me busy for decades, I can't imagine what I would do with more information! Take your time!"

Alfred shood James out of his office to start reading through James's notes. As James was leaving Alfred threw James an emblem after reading its description he knew what it was for.

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Alfred's Emblem

An emblem that grants the holder unlimited access to the Fire Tower.

Character Bound.

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As James was leaving the tower three guards and the secretary from earlier approached him. Without even looking he tossed the secretary his emblem as he was approaching. The guards and the secretary were surprised to see the emblem. As James passed the small group he grabbed the emblem back and continued on his way leaving spectators in awe.

James headed towards a nearby Magical General Store and just about bought out the stock of mana potions and a few other items. Afterwards he stopped at the auction house to buy up rune crafting supplies; he wanted a nice stock of them for when he wanted to start creating enchantments in bulk.

Looking at his inventory James frowned a little. He did have quite a few gold coins left, enough to pay Totem in full and have some left, he wanted to make sure he always had enough to handle his spending habits. He looked around to find a workshop to test a few things out in private.

He paid 20 silver for a private room and started working. He took out several rune slates, pen, ink, and his chisel. He started creating a few Runes of Power. They were simple strengthening runes; they would increase a weapon's base damage between 3 and 8 points depending on how well the rune was applied. He created three runes in total.

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Basic Rune of Power

Can be used to enchant a weapon.

Effect: Adds between 3 and 8 points of damage.

Creator Alias : Magicks

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Items could be branded with the creator's name but James already had a reputation so he wanted to use an alias. Alias were locked to the original user; it was impossible to minic another's work. He did not want to provoke the top guilds more than he already has. What he did not know is that the alias Magicks would become the hottest topic when dealing with Runes in the future.

He left the workshop and went back to the auction house and posted his Runes for sale. He knew that a bidding war would break out over the Runes so he only posted one at a time. He set a minimal bid to 50 silver but did not set an instant buy price.

It did not take long for everyone to learn about the Rune that was being sold on the auction house. Once again people flocked to the forums and spammed posts about the Rune; which forced the forum moderators to lock down forums and create a mega thread. They started to wonder why they agreed to being moderators in the first place…

All the top guilds sent their Treasurers to the auction house to place their bids, they all wanted this rune. It would give them an edge over the competition. Very soon the bid on the first rune was at 5 gold coins.

Talon and Mercury both heard about the Rune as well and sent James private messages. Mercury wanted to know if James wanted to buy it to study it, while Talon wanted to know if it was worth the buy. James didn't want to waste time explaining one message at a time so he created a group chat.

[- James: Basic Rune of Power -]

[- Blaise: You have one already?! Did you manage to find it earlier and bought it before anyone saw it? -]

[- Mercury: You made the Rune didn't you? -]

[- Blaise: Yup, I made three in total. I wanted to have more capital. -]

[- Talon: … You're evil… You're going to sell them one at a time aren't you? -]

[- Blaise: I sure am! It will keep the price sky high. The guild's who lost the previous bids will be more eager to secure a buy with higher prices. -]

[- Mercury: I want some Runes, it can wait until you can create better ones. I know you can do it ;p -]

[- Blaise: Don't worry, I won't treat my friends badly. Your strength is my strength after all. -]

* Ding, time limit has been reached on your auction house post. Your Rune Of Power sold for 6 gold and 30 silver coins. You find the money in your inbox. *

[- Blaise: The first one sold for more than 6 gold coins. -]

[- Talon: That is disgusting… -]

[- Mercury: How much does it cost to make a Rune of that level? -]

[- Blaise: Hmm, maybe 80 copper coins. No one has had luck with Rune Crafting before so everyone was posting the materials for dirt cheap. I have been buying out the material stock from the auction house every time I visit. -]

[- Mercury: I knew you were Mr. Money Bags, you're paying Totem in full! ;p -]

James posted the second Rune before anyone could leave the auction house. It did not take long for people to see it. Another bidding war broke out. This time the Rune sold for exactly 8 gold.

[- Mercury, I saw the auction end with 8 gold being the winning offer… The top guilds have had to liquidate their entire assets to afford your work. I wonder what they would do if they found out that the great Blaise was the creator. -]

[- Talon: I can only imagine the effort they would take to fix their relationships with you and offer you a real life salary. -]

All three of them were laughing while the top guilds were arguing in their own group chat.

** Guild Group Chat **

[- Alexander: Damn you Author! You got the first Rune for dirt cheap! -]

[- Author: You snooze, you lose. -]

[- Jack: You two must be bleeding inside spending your entire guild's funds. It is time for Desolate to rise in power. -]

[- Tempest: Dream on. -]

The guilds kept bickering between each other for a while.

[- Violet: A third Rune was posted... -]

The guild members closed the chat and started another bidding war.

.

** James's Group Chat **

[- Talon: Blaise, Totem wants his 10 gold right now, he wants to buy your last Rune. lol -]

James didn't skip a beat.

[- Talon: You work fast… -]

[- Mercury: Sometimes I wonder who the real Devil is. Blaise or myself… -]

[- Blaise: Hey, if he wants to work for free, then let him. Keep my profession to ourselves for a while :) -]

It did not take long for Totem to place his bid. It blew the top guilds away. They had to stop their bidding. 10 gold coins for one rune was just maddening. There will be more in the future.

[- Mercury: He actually did it, all 10 gold coins were returned to you Blaise… -]

.

** Guild Group Chat **

[- Jack: You guys are nuts, who spends 10 gold on a basic Rune? -]

[- Author: Was not us at Above the Heavens, we spend most of our money on the first rune. -]

[- Alexander: It also was not us. Solemn Sword's funds were pretty much tapped out as well… -]

[- Tempest: Oblivion? -]

[- Quincy: Not us -]

Alexander thought for a moment. That was a very specific amount that he heard recently.

[- Alexander: It was Totem. He recently got paid that much to sever a contract with us. It is just too much of a coincidence to be wrong… -]

[- Author: Don't Totem and Solemn Sword have a good relationship? Why did he cancel on you? -]

[- Alexander: He loves money. However, if I were to guess there is something bigger going on. -]

Seeing that no more Runes were being posted the top guilds went back to doing their own thing.

.

** James's Group Chat **

[- Talon: 24 gold in total, huh? If you were not the richest player in the game you are now. -]

[- Blaise: Hey, I just spent 12 gold coins on Mana Potions from Mick's Magic Supply Shop. It is expensive being a Mage! -]

[- Talon: … -]

[- Mercury:... You know every one of those vials you causally toss to the ground are several silver coins to an alchemist? -]

[- Talon: He throws empty vials away like they are trash? -]

[- Mercury: Yup -]

[- Talon: Wasteful… Mages around the world must hate you. -]

[- Blaise: … Lets meet up at the Tavern already, cya there. -]

[- Blaise has left the chat -]

[- Mercury: We struck a nerve? -]

[- Talon: He will be fine. Lol -]

James was the first to arrive and rented a private room in the back of Bard's Tavern. He didn't wait long for Mercury and Talon to show up. Now they were just waiting for Totem.

Right at the two hour mark a Mage in green robes passed through the door to the private room. He looked around and saw a man in a red robe sitting at the front of the table. A girl in gothic lotica dress to his right and a man with a bow sitting to the left.

A few thoughts went through his head, [So Talon was just a middleman after all.] He then checked out the other players name and was actually shocked.

"Blaise and Reaper!? Talon, what is going on? What did you get me into?] He questioned Talon's motives.

Talon threw his arms up in a defense posture, "Don't look at me, they are your employers. More specifically, Blaise wants a contract with you.

Totem looked at the two then pulled up a seat across from James. "Your the leader?" he asked.

James looked at both Mercury and Talon, who in return nodded their heads, "Yes, you can say that."

James then slid a scroll across the table to Totem. He took a few minutes to look over it's contents.

"You want a NDA (Non-disclosure agreement) and a private alchemist?" The cost for those will be pretty steep." He looked at James in a strange manner.

James, who was used to paying ridiculous fees, was not fazed. "Reaper can attest to my ability to pay any cost."

Totem looked over to Mercury, she didn't wait long to respond. "He is a man with a lot of money, you saw all of the global announcements and the fact we killed the first boss."

Totem got comfortable and leaned back in his seat. "I will agree to the NDA, I will not disclose any information about this meeting, your activities, your alliance, the services I will be providing, and will not sell or keep anything I create on your behalf." He easily agreed to their first condition. "The cost of my silence will be 20 gold coins and the price is not negotiable."

Both Mercury and Talon frowned, he was asking for too much. Mercury was about to stand up and tell him off but James stopped her.

James wanted to continue talking about the contract before the others did anything. "What about the cost of your services as our private alchemist. You will not be able to work for anyone else from here on out after all.

Totem thought about it, he would lose a good chunk of his future income. He has been doing well enough until now but he got several recipes that would make him a fortune later on. "In other words, even if I have my own recipes I cannot create and sell them to the public?"

James gave him a light smile, "That is correct."

Totem felt a chill creep down his spine seeing James's smile, he felt like he was being looked at as if he was prey. "That will cost you even more than my silence. I will require 10 gold a month, you will provide me with any and all alchemy recipes and materials you get for free, and you must buy me any and all requirements for me to progress and level up my profession."

Talon felt a sour taste in his mouth, he had invited Totem to this meeting and he was being a bit disrespectful to James. He was worried what Mercury would do. He looked over at Mercury and saw that she was obviously displeased and waiting for James's permission to do something.

James had other ideas about Totems compensation. "That is quite the cost, you have a high self confidence in your abilities. But I disagree with your proposed prices. You are not worth what you want."

Talon, Mercury and Totem looked at James in disbelief. Totem was especially surprised that James would disrespect him like he did. He was about to get up and leave but James stopped him before he got up.

"Let me finish. I have decided to change the contract's condition to match your abilities. Talon praised you about your alchemy skills but I wanted to see what you were like in person before I got serious."

Mercury and Talon looked at James with suspension. He ignored their gazes and continued. "These terms are non negotiable and are as follows:

1. Your payment of 10 gold coins has bought your complete silence that the previous contact stated no matter if you chose to sign this contract or not.

2. You will still become our private alchemist which entails the following:

- You will create potions on request as soon as possible. We will give you ample heads-up in advance for large orders.

- We will pay for your workshop.

- We will provide you with recipes for the potions we wish you to make. You will also make us potions from the recipes that you already have in your possession, we will not compensate you for the money you already spent.

- We will provide you with ingredients to make said potions.

- In the future when you get the ability to have a chance to create extra potions for every set of ingredients used we still will keep 100% of all potions you make.

3. You will not be getting any form of salary.

4. Failure to comply with anything will result in you paying us back in full.

5. You will no longer take contracts from any source.

Silence descended on the room and tension so thick you could cut it with a knife ensued.

"Are you mad?" Totem was nearly speechless. "While it has some decent perks, this contract is pretty much a slave contract! Did you really think that I would sign this?"

Talon and Mercury both agreed, the contact was too much.

"There is more." James stated.

"I don't want to hear any more nonsense." Totem stood up to leave.

"Even if it is about a level 35 dungeon?" James threw out the bait.

"Dungeon?" Totem sat back down almost instantly.

Hook - line - and sinker. James knew he got him.