Ar'Kendrithyst

Erick walked through the Script-blue door to see Irogh sitting behind his white desk, like he usually sat. The orcol was as handsome today as he’d ever been, with his slightly greying hair and his massive muscles, lurking under an appropriate, yet sexy tunic, with the top buttons undone.

“Hello, Irogh.” Erick said.

Irogh smiled, as he lifted his hand and twisted two fingers through the air. The door shut behind Erick, as Irogh said, “Hello, Erick. Congratulations. I hear you made Archmage, in true.”

Erick took his seat, happily saying, “Thank you. I’m pretty sure Rozeta helped me along, though. There were clouds and a serpentine form hiding inside.”

“The gods help everyone, and what you made served a higher purpose than most.” Irogh asked, “So what can I help you with, today?”

“Another Ability Slot Quest, first.”

Irogh nodded. He tapped out across the air. The blue box for an Ability Slot Quest appeared in front of Erick, who immediately spent ten points to complete it. Irogh grinned, at that.

Erick said, “And now the Class Quests for Light Dedication and Force Savant.”

Irogh tapped across the air, saying, “Of course.”

Class Ability Quest!

Create a tier 7 or higher Light-based spell or skill.

Reward: Light Dedication

Class Ability Quest!

Create a tier 5 or higher Force-based spell or skill.

Reward: Force Savant

Erick accepted his new Quests, and considered his options for completing them. The first was easy enough, and Erick was glad that he had chosen to forgo creating the aura-version of [Domain of Light]; creating that now, would automatically complete that Class Ability Quest. With Light Dedication increasing the power and durability of all of his light-based spells and effects, Erick felt like Bulgan would at least have to try the next time they fought. Maybe it wouldn’t be so very one-sided.

The Force Quest would be slightly more difficult, but looking at the Quest, Erick already had a plan. He needed a base spell to later combine with [True Plasma Bolt], and this Quest would fit well in line with Erick’s somewhat-conceived idea for such a base spell.

He didn’t really need Force Savant, though. This Class Ability was just a choice he decided on, because all magic involved a little Force, since Force was the basis for all magic. A few percentage bonuses here and there on all of his magic seemed as good of an idea as any.

Irogh interrupted Erick’s thoughts, saying, “You’ve earned another possible Class Ability Quest, if you’d like to see it?”

Erick tore his mind away from his plans, and looked to Irogh, saying, “Yes. Of course. Oh! And that reminds me. If I were to ask for the [Greater Treat Wounds] quest, which version would I get?”

Irogh tapped the air. He answered, “You’d get the 50,000 people version.”

“… Really?” Erick was okay with that, since [Greater Treat Wounds] was more something of a passing idea, than a necessity. But he had to know, “Why? I know my daughter got, like, 50 people saved, and her previous saves were already counted in her Quest.” He added, “None of my Quests have counted anything I’ve done previously, or else Light Dedication would automatically be complete.”

“The Script was created to stop the abuses of the Old Wizards.” Irogh said, “Besides. You save that many people every single time you go out and use your spells to clean up problems, like the Ballooning Spiders that threatened our world just a month ago. Without your efforts, and according to all known precedent, we would have lost 350,000 lives.” He stressed, “Erick. You qualify for the Hero of Veird Class Ability ten times over. If there were a higher iteration of that Ability, you’d qualify for that one, too.”

Erick didn’t really care about the [Greater Treat Wounds] Quest discrepancy. He was glad that Jane was able to get that spell for herself for as cheap as she got it, and glad for the limits imposed by the Script. Truthfully, no one deserved the power that he had, or that the Shades had. Veird would be better off if every spell above tier 4 were eliminated, and all enchanting was destroyed.

But that was just his own thoughts on the matter. Just like nukes, back on Earth, archmages shouldn’t exist, either.

But. Eh. Archmages on Veird did a lot of good, too. It was only the outliers like the Shades that did all the damage. Most archmages hid and worked solely on defense.

Erick waved Irogh off, saying, “I don’t know about that Hero stuff. I’m sure other archmages are just as capable and have done way more than me. Opal saved all of Spur from the Red Dot when she cast her [Grand Shield], or whatever she calls it. That’s a quarter million people, right there.”

“You’re being modest. But I won’t speak any more on the matter.” Irogh tapped on the air, bringing a blue box forward, as he said, “This is the new Class Ability you’ve qualified for.”

Erick read, and breathed deep. “Oh. …Okay. That’s interesting.” He asked, “Is this an archmage, thing?”

Irogh shrugged. “Possible. I don’t know why some people get this and others do not. But you are not the only one to ever receive this honor.”

Class Ability Quest!

Complete a Quest for a Relevant Entity of the Script.

Reward: Quest Board

“How does this work?” Erick asked.

“Accessing the Quest Board would be like accessing any other part of your Status; just think of it. The Quest Board will appear as a series of blue screens.” Irogh read from the air, but mostly looked to Erick, saying, “It might look similar to any quest from the Adventurer’s Guild, or Mage’s Guild, but the Quest posters are all Relevant Entities, and the rewards range from minor boons, to major boons, to other such rewards. The most common reward is a point, or a percentage of a point. The Quests themselves are either sparked by a parishioner who prayed for help, or created by the Relevant Entity themselves because they see a deficit in the world somewhere. The goals of these Quests depend on the Relevant Entities, and shift from saving a parishioner from a threat, to solving a complicated problem. It is possible for you to give a Quest to someone else, and have them solve whatever crisis there might be, as well as gain whatever boon listed, though such a transfer of Quest would require clearance from the Relevant Entity, first.”

That was a lot to think on.

“… I accept this Quest. But I’m not going to complete it today.” Erick said, “I’m already much too busy for more responsibility at the moment.”

Irogh smiled as he pressed some invisible buttons in the air. “Very well. Good luck on Shadow’s Feast, Erick. You’re going to need it.”

Erick accepted the Quest, as he said, “Thank you, Irogh.”

- - - -

A knock on the front door of the house brought Erick out of his library, and into the foyer. He threw open the door, already knowing who it was. Ophiel had been outside, on the lookout, and seen the two older ladies come from down south.

“Hello, ladies. You’re both looking lovely this evening.” Erick stepped aside, saying, “Come on in.”

Ratchet and Arial smiled on the other side of the door, both of them holding covered baskets, both of them wearing nicer clothes than usual. Ratchet wore a flowing mage’s robe that matched her yellow eyes, and might have matched her scales years ago before they turned grey, while Arial wore a more comfortable salmon-pink dress/robe outfit, that went well with her green eyes.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Ratchet came inside, saying, “Glad to be here, Erick. Now where’s this ‘everything candy’?” She lifted up the edge of her basket, letting Erick peek at variety of frosted cakes and sugared fruits. “I brought more samples.” She handed them off to Erick.

Erick graciously took the basket, chuckling as he said, “I’ve lost all of my extra kilos, and I’m not sure I want them back.”

“You can afford some pudge,” Ratchet joked.

“Thank you, Ratchet.”

Poi took the basket from Erick’s hands. Kiri waited just beyond Poi, ready to receive the next basket, or assist where necessary. Erick hadn’t asked either of them to do that, but they did, anyway, and he was glad for their presence.

Arial came into the house slower than Ratchet, eyeing the dense air that held in the doorway. She slipped through the space, almost skipping into the house as most of her got inside of the [Prismatic Ward]. Her eyes went wide as she looked to the air. “Oh my. That’s a strange feeling.” She touched the dense air all around her, poking at it with a manicured talon, saying, “I don’t do Meditation unless I have to, but this… This is pretty great.” She lifted her basket, saying, “This is for you. It’s a bunch of the candy that we’ve made.”

Erick took the basket from her, and peeked inside to see a plethora of candies, all laid out in what had to be the top layer of three nice stone trays. “Thank you. I look forward to trying it all.” He handed the basket to Kiri, saying, “But with regard to the calmness you’re feeling in the air: All you’re feeling is the Restful part of the [Prismatic Ward]. It’s possible to make that spell on its own, though I haven’t tried that, yet.” He turned to Poi and Kiri, both holding baskets now, and said, “Ratchet, Arial: This is my guard and my apprentice, Poi and Kiri.” He asked Kiri, “Have you tried to make a [Restful Ward], yet?”

“Oh no no.” Arial shook her said, saying, “I can’t ask for an archmage’s secrets on magic.” She nodded, saying, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Kiri. Poi.”

Kiri nodded. Poi stood, stoic as ever.

“If you’re not taking up the offer, then I can.” Ratchet asked Kiri, “Is it just Meditation and [Ward]?”

Kiri said, “Yes. The combination is more difficult than most, but as long as your [Restful Ward]’s duration is a lot longer than it takes to regenerate the mana that it took to cast, then you have made a decent version.”

Ratchet said, “That’s good enough for me. I haven’t had a spell to make in a decade. Gives me something to do every evening.”

Erick gestured to the hallway, that led toward the chocolate room. “Care to see the chocolate process, now?”

Arial’s green eyes lit with a soft glow. “Oh yes yes yes yes.”

Erick had made little progress with tempering, but he had managed to make a bunch of other chocolate items in his experiments. One such item was cocoa powder, and cocoa butter. As Erick introduced the two ladies to the chocolate room, and their eyes went wide and they breathed deep the smell, Erick set to making hot chocolate. Ratchet and Arial watched and asked questions, as Erick took cocoa powder, milk, and sugar, and mixed them all together under a [Heat Ward]. He already knew the resulting drink would be a success, for he had already tried it, but seeing the greyscales’ faces relax as they tasted, and hearing their words of wonder afterward, was music to Erick’s ears.

He showed them the beans, the grinders, the concher, and the process, all while he spoke of the ideas behind the process. All the while, they drank their hot chocolate, sampled untempered bars, and tasted the chocolate at all the various points of creation. A short trip to the backyard grove showed off the cocoa tree Erick had created, and another four that he had grown since. All that only took half an hour, with the two ladies asking their questions and Erick answering them, while he asked his own, and either Ratchet or Arial answered.

Soon enough, they retired to the sunroom. Kiri had already set out coftea and regular tea, while Jane set out milk to go with a batch of chocolate chip cookies she had made earlier in the day. Those cookies joined a host of other desserts that seemed to come out of nowhere, but had actually come from Justine. She too, had been busy while Erick was outside of the house; she had figured out how to make chocolate ice cream. Along with some scoops of vanilla, Erick almost felt back at home, sitting on the couch, ready to turn on a movie for the night. But there was no television here.

… He missed movies. And TV shows. And the news. Entertainment and edutainment used to be so easy to find and experience, but now… There weren’t even newspapers on Veird, or at least no newspapers in Spur.

… Yet another problem of the missing printing press. Or rather, the fact that people chose not to automate printing, because to do so was to miss out on incentives from Rozeta.

But those were thoughts for another day. Erick spooned a bit of cookie and ice cream into his mouth, and savored the flavor and texture. Soft and chewy, vanilla and cold, with bursts of chocolate flavor, this was exactly as Erick remembered it being, back on Earth. He said to Jane, “This is great, Jane.”

“I think I did okay.” Jane smirked, saying, “I already had five. Justine’s ice cream is pretty good, too.”

Justine bowed, then stood, saying, “Thank you for showing me how.”

Ratchet and Arial shared a glance, as they sat on the other side of the couch. The two of them had been talking with Erick about every part of the process, but now, with their shared look, they turned to him. He could see it in their eyes: It was time to talk business. Jane and Justine saw their look, too, so both of them stepped away. In a moment, the only people in the room were Poi and Kiri, standing off to the side, while Erick and the two ladies sat around the coftea table.

Ratchet began, “We would be honored to be your flagship store, though we wish for you to be a silent partner. An investment of funds in order to expand operations, for which you will receive a monthly repayment, in addition to a monthly split of the profit.”

“Fifty percent of profit, after taxes.” Arial said, “Half the store dedicated to whatever dessert products you envision. We can push this chocolate. It will be a success.”

Erick considered their deal. ‘Of profit, after taxes’ was the usual manner in which a silent partner entered into an existing business, so that was nothing special. Arial’s quote of 50% was a large one; possibly too large. But they were giving him a fair deal, according to Erick’s admittedly limited knowledge of operating a business in Spur. But he didn’t care about the money aspects of this venture. Erick wanted chocolate to succeed, and if they had a noose around their neck of payment, then that was just another worry Erick did not want either them, or himself, to have. Besides, for him, money wasn’t a concern. For the rest of the world, money was a constant concern.

Erick gave them a lower offer, and while the two ladies gave some platitudes of ‘oh we couldn’t!’ he could tell that they were secretly happy for the lower price.

The three of them got down to talking of money, and plans, and expansions. Erick would need to work his connections to purchase some space in the Garden for a whole grove of cocoa trees, or else he would need to purchase some Human District land and convert it into a cocoa grove. Either idea was fine, but until ‘And Dessert!’ got that space, there would be no chocolate grove in Spur, for anyone. All the Garden was already spoken for, with bitter rivals already clamoring over each other for Spur’s limited farmlands.

Rollo and Calizi formed the two major factions that controlled the Garden space, with Kip’s rice paddies and Missoli’s sugar cactus monopolies being the only major undisputed areas, simply because they refused to participate in any political shenanigans. Erick asked how Silverite could allow a monopoly to exist, to which Ratchet supplied that Silverite had worked behind the scenes to ensure those two monopolies arose, whereupon she mandated the costs of both rice and sugar. Kip and Missoli weren’t living like kings, but they were certainly supplying stability to prices. If the wheat wasn’t close enough in cost to match rice, then people just bought rice. If herbs and spices and all of those expensive, hard to grow items weren’t priced to match sugar, then people just loaded their food with more sugar.

Ratchet said, “It’s a gross simplification, but Silverite’s pricing floors have provided a good base for pricing everything else. There’s room enough to move, but not enough to leave people going without.”

“… And that works?”

Arial said, “Somewhat. It’s made candy cheap enough, which is one of the reasons I chose to open ‘And Dessert!’. I’m sure that the Mayor’d commit some other plan to keep Spur fed for a good price, if you weren’t around, or if she didn’t know and trust both Kip and Missoli.”

Erick didn’t know enough about economics to decry Silverite’s ideas, and he prayed he never would. Thank god for rads and spells big enough to collect them all.

The three of them hammered out ideas for another hour.

By the time Erick was satisfied with a business plan, and Ratchet and Arial were satisfied with Erick’s product ideas and assurances to purchase land for ‘And Dessert!’s use, the sun was already setting beyond the window of the sunroom, beyond Erick’s private garden. Meeting over, Erick sent the two ladies off with fifty kilos of chocolate liquor, which Jane had finally remembered the name of, but which had nothing to do with alcohol. The deep brown syrup was just chocolate that had been processed from bean to nib to liquid, but without any additives; no sugar, no powdered milk, no extra cocoa butter. Ratchet and Arial would report on their experiments with the liquid, on another day. They’d even try the ‘tempering’ Erick spoke of; maybe they’d have better luck than him.

Erick felt great, knowing that his chocolate was in good hands.

Feeling so good, dinner even tasted better than usual.

- - - -

Erick sat down after dinner in the library, with a cup of hot cocoa, filled with marshmallows, or rather, with puffs, taken from Arial’s basket, and a trio of small desserts. The first was a puff puff, because Erick kinda really loved the marshmallows Arial made, and her puff puffs were half mallow. The second was a black-speckled white-shelled tea cake, apparently made with a lot of vanilla, and other spices. The third was a gel candy, lemon flavor. The puff puff was on his plate simply because he wanted it, but the other two were specialties of ‘And Dessert!’, and also made with ingredients Erick had created. He had already eaten a puff puff, but he had yet to try the other two…

The spice cake tasted of a dozen different scents and flavors, all coming together under the umbrella of a solid, white-candy covering that broke under Erick’s teeth. A hard icing, perhaps? The cake was an autumnal blend, of warmth and heat, but not actually spicy at all, as all that flavor gave way to slick vanilla.

Erick smiled. It was good.

The gel candy was basically a gummy bear, or one of those orange slices Erick sometimes bought on impulse; the ones that hung on hooks next to any cash register at any gas station on Earth. It was okay. Sure to be popular, but not nearly as decadent as the spiced cake.

The puff puff was exactly as Erick expected, and desired. It was fantastic.

At that moment, he was content. And then he came back to himself…

Only to go out of body again, to check on Candlepoint. Candlepoint was fine. No fights, no blood on the streets, everyone hard at work, or relaxing with others, or growing food or just living life. Sure, there were people gambling and some smoking up in tall buildings or making alcohol in stills, or getting busy with it in some dark corner—

Erick hurriedly moved Ophiel along.

Finding nothing amiss, he came back, and pulled his enchanting books from the shelves. It was time to read up more on the process known as enchanting. The basic book had only gotten him so far, but much how the study of healing was a lot more than knowing how the body worked, enchanting was a lot more than knowing how to inscribe Ancient Script into metal. That part was just the most basic understanding of a vast, vast field of study. As large as alchemy, and as deep as spell crafting, enchanting required a great deal more of an effort than Erick had given it, if he wanted to get good.

… He wasn’t purposefully ignoring the upcoming Shadow’s Feast like it was a date with an executioner, no sir! He was just being prudent. Nothing would happen at the Feast, and it might be good to know what he was looking at when he went in there. Shades were known for making artifacts and magical items.

Repeating this rationalization a few times in his mind, Erick settled in for more reading.

Tomorrow he’d go out and find some monsters to fight in melee, or something.

… Practice with Kiri was a better idea. He’d do that, instead.

That’d get the blood pumping, and get him ready for the Feast.

… A few hours of brawling wouldn’t get him ready for anything, compared to the years and years that most actual adventurers and people like his daughter put into the practice, but at least it might make him feel better about his ability to defend himself.

- - - -

Sparring sucked.

Erick had forgotten that.

He turned off [Hunter’s Instincts] and slumped onto a conjured chair, dripping with sweat like he had worn his clothes into the shower. His staff fell to the sand at his side, as he groaned out unintelligible words. He should have come out here sooner. Earlier in the day, when the sun wasn’t quite so bright.

Jane stood to the side, safe from the relentless sun under a very large umbrella, smiling wide, as she yelled out, “Get back up, Dad! You can do it! Kick her ass!”

Kiri twirled her own staff as she paced the sand, twenty meters away. She was breathing hard, with tiny flames licking out of her mouth as she centered herself, but she wasn’t exhausted. She wasn’t struggling for breath. As her breathing returned to normal, she said, “I’ve found time to practice every day, but you slacked off, Erick. Perhaps we should go out and find some monsters for you to fight, in person.”

Teressa, standing beside Jane, shouted, “I like that idea!”

Poi grumbled.

“How are you good at this, too, Kiri?!” Erick sat straighter, to stare across the orange sand at his apprentice. “When do you have time to practice this much?”

Kiri shrugged. “It’s just half an hour each day. Go out, find a mimic, kill it in close quarters. Sometimes I ask for a sparring partner from the Army.” She slammed the butt of her staff into the sand, saying, “I’ve done enough to keep myself sharp, and that’s it. You’ve just gotten worse.”

“… Shit.” Breathing deep and feeling like he was staring up at a metaphorical mountain of tasks, he stood up. With a thought, the staff on the ground slapped up into his waiting hand. He looked around himself, at the subtle white sheen in the air. He asked Teressa, “Count?”

Teressa’s eyes glinted grey for a moment. She said, “The [Ward] is at 25%”

Erick had cast an 8000 point [Ward] out here an hour before the sparring began, using his own mana, meaning it would last 24 hours or absorb 53,000 points of damage, whichever came first. His own [Personal Ward] was now worth 27,000 points, and more than strong enough to withstand almost any singular attack from most normal sources. Both [Ward]s regenerated almost 10 points of stability per second, while a hit suffered took stability from both Personal and Area [Ward]s.

Erick and Kiri had been beating on each other for a while now, doing most of their damage to the [Ward]s. Fighting in a [Ward] was like striking an opponent with very solid pillows. It wasn’t great for acclimation to a real fight, but it was good for generalized practice. Some actual damage still got through, but not much. Even pillow fights were still vulnerable to critical strikes. Most of the ‘damage’, though, was from Kiri and Erick’s own expenditure of Health, as they circled and struck and spent Health to fight.

Erick asked, “Ready?”

Kiri breathed deep. A certain flow entered her movements, as she stepped across the sands like a dancer stepping across the stage, gathering energy for her upcoming performance. She breathed out fire, then breathed in air, only to exhale normal air. She was calm. She was ready. She said, “Whenever you are.”

[Hunter’s Instincts] shifted Erick’s sights to see where Kiri would be, what the movement of her shoulders meant, what the cadence of her feet and hips shouted to the world, as she tapped across the sands. He saw what her eyes tracked, as she sought her own end to the coming conflict.

Thirty minutes later, Kiri was standing, breathing gouts of flame, while Erick had been sent flying via an 80-something Strength powered [Strike], for the fifth time. Erick slowly lifted himself out of the sand, while he breathed hard too, his lungs working to pull in as much oxygen as his heavy body could manage.

“You’re as good as any rookie adventurer I’ve seen in Ar’Kendrithyst, Dad.” Jane said, “But Kiri is a lot better.”

Kiri breathed deep, as a green light flickered across her body. [Rejuvenation], no doubt. Mentor and apprentice were of comparable Strength, and comparable Health pools from which to draw physical power, but while Erick’s Health Regen was over 35,000 due to his Blessing from Rozeta, Kiri had [Rejuvenation] to restore her lost Health. In ten seconds, one spell brought her back up to full. Her breathing calmed. The flaming parts of her deep breath vanished.

Jane smiled wide, asking, “I want a go! What do you say, Dad?”

“Absolutely not.” Erick said, “Not fighting you. Ever.”

“Neither of us are here for actual learning, Jane.” Kiri said, “We’d both fight with magic if that were the case.”

Erick nodded, saying, “Exactly right. This is just gearing up for a real fight.”

“Firstly, you could both be actual warriors thanks to those rings on your fingers. I do not agree with your stated reasons for not learning how to actually fight, nor do I agree with how they teach fighting at Oceanside, or anywhere else I’ve seen so far.” Jane emphatically added, “But now, I want to see a real fight.”

Erick sighed, as he dusted sand off of his clothes, but mostly left it there because it was stuck on due to sweat. He looked to Kiri, with a questioning tilt to his head.

Kiri frowned. “… After I take a bath.”

Erick offered, “One [Familiar] representing ourselves, another four giving attacks. I can’t use the full contingent without leaving Candlepoint defenseless… Which reminds me. I need to introduce you to Candlepoint so you and Sunny can take over for me while I’m away.”

Kiri eyed Erick, then said, “Of course.”

- - - -

His wings whistled on the wind, as he flew high in the clear, blue sky. Down below, the land was orange as far as his many eyes could see, with nary an interruption to the landscape, save for a splash of crystal here or there; the usual monsters to inhabit this desert.

Ophiel flowed through the breeze.

The air blipped white around him, in four different spaces, and suddenly, his sight of this land was increased by four more of himself. A mental command from his creator brought him to hold his position, as control of that piece of him was fully assumed by Erick.

Ophiel adjusted his concentration to his other bodies, nearby. The first of his bodies on the scene floated backward, back the way the five of him had come, as more mental commands flowed in, like warm breezes.

Chirps, whistles, and other happy, vibrating sounds, filled their piece of the sky. They were going to play with Sunny! But where was she?

The air blipped green in front of Ophiel, revealing five Sunnys floating before them. Green, feathered, and much faster than Ophiel was, if they were all going all out, Sunny was a great friend. Four of her flickered a myriad of greens upon seeing Ophiel, while the fifth hung back, to send mental messages to the Ophiel currently housing the creator. That was all well and good, but four of each of them were free to play, and they did. Flying past one another, both of them turning to light, spinning around, tossing air this way and that, or flickering from one place to the next, faster than a dozen eyes could see. Luckily, Ophiel had hundreds of eyes. He easily caught up to Sunny, then turned and rushed away, as Sunny gave chase.

A pulse of intent from both sides ended their game.

It was time for fun playing of a different sort! With explosions and coruscating light, slicing through air to evade, or blipping away to gain better vantage! Oh, what fun!

- - - -

Erick sat in his library, while Kiri sat in the sunroom. Poi watched over Erick. Teressa watched over Kiri. They were only a hallway apart from each other, but they were also about to engage in some serious magic, five hundred kilometers away. No one was worried about the duel actually affecting the person behind the [Familiar], and Poi had assured him that he would not let such a thing occur, but it was still a good idea for two mages engaging in a real duel to not be in the same room; protocol, is what it was. Experiencing death through a disincorporated [Familiar] had never ever done anything bad to Erick, or Kiri, but it theoretically could. There were multiple reasons Erick always had someone watching over him when he was riding Ophiel, and that was one of them.

As for the actual duel?

He expected for Kiri to wipe the desert floor with him, and for his battlefield senses to inform him that he was going to die from a blaze of deadly fire, or some other suitably horrible way to go. Riding Ophiel’s senses was almost like being there in person, sometimes.

- - - -

The air was cool. The couch was comfortable. The sun shone outside the large, picture windows, revealing Erick’s varied garden in all its colorful bounty. Kiri breathed, trying to relax. Her scales felt good after a bath, and flames had ceased flowing out of her lungs almost immediately after the sparring ended, but she was still a little shaken. Erick had lost some of his edge in the months since they stopped sparring, that much was true, but he would quickly regain that edge. The first matches had gone way too well for her, but the later ones…

Kiri had almost lost more than once, there at the end. What if she actually had lost? Erick was now a true archmage, so there was no shame in losing to him, but she had never lost a martial duel to a mage before, and that was before she had Erick’s rings on her fingers. Jane had been right about how they almost made her a warrior. Any level of Strength past 50 was fantastic, and good for any warrior, but Kiri was far above that. In her occasional trips to the Adventurer’s Guildhouse, she had sparred with many different people, many of them warriors. Some of them were even comparable to the people she dueled back in Oceanside. She lost to some of the warriors, but never to a mage.

So what if she lost in a real mage battle?

… There was no shame in losing to an archmage in a real mage battle. Once Erick went all out, he should trounce her, with no doubt as to who was always going to win.

But a small part of her wanted to win.

But then again, if she won…

… Would that be a good thing? Wouldn’t a win for her mean that Erick was woefully unprepared for his obligation to Ar’Kendrithyst’s Feast? She had hid her worries well ever since she learned what Erick was poised to do in just three days, but a pit in her stomach threatened to open up and drown her in fear every time she considered she would lose him. And that pit was growing.

- - - -

Jane sat in a chair next to Poi. Books lined the walls and three cups of hot cocoa steamed into the air, one for each person present, as Erick laid back in his reclining chair, his eyes already glowing white.

As she activated her own [Scry] to view the chosen battlefield, knowing that her own eyes glinted with a dark blue light, it was still strange to her that her father’s eyes had turned white. His explanation of the change was lacking. ‘Falling in line with your chosen passion, having a spell of deeper magic, and spending lots and lots of mana towards your desired direction in life’, seemed like the Headmaster was blowing smoke up everyone’s asses. Maybe the Old Dragon’s truth was true, or maybe it wasn’t. But what also made sense, was that the only true part of the Headmaster’s words could be that ‘deeper magics left a taint on a person’. Turned them less themselves, and more into possibility. All magic was subjective, after all, and because all magic was subjective, and because magic was a path, a study, and a way of life…

To walk forward into the deeper magics was to taint oneself with said magics.

Much like how she couldn’t stop herself from seeing all of Erick’s mistakes when he was sparring with Kiri, she had been changed by her time as a warrior of Veird. Her father had also been changed, as he caused change in the world around him.

Jane had been having a lot of complicated thoughts ever since she developed her [Prismatic Body]. Being able to be a part of the world in a way she never experienced before was more liberating than the first time she took flight. It was even more focusing than the first time she picked up a real sword at a flea market, when she was 12. Well. ‘Real’ for a variable definition of ‘real’. At the time, she thought that stylized spike of metal had been a working, real sword, but years later, she knew it for a show piece and a work of art, something not meant for actual battle.

But anyway. Change.

That Erick had changed in his time on Veird was completely normal. Who wouldn’t have changed upon falling to another world, where magic and monsters formed the largest parts of life? Of course Erick changed. But not really. He was still a good man, except now he was a good man with a lot of power, and the willingness to use it when necessary. Maybe he had changed too much. She had already told him that she felt bad about urging him to ‘get with the program’ and kill some monsters, all those months ago. And now, seeing the Ophiels and the Sunnys take to the sky and form ranks, she felt that way again.

While she had not changed much, except for gaining the ability to live out her dreams of violently helping people, her father had changed a great deal.

- - - -

Erick, or rather Ophiel, hovered in the sky. Four more Ophiel flanked him.

Far ahead, Sunny held to the air, a short line of pawns arrayed before a queen. Their undulating snake-like bodies gently swaying in sync. They had activated [Evasive Stance].

Erick activated [Hunter’s Instincts].

‘Go’.

The word from Poi barely had time to sink in before five Sunnys each cast a single spell, each targeting a single Ophiel. Ophiel blipped backward, a meager 25 mana expenditure to each of Sunny’s 500. Erick recognized the spell Kiri used as it took hold in the air, like tiny portals to a place of fire and light. [Firelight Bolt]s streamed from those portals, effectively controlling the battlefield in a hundred yard direction, because—

The first bolts from the streaming portals passed through where Ophiel had been, but the portals reoriented. Kiri’s [Firelight Assistant] wasn’t a stupid spell; it was made with [Conjure Force Elemental], and easily saw Ophiel had moved, so it moved to compensate.

One second had passed. Each Sunny cast another [Firelight Assistant], opening more radiant portals, streaming more Bolts of power at Ophiel.

Erick countered with [Pure Reflection Ward] across each Ophiel, using up each global cooldown among his five. [Firelight Bolts] splashed across each Ophiel, only to rebound into an undirected way, scattering along whichever angle they happened to find, when they impacted Ophiel.

Sunnys flickered through the air, turning near-invisible. That wasn’t a spell. That was just an innate ability.

Ophiels flew left—

Near-invisible lines of solidly held air clipped through two Ophiel, their wings flapping themselves to shreds. The other three turned to light, to escape the trap; Kiri’s [Hermetic Razor], no doubt. It was a Particle spell, and though [Pure Reflection Ward] did a great job reflecting Bolts, it only partially worked against physical magic.

[Firelight Bolts] streamed toward the blobby lightform Ophiels, and passed through, harmlessly. [Pure Reflection Ward] didn’t do anything, but maybe it would later. Erick left it running. This was fine.

As light, Ophiel saw the Sunnys ganging up from every angle. They had first drained themselves of as much of their natural illumination as they could, and changed what little remained to be the background color of the sky.

Each Sunny turned to light, themselves, becoming vast fields of glowing substance, their five house-sized blob-shapes rivaling Ophiel’s three.

Ophiel was already light, though, so this next part came easy enough, for Kiri was on the backfoot; a global cooldown behind. The fight had been a jumble in the beginning, but now it was down to who could take the best singular actions with their allotted singular seconds.

All mage fights came down to Stancing, which was why, all those months ago, way back when Erick first met Kiri in Mog’s Remedial Adventuring Class, they practiced Stancing, first. One person said a spell, the other countered and advanced with a single spell, while the first tried to counter and advance with their next spell. It was all theoretical, back then. Simple words spoken at each other from two meters apart. But now, the theoretical had to be employed.

Erick knew what Kiri planned to do by shifting to light, but he got there first.

Three [Lightshape]s from three Ophiels ripped into three Sunny, tearing them apart with sundering force. Those three Sunnys turned to glittering green force dust; the result of a summoning ended prematurely.

Two Sunnys would have done the same thing to two Ophiel, leaving the one Ophiel to kill one of the two Sunnys, and then the remaining Sunny would end the final Ophiel. But each Ophiel was running both [Pure Reflection Ward], and [Greater Lightwalk]. Kiri’s own [Lightshape] might not work how she wanted it to work.

Erick wasn’t actually sure, on this point.

So it came as no small surprise, that two Sunnys cast a spell Erick had not seen before.

Or maybe he had, he just didn’t think to use it in such a manner.

Two house-sized blobs of light became perfect spheres of reflective brilliance. [Perfect Mirror], to occupy a large-sized space. Both Sunnys were still inside that space, for Erick had eyes in every direction, and Sunny had yet to gain another second to cast another spell. But Kiri’s tactic had cut off all possibility of Erick’s own [Lightshape] attack.

Two Ophiel cast [Spell Break], popping the spherical mirrors, revealing the lightform Sunnys within, while the third staggered his [Lightshape]—

He must have staggered too much, because both Sunnys had time to cast their own [Lightshape]s. One Ophiel went down in a blaze of rainbow light, [Pure Reflection Ward] interacting weird with [Lightshape]. The second Sunny targeted the Ophiel that had waited to cast his own [Lightshape]. [Lightshape] clashed with [Lightshape], each holding the other at bay.

Erick was still up one Ophiel, and his cast was up. [Lightshape] tore—

The targeted Sunny dropped [Greater Lightwalk], for it was possible to end spells whenever, but not to cast spells constantly. Ophiel’s shaping turned the air to white splashes, and nothing else, as Sunny turned his own [Lightshape] onto—

Following her lead, Ophiel dropped [Greater Lightwalk]. Green splashes filled the air; ineffective.

The Sunny and Ophiel who had been fighting with [Lightshape]s also dropped their lightforms.

One Ophiel cast [Shooting Star], bringing into existence a brilliant dot of white light that zipped off toward the nearest Sunny, ripping the sky as it moved faster than almost anything Erick had ever seen before. It laughed as it crashed through one Sunny, moving way too fast to be countered, or dodged and moved onto the next—

Only to rush into its own death, slicing apart on atom-thick molecular chains strung through the air, Wind whistled on those strings, as they had reached all the way to both Ophiel—

- - - -

Erick sat up in his chair. He breathed out. The entire fight took a handful of seconds, where each spell cast was either salvation or defeat, and sometimes both.

Jane said, “That was fast.”

Erick blinked, as he began resummoning his Ophiel, only to send them on their way back to Candlepoint. “Yeah. It was.” He yelled out, “Hey, Kiri! Good show!”

Kiri yelled back, “I got lucky.” The sound of her feet stepping across the stone floor heralded her arrival to the library door. With a hand on the doorway, she said, “I barely won.”

“I’ve seen that spell a few times now, but not the actual box,” Erick said.

Kiri smiled, as she handed him a box, saying, “You probably remember this one.”

Hermetic Razor, instant, medium range, 500 mana

25 molecular wires stretch through a medium-sized space, at your command. One wire does a maximum of 100 points of damage before breaking.

“But this is the one I debuted in the fight we just had.” Kiri handed out another blue box, saying, “We were talking of Variable Cost Variable Damage spells, but I hadn’t considered what that meant for me until I knew I was going to lose our fight, but then: Inspiration!”

Erick read the second box and felt a surge of joy for Kiri. He laughed, happy for his apprentice.

Hermetic Shredder, instant, medium range, 1000 mana + Variable

A Variable number of molecular wires stretch through a Variable space, at your command. One wire does a maximum of Variable points of damage before breaking.

“Good job, Kiri,” Erick said, smiling. “This is a good spell.”

“Sunny almost perished.” Kiri said, “I spent almost all of my mana on that spell to tangle both Ophiels and defend against your [Shooting Star]. The severed [Shooting Star] still hurt, but she was able to dodge most of that fast little ball.”

“You have another Hermetic spell, don’t you?” Erick said, “I saw you drill holes in a mimic before… I think?”

Kiri handed over another spell, saying, “Razor and Shredder are more impressive.”

Hermetic Bolts, instant, medium range, 300 Mana

A series of 5 wire-thick bolts launches forward in a small cluster, dealing physical damage.

Erick wondered, for a moment, at his own Particle Mage abilities.

Particle Mage

Spend 100 mana to discover if a Particle spell is possible, greatly reducing the risk of Errors.

If you witness a Particle spell and you understand it, you may unlock that spell for free.

Major Mana Shaping applies to all Spells. Altering ongoing Auras is considerably easier.

Double Base Mana

Double Base Mana Regen

Your ability to create new Particle Spells is Greatly Increased.

10% Spell Cost Reduction.

Blood Mana

More specifically, the ‘witness a Particle Spell’ part. He had seen Kiri use her various Hermetic line of spells more than once, and he certainly knew how they worked, but he had yet to gain them himself. Whatever the reason for this anomaly, it was probably the same reason why he couldn’t recreate spells he had seen that were higher than tier 1. Even though Erick was sure that he could use his [Greater Lightwalk] to recreate a simple spell like [Ice Bolt], like he had done with various Spatial spells, [Ice Bolt] was not a tier 1 spell, and thus, since Erick was not a Copy Mage, he couldn’t create that sort of magic without actually going through the creation process.

It was likely because of a reason similar to the restrictions placed on Copy Magic, that Erick could not gain Kiri’s Hermetic spells without going through the creation process, himself, since those spells were all above Basic Tier.

Kiri brought Erick back to the present, as she said, “I cannot thank you enough for showing me the Hermetic line of spells. For everything you’ve done for me.” She bowed to Erick, saying, “Thank you. Thank you.”

She didn’t need to bow for him! Erick got out of his chair, stepping to her to put a hand on her shoulder and raise her tall, saying, “No need to bow, Kiri. You’ve helped me just as much as I’ve helped you.”

Kiri stood straight. “That’s… That’s just simply untrue.” An uncertain pain filled her eyes, as she said, “Please be careful in Ar’Kendrithyst.”

Erick was taken aback by the anguish in the young girl’s eyes. In that moment, Kiri did not look like the competent young woman he had known for more than half a year. She was in pain, and it was only going to get worse before it got better.

Erick pulled her into a hug, and Kiri gladly went, her head pressed against his left shoulder. He held the young girl in his arms, sad to see her cry, but happy, as well. She was troubled, but she would be okay.

Erick tried to joke around, saying, “I’ll be fiiine! I’m Untouchable, right?”

Kiri broke the hug and wiped a tear away with the back of her taloned finger, saying “Of course. Of course. You’ll be fine.”

“Now why don’t you show me how you came up with your Hermetic spells, and then I’ll try for them, and then I can show you around Candlepoint?” Erick added, “And then, perhaps, some more sparring?”

Kiri spoke with a bit more cheer in her voice, as she repeated, “Of course!”

Jane smiled, saying, “While you all do that, I’ll be out of the house again, today.” She got up from her chair.

“Where are you going?” Erick asked.

Jane stepped to Erick and wrapped him in a warm hug, much tighter than Kiri’s, saying, “Somewhere. Don’t wait for me for dinner.”

“Okay?” Erick held Jane tight for a long moment, saying, “Well be safe, wherever you’re going.”

Jane skipped out of the room, waving as she turned the corner into the hallway. Poi left too, saying to call him back before the two of them got back to dueling with [Familiars].

Kiri and Erick were alone in the library, with a pot of hot chocolate to share between them, and lots of magic to discuss. It didn’t take long before mentor learned from apprentice, and Erick added all three of Kiri’s spells to his own Status.