The Land: Founding (Chaos Seeds Book 1)

CHAPTER 16

“Don’t let the ghoul touch you,” Sion shouted, “it can paralyze.” The sprite drew, knocked and imbued an arrow, firing it at the closest skeleton warrior. He then switched to the other warrior. His shots made a constant staccato, buying time before they could close the distance, and bring their horrible strength to bear. Richter fired his golden arrow at the skeleton mage, but a blue disc of hazy energy appeared from the tip of staff. It acted as a shield. His arrow stopped well short of the skeletal mage creating a loud bang, but having little other effect. The ghoul had jumped over the altar, and was quickly closing the distance to Richter.

Putting all of his faith in his new spell, Richter cast out his hand and invoked Charm. The one-second cast time allowed the ghoul to leap. It was in the air by the time Richter had finished the incantation. Its jump easily crossed the remaining distance between them. The stinking weight of its body crushed Richter into the wall. He held his arms out ready to wrestle the creature to the ground, but it easily gave ground. It simply stood there staring at him. With a grim smile on his face he pointed to the skeleton mage, “Sick’em boy!”

The ghoul rushed at the mage who had been chanting a spell that would almost definitely have ruined Richter’s whole day. The mage was forced to break off its spell to fire a bolt of frost at the ghoul knocking it to the side. Unfortunately, the caster did not seem fazed by spell feedback from the interrupted spell.

Richter pulled his attention from the two fighting monsters. He drew and fired upon the skeletons that were perilously close to Sion. His attack pulled the attention of the axe wielding warrior. The energy seemed to flow easier than before, his increase in Imbue Arrow level making a small but perceptible difference. He was able to land two strikes on the warrior before it took a swing at him. Ducking under the blow, he planted his feet and rammed it with his shoulder, knocking it back a step. He quickly nocked another arrow and fired at point blank range directly into its face. He had not had time to Imbue the arrow, but the shot still connected solidly with its skull. It fell upon its back with a loud clatter. Standing over it, he charged his arrow, and shot at the connection of its neck and body. The skull flew free and the bones lost cohesion.

Looking to Sion, the sprite was dodging his opponent’s swings with no chance of counterattack. Drawing a bead on the warrior, Richter imbued his arrow, then shouted “Drop down!”

Sion rolled to the right to avoid the skeleton’s sword leaving Richter a clear shot. He took it, and the second skeleton dropped into a pile of bones. Turning his attention back to the altar he heard a piteous shriek. The skeleton mage had plunged its staff into the chest of the ghoul. The creature still struggled to reach the mage and rend it with its claws, but ice began to spread from where the staff had pierced its body. After only three seconds, the ice had completely frozen its torso. With a sharp twist, the skeleton freed its staff. The sudden jerk sent the two halves of the ghoul’s body in different directions. Blue and red icy shards fell in a tinkling sound around the base of the altar.

Hoping to catch the mage off balance, Richter drew an arrow, imbued it and released. He didn’t have Sion’s speed though. The seconds that it took to do so was enough to allow the mage to erect his shield again. The shot was stopped feet away, splashing harmlessly against the blue circle. Sion regained his feet and fired an arrow, but with a pulse of power from the staff, the circle widened in diameter, blocking his shot as well.

“Flank it,” Richter shouted, not letting up on his rate of fire as he moved to the right. Seeing Sion’s confusion, he exhaled in frustration and shouted again, “Move to the other side and keep shooting!” They both kept hammering at the skeleton’s shield moving to either side to get past its defenses. With another flare from its staff, the shield grew into a sphere covering it from all directions. It now had a distinctly softer shade of blue, however. They continued firing Imbued shots. It was clear that it was a race to see who would run out of mana first, the Companions or the skeleton mage.

Taking a moment, Richter swallowed his mana potion. While Sion continued the assault, Richter powered his arrow for one, two, three, four, five and now six seconds. The black streaks flowed thick over the golden arrow, and Richter felt the magic begin to flare out of control. Not able to wait any longer, he released. The arrow hit the sphere, but unlike the previous shots, the magic surrounding it did not immediately wink out. The arrow seemed to push at the protective sphere, bowing it in. The sphere buckled, and then, in a torrent of light and sound, it exploded. The eruption knocked both Sion and Richter backwards to the ground. Blinking clear the spots in his vision, Richter quickly made his way back to the altar. The skeleton was laying on its back, frozen. This time, apparently the spell backlash had stunned the mage. It was helpless for a few moments. Unsheathing his sword, Richter delivered the coup de grace, severing its head. Looking down, he saw the dark light fade from its eye sockets.

Congratulations! You have cleared your first dungeon! Bonus +500 XP!

Congratulations! You have finished the quest: Unlock your Power I. You have found and cleansed a site of ancient magic. As Master of the local Place of Power you may choose one of the Powers that comprise your domain. Your options are Life, Dark, Air or Water. Make your choice to close the quest. Reward: 3,000 XP.

Choosing a Power will give you 50% effectiveness increase to spells of that branch. You will also have 50% resistance to spells of that Power. Unique to being a Master of a Place of Power, however, is your access to each Power’s specialized ability.

Life Ability: “Bounty of Life” +30% growth for the physical manifestation of your Place of Power

Dark Ability: “Hidden Treasures” +30% yield from treasure

Air Ability: “Fast Learner” +30% rate to skill advancement

Water Ability: “Tranquil Soul” -30% mana cost for spells

Richter’s exhaustion was overwhelmed by his excitement! He closed his eyes and smiled. While Imbue Arrow was by far his most useful skill so far, what had drawn him to RPGs, then MMORPGs and finally VRMMORPGs was a desire to wield magic! The only reason he had played the character Sion was that his best friends had pigeon holed him early on to choose a rogue character. They had said it would round out the group. Even though he never told them, he had a couple other accounts that let him throw lightning bolts and cast curses with the best of them!

Being a Master was amazingly powerful. It basically made him a magical tank! While the bonus 50% resistance and spell power was awesome, it wasn’t really a huge surprise. The abilities though, might be real game changers! It made choosing one of the four so much more complicated! He focused upon his four choices in the prompt, but no further information offered itself. Oh for want of a Wiki! Based on the games he had played in the past, Dark Magic was often the province of curses, summons for certain creatures, concealment spells and direct damage. Air magic usually dealt with haste, weather and electricity. Water magic typically slowed enemies, used ice based attacks, and some emotion based magic. Life magic of course dealt with healing, but also blessings, death wards and protection spells.

‘What should I do? Richter thought with some anxiety! It occurred to him, after a second, that this was not exactly Sophie’s choice. Unlocking all four of his Powers was now a serious priority, and something he would definitely achieve! The real question was, what would help him the most at this present moment.

His Charm spell had saved the day, there was no doubt about it. If the ghoul had resisted the spell, both he and Sion would probably be dead right now. A 50% bump in its power would seriously juice up the spell! Even high level enemies would probably succumb. Also increased growth for his village would be clutch! On the other hand, he wasn’t really ready to take advantage of the bonus yet.

Dark Magic would certainly be powerful. Also, the Hidden Treasures ability was insanely tempting. 30% better loot, for like, ever! He knew people that would sell their grandma for that! You also couldn’t discount Tranquil Soul. 30% less mana needed for ANY spell?!? It was a magician’s wet dream!

But then there was Air Magic. The power of haste and lightning spells. Maybe even flying or instant transport? Ultimately it was the Air Ability that made the decision for him. The Winds of Change Ability just seemed like the natural complement to his already existing Limitless ability. He could already learn any skill, how could he resist knowing that he would learn everything 30% faster? He made his choice.

You have chosen Mastery of Air!

Congratulations! You have obtained the Ability: Fast Learner. All skills are obtained 30% faster.

Congratulations! You are a Master of Air Magic. All Air spells cast by you are 50% stronger. You have 50% resistance to Air magic. You can teach the skill Air Magic to anyone with over a 50% affinity for the skill. You can teach specific Air spells to anyone with the appropriate skill level to learn them.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Air Magic. Increasing your skill will allow you to cast more advanced spells.

Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Haste! This spell will increase the speed of the target. This is a spell of Air. Cost 25 mana. Duration: 10 min. Range: 5 feet. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: N/A.

Congratulations! You have learned the spell Errant Wind! Increase the dodge of your party to projectiles. This spell will only work when you are outside. This is a spell of Air. Cost 50 mana. Duration: 20 min. Range: 50. Cast Time: 4 seconds. Cooldown: 45 min.

You have been awarded 5,000 XP for your new Mastery.

TRING!

You have reached level 8! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!

You have either characteristic points or skill percentage points to allocate from the previous level. Now that you have progressed again, you must allocate your points within the next week or they will randomly be assigned for you.

Congratulations! You have unlocked the quest: Unlock Your Power II. Requirement: Level 10.

The prompts almost brought a tear to his eye. Instead he settled for a, “Hell yeah!” Sion looked at him like he was crazy. He laughed and said, “Don’t worry. It’ll grow on you!” He hadn’t known that he couldn’t store points indefinitely. He would have to be aware of that in the future. He calmed his excitement and looked at his new spells. As with the Charm spell, he suddenly just had the knowledge. He knew he could cast the spells as if he had studied them for a great period of time. That brought him to… “Futen,” Richter said loudly, “How do I teach the spells that I know?”

“Simply place your hands on the desired recipient, and will the knowledge to them. For higher level spells there may be additional requirement, but the level one spells you have learned will only require your will, and that the recipient have at least 50% affinity for that branch of magic.”

It sounded too easy, “Can anyone teach magic,” Richter asked.

“No my Lord, as you progress in skill levels, your rank progresses as well. Levels 1-9 you are a Novice. Then levels 10-24 you are an Initiate, levels 25-44 an Apprentice, and levels 45-69 you are awarded the rank of Journeyman. After Journeyman, you reach the rank of Adept, and remain there until level 100. Level one hundred on, you are a Master. In days past, there were stories of Grandmasters, rank 150 and above, but I have never met any that I can recall. Only Adepts and Masters can teach spells without the use of spell books. Spell books are time consuming and costly to produce, and may require rare ingredients. Even still, only Journeyman level and above can create them. It is obviously preferable to learn a spell directly from an Adept or Master. As Master of a Place of Power, you gain the abilities of a Master despite your skill level being less than 100.”

“What about the 50% bonus to power and resistance?”

“Each rank confers certain bonuses. It varies depending on the skill being examined, but magical ranks typically follow the same pattern. Novice rank conveys nothing. The following ranks convey a certain amount of protection and power. Initiate 5%, Apprentice rank 10%, Journeyman 20%, Adept 35%, and Master rank the 50% that you have received, my Lord.

With things now much clearer, Richter turned to Sion, “Please come here my friend,” Sion walked closer with a confused expression. “You have stood by me through death and danger. We definitely had a rocky start. You let me be eaten. I, well… I pretty much bitch slapped you in front everyone you have ever known. Ha-ha.” Sion gave him a stone face at first, but then chuckled a bit. Richter continued, “The point is you are my best friend in this whole world, and I help my friends. I have learned Air Magic. I would like to try and teach it to you.”

“Air Magic has never been the province of my people,” Sion replied with a guarded expression. “The Hearth Mother has never been able to kindle Life, Earth or Light magic in me.”

“You never know until you try. I have never believed that someone else could tell me what I could or could not do. I won’t let my only friend in the world be told what he can’t do either, even if he’s the one doing the telling.”

Sion stared at him for a moment, then stepped forward closing the distance between them. He looked intently into Richter’s face as if searching for something. What Richter saw in his friend’s face was desperate hope. Richter had a moment of grand realization. Sion wanted magic! Hisako had apparently tried to teach him all of the Powers associated with the Hearth Tree, but he must have lacked affinity with all of them. It would only be natural for the son of a Master of Power to want to become a Master himself. Was Imbue Arrow the closest the sprite had come to using his mana?

Richter decided it was time to try again. Even if Air magic wouldn’t work, he wouldn’t rest until he helped his friend feel complete. There were three other powers affiliated with his Place of Power, if Air didn’t work. Knowing instinctually what to do, he placed his left hand upon the sprites head and his right on his friend’s chest. The words came unbidden to his lips, “By the Right of My Power, I Awaken Your Power.” A warmth began in Richter’s chest. It reminded him of freedom, wild destruction and gentle rain. It grew from his heart and down both arms to the ends of his hands. The energy flowed into the sprite and found what could only be described as a resonance. The Power found a home in the sprite’s mind and soul. Sion’s eyes widened and tears cascaded down his face.

“Not Life, nor Earth, nor Light could I learn. I saw my mother’s gift pass to others, but never did her magic awaken anything inside of me. I tried not to envy or hate. I tried not to let my discontent ruin the harmony of our home, but all knew,” Sion’s voice began to quaver with repressed emotion, and so he took a moment to compose himself. When he spoke again there was a certainty to his words, “I am with you for life, my Lord.”

Your relationship with your Companion Sion has improved from friendly to Ally. Sion will fight with you and for you until death, and if he can find a way back through the veil, will fight for you again.

“Sion! You are my friend. I have to put up with this ‘my Lord’ stuff from Futen, but not from you! I need my friend,” Richter said almost pleadingly.

“And that I am,” Sion replied sticking out his arm. Richter returned the gesture, and they clasped wrists sharing a quiet moment.

“Well enough of all of that, nobody likes a sissy,” Richter said gruffly. Seeing Sion’s confused look he realized he needed to devote some time to teaching his friend slang and swear words. They had to be at least as important as magic! “I’ll tell you later,” he said with a chuckle. Walking up to the skeleton mage he began to search the body.

You have found: Novice ice mage robes. Defense + 5 (additional +7 vs magical attack). Durability 14/20. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight 3.7 kg.

You have found: 2 gold coins, 19 silver coins and 55 copper coins.

You have found: Magic staff: Attack 12-15. Durability 17/25. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight 5.1 kg.

Looking at Futen, he held up the staff. The orb took the hint and flared white. The identified item’s information flashed into Richter’s mind.

You have found: Corrupted staff of the Ice Wizard. Attack 12-15. Durability 17/25. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight 5.1 kg. Traits: -10% cost of Water spells. Must have negative alignment to use.

Sion pulled out his sword, and approached the ghoul.

“What are you doing,” Richter asked.

“The ghoul’s heart is a useful potion component.”

Leaving the sprite to his gruesome task, he was about to collect the weapons from the warriors when Futen spoke. “Are you going to take the altar, my Lord?”

Looking at the large black stone, he asked, “How? That thing must weigh a couple tons? And what’s it good for anyway?”

“The Magic Core of the altar has many uses. The skeletal mage was using it to focus his power. That is why he was able to resist your strikes for as long as he did, it was acting like a mana fount that he could tap into.”

“Well I still don’t know how to take it. It’s huge! ”

“Again, it is only the core you need, my Lord. You have taken control of dungeon by slaying its boss. Simply place you hand on the altar, and you will gain access to the interface.”

Putting his hand on the black altar, he was suddenly was able to access the information.

Dark Altar. Lvl 1. Provides 100 mana per day.

The interface had only a few basic prompts, unlike the many options for the Mist Village. Two that caught his interest were, “Access mana” and “Remove Core.”

Richter’s eyes narrowed for a moment. ‘Access mana?’ “Oh Futen? Is there a way for me to personally use the mana that the Mist Village makes? Say to power my Imbue Arrow? You know, so I don’t run out of mana and almost die because of it?!”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Praying for patience he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Oh,” the remnant paused. “I thought that was obvious.”

He didn’t fight it this time.

“Gaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!”