A Mage Prepared

by Thomas Whipple

  It hits me then, that is the bond between our souls. Seeing that I know, whatever this is, I want it as a profession. When I think that everything goes dark again and then I find myself back to reality. Trying to calm my nerves after the abrupt transition and slight bout of dizziness, I get a burst of knowledge on my new profession. Enchanting is my profession. If I am interpreting this right, the Summon Familiar spell is close to enchanting ones soul. That is why I was offered this profession. I'm glad it's what I got since I didn't want to be a carpenter or a tanner. Pulling up my status I see the profession spot now says Enchanter and Enchanting lvl 1 is in my ability list. I take a look around and see that everything is ok, and Timbre is alert. I mentally brace myself for the falling sensation and focus on the flashing spot for the new subclass. Just like last time, my vision goes black and it feels like I'm falling again.

  I expect to stop like last time but I don't, I just keep falling. Looking down this time I can see something getting closer and closer until I slam into the grassy ground flat on my face. Coughing, I roll over and try to catch my breath. The fall didn't really hurt but it did knock the breath out of me. After a minute getting my bearings I stand to take in my surroundings. It looks like a forest, wait, it's more like an orchard. There are trees in neat rows surrounding me. But each tree is different than the next. The one to my left is thin and whip like, bending and swaying to a breeze that doesn't touch those around it. The one to my right is on fire, but I don't feel the heat from it. Getting closer to the burning tree I look at it and a message appears.

  Pyromancer: Class Rarity: Common. This class unlocks Fire type magic and provides a 5% bonus to Fire magic spells. Requires the Mage class and a higher than 50% resonance with Fire type magic. Do you wish to be a Pyromancer? Yes/No

  I focus on no and continue looking around. Each tree must represent a different class that I can choose, and there are a lot of trees to see. I start walking as I browse the possibilities. There are so many that it is a little overwhelming. Eventually I get to an area that the trees are all obscured in a thick fog. I can see the shadows of the trees through the fog but no details. Curious, I step into the fog but find myself stepping out of it. Turning around again I try once more, with the same result. I guess those are the ones I can't choose. I need to hurry but I can't afford to choose poorly. Looking around for inspiration I see a sparkle of multicolored light. With nothing better to go off of I walk that way. A few minutes later I stand in front of the object I came to see in utter amazement. The tree in front of me is mesmerizing to the point I don't move for who knows how long.

  The tree is made of a see through mist with lights spread throughout. It reminds me of a blue nebula that I saw in a picture from the Hubble telescope as a kid, or like a galaxy in the shape of a tree. Around it are little floating balls of fire in the colors red, blue, yellow and white. Each little fireball had little pebbles circling them and a few of those have smaller ones circling them. Little solar systems are moving around the trunk of the tree, all at different speeds. Coming out of my trance I take a step and read the description.

  Celestial Mage: Class Rarity: Legendary. This class unlocks all types of magic in the Elemental and Universal realms, and provides a 10% bonus to the effect of spells from the Elemental and Universal realms. Requires the Mage class, World Traveler title, and a 75% or higher resonance with Time, Space, and at least 2 Elemental types of magic. Do you wish to be a Celestial Mage? Yes/No

  No way can I pass this up. I quickly focus on the Yes option and the description fades away. Next thing I know I am being dragged into the tree, becoming the tree. It only takes a moment before class information flows into me and I become aware of the roots below. Now I know why the Talent tree for Thia cascades from the top. Thia is the tree and the part of the tree that we are building on with the TP is the foundation, the roots of the tree. Everything fades out around me to reveal the dark camp that I am on watch for. Timbre gives me a look and I tell her "Yes I should be done spacing out, for the most part. You can go to sleep now." Another huff from her is all the answer I get before she lays her head down and closes her eyes. Time to check the messages again.

  Congratulations! You selected the profession: Enchanter. You now have the power to enchant Items with magic. You get a 10% increase to the power of your enchantments. See the profession talent tree for further developments.

  Congratulations! You selected the subclass: Celestial Mage. You have unlocked Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Time, and Space Magic. You get 10% increased effectiveness with spells of those types. You gain 300 MP and 150 HP for selecting a legendary mage subclass.

  And I get a boost to mana and health? No wonder it took so much to kill the monsters with a subclass. They get all sorts of benefits. I will have to ask Azzaria about the subclass bonus. For now, I have 10 TP to use and I should take care of that so I can get a little sleep tonight. I'll wait to distribute the TP I have in Enchanter since I don't have the time to Enchant at the moment and I don't want to rush my decisions. Focusing on the subclass in my status screen causes the same thing that happens with Thia's, a gray color that resolves into an image of myself with lines leading off it. Looking at it, my talent tree is set up the same as Thia's with four things in the top tier and, I assume, more branching off the farther down we go into infinity. Three of those in the top tier make me weigh the utilities of everything. What interest me are Cloak of elements 0/2, Dimensional Storage 0/3, and Haste 0/1. For my first five points I add one to haste for the spell, two to Dimensional Storage for the ability that is well worth it and two into Cloak of Elements for the buff it will provide me.

  Haste 1/1: Create a highly localized bubble of time around one person that makes the one affected 10% faster, increased by Time magic level. Duration: 5 Mins. Cooldown: 1 Min. Range: Self/Touching. Cost: 50 MP.

  Cloak of Elements 2/2: Gives a person 10% increased effectiveness to all Elemental Realm magic types. Duration increases with average Elemental magic level. Duration: 5 Mins. Cooldown: 4 Mins. Range: Self/Touching. Cost: 50 MP.

  Dimensional Storage 2/3: This ability creates a connection to an extra dimensional space 10x10x10 feet in size to store things. Can only store non-living things, but no time passes for the object stored. Range: Touching. Cost: Passively stores mana in the storage space from overflow of user to maintain and operate. Excessive use may start draining user's mana. Next Tier: Increases Storage size to 15x15x15 feet.

  The dimensional storage is amazingly useful, but 10 feet cubed is a lot of space for now and I need every advantage I can get. Now that the next tier is visible I focus on browsing that and placing my TP. There are many things to look at, as the options only seem to multiply in each tier. I focus on the ones that catch my interest. Phase comes after completing dimensional storage and could be useful since it gives invisibility and invulnerability, but it's limited in time and only works on myself. Definitely something for later once I complete the storage talent. Deciding on what to do for now I choose to max out Magic Cloak and Time Management, since both will help my haste spell and the cloak will then apply to my barrier and bolt spells that I have been using.

  Magic Cloak 2/2: Upgrades Cloak of Elements to provide 10% increased effectiveness to all magic types.

  Time Management 3/3: Decreases the mana cost for time spells by 30%.

  After placing the tenth TP I get to see the next tier and I am definitely going to focus on the dimensional branch the next few levels. The rewards just seem to get better and better there. Done for the moment, I take a peak at the moons and see that it has been around half the night. The time feels off because I walked for hours through the class selection forest. I guess that time might pass differently there than here. It was probably all in my head so it was traveling at the speed of thought. Putting those kinds of thoughts out of my head I get up and wake Azzaria for her turn on watch.

  I gently shake her awake and it takes a little time for her to get her bearings, but before I can lie down for some rest
she asks "What are you?" Taken aback by the question I look at her curiously for a second before my sleep deprived mind catches on. "I am a Celestial Mage." It is her turn to look at me curiously. "If you don't mind me asking, what did it say for the rarity when you chose it?" I nod, "It's OK to ask, I trust you. It said the class rarity was legendary." She was squatting down on her heels when she was talking to me, but at hearing this she falls back on her butt. She doesn't even seem to notice it, just staring at me slack jawed. Finally she softly squeaks out "300 Mana, why am I even surprised" and a few other things I can't hear clearly.

  "How do you even know that I got a bonus 300 mana?" I can tell she is just realizing that I didn't know what her question really entailed because she looks a little apologetic now. "Sorry, I forgot you wouldn't understand what rarity is linked to and how much answering that could reveal. Each subclass gets a bonus to mana and health when you choose one. There is no class below Common but their rarity follows the same structure as item class. They are Common, Uncommon, Rare, Superior, Epic, and Legendary. There are Unique subclasses also, but they are viewed the same as Legendary since they have the same bonuses. The bonus is an extra 50 to your main resource per rank in rarity. This is mana for mages and health for fighters. You also get half that for the other resource, in your case health. So for you that means 300 MP and 150 HP. Your rarity also indicates on a basic level how powerful your class is."

  "It's fine. I understand, and besides, who knows when I would have found that out if you hadn't needed to tell me now. Like I said, I trust you. Well" I say, laying my head down "I am going to go to sleep. I will learn the spells I can from my books in the morning and we will have some options to plan with when we get close to the village tomorrow."

  *******

  I don't even remember laying down last night. I was so tired that I probably would have slept through an attack if one had occurred. From my surroundings and the laid back manner that Azzaria is having her cold breakfast I assume that there was no such issue in the night. Looking at the sky I am surprised by how late it is. "It's mid morning. Why did you let me sleep so long?" Azzaria swallows what she is eating before answering. "We were up late last night fighting and then you, even later. You needed your rest if we are going to have a chance at getting past the village today." I only nod because she has a good point. Now that it is light out I don't have to worry about the light from using spell books drawing attention, so I pull out the two I got in Efftin. Using them one at a time they crumble into dust at my feet.

  You have successfully learned the spell Fog.

  You have successfully learned the spell Earth Spike.

  It always brings a smile to my face when I get new spells or abilities. Seeing my smile Azzaria just has to ruin the mood. "Can you learn that other spell in the book you got from the shaman now?" That sours my good mood a little but I am still optimistic since I made a lot of progress. "Not yet, it is death type magic and I don't have any of the Divine Realm unlocked." She tilts her head to the left curiously then asks "You needed your sleep so I didn't ask last night but what magic did you unlock with your subclass? You don't have to answer if you don't want to, and it's obvious that you at least have water and earth unlocked but I have never heard of a Celestial Mage." I shake my head "It's ok to ask, I trust you. As for your question, I unlocked the Universal and Elemental Realms." She waits for a second while looking at me as if she expects me to continue. When I don't she sighs and asks "But which types?" I chuckle a little before answering "All of them."

  After a minute of laughing at her flabbergasted expression she comes to and continues our conversation. "So, you have access to all the elements as well as space and time?" Instead of answering I walk over to my pack and touch it to send it to my dimensional storage space. I learned that I can bring up the information on everything in my storage space just by thinking the word inventory. There is nothing to read like my status, I just know it. So, thinking inventory I recall the canteen from within the pack to show her, take a drink and send it back to my inventory. Then I cast haste on myself and leisurely walk towards her. I had a feeling this would look cool since I am walking normally but moving faster than normal. From the way she is looking at me it worked how I thought it would. I can also see how the movement of everything around me appears to be a little slower than it should be.

  When I get to her I hold out my hand "Give me your stuff and I can store it away so that you don't have to carry it around and fight. Is there some sort of bag of holding, dimensional pouch or something that we can get you that will allow you to hold your own things without inconveniencing yourself?" Nodding, she confirms it. "Yeah there is, but they are super expensive. Why? Are you trying to get rid of me?" I smile wryly at her then step up and put my hand on her shoulder. "No, I'm just worried that we might get separated and you wouldn't have any extra potions when you need them" I say seriously. Then I make a pouty face and say in a subdued tone "Besides, I feel like I am holding your purse for you." She stares at me for a moment before her lips upturn a little. I keep up the pouty face for another minute before she breaks and starts laughing. I can't help but break the act and join her at that point. We settle down and I eat some cold breakfast while checking my two new spells for more information.

  Fog: Summons a fog that obscures vision. Duration: 5 Mins. Cooldown: 1 Min. Range: 50 feet. Area of effect: 10 foot radius from spot cast. Cost: 30 MP.

  Earth Spike: Force the ground to strike out in the form of a cone with a sharp point. Range: 20 feet. Cost: 20 MP. Base Dmg: 15-30.

  After I eat, I scratch Timbre behind the ears and send Thia to scout before the rest of us head out. We keep close to the cliff wall as we make our way north. Not far away Thia spots a group of three on patrol that we will cross paths with soon. The rolling hills that make up this strip of land between the cliff and river coupled with tall grass let us get near without drawing every group within miles. This group is made up of a goblin archer, a goblin thief and a kobold brawler. Having done this so many times by now, we get into our regular formation and the enemy group charges us when we are in sight. I cast a barrier on myself and fire a Mana Bolt at the archer to get their attention. Mana Bolt has longer range than Earth Spike so I lead with that. I cast Haste and Magic Cloak on myself before the archer is in range to fire.

  The other two enemies are busy now with my companions so I step forward to get in range of the archer and dodge the next arrow that comes my way by stepping to the side. In range now, it's time to test my new offensive spell. I bring my mana into my lowered hand and cast the spell using the intrinsic knowledge that comes with learning it. I quickly raise my hand with the staff in it toward the archer and a thin cone of compressed earth shoots up at an angle in front of it, impaling it through the chest. And that is the end of the archer. I am a little surprised that is all it took, but not displeased. I turn to my right where Timbre has forced the brawler to the ground and is trying to keep him there by dragging him by one leg. I cast another Earth Spike and it goes through the chest of the prone kobold. It struggles for a second and dies. I turn around to see that Thia and Azzaria have finished off the third one and Thia is winging around to test out her sharp feathers on the low level beetles that emerge.

  A few seconds after casting them the Earth Spikes crumple to the ground in a pile of rock and dirt as we collect the usual loot. My buffs are a little expensive in regards to my mana, but the Earth Spike spell worked great. The next group we come across I want to see if we can use the Fog spell to separate groups. That way we can work on the village without drawing the whole thing to us at once. There are two groups close to each other so I think it's a good time to try it. This time I cast my buffs ahead of time so that I have the benefits from Magic Cloak and Haste at the beginning. Aiming my staff at the spot in the middle of the closest group I cast Fog. A white mist starts seeping out of the ground in an area 20 feet across with the monsters right in the middle. In a few seconds the whole area is in a cloud of fog. />
  "Can you see the enemies in the fog Azzaria?" she gives me a nod and I get nods from Timbre and Thia as well. I guess that it's a magical fog so me and my allies can see through it. We go down the little hill we are on into the fog and the monsters can't seem to find us unless we are within arms reach. I, of course, was the one to test this with my barrier up and an Earth spike ready to launch. When I got close enough for the kobold swordsman to strike it immediately swung its sword. It bounced off my barrier and the kobold never got a second swing before my spell takes it out from behind. From there we just killed the other two quickly and waited to see what the other group would do.

  We ended up waiting out the duration of the spell and the fog cleared. The other group looks at us when we appear as though they had no idea we were there. I suspect there is some muffling effect within the fog so they couldn't hear that we were fighting their other patrol. We were ready for them and our appearance being a surprise let us get the drop on them. They were dealt with in short order. I checked to see what progress I made toward my next level and it is no joke that it is slower after level 10. I'm also at the same level as our enemies now so that is making it a little slow as well. Having finished my testing for now we collect our money from the dead. Their weapons, when they have any, have all been junk that's not even worth it to keep. Not even for me with the large amount of space my inventory has.

  "Alright, now we have a chance. If we choose our targets carefully and use Fog near others we can do this. When we find some that are closer together we can try drawing them into the fog too." Azzaria nods and has a big smile on her face. I think she is more optimistic now that we have a goal and a plan. We keep heading north, killing the patrols near us. When we get to the village we hide behind the top of a hill and watch to see how many we are going to have to deal with. From what we observe, there are about 50 enemies patrolling and within the village. After watching for a while the patrols switch out with ones that come out of the village. "Right now we will have the longest time to take out the patrols before more come to relieve them." We move down the hill out of sight again and Azzaria asks "How do you want to do this? The patrols are pretty close together. If we attack one patrol the others will see or wander into the fog." Giving her a bright smile I say "Easy. We make them leave their patrol path. Follow me."